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Post by unaman on Sept 25, 2018 9:06:13 GMT -6
From looking at the 2019 Schedule, we open up on a Thursday against Western Illinois in Florence. Has there been any discussions about renovating Braly in regards to the locker rooms? I know Willis mentioned Alabama A&M having small locker rooms after the game, but the Away locker room at Braly may be smaller than their locker rooms, and I do not see any Division 1 team being able to fit their team and equipment in them.
Personally, I would love UNA to build a new stadium, approximately 10,000 capacity with room for growth. The only problem is where would you put it that provides a good game atmosphere. A cool location that I believe UNA owns property is by Cypress Creek.
Nonetheless, there will not be a new stadium for next season. In my opinion, the current Home locker rooms could easily serve as the Away locker room, and the other end of the endzone has a building that could be renovated to be the Home Locker room. If possible with time constraints, you could build a 500-1,000 seats on top of it for the Student Section or build a nice Club area similar to what they are doing in Flowers Hall. Thoughts???
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Post by roaringsince96 on Sept 25, 2018 9:30:59 GMT -6
Upgrades badly needed. I doubt any team comes together Braly thinking D1. Scoreboard is an eyesore more than an attraction. Seating is about 25 years overdue for updates. Away locker room is really small...definitely is nothing to brag about. I am not sure how North Alabama gets anything done with sharing stadium facilities with city of Florence?
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Post by northalaspectator on Sept 25, 2018 9:44:44 GMT -6
Why waste the money on building a 10,000 seat stadium, when within 10 years are less it would probably need to be added on to.
Now as for as your suggestion on having the visitors used the current home dressing room and a new dressing room be built on the other end of the stadium with seats on top of the building.
I like that ideal, but you got to remember that any changes or additions to the stadium or property has to be approved by the Florence City Board of Education because they own the property and the University only been accorded an lease to used that stadium for an set number of years.
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Post by unafied on Sept 25, 2018 9:57:47 GMT -6
First off, welcome unaman, glad to have you here!
We've had some discussions on the board here about what to do. There are rumors of something being planned on-campus, but I would imagine nothing is definite yet. Of course, I don't live in the Shoals, and don't really have any connections, so I have no way of knowing for sure. Just guessing.
I believe the contract with the City of Florence now runs to 2024? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Now obviously there are usually "outs" built into these contracts, so if we wanted to build a stadium before then I assume we could do so. But I also wouldn't be surprised if there are some folks in charge that would prefer to ride out the contract. Yes, that stinks for those of us that want a new stadium, but I do concede that they need to take their time to get everything right - location of the stadium, size, fan amenities, etc. Look at what Alabama is doing, announcing that they are actually reducing capacity at Bryant-Denny due to the expected drop in attendance in the future. It will affect every sport, as TVs get bigger and ticket prices go higher. It's a unique time to be considering a new stadium, and I'm sure that adds some challenges to what the Powers That Be are trying to plan for.
I think the biggest thing complicating Braly renovations are just trying not to spend too much money on what will (likely) one day be nothing but a high school stadium. UNA probably doesn't want to spend too much for something they'll use 5-7 years, and Florence probably doesn't want to overspend on a facility that will just serve a high school team. Though you look at what some other high schools around the state are doing, and maybe it's not quite as far-fetched.
I think the biggest shame is how Braly was neglected for so long. If updates had been done every few years for the past couple of decades, we probably wouldn't be stuck in the situation we are now. I'm sure there is a lot of blame to go around on that. Hate to bring that negativity, but it's almost a given in these discussions.
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Post by northalaspectator on Sept 25, 2018 10:25:30 GMT -6
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Post by unaman on Sept 25, 2018 10:56:22 GMT -6
Why waste the money on building a 10,000 seat stadium, when within 10 years are less it would probably need to be added on to. Now as for as your suggestion on having the visitors used the current home dressing room and a new dressing room be built on the other end of the stadium with seats on top of the building. I like that ideal, but you got to remember that any changes or additions to the stadium or property has to be approved by the Florence City Board of Education because they own the property and the University only been accorded an lease to used that stadium for an set number of years. 10,000 would be a good start for the stadium, in my opinion. The attendance on the box score for Azusa Pacific says 5,314. I find that number hard to believe especially hearing from the announcers on the attendance of the game. I have attended many games, and unless it is a UWA and Valdosta State (when both ranked), Braly rarely got above 7,500. I was part of the student section that had to sit on the away side, and it did actually make the stadium look much fuller than it does now. The away side is now primarily the band and the few visiting team fans. Seeing that Florence High school is now 7A and playing teams such as Bob Jones, James Clemens, and other top programs, I believe FCBE could be on board to renovate Braly. The stadium could be known as one of the nicest in North Alabama. Hoover still plays in a baseball stadium, and I believe Thompson built a nice football stadium with their amazing new high school. |
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Post by lions09 on Sept 25, 2018 11:03:27 GMT -6
Braly is done. Building a new stadium is the only next step.
