What is going on with the new end zone upgrades? I haven't seen anything lately about it.
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What is going on with the new end zone upgrades? I haven't seen anything lately about it.
They had a groundbreaking for the Champions Plaza. I believe the are still raising funds for the rest.Quote:
Originally Posted by champion110
They mowed the grass last Thursday...
So, what your saying is that grounds keeping us done until September?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
The plaza is due for completion by late August.
Construction on the building may be delayed by state capital outlay. I haven't seen the final bill before being signed by Edwards
Why would the state capital outlay bills have anything to do with this construction since it is being built by privately raised funds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawgpix
The plaza is 100% private - the Academic Center has a Capital Outlay portionQuote:
Originally Posted by Exes&Ohs
What? I knew something?Quote:
Originally Posted by Exes&Ohs
You need to up your game. ;-)
Don't forget. I'm a Tech graduate from our REAL journalism department. We learned way back when you're only as good as your sources. . . .
Moon Griffon?;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawgpix
I expect all the Caddo/Bossier peeps are pissed.
. :laugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawgpix
There is state money going to literally every campus to finish projects that have seen skyrocketing costs since their initial inception.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
I believe there was state money allocated for the Academic Center in last year's budget. Maybe more in this year's budget. An architect was hired at some point in 2022.
They should be near the end of the planning and fundraising stage. Groundbreaking should be later this year.
Also, it would be nice if Tech's leadership could bring an updated rending on the upcoming tour stops. It would be a nice way to begin the new year and put last year to bed.
I want to see the updated rendering of the one big videoboard vs the previous proposed two video board.
Totally agree. Nothing on social media about it. After the tour, that should be a big priority.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Historian
Too simple...Quote:
Originally Posted by The Historian
We are shrooms - they keep us in the dark and feed us BS...
I confirmed in the past month with both prez and AD. I've been rather persistently obnoxious about how silly that stereo videoboard architectural drawing looked. Expect emphasis on the size of the bigger board in the north endzone with a smaller board opposite.Quote:
Originally Posted by qng001
The capital outlay portion of the Academic Center in the NEZ survived the governor's veto pen, as did every other higher ed project in the state.
Yeppers! JBE approved a ton of new spending. He's going out with a bang! Whether you support some of the projects or not, anyone/everyone has to admit JBE is spending like a drunken sailor.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Historian
Is he trying to make up for his ineptitude in most every area by finding stuff to win votes for Congress? Most assuredly. People have short memories of political misgivings, so it probably will work.
He can't approve what the Republican legislature doesn't pass. They could have put more of it into the rainy day fund....but chose not to.Quote:
Originally Posted by dawg80
The one thing they can't do is use what is likely one-time money for recurring use. Like him or not - Rep. Lance Harris, who was term limited out of office, forced a bill through the legislature several years ago that prevented one-time money being allocated for recurring spending.
D80,
Have you heard anything regarding Prather Col. at NSU being replaced? If there was ever a time for allocating some money for it this was the year!
Nope! I have heard nothing about replacing the airplane hangar.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Historian
All future college capital outlay funding took a hit a couple of weeks ago when Lumen (CenturyTel) "donated" its Monroe world-wide headquarters building to nlulm.
Where else will they get funding to make needed modifications for an additional campus location. Certainly you don't think they've got renters rushing to locate in Funroe.
Lumen is on the verge of bankruptcy. Shedding a lot of weight right now, but their stock has been tanking for years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawgpix
Had Lumen on my stock watch list about 1 1/2 years ago, or so. Purged them off the list when I didn't like the direction the company was heading. Then, totally forgot about them until I saw your post. Wow and ouch! Trading at a mere $2 bucks. I'll have to read up on what happened.Quote:
Originally Posted by revf
My posts were not about the failure of the catastrophic Denver corporate movements of Lumen, but the future of funding of a compound which has been rarely used since the Pandemic and how nlulm wants to get it up-do-date for their usage.
Saw posts of them breaking ground and starting this project, but I still can't find an image of the final plan.
