Some may wonder why we entered the CBI...here is the answer

[NewEnglandBull]

19 minutes ago, JTrue said:

About like ours for the IPF. They're doing a big push to get 40 people to donate to try and keep up with us.

Ahhh I get it...it’s the difference of 40 people who have ownership in Midwest oil wells and 40 people who work for a service company in a strip mall somewhere in Pinellas County...

Edited April 4, 2019 by NewEnglandBull

[macphisto]

On 4/1/2019 at 11:00 AM, Triple B said:

I get that it's not totally out of the goodness of their heart but the only way you apparently were aware of them being "pretty good to USF" was a suite donation when there is obviously lots more .... and as far as it just being business, I'm guessing that there's tons more opportunities out there for a lot better ROI than investing in USF basketball.

Guys, the Lightning could sell that suite for a lot more than the write off they are getting from it.  Yes, it's not all done out of the goodness of their hearts.

But the Lightning do A LOT of work with USF.  They provide a lot of opportunities for USF's Graduate Sports Management program and have donated a lot to support that program.  

The Lightning's attitude on upgrading Yuegling would mean more revenue for them AND for USF.  Lightning has also offered to begin fundraising by adding a couple million to start off as seed money if USF commits.  Ultimately USF has to take the lead.  The Lightning cannot start fundraising efforts.  The Lightning have no power to issue bonds as part of an effort either while USF does.  

So, yes, the Lightning want a stronger USF brand because it is more money for them AND because they want to get out an manage more things for venues.  But their interests can align.  

The people I talk to at Lightning will not financially benefit.  They just want a great presentation for USF and see turning USF into a premium brand as a challenge they want to try, but they cannot get money for that themselves and the Lightning are not going to just fund it for them.  

Should be said - USF burned some bridges when the Sun Dome was remodeled.  They screwed over Daktronics in a fairly big way, so they won't get any good pricing on boards either.  What happened there is known inside the industry.  

[BullyPulpit]

Just now, macphisto said:

Guys, the Lightning could sell that suite for a lot more than the write off they are getting from it.  Yes, it's not all done out of the goodness of their hearts.

But the Lightning do A LOT of work with USF.  They provide a lot of opportunities for USF's Graduate Sports Management program and have donated a lot to support that program.  

The Lightning's attitude on upgrading Yuegling would mean more revenue for them AND for USF.  Lightning has also offered to begin fundraising by adding a couple million to start off as seed money if USF commits.  Ultimately USF has to take the lead.  The Lightning cannot start fundraising efforts.  The Lightning have no power to issue bonds as part of an effort either while USF does.  

So, yes, the Lightning want a stronger USF brand because it is more money for them AND because they want to get out an manage more things for venues.  But their interests can align.  

The people I talk to at Lightning will not financially benefit.  They just want a great presentation for USF and see turning USF into a premium brand as a challenge they want to try, but they cannot get money for that themselves and the Lightning are not going to just fund it for them.  

Should be said - USF burned some bridges when the Sun Dome was remodeled.  They screwed over Daktronics in a fairly big way, so they won't get any good pricing on boards either.  What happened there is known inside the industry.  

How exactly did USF screw over the vendor, Daktronics? 

[macphisto]

On 4/2/2019 at 3:09 PM, George Jenkins said:

Serious question, has a billionaire ever funded a stadium without the "help" of the tax payer?

Jerry Jones tried it in Arlington, but the cost overruns had the city step in to help.  I think he paid about $700M of the $1.1B price tag.  I work with people that worked with Jerry for years and he really wanted to do it without taxpayer money at all to show it could be done, but he did need some help to get it over the top.  

Still, paying almost 70% of the cost is pretty impressive.  

 

[macphisto]

2 minutes ago, BullyPulpit said:

How exactly did USF screw over the vendor, Daktronics? 

The original center hung was not designed to lift up for a concert setting - it was permanently set in place.  That was what USF asked for.  At the last second they asked for the ability to move it up or down - so they could pull the scoreboard up to clear for a stage in arena.  Then they didn't want to pay anything extra for this.  Daktronics did it for the quoted price because they had already built the panels, the structure, etc - but the mods basically wiped out any profit they would have made.  A Dak guy told me that the only way they'd work with USF again is they got a comprehensive full campus deal with USF to replace all major screens (baseball stadium, Marshall Center, etc) with contract language that requires price adjustments for changes like that, etc.   They would not just want to do a single job for the arena - the install at the Sun Dome left a really bad taste in their mouth.

 

 

[BullyPulpit]

2 minutes ago, macphisto said:

The original center hung was not designed to lift up for a concert setting - it was permanently set in place.  That was what USF asked for.  At the last second they asked for the ability to move it up or down - so they could pull the scoreboard up to clear for a stage in arena.  Then they didn't want to pay anything extra for this.  Daktronics did it for the quoted price because they had already built the panels, the structure, etc - but the mods basically wiped out any profit they would have made.  A Dak guy told me that the only way they'd work with USF again is they got a comprehensive full campus deal with USF to replace all major screens (baseball stadium, Marshall Center, etc) with contract language that requires price adjustments for changes like that, etc.   They would not just want to do a single job for the arena - the install at the Sun Dome left a really bad taste in their mouth.

 

 

If and when USF opens bids for the project, I would be willing to bet Daktronics throws their hat into the ring. 

[macphisto]

8 minutes ago, BullyPulpit said:

If and when USF opens bids for the project, I would be willing to bet Daktronics throws their hat into the ring. 

They may.  They may not.  Hard to say.  I just heard the Dak side.

[BullyPulpit]

Just now, macphisto said:

They may.  They may not.  Hard to say.  I just heard the Dak side.

New management group running the venue and $$$ are the only things I'm basing my opinion upon.  

[JTrue]

18 minutes ago, BullyPulpit said:

New management group running the venue and $$$ are the only things I'm basing my opinion upon.  

You could probably narrow that down to just $$$.

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

24 minutes ago, macphisto said:

They may.  They may not.  Hard to say.  I just heard the Dak side.

There are always 3 sides to every story - Yours, His, and the Truth.