Seawolves Fans

While reading through Fiore's bio on the goseawolves.org page, I saw that the athletic department has paid an architectural firm to develop a master plan to guide the future of Stony Brook's athletic facilities. Does anyone know what the plan looks like or is there any way to find out what it looks like?

http://www.goseawolves.org/genrel/100412aaa.html

Rick Guarino, the head of Annual Giving, moves over into the Athletic Department to serve the same role.  This could be very good for facilities and PAWS and whatnot.

My feelings exactly.   I  think they might do it in steps for the stadium. Maybe get to 12k sooner rather than later since the CAA teams will draw.  Full FBS  would have to be  greater than at least 24k-25k.  Michie up at West Point is 41,000 according to  their program and is really tight quarters and not laid out all that well.   Our design is much better and easier to access so lets see what happens down the road.

I was thinking of the same. Incremental steps to expand LaValle. This is good for two reasons. Its more financially rewarding to expand it small increments and it will also keep the stadium atleast 50% filled so that the fans get a good perception and increased interest.

I think the first step should be completing the end zone seating at the scoreboard end. After that they can add a second tier to the "away side" just like the home side. That would make it 16k or so... Another expansion to "the Red Zone" endzone can be done to make the stadium reach a max capacity of 18-20k....

 I'm assuming the largest capacity LaValle was designed for was 20k or so... So I don't expect it to pass that

I was thinking of the same. Incremental steps to expand LaValle. This is good for two reasons. Its more financially rewarding to expand it small increments and it will also keep the stadium atleast 50% filled so that the fans get a good perception and increased interest.

I think the first step should be completing the end zone seating at the scoreboard end. After that they can add a second tier to the "away side" just like the home side. That would make it 16k or so... Another expansion to "the Red Zone" endzone can be done to make the stadium reach a max capacity of 18-20k....

 I'm assuming the largest capacity LaValle was designed for was 20k or so... So I don't expect it to pass that

LaValle was built to be expandable, but there was no authentic "maximum capacity" because the secondary foundations weren't built to optimize capacity.

Based on the quandry Villanova got in when attempting to join the Big East two years ago, LaValle would have to expand to somewhere between 40-50K in order to get a serious look from the Big East (or Big East remnant conference). To get into the MAC, we'd be fine with 25-30K. Most of the Michigan programs average below 20K, so we'd easily fit in.

Hard to tell what the ceiling of that stadium could be, but the "away side" has a LOT of back room that may be able to accommodate 3 tiers. Filling the corners with 2 stages and finishing the scoreboard side may get us up to 40K or so. Hard to sincerely know for sure. Could do some real fun stuff architecturally with it for sure. 

The problem that I see with LaValle is that the seating is too inclined. It wasn't designed to be a 25k+ stadium. If you go to large stadiums (I've been to a few, the most recent being Uconn's Rentschler Field) you realize that the seating tends to be more spread out but less gradient between the rows of seats. If you expand more than 25k, then the 3rd tier will be to high above the playing field.

I think its preferable to be more spread out instead of being higher above ground. But I'm not architect or engineer, I'm sure they can make it work. I'm just basing my opinion out of what I've seen...

I'm no expert, but I think stronger inclines are typical preferred. Stadiums like Michigans that are build out rather than up dont have great sight lines and don't keep the sound in as well their taller counterparts.

I have  mixed feelings about going above 12K from a fan perspective. The only reason go above that would be FBS. Is Buffalo football in better shape because of the jump? Their record during the first seven years after going FBS was 10-69, and they still stink. Even if an FBS version of the Wolves doubled that number of wins (20-59), I'm not sure it would be worth it from a fan or a university perspective. We can stay at the top of the CAA for years and years, compete for a national championship (which would never happen at the FBS level) and keep the enthusiasm strong. I just can't get down with the idea of FBS. 

OK e-, let's say that's true. Then the question becomes...Would Stony Brook fans be that much more interested in watching a game vs. Western Michigan or Toledo as opposed to Richmond, William and Mary, or New Hampshire? I'd prefer to watch a rivalry with those CAA teams. I'd bet many (if not most) SB fans would, too. Even if I were wrong, and watching a game against Bowling Green is somehow more compelling than one against Richmond, would it be sufficiently more interesting to make up for dealing with the hassles of traffic, parking, and lines for a 25,000 seat stadium than a 12,000 seat stadium? You may think so, but that's not a good trade-off in my book. Yes, I know it's still years off, but the topic came up in the forum (again) and added my two cents. Bigger is not always better. I think fans would rather see a perennial Top 15 FCS team than one that is lucky every few years if it gets to play in a Toilet Bowl game. 

My theory: Gaurino is coming over to start a massive fundraising campaign to expand Lavalle to FBS standards.

Kinda what i was getting at- without saying it!  This guy was the head of annual giving for the entire U.  Makes a statement then when he comes over to concentrate just on athletics.

Also, i like that he is a long-term guy at SB (11 years) and not some hired gun brought in to shake things up and make a quick few bucks for the program.

As for expanding LaValle- i know it was cold on Saturday, and know CSO doesnt have a huge draw- but weve got to sell out our few home games if we want to get serious about expanding LaValle.  I know, i know.  We need expansion for the Final Fours, the QF, graduation, etc.  But it would help to show the administration that there's an emergency- we need to expand. 

I wonder if, and i say this as an outsider with no architectural experience, the jumbotron could be moved to lets say the corner (where the flags are) and build a mezzanine right over the north end zone.