Syracuse has announced plans to finalize designs and begin construction on a brand-new, state-of-the-art indoor football practice center. But there’s one catch. It’s not all funded yet.
Here’s Darryl Gross:
“We’re looking for people to get involved.”
Should Orange Nation avoid counting its indoor chickens before they hatch?
“We will be seeking generous support of the Orange Nation to help us move this project and others to completion in record time as we gear up for our move to the ACC this fall. Several naming opportunities have been identified to recognize contributors at all gift levels for this important project.”
It’s highly doubtful SU will ever have the football equivalent of one of those unfinished South Florida condos with the crane laying motionless. But it’s interesting (and slightly risky) the university will attempt to put the ball in motion of such a huge undertaking without having all the financials squared away.
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It also makes sense though, as a self-fulfilling prophecy to announce the construction of a project, and then look for the funding after. The announcement (and sketches) help build excitement, and motivate people to donate to make it happen. Without acting as though it’s a done deal, who knows if it ever would be.
The reasoning behind it is unquestioned. Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. You are now playing with the big dogs, time to look the part. And Gross’ words held a sense of urgency.
“We wanna start off winning championships. We’ve gotta get these resources for these guys.”
It’s important to note that the quickest time frame for Jim Boeheim to nab another 100 wins has been since the inception of the Melo Center. The arms race pays dividends.
Gross stepped slightly into lunacy when he called Manley Fieldhouse a “pantheon,” which is defined as a temple of the gods. But I guess the enthusiasm had him a tad giddy.
Scott Shafer might also want to polish up the talking points. In trying to reflect his optimism surrounding financial support from donors, here said he was fired up for “the commitment from the outsiders that are throwing money at us.” Hint: Don’t call the money makers “outsiders” and avoid characterizing their contributions as “throwing money.”
Shafer also defined why these facilities are the modern rage.
“Kids these days want to look good, feel good and then they’ll play good. Everything around them is state-of-the-art. You want a little bit of a ‘wow’ factor.”
It’s still going to take some major fundraising. And there’s always the possibility some of the bells and whistles will have to be shaved off because the funding doesn’t come around. But Syracuse must feel like it has enough of a baseline to start, and it needs the ‘wow’ factor. Let’s hope SU can make it happen.
Posted: D.A.
41 responses to “Syracuse Announces New Football Facilities Plan, But Plenty of Work Still Left”
Gross wants the fans to help pay for this facility yet schedules the best non conference home game at Met life? But we get Wagner and Tulane!
Ha, I thought that line by Shafer was a little odd too when he said “outsiders.”
Oh well… I only wish we had a fundraising site called “Shafer Says.” Have Coach Shafer read anything you want and send you the video of him reading it. Examples:
*Birthday Greeting Cards
*Emails
*Bible Verses
*Newspaper Clipping
*Doc Gross Speeches
*And Many More…
I don’t think Gross expects the fans to pay Chachi. They’re soliciting rich alumni. If the fans had to pay, the thing wouldn’t be finished for 100 years.
Chachi- as an alumn in NYC, I love the fact that the game is in MetLife and so do the rest of us. Louisville was ranked 9th when we played them last year and the turnout was pathetic. I’m tired of the townies bitching about the home games when the dome is barely full for the good games.
Wow!! No real funding yet!! The $$$$$ is there, but for some reason the administration won’t free it up. So us bottom dwellers must do our share and ATTEND all the HOME games we can. Or find other ways to help with nichol and dime ways to support these much needed facilities!!
@ chachi….really dude. How many times does this have to be said. Syracuse and Penn State agreed on a three game series. One game to be played at Penn State as a true road game. A second game to be played in Syracuse as a true home game. Lastly a third game to be played at MetLife stadium which was originally put on the schedule as a NEUTRAL SITE. The ORIGINAL PLAN all along was a three game home, away and neutral venue. Get it through your think fucking skulls and stop commenting on something you know nothing about. Find your way back to Syracuse.com
Ahmm22, very good point. I’m a long time season ticket holder and it is pathetic when we have the #9 team in the country come into our house and a real chance to beat them(which we did) and the place doesnt sell out. Very frustrating from a dedicated fan perspective. I went to the USC game last year and that was a small turnout as well but the Penn State game makes sense because Penn State will fill the seats as well. I expect a big turnout for that game.
