McGuirk Upgrade

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InnervisionsUMASS
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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by InnervisionsUMASS » Fri Feb 16, 2018 12:33 pm

Except for a few nutjobs here, no one is asking for a 100k seat stadium. Something within reason, and I concur that something in the 30-40k range is a good target. If you want to include options for future expansion, have at it.
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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by TruBluMaroon » Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:44 pm

dennisdent wrote: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:07 pm Indoor athletic facility (turf field with bubble) is in the works. Nothing is going to happen with the football stadium...
Exactly where?

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by TruBluMaroon » Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:46 pm

InnervisionsUMASS wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 12:33 pm Except for a few nutjobs here, no one is asking for a 100k seat stadium. Something within reason, and I concur that something in the 30-40k range is a good target. If you want to include options for future expansion, have at it.
The one they opened in 1965 had plenty of room for future expansion, but they haven't added a seat!

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by inthescoop » Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:50 pm

dennisdent wrote: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:07 pm Indoor athletic facility (turf field with bubble) is in the works. Nothing is going to happen with the football stadium...
And this will be used by whom? As an indoor practice facility?

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by InnervisionsUMASS » Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:00 pm

TruBluMaroon wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:46 pm The one they opened in 1965 had plenty of room for future expansion, but they haven't added a seat!
True, nor did they really maintain it. You sit there and it is legitimately crumbling at your feet.
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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by econalum » Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:30 pm

Concrete does wear out, just check out Southwest. All the freezing and melting over 53 years, and minimal attention to basic upkeep is the story of the UMASS campuses of the 60's and 70's when everything went into a funding tailspin through the 90's. And other UM campuses were even worse (the notorious UM Boston garage being the most heinous example). When basic infrastructure like that, on a 95% commuter campus to boot, needs a huge cash infusion, why would a renewed football stadium be a priority?

Any major renovation would need to be debt funded, and I wonder what UMASS' debt capacity still is, given all of the building/ remodelings of the past 8 years or so. Some buildings were funded privately, most were not.

As interest rates will now be rising, UMASS new debt will pay higher rates as well. We do not need to 'max out' our credit, hurt our bond ratings, and suffer even higher interest rates. That is the situation that UCONN is finding itself in.

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by McKinney » Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:42 pm

econalum wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:30 pm Concrete does wear out, just check out Southwest. All the freezing and melting over 53 years, and minimal attention to basic upkeep is the story of the UMASS campuses of the 60's and 70's when everything went into a funding tailspin through the 90's. And other UM campuses were even worse (the notorious UM Boston garage being the most heinous example). When basic infrastructure like that, on a 95% commuter campus to boot, needs a huge cash infusion, why would a renewed football stadium be a priority?

Any major renovation would need to be debt funded, and I wonder what UMASS' debt capacity still is, given all of the building/ remodelings of the past 8 years or so. Some buildings were funded privately, most were not.

As interest rates will now be rising, UMASS new debt will pay higher rates as well. We do not need to 'max out' our credit, hurt our bond ratings, and suffer even higher interest rates. That is the situation that UCONN is finding itself in.

https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys- ... _904122735
It's not exactly the entire point of this book, but I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the history of UMass (with an emphasis on this very topic) from the 1960's up to the late '90s (the professor left UMass for UGA in 2003). https://books.google.com/books?id=jgqgBAAAQBAJ
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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by Berkman » Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:11 pm

One time I heard that UMass was going to build some new dorms and fund them through a bond issue. Renovations to the stadium are supposed to be included in that bond issue. Have not heard any more about that.

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by DearOleUMass » Fri Feb 16, 2018 6:10 pm

econalum wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:30 pm Any major renovation would need to be debt funded, and I wonder what UMASS' debt capacity still is, given all of the building/ remodelings of the past 8 years or so. Some buildings were funded privately, most were not.

As interest rates will now be rising, UMASS new debt will pay higher rates as well. We do not need to 'max out' our credit, hurt our bond ratings, and suffer even higher interest rates. That is the situation that UCONN is finding itself in.

https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys- ... _904122735
Is UMass' credit information/limit not public?
Berkman wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:11 pm One time I heard that UMass was going to build some new dorms and fund them through a bond issue. Renovations to the stadium are supposed to be included in that bond issue. Have not heard any more about that.
Where did you hear this? Hearsay, or actual pen to paper, the plan is there when we deem it fundable?