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Post by unaman on Sept 25, 2018 11:05:00 GMT -6
First off, welcome unaman, glad to have you here! We've had some discussions on the board here about what to do. There are rumors of something being planned on-campus, but I would imagine nothing is definite yet. Of course, I don't live in the Shoals, and don't really have any connections, so I have no way of knowing for sure. Just guessing. I believe the contract with the City of Florence now runs to 2024? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Now obviously there are usually "outs" built into these contracts, so if we wanted to build a stadium before then I assume we could do so. But I also wouldn't be surprised if there are some folks in charge that would prefer to ride out the contract. Yes, that stinks for those of us that want a new stadium, but I do concede that they need to take their time to get everything right - location of the stadium, size, fan amenities, etc. Look at what Alabama is doing, announcing that they are actually reducing capacity at Bryant-Denny due to the expected drop in attendance in the future. It will affect every sport, as TVs get bigger and ticket prices go higher. It's a unique time to be considering a new stadium, and I'm sure that adds some challenges to what the Powers That Be are trying to plan for. I think the biggest thing complicating Braly renovations are just trying not to spend too much money on what will (likely) one day be nothing but a high school stadium. UNA probably doesn't want to spend too much for something they'll use 5-7 years, and Florence probably doesn't want to overspend on a facility that will just serve a high school team. Though you look at what some other high schools around the state are doing, and maybe it's not quite as far-fetched. I think the biggest shame is how Braly was neglected for so long. If updates had been done every few years for the past couple of decades, we probably wouldn't be stuck in the situation we are now. I'm sure there is a lot of blame to go around on that. Hate to bring that negativity, but it's almost a given in these discussions. Thanks for the welcome. I have been reading posts on this board for over a year now. It appears that UNA is in contract with stadium for 10 years. I can definitely see UNA wanting to "ride" out the contract especially if the cost to renovate the endzone is significantly cheaper than building a brand new stadium. A new jumbotron is a must. I was very impressed with the jumbotron at Alabama A&M. I believe Football has a major problem with attendance in the future especially with how easy it is to watch the game on TV and the announcers with production of the game on TV makes it easier to follow. I know many people that prefer to watch the game on the couch then attend even if they had season tickets to Alabama games. I have always thought that Florence should open up the stadium to other schools in the area on Fridays or Thursdays when Florence plays away. This past week, Brooks and Rogers played at Rogers in a big time game for this area. Think about if that game would be at Braly. I know there would have to be a lot of moving parts with who runs concessions, scoreboard, tickets, etc... |
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Post by unafied on Sept 25, 2018 11:09:32 GMT -6
Thanks spectator. For those that don't care to read it, it appears the stadium contract runs until 2027 (or 2026 if the "ten years" actually meant seasons). But, UNA apparently has the option to opt-out with a 90-day notice. I suppose that also means no financial penalty, since it isn't mentioned? If so that's pretty surprising. The agreement does mention that UNA could choose to sell the naming rights to any part of the stadium that is currently unnamed. So perhaps something could be worked out with a new locker room, for example, where a donor provides a large percentage of the funds and then gets his name slapped on it. My thought on capacity has always been to at least shoot for the number we have now (14,125). While attendance most seasons has averaged around 9000 I believe, the hope is to not only grow the University, but also bring in new fans AND bring back old casual fans by playing some better-known teams and old rivals. Plus, some of these regional FCS schools will potentially bring more fans of their own than a lot of D2 schools could. |
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Post by lions09 on Sept 25, 2018 11:15:07 GMT -6
JSU averaging 20K in their first two home games.
