Stadium Renovations, Uniform Changes

[ACamp1900]

I thought it was much better last year as far as people cheering, yelling, standing, as well as significant difference in noise retaining from the structures being built.

I only asked because i hear these arguments alot and it's from someone who went to 1 game in their life or just heard from someone else.

My thought always has been, when the team gives people something to cheer about, people cheer.

There were a lot of years there where that wasn't necessarily the case.

I have never been to ND Stadium,... but I've seen hundreds of games on TV...


and you're wrong!!!

 

[JohnnyJasper]

The USC game was a rowdy one.
Can't wait to get back again this year.
Hoping to see Stanford or Miami.

 

[irishknight35]

The Texas game was pretty damn loud in that first half. That was the only game I made it back for last year.

Ya because 70% of the stadium was burnt orange!!!

I kid I kid. Although there was a lot of Texas fans in the stands they really didn't have a damn thing to cheer about except the opening kickoff. Suck it horns.

 

[GowerND11]

Ya because 70% of the stadium was burnt orange!!!

I kid I kid. Although there was a lot of Texas fans in the stands they really didn't have a damn thing to cheer about except the opening kickoff. Suck it horns.

I think that is one of the problems with us playing some of these other big time programs once every few decades or so, especially as the first game of the season. The fans know about the allure of Notre Dame, and they want to experience it. It's like the Mecca of college football. Therefore, they are more likely to make the "pilgrimage" to South Bend since they may never have that experience again. As such, Notre Dame ticket holders are more likely to sell knowing they will make a pretty penny.

 

[wizards8507]

I think that is one of the problems with us playing some of these other big time programs once every few decades or so, especially as the first game of the season. The fans know about the allure of Notre Dame, and they want to experience it. It's like the Mecca of college football. Therefore, they are more likely to make the "pilgrimage" to South Bend since they may never have that experience again. As such, Notre Dame ticket holders are more likely to sell knowing they will make a pretty penny.

Which is a disgrace. Notre Dame needs to enforce their rules about resale above face value.

 

[phgreek]

Which is a disgrace. Notre Dame needs to enforce their rules about resale above face value.

...but...but...I thought we were free market Bros....this is blasphemy...

 

[GowerND11]

Which is a disgrace. Notre Dame needs to enforce their rules about resale above face value.

Agreed

 

[wizards8507]

...but...but...I thought we were free market Bros....this is blasphemy...

I don't think anyone should go to jail, but they should absolutely lose ticket privileges.

 

[greyhammer90]

Anyone else getting itchy to watch some football lately? Just seeing pictures of the field is making me pine for September.

 

[nlroma1o]

Anyone else getting itchy to watch some football lately? Just seeing pictures of the field is making me pine for September.

I've already started listening to Fantasy Football podcasts..... so yeah. I'm itchin bad.

 

[koonja]

Haven't been to a game since 2014. Will be going this fall. Has the construction changed any of the gameday 'to dos', specifically, tailgaiting?

 

[IrishLion]

Anyone else getting itchy to watch some football lately? Just seeing pictures of the field is making me pine for September.

I've already started listening to Fantasy Football podcasts..... so yeah. I'm itchin bad.

^This.

I've been messaging my Fantasy Football group on Facebook weekly for no reason, other than to think about drafting a championship squad.

I've got Athlon, Phil Steele, and ESPN college football preview magazines on display in my dining room. I read the ND sections almost daily.

 

[ACamp1900]

Baseball (even with the Halos having their worst season in my adult life) and soccer have been getting me through without a hitch thus far. I haven't even thought of cfb yet...

the time of year that kills me is right when cfb ends and all I have to get me through is hockey and maybe champions league... that's when I start to itch for cfb, baseball,... anything.

 

[Irish#1]

I think that is one of the problems with us playing some of these other big time programs once every few decades or so, especially as the first game of the season. The fans know about the allure of Notre Dame, and they want to experience it. It's like the Mecca of college football. Therefore, they are more likely to make the "pilgrimage" to South Bend since they may never have that experience again. As such, Notre Dame ticket holders are more likely to sell knowing they will make a pretty penny.

It is the Mecca of college football. I was at the USC game last year and I noticed a difference in volume. Especially when Will the Thrill was open by 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage.

My seats were near the field in the south EZ and there were plenty of people standing and yelling, including this old fart.

 

[wizards8507]

Baseball (even with the Halos having their worst season in my adult life) and soccer have been getting me through without a hitch thus far. I haven't even thought of cfb yet...

This is my favorite Red Sox team of my lifetime, which is a hard feat considering my baseball Mount Rushmore is Pedro Martinez, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, and Derek Jeter. But my god, if they can find a way to keep Betts, Bogaerts, and Bradley Jr. together, they could be fun to watch for a decade or more.

 

[gkIrish]

This is my favorite Red Sox team of my lifetime, which is a hard feat considering my baseball Mount Rushmore is Pedro Martinez, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, and Derek Jeter. But my god, if they can find a way to keep Betts, Bogaerts, and Bradley Jr. together, they could be fun to watch for a decade or more.

I am not a believer in JBJ. What have his stats been like outside of that long hitting streak?

