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uh_no
04-13-2011, 01:33 PM
In case anyone was curious, i took a shot of the progress on the new 120 yd indoor practice facility1922

mkline09
04-13-2011, 01:43 PM
In case anyone was curious, i took a shot of the progress on the new 120 yd indoor practice facility1922

Thanks I've been wondering about the progress. I've checked in at bluedevilsfootball.com and they just have one picture of the work just after they broke ground. It is exciting to see the progress and can't wait to see more updates on renovations to Wallace Wade.

uh_no
04-13-2011, 01:55 PM
Thanks I've been wondering about the progress. I've checked in at bluedevilsfootball.com and they just have one picture of the work just after they broke ground. It is exciting to see the progress and can't wait to see more updates on renovations to Wallace Wade.

Cut said it would be done by fall. I can believe it....there's not much to those types of buildings...some steel...some roof....

mkline09
04-13-2011, 02:12 PM
Cut said it would be done by fall. I can believe it....there's not much to those types of buildings...some steel...some roof....

Hopefully it is stronger than that one in Dallas from a year ago.

I thought I saw some artist rendering that had a stone facade around it or something similar to the stone used on the rest of that side of campus..

duke09hms
04-13-2011, 02:23 PM
I still can't believe we didnt have a full-size indoor practice facility until now. And recruits were still ready to commit? Wow.

I'm looking forward to what the $100 million fundraising drive to completely renovate Wallace Wade will do. For me, Duke football is pretty low on the list of Duke donating priorities (student financial aid, faculty recruitment), but even I might be persuaded.

94duke
04-13-2011, 03:47 PM
I still can't believe we didnt have a full-size indoor practice facility until now. And recruits were still ready to commit? Wow.

I'm looking forward to what the $100 million fundraising drive to completely renovate Wallace Wade will do. For me, Duke football is pretty low on the list of Duke donating priorities (student financial aid, faculty recruitment), but even I might be persuaded.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but Duke didn't have ANY indoor facility until the Yoh Football Center opened in 2002.
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=218261

uh_no
04-13-2011, 03:52 PM
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but Duke didn't have ANY indoor facility until the Yoh Football Center opened in 2002.
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=218261

the chapel.

sagegrouse
04-13-2011, 03:57 PM
I still can't believe we didnt have a full-size indoor practice facility until now. And recruits were still ready to commit? Wow.

I'm looking forward to what the $100 million fundraising drive to completely renovate Wallace Wade will do. For me, Duke football is pretty low on the list of Duke donating priorities (student financial aid, faculty recruitment), but even I might be persuaded.

Actually, I never imagined anyone would build an "indoor practice facility" for football until, I heard Michigan did about ten years ago (which they also use for beisbol). But maybe I was missing a big trend.

Surely the Deep South schools don't bother. Do they?

sagegrouse

mkline09
04-13-2011, 04:47 PM
Actually, I never imagined anyone would build an "indoor practice facility" for football until, I heard Michigan did about ten years ago (which they also use for beisbol). But maybe I was missing a big trend.

Surely the Deep South schools don't bother. Do they?

sagegrouse

Actually I think most of your elite programs nation wide have them North and South. Most of the ACC schools have one and Duke certainly needs one to compete in some of those recruiting battles where facilities may be a big draw.

Duvall
04-13-2011, 04:53 PM
Actually, I never imagined anyone would build an "indoor practice facility" for football until, I heard Michigan did about ten years ago (which they also use for beisbol). But maybe I was missing a big trend.

Surely the Deep South schools don't bother. Do they?

sagegrouse

There is no place for logic in the Football Facilities Arms Race.

That said, there could be real safety reasons for southern schools to use an indoor practice facility early in the season.

mkline09
04-13-2011, 04:56 PM
There is no place for logic in the Football Facilities Arms Race.

That said, there could be real safety reasons for southern schools to use an indoor practice facility early in the season.

I would agree. Just like the Northern Schools need shelter from the bitter cold, the southern schools need shelter from the oppressive heat.

Having played high school football growing up in North Carolina it was brutal in August. Can't imagine what it is like further south where it is even more hot an humid. Can be dangerous.

uh_no
04-13-2011, 06:54 PM
I would agree. Just like the Northern Schools need shelter from the bitter cold, the southern schools need shelter from the oppressive heat.

