First Look at GATAVision

[qng001]

I'm afraid they won't have it completed by the first home game. Looks like a major project and they've got just four months...about. Can they pull it off?

Most of the board will be done off site. What will take the longest will be the brick work.

Miss State did not complete theirs until November (then again they have the biggest scoreboard in the SEC). They at least had the board running, they were working on the cosmetic stuff throughout the season.

More pic
http://capturion.com/Capturion_Network,_LLC/MSU.html

[DONW]

The better question is why Tech didn't completely rebuild the pressbox in the mid 1980s instead of tacking on the skyboxes on top. The reason now is $$$$$$$. Boise State spent $35.9 million, but that was basically to almost completely redo the entire west side of the stadium. Those additions are to be completely paid for by the revenue generated from the new club and loge seats and conference facilities plus add $600K per year to the university academic building fund.

You cannot make money without spending money. And if you don't spend any money at all on upgrades as was Tech's policy throughout the 1990s, look at how much potential money was lost and will continue to be lost until Tech makes this upgrade.

The jumbotron is a major part of serious facility upgrades, but it can't stop there.

You have to spend the money right and right now I don't see the pressbox as a prority. If we're going to put in luxury boxes, they need to be in the south endzone with the new fieldhouse addition.

[KSDAWG]

I am gonna love seeing Tech replays on that scoreboard when we score five or six TDs on them.

[teatech]

The better question is why Tech didn't completely rebuild the pressbox in the mid 1980s instead of tacking on the skyboxes on top. The reason now is $$$$$$$. Boise State spent $35.9 million, but that was basically to almost completely redo the entire west side of the stadium. Those additions are to be completely paid for by the revenue generated from the new club and loge seats and conference facilities plus add $600K per year to the university academic building fund.

You cannot make money without spending money. And if you don't spend any money at all on upgrades as was Tech's policy throughout the 1990s, look at how much potential money was lost and will continue to be lost until Tech makes this upgrade.

The jumbotron is a major part of serious facility upgrades, but it can't stop there.

Now aren't you just the little kid who's never satisfied? It took us years to get a replay board and now you're btching about something else. What makes your btching even more ludicrous is that you know the answer to your own question. If it took us years to get funding for a replay board (something that was deperately needed), you know it will take thrice as long to get luxury boxes which are not needed since we can't fill the stadium. Let's not put the cart before the horse and be happy with what we have for right now. Let's start filling the stadium and then worry about luxury boxes.

[Dawgpix]

I'm afraid they won't have it completed by the first home game. Looks like a major project and they've got just four months...about. Can they pull it off?

Why are you afraid?

[NathanDarby]

I am going to have to disagree with your line of reasoning on this one:

Now aren't you just the little kid who's never satisfied? Being "satisfied" is exactly the midset that got us 20 years behind everybody else in the country in terms of facilities. Go ask Dooley if he is "satisfied" since we have a video board now. I don't think you will find him ready to stop with new improvements until we fill the stadium up. It took us years to get a replay board and now you're btching about something else. What makes your btching even more ludicrous is that you know the answer to your own question. If it took us years to get funding for a replay board (something that was deperately needed), you know it will take thrice as long to get luxury boxes which are not needed since we can't fill the stadium. I was not aware that filling a stadium was a prerequisite for building luxury suites. I can't think of a more arbitrary, non-relevant condition to base future capital improvement plans on. "Filling the stadium" is not some magic threshold that suddenly makes it ok to build more stuff. What if the aluminum expansions blew off in a tornado so our stadium only held 22K and we WERE filling it regularly? Would that suddenly make it ok to build luxury suites? I guess all these other teams that aren't filling their stadiums but went ahead and built luxury suites that are making them a lot of extra money have no clue what they are doing. There is a AA Braves affiliate here who built a new stadium a few years ago. It is usually about half full, but, you guessed it, they have an entire level of 30 or so luxury suites. Why would they do something like that you ask? Probably has something to do with making a larger profit. If you analyze the cost to build vs. customer interest and the projections make building and leasing luxury suites something that would be profitable, you would be an idiot NOT to do it. It doesn't matter if the rest of the stadium is full or not. Let's not put the cart before the horse and be happy with what we have for right now. Let's start filling the stadium and then worry about luxury boxes. Again, this kind of thinking got us in the hole we are in. Waiting until we fill the stadium before starting the next round of upgrades, whatever that may be, will do nothing but ensure we stay behind all of our competitors.

