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Do IT this week: Layering
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 12:20 p.m. EDT, Jul 09, 2009
About five times a week Hunter Yurachek climbs six flights of stairs at the University of Akron's new stadium with a curious alumnus or business owner in tow.
The stairs are a challenge but selling InfoCision Stadium isn't, UA's interim athletic director said.
''Every time we do a tour, people are amazed by how nice the facility is,'' he said. ''They've seen it from afar on East Exchange Street. Now they see there's not a bad seat in the house.''
Work crews are moving into their final weeks readying the stadium for its Sept. 12 home opener against Morgan State.
Eighty-five percent of the project is done and virtually everything will be ready for the debut, said Ted Curtis, UA vice president for capital planning and facilities management.
''The finish is going to be tight but we're going to make it,'' he said.
The turf is down; the stands are up; the loges and bathrooms are in progress. The elevators are going in. A retaining wall is going up on the grassy knoll at the south side of the stadium for fans who prefer a picnic blanket to seats.
The west wall of windows in the seven-story Press Tower provide a panoramic view of campus, including a $28 million parking deck on East Exchange.
The east side overlooks Summa Field, which is set into a bowl with synthetic turf striped in two shades of green and the UA logo in the school colors of blue and gold.
Curtis said the stadium has two unusual features — rentable, open-air patios on an upper floor of the Press Tower and loges that seat four in swiveling chairs around a table.
Stadium costs are coming in at the budget of $61.6 million. Another $4.4 million has been reserved to build out 45,200 square feet of classroom space in the Press Tower, Curtis said. Those classrooms for the College of Education won't be ready until fall 2010.
There's no money right now to build out an additional 22,600 square feet of classroom space, so that's not even on the schedule.
But that's not where the university is focusing its attention these days.
Yurachek, the athletic director is spending his time selling support of the stadium. Since fans have been waiting for years — even decades — for UA to move from the antiquated Rubber Bowl to campus, there apparently is pent-up demand.
Already InfoCision Stadium is bringing in more revenue than the Rubber Bowl, Yurachek said.
When the Zips won the MAC championship in 2005 — its best football season — the university sold 1,247 season tickets. Total ticket revenue for that season was $154,911.
So far for fall 2009, UA has raised about $1.1 million by selling 4,493 season tickets, 125 club seats, 34 loges and 13 luxury suites.
The goal is 10,000 season tickets by the time UA makes its first debt payment for the stadium in June 2010.
None of those tickets are to students. They get their seats — 5,500 are reserved for them — for free. ''We hope the demand will be more than the supply,'' Yurachek said.
That's sure to be the case for close-in parking.
While the stadium won't have a dedicated parking facility and the Exchange Street deck is a quarter-mile away, temporary lots will be built in the shadow of the stadium.
The compacted gravel lots with 485 spaces will be right next to the stadium and geared to VIPs and the disabled, Curtis said.
In two to four years, those lots likely will give way to new residence halls that will give some students a bird's-eye view of the stadium. A $33 million residence hall now under construction east of the stadium will open in fall 2010.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
About five times a week Hunter Yurachek climbs six flights of stairs at the University of Akron's new stadium with a curious alumnus or business owner in tow.
The stairs are a challenge but selling InfoCision Stadium isn't, UA's interim athletic director said.
''Every time we do a tour, people are amazed by how nice the facility is,'' he said. ''They've seen it from afar on East Exchange Street. Now they see there's not a bad seat in the house.''
Work crews are moving into their final weeks readying the stadium for its Sept. 12 home opener against Morgan State.
Eighty-five percent of the project is done and virtually everything will be ready for the debut, said Ted Curtis, UA vice president for capital planning and facilities management.
''The finish is going to be tight but we're going to make it,'' he said.
The turf is down; the stands are up; the loges and bathrooms are in progress. The elevators are going in. A retaining wall is going up on the grassy knoll at the south side of the stadium for fans who prefer a picnic blanket to seats.
The west wall of windows in the seven-story Press Tower provide a panoramic view of campus, including a $28 million parking deck on East Exchange.
The east side overlooks Summa Field, which is set into a bowl with synthetic turf striped in two shades of green and the UA logo in the school colors of blue and gold.
Curtis said the stadium has two unusual features — rentable, open-air patios on an upper floor of the Press Tower and loges that seat four in swiveling chairs around a table.
Stadium costs are coming in at the budget of $61.6 million. Another $4.4 million has been reserved to build out 45,200 square feet of classroom space in the Press Tower, Curtis said. Those classrooms for the College of Education won't be ready until fall 2010.
There's no money right now to build out an additional 22,600 square feet of classroom space, so that's not even on the schedule.
But that's not where the university is focusing its attention these days.
