Are We Gonna Have to Give In and Agree?

[Salsa]

Periodically there are threads on various forums about ranking the MAC stadiums. There is one right now, for example, on the MAC NCAAbbs forum. See the one entitled "Hello everyone". It eventually, around June 12 2:19 PM, turns into a discussion of MAC stadiums.

http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/mac/invision/index.php?

There seems to be general agreement that the Doyt is one of if not the worst MAC stadiums. As I continue to see this over and over again, I still don't think so myself, but I'm beginning to lose some of my resistence.

So--"Are We Gonna Have to Give In and Agree?"

To make matters worse, there appears to be a majority view that the Glass Bowl is the best MAC stadium.

We've just had yet another long thread on Ziggy-Zoomba about improvements to the Doyt, so I am not intending to start a new one. If people want to make further suggestions, maybe they can go back to that thread. In fact, I think I will.

But folks, seeing all these knocks on the Doyt is getting discouraging.

[Flipper]

The Doyt is functional...it's not a dump by any stretch, but it's definitely got that 60's utilitarian feel to it.

So far as the Glass Bowl goes, the west side is ok (and I mean just "ok" )but the east is as ghetto as anything in the MAC.

Peden Stadium in Athens is by far the nicest MAC facility I've been in.

[duckunder53]

I'm sure with all of the success that the program is having right now, the Doyt is not helping in the recruiting process. I'm overly excited for the improvements that are about to happen and I hope that it improves an already great sales pitch about why a player should want to be a Falcon.

[michhiker28]

Don't know about the worst, but the Doyt sometimes does remind me of a glorified highschool stadium

Of the MAC stadiums I've been in, I like CMU's except for their dorky locker rooms on the north end. But then I work for CMU so take it for what it's worth.

---MH

[bgmaggot00]

Well, of the MAC stadiums I've been to, lets try to put together a non-biased ranking:

UT
*Marshall
WMU
CMU
EMU
BG
Miami
NIU
Kent
Ball State

* I know, I know. They're not in the MAC anymore, but they sure were when I was there in '01.

Sorry to be honest, but thats how I see it. When I think of things that make a "good" stadium, BG has few of these items.

The three best things it has going for it are:
1. Close, available, and cheap parking.
2. No obscured view seats (except right next to the press boxes).
3. Its always in a good state of repair, both on the field, and in the stands.


Other than that.....its got.
1. Concrete....Ugly
2. Nothing to look at, i.e., signs, posters, pictures, statues, plaques, etc.
3. Little to no shrubbery.
4. Boring endzones (SEBO will fix half of that problem).
5. No color anywhere.
6. Poor concessions.
7. A general lack of "Character."
8. No TV's under the stadium.
9. No radio broadcast in the bathroom.
10. No good/built in gift shop. The tent is "nice," but seems a little amature.
11. No special collectors cups from concessions....OK, this one is minor, but I like to collect these from wherever I go.
12. etc.

Thats Jeff w/o the Orange and Brown glasses put on.
:::Putting on flame-retardant suit:::
OK, go ahead, flame away.

[BGSU33]

I would say we do not have the worst stadium in the MAC, but we also do not have the nicest either - IMO. Being that I've been to almost every stadium in the MAC, I'd say right now, we're somewhere in the middle. After our much needed renovations (SEBO, etc.), we'll be much higher. But the bottom line is, upgrading and maintaining facilities is an ongoing issue. We are lagging behind what many have already done, and when the SEBO is complete, we aren't finished. Here's how I would rank the MAC stadiums "right now" (not bias to ANY school) with all of the recent renovations and improvements that have occurred around the MAC.

1. Western Michigan
2. Ohio
3. Toledo
4. Miami
5. Central Michigan
6. Bowling Green
7. Ball State
8. Akron
9. Buffalo
10. Northern Illinois
11. Eastern Michigan
12. Kent State

[kdog27]

I have never been to WMU and have never been inside of CMU's stadium. I have been to the rest and Kent St gets my vote for the worst. Last time I was there they did not even have stands on one side of the stadium.

Ohio and NIU are my two favorites.

I will admit the Doyt is not the nicest of places.

[Falconboy]

Well, of the MAC stadiums I've been to, lets try to put together a non-biased ranking:

UT
*Marshall
WMU
CMU
EMU
BG
Miami
NIU
Kent
Ball State

* I know, I know. They're not in the MAC anymore, but they sure were when I was there in '01.

Sorry to be honest, but thats how I see it. When I think of things that make a "good" stadium, BG has few of these items.

The three best things it has going for it are:
1. Close, available, and cheap parking.
2. No obscured view seats (except right next to the press boxes).
3. Its always in a good state of repair, both on the field, and in the stands.


Other than that.....its got.
1. Concrete....Ugly
2. Nothing to look at, i.e., signs, posters, pictures, statues, plaques, etc.
3. Little to no shrubbery.
4. Boring endzones (SEBO will fix half of that problem).
5. No color anywhere.
6. Poor concessions.
7. A general lack of "Character."
8. No TV's under the stadium.
9. No radio broadcast in the bathroom.
10. No good/built in gift shop. The tent is "nice," but seems a little amature.
11. No special collectors cups from concessions....OK, this one is minor, but I like to collect these from wherever I go.
12. etc.

Thats Jeff w/o the Orange and Brown glasses put on.
:::Putting on flame-retardant suit:::
OK, go ahead, flame away.

Well, you won't get flamed by me. I am one who actually agrees with everything you've said about the Doyt being quite frankly bland. If there is any else that would keep us from getting a top notch recruit it might be the absolutly boring and bland , uninteresting look of the Doyt right now.