[FishingBack]

Now aren't you just the little kid who's never satisfied? It took us years to get a replay board and now you're btching about something else. What makes your btching even more ludicrous is that you know the answer to your own question. If it took us years to get funding for a replay board (something that was deperately needed), you know it will take thrice as long to get luxury boxes which are not needed since we can't fill the stadium. Let's not put the cart before the horse and be happy with what we have for right now. Let's start filling the stadium and then worry about luxury boxes.

defeatest strategy - you can see the same in his political views....

[NathanDarby]

defeatest strategy - you can see the same in his political views....

I don't know what his political views are, and it doesn't really matter for the purposes of this discussion. The issue is the following statement of his which is just simply not true:

"luxury boxes which are not needed since we can't fill the stadium."

This is an untrue and incorrect assumption.

[techman05]

I'm afraid they won't have it completed by the first home game. Looks like a major project and they've got just four months...about. Can they pull it off?

Since our first home game isn't until Sept 19, they actually have almost 4 1/2 months to get it done. Man it will be hot laying brick out there with no shade after about 9 AM. Whoever is doing that work, we need to drive by and yell our appreciation to.

[olddog75]

I'm afraid they won't have it completed by the first home game. Looks like a major project and they've got just four months...about. Can they pull it off?

Now, after seeing the quality of the jumbotron structure, I doubt weather it will be "finished". I hope it will be operating, at least. Remember the pavilion.

[JAB]

Now aren't you just the little kid who's never satisfied? It took us years to get a replay board and now you're btching about something else. What makes your btching even more ludicrous is that you know the answer to your own question. If it took us years to get funding for a replay board (something that was deperately needed), you know it will take thrice as long to get luxury boxes which are not needed since we can't fill the stadium. Let's not put the cart before the horse and be happy with what we have for right now. Let's start filling the stadium and then worry about luxury boxes.

I too respectfully disagree.
Any entity happy with the status quo is doomed to fall to oblivion. Or, if you are not moving forward you are moving backward.

[NathanDarby]

Now, after seeing the quality of the jumbotron structure, I doubt weather it will be "finished". I hope it will be operating, at least. Remember the pavilion.

I am hoping the difference will be that Dooley will be the one in charge of the jumbotron, whereas the alumni association was in charge of the pavillion. The alumni association is made up of a bunch of really nice, friendly, easy-going type folks. Not that Dooley isn't a nice guy as well, but I think he would be a little more likely to light the proverbial fire under some butts to make sure his project gets done on time.

[techman05]

I am hoping the difference will be that Dooley will be the one in charge of the jumbotron, whereas the alumni association was in charge of the pavillion. The alumni association is made up of a bunch of really nice, friendly, easy-going type folks. Not that Dooley isn't a nice guy as well, but I think he would be a little more likely to light the proverbial fire under some butts to make sure his project gets done on time.

I guess the other thing to consider is our TV schedule. Most likely, the most pressing deadline would be our first televised game. We don't want to be on TV with a half done video board.

[olddog75]

I guess the other thing to consider is our TV schedule. Most likely, the most pressing deadline would be our first televised game. We don't want to be on TV with a half done video board.

Good point. The first home game is September 19th with Hawaii coming on the 30th.

They need to use the Nicholls game to get their act together, then its showtime for Hawaii. Got five months to get it completely done.

[DQDawg]

Good point. The first home game is September 19th with Hawaii coming on the 30th.

They need to use the Nicholls game to get their act together, then its showtime for Hawaii. Got five months to get it completely done.

Do we want to start a betting line on whether it's finished or not?? My bets are heavy on everything happening "On Time".