Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
The K-Fund debuted a fancy new website this morning with details about the upcoming renovations to Commonwealth Stadium. The site says the long-term goal for the renovations is to “re-invent Commonwealth Stadium, to give UK Athletics, and the University as a whole, game day and day-to-day entertainment space.” Here are some details:
- Spectator driven improvements (i.e. improved concessions, restrooms, video boards, and security)
- Multi-purpose recruiting room in East end zone (Field House end)
- Add 10 to 15 suites, one for Presidential use to seat 100-150 patrons.
- Add 2,000 to 2,500 club seats
- New press facilities
- New team store
- New full service kitchen
- Improve the UK brand at Commonwealth Stadium
- Maintain, or slightly reduce, seating capacity while increasing the value of the remaining seats.
The model above is designed “based on the funding available” and is estimated to cost $125 million. Does this mean we’re about to get some good news about the much-needing bonding capacity from the Legislature?
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January 8th, 2013 at 11:03 am
Beautiful.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:04 am
It looks like the Vandy game.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:08 am
Am I the only one that doesn’t see a difference?
January 8th, 2013 at 11:12 am
EVERYONE in the marketing dept & K Fund need to be fired; they are a huge part of the problem. These people have no idea what they are doing, and that website is a classic example.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:12 am
Anyone else hope that “increasing the value of the remaining seats” means no more bleachers? Please, for the love of God?
January 8th, 2013 at 11:19 am
I vote no on the presidential suite.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:23 am
#5 No, pretty sure that means ticket prices and parking pass prices are going up again. Just once in UK FB, I’d like to see an improved on the field product come BEFORE hiking prices in hopes of improving the product.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:24 am
Once again, Mitch does nothing for the everyday fan sitting on metal bleachers with no backs. He couldn’t care less about us. It’s like his new video board that turns out to be smaller than the old one once he runs his damn ads. The ribbon board is more of an insult since we lost part of our history to even more ads. I will say that Tommy Turtleneck at least takes care of the people in the stands.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:32 am
As a season ticket holder, I’m with #5. We want seats…no more bleachers
January 8th, 2013 at 11:39 am
They need to upgrade the lights for night games! That is the same lighting as you will see at the softball field at Southland Park for goodness sakes….
January 8th, 2013 at 11:39 am
I’m really confused about these renovations…I thought our facilities were holding us back? A small percentages of this deals directly with players and recruitment. If you compare this to UT’s new facility it still doesn’t add up.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:40 am
And yes, seating those bleachers suck too….
January 8th, 2013 at 11:42 am
#4 – I agree, while the website is a major improvement over what they had it lacks the wow factor other schools have (Tennessee, UCLA, Even louisville). I mean if your gonna have a capital improvement page at least have updated and not outdated renderings (baseball, track). I also don’t know why they don’t have renderings for all their projects and more detail. Detail and pictures are what are going to inspire people to donate to the lower tier sports otherwise they get overlooked. Oh we’ll ill get off my soapbox now.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:50 am
Although Mitch is currently currying favor from the fans for the Stoops hire, this is yet more evidence that the stadium renovations “pledge” will end up being a sham. Barnhart is not really interested in upgrades, that costs money which he doesn’t want to spend. This is cosmetic and will really do nothing to improve the overall program. A 100 seat box for the president? A guy who has no interest in UK Atletics whatsoever? Give me a break.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:54 am
Hey UK: Here is the seating manufacturer the big boys use: http://www.husseyseating.com/stadium-and-arena-seating-phot/
January 8th, 2013 at 11:55 am
They have to get rid of the bleacher seats….how much better would that picture look with 65000 blue stadium seats.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Stand up more during the game
January 8th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
I’m needed as well. I should be heard from Harlan Kentucky.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Seats would be nice- but I am in favor of prioritizing whatever it is that we need for the ON THE FIELD PRODUCT. I dont even care about our crappy concessions. If we need a recruiting room, build the best that we can possibly buy and fit into the stadium.
As far as INCREASING THE VALUE OF MY SEATS, im not sure how that will be done without installing the aforementioned seats. I think the lights are fine, no issues there.
Also, remember that our facilities will probably never stack up to Tenn or Bama. Just like their b-ball facilities dont stack up. We just need to be competitive and not have our coaches embarrassed to bring recruits on campus like Tee Martin said he was.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:09 pm
When do the planned Rupp Arena renovations start?
