Just saw that someone ranked Kroger field near the bottom of SEC stadiums. So does it need upgrades? If so, what?
Also, how are the upgrades to Nutter going?
Also, how are the upgrades to Nutter going?
Does Kroger Field need upgrades?
- Thread starter maysvilleky
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Only upgrades it realistically needs is more consistent fan noise and a better student section.
Nutter was converted to remove the track and give more area to the football field. I think that’s mostly done. They are building a new indoor track and field building now over where the old baseball stadium was. Kroger field is getting new LED lights so they can do light shows like other stadiums are doing. I think that will be new this fall and will help the atmosphere.
The Stadium needs minor tweaking. I have been to 11 other SEC stadiums - and none of them have a better set up for the fans as to entry, exterior looks, seating, playing field, parking with ease of entry and exit, restrooms, food service, etc. If you have been to the others you would realize how easy you can walk thru the stadium and get to everything you need easily. Not the same at many of the other stadiums.
However, the lighting, sound system, wifi system and scoreboards are weak by comparison to several. The lighting seems to be being fixed this year. The Sound system needs major upgrades and the WI FI is virtually non existent at Kroger. Of course larger fancier scoreboards would be a nice addition also. When the team is into it - the crowd is into it. It can get almost as loud as any stadium in the conference. UK's fan support has been strong for several years as well. At one time the stadium was designed to actually be able to be expanded to well over 100,000. Consistently winning/competitive seasons will determine the future of the stadium capacity. To remain a member of the SEC those things might actually be demanded at some point in time. Missouri is doing a huge makeover and upgrade to 70,000 now, so is Florida - Florida with a seating capacity of 88,000! Arkansas is expanding to 80,000 and Old Miss is expanding to 70,000 also.
Vanderbilt will eventually play in the new Titans Stadium being built or it may end up being cut from the conference! That is the new world of SEC and Big time Conference affilations! The SEC now has 16 members - 5 of them have capacities of over 100,000; 4 more have 80,000 seat stadiums and two more are in the higher 70,000's. Only Vanderbilt has a smaller stadium seating capacity than Kentucky. Kentucky will probably have to expand to remain in the SEC and be COMPETITIVE! I think UK is aware of this and know that Kroger is the second smallest stadium in the conference now. UK needs to address this issue fairly soon. NIL, TV and the football playoffs will all be factors in stadium expansion.
As I have looked at the field. I think Kroger could be expanded easily again to increase capacity to 80,000 if the demand was present. That could be done as part of the original plan from 1970 - that plan included a third deck on each side. The home side has had all those press boxes and of course donor boxes and seating added during the last remodel. But, I could see adding a 3rd deck on the visitor side of the field without much issue still. The end zones could be targeted to expand as well. The additional seating would make Kroger an SEC stadium! As a comparison, South Carolina's stadium currently seats 80,500. MIssissippi is already enlarging its stadium to 70,000 and Arkansas is increasing to 80,000.
Go Big Blue!
Why expand the stadium? We don't fill it up now except a few games. I see the only expansion in the future as more boxes.
Good call on the WiFi. It’s terrible at Kroger. And I agree that we want to get to 75-80k to remain competitive.
Kroger capacity was reduced from 68,000 to 61,000 in 2015, I don’t see an expansion anytime soon.
I wish they would have bricked the stadium - the highway noise panels look cheap as do the double wide trailer sky boxes in corners. No wifi is a joke in 2024 and speakers are either so loud you can’t stand it or so quiet you can’t hear it. Not that we need more seats but a end zone renovation like Ole Miss with modern look would be nice
Boz - do you know what the capacity of Stoll Field was before Commonwealth was built? Do you know what the average attendance was when Commonwealth was commissioned to be built? It was 32,000 with SRO. Average attendance was less than 26,000. We were filling the expanded nearly 70K stadium and then we hired Joker. Lesser games will always not be sold out - unless you are ranked in top 5. But the Big games are selling out. Do you think we will be having more BIG home games in the future? Do you believe the football program is now going to stay competitive? All of these things are issues when it comes to football stadium occupancy. Kentucky could fill 80K stadium quite often if seats were available and the team is competitive. One good teller on that is the support at Bowl Games.
Everything is unknown at the moment. But if UK makes playoffs - then tickets will be in demand. The Conference will be looking at who supports football. If UK doesn;t expand it will be last in league in 5 years - thats if Vanderbilt is still in the conference. Stadium size could be an issue with expansion and being kept in a conference. No one knows - but one thing for sure - you can;t have 80K in the stadium if it only holds 60K!