@4orty4our & Smitty Section 129;
I too am a long time season ticket holder and will renew them again this year. I just want you to know that I agree with both of your post,both are to the point.
@Ahm22;i really don’t know what your talking about when you say ” I‚Äôm tired of the townies bitching about the home games”. the people that show up to the home games are the true fans and we all support Syracuse Football. lets compare the Penn State series with the Notre Dame Series. Home and away with Penn State and a neutral site for ball games. Metlife Stadium is a beautiful place to watch a game and I will b e there again this year. The Notre Dame series is what needs to be addressed. I don’t give a damn who or what they think they are but we play them twice at Metlife Stadium and twice at their place with no game at the dome over a 4 year period. That’s a giant slap in the face to the fans that support the program. Dr. Gross should get off his dead ass and renegotiate that contract. if Notre Dame doesn’t like it,then tell them to go to hell.
@Ahm22;
Chachi,do you travel to the dome for all of the home games? Dr Gross is asking us to travel to Met Live Stadium for a home game through to 2029. In that time span how many trips to the dome will you make?
As far as Notre Dame goes,we have to travel to MetLife twice and to South Bend Twice. We do not get any break at all over those 4 years. Will you be going to South Bend to Support Syracuse? I know my sons and I will be. Will Notre Dame have to pay Syracuse to go there to play? If so then how much money do you think Syracuse is going to receive?
I also know my sons and I will be at Beaver Stadium when we take on the Nittany Lions.
So to me the home town fans have a right to complain. The fans that are doing the bitching are from the down state area that probably has never been to the dome.
I like all the game at MetLife except those Notre Dame games… the fact that not 1 of the 4 games are at the Dome with 2 being at MetLife and the other 2 at ND Stadium I definitely agree is terrible!!!
@Ron – The trouble with people defending the MetLife games in a place likethis is that more often than not, it’s preaching to the choir. Most here understand it and therefore its not worth the fight. As for the ND series, I am not sure what to make of that except to say that ND probably wouldn’t have scheduled us with any other arrangement. Does that mean we should do it? probably not, but given how that program has improved since then, I think we couldn’t have timed it any better and the exposure we wanted when we did the deal has probably gone up 2 times as a result of ND returning to past stature on the field. A win becomes that much more valuable too. That said, now that they have the ACC deal, we might gotten a different deal if we did this tomorrow. Our willingness to play at a neutral site and our ability to be a draw in the NYC area is ultimately what makes us attractive to top tier programs and could benefitour scheduling. We are a dangerous team and hopefully only getting better. top teir teams are not going to schedule possible road losses let alone surefire ones (looking ahead here) unless there is something in it for them. That’s where the neutral site games come into play. It is probably the most win/win we could come up with. PSU might owe us a little more, and I credit Paterno with making anything happen because he knew they were the ones that turned their back on us, which seems like a good thing in retrospect (too soon?) but that deal was pretty fair. I remember playing in the Kickoff Classic and whooping Wisconsin in a sold out Giants Stadium. They had a Heisman winner (from NJ) and National Championship aspirations. Think they were happy with that result? If not for playing in NJ (where they recruited heavily) that game would have been a total loss for them.
Sorry for the rant.
Nobody’s upset with the 25,000 that do show up, its the 25,000 that don’t and then complain and use one game in NJ as the reason they have not been there in ten years. I am sure there are legitimate reasons for not being ableto get to games, but a game scheduled in an NFL stadium in the biggest media market in the country should not be one of them.
I feel that most of us want the big games at home but then when we get them case in point lousville we dont sell it out. Trust me whoever didnt show got screwed cause it was a great game. Even when i cant go (i coach h.s.) i still send my tickets to somebody so they can look like we have someone there. As a long time su fan it is very frustrating not seeing alot of people there for the games. Shit the georgetown game had more fans than most football games and thats pathetic, at least in my opinion. i bleed orange and dont understand why we cant sell out. Seats are decently priced i think. Go su and kick some acc ass.
i hope this really goes through.. its time to invest in these kinds of facilities in order to have the successful athletic programs here at syracuse university. its time to step up to the plate and do this..
