On the Yappi high school football forum, people were complaining about the turf at HCS from the two OHSAA playoff games played there. Mainly about players slipping on the turf, and the type of infill used. Then someone posted that the turf was found to be defective, and is currently being replaced under warranty. Is this true?
That may explain why the bubble isn't up. There's been a study saying that one version of field turf is more slippery than another. OSU and Bengals stadiums have the bad kind, but Gene Smith was coy about replacing it.
Ohio Stadium did just replace their turf after the 2021 season IIRC. Wonder if they switched from the "bad" to the "good."
No they switched out 8 year old turf that felt very slippery, with new turf that was the variation with higher injury correlations. Here's the NFLPA study. https://www.google.com/amp/s/profoo...wer-extremity-injuries-on-slit-film-turf/amp/
Played on the HCS field for Nordecke Cup and thought it was slick. Not as much grip as Resolute, but chalked it up to indoor/outdoor.
https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/25/columbus-crew-new-premium-seating.html Looks the terrace above Nordecke and the area on the southeast main entrance (where there was a big bar?) will be permanently turned into posh seating.
Those terraces always seemed like premium ticketing was in the offing, in addition to private events. They constructed it for two rows of seating at the edge of the terrace. Those corner sections usually sold out while the ones next to them on the sideline had trouble. I would have put those "suites" there.
Managed to break the website enough to get some important screenshots. Note that the new seating sections are similar to those in front of the club seats. Every two seats has an IPad sized TV. These new seats include a fridge. Also this only includes one terrace level (for now). Which is selling out already. Edit: well they say it's for the lower terrace but the upper one is the one rendered. Wonder if that's changed it around because of the leaky roof. Side note: the 5 billion dollar SOFI stadium's roof also leaks along with having a giant opening on the side, just it doesn't rain there often. Edit 2: the second rendering shows suite like boxes on the lower level with no banners (@LaMacchia). There is also a new scoreboard on that corner too. As my architect friend says, never trust renderings.
Makes perfect sense since they sold out all the lux seating and had a waiting list for it. It's probably very tough to figure in advance what the right mix is between the peons and the swells, but 2 years experience has obviously shown them the direction in which to adjust. Of. course they'd probably make the whole place all-club if they could; the money is so much better. Rip out the Hoi polloi seats, throw in a few amenities and triple the price.
Any business will cater to the customers that spend the most. It’s how you make money. Now having spent time in the stadium previously, I’m not shocked that the lower terrace is going to be used for ticketed fans and won’t be available as a “hang out” place for fans from other sections. It was inevitable. As for the Noredecke angle, I get the personal frustration from some of the leadership. Many people have volunteered their time and or money to create a fan culture. Ownership does not necessarily respect that. My suggestion is to stop the volunteering for an organization with a multi billion $$$ portfolio. Also stop feeling like you need to be consulted on all decisions involving the stadium. However, keep supporting the team. Keep up the passion for your favorite Club and enjoy your time without the stress that comes with personal grudges. Just my opinion.
It's unfortunate that they originally announced that the terrace would be open to fans, but not surprising that they quickly realized that they could monetize that space. I do kind of wonder what the actual physical stadium capacity is now. These changes don't add much seating capacity, but they do add a little.
Thanks for sharing the screen grabs! FYI, I have it on good authority that they're planning to do major roof repair work to be completed before the home opener. When I heard this, I asked my contact if the work had started. He said no--and that he thinks it is a very aggressive timeline. My two cents: if something wasn't done right the first time, rushing the repair might not be the best plan for success.
I think, and it should be framed this way, that the issue is not the conversion of these seats; it is that this was not communicated to the Nordecke when it could affect their game to game operations like hanging banners. Further, the FO promised increased communication, but it has been inconsistent. I am also not too happy with the seats chosen for the new suites because those were cheaper and sold better than some sideline sections. However, the price gaps between those were adjusted for this year. They may be copying Nashville and St. Louis CITY where they have a whole section of seats like those in the lower bowl.
Since they no longer really need that NE corner for TV, it made sense to try to capitalize that area. For broadcasts (Fox, TNT, whoever else in the far future) that are on-site, they have that terrace on the north side of the press box. They could probably do something on the SE plaza as well. The SE corner had that bar/concession stand area. I wonder how that experience will change. As far as the terraces, considering it seemed a rare occurrence they were open to the unwashed masses, is it really a huge loss? The obvious downside is that there's fewer places to congregate. But...if that translates to more people in their actual seats, could that look better for TV?
F*cking nailed it. There are so many impacts to gameday ops that we had questions about, it would have been nice to have had those questions answered before a Business First article dropped.
Yes, 100%. It's always been known that that was being sold as an event space - it was never a "hang out place" and I'm happy to have them maximize revenue opportunities. Make that money, y'all! It's not personal, it's business. Doesn't really have anything to do with this, but you're not wrong. I don't think many people understand how much of the game day atmosphere is facilitated by the Nordecke Organization. If we stopped volunteering, the place would change drastically. Also - We don't feel like we "need to be consulted on all decisions involving the stadium." But there are certain aspects of converting the lower terrace to premium seating that might directly impact the work that the Nordecke does on a game day. Rail banners and large-scale tifo are two examples. We also have concerns about the presence of opposing fans in those premium seating areas that are directly over the heads of Nordecke ticket holders. So, some communication would have been nice. Again: it's not personal and there are no grudges. But if there is going to be a partnership between the Nordecke and the Franchise there needs to some communication about things where either party could be impacted. That doesn't seem like too much to ask.
I would assume (I know what they say about such things) that a small group of fans would be allowed up there on a limited basis before and after the game to deal with banners. They had no issue allowing people on the field at HCS to deal with banners. But then again, assumptions are dangerous. Sidenote: Is there a reason why the front/lower wall has been void of banners? Visibility issues? Theft deterrent? Thanks in advance.
Opinions requested: With the original artist renderings of the stadium, many of the people in them were real fans. I recognized several familiar faces. Here's a photo from the theatre boxes page. Does anyone see Chad Marshall?
This has been happening since the new stadium opened and is expected to continue. But what happens when the wind whips those banners up into the laps of the people who paid ~$200 for their premium seats? I can't speak to that but it's most likely due to visibility.
Look I’ve said some nasty shit about Truck Stop Jimmy in the past, but this is excellent. I was planning to come out this year and I really appreciate him building luxury seating pods behind the Nordecke so I can enjoy a few glasses of Sangiovese, fine cheese, and assorted shellfish while enjoying the atmosphere and keeping a safe distance from the unwashed, unknowledgeable plebes of the Nordecke. I never thought I’d see the day when my club catered to East Coast Elite like myself, but I’m happy to see it happen.