The east grandstand is original. I would imagine that's next and it'll have a matching suite level to the west side.
You aren't alone. Homecoming only halfway matters in high school and even that is fading away.
They could bowl-in the gaps between the E/W and N/S sections. They could tear out the bleachers and put in individual seating. They could install new permanent LED lighting with special effects systems that a lot of stadiums are transitioning to. They could put a massive new scoreboard/videoboard in to replace the existing one that's 10 years old. And yes, anything that's 15 years old could easily and justifiably be upgraded and/or rebuilt. Sorry but for you to say the stadium has been completely topped out and there are zero improvements they could possibly make with new media $$$ is just kind of ridiculous.
I don’t think it matters at ISU. Others here might disagree, but I don’t see a difference. I thought maybe a place like USC might have some big local alumni groups organizing game events, but maybe not.
50 years ago, Iowa state built a new stadium and athletic offices. the year before, had Johnny Majors, Matt Blair and Jerry Moses, probably the best coach, defensive and offensive players we ever had. We also had Jackie Sherrill, the best assistant coach in school history (IMHO). Our problem is that Lou McCoullough was cheap. His problem is he had a knack for hiring good coaches, but couldn’t keep them. His last football hire was his worst (Donnie Duncan) and help dig Iowa State a huge hole they are now just getting out of. I am surprised he was able to nab Johnny, however.
Really not anymore ridiculous then the majority of things you are listing, they "could" do all those things, but they are not going to do few if any of them. Fill in the empty corner spaces, pull out the metal bleachers and put in stadium seating.
Unless ISU, KU and Okie St were going to get in a Time Machine and join a conference with Ohio State and Michigan, it wouldn’t change much.
Thats easy....you just do what UofIowa always does....dont pay the bill.
That’s part of the problem. P5 football (and to an extent at some schools, men’s basketball) brings in ridiculous amounts of money. Do those funds flow into the universities’ general funds, to help pay for campus upkeep or educational improvements? No - they stay with the athletic department, and the ADs have to spend that money somewhere. Hence the facilities “arms race” at big-time football schools ... not to mention the huge salaries going to coaches. When athletic departments have all that money, it has to go somewhere, and the Ferentzes and Sabans and Sarks of the world are happy to be the recipients.
50 years is too long, it was 40 years during the 1980's that ISU lost their way in football. A series of poor head coaches were hired, at times the AD and university were almost anti sports, rights at the time two important things happened. Schools started to throw money into football and EIU hired Fry and he turned the program around. Any momentum ISU had during the 70's and the new stadium, was slowly chipped away during the 80's and early 90's.
You're missing the point. You've said several times there aren't any more improvements they could make to the stadium. I've listed several that are pretty realistic options with a bunch of new $$$... new LED stadium lighting, new scoreboard/videoboard, new stadium seating, etc. And now you say sure they "could" do those things but they won't. I have no idea if they will or won't, I just wanted to show you how your original point, that the stadium is topped out on physical improvements, is nonsense.
None of those are needed improvements to the stadium or facilities. You can always throw more money at something, but that does not mean a better product, nor produce more wins.
Lol, I never ever said any of them were "needed."