Games in the Meadowlands generate about 5x the revenue of a game in the dome.
It has been said that SU earns $5 mil for every game in the Meadowlands. My guess is that a home game with the same opponent wouldn’t generate 1/5 of that money.
Conversation probably went like this.
Meadowlands:So Daryl, I got a huge $5mil check for you if you find the right opponent and play the game here..whaddya think?
DDG: Lemme see what I Net on a home game with 35K fans…
Meadowlands: Well…
DDG:I got USC, Penn State, ND TWICE and anybody else you want me to play there!! I’m IN!!
For the money they are getting paid to play there, SU would be pretty stupid for turning it down. Consider this, UCONN will be earning a grand total of 1.8 million for football in the NBig East TV deal. We make 2,5 times that for 1 game.
Anybody complaining needs to not go, get their fanhood revoked and STFU. I am sure there will be an alum in NYC to take your seat.
@Malone,shu,thesackster and CuseOnly,thank you all for the response to my post.They were all appreciated.
@malone–I’m not one of the people who complains about going to the MetLife Stadium to watch a football game. On August 31st I will be watching the game in a sold out stadium against Penn State. To tell you the truth I’m already getting excited about the trip.
I just get irritated with the people who probably has never been to a game,set home at their computers and complain about something they know nothing about.
My son’s and I were at the Wisconsin Game. One of their fans came up to us and asked what we thought about the game. We told him that Syracuse would win the game by at least 17 points. His response was well we have All American & Heisman Trophy Candidate Ron Dane running the ball. I told him that the Syracuse Defense would shut him down and probably knock him out of the game by half time. If you remember he had to leave the game in the first quarter and never returned. Syracuse won the game I think 24-27 to zip.
That’s one of the reasons why I love going to different stadiums to watch Syracuse play.
I didn’t think you were ranting when you posted your response.
I know one thing guys this season should be down right interesting and fun to watch.
Again thank you all.
Hey Russell old buddy;I’ve been thinking about this fall and there is 2 games that I would like to go to and would like to know if you want to go to them also.
You have all summer to think about it ok,so please let me know.
1st game is the Syracuse vs Penn State Game at MetLife Stadium Aug. 31st.
2nd game is the Bergan Catholic High School against the High School Team from Florida.
Just say the word and we can make the plans to attend either one. I can come by pick you up and take you to the game if necessary.
@Terry;
It kind of looks like things are picking up in the Syracuse Area that should make you happy. It appears that Fayetteville-Manlius High School has a couple of studs that Syracuse is looking at.
Outside Linebacker for the class of 2014 and Tight End/Defensive End Tyrone Wheatly for the class of 2015. I guess with the RB from West Genny that I’m going to have to come into Syracuse and watch these players play.
Christmas came early for you this year. Should make you happy.
A year ago the Big East conference turned down a $1.17 billion dollar contract that would have given each school $17 million a year in hopes of renegotiating a new contract that would have paid them more. Well as we all know now that it didn’t turn out that way,the league has broken apart,Syracuse and Pittsburgh off to the ACC and the C7 is trying to create it’s own league. Oh! I forgot instead of getting the $17 million annual payday the schools now will receive $1.7 million a year.
To the people who set in that room and negotiated a new deal,was it worth it? You showed us all just how stupid greed people can be at times. WAS IT WORTH IT?
This article was about SUFB getting a shot at new facilities!! Yet the fans are complaining about home games not being at the Dome. If that $$$$$ from out of town home games is put towards the new facilities-GO FOR IT!! We are losing players because of the worn facilities. It will not get all the talent we want, but it will surely help!! Also its time the other programs pitch in and help these facilities get developed!! Again the Dome was built for SUFB. Not SUBB!! Yet all the other major programs (Mens/Womens) took advantage of this facility called the DOME!!! Really, the other major programs grew while SUFB fell behind!! At one time SUFB was a top ten or better all time winning program in NCAA football!!! Now they are 15Th!! Its time the WHOLE SU community step up and find a way to fund this project!! Thank you Doc!!