Yurachek, the athletic director is spending his time selling support of the stadium. Since fans have been waiting for years — even decades — for UA to move from the antiquated Rubber Bowl to campus, there apparently is pent-up demand.
Already InfoCision Stadium is bringing in more revenue than the Rubber Bowl, Yurachek said.
When the Zips won the MAC championship in 2005 — its best football season — the university sold 1,247 season tickets. Total ticket revenue for that season was $154,911.
So far for fall 2009, UA has raised about $1.1 million by selling 4,493 season tickets, 125 club seats, 34 loges and 13 luxury suites.
The goal is 10,000 season tickets by the time UA makes its first debt payment for the stadium in June 2010.
None of those tickets are to students. They get their seats — 5,500 are reserved for them — for free. ''We hope the demand will be more than the supply,'' Yurachek said.
That's sure to be the case for close-in parking.
While the stadium won't have a dedicated parking facility and the Exchange Street deck is a quarter-mile away, temporary lots will be built in the shadow of the stadium.
The compacted gravel lots with 485 spaces will be right next to the stadium and geared to VIPs and the disabled, Curtis said.
In two to four years, those lots likely will give way to new residence halls that will give some students a bird's-eye view of the stadium. A $33 million residence hall now under construction east of the stadium will open in fall 2010.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Akron, OH
Posted 12:58 PM, 07/09/2009
=============
the stadium won't have a dedicated parking facility
=============
I wonder how many of the 4,500 or so 'non-student' ticket holders know about this little inconvenience?
Methron, OH
Posted 01:04 PM, 07/09/2009
Hip-hip-a-kayy!!
Uhrichsville, OH
Posted 01:10 PM, 07/09/2009
There's plenty of parking that is way closer than it was at the Rubber Bowl, plus students won't be driving. Even a significant number of the "commuter" students live in the apartments and houses just south of Exchange street and will walk. Not to mention the shuttle busses that will almost certainly drive people from parking lots to the stadium.
Akron, Oh
Posted 01:28 PM, 07/09/2009
I'll be parking at the deck across from the chapel. There are plenty of other spaces as well. Parking will not be a problem.
Great job UA! Now, don't ruin everything by building an off-campus arena in downtown for Donny boy. If UA caved in to him in the past, this stadium would not be on campus but downtown. And that's the real reason he did not show for the stadium's initial announcement. There is plenty of room for an on-campus arena which will seat far less than this stadium. Let's encourage UA to continue its quest to look like a real university by insisting on an on-campus arena.
hudson, oh
Posted 02:07 PM, 07/09/2009
How 'bout a photo of tuition-paying students who are left holding the bag for the free-riding over-coddled fund-draining jocks?
Talk about being taken for a ride!
Can't provide epncil sharpeners for the classrooms, but our jocks have new apparel!
GO ZIPS, er, ZEROS, er ZILCHES, er, NADA, er etc...
I want a refund of my tax dollars that went to this white elephant doonboggle!
hudson, oh
Posted 02:08 PM, 07/09/2009
I can't even spell, they've got me so P.O.'d!
Canton, OH
Posted 02:23 PM, 07/09/2009
FEAR THE ' ROO !!!!!!!!!!!
Canal Fulton, OH
Posted 02:33 PM, 07/09/2009
I'll rather enjoy parking downtown near OBC or another establishment and making the pleasant walk up to this gorgeous stadium!
Akron, Oh
Posted 02:57 PM, 07/09/2009
The stadium isn't being paid for with tuition money. How many times must you be told that? Looks like spelling is a small part of your problem. Try comprehension.
Posted 03:02 PM, 07/09/2009
patriot76, the point's been made to you over and over; the stadium is being built with private and capital funds, not operating funds. Hope you don't go through the rest of your life bitter. You can change that.
Hudson, OH
Posted 03:17 PM, 07/09/2009
You know people have to shoot off their mouths about something they have no clue about. That's the ohio.com way.
akron, oh
Posted 04:11 PM, 07/09/2009
Go Zippers
Suwanee, ga
Posted 04:13 PM, 07/09/2009
Overtaxed Voter most college stadiums don't have dedicated parking facilities. UGA the students live on campus and nearby. They walk to games. The rest of the fans park on campus and around Athens and many of them shuttle bus in. The Bars in downtown Athens make a mint on gameday weekends and UGA Stadium holds 92,000 vs 30,000 for the Info and they get along fine with no dedicated parking facilities.
Akron, OH
Posted 04:39 PM, 07/09/2009
Before I read this article I thought, "I bet at least 1/3 of the comments are negative."
Of the 13 comments, 6 were clearly negative about something.
Keep it up, Akron.com denizens!
