look at UCF

[DENVERBULL]

USF is sooooooooooo far away from a stadium.  We finally constructed an athletic facility this year that still has to be paid off.  I would be shocked if we didn't play in RayJay for the next 20 yrs.

[GarySJ]

In what way is an on-campus stadium "doable"? Even if UCF's rosy cost projections are true, remember what a struggle it was at times to get $12M lined up for an athletic facility. Not to mention the money USF had to pay to finance the facility, keep Jim Leavitt, enter C-USA, leave C-USA, and enter the Big East. And we'll still have one of the lowest athletic budgets in the conference. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that finances are stretched pretty thin right now.

An on-campus venue may be in the 10-year Doug Woolard master plan, but I think we're three years of debt clearance, marquee home games, and full Big East Conference shared revenue away from any serious discussion of it.

If DW is smart (and so far that seems to be the case) he'll do some of the preliminary work during that time so we don't have to finance the whole bill. Perhaps we can keep a sharp eye out for signs that a site is being considered or studied for this purpose.

[DENVERBULL]

BCS money is certainly going to help our athletic department/budget.  But I would think a stadium is lower on the list than other upgrades we need to make- baseball/softball facilities, sundome improvements etc.  Let's face it, compared to most BCS schools, USF's facilities are pathetic.  A campus stadium would certainly bring in a lot of cash that would help us make improvements, but I am guessing the amount of money it would take to build one would sink the other programs.  We need to keep progressing as a program and increasing booster/donor money.  Thoughts?

[Omniscientbull]

Bulliever - my 7 years assumes a continued growth in the program and season ticket holders.  Additionally, the Glazers certainly aren't going to do us any favors.

Woolard is a big football fan and is a big fan of keeping his cash on campus.  I think that leads itself to an on campus stadium.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a feasability study started by this time next year.

[South_Tampa_Knight]

While I think every school should have an on campus stadium, its a need thing first.  Ray Jay is a great stadium, with probably the best parking of any major stadium in the country.  Its in a safe place with good access.  UCF has to do this, the Citrus bowl is a dump as we all know, the City of Orlando has been screwing UCF for years and just attempting to tailgate there is always a problem.

None of this would have been possible without the $11MM donation.  UCF has now received an additional $3MM and there are at least two other $1MM donations that are being rumored.  What is also helping UCF is that the Orange County Chairman is a UCF grad and does not care for the Mayor of Orlando and you won't see him stepping up and helping him out.  This is also the man that controls the tourist tax, which is what the City would need to renovate the stadium.  

The only reason this is happening for UCF right now is just good timing.  USF does not need this right now.  I think playing at Ray Jay is a huge recruiting advantage for USF right now, moving on campus would hurt USF.

[lovintheusfbulls]

Hopefully USF will do great in the coming years in the BE and really show the community what we are about. I know that we have already come so far but people want to see a winning team. Some (most) of our fans are not loyal and if we aren't winning, they don't want to watch it. Until we start doing really well, I don't think we will have loyal fans.

As far as building a stadium on campus, I think this would really help for attendance because most of the non-true fans that live on campus are too lazy to drive over to Ray-Jay unless we are winning. I agree though that the stadium building is not going to happen anytime right around the corner, until we show them that we are really going to fill it up.

[USFMikeB]

I mentioned this on the other thread, and will post it here as well.  We've got a lot of stuff to get done, and I don't believe a stadium should be in the higher priorities.  Do we need to have some planning on it?  Yes, but to get it into the long term plan.  If we've got a 10 year plan, and if we don't then we need to get on the ball, this should be something that we should work to see being implemented towards the end of that plan.

[TripleB]

While I think every school should have an on campus stadium, its a need thing first.  Ray Jay is a great stadium, with probably the best parking of any major stadium in the country.  Its in a safe place with good access.  UCF has to do this, the Citrus bowl is a dump as we all know, the City of Orlando has been screwing UCF for years and just attempting to tailgate there is always a problem.

The only reason this is happening for UCF right now is just good timing.  USF does not need this right now.  I think playing at Ray Jay is a huge recruiting advantage for USF right now, moving on campus would hurt USF.

As much as this pains me, those are my exact thoughts on this issue, too. UCF NEEDS this where USF has the luxury of playing in a first class NFL stadium. I doubt it is the deciding factor in most recruit's choice to play here but more than one has mentioned RayJay as a positive.

Besides, even an on-campus stadium wouldn't help those freaking 11 AM games much...

Question, where exactly is UCF located in relationship with the majority of the central Florida area population?

[79 Bull]

If UCF goes off and builds their own stadium, it would be a HUGE blow to the City of Orlando.  I doubt they would put up the bucks to renovate the CB for 3 football games/year.

[WoolyBully]

The Citrus Bowl and RayJ are light years apart.

Building an alternate to the CB is a sound decision for the advancement of the UCF football program, whereas continued play in RayJ works out in our best interest.

A lot of folks - with what appears to be an anit-Glazer bias - see, what I believe to be an unrealistic sense of urgency, to distance USF from RayJ. However, it's a dollar bill world, sportsfans, and USF does not have the pent up demand for tickets, let alone season ticket base, to start moving forward with a smaller, less spectacular, on campus stadium.

I think we'll be playing in RayJ for many years to come.  We'll see a shift in donor-level requirements there, long before ground is broken on an on campus stadium. Given that we've been playing football for such a short timeframe... I wouldn't look for an on-campus stadium for another 20 years...minimum. Remember, we were in RayJ the first year it opened, so it's not like the premier NFL stadium was in existance long before we started IAA ball!