Does anyone have a link to the architectural rendurings of the proposed new outdoor track stadium? I've seen it before, but cannot seem locate it now.

i saw it on the plane, a recruit's father had a rendering from the osu visit weekend.

Would the one without the grand stand be used strictly as a training track, or would they try and run things simultaneously on both? I'm thinking more in terms of hosting youth meets where there's tons of competitors, not NCAA's where every race is a premier race.

Has there been anyword on the cost associated with this?

I think after the "Football Village" that Sherman is going for and Olsen are done this should be the next priority.

I heard 20 million and is a long way off unless some private $$ steps up. Likley will be scaled way down from this Olympic stadium concept.

Beautiful. Build it first class for a dynasty.

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Would the one without the grand stand be used strictly as a training track, or would they try and run things simultaneously on both? I'm thinking more in terms of hosting youth meets where there's tons of competitors, not NCAA's where every race is a premier race.

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I doubt they would try to run events over there since people will be warming up there.

Wow. Those drawings leave me speechless.

Pipe dream. Kyle Field is going to bankrupt us trying to dress-up that pig. And, the softball stadium will remain the best high school facility in the state.

Why would it need that much seating?

Kyle Field must undergo major renovations. We have kicked the can down the road about as far as we can. I don't know that the track "needs" that many seats. Even for a conference championship you would expect to draw fewer than 10,000. If you want to hold a national meet you need at least 10,000 seats. I don't know that the city can host a meet of that size and the disaster in Austin with the weather will make it difficult to get the meet in Texas for some time. When you look at what was spent on various facilities here it is hard to argue that Coach Henry shouldn't have a first class facility to rival anyone in the nation. Whether we can afford it is another matter.

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Why would it need that much seating?

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Can you say Texas high school state trackmeet?
How about U. S. Olympic trials?

I thought you could.

[This message has been edited by rab79 (edited 11/12/2011 2:24p).]

UIL would never let the state meet move to College Station. Olympic Trials are a once-every-four-years event, which you won't get every time. US Championships are held every year, but 2 out of the 3 non-trials years are basically guaranteed to a couple of places (Oregon/Indianapolis).

World championships are every other year do they take the highest places in the US championships for the national team, or do they hold separate trials?

Look at that facility (if it happens) and tell me the UIL won't have some serious pressure to use it.

[This message has been edited by rab79 (edited 11/12/2011 4:53p).]

World Champs teams are decided at the US championships. It would be an amazing stadium, don't get me wrong. However, it would take more than a great stadium to convince the powers that be to move the state meet from where it's always been held.

We would still hold several big meets a year in such a stadium, likely at a high school, collegiate, and perhaps even professional level. However, hosting the state meet would be amazingly unlikely, and US championshpis / trials would only happen at most once every 4 years on average, and probably less than that.

The UIL will never move the outdoor state meet to College Station. The facility in Austin seats over 20,000 and is convenient for the UIL staff. It is also a first class outdoor facility.

Olympic Trials or even World Championship Trials are not likely to come here regardless of the facility. It has to do with travel logistics and the power structure within USATF. Sites like Eugene, Sacramento, and Indianapolis and possibly New York will monopolize hosting the meet. There is a strong undercurrent of anti-Southern feelings regarding site selection because of the heat.

What all of the above said. The indoor stadium was great and has had a huge impact, but I don't know if an outdoor stadium of equal quality would have the same impact. Sure we need an upgrade from what we have, but I don't think we need to go all-the-way with 20,000 seats and the like.

Make sure that it provides ideal training and competition conditions for the athletes, is tolerable for the fans to hold mid-level meets, and call it a day.

A shaded stadium will be a big upgrade in June/July heat for nationals etc. Also, consider olympic trials.

Great facility.

I read on another board, i think m&w, that Henry is quoted on a radio interview about having doubts about getting a track stadium. He did not sound happy about it and that was part of the deal with him coming to Aggieland.

I did not hear the interview, just read others comments.

