• The KillerFrogs

TCU Construction Updates

tcumaniac

Full Member
Based on this interior panorama of the Carter....the East side appears to be more aesthetically


attractive than the West side. IMHO

The East Side addition looks phenomenal imo. And my favorite part is that the club / suite level seating is at the top.

I've said it a million times, but the layout of the west side is so damn goofy. Having our largest section of seats located at the top of the stadium was architecturally moronic and extremely short sighted from the practical perspective of maximizing desirable seats within the stadium. I get and appreciate the need to have top tier suite and club seating, but there was not near enough compromise or consideration for the overall effectiveness of our stadium. We sacrificed far too much of our home field advantage for the people that stereotypically spend more time socializing than watching the game or cheering for our team. Giving the pressbox better seats than the majority of our fanbase was just downright ridiculous, as well.

Assuming we were forced to keep the tiny lower bowl, the 300 and 400 level should be where the current 200 level is. Keep the location of the founder suites for the people that paid for the stadium, put the biggest section where the majority of your fan base sits closer to the field, and then put your club, suites, and press box at the top like every other great stadium in the country does it.
 

Brog

Full Member
The East Side addition looks phenomenal imo. And my favorite part is that the club / suite level seating is at the top.

I've said it a million times, but the layout of the west side is so damn goofy. Having our largest section of seats located at the top of the stadium was architecturally moronic and extremely short sighted from the practical perspective of maximizing desirable seats within the stadium. I get and appreciate the need to have top tier suite and club seating, but there was not near enough compromise or consideration for the overall effectiveness of our stadium. We sacrificed far too much of our home field advantage for the people that stereotypically spend more time socializing than watching the game or cheering for our team. Giving the pressbox better seats than the majority of our fanbase was just downright ridiculous, as well.

Assuming we were forced to keep the tiny lower bowl, the 300 and 400 level should be where the current 200 level is. Keep the location of the founder suites for the people that paid for the stadium, put the biggest section where the majority of your fan base sits closer to the field, and then put your club, suites, and press box at the top like every other great stadium in the country does it.

Time for a $125,000,000 project to redo the west side completely.
 

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
With everybody's portfolio being gutshot here lately, I do wonder if all the pledges and partial payments will hold up. It could be a while before the East Side is paid off.
 

LeagueCityFrog

Active Member
I think the two next rounds will be:

#1: A near complete scrape of the baseball stadium, leaving only behind the locker room, their new offices, and the new Louden training center. I bet about a dozen hardcore donors would pay for that. TCU could offer them high end founders suites and that thing is done. See Mississippi State's new stadium for ideas and our own AGS East Side expansion for style and finish out.

#2: Probably 10 years from now, an Amon Carter north endzone project to bring our capacity up to the low 60,000s. If Gary can keep winning like he was in 2014, 2015, then the fan enthusiasm and concurrent funding will be there. I think they should do tiered party decks in the north side and have it more of an open walk around type space with table tops and barstools. Young alums and local businesses would eat that up. Unless what we've watched in 2018 and 2019 continues, I would expect Gary to be here for another 8-10 years and the funding will continue.

TCU looked at that Northside project a couple years ago and they decided they didn't think it was feasible at the time with a concurrent $40 million price tag.
 

MAcFroggy

Active Member
With everybody's portfolio being gutshot here lately, I do wonder if all the pledges and partial payments will hold up. It could be a while before the East Side is paid off.

Agree. I wonder if they will change the initial plans and allow capital contribution to be made over a longer period of time? Maybe some additional folks would jump at the chance if they had 10 years to pay off the capital portion as opposed to one or 5.
 
With everybody's portfolio being gutshot here lately, I do wonder if all the pledges and partial payments will hold up. It could be a while before the East Side is paid off.
There are larger concerns than just East Side commitments, i.e. student retention/recruitment. Our enrollment numbers (shoot - almost all higher ed numbers) are going to suck this Fall. We are dipping into our Wait List this week...
 
I think the two next rounds will be:

#1: A near complete scrape of the baseball stadium, leaving only behind the locker room, their new offices, and the new Louden training center. I bet about a dozen hardcore donors would pay for that. TCU could offer them high end founders suites and that thing is done. See Mississippi State's new stadium for ideas and our own AGS East Side expansion for style and finish out.

#2: Probably 10 years from now, an Amon Carter north endzone project to bring our capacity up to the low 60,000s. If Gary can keep winning like he was in 2014, 2015, then the fan enthusiasm and concurrent funding will be there. I think they should do tiered party decks in the north side and have it more of an open walk around type space with table tops and barstools. Young alums and local businesses would eat that up. Unless what we've watched in 2018 and 2019 continues, I would expect Gary to be here for another 8-10 years and the funding will continue.

TCU looked at that Northside project a couple years ago and they decided they didn't think it was feasible at the time with a concurrent $40 million price tag.
You are correct. Baseball is next.
 

