Division IAA Football Stadium Capacities

[UA_MA_2000]

Average attendance for many of the FCS schools in the Northeast:

Hofstra - 5101

Cornell - 5008

Columbia - 4612

Stony Brook - 4336

Fordham - 3723

Rhode Island - 3171

Maine - 5208

Dartmouth - 5597

Holy Cross - 5742

New Hampshire - 8141

Northeastern - 3256

Colgate - 3493

UMass - 11663

Albany - 3115

 

With this data, I don't know how the University can sell 15k + seats.

 

 

Indeed, I suppose the numbers don't lie. I guess I'm back to the concept of whether ANY ("Division I-AA" -- or maybe even any "Division I-A" school for that matter) school in the Northeast can market football, given the state of college football (versus professional football or other sports) in the Northeast. I certainly don't have an answer ... .

 

On the other hand, if Buffalo can average more than any of those schools, and draw 23K for Baylor (grant it, Buffalo is what we called Division I-A), isn't it possible to draw more than many of the foregoing figures? Or would it take a jump to "Division I-A" to even start talking about 15K+? I really don't know ... .

 

My question is whether UAlbany has something that it could offer in the future beyond the foregoing schools and their attendance figures, but perhaps below Syracuse and Buffalo and those two schools' attendance figures? Of course, I think it was Patch or D96 who first pointed out that one of the starting points is increasing the number of scholarships to foster a more competitive balance with our team and some of the top "I-AA" teams.

[uofalbany]

My Main Purpose and Intention:

 

For UAlbany to go to the FBS at some point.

 

I tend to favor going the extra mile... if we are going to build a stadium, how about considering bigger and better things that hopefully come in the future, like the FBS.

 

If we build a 10k seat stadium, then we look at a fully expanded stadium of what, 20k? That would be pathetic.

 

If we were to build something around 20k now..... then maybe we could expand to around, what, 40k?

 

40k in comparison to 20k is much more respectable.

 

People are saying we can not fill a stadium? No one comes now because the facilities are ridiculous, and we still get 3-4k. Most seats have horrible views.

 

We just played Delaware last year, and Montana this year... with attendance of 22k and 23k respectively....

And you don't think the capital district would respond, if we become Division IAA top ranked?

And if we eventually went Division IA....

 

But, we will never become Division IA if we don't have the appropriate stadium, or if we think on small scales. That's fine if we want to stay in the NEC for another 100 years

[alum73]

AND, how accurate is the word "Stadium". We're already listed as 10,000 capacity, but I'd hardly call University Field a stadium.

[UA_MA_2000]

My Main Purpose and Intention:

 

For UAlbany to go to the FBS at some point.

 

I tend to favor going the extra mile... if we are going to build a stadium, how about considering bigger and better things that hopefully come in the future, like the FBS.

 

If we build a 10k seat stadium, then we look at a fully expanded stadium of what, 20k? That would be pathetic.

 

If we were to build something around 20k now..... then maybe we could expand to around, what, 40k?

 

40k in comparison to 20k is much more respectable.

 

People are saying we can not fill a stadium? No one comes now because the facilities are ridiculous, and we still get 3-4k. Most seats have horrible views.

 

We just played Delaware last year, and Montana this year... with attendance of 22k and 23k respectively....

And you don't think the capital district would respond, if we become Division IAA top ranked?

And if we eventually went Division IA....

 

But, we will never become Division IA if we have a dinky stadium.

 

I guess this mirrors what my hope was in a previous post -- i.e., that if the Firebirds could support, let's say, 12K a game (or 11K or whatever it was) for a less popular version of the sport, then hopefully we could rally the region to pull at least the same average figure, regardless of what the other schools' attendance figures are. The football fans are absolutely in this area and beyond. The question is rallying them and getting them here. And if we're pulling 3-4K a game now, I just feel that we could immediately double that (I'm just speculating of course) figure with a new (i.e., "real") stadium. It's absurd to think that a new stadium would simply draw the same (or even a slightly inreased) number of fans!