With this thing they would never have to travel anywhere. 7 out of the 9 meets in the indoor season (or something like that) are in College Station.

Unless they convince Don Adam it would be in his best interest to have an amazing track facility named after him or his bank (which, for the record, I think would be a great idea), it will not happen for a long while.

if it doesn't happen, i don't see Henry staying around, based on his comments.

He's likely over 60 years old, making considerably more than he did at LSU and will not find another athletic director more track friendly than Byrne. He also has the best indoor track in the state of Texas.

For all the incredible success they have had, they don't make a profit. Not even close. To ask someone to drop 10's of millions on a project like that without providing a funding source is asking a little much.

Football is the only sport that matters when it comes to making money. The success of T&F provides values to the university that is beyond money.

Is it worth $10+ millions? I say yes. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money, but I do have ~$300 every year.

not drunk... Gamedrunk!!!

I love T&F, but that ridiculous indoor track is the biggest waste of cash in A&M history.

[This message has been edited by monkeyaround (edited 11/23/2011 2:26p).]

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I love T&F, but that ridiculous indoor track is the biggest waste of cash in A&M history.

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How so?

Do you know how much money we've paid Fran and Sherman?

Our cash goes to paying ex-fb coaches to leave quietly and sit on their butts for several years as a reward for doing a piss-poor job. A sport that has won 6 (count'em, that's SIX) national titles in three years gets no love from some of you dullards.

You guys dont realize that this expense does more than just help T&F. There are a ton of two sport athletes who run track, and also are stars on the gridiron. This adds more exposure to Texas A&M in alot of states. Marvin Bracy comes to mind. A florida athlete who wouldnt normally give A&M two thoughts had A&M in his final two. This guy is an olympic athlete who also plays football. This will give A&M an edge in football recruiting as much as it will give track and field that same edge. I'm sure A&M would also love to host highschool track and field events that the Sips get to host in austin every year. This is just the next step in putting A&M on the map.

Coach Henry deserves the best. The guy wins! Let's build the stadium that he deserves and keep the momentum going.

Argentina Aggie

monkey, the indoor track is also an indoor practice facility used by several sports during extreme or inclement weather. It wouldn't have been built if it was just an indoor track. Do you have any reasons as to why it's a dumb waste of money, or just a gut feeling like the one I have about you?

I was all for the indoor track, and it's obviously paying off.

In terms of an outdoor track, I think we can give them a great facility without going to the leve of the indoor one. As has been pointed out, the weather means that there's never going to be those ultra-elite outdoor meets hosted there, so give them a facility that can hold quality in-season meets and will be awesome for training without spending the money on 20,000 seats.

Unless of course they can find someone to donate specifically to that project. In that case, build whatever the hell they want! But if the money is coming from one big pool designated for all sports, then softball needs an upgrade before track gets a 20,000 seat outdoor stadium.

If the grandstand is the biggest sort of "negotiable" cost (which it seems like it might be), maybe they can make it "expandable" like football stadiums are. Have it with so many seats and facilities directly related to the competition (tracks, pits, etc), and then expand the seats as there is interest shown in the facility.

[This message has been edited by AGBlastoff (edited 11/28/2011 10:13a).]

I may be mistaken but I believe it is the football indoor facility that is used for practice by other teams. The field turf makes it suitable for them to use. The track surface is not a good surface for other sports to practice on. It may have other uses for the athletic department but practice for other teams is not one of them.

Sorry, that's what I meant - that the indoor facility is used by other teams, the facility that also houses the track.

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I may be mistaken but I believe it is the football indoor facility that is used for practice by other teams. The field turf makes it suitable for them to use. The track surface is not a good surface for other sports to practice on. It may have other uses for the athletic department but practice for other teams is not one of them.

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Actually both sides can be used by other sports. The track can go completely flat and under the end that is closest to Wellborn Rd there is a roll of turf that can cover the entire surface. Not sure how often they actually use that though, I think soccer has used it once.