Eight

Member
There are larger concerns than just East Side commitments, i.e. student retention/recruitment. Our enrollment numbers (shoot - almost all higher ed numbers) are going to suck this Fall. We are dipping into our Wait List this week...

this raises a very good question.

what are the odds students are back on campus in the fall?

not do we need them there, but what are the chances they will be there?
 

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
The Plague has brought a number of things into sharp relief. The need for a Big College Education and the insane cost of it is but one, and I believe it will begin the unraveling process of the higher education ponzi scheme.

If V. Bo has a lick of sense, he should be looking very, very seriously at the bottom line at TCU. There is a great deal of Administrative bloat and useless "Studies" that could be jettisoned...
 

Eight

Member
The Plague has brought a number of things into sharp relief. The need for a Big College Education and the insane cost of it is but one, and I believe it will begin the unraveling process of the higher education ponzi scheme.

If V. Bo has a lick of sense, he should be looking very, very seriously at the bottom line at TCU. There is a great deal of Administrative bloat and useless "Studies" that could be jettisoned...

article from forbes about the choice to going to college next fall:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ricede...e-next-fall-consider-a-gap-year/#54f510ea5a87
 

TCUdirtbag

Active Member
There are larger concerns than just East Side commitments, i.e. student retention/recruitment. Our enrollment numbers (shoot - almost all higher ed numbers) are going to suck this Fall. We are dipping into our Wait List this week...

It’s not time to panic about enrollment/tuition yet. Duke started reaching into their waitlist several weeks ago. Everyone is doing so. Yields are going to be all over the place but unless school doesn’t start in person, on time this fall (which would devastate the whole industry), TCU will likely fill its class. Being an urban university is going to be a huge plus for TCU this year.

Relative to other, more rural institutions (think Baylor, Tech, etc.), TCU isn’t terribly positioned. Good chance a lot of students opt to stay closer to home. We’re in DFW so we are closer to home for many. If 1/3 of our out of state students pull out, I’m sure the waitlist has a good number in North Texas that can and will pay.

Remember, TCU experienced some of its most significant growth during and on the heels of the Great Recession. Will get through this event, too.
 
It’s not time to panic about enrollment/tuition yet. Duke started reaching into their waitlist several weeks ago. Everyone is doing so. Yields are going to be all over the place but unless school doesn’t start in person, on time this fall (which would devastate the whole industry), TCU will likely fill its class. Being an urban university is going to be a huge plus for TCU this year.

Relative to other, more rural institutions (think Baylor, Tech, etc.), TCU isn’t terribly positioned. Good chance a lot of students opt to stay closer to home. We’re in DFW so we are closer to home for many. If 1/3 of our out of state students pull out, I’m sure the waitlist has a good number in North Texas that can and will pay.

Remember, TCU experienced some of its most significant growth during and on the heels of the Great Recession. Will get through this event, too.
I agree but with the notation that I was not writing a doom and gloom response, just something our Administration is taking in consideration. All discretionary spending is currently on freeze until we see where we shake out from our primary income sources: tuition, athletics and advancement.
 
this raises a very good question.

what are the odds students are back on campus in the fall?

not do we need them there, but what are the chances they will be there?
This is an interesting topic. People have been calling for a "higher ed bubble" for decades. Could this be it? Do we see a mother and father continue justify $60,000 p/yr (w/ an avg 5yr enrollment) for what's effectively being done online? Is the social/communal aspect worth the difference? These are economist - well, ultimately consumer - questions. Regardless, the small schools are going to suffer...and many will die.
 

Eight

Member
This is an interesting topic. People have been calling for a "higher ed bubble" for decades. Could this be it? Do we see a mother and father continue justify $60,000 p/yr (w/ an avg 5yr enrollment) for what's effectively being done online? Is the social/communal aspect worth the difference? These are economist - well, ultimately consumer - questions. Regardless, the small schools are going to suffer...and many will die.

in your experience, aren't the triggers of significant change things that no one foresaw or expected?

don't completely agree with the author of the article in forbes, but he does raise a good question.

i know university of texas has fought to preserve their academic integrity and the campus experience by resisting the push to online classes while atm has embraced the idea in an attempt to deal with overcrowding on campus and growing their alumni base
 

Peacefrog

Degenerate
This is an interesting topic. People have been calling for a "higher ed bubble" for decades. Could this be it? Do we see a mother and father continue justify $60,000 p/yr (w/ an avg 5yr enrollment) for what's effectively being done online? Is the social/communal aspect worth the difference? These are economist - well, ultimately consumer - questions. Regardless, the small schools are going to suffer...and many will die.
Not one thing I leaned at TCU was more important than the connections I made and the maturity I gained (minimal, admittedly) by being on my own.

I don’t believe going to college online is the same thing as being on campus for 4 or 5 years.
 
Not one thing I leaned at TCU was more important than the connections I made and the maturity I gained (minimal, admittedly) by being on my own.

I don’t believe going to college online is the same thing as being on campus for 4 or 5 years.
I think most would agree Re: the latter point. I do.
 
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