This needs to happen fast. It puts us on par with the big boys and slightly ahead of the also rans in the ACC football landscape. It isn’t even a game changer as much as just staying a player. I think the facility should be placed where Coyne is now so that it can connect with Lampe and Manley. If not that, I think it should have a full program of spaces between the indoor and outdoor practice fields, with offices and team rooms, elevated filming platforms, and coaches booths for both the indoor and outdoor fields simultaneously. The recent Jets facility does a VERY good job of this. I am not a fan of that team, but I can’t hate their facility.
@ Ron – I know you are not one of the complainers. Guys like you are the choir. The ones that put the effort in, and still have to hear people like me yell that fans aren’t showing up.
Is that Bergen Catholic game you mentioned in Oradell? When?
@Malone;
I extended an invitation to Russell because I don’t know where in NJ that game is going to be played. Syracuse is after a couple of players that are on the Bergen Catholic team and with that team from Florida coming North should be a very good game to watch.
I don’t any of the specifics and was hoping Russell would fill me in.
@Malone;
I just finished reading Bergen Catholic’s 2013 football schedule and nowhere is a team coming up from Florida to play.
After reading their schedule I can see why Russell speaks so well and is so very proud of them.
They’re a national football program that travels out west and will play in Utah and Nevada where they take on those states 2012 champions. They go to Louisiana where they will play “John Curtis” the 2012 state champions that have gone 67-4 over the last five years and are ranked #1 in the country.
@Russell;
So after reading Bergen’s 2013 football schedule I guess the trip to NJ is off. But the invitation still stands for the Penn State Game at the MetLife Stadium in August.
Let me know ok.
@Ron – BC and Don Bosco are the class of the NJ football scene, and they are fierce rivals. The current BC coach was the Bosco AD as recent as 3 years ago. Ramapo and Wayne Hills (Greg Olsen) used to be in that mix, but it all points to one man, Bosco HC Greg Toal. He was associated with Ramapo and they retained Chris Simms and his son Greg Jr. who himself was a star LB at Boston College, as was his youngest son Brian. That said, the less refined but maybe tougher talent is in Paterson (from Victor Cruz to Craig Heyward), or in the Philly/Camden suburbs. That’s where we got guys like Donovan Darius. St. Peter’s Prep is a good program too. Hard to call it undervalued, but I think it still is.
@Malone;
When reading BC 2013 schedule it did mention it’s fierce rival Don Bosco. I’m impressed with the fact that the games played in that area has to be awesome to say the least.The teams must look like DIII teams with all that talent on them.
Do they draw big crowds to the games?
The last time we had a team in the upstate area with talent like that was Rome Free Academy before the Rome Airforce Base closed.
Ron,Miami Central is coming north in Sept? I believe in a late scheduled game I saw in the Newark Star Ledger but Ill have to recheck the date!!It usually is DonBosco Prep who plays and beats anyone anywhere but due to political infighting and transfers lost 2 games with a “national type” schedule last year and only came in 2nd in the state to Bergen Catholic ? I believe but St Joes “Montvale and St Peters Prep and Paramus Catholic are national powerhouses too!! I’ll have to look into that game again!!Last year another team came up from Miami!!
Last year I believe 15,000 showed for the Fla Hs game and it was televised by MSGs Mike Quick who covers downstate NJ/NY HS sports!!A BC/DBP game typically gets 8/12 thousand!!
@Russell MacEachern;
I trust your word Russell. If a team is coming north to play then I would like to watch the game live. The invitation to you is back on again. When checked Bergen’s football schedule it didn’t mention a game against a high school from Florida.
Please let me know ok.