State Farm and Lumen have been kind to LaMon. I wonder what kind of tax break they got for the gifts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawgpix
I decided to start "playing" in the stock market in May 2022. Lumen looked like a good source of dividends. I got one dividend payment in September 2022. Lumen decided to "suspend" making dividend payments and the stock price started a deep dive after that. $10.938 a share on August 2, 2022 and $1.75 a share on June 9, 2023. I'm holding on to my shares in hopes of a rebound - someday.Quote:
Originally Posted by dawg80
I have Lumen back on my watch list. Not so much as a good investment but rather as a possible short term "flip." Might buy a couple thousand shares at these prices and dump it all if/when the PPS "soars" to $5 or so.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawg Fan
I am digging this thread back from the dead. Does anyone know how Champion Plaza is looking? I saw plans, but hard to get updated pics of how it is looking.
We'll see Saturday LA Tech Athletics Announces Ribbon-Cutting, Statue Unveiling for Sarah and A.L. Williams Champions Plaza - LA Tech Athletics (latechsports.com)Quote:
Originally Posted by champion110
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
God bless 'em! doing this in 105F heat.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
Ugly, miniscule building
topped by a gigantic videoboard
The exterior is forgettable
Prevents the stadium from being bowled in
What does this get us again?
Yuck
Remind me why we need the stadium bowled in. Not to accommodate overflow attendance that's for sure. Yeah, a bowled stadium looks nice...but what does that get us again?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawgonit
Hey! It's a big improvement over our current academic center for the athletesQuote:
Originally Posted by Dawgonit
To not look like a glorified high school stadiumQuote:
Originally Posted by dawg80
To look more like a bigtime college program we want to be
To have a better looking stadium.
So fans can walk from one side of the stadium to the other.
To have a better gameday atmosphere during the game.
Also accommodating overflow attendance is an interesting thought. If we remove those metal wings and replace them with the bowled in part of the stadium, the capacity would be about the same AND the stadium would look better. That's not even taking into account other methods of capacity change like expanding chairback seating, which I think should happen.
Having a bowled in stadium and having a space for the building's purpose do not have to be mutually exclusive. They can bowl in the bottom half of the stadium and still have that building and videoboard above it all. That's if they want that building there. Does it really need to be there?
So tell me again, what are we getting out of this building being right there? Why does it need to be right there? It looks like the University of New Orleans' University Center plopped in front of our endzone.
https://www.uno.edu/sites/default/fi...gn-front_1.jpg
Do the lady bulldog basketball players get to use it?Quote:
Originally Posted by thewyldman
I’m not sure what this gets current students, coaches, or student-athletes. Stroking the ego of donors and past stars, sure. But I see no opportunity to attract athletes or coaches. Everything we do should attract players, coaches, and fans to athletics. Seems like 3 strikes to me. And I love AL Williams and think he deserves all the praise in the world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
That is just awful. Ugly is not a strong enough word for it.
It matches all the other new crap we have on campus built with China Virus money.Quote:
Originally Posted by faninmonroe
The new buildings are better than the old ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
...and what have the new buildings done for enrollment? It's continues to go down. Our president has gathered lots of stuff, but we don't see any results.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tech52
Didn’t we have some kind of goal to get to 20k student? We’ve went backwards almost every year in enrollment.Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
That was when we were nearing 15K with all the old buildings and almost zero new campus housing. Had to promise something so we went with the 20K thing to gather support. I think that was just before D.R. retired...around 2010 or so.Quote:
Originally Posted by SicemDawgz
I'm assuming this is replacing the all purpose one under the TACQuote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
After the performance tonight, all the donations to this project will probably be rescinded by the giver.
Attendance was well under 15K last night, but the tailgater fans got put in their place.Quote:
Originally Posted by techman05
I can’t tell. Is this a positive post for tailgaters or more of the disappointingly same?