Hate to say this , but UT's stadium although not as big as ours at last count still has more "character" than the Doyt does at this point. And the Doyt does look like a glorifed HS football stadium. The Sebo will help a little but I'm not sure by how much really. Alot more would have to be done I think to really make the Doyt look like a serious Div. 1 football stadium.

[JoeFalcon]

Give in and agree? No way. Don't have your judgement clouded by some of the characters from other schools on that forum. It's polluted with some genuine nuts who are hate-filled and jealous of BG and will make anything a target for their barbs. These are some of the same people who'll wait another 15 years for indoor practice faciltiies while BG has one of the finest in the state.

To me, it's the competitive level of the players on the field that brings the most entertainment and likely creates the most resentment from others considering BG has a superior record to everyone else in the conference save Miami.

Down by 30? Criticize the bathroom facilities!
Omar just threw his fifth TD pass? Condemn the concrete!

The Doyt, when energized, is an awesome venue to watch college football and I've thoroughly enjoyed each of my experiences there, including the 2001 EMU game where the stands were frozen. Of course it can be improved aesthetically in certain areas, but if I wanted pretty colors and luxurious amenities I'd go to a spa and watch the games on ESPN. I certainly don't lose sleep with envy over the (Gl)ass Bowl and their Medieval castle spikes and erector-set interior.

Thrown in the Sebo Center with the new scoreboard and lights and the rest of the conference can shove it.

[NWLB]

People complain about DLPS because they are weak and unable to take the wind out there.

Aside from that the views are nice, the sight-lines are excellent, etc. There are short-comings but none I'd call a crippling blow.

Maybe the entire thing does need a refit. Good luck finding the cash.

[redskins4ever]

I think Miami's Stadium has to be moved into one of the top three with all of the improvements over the last five years... field turf... I believe the largest free standign scoreboard in the MAC, and the new away seating will all add to the experience.

A lot of the problems with the Doyt just stem from the design...

The entrances into the stands are clogged like obese mens' arteries

The food stands are in the wrong local...

The stands aren't nearly steep enough...

BUT IT WORKS!!!

Akron is crap...

OU is more highschoolish then BG... and over 1/2 their seating is from the 20's and into the endzones...

Ball State is just getting its act together...

Toledo is not bad... but they have their problems... but I also believe that they could have a 40K stadium and not have many problems filling it if they wanted to.

Don't get me started on Kent...

Buffalo you are two days away from the field... its a nice place... if you don't mind being too far away from the field...

At some point every school will have to rebuild, remodel, or build a new stadium, just dont fret about it.

[Bleeding Orange]

First of all, we must all realize that the MACABB's board is mostly populated by UT fans because, after all, they don't have a wonderful forum like AZZ in which to perpetrate their evil; therefore, it is no suprise to me that UT's stadium is coming in first in this poll because there are mostly UT fans there (and we all know that they are a bunch of idiot homers anyhow...).

Here's my suggestion, though. Instead of continuously complaining about the Doyt (as we all have at one time or another), why not start to try and raise money at the grassroots-level to help ameliorate some of the problems we have all seen. If we wanted to organize some sort of concerted effort there are tons of people in the BGSU Foundation who would be more than happy to help.

I must say that I feel like a bit of a hippocrite in suggesting this because as a graduate student it will be a few years before I am in a position to help financially with a project like this (although God himself knows I would if I could), but I think this is something that we all need to start thinking about if this program is going to go to the next level. The reason schools such as OSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, etc. have such great facilities is because of private alumni/fan financial support. This is something that BG athletics have never had to any great degree (remember, Bob Sebo's $3.4 m. donation was the largest ever to BG Athletics).

There was in another thread about the building of Ohio Stadium recently and how that was facilitated by a group of donors who had a vision of what OSU football could become. That was a long time ago, but those events took place at a very critical point in the history of OSU football. We are currently at one of the most critical points in the history of BGSU football, and if a group of donors were compelled to contribute to the renovation of the Doyt and a new shot of energy to our athletic program, who knows what could happen here?

There are a great deal of very, very successful Falcons out there, and though many of them may not frequent this message board it is still possible to reach them and ask for help with our group vision. Heck, the hockey team did it with the construction of new hockey offices and locker rooms.

Basically what I am saying is that all of us sitting around here and complaining about the state of our facilities does nothing to help improve them. The only thing that helps is money, and even if many of us aren't capable of donating large sums of money we can all help in one way or another, even if that means showing group support for fund-raising initiatives (which shows donors that their money is going to good use).

See you in the streets!

[It's the Journey...]

What a Clever idea Seriously, that's exactly what we need. some of us may own businesses that can donate things other than money, some of us may be able to just organize a day closer to the start of the season when we all meet at the stadium and have a "work day." Maybe the coaches and team could be involved in some way. Any of the small projects that need to be done but there is no time or people to do them could be done. I just hope I can come up with ideas like that when I get a college degree.......

[Bleeding Orange]

What a Clever idea Seriously, that's exactly what we need. some of us may own businesses that can donate things other than money, some of us may be able to just organize a day closer to the start of the season when we all meet at the stadium and have a "work day." Maybe the coaches and team could be involved in some way. Any of the small projects that need to be done but there is no time or people to do them could be done. I just hope I can come up with ideas like that when I get a college degree.......

IF you ever get a college degree! LOL

Apparently, though, you don't need a college degree to come up with great ideas. Anyone around here own a contracting company that would be willing to loan equipment to a group of Faclon fans that would be willing to do some work for a weekend? It may sound crazy, but this is the way things get done and this is how those little featurettes on College Gameday start...

At least give ideas like this some consideration before rolling over and turning on the playstation...

[duckunder53]

At least give ideas like this some consideration before rolling over and turning on the playstation...

Did somebody say PlayStation? Man I can't wait until NCAA 2006 comes out. It won't be long!!!