Facilities Master Plan

[southpaw]

If/when a new stadium is built, I'm almost positive it would be somewhere on the Bronson property. Exactly where, I don't know.

just connect it to the ralph. then throw a skyway from the betty to the wellness center and you've got one massive athletics "complex."

[star2city]

If/when a new stadium is built, I'm almost positive it would be somewhere on the Bronson property. Exactly where, I don't know.

The NE corner of the Bronson property is being slated for commerical development with apartments on the upper levels last I understood.

The parking lot east of Columbia and north of Memorial Stadium is where there is talk of a new stadium:

http://siouxsports.com/forums/index.php?s=...st&p=175908

IMHO, Woden has rather good inside info on this.

[star2city]

just connect it to the ralph. then throw a skyway from the betty to the wellness center and you've got one massive athletics "complex."

The Betty is likely to be connected with the Wellness Center, Olympic Pool, and maybe a visitors dorm/hotel in the future.

The new stadium/indoor practice facility/Hyslop would house football, track, X-C, soccer, and tennis and possibly baseball/softball.

you might be running short of real estate around Memorial soon...the EERC will likely win the fight to take down the old Ralph to make room for the National Hydrogen Center and if you've noticed recently - the east bleachers have been dismantled and sold so it's empty on the old visitors side...

A rather Solomonic solution was reached: N 25th Street will be continued south through the site of the old REA and the property will be divided between the EERC and UND athletics. Also, 2nd Ave N will likely be closed off north of Memorial Stadium and given to the athletic department.

[LeftyZL]

The NE corner of the Bronson property is being slated for commerical development with apartments on the upper levels last I understood.

I haven't heard anything official about the NE corner of the Bronson being turned into commercial devolopment yet, but the SE corner will be exactly as you stated above. There will be a hotel built in between Suite 49 and University Station, with the main choices being a Cambria Suites and a Marriot I believe. UND(Kupchella) apparently wants the Marriot since his daughter works for the company, but Cambria Suites is ready to build but UND won't sign off on it because of the whole Marriot saga. That's just what I have heard on the Bronson Property lately. Take it for what it's worth.

[UND92,96]

The NE corner of the Bronson property is being slated for commerical development with apartments on the upper levels last I understood.

The parking lot east of Columbia and north of Memorial Stadium is where there is talk of a new stadium:

http://siouxsports.com/forums/index.php?s=...st&p=175908

IMHO, Woden has rather good inside info on this.

I forgot about/neglected to read Woden's post in the other thread, and I don't mean to question his information. I probably overstated things by using the words "almost positive", but I was told by a good source about six months ago that part of the Bronson property had been earmarked for a football stadium, although it was far from guaranteed that it would ever actually happen regardless of location. My big concern with an outdoor stadium is how it affects attendance once temps dip into the 40's and lower. Attendance tended to be pretty bad at Memorial later in the season, at least when compared to the past five years.

[star2city]

I haven't heard anything official about the NE corner of the Bronson being turned into commercial devolopment yet, but the SE corner will be exactly as you stated above. There will be a hotel built in between Suite 49 and University Station, with the main choices being a Cambria Suites and a Marriot I believe. UND(Kupchella) apparently wants the Marriot since his daughter works for the company, but Cambria Suites is ready to build but UND won't sign off on it because of the whole Marriot saga. That's just what I have heard on the Bronson Property lately. Take it for what it's worth.

Thanks for the info. Isn't the SE corner reserved for Medical School expansion? Or is their room for both?

Wasn't familiar with Cambria Suites until a seach:

http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/htm...SuitesHome?sid=

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2005_2n...05_Cambria.html

[The Sicatoka]

I forgot about/neglected to read Woden's post in the other thread,

The post in question.

[star2city]

I forgot about/neglected to read Woden's post in the other thread, and I don't mean to question his information. I probably overstated things by using the words "almost positive", but I was told by a good source about six months ago that part of the Bronson property had been earmarked for a football stadium, although it was far from guaranteed that it would ever actually happen regardless of location. My big concern with an outdoor stadium is how it affects attendance once temps dip into the 40's and lower. Attendance tended to be pretty bad at Memorial later in the season, at least when compared to the past five years.