Go Big Blue!
Was that a mistake? Things change - SEC and Big 10 may totally dominate football (I hope not) but could happen in a few years. If you want to play with the big dogs - you need to be a big dog - lol!
Go Big Blue!
P.S. 20K tickets generate $2 million per game more at a minimum to UK. Stadium expansion will pay for itself - over time. Always has - probably always will! Size does seem to matter - how many teams with less than 70,000 seat stadium have won the conference in the last 60 years. Keep thinking - the answer is ONE - UK in 1976! Co-Champions that year.
I still believe the only expansion will be more boxes. They generate huge amounts of income for UKAA. Maybe more premium seats. I would love to have a 80K stadium but it the HD TV era I just don't see us filling it.
I mean their stadium isn't great, but they're not moving to the Titans stadium. They've just dumped a few million into renovating their stadium. Now maybe they get kicked out of the SEC, but they're pretty well set now that they've renovated their stadium. I work in Nashville and listen to their talk radio all the time....they're not going to be doing anything else.
Also, Tennessee State has a deal with the Titans now that would have to change.
They turned down the chance to do a joint stadium with the new MLS franchise.
I think the idea was that 61k doesn’t look as bad not full as 68k does. They did need the press box and suites very badly though. Win the SEC and there will be demand for 80k.
Yes and that was a foolish move OMO. A BIG gaping hole in the East EZ …. WTF?…. No explanation has ever made say “Oh yeah, now I get it.”
Yeah, my office is by the stadium so it’s been cool watching crews transition the lights.
Demand goes up for sure.
I've posted a lot that our biggest failure wasn't firing Bear Bryant....it was not dominating the Louisville metro area and allowing UofL to rise up. In an alternate reality....we hire Howard and would've won some SEC games in the early 90s and he would've had the right personnel in there once Couch arrived. UofL doesn't get big and Howard makes us the SEC program of Louisville....the ONLY metro area in the state. And the donors and fans would've been on board....it also would've made high school football more popular in that area as kids would've dreamed of playing in the SEC....
That's where our fans would've come from....that's where enrollment increases would've come from....and we would've had guys like Papa John giving us millions of dollars.
We still have a good amount of fans in that area....but a smaller amount and now they have a 20k+ enrollment P5 school with a 60k seat stadium in the only metro area in the state.
Alabama as a state has 12 Metro areas with over 100k people....
Kentucky as a state has 2....Louisville and Lexington....
That's where the money and fans come from....big areas that have more business/money....that send their kids to schools....have jobs for them to come back to....and a lot of schools in those areas that develop good talent.
Us not embracing Louisville to be that city for us is what ultimately keeps us from it.....think about all of those students that went to Louisville that could've been UK grads....and those UK grads move into Louisville and make it our city. All of those casual fans that could've adopted UK as it's #1 team for college football.
In a state like ours....we don't have the population and football history to split a fan base with another school. We don't have the recruiting base either.
The stadium is getting a new sound system, LED Lighting and new ribbon boards.
Agree. Economy is not getting better. People don’t have the discretionary income they used to have. Don’t think we need to expand. Waste of money.
People don’t go to games like they used to. General seating expansion is nonsense.
We need more boxes; remodel and/or replace the trailers in the corner with a better looking and taller setup. Trap the noise.
We need more boxes; remodel and/or replace the trailers in the corner with a better looking and taller setup. Trap the noise.
I think it's big enough, at first, I didn't but I do now. I also think the reason the writer of that article ranked it near the bottom is that he just can't get past the name Kroger field.
Based on the amount of roadside fireworks over the holiday literally setting money on fire, lines wrapped around every coffee shop for a $7 latte, I think everything is fairly good. I heard fireworks three nights in a row and they arent cheap....
Gamaliekid,
I am with you on all of this. I think the SEC will go to a 9 game schedule. I also think the SEC will add 4 more really good teams. This means that UK will have 4 or 5 really good home games every year. Other than a couple of out of conference games, there should be no problem filling the stadium. If UK fans don't buy up enough tickets, opposing SEC fans will.
I posted this in another thread earlier, but it probably fits your post better. I read on one of our boards today that rumors are swirling about CU and FSU leaving the ACC this month, nothing new there. But that ND is joining the Big10, alone with ATM who is still upset that Texas joined the SEC. But if that is the case we would need to add 1 more team to keep an even number. Don't claim its true, just an interesting topic for discussion.