I really wish the athletic administration would produce some type of master plan that we could all see. Nothing extremely detailed but something that gives us an idea of where the department is headed or at the very least what they think we can do. I know Bamford has said that there is no need to add seats until the demand is there but there will come a time that we need to do some type of renovations to McGuirk regardless of whether that includes adding seats. I hope there is a plan B after Plan A of waiting till we are hitting 20K a game.

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by McKinney » Fri Feb 16, 2018 6:54 pm

DearOleUMass wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 6:10 pm I really wish the athletic administration would produce some type of master plan that we could all see. Nothing extremely detailed but something that gives us an idea of where the department is headed or at the very least what they think we can do. I know Bamford has said that there is no need to add seats until the demand is there but there will come a time that we need to do some type of renovations to McGuirk regardless of whether that includes adding seats. I hope there is a plan B after Plan A of waiting till we are hitting 20K a game.
I think that should demand outweigh McGuirk's capacity and/or McGuirk is no longer satisfactory for holding football games, all games will be held at Gillette until an on-campus stadium can be built/renovated. Since we have access to Gillette, unlike many schools, we CAN in fact wait for the stadium to crumble beneath our feet.
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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by UMass02 » Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:48 am

Berkman wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:11 pm One time I heard that UMass was going to build some new dorms and fund them through a bond issue. Renovations to the stadium are supposed to be included in that bond issue. Have not heard any more about that.
There were rumors of a public/private partnership of a student village was to be built near the stadium. Apartments, dining, shops, parking, etc. I don’t know the status of that project.

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by econalum » Sat Feb 17, 2018 12:53 pm

UMASS bond rating, etc., are here: https://www.umassp.edu/budget-office/um ... dit-ratinguc

UMASS Amherst Building and construction: https://www.umass.edu/facilities/current-construction

My intent in showing UCONN is the squeeze many state universities are having financially. CT state finances are a mess overall.
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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by DearOleUMass » Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:38 pm

UMass02 wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:48 am
Berkman wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:11 pm One time I heard that UMass was going to build some new dorms and fund them through a bond issue. Renovations to the stadium are supposed to be included in that bond issue. Have not heard any more about that.
There were rumors of a public/private partnership of a student village was to be built near the stadium. Apartments, dining, shops, parking, etc. I don’t know the status of that project.
http://www.gazettenet.com/Private-compa ... s-13162764
I can't seem to find anything more recent on this but I believe Bamford had mentioned looking toward the spring as far as the IPF goes. To me we should know more on the whole scope of the project come that time. Personally, I am hoping for it to be built on the parking lots across from South West. A Patriot Place type area that brings new dorms, apartments, dining, shops, hotel, medical center. With all the athletic fields being in the area it could be the start of what eventually turns into an entire athletic complex. Gotta dream big.

http://www.umass.edu/town-gown/sites/de ... _FINAL.pdf
(Starting on page 18 of this PDF you can see some of the potential layouts they are looking into. One of the four being the student village you mention)
econalum wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2018 12:53 pm UMASS bond rating, etc., are here: https://www.umassp.edu/budget-office/um ... dit-ratinguc

UMASS Amherst Building and construction: https://www.umass.edu/facilities/current-construction

My intent in showing UCONN is the squeeze many state universities are having financially. CT state finances are a mess overall.
I see. I wouldn't say Mass is financially sound by any means but CT is an atrocity and I am curious to see how it plays out for them. It will likely only get worse as taxes go up, and more people leave. At least with Massachusetts we have Boston which is a genuine draw as opposed to Hartford.

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by Berkman » Sat Feb 17, 2018 3:38 pm

UMass02 wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:48 am
Berkman wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:11 pm One time I heard that UMass was going to build some new dorms and fund them through a bond issue. Renovations to the stadium are supposed to be included in that bond issue. Have not heard any more about that.
There were rumors of a public/private partnership of a student village was to be built near the stadium. Apartments, dining, shops, parking, etc. I don’t know the status of that project.
This is what I was referring to.

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Re: McGuirk Upgrade

Post by dennisdent » Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:03 pm

inthescoop wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:50 pm
dennisdent wrote: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:07 pm Indoor athletic facility (turf field with bubble) is in the works. Nothing is going to happen with the football stadium...
And this will be used by whom? As an indoor practice facility?

All sports that will need to practice indoors (of course for football). Baseball will be able to practice in it. Football stadium additions are dead--just won't work on the current stadium structure...

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