Perhaps they are considering either location. A football stadium generally isn't too compatible with higher density commerical or residential development, while something like a 5000 seat baseball stadium would actually make commerical/apartments more valuable (especially with there was a minor league team). If UND is after more long-term rents from Bronson commerical development, a football stadium would seem better placed at University and Columbia.

[LeftyZL]

Thanks for the info. Isn't the SE corner reserved for Medical School expansion? Or is their room for both?

Wasn't familiar with Cambria Suites until a seach:

http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/htm...SuitesHome?sid=

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2005_2n...05_Cambria.html

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough in my post. Yes, the SE corner of the Bronson property is reserved for the Medical School expansion. I meant the SE corner of the plot of land between Suite 49 and the first station where the construction is going on right now. Nothing official as of yet, so don't quote me, but I talked to someone at Suite 49 that has some knowledge of the hotel and they told me that they were trying to negotiate a deal with the hotel to include some sort of skywalk from the hotel to Suite 49 so that the hotel could save costs by not having to include a restaurant and/or bar in its building plans. That would enable Suite 49 to be the official restaurant/bar of the hotel. A win-win for both I would think if it goes as planned.

[PartTime]

I haven't heard anything official about the NE corner of the Bronson being turned into commercial devolopment yet, but the SE corner will be exactly as you stated above. There will be a hotel built in between Suite 49 and University Station, with the main choices being a Cambria Suites and a Marriot I believe. UND(Kupchella) apparently wants the Marriot since his daughter works for the company, but Cambria Suites is ready to build but UND won't sign off on it because of the whole Marriot saga. That's just what I have heard on the Bronson Property lately. Take it for what it's worth.

Has UND put out any specs as far as what they want in a hotel? Reason I'm asking, is that there doesn't seem to be all that much room left on the Bronson property and a hotel going in (unless maybe a highrise type) would take up a lot of the remaining room....................just curious.

[The Sicatoka]

... there doesn't seem to be all that much room left on the Bronson property.

Doesn't the property run all the way from the Wellness Center (in the SW) to the corner of Gateway and Columbia (in the NE)?

[andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!!]

I don't know if it would require knocking the stadium down entirely. Assuming the University ever needs to do this it is because there is a need to provide seating for 20,000+ spectators for football games. I'd leave the west side bleacher seating intact, as is, and designate it for students, visitors, and general admission. Complete the full bowl or horseshoe, whatever is required, around the stadium with reserved bucket seating and with luxury boxes on the east and north sides. In an outdoor stadium, luxury boxes will generate much more revenue than in a domed stadium.

It seems to me the west side bleachers could be left alone. The track could be removed and the whole field could be moved west so that it is closer to the west bleachers. Take a look at the sattelite picture on google maps.

[MplsBison]

[andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!!]

Thanks MplsBison. I could not get it to link like I wanted it to.

[MplsBison]

Control + Print Screen will copy a picture of whatever's on your monitor to the clipboard. If you paste that and save it as a file, you can upload it to a server and link to it.

That is, if you didn't already know that.

[The Sicatoka]

Rick Tonder, associate director of Facilities, offered one of the more recent solutions.

"We are currently entertaining the possibility of an open-air stadium."

The building of such a stadium would create the capacity required at the Division I level. Buning may have set the timeline for such a project in the future, but he also alluded to the importance of not overlooking the possibility.

Given that, I'm surprised no one linked back to ....

Phil Harmeson

Curt Kreun

Randy Newman

now Rick Tonder and Tom Buning

Sure are a lot of key people involved in GF government or UND Athletics or UND Facilities floating that trial balloon.

[dakotadan]

I would love to see UND with a 20-25,000 seat horseshoe stadium in the north-east corner of the University Village. It would be the perfect spot to help keep all of the athletic department fairly close to each other, especially if the athletic department works with the students to build a swimming/diving complex on the new Wellness Center. And having both the Ralph and a new FB stadium welcoming people to campus would be great. However, if we keep drawing 8,000 people to games, there really is no need for a new stadium, as we already have 2 that would work perfect for that.