Having played high school football growing up in North Carolina it was brutal in August. Can't imagine what it is like further south where it is even more hot an humid. Can be dangerous.

While this is obviously true, other sports seem to manage, namely sports like cross country. I think part of the problem is the tough guy mentality, where runners would know how to prepare their bodies for the heat, football players would see pride in 'toughing it out' (i've read horror stories in CT of coaches not letting players get water until certain goals are met...which is ridiulously dangerous)

but I think what it comes down to more is that football programs get the money, and they build indoor practice facilities...it's an arms race

I personally think duke is goin about it in a phenomenal way whereby students will have free access to the facility when not in use by the football team

mkline09
04-13-2011, 07:08 PM
While this is obviously true, other sports seem to manage, namely sports like cross country. I think part of the problem is the tough guy mentality, where runners would know how to prepare their bodies for the heat, football players would see pride in 'toughing it out' (i've read horror stories in CT of coaches not letting players get water until certain goals are met...which is ridiulously dangerous)

but I think what it comes down to more is that football programs get the money, and they build indoor practice facilities...it's an arms race

I personally think duke is goin about it in a phenomenal way whereby students will have free access to the facility when not in use by the football team

You are right on all accounts. From what I've heard though unlike maybe some other programs Duke will open up the indoor facility to other sports, so while it is primarily for football it could be used for other sports. Or so I've read.

But you are right it is an arms race that for better or worse Duke has to get into to to get the football program up and going again. But you are right they are doing a great job with it.

uh_no
04-13-2011, 07:11 PM
You are right on all accounts. From what I've heard though unlike maybe some other programs Duke will open up the indoor facility to other sports, so while it is primarily for football it could be used for other sports. Or so I've read.

But you are right it is an arms race that for better or worse Duke has to get into to to get the football program up and going again. But you are right they are doing a great job with it.

Hearing cut speak, it will be available to the football team first, and then it will be reservable by students (other versity teams, club sports, IM, random croquet event) jsut like any other campus facility. I think this is a phenomenal addition to our campus facilities, not just for the football team, but since it will not be off limits (like yoh or the K center)

PaIronDuke
04-13-2011, 08:30 PM
Hopefully it is stronger than that one in Dallas from a year ago.

I thought I saw some artist rendering that had a stone facade around it or something similar to the stone used on the rest of that side of campus..

I suppose I'm the only one feeling this way-and I know ir's all for the good-but I've been attending games off and on at Duke Stadium/Wallace Wade Stadium for 71 years, and I'll miss that lovely, serene view in the open end of the horseshoe. It was picturesque, indeed, while it was there (even in the rain, at the Rose Bowl!).

It's somewhat reminiscent of how I felt when UNC many years ago built upper decks,and an end zone enclosure, at Kenan. Before that, you could see tree tops on all sides above the stadium top (there were just two simple stands on either side), plus the bell tower, and it was, indeed, the most beautiful football stadium setting in the country---or it was, until my class sowed rye grass on the field in the winter, which came up spelling DUKE in the spring.....

Ah, we Luddites......

Farlan
04-13-2011, 08:31 PM
How many ACC teams already have indoor facilities? How will Duke's rate with the others?

Dev11
04-13-2011, 09:53 PM
I suppose I'm the only one feeling this way-and I know ir's all for the good-but I've been attending games off and on at Duke Stadium/Wallace Wade Stadium for 71 years, and I'll miss that lovely, serene view in the open end of the horseshoe. It was picturesque, indeed, while it was there (even in the rain, at the Rose Bowl!).

It's somewhat reminiscent of how I felt when UNC many years ago built upper decks,and an end zone enclosure, at Kenan. Before that, you could see tree tops on all sides above the stadium top (there were just two simple stands on either side), plus the bell tower, and it was, indeed, the most beautiful football stadium setting in the country---or it was, until my class sowed rye grass on the field in the winter, which came up spelling DUKE in the spring.....

Ah, we Luddites......

Actually, if you look closely, the new facility is off to the side, such that the practice field and visiting locker room still provide most of the backdrop, so it is still open.

As for whomever used cross country as a comparison for the safety issues during practice, put a cross country athlete next to an offensive lineman and tell me they have the same problem with excessive heat. Speaking of cross country, when are we getting rid of that ridiculous track on our football field?

