Difficult getting to Ruston? Such BS! If a team flies into Monroe it's only about 30 mins away. I guarantee there are many, many, many others harder to get to.
Difficult getting to Ruston? Such BS! If a team flies into Monroe it's only about 30 mins away. I guarantee there are many, many, many others harder to get to.
Having an airstrip that will handle a commercial airliner will not fill the need of a full service hotel. I think we have one of those in Ruston now assuming Grambling does not get first usage.
My understanding is that when there were originally two full service hotels going to build in Ruston and one of those backed out, that group is now rethinking and maybe regretting the decision to not build in Ruston. There is probably more interest now by more parties which leads you to think that we will get another full service hotel in Ruston, and Maybe a hotel more on the Southern side of Town to accommodate the Sports complex.
On the Airport, and I am just speaking from being involved in my towns small airport projects, that for some reason FAA has money to grant almost every year. There is a TECH alum grant writer/administrator who has been having a lot of success with the FAA. So I would not be surprised if the FAA is not footing some of the bill to extend the Airport runway(s).
Regardless, we have a lot of wealthy alumni who are buying in to our ADs excuses for poor football schedules and lower payouts than our G5 peers receive. Hearing why lsu paid us less than anyone else gave me a headache
We need a real full-service hotel in Ruston but not for visiting football teams.
At one time it was something used against us in conference realignment talk. Those days are long gone for one fact. No team wants to stay near the game site. Near game sites hotel staff can be pulled in dozens of different directions dealing with guests there to attend the game. The focus on the team can easily get lost in the craziness.
Pat Hill from Fresno State talked about this often. He said Ruston was perfect for a college football game. Beautiful college town with Shreveport an hour away. You charter into Shreveport, have a walk through there at a high school on Friday afternoon, and you have your pick of full service hotels. The drive to Ruston takes no longer than going through any major metropolitan area in America but with a lot less hastle.
Speaking of hotels.
This is what's being constructed right now in the middle of Arkansas State's campus. They broke ground in June. See the convention center attached to it in the second link.
https://www.brparc.com/2018/06/jones...breaks-ground/
http://www.astate.edu/news/embassy-suites-hotel-convention-center-houlihan-s-restaurant-at-arkansas-state-university-in-jonesboro-arkansas
I believe we have one full service hotel at the old Holiday Inn location.
I have never bought in to the need for large airline service or full service hotel as it relates to our scheduling woes. That is an excuse that has not been brought up since Dooley was hired as an AD, but has recently resurfaced since our current AD has been busted so many times in his excuse making.
"Full-service" for a football team would be defined as a hotel capable of serving a meal in a room big enough for 70 or so players. And then some meeting rooms for position players. Oh, and a decent parking lot or lawn to do Saturday walk-thrus and occupy some time.
The new Courtyard Marriott in Ruston also fulfills this need.
A hotel in West Monroe fulfills the needs for the Bulldogs on Friday nights before home games.
PS-Eff Pat Hill!
Last edited by Dawgpix; 10-18-2018 at 11:01 PM.
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
What is going in beside Ewing Timber on Kentucky Ave.? They have started dirt work.