So how much does USF make from a sold out game?

[12inchtaint!]

7 minutes ago, bulloni said:

Plus there is no stadium near that size in Tampa. If a touring artist/comedian/event wants a venue with 20k fans they can book Amalie Arena and if they want a venue with 60-70k fans they can book Ray Jay. But I wonder how many concerts end up in Ray Jay not because they need that much space, but because nowhere else is big enough.

A 40k stadium that would be much cheaper to rent and on a college campus full of kids looking for **** to do would probably book events all offseason and bring in more money.

The other aspect here is that Fowler is a mess.  They have big plans to build a mixed use complex out of the university mall skeleton, and I think it will look good when finally finished- I am thinking they may be able to pull something off like the new mixed use area just built on Dale Mabry/275.  If they can locate this stadium on the frontage of Fowler, either on the corner of Fowler and Bruce B Downs or Fowler Fields, it would go a long way in helping the "look" of that area.  Revitalizing that part of Tampa should be a huge priority for the city.  I cant see how USF does not get the county/city involved in the planning and buildout of this.  There is a HUGE potential to transform the area with this project.  If they can do half of what they did with Seminole Heights/Riverwalk/Armature works with this area it would be a HUGE success for the city. 

[Rocky Style]

6 minutes ago, 12inchtaint! said:

The other aspect here is that Fowler is a mess.

That's true.  I recently went back for the nostalgia and it's quite a bummer going down that way.  

[NewEnglandBull]

45 minutes ago, 12inchtaint! said:

Aside from being able to keep all money from concessions, tickets, parking, merch, etc. there is another huge benefit of this stadium- We have tons of talented High School teams in the area.  It would be huge to host one or two high level HS games a year- Imagine a Lakeland/Jesuit/IMG game at the new stadium.  Or even making a bid to move the HS state championship games to a more central location like this. Putting something like that at RJS would look small and out of place, doing it at a newer, smaller field would have a better feel and look.  The possible exposure to high level recruits locally would pay dividends- they would see a brand new stadium, IPF, and locker rooms.  It would be like taking entire teams on an unofficial visit to the school. 

I have to believe that the additional revenue streams that would open up for USF would be enough to pay any debt incurred building the field.

I suspect the other reason is that the stadium is natural grass. In Massachusetts all of the state championship games are held at the Patriots Gillette Stadium, but is fake turf.