January 8th, 2013 at 12:11 pm
#17, I know. I can watch the game at home and sit
January 8th, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Put makeup on a turd but it’s still a turd.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Bleacher seats haha. What’s all the complaining about. Went and watched UK play UT at UT and guess what I was sitting on bleacher seats. Maybe they would like to see you standing up and cheering instead Os sitting on your lazy behinds. God knows we need some fan support up screaming every time the opponent has the ball to help those team out.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
I agree with #3, 6, 8, 13, 14 and 16. It’s going to look the same, we’ll actually have less fans in the seats. To tell the truth, this kinda sucks. I’ve been a season ticket holder for a long time, and still have to sit on bleacher seats.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Commonwealth is a nice stadium, just needs some tune up. UT’s stadium is massive but not really all that nice
January 8th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Just put a competitive team on the field and we won’t care about the facilities. Too, I’d suggest upgrading the schedule. If we do become competitive folks will have problems going to watch the Cats play Alice Lloyd.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Agree that UT’s stadium isn’t all that nice. Not sure where you got the idea I’m a UT fan.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
#24, what stadium have you been to that has bucket seats with nice cushions? Not UT, not VT, where?? Especially a middle of the pack football program like UK
January 8th, 2013 at 12:37 pm
#26, let’s win some in conference games before beefing up our non conference schedules.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:37 pm
It’s obvious no matter what Mitch does some of you are going to find something to bitch about. A lot of people complain that the school doesn’t spend money on football. They just went out and spent SEC money on a new football staff. They are now pledging $125 million for MAJOR improvements, and people are still bitching. What the hell do you people want??? Would seatbacks be great? Sure they would, but honestly that should be the least of our worries. The recruiting room is great. And do you have any idea the amount of money that will be generated from new luxury suites, and 2000+ club seats? Hopefully in a few years, if the product is good, and the seats are selling, they may be able to overhaul the seating. You can’t do it all right now as much as some of you would like to see. So quit bitching and realize the SUBSTANTIAL FINANCIAL COMMITMENT our Athletics Department is making to the football program. Keep up the good work Mitch. Lets go Stoops! Lets go Cats!
January 8th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
#27, I didn’t think you were a UT fan but everyone compares our stadium to theirs. No one has seats in college that people here want because it doesn’t make financial sense to do that. Plus it’s a football game, people should be standing and only sitting during halftime.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:41 pm
#23..there’s not a person in Commonwealth stadium who cheers any louder than I do. I never miss a game because of bad weather. I’m in my seat 45min before kickoff and stay until the game is over… even when we are getting our ass kicked by Vandy; however, I’m old and have a bad back. I pay a LOT of money for my tickets. I want a F’n seat with a back. I actually had hope we could get some improvement. The more I think about it….this REALLY sucks!!!!
January 8th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
#30…(applause)…well said! Refreshing to see rational thought on here.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:52 pm
Seating problem solved.
http://m.sportsunlimitedinc.com/stadiumchair.html
January 8th, 2013 at 12:57 pm
not sure what ppl are expecting. sec football/stadium is a avenue for making money for the ath dept/university. the proven ways of making the most $$ are through box seats–which is happening; and improving the on-field product–new coach/recruiting room.
oh, and selling as much merchandise as possible.
atmosphere is great but the assumption is you’ve already spent $$.
hopefully these changes move the program forward ad we can build on them.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:59 pm
#28…Papa Johns Pizza Palace…and I really don’t care what UT or VT has. I thought we were going to try and compete in the SEC. We need an advantage. but it’s not just about the seats with backs. I think we need more seats period. Commonwealth is one of the smallest stadiums in the SEC and now we want to make it smaller. Let the president sit on bleachers and I’ll shut up! The new video boards were a disappointment and the ribbon boards have taken away what little history we have.
#30..I can bitch all I want. I’ll take 10,000 real fans over a bunch of A holes in luxury seats who are too busy eating, drinking and socializing to actually watch the game. But that’s just my humble opinion.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Really excited they are making a team store. Always thought it was incredibly dumb we didnt have one. That said, Stadium capacity would be decreased by alot if seat backs were put into place.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
We’re paying about $2k per seat to renovate an existing stadium? I think I’d get a second quote on that.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:21 pm
We have a Team Store in Commonwealth Stadium? Who knew…
January 8th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
Who cares about backs? They rent them out to you for like 5 dollars before the game starts. Can you not afford that extra five bucks? Then suck it up. You probably shouldn’t be wasting your money on a football game anyway if that’s an issue for you.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
I don’t think the common fan understands how much money this is for a renovation.
$125 Million is a TON of $$$ to put into an existing structure.
If this is done right, it actually could be a pretty bad ass stadium. (I never thought I’d type that)
January 8th, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Why not put backs on the bleachers like Bristol Motor Speedway does?
January 8th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
#40 i pay an additional 20 bucks for my family to have a seat with a back every home game, but it’s not just about the seats with backs….the stadium looks the same. Team store..could care less…kitchen…could care less. I want new recruits to go into Commonwealth and say, WOW!!! UK needs a recruiting advantage. If we can spent a million on a BB locker room. We can do better with Commonwealth.