Bogaerts and Betts are the real deal and terrify me as a Yankees fan.

 

[NDVirginia19]

One thing the stadium project has done is cover the East stands with a shadow in the early morning, which made a 32º may morning even more miserable for graduation this year

 

[ulukinatme]

I thought it was much better last year as far as people cheering, yelling, standing, as well as significant difference in noise retaining from the structures being built.

I only asked because i hear these arguments alot and it's from someone who went to 1 game in their life or just heard from someone else.

My thought always has been, when the team gives people something to cheer about, people cheer.

There were a lot of years there where that wasnt necessarily the case.

I go to 2-4 games a year. I hit the USC, Navy, and GT games last year. There was some decent noise for GT, probably because the perception was they were good coming into the season (That quickly died). USC had a lot of noise, but definitely not more than the '05 game. Navy game was about on par, I honestly don't recall it being any louder than your average Navy game. Over all the games I honestly couldn't tell any real difference in the noise level though (That would have been effected by construction), but I'm typically down closer to field (Section 10, Row E). The USC game was definitely the loudest, there was good activity all game and I think it was because the crowd was hyped for the game and it was very exciting to watch. Any extra noise level was not relevant to the new construction in my opinion. I won't say for sure until construction is fully finished though.

I don't agree with the statement that the people will cheer if the team gives them something to cheer about. Sometimes the team needs fans to cheer loudest when things are down. Crowd noise has a very detrimental effect to opposing offenses and it helps energize our defense. I've seen the crowd get fairly loud and disrupt teams like the '05 USC game and '12 Pitt game, it led to miscues and false starts. That's what home field advantage is all about. If the stadium is going to be quiet while our guys are at home, we might as well play 12 road games every year. Whether I'm gifted tickets or I pay for them myself, I'm not driving to South Bend to sit in a chair and just watch a game. I can do that at home. I'm there to help the team.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

This, at least in some of the seats closest to the field. Honestly I wouldn't expect a large change in noise with this project. Obviously it's not finished, and some people were already claiming they could tell a difference last season, but I honestly couldn't tell a difference. The press box already occupied one side of the field and would have provided some backboard for the noise, we're effectively adding a structure on the other side and then later I believe the 3rd building. Maybe we'll see a bigger gain in noise once the 3rd piece is in place, but I doubt it. I think the aim of the project has always been to add classrooms/indoor seating to the venue so it can be used year round instead of several times a year.

A) Everybody from the guy who ran the architectural firm that laid out the plans to BK have gone on record stating that the changes in the stadium will make it 'louder' from the field level. My experience is that it is louder, not quite as warm in the early fall games, and not quite as cold in the later games. That is my more immediate concern. I can wear hearing protection. But the sauna like temperatures of the season opener, and frozen tundra experience of the late games being moderated a little bit, those would be good things!

B) I was a happy camper through this whole series of changes over the last half-dozen years or so, until the bean counter started talking about fair market value of the tickets, as a justification for a 100% increase in ticket price over two seasons. That is the biggest pile of swill I feel I have been fed in a long time for two reasons. That guy made it transparent that ND sees this as a business endeavor, not what I always thought it was, something greater, 'God, Country, Notre Dame.'

And of course the other point being is up through last season, every ticket that I purchased through the lottery had my name assigned to it, and I was responsible for it. If I had an extra ticket, I sold it at face value per the agreement I had with the University of Notre Dame. I know people that lost their lottery privileges as a result of ticket profiteering. So what's the deal this year?

With ND's own official logic, expressed in more than one press release, everyone should work to make sure that ass that sits in a given seat pays fair market value for that experience! (Just like some of you pointed out! Good for you!)

I liked it and ND better when they kept prices reasonable so more people, less economically advantaged could see some games.

 

[GBdomer]

Anyone else getting itchy to watch some football lately? Just seeing pictures of the field is making me pine for September.

Been watching last years games on ESPNU for a couple weeks now. Also I agree with what some are saying sometimes ND stadium is as quiet as mass and sometimes it can get a little rowdy. Waayy to many bitch about people standing up and cheering to loud. I say watch the game from home then

Also I am really hoping ND rocks white cleats at home this year, the gold ones just need to go when we played Navy and were wearing the white cleats it was so fresh and looked 10x better then the Gold ones

 

[koonja]

I only go to big time games. I'm guessing it's an issue of what game you go to/if it's at night. My last 4 games I think have all been night games and I am drunk and screaming the whole time, never had an issue.

If it's 3:30pm and we're playing Navy, I'm guessing it's not a rowdy crowd. And games like that are true for most/all schools IMO.

 

[ulukinatme]

A) Everybody from the guy who ran the architectural firm that laid out the plans to BK have gone on record stating that the changes in the stadium will make it 'louder' from the field level. My experience is that it is louder, not quite as warm in the early fall games, and not quite as cold in the later games. That is my more immediate concern. I can wear hearing protection. But the sauna like temperatures of the season opener, and frozen tundra experience of the late games being moderated a little bit, those would be good things!