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Post by unafied on Sept 25, 2018 11:42:36 GMT -6
JSU averaging 20K in their first two home games. I'd be curious to know what they averaged their last few D2 years. How much have they grown that number since then? I think we can some day get to that number, but Jacksonville has an advantage we'll never have: Being about an hour away from parts of both Birmingham and Atlanta. A quick drive down Interstate 20 for their alums in those cities to go see a game. |
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Post by 1949lions on Sept 25, 2018 14:07:13 GMT -6
JSU averaging 20K in their first two home games. I'd be curious to know what they averaged their last few D2 years. How much have they grown that number since then? I think we can some day get to that number, but Jacksonville has an advantage we'll never have: Being about an hour away from parts of both Birmingham and Atlanta. A quick drive down Interstate 20 for their alums in those cities to go see a game. Their first year of I-AA (FCS) was 1993. A lot has changed since then. |
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Post by brandon on Sept 25, 2018 16:00:16 GMT -6
Why waste the money on building a 10,000 seat stadium, when within 10 years are less it would probably need to be added on to. Now as for as your suggestion on having the visitors used the current home dressing room and a new dressing room be built on the other end of the stadium with seats on top of the building. I like that ideal, but you got to remember that any changes or additions to the stadium or property has to be approved by the Florence City Board of Education because they own the property and the University only been accorded an lease to used that stadium for an set number of years. 10,000 would be a good start for the stadium, in my opinion. The attendance on the box score for Azusa Pacific says 5,314. I find that number hard to believe especially hearing from the announcers on the attendance of the game. I have attended many games, and unless it is a UWA and Valdosta State (when both ranked), Braly rarely got above 7,500. I was part of the student section that had to sit on the away side, and it did actually make the stadium look much fuller than it does now. The away side is now primarily the band and the few visiting team fans. Seeing that Florence High school is now 7A and playing teams such as Bob Jones, James Clemens, and other top programs, I believe FCBE could be on board to renovate Braly. The stadium could be known as one of the nicest in North Alabama. Hoover still plays in a baseball stadium, and I believe Thompson built a nice football stadium with their amazing new high school. First off, there was weather involved in the attendance Saturday night, it would have been close to 10k if not for the pouring rain and lightning delays. Second, when we play JSU, Chattanooga and schools that more fans are wanting to see at home, attendance will skyrocket. JSU alone will bring enough fans with them to fill up the Royal Avenue side and more probably. Not to mention they have a huge (but not better than the POD) band that they will most certainly bring. Chattanooga will bring lots of fans as well. And A&M always packed out Braly. The plans I know of is to move the baseball field to Cox Creek, also found out that UNA is currently exploring the option to buy the old horse farm next to it. After the baseball field is moved, they plan on building a 20k seat stadium where the current practice field is, and a soccer stadium where the baseball field is. They also have built more parking and have plans to build more along Waterloo Road. If the soccer stadium dont happen, it will be incorporated into the football stadium (reference Kennesaw State) they will be able to practice in the stadium because they will include artificial turf. And the band feild will stay. Pine Street and part of Waterloo Road, and the road directly between the area and Mitchell Hollingsworth will be closed on game days for tailgating and foot traffic, only emergency personnel allowed through. Anyway, my point being, playing the schools we are going to be playing for the most part have sparked more interest and will bring more of their fans as they travel better. And a point of reference, after a talk with Azusa Pacific parents at the game the other night, they all said that Braly is the nicest stadium that they have visited yet, we are just tired of it. Not saying we should stay, just some prospective. |
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Post by willsfc on Sept 25, 2018 16:13:18 GMT -6
And a point of reference, after a talk with Azusa Pacific parents at the game the other night, they all said that Braly is the nicest stadium that they have visited yet, we are just tired of it. Not saying we should stay, just some prospective. been to two GNAC stadiums, WOU and CWU, both had no visitors bleachers and hardly any amenities, so i dont blame them. when western oregon came here in 2015 some of their guys loved Braly (i saw why when i went to their place) |
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Post by unaman on Sept 25, 2018 16:24:17 GMT -6
Is there enough room to build a 20,000 seat stadium around the current practice field? Seems like it would be a tight squeeze. Nonetheless, I like the idea of a football/soccer stadium on campus. Tailgating would awesome if they could have it down the brick road from the fountain to the New Nursing Building (I believe it used to be Shelby Way and used to be able to drive on it). If a stadium is to be built on campus, what is the point of buying the old horse farm? Athletic Facility?
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