Posted 04:42 PM, 07/09/2009
People need to understand that the parking situation at the University is a problem during school hours- until about 5-6 in the evening. After that, and on weekends, there is plenty of parking. That's also when football games are typically played.
Akron, Oh
Posted 05:07 PM, 07/09/2009
Why would you compare season tickets from 2005 to 2009?
The MAC Championship Season's impact would not have been felt until the 2006 season, so use that as a comparison.
The cash totals are also exaggerated from the sales of the luxury suites and the club seats, none of which were present in the Rubber Bowl.
When you look at apples and apples the difference between 2005 and 2009 is selling tickets in a crumbling stadium, and coming off a mediocre season in 2004 when you lost the best offensive player in school history til now, 2009, the opening of a state of the art facility in the heart of a vibrant downtown area and a dynamic campus which has been promoted for three years, yet more than 20,000 seats remain unsold less than 2 months from the first game against a who-the-hell cares 1-aa opponent.
I sure hope the Beacon does a public records request on September 14 to see how many of the tickets for the first game were actually SOLD and how many were COMPED or flat out DUMPED on the streets to make the crowd look big. Trouble for the folks at Akron U is that all of the suite tickets and club seats wont show up in the overhead pictures that night, only the folks in the stands will show up. Someone had better get to dialing the phone and selling some tickets, but then again, last minute desperate efforts like that never work and only show how much work was not done to adequately prepare for the once in a lifetime opening of a facility like this.
Akron, Oh
Posted 05:09 PM, 07/09/2009
and as for private dollars, only $21 of the $61 million has been raised from private funds. Someone should ask the University CFO what the bond rating is now for Akron U after all of the construction of late. What looks nice now may have a lingering malfactorous odor for decades to come on the balance sheets.
Palm Beach Gardens , Fl
Posted 05:21 PM, 07/09/2009
Don't worry about selling the seats for the first game. People will come out to watch our zips play. As an alum, i remember driving out to the bowl to watch games. This is far better. Just like Acme Zip games from my era the seats will be full. I am coming from south Florida to watch the first 2 home games. I have been watching the three cameras for a year now and am excited for the students and other alum and the city. GO ZIPS
akron, OH
Posted 06:35 PM, 07/09/2009
I'm going to park at the Rubber Bowl and walk to the new stadium.
akron, oh
Posted 06:55 PM, 07/09/2009
i told the guys at the drive thru's across the street about the cams.it seems not many knew about them. they are live web cams from atop the building behind it.they are on the akron u website.
akron, oh
Posted 07:02 PM, 07/09/2009
i might even be able to hear to the cheers where i live.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:24 PM, 07/09/2009
Chuckles - you don't even know the name of the school. So, who cares about your uninformed and negaholic opinion?
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:20 PM, 07/09/2009
And just maybe the University won't have to use tuition/tax dollars to subsidize the Athletic Department to the tune of millions of dollars like it did in 2008?
Highland Square, OH
Posted 09:25 PM, 07/09/2009
@ Chuckles
"When you look at apples and apples the difference between 2005 and 2009 is selling tickets in a crumbling stadium, and coming off a mediocre season in 2004 when you lost the best offensive player in school history til now, 2009, the opening of a state of the art facility in the heart of a vibrant downtown area and a dynamic campus which has been promoted for three years, yet more than 20,000 seats remain unsold less than 2 months from the first game against a who-the-hell cares 1-aa opponent."
Haha, oh brother. You see chuckles, that's sort of the point. A new stadium brings increased funds through season tickets. 10,000 tickets was the ultimate goal. 5,500 tickets are guaranteed to students. That leaves about 14,500 tickets, which is actually an over estimate because the suites and loges take up a lot of that.
It will sell out, be sure of that. Parking won't be an issue, and yes, UA is floating bonds to make this happen, so go ahead and play the devils advocate there as well.
"I sure hope the Beacon does a public records request on September 14 to see how many of the tickets for the first game were actually SOLD and how many were COMPED or flat out DUMPED on the streets to make the crowd look big."
Ahh, already giving yourself some leeway, eh? So even if UA sells out and it's a total success, you have something to fall back on.
Hasn't the mayor recall vote shown these Ohio.com trolls that they are the minority in this city?
North Hill, OH
Posted 11:13 PM, 07/09/2009
@UAEngineering
Nope, because there's always something to be bitter and complain about, even with the best of news.
Headline: Federal Government decides to give $10,000 dollars of bailout money to each resident of Akron, OH.
First comment:
$10,000? I can't even buy a CAR with that. You'd think if they gave billions to the auto industry, they could give us more.
Second comment:
I'm sure glad I moved away to (insert state).
Third comment:
I think I deserve $10,000 for each of my kids too. This isn't fair.