I just don't see a renovated Memorial Stadium as a huge recruiting tool. Even if a new grandstand was built on the East side, the west side would require alot of work also. I don't see it being that intimate or having alot of character. With just a little work, it could be a great DI soccer facility though.

[The Sicatoka]

To me the site-in-question is defined on four sides:

- Columbia Road to the west

- the tracks to the south

- University Ave (not 2nd Ave N) on the north

- 25th Street (extended through old REA to the tracks) on the east

What's in there now? Old REA, Memorial, a grass FB practice field, (soon to be) a tower to a parking lot(?) from the ramp west of Columbia, and parking.

I can only guess what'll be in there in 10-15 years, but I'm almost positive "Step 1" in any project will be making everything there today (save the new ramp tower ) "flat".

[The Sicatoka]

Allow me to ramble for a moment:

- Some say The Betty is too small. I say it's about right given VB and practice and non-conference BB (and given access to REA and The Al).

- Some have claimed an outdoor football stadium is something on the planning horizon.

- The City of GF would not be happy if Sioux Football left The Al.

Now the strange question:

- As compensation to the city, in the event of on-campus outdoor football, would UND offer to make The Al home to Sioux (Division I) Basketball?

(I'll let someone else bring up that other word I use once in a while. )

[siouxrunner]

- As compensation to the city, in the event of on-campus outdoor football, would UND offer to make The Al home to Sioux (Division I) Basketball?

(I'll let someone else bring up that other word I use once in a while. )

Lacrosse?

[MplsBison]

Does anyone seriously think that UND would axe baseball and softball in favor of men's and women's Lax?

[star2city]

Does anyone seriously think that UND would axe baseball and softball in favor of men's and women's Lax?

Conference affiliation, among other issues, will answer that. If UND is heading to the MidCon, as you are so firmly convinced, it would be highly doubtful that LAX would be added.

[star2city]

Lacrosse?

DIII schools in Minnesota like St. John's and St. Thomas are supposedly considering sanctioning men's and women's lacrosse as a varsity sport.

http://clubs.csbsju.edu/sjulacrosseclub/

[4siouxnow]

Allow me to ramble for a moment:

- Some say The Betty is too small. I say it's about right given VB and practice and non-conference BB (and given access to REA and The Al).

- Some have claimed an outdoor football stadium is something on the planning horizon.

- The City of GF would not be happy if Sioux Football left The Al.

Now the strange question:

- As compensation to the city, in the event of on-campus outdoor football, would UND offer to make The Al home to Sioux (Division I) Basketball?

(I'll let someone else bring up that other word I use once in a while. )

The Al would be a horrible home for Basketball, Dome,s are not good basketball venues!

[mksioux]

Allow me to ramble for a moment:

- Some say The Betty is too small. I say it's about right given VB and practice and non-conference BB (and given access to REA and The Al).

- Some have claimed an outdoor football stadium is something on the planning horizon.

- The City of GF would not be happy if Sioux Football left The Al.

Now the strange question:

- As compensation to the city, in the event of on-campus outdoor football, would UND offer to make The Al home to Sioux (Division I) Basketball?

A DI basketball program should have a facility designed for basketball. The Alerus is a football stadium with a makeshift basketball court. The atmosphere would be horrible. Even with a healthy increase in interest in UND basketball, the Ralph is still much too big. And the split-schedule idea is ridiculous.

Simply put, the Betty was built too small. It was built for "today" as a very good DII facility, but it leaves no room for any growth in interest as the program moves up to DI. At the time it was built, UND hadn't yet declared a move to DI, but most people even slightly aware of what was going on knew that division classification was still an unsettled issue and that UND would almost certainly move up to DI in a matter of time. Either a DI facility should have been built, or no facility should have been built at that time.

You only get a few opportunities to build brand new facilities. You should be looking out 30 to 40 years when you do. To build a DII facility under the circumstances was inexcusable IMO. UND will not be in a position to build a new basketball facility for decades and will be stuck with an undersized venue. If money was an issue, they should have waited until they could afford a bigger facility. With the money it took to build the Betty, they would been 2/3 of the way there before the fundraising drive even started.