Count me in agreement, though, that in general indoor facilities are silly. What Duke lacks currently is ANY practice space, such that during practices, having only 1.5 fields (which was the setup most recently) is not enough to run everybody around meaningful drills all at once. With two full fields, offense and defense can be completely separate, and that improves the efficiency of practice immensely. You have to maximize your limited amount of weekly practice time, unless you're Rich Rodriguez. That the facility is indoors is fairly irrelevant except for recruiting, which is obviously a key concern that Cutcliffe was brought in to address.

I am happy we have the resources ($$$) to build a new practice field, and I am confident it will boost recruiting. I'm excited to see the new place when it is finished in a few months.

uh_no
04-13-2011, 10:03 PM
Actually, if you look closely, the new facility is off to the side, such that the practice field and visiting locker room still provide most of the backdrop, so it is still open.

As for whomever used cross country as a comparison for the safety issues during practice, put a cross country athlete next to an offensive lineman and tell me they have the same problem with excessive heat. Speaking of cross country, when are we getting rid of that ridiculous track on our football field?

Count me in agreement, though, that in general indoor facilities are silly. What Duke lacks currently is ANY practice space, such that during practices, having only 1.5 fields (which was the setup most recently) is not enough to run everybody around meaningful drills all at once. With two full fields, offense and defense can be completely separate, and that improves the efficiency of practice immensely. You have to maximize your limited amount of weekly practice time, unless you're Rich Rodriguez. That the facility is indoors is fairly irrelevant except for recruiting, which is obviously a key concern that Cutcliffe was brought in to address.

I am happy we have the resources ($$$) to build a new practice field, and I am confident it will boost recruiting. I'm excited to see the new place when it is finished in a few months.

First, it's fair to point out that on a global scale, wallace wade stadium is MUCH more historically important for its track than its football field...despite hosting the rose bowl game. We should not be trashing other duke teams by referring to them as 'ridiculous.' Every duke team deserves top notch facilities, not just the football and basketball teams.

That said, the track being inside wallace wade no longer serves a purpose, either to the track team or to the football team. While it is an absolutely beautiful track (one of the best in this part of the country, imo....take a look at carolina's if you want to see what a stadium with the track as an afterthought looks like) the university no longer hosts meets that require 30k+ seating like they did when they hosted big time international meets. Thus the track is being removed from wallace wade and a brand new track is being built behind koskinen (where the turn field currently is). From what cutliffe said when I heard him speak in the fall, the eventual plan is to eliminate basset drive altogether once the WW upgrades are complete and the new track stands built. My worry for the new track stadium is that it will end up like our other facilities as just a track with a set of bleachers on the side (like koskinen or the FH field...not sure the name). Take a look at hayward field at oregon to see what a track stadium should look like. I'm just saying, I hope that the track team gets something halfway decent.

As for WW, the field will be lowered and we'll get the stands....the plans i've seen put upper deck seats at some places around the stadium and close it off (so to the guy who liked the view...its gone anyway). The goal is to have all this completed in about 5-6 years.

jdk
04-14-2011, 07:40 AM
While this is obviously true, other sports seem to manage, namely sports like cross country. I think part of the problem is the tough guy mentality, where runners would know how to prepare their bodies for the heat, football players would see pride in 'toughing it out' (i've read horror stories in CT of coaches not letting players get water until certain goals are met...which is ridiulously dangerous)


The pads and helmets certainly don't help.

devilish
04-14-2011, 09:13 AM
From what cutliffe said when I heard him speak in the fall, the eventual plan is to eliminate basset drive altogether once the WW upgrades are complete and the new track stands built.

What is going to happen to all of us who park over there for football, then?

formerdukeathlete
04-14-2011, 09:27 AM
The pads and helmets certainly don't help.

Some perspective. When Bill Murray was coach, and perhaps before then, when fall practice started, there were not the same kind of limits on practice times. Duke Football went three a days in scorching heat. Today, there are limits on the number of two a days set by the NCAA (no three a days) and restrictions on practicing when the heat index is above a certain point. Durham in August, this can mean that Duke might not be able to get in a two a day, when planned, when allowed, and our players would be up at the crack of dawn for the first practice and waiting for it to cool down later to be able to get on the field. Then there is the issue of heat stroke. Occassionally, a player at a NCAA school dies at fall camp. The indoor field, while very crowded were 105 players practicing at the same time, at least would ensure that our guys can practice as scheduled. There is the short field inside Yoh as well for running certain drills.