(hypothetical, of course)
Akron, oh
Posted 12:05 AM, 07/10/2009
Anjd walking home or to your car you could be mobbed by roving gangs committing hate crimes against you
akron, OH
Posted 12:27 AM, 07/10/2009
Quit that, RowdyZ, I got so excited until I got to the end of your post.
akron, OH
Posted 12:28 AM, 07/10/2009
How do you have any credibility, Lie Detector? You're not even a real boy.
Bluffton, SC
Posted 07:20 AM, 07/10/2009
I live in South Carolina and I also check the web cams everyday. It's exciting to see the progress! The old fraternity is having a reunion weekend to coincide with the first game, and the second game against IU is a great draw.
I lived in Gainesville, FL for a number of years, and people tailgated all over the UF campus and flooded the downtown businesses on game day. Our new stadium will be a boom for the university and for Akron's economy.
How about some more web cam views, maybe from the scoreboard or the west side towers, including a look at the campus.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:41 AM, 07/10/2009
It appears the stadium will be completed on time, which may come to a surprise to the naysayers on this blog who earlier this year said they will never get it done and nobody is working on it.
There are over 10,000 parking spaces within a mile of the stadium (this includes downtown parking which is a shorter walk than it was to the Rubber Bowl or you can take a shuttle).
Great job U of A!
Posted 08:21 AM, 07/10/2009
i'm proud of the fact that my oldest daughter graduated from akron u. and works for the best rubber co in akron.even if she didn't play football...
Akron, OH
Posted 08:48 AM, 07/10/2009
Very nice, RowdyZ! You pretty much nailed it. However, I think you might have forgotten a tangential anti-mayor post. Other than that, spot on.
Posted 09:28 AM, 07/10/2009
Remember that this is also a long-term deal. A first-class facility will go a long way towards the Zips attracting better players, making a better team, bigger crowds, more revenue, etc. To me, the only negative, short-term, is that the first season in the new stadium doesn't have a very attractive schedule, either from the MAC schools or out-of-conference opponents (yeah, Indiana's in the Big 10, but there are plenty of MAC schools with better teams). Hopefully, that will improve in the future.
Posted 09:37 AM, 07/10/2009
This is great for the University and the region. Now get out there and support the ZIPS. If done right gameday can be quite exciting, like the band marching across campus, and the tailgating, etc... Go Zips.
akron, oh
Posted 02:56 PM, 07/10/2009
Anybody notice the ODOT put signs on 77N from Canton directing you to take the Grant St/Wolf Ledges exit instead of continuing North on Rt 8 and getting off at Carrol? They must want you to drive through the 'good' side of town. Lots of fun stuff to see on Grant Street.
Palm Beach, FL
Posted 04:03 PM, 07/10/2009
so what if you have to walk a half mile or even a whole mile, thats part of the fun of game day. I agree, finally out of that dump RB go out and support the zips, I know I will.
Akron, Oh
Posted 05:54 PM, 07/11/2009
Akron will NEVER get 5500 students to any football game. Akron cannot even get 200 students to a basketball game that is played on campus so just moving the venue is not the magic bullet.
Akron will not average more than 14,000 SOLD tickets this year and I would bet my life on that. They may ANNOUNCE more, but that will include a ton, I would say half, of the seats being given away.
Posted 07:51 PM, 07/11/2009
I am a Zips Alum living in Albuquerque. Like some of the other out of staters who have commented on this article, I too have been following the web cams daily. I am counting the days to the first game on September 12th. I have already booked my flight to CAK and plan to attend the first two games at the info along with the Browns home opener. UofA is a sleeping giant that is about to be awakened! Oh and one other thing, OSU and Can't State still suck!
Palm Beach Gardens , Fl
Posted 01:25 PM, 07/12/2009
As a proud Akron alum, i am going to do a little math for chuckles. It should be a given with the new stadium that the first 2 games will be sold out. Cant State will bring in 20,000 just because it's new and if theaverage for the other 3 games is only 10,000 that is over 110,000 for the season. let me help you Chuckles, thats an average over 18,000 per game. Don't bet your life on things that people care about like college football. And parking is great across the street from my old frat house on carrol st with the nice parking deck. I will be the old guy with the bald head wearing an Akron jersey and a big smile looking for your remains making the 5 minute walk to the new stadium. Go Phi sigs and GO ZIPS.
Erie, PA
Posted 12:26 PM, 07/13/2009
chuckles probably went to can't or something he doesn't know what MATH is, so he has no idea what you are talking about. I mean the guy just said we "moved" our venue to campus. Really? we moved the rubber bowl, thats crazy it must have been hard to do that! When I see pictures of the new stadium I don't see any resemblance at all? But you seem to know EVERYTHING so thanks for your knowledgeable comments!