I agree with #38….So for 125 million, we get a new kitchen, a team store, and the President and a bunch a rich people get nice seats! I guess I need to get my priorities in order.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
The “increasing the value of the remaining seats”, if I understand it correctly, means they will not be allowing stadium seats to be brought into CWS. They will however, cut the stadium seat rental price in half and force every capable fan that doesn’t stand up at the game to purchase one. To enforce the rule, they will be installing tazer device in the bleachers for those who sit the whole game and complain of others who actually want to stand and participate. I heard this from a reliable source of a friend that knows someone from Wyoming which is very close to someone from KY. Take it for what its worth… Well played, Mitch, Well Played…
For real though, not much difference in the above pic… looks like a cover of magazine where they just Airbrushed it to purty it up some… I was expecting more, stupid me. But hey, Maybe no more Human Pee Troughs?
January 8th, 2013 at 2:12 pm
They did a mojor renovation about what 15 years ago when they added the suites, and the new endzone seating, now they are going to spend about another 125 million to build more suites! Good lord if they would have just saved all the money on fix ups we could have one hell of a stadium……instead lets just spend 125 million every 15 years on a stadium that is falling down anyway! if they go with the club house seating they will probably be taking seats away from the top and those fans are going to have to pay a lot more to get lower arena seats or club house seats, more than likely they will be watching from the parking lot which sucks!
January 8th, 2013 at 2:30 pm
Maybe they’re going to blindfold the recruits and only show them the new suites.
January 8th, 2013 at 2:37 pm
#42, that would be a good idea but for the most part at races, you sit(because you are too drunk to stand) but football games you should be standing most of the game.
#43, the sky boxes will bring a lot of money into UK. It will pay the $125 million back tenfold. They are needed badly. The recruiting room is the biggest thing we needed more than anything.
January 8th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
Just looked at the website. I think “based on the funding available” means they’ll only do the renovations that they have enough funding for, not that the funding to do everything they list is already available.
January 8th, 2013 at 2:55 pm
Like many have said, the suites will bring in big dollars over time. If you look at any new stadium and/or arena, there are tons of suites because businesses will pay big money to entertain. Same reason UK Athletics wants to renovate Rupp, because there are no suites to draw in corporate fans with deep pockets. This is a good first step. Put a good product on the field and BBN will fill the stands. Then the true seats will replace the bleachers.
January 8th, 2013 at 3:55 pm
Any guess where the money is going to come from? Prepare to be “donating” more to the K fund for your tickets in coming years. Well, not really for YOUR tickets- for rich people’s.
January 8th, 2013 at 4:15 pm
#47 to tell me that I’m not worthy enough to sit…or even be in Commonwealth unless I stand 100% of the time is BS. I’m an old man and if I want to sit awhile that’s my prerogative, and for the record I cheer my ass off thank you very much!
And so what are they going to do with the additional 1,250,000,000 in revenue from the sky boxes?….make a better women’s softball field, get the President a nice seat. I’m the one that’s been on a bleacher seat and watched us get our ass kicked by every other SEC team since the 70′s…not the F’n President. If we start winning some games there will be plenty of revenue.
Personally, I’d like to see another 10,000 true UK fans in the seats cheering along with me. I agree with the recruiting room, it should be about the players.
It’s like we’ve got this 30yr. Chevy, put new tires on it, give it an oil change and a paint job and expect it to be like our neighbors new BMW…it ain’t the same.
If you wanted to go out with a hot chick, would you ask dad to borrow the new BMW or the old Chevy with new tires and paint job?
After 30yrs of being a loyal football fan, I’m ready for a new ride.
January 8th, 2013 at 7:47 pm
If that’s what they’re going to do with $125 million, don’t even bother. And you know who will pay for these “improvements”? The sheep in the bleacher seats. Not me. Ditch Mitch!
January 8th, 2013 at 8:23 pm
Could not be more pissed. This is only about corp sponsor bux. They prob be to busy with their mistresses to even show up and support the team but hey it’s all good because their suite is prepaid. This is not for the players or the fans. Corp sponsor propaganda. And yippppe dippy a new concession stand will have all the big players wanting to sign so they can smell it while they are on the field.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
http://www.stadiumbleachers.com, best stadium company by far
http://www.dantclayton.com
January 8th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
The amount of ignorance on this site is astonishing. Ditch Mitch? Are you freaking kidding me?
January 9th, 2013 at 6:09 am
55 – No John. Not kidding. Are you Mitch’s relative or just ignorant?
January 9th, 2013 at 7:53 am
#55 Both is my guess. Putting whitewalls on a ’79 F-250 still makes it a ’79 F-250.And if the Coal Barrons can consume alcohol in theit luxury boxes why can’t we peons in the nosebleed bleachers????
January 9th, 2013 at 7:55 am
Got chairback seats and two BCS trophys???? I DO!!
January 9th, 2013 at 7:57 am
Won’t mean a thing unless we can be at least 4-4 in SEC play…..