 

I'm actually very encouraged that we draw the fans that we do for our current games!

[danefan]

4300 seats at Uni Field.....only about 2000 with clear sight lines to the game and yet we still get 3000 to our games. Hmmm...Give them 10,000 seats with clear sight lines and you will get 11,000 I can guarantee.

[ATL_DANE]

AND, how accurate is the word "Stadium". We're already listed as 10,000 capacity, but I'd hardly call University Field a stadium.

 

I love it. If University Field is a stadium, I will start referring to my house as a mansion... or better yet, a plantation.

[danefan]

College football is marketble in the Northeast. The other FCS schools in the Northeast (UNH, Maine, URI, etc....) are not situated in rapidly expanding "small urban" areas. The other cities that would compare to Albany are Buffalo and Syracuse both who draw large crowds for football with mediocre teams.

 

A successful football team at UA with a stadium hosting national opponents will draw 10,000 a game from the start.

[UA_MA_2000]

4300 seats at Uni Field.....only about 2000 with clear sight lines to the game and yet we still get 3000 to our games. Hmmm...Give them 10,000 seats with clear sight lines and you will get 11,000 I can guarantee.

 

 

This is what I've always thought, despite the attendance figures posted above for the other Division "I-AA" schools in New England. Given that we saw 11-12K for Firebirds' games 10 years ago for a less popular version of the sport, isn't it reasonable to think we can average 10K or more per game given that we not only have a more populated region to draw from now but also students and alumni? Where am I going wrong?

[ATL_DANE]

University field is for D8 football

[UAalum72]

When the Knick/Pepsi/TUC was being proposed, I thought the 15K was too much for this market, that 8-11K would be all that was needed for an indoor arena. I'll admit I was wrong then, and I wouldn't want to aim too low by going for 8-10 for football now.

[danefan]

We should have the capacity of at least whatever RPI and Union combined seat then add 5,000 more seats.

[danefan]

When Luther Forest rolls out in full swing, what is the estimated population increase in the Capital District area? Additionally, the Harriman Campus overhaul and the Nanotech industries will continue to bring more and more potential fans to our area.

 

This is not your daddy's albany we are talking about here.

 

There's a reason I am dumping my paycheck into luxury condos in albany. And no "luxury condos in albany" is not an oxymoron, you just have to know where to look.....

[ATL_DANE]

We should have the capacity of at least whatever RPI and Union combined seat then add 5,000 more seats.

 

15k minimum is what we need. Period. I think we have a governor who understands that requirement and will help us. This is what makes me smile:

 

Quote:

Major intercollegiate sports could also build SUNY's image, Spitzer said, joking that it might help to win an NCAA football championship.

 

He aint talking about "North West New England State" either!!! He supports the real deal. If I'm wrong, I'll buy everyone on this board a small diet soda next time I see them

[Clickclack]

We should have the capacity of at least whatever RPI and Union combined seat then add 5,000 more seats.

 

15k minimum is what we need. Period. I think we have a governor who understands that requirement and will help us. This is what makes me smile:

 

Quote:

Major intercollegiate sports could also build SUNY's image, Spitzer said, joking that it might help to win an NCAA football championship.

 

He aint talking about "North West New England State" either!!! He supports the real deal. If I'm wrong, I'll buy everyone on this board a small diet soda next time I see them

 

 

I also tend to favor 15k to start. 8-10 isn't large enough and could potentially limit us again very very soon. Our current facilities are an abomination, my high school (RCS) has better football facilities then UA. The current field is a JOKE! I think we can all agree on that. UA is going through some substantial changes right now, with the nanotech stuff, our sports, increase in enrollment etc. We must look further into the future then the next 2 or 3 years. At the pace we are going we should be looking at 15 years into the future and where we want to be.

[UA_MA_2000]

I think I'm in agreement with the 15K to start with (at a minimum). I would like to see it expandable to at least 30-45K, should the need ever arise.