Well Red, after looking at what has happened every 20 years or so I have to say that an endzone expansion would not surprise me one bit. As foir the tickets not being sold and/or used to the crummy games, that has always been the case before they decided to expand. The lower bowl amenities will keep getting improved but opne of the ways to pay for those improvements would be to enclose one of the endzones and mostl likely with some kind of mix of suites and club seats, which would not be as far away as regular seating and would generate huge amounts of money. That is actually where many of the programs in the country that now have suites have put them. They may not be able to charge as much as the sideline suites and club seats, but I'd bet a buck or two that people will be interested in purchasing them if they are built.
Also, as for the streets getting blocked or messep up, they would simply use the funds that would be generated to move entire bldgs and streets if they had too. Who would have ever thought it would be feasible to tear down the entire West Upper in order to add a few seats? These club seats and suites make many things possible that weren't dreamed of just a few years ago.
Well, lots of folks think having a bigger stadium is everything, but it ain't. Stanford is spending millions right now to reduce their capacity by 30,000 because they are tired of seeing empty seats. We already have a top-5 stadium in capacity. We just can't go much bigger and we don't need to. LSU has never had an entire season of sold-out games since the upper decks went up. Yes, some schools have addded end-zone upper decks, but they were adding onto a small stadium. LSU's lower bowl by itself was one of the biggest stadiums in the country for decades. I think perhaps you overestimate the money that could be generated and underestimate the expense of new construction including demolishing the PMAC and closing important streets. As stated before, a study was once made and it would be cheaper to build a shiny new Tiger Stadium than to add further to this one. Far cheaper. There are serious structural issues with the lower bowl that will have to be addressed in the near future. A little paint just isn't going to do it. The older parts of Tiger stadium are over 80 years old. Check with me in 2024. I'll buy you the best seafood dinner in New Orleans if LSU puts up endzone upper decks. My bet is that LSU will be building a new stadium as Tiger Stadium goes over 100 years old. Just like Alex Box, there is a limited footprint available where it is now.
University of Florida had the same problem with a street running right behind their latest expansion. The just moved the street further back around the expansion area. Check out the following photo. You can see the old street to the left and the new street being constructed to the right. As far as LSU is concerned, they already have a master plan that shows North Stadium drive being closed and converted into a plaza area (see photos below). The South Stadium drive could be moved towards the parking lot on that side of the stadium to allow for the future expansion of the SUD.
I hope they stay in the current Tiger Stadium through my lifetime. It just wouldnt be the same in another place. I much prefer the nastalgia and the memories . With this improvement i think they will just need to upkeep and like you say red55 just work on the old existing structure a little. It is a special place. Geaux Tigers
I would be interested in what you base this on. Have you not seen all of the empty seats in the upper decks? And those are sideline seats. LSU quit broadcasting Tigervision for home games years ago because people in the endzones were opting to watch the game at home even though they had already paid for their tickets! Only the BIG games sell out the stadium. And remember the upper deck seats pay no surcharges. Why? Because people wouldn't pay them. What do you win for having the biggest stadium in the country? Nothing. I would much prefer having fanatic Tiger fans packed into the stadium we have now. Loud as hell and close to the field.
i'm with red on this one. Keep it the same. CGISclair no way in hell we could sell 150000 in there and sell out. We don't sell out now. There will not be another expansion for a long long time unless they build something like a restaurant or suites in the south end zone. Beaux Bo that open air MRI has really made Dave and Jamie a lot of money. I'm glad they were smart and invested well.