"Their place" meant peons. Until our AD and President make a public statement saying the stupid 8:00am rule is history, I'll always be disappointed. So will hundreds, if not thousands, of other fans.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawgpix
The new buildings seem devoid of any personality other than cheap, designed and built to be replaced every other decade (but won’t be).Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
Also, Guice and others have not made attempts to do the other side of the equation and actually go out and promote Tech and recruit students. Total academic enrollment has decreased around 15% nationally, and these buildings aren’t going to move the needle other than backwards for the smaller pool of candidates. Sports failing is just icing on the gross cake being baked.
This things sucks. The new scoreboard is hideous. There, I've said it!
You mean people (hired guns) who come in with their own ideas?Quote:
Originally Posted by PawDawg
Yeah, those of us who question are just a bunch of snarky people who are clueless in all things Tech.
Why would the new building “move the needle backwards.”Quote:
Originally Posted by JuBru
The buildings they replaced were gross and old.
Quote:
Originally Posted by faninmonroe
Looks like typical 1970s architecture like Ruston City Hall and the bank across the street.
Because any change is bad apparently.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tech52
The dorms were gross and needed to be replaced. Plenty of other buildings needed to be replaced as well. Don't forget Tech went viral for a leak in a classroom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roughedge
Let's play "Which 1970's building looks most like our coming endzone building?"
Option 1: Ruston City Hall
https://www.heritagerealtyruston.com...r/DSC_0139.JPG
Option 2: Chase Bank across the street from City Hall
https://images1.loopnet.com/i2/4h8jT...to-1-Large.jpg
Option 3: University Center at UNO
https://www.uno.edu/sites/default/files/2020-03/uc1.jpg
Please feel free to post more options if you have any. I am sure there will be many contemporary examples posted because this is a very prevalent style nowadays and it's so popular as you can see by all the positive comments about the building in this thread.
Also if anyone can photoshop a gigantic videoboard on top of all these buildings, that'd be appreciated. We could really make a good comparison that way.
https://goo.gl/maps/BSJDWNybPQP8E4tg6
It is not as bad as the examples to me, but I was hoping they would just copy the other side, especially on the inside of the stadium. Plus, I wish they would put some big platforms on each side that connect to the stadium.
Regardless, though, the stadium will never look great until the close in the student side and make it look good driving up or by it. Closing the underbelly of a stadium does wonders....
This is what happens when you keep giving the projects to the same firm over and over again - there are other architectural firms with Tech graduates. But they keep giving everything to TBA for athletics. When the baseball field was destroyed, I immediately got on the phone and tried to get things rolling to pursue the new project for my previous firm, a Sports Architecture firm in Dallas with multiple Tech graduates, and couldn't even begin to get any where with it. TBA is their go to for whatever reason, so expect everything to look exactly the same.
The problem is that we did not expand the footprint of the stadium to allow additional sq footage of the NEZ. We are working in the confinement of Stadium Dr.Quote:
Originally Posted by champion110
Now that we have the Champions Plaza and the NEZ building, there is not much room to create a concourse to connect the two sides. We would have to take some the road and parking lot around the stadium to achieve that (which I don't mind if we were to grow our venue).
As for aesthetic, it's okay. The problem is that we push for a separate look for athletics and not even consider the architectural elements from academic side of our school. I think they could add some creativity and compose a modern look with nods to some of our academic buildings.
I agree, we need to connect the east and west sides with some sort of walkway.
BecauseQuote:
Originally Posted by Tech52
The buildings needed to be replaced, or refurbished. But we went with perhaps the worst possible option after the "not doing anything" option.Quote:
The new buildings seem devoid of any personality other than cheap, designed and built to be replaced every other decade (but won’t be).
I know! we should build a hill with a sidewalk on it, to allow the connection, and then all the organizations, like the Greeks, can place huge wooden signs on it. :shocked2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bayou Dawg
Hey, it’s good enough for Laffy Taffy. We should do it too.Quote:
Originally Posted by dawg80
Dear LaTech. You have one of the best and aesthetically pleasing end zone facilities in all of college football. Please don't let your AD build this abomination in the NEZ. You deserve much better.Quote:
Originally Posted by faninmonroe
Signed: Closet LaTech fan.