I would hope that our students (intramurals, clubs) would not feel compelled to want to us it in September because 85 degree heat offended their sensibilities. On the otherhand, when there is snow on the ground or its raining like crazy, I can see competing interest among our other teams, cheerleaders, and among other student and faculty groups to use it for special purposes, when not in use for formal or informal Football workouts.

You're an undergrad or grad student taking a break, getting in a healthy lifestyle workout, where are you going to go? I think the student accessible weightroom, cross country trails, golf course, tennis courts, basketball courts would all be of more interest than the indoor fieldhouse. My take is that this fieldhouse will be used approximately 85 - 90% for Football, 5 - 10% other varsity teams, and 5% other.

hughgs
04-14-2011, 09:31 AM
What is going to happen to all of us who park over there for football, then?

More importantly, what will happen to all the employee and grad student parking that is along Bassett and accessed by Bassett? The parking lot at the bottom can be reached from Academy/Cameron, though they'll need to extend the lanes. But that lot is already full a lot of time, so if you remove the Bassett slots it will be even worse.

OZZIE4DUKE
04-14-2011, 09:45 AM
What is going to happen to all of us who park over there for football, then?


More importantly, what will happen to all the employee and grad student parking that is along Bassett and accessed by Bassett? The parking lot at the bottom can be reached from Academy/Cameron, though they'll need to extend the lanes. But that lot is already full a lot of time, so if you remove the Bassett slots it will be even worse.
The long term plan is vertical as in a parking deck. I don't know what the short term solution is, although I imagine it involves either walking or shuttle buses or both.

OZZIE4DUKE
04-14-2011, 09:55 AM
Some perspective. When Bill Murray was coach, and perhaps before then, when fall practice started, there were not the same kind of limits on practice times. Duke Football went three a days in scorching heat. Today, there are limits on the number of two a days set by the NCAA (no three a days) and restrictions on practicing when the heat index is above a certain point. Durham in August, this can mean that Duke might not be able to get in a two a day, when planned, when allowed, and our players would be up at the crack of dawn for the first practice and waiting for it to cool down later to be able to get on the field. Then there is the issue of heat stroke. Occasionally, a player at a NCAA school dies at fall camp. The indoor field, while very crowded were 105 players practicing at the same time, at least would ensure that our guys can practice as scheduled. There is the short field inside Yoh as well for running certain drills.

As someone who experienced two-a-day football practices in the South Florida August sun in 1970 and 1971, with temps and RH's both in the mid 90's, when water was limited and coaches believed working till exhaustion and vomiting toughened a player up and got them in shape, seeing modern rules and an indoor practice facility coming out of the ground is a dream come true!

hughgs
04-14-2011, 12:49 PM
The long term plan is vertical as in a parking deck. I don't know what the short term solution is, although I imagine it involves either walking or shuttle buses or both.

Walking and shuttle bus options are already being used by employees and don't address the issue of where to put the cars. Today is a perfect example. No parking spots in the lower lot, the Bassett Drive lot, nor the B-School pay lot. For those of us who work near Cameron where do we leave the car without risking a ticket or paying (again) for parking?

budwom
04-14-2011, 04:27 PM
Ah, one of the great ironies of our higher education system. We create wonderful universities to help solve the problems of the world, and yet for something as mundane as parking, few universities have figured out how to solve this problem. It's a mess just about everywhere.

uh_no
04-14-2011, 04:28 PM
Walking and shuttle bus options are already being used by employees and don't address the issue of where to put the cars. Today is a perfect example. No parking spots in the lower lot, the Bassett Drive lot, nor the B-School pay lot. For those of us who work near Cameron where do we leave the car without risking a ticket or paying (again) for parking?

for 40 bucks you can park at my apartment and I'll shuttle you :P....oh wait...only NFL teams get that privelidge

Duvall
04-14-2011, 04:32 PM
The long term plan is vertical as in a parking deck. I don't know what the short term solution is, although I imagine it involves either walking or shuttle buses or both.

I think you may be overestimating Duke University Parking and Transportation.

uh_no
04-14-2011, 04:34 PM
I think you may be overestimating Duke University Parking and Transportation.

Not hard to do. They regularly oversell the freshman lots....then ticket cars when they are forced to park elsewhere because there are not spots.