Maybe it will be noticeably louder when construction is fully complete, they still have one building left to do if I recall, but I honestly didn't notice a big change (if any) in three games last year. I'm about as close as you can get to the field too, I'm 5 rows up in the gold seats at the 40 yard line, opposing team side. I thought the 1st half of the GT game was a bit louder than expected last season, but I also spent half the game under the press box and I'm not usually there. I didn't notice any change in the 2nd half down at field level.

I agree with your comments on ticket prices too. Only in the last 5 years have I started buying my own tickets. I always go through the University, but there has been a hefty increase in prices in the last 10-15 years. We had an extra ticket for a game one year back in '06, which I sold at face value on campus before the game. I got $40-50 for the ticket, and that same ticket has more than doubled in the last 10 years. I spent over $300 for 4 tickets to go to the 2013 Navy game, nosebleed section, just so my wife could come and the kids could see their first game. That was a tough pill to swallow when the wifey couldn't come in the end and the kids had to stay behind.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Maybe it will be noticeably louder when construction is fully complete, they still have one building left to do if I recall, but I honestly didn't notice a big change (if any) in three games last year. I'm about as close as you can get to the field too, I'm 5 rows up in the gold seats at the 40 yard line, opposing team side. I thought the 1st half of the GT game was a bit louder than expected last season, but I also spent half the game under the press box and I'm not usually there.

I agree with your comments on ticket prices too. Only in the last 5 years have I started buying my own tickets. I always go through the University, but there has been a hefty increase in prices in the last 10-15 years. We had an extra ticket for a game one year back in '06, which I sold at face value on campus before the game. I got $40-50 for the ticket, and that same ticket has more than doubled in the last 10 years. I spent over $300 for 4 tickets to go to the 2013 Navy game, nosebleed section, just so my wife could come and the kids could see their first game. That was a tough pill to swallow when the wifey couldn't come in the end and the kids had to stay behind.

That upsets me, and upset me more, (the ticket price increase) until a friend of mine reminded me the same thing happened in '86-'87.

I think when they have the Jumbotron in next year you will really hear it.

I would describe the increases as a little cheering goes a longer way, more than the stadium raises to an insufferable level at all times. It just seemed to me like you could hear ND fans better, not everything was louder, if that makes any sense.

 

[GBdomer]

Anybody going to be on campus this year and wanna slam a 12 pack with me in about an hour and just shoot the shit?

 

[phgreek]

I only go to big time games. I'm guessing it's an issue of what game you go to/if it's at night. My last 4 games I think have all been night games and I am drunk and screaming the whole time, never had an issue.

If it's 3:30pm and we're playing Navy, I'm guessing it's not a rowdy crowd. And games like that are true for most/all schools IMO.

This kinda crystallized it for me...

I guess I'd like the big house metered when they play App state (well since kakis took over), and then compare to ND vs Navy at ND. If they are both day games, saturday afternoon...I'm guessing 3rd quarter on are pretty tame and Dbs about the same.

You have to admit though...back in lou's day, when bitchigan couldn't get a play off because it was so loud, and ND fans got flagged...that telss ya, the place can produce.

 

[koonja]

This kinda crystallized it for me...

I guess I'd like the big house metered when they play App state (well since kakis took over), and then compare to ND vs Navy at ND. If they are both day games, saturday afternoon...I'm guessing 3rd quarter on are pretty tame and Dbs about the same.

You have to admit though...back in lou's day, when bitchigan couldn't get a play off because it was so loud, and ND fans got flagged...that telss ya, the place can produce.

That'll come back when the fans believe and are proud of ND again. There are some ND fans, probably 15%, who won't buy in and let loose IMO, because they're just sitting waiting for the next setback/disappointment. There's not that crazy pride of knowing you're better than the best yet. There are some still embarrassed by the Syracuse snowball that think 'you don't deserve my craziness yet'.

 

[ulukinatme]

This kinda crystallized it for me...

I guess I'd like the big house metered when they play App state (well since kakis took over), and then compare to ND vs Navy at ND. If they are both day games, saturday afternoon...I'm guessing 3rd quarter on are pretty tame and Dbs about the same.

You have to admit though...back in lou's day, when bitchigan couldn't get a play off because it was so loud, and ND fans got flagged...that telss ya, the place can produce.

The stadium rarely sees that level of crazy anymore, and the scary thing is Lou coached when the stadium was still at 59,000ish fans! You would think noise levels would be even greater at 80,000, but that's not really the case. It's hard for me to remember back to the pre-'97 games, but the fans were rabid during Lou's days. They occasionally will get crazy for select games still, but they're few and far between. Not saying the fans need to be crazy for 4 quarters if we have a large lead, but for the first few quarters we should definitely have some bark, and certainly the whole game if the scoreboard is tight.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Those raucous fans from 30 years ago are still there. The problem is they are 30 years older now.

 

[phgreek]

Those raucous fans from 30 years ago are still there. The problem is they are 30 years older now.

I know that describes me...back then you fed me some liquor and I was crazed...now, I'd be sleepin by halftime. Maybe we can do shift work at the stadium...ya know "I'm as good once as I ever was" mentality.

 

[GATTACA!]

I liked it and ND better when they kept prices reasonable so more people, less economically advantaged could see some games.

Meh that was for the poors