Any think (or heard any rumors) that the FO will consider eventually adding the bleachers in front of the bar? Or take some of the photos from the current ad campaign and put them up the same way the USMNT photos were put up on the exterior of the stadium?
Bleachers in front of the bar is a very bad idea. It detracts from one of the most unique and appealing features of Avaya.
Not that's its warranted at this point since we no longer have sold out season tickets, but if we could get and maintain a 5K deep waiting list, building up and around the bar seems like a viable option... move the score board on top of that and maybe move the bar forward to just behind the expensive seats.
Keep the bleachers in front of the bar and expand from there when needed. Atmosphere last night was much better with that end closed in.
The TV broadcast mentioned that when the Quakes replaced the field before the season started they ditched the bermuda and went with a bluegrass. The bermuda "bandera" strain was really hyped and both the Quakes and 49ers went with it for their new stadiums and both had their own problems with it. Reminds me when I bought sod for a lawn many years ago and asked about bermuda and was told by the salesman that bermuda doesn't do well in northern california. I guess these fancy new strains are only so good.
Even though attendance was only 17,729, I still wonder how they were able to expand the seating well past their permitted 18,000 seats? Probably got a special waiver for this game, but, any permanent expansion would likely require getting a new permit, which could require another EIR.
The Quakes are not going to expand the stadium anytime soon, and if they do, they can likely gain more seats turning the corner on a single open end of the U (I recommend the side opposite the main entrance) without putting a grandstand in front of the long bar. From my perspective, having been at last night's US game, the electric atmosphere at Avaya was due the significance and pageantry of the game, and was unrelated to the temporary grandstand. I could care less what it looked like on TV, especially among the set that misguidedly think that Levi's is a great stadium. LOBINA is unique in American professional sports, and it is beloved by the thousands who forego their paid seats to stand there every game. F*cking it up to create a cookie-cutter erector-set stadium is among the most asinine ideas in the history of remodeling, up there with stuccoing a Victorian and installing vinyl windows.
I disagree, the atmosphere last night was because it was raining... Correlation does not equal causation. Maybe a 6 goals for the good guys made a difference?
're You and I can agree to completely disagree. People should go to watch "the game" and cheer on the home side. That's what creates an atmosphere because everyone's paying attention. If you want to hang out at a bar to somewhat watch a game or to use as a social venue that's what "The Brit" is for. I've seen in person too many social butterflies hanging out at the bar or lounging on the grass area without a clue of what's going on. What other team has an open bar on one end of their stadium or arena? Giants? Niners? Warriors? Sharks? Are their venues cookie cutter?
Wait a minute, did you just say that the atmosphere last night was because it was raining??? Good thing it wasn't because the sky was purple or there was a full moon!
I was in the stadium around 5:45 and walked around a bit up until kickoff. It was definitely MUCH more crowded than a quakes game and people were excited, both Honduran and USA fans. The atmosphere was definitely not because of the LOBINA nor the rain. Strangely, the lines into the men's restrooms were 20-30 deep, before and after the game. There were no lines for the women's restrooms. I sat on the south side, and before kickoff, it seemed like most of the seats were filled, as seen by the flash cards everywhere. Normally I am looking across the field to half-empty stands during an entire Quakes game. I think the truth is, when USA or Earthquakes are consistently losing, they don't sell many tickets or people don't show up. THAT's what determines atmosphere.
Yeah but USA was on a 2 game losing streak and in dead last with 0 points before last night. Now they're in 4th place thanks to last night and Bruce Arena. You can't say that the atmosphere didn't play a factor for coming out and supporting what was a losing team.
LOBINA may be unique, but I don't think it's a good thing. Call me a soccer snob, but I don't understand why people prefer to mingle around a bar at a stadium. They can do that at sports bars and parking would be a lot cheaper/easier....
I don't know that there needs to be a bar but one thing about the open end that I think is under-appreciated is that you can look right into the stadium from the street. It is a pretty fantastic sight as you drive by, and I have driven by hundreds of times. That said there is something compelling about a fully enclosed stadium as well. You can really feel it at Stanford. I think it is easier to ratchet up the energy level a bit. Of course those games are very well attended also. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. So I'm a bit on the fence. Maybe turning the corners with seats would be a good compromise..
"People should" be free to do as they choose as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. (Words to live by inside and outside any stadium). Too bad Sunil Gulati never got that memo. In my experience, atmosphere is enhanced when there is a large, animated away crowd, not when everyone's cheering on the home side. You can pay attention and watch the game from the long bar; the two things are not incompatible. Except at the US game, because there was a grandstand in the way, which goes to my point about why the grandstand is a bad idea. I like to pay attention and watch the game. (It's one reason I'm very selective about Super Bowl party invites.) But I also like to go the bar and meet people I know whom I may not have come to the game with or, even better, make new friends. I cannot do that at the Sharks tank or any other pro sports venue -- while still watching the game intently. The irony, here, is that the bar's detractors think it is some sort of elitist venue, evidently because it has nice redwood and stainless steel finishes. In fact, it is an extremely democratic (small d) feature. It's open to everyone in the stadium regardless of the seat they purchase. Unwashed Ultras like me can mingle with CEO types, or those pesky away supporters, which I do, even though we didn't purchase seats next to each other. And as I said, it's unique. It's the Fallingwater of sports. If only they had not built that thing over a stream in the woods. If they would just drain the stream and pour some concrete, they could create a long driveway and an attached garage. That would be the equivalent of a grandstand in front of LOBINA.
Totally democratic if you can afford the $20 ticket price and $12.50 beer . . . And the CEOs are all in their suites ...
I wish Kaval would remember that he also is President of the Quakes and also lower beer prices at Avaya like he's doing with the A's. $10 for premium and $8 for domestic maybe then I can have a beer for the second half lol
It's no use. He's forgotten completely. He may pop up occasionally when the Quakes have a good game and claim success that the Quakes are now playing an exciting brand of soccer. After a bad game, AWOL!
I had in a mind a CEO and his wife who purchased my club seats and whom I met for a drink at LOBINA. I plan to do the same at the next game with the Seattle fans to whom I have given the same seats. I'm fairly certain you and I have met for drinks there, too, and if not we should soon. Same for everyone on this board who owes me a beer because Dom is still coaching. But you don't have to drink -- and pay the exorbitant price for doing so -- to stand and watch the game below LOBINA. You don't even have to be 21, as far as I know. It's free and open to everyone who is in the stadium, regardless of age or nationality or immigration status. That makes it much more democratic than our electoral system. As for ticket pricing to get in the game and be eligible to wander over to LOBINA, if you're prepared to stand with the Ultras, inability to afford your ticket is never an obstacle. So, LOBINA becomes inadvertently socialist. And, notably, you have not disputed that I am unwashed.
Beating a dead horse: in the future you could STILL have atmosphere by closing in the open end with a safe standing grandstand "wall," with LOBINA left intact under said grandstand. An entirely new supporters section, with LOBINA being the official bar of said supporters. A little OT: watching World Cup qualifiers all weekend, some of these European, South American stadiums are VAST: huge, old, Olympic-style venues that make the Oakland Coliseum look intimate. Despite its flaws and room for improvement, we should all be thankful that we have Avaya.