Someone Has Finally Listened - Southern Univeristy Coming to Ruston in 2015

[KSDAWG]

We have to sell out the Joe at least once in my lifetime. Sending it to Shreveport would break my heart.

[champion110]

We have to sell out the Joe at least once in my lifetime. Sending it to Shreveport would break my heart.

Yeah, this game needs to be at Tech. Plus, it is a great way to unveil our new Endzone facility to the fans!

[champion110]

Plus, the Joe is some kind of LOUD when it is packed! The new facility should make the noise level even better with one side closed in. Should be a fun game!

[stodgdog]

Its 75 miles from my house in Winnsboro, 73 miles from my farm in Baskin. I usually make it between 1 hour and 10 to 1 hour and 15.

Yeah, I didn't think about Hwy 15.

[HogDawg]

I have to agree with Champ967 to a point on this. Ruston DOES need a full service hotel. It doesn't have to be full service all the time. You can cut staff and only use certain space during the week, if needed. This is a prime spot to develop a mixed use space - hotel with conference rooms and full service on football weekends and certain other occasions. Might help us get some P5 teams in and would help our bid for a conference championship game. I think it would have been too expensive to make the two highrise dorms work for this (and I am a HUGE proponent of keeping historical buildings - I just don't consider those historical). Building something nice or enticing a partnership with Hilton, Marriott, etc... Would be a huge boom for Ruston. Run it as a regular Express Hotel, except for events. The main cost would be up front and you could keep costs down on staff and utilization of space.

I stayed at a nice hotel on the Cincinnati campus a while back. I think it was a Hilton, but can't remember. It was right on campus. They had their conference rooms used for meetings for the school and staff trainings, but I am sure they were closed down the other portion of the time. It was a full service - with room service. Of course, they had a medical school and, I am sure, it was used for families as needed.

If Tech could get creative, this could be done. Training space, football crowds, move in weekends for parents at the beginning of the year, tournaments, etc... Other times, shut down everything but the rooms and skeleton crew. Room service from the Tech Student Center - at the least.

Back in 2004, DFIH and I gave a PPoint presentation to Jim Oakes in which we strongly recommended that LA Tech --with the help of outside (and inside) investors-- build a new Hilton Garden Inn on Tech drive, across the street from the alumni center. Our recommendation included the creation of a joint venture that included outside investors doing the heavy lifting financially, but with LA Tech offering up the property (which is currently a football game parking lot) and "guaranteeing" a certain number of rooms to be filled each year. With strong support from the university, we were confident this would work. Between the athletic teams and fans that routinely come to Ruston for games and the other overnight stays that LA Tech draws (graduations, visiting professors, media, business, etc...), it seemed like a really good plan. But the LA Tech administration had blinders on back then, and really couldn't conceive of proactively building for the future.

Who knows.....maybe they are ready now?

[Cool Hand Clyde]

Most Attended Louisiana Tech Football Games in Ruston/Shreveport
1: 53,779 vs. Northwestern State in 1987

That is an unbelievable number but was my first and last state fair game. Damn, that was fun.

[champion110]

Back in 2004, DFIH and I gave a PPoint presentation to Jim Oakes in which we strongly recommended that LA Tech --with the help of outside (and inside) investors-- build a new Hilton Garden Inn on Tech drive, across the street from the alumni center. Our recommendation included the creation of a joint venture that included outside investors doing the heavy lifting financially, but with LA Tech offering up the property (which is currently a football game parking lot) and "guaranteeing" a certain number of rooms to be filled each year. With strong support from the university, we were confident this would work. Between the athletic teams and fans that routinely come to Ruston for games and the other overnight stays that LA Tech draws (graduations, visiting professors, media, etc...), it seemed like a really good plan. But the LA Tech administration had blinders on back then, and really couldn't conceive of proactively building for the future.

Who knows.....maybe they are ready now?

Certainly worth a try again with Guice. I am sure he would see the benefit of it, at least. D.R. had no vision of thinking outside the box.

[HogDawg]

Certainly worth a try again with Guice. I am sure he would see the benefit of it, at least. D.R. had no vision of thinking outside the box.

Yeah. And it wasn't just DR. It was pervasive throughout the LA Tech organization back in 2004. No vision whatsoever.

[champion110]

Yeah. And it wasn't just DR. It was pervasive throughout the LA Tech organization back in 2004. No vision whatsoever.

I can totally believe that. It was frustrating to even watch from afar.

[Cool Hand Clyde]

Certainly worth a try again with Guice.

You can't go wrong with a Bastrop High man. They are high quality

[Blue Dawg]

Certainly worth a try again with Guice. I am sure he would see the benefit of it, at least. D.R. had no vision of thinking outside the box.

Hell, why not? Can't hurt to try again.

[Wade_Antley]

[eagle2180]

Back in 2004, DFIH and I gave a PPoint presentation to Jim Oakes in which we strongly recommended that LA Tech --with the help of outside (and inside) investors-- build a new Hilton Garden Inn on Tech drive, across the street from the alumni center. Our recommendation included the creation of a joint venture that included outside investors doing the heavy lifting financially, but with LA Tech offering up the property (which is currently a football game parking lot) and "guaranteeing" a certain number of rooms to be filled each year. With strong support from the university, we were confident this would work. Between the athletic teams and fans that routinely come to Ruston for games and the other overnight stays that LA Tech draws (graduations, visiting professors, media, business, etc...), it seemed like a really good plan. But the LA Tech administration had blinders on back then, and really couldn't conceive of proactively building for the future.

Who knows.....maybe they are ready now?

So.. You think a Hilton Garden Inn and sufficient parking would fit on the soccer field across from the Alumni Center?

[eagle2180]

And that's exactly what they said about the abandoned derelict hideous eyesore dorm on the UArk campus on Fayetteville. It's too ugly, too old, too expensice, etc ... they all said.

Now it's a four-star hotel, booked up almost continuously. Both the university and the hotelier to whom they leased the building are making out like bandits. Alums pay out the wazzoo to stay on campus. And professional & academic conferences that wouldve gone to Fort Smith on Little Rock now held at UA.

So what exactly is making out like bandits? Any actual cash flow numbers you can share?

[Statboy]

In 2014 the we help ULL the second largest home crowd in the sunbelt conference only because of torrential down pours they had all day.

In 2009 we help them break their home attendance record and set a Sunbelt conference record of over 41k fans


http://sunbeltsports.org/custompages.../2014/ul-l.htm


http://sunbeltsports.org/custompages.../2014/ul-l.htm