Ron,I have to laugh at the Fizz articles sometimes haha “were now running with the big dogs”?? outside of FSU and maybe Clemson?? just who are these BIG DOGS?lol..Mich?USC?ORE?OSU?..I mean lets face it the “03” BE was WAY better in FB!!And last yrs BE was actually considered on the same level!!But I known its a rah rah site and thats why were here!!but as a 61 yr old “ol hand” I find it humuorus…Ron Dayne yea thats who I thought Malone was talking about! I remember when Joe Pa almost took the RU job but sent Dick Anderson instead and he told Craig “Ironhead” Heyward RU wouldnt take him out of Passaic HS can u believe that?I remember when my hometown HS Belleville beat them 3-2 and Heyward carried the ball 50 times and it took 8 guys to bring him down lol..what a game…we knocked Passaic out of 1st in the state and Belleville came in 3rd in the state!Back when Publics mostly ruled!!Heyward passed recently in his 40s…a couple years ago..what a waste!!5’11” 235/250 and did a 4.6 40,an animal!!His brother Nate was really a better Athlete at 5’11” 195 built like me!They ended up at Pitt!
Ron,like I said I know their “Miami Central” is coming I saw it a couple weeks ago and posted the date here but its slipped my mind I know its an early game and Jersey kids always rep NJ well…u might reverse it and look at Miami Centrals schedule if they listed the late added game yet?Im surprised u remembered!But I shouldnt have been cause u never forgot Oct 13th haha..after we talked about months earlier..lol..u usually don’t forget a thing!
@Russell MacEachern;
Don Bosco Prep will host Miami Central(Florida 6A State Champions) Sept. 21st.
Russell your right on target again. It looks like Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic High Schools are equals and have a great rivalry going between the schools. It doesn’t matter what team I watch Russell,the invitation is still on if you want to go. It didn’t post the time as to when the game would be played.
@Russell MacEachern;
CANCEL CANCEL CANCEL,Russell I hate to announce that Syracuse has a home game against Tulane on the 21st,so I won’t be able to go see that Don Bosco game. Sorry.
Its DBP playing Miami Central not Bergen Cath,right?..I thought so but a lot of NJ catholics play out of state powers from Ala,Cal,Tex,Fla etc…yea u dont want to miss ANY home games the seasons too short!!But thanks anyway when I feel healthy enough I’ll contact ya and we’ll catch at least 1 good home game together buddy!!Well have loads of fun talking about the old days and football!!
@Russell MacEachern;
I’m looking forwards to the day that we can get together Russell and watch some real good football and have a friendly chat about the good old days. I really don’t care if it’s Syracuse vs anyone or a good high school game.
Yes it’s Don Bosco(at home)that will be playing Miami Central on Sept. 21st.
Ron,pretty much equals Ron except DBP has had the best of it recently…..You could almost have called Bosco peerless untill the recent political infighting and by peerless Im talking NATIONALLY!!Theyve been televised nationally playing the best of Calif,Ala,Fla,SC,Ohio,MD,Texas and kicking butt lol..their the pride of NJ HS football and all downstate NY/NJ have sorta adopted them..(some NY kids go there)!!
Russell I did read that DBP was NJ State Champions between 2005-2011 leading up to 2012 where they lost to BC.
Was the political infighting caused when DBP lost 2 games against their national opponents? Either way you look at it Russell both schools are impressive. As you have indicated recently,some of the best HS football is being played in the southern part of the state. To watch that level of play in high school during the season on a weekly basis is got to be awesome.
For the very first time Russell,through you,I’ve learned that good football is being played in parts of the northeast and I understand better as to why the southern schools come north to recruit. One other thing that I’ve come to understand/accept is that the level of football played and enjoyed in New Jersey will never ever be played in New York.
I think that I’d be in heaven if those schools were in my back yard Russell.
NJ is ranked #8 as far as producing elite High School Talent. SU needs to recruit better there. RU is in on Holley, Samuel, and Noye who is an underrated stud. These are the prospects we need to get. NJ CB Shamir Bearfield should also be a target because RU isn’t high on him. But the kid is being compared to NJ’s great and NY Giant Will Hill. I guess he isn’t a “Rutgers Guy” lol.
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a
co-worker who was doing a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me dinner due to the fact that I discovered it for
him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about
this issue here on your blog.
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