DNF questions & observations

[Todd4State]

At DNF ... what's the purpose of the big circle at the edge of right field?

I believe that is supposed to be the main entrance and if you look closely there is a statue in the rendering. I think the idea is it's supposed to be kind of a tribute to MSU baseball/welcome to Dudy Noble Field area.

[Todd4State]

Don't remind me... this pisses me off A LOT... how much did they save taking the stadium down piece by piece to save the bottom rows vs destroying the whole thing faster with no care of saving anything...
The sight lines SUCK and are one of the reasons why we needed to make a new stadium instead of just expanding. DAMNIT

I figured it would be cheaper to just blow the thing up than try to save the box seats and take it down the way we are now. It makes zero sense to me as to why we are saving those first few rows- and I hope it's not because we caved in to people bitching about the new ballpark and this was an olive wreath from MSU.

Giving in to our fans that bitch the most is what holds us back sometimes- like bringing Polk back again......and again. Sometimes MSU needs to stand up and say "no" here's what we're doing, we're bringing in Cohen because that's what's best for the program and you can just e-mail me everyday about him cussing at our players if that makes you feel better. Or whatever it is.

Now that I've said that- it may not be the case.

[Steakonastick]

Pretty sure the dugouts and the box seats were saved to save time. it was faster to adapt the seats for better sight lines then spend weeks pouring concrete. I'll see if I can get told a straight answer today.

[Todd4State]

Pretty sure the dugouts and the box seats were saved to save time. it was faster to adapt the seats for better sight lines then spend weeks pouring concrete. I'll see if I can get told a straight answer today.

That makes sense to me. I'm not a construction expert by any means- but I've built a house before, LOL- and I just can't see where saving the box seats would be have been cheaper.

And I may be totally off on the sight lines issue, but it does seem to me like we could possibly angle in the seats since we have taken them out.

[HSVDawg]

I would be surprised if it's not in ever worse shape since it hasn't been used. I've always thought they could renovate it and have a really nice ball park ... nothing wrong with the seating areas and the field. At one time it was the nicest park in the Southern League.

Seating areas do leave a lot to be desired. The seating along the 3rd base line runs completely parallel to the foul line all the way to the foul pole, which leads to some really terrible sight lines. And that accounts for close to 50% of the seats in the stadium. It being bleacher seating doesn't help either.

The location isn't good either. Many cities these days have realized that fans don't really have an emotional attachment to minor league teams / players, so in order to get good attendance you have to have a really nice, comfortable fan experience along with some tangential entertainment options. I always thought it would be a great idea for them to build a new park at the old site planned for the Constellation shopping area that never got off the ground. That would be walking distance from Downtown and Big Spring Park and everything that goes along with that. And the way Huntsville has been growing, I wouldn't be surprised if a new stadium was planned within the next 5 years or so.

[BrunswickDawg]

That makes sense to me. I'm not a construction expert by any means- but I've built a house before, LOL- and I just can't see where saving the box seats would be have been cheaper.

And I may be totally off on the sight lines issue, but it does seem to me like we could possibly angle in the seats since we have taken them out.

Think of it this way - those box seats and the dugouts form the solid concrete foundation for the concrete risers that the seating is attached to. It is probably solid concrete and rebar 4-6 feet below the playing surface to serve its purpose as a footer for all of the weight above. Digging all of that out, then having to compact the new base, then pour new and wait 2-3 weeks min. For it to cure before adding the risers adds weeks to the schedule. If the can fix the sight line issue while saving that time then maintaining that section makes very good sense. Easy saved a month in construction.

[RocketDawg]

I believe that is supposed to be the main entrance and if you look closely there is a statue in the rendering. I think the idea is it's supposed to be kind of a tribute to MSU baseball/welcome to Dudy Noble Field area.

You'd think that, if have to have it, it could have been moved out a few feet so as to not interfere with right field. Maybe that was the intent though ... to give right field some "character". Looks like there are even bleachers on one side to watch ... something.

[RocketDawg]

Seating areas do leave a lot to be desired. The seating along the 3rd base line runs completely parallel to the foul line all the way to the foul pole, which leads to some really terrible sight lines. And that accounts for close to 50% of the seats in the stadium. It being bleacher seating doesn't help either.

The location isn't good either. Many cities these days have realized that fans don't really have an emotional attachment to minor league teams / players, so in order to get good attendance you have to have a really nice, comfortable fan experience along with some tangential entertainment options. I always thought it would be a great idea for them to build a new park at the old site planned for the Constellation shopping area that never got off the ground. That would be walking distance from Downtown and Big Spring Park and everything that goes along with that. And the way Huntsville has been growing, I wouldn't be surprised if a new stadium was planned within the next 5 years or so.

There was talk at one time about a new stadium where the Coca Cola bottling plant was. I think that has gone by the wayside now. It really would be a good location since it's near the Von Braun Center (about to undergo a decent size expansion). That site has also been talked about for a new hotel, but I suppose they can't decide and it's just remaining vacant for the time being.

I was downtown last week for the first time in quite a while ... maybe a year ... and it's looking pretty good now. Some impressive things have been done. And the mayor wants a new city hall, but I think his cost guesstimate is off by about a factor of 5. He's saying $20M.

But back to the original point ... yes, it would be nice to have MSU play a game or two here. Didn't our hockey team play a game in Decatur a year or two ago?