The only real surprise there for me is ATM leaving, Big10 wants to fancy themself as an academic conference so ND would be a no brainer and I assume ATM is will thought of academically but haven't checked. CU and FSU are not that highly regarded academically.
How many other stadiums in 2024 have double-wide trailers on stilts hanging over each corner on the end zone? Totally ridiculous
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Vandy is pouring major money into their stadium expansion and renovation. No way they are moving.
Bama actually reduced their capacity in 2020 by about 1,800 seats to add premium seating
Mississippi State is reducing their stadium by 2,000 seats in their newest renovation
Oklahoma reduced their seating capacity by 6,000 in 2019 in their newest renovation
Neyland Stadium has reduced their capacity by 2,200 seats over their last few renovations since 2000
Florida is reducing their capacity in the newest renovations that will be completed in 2025.
Ole Miss is not expanding their stadium. Any renovation plans were put on the shelf.
South Carolina reduced their stadium capacity by 3,000 seats in 2020
The days of expanding general seating is over at a lot of schools. 8 current SEC schools have reduced capacity in their football stadiums in recent years or are in the process of doing it now. The schools that are increasing their capacity are Vandy and Mizzou. They are both adding luxury seats as a major part of their projects. Completely disagree about needing to expand Commonwealth. Providing a better experience is at the top of the list nowadays.
Most of what's been said already. Wifi is awful. Given it's awful, should do a better job of updating other scores on boards at all times throughout the game.
If you care about hearing the band, you must sit directly in front of them, otherwise it's just very muted.
Parking is pretty good but they continue to take spots away for various reasons. Getting out post-game could be better.
If you care about hearing the band, you must sit directly in front of them, otherwise it's just very muted.
Parking is pretty good but they continue to take spots away for various reasons. Getting out post-game could be better.
Grumpy
I have been hearing the same chatter about TAM. Surprisingly KU is a candidate for the BIG and the SEC, see the Josh Pate article linked below. I know Sankey has said he wants SEC mens basketball to improve. It is the only sport that the SEC doesn't dominate.
Josh Pate on Conference Realignment: 'I Wouldn't Look Over Kansas'
While the main topic among those invested in conference realignment surrounds the likes of Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, and other members of the ACC, the Late Kick’s Josh Pate threw a new name into the fold. Pate discussed Kansas breaking ground on some new multi-million dollar...
www.heartlandcollegesports.com
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Grumpy
I have been hearing the same chatter about TAM. Surprisingly KU is a candidate for the BIG and the SEC, see the Josh Pate article linked below. I know Sankey has said he wants SEC mens basketball to improve. It is the only sport that the SEC doesn't dominate.
Josh Pate on Conference Realignment: 'I Wouldn't Look Over Kansas'
While the main topic among those invested in conference realignment surrounds the likes of Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, and other members of the ACC, the Late Kick’s Josh Pate threw a new name into the fold. Pate discussed Kansas breaking ground on some new multi-million dollar...
Never thought about Kansas to the SEC, but it would add a school with a basketball reputation. Like I said just rumors swirling around. I am still not convinced FSU and CU have found a way they can legally leave the ACC and keep their media rights. One of our posters is a contract lawyer and says the only way they can get out is if proven they signed under duress. Which they can't, all the AD's wanted it made difficult to leave because of Maryland just leaving for the Big10. So if he is correct FSU is still just rattling their saber and can't leave without losing their media rights.
Which brings us to ATM leaving, we would have to find a replacement and the obvious choice would be from the Big12. My guess is the SEC can pick the team it wants and extend an invite. Kansas may have more to offer than anyone else so a good option, not sure how UK would feel about them getting in. That same rumor said they ATM is upset not only about Texas getting in, but the entire process was kept from them and they didn't find out until the announcement. Hardly seems possible a secret that big could be kept secret. But I don't know how much of the rumor is true or if any of it is. But I think the SEC offices would like to keep an even number and if ATM leaves a replacement will be found regardless of what happens with CU and FSU.
A&M is just salty that they haven’t been successful in football in the SEC.
I've always thought of Clemson and FSU as naturals for the SEC, keeping those rivalries with SC and Florida in Conference.
Vandy increasing capacity as opposed to just making the whole place nicer with amenities is ridiculous. They are just adding more seats for opposing fans. When was the last time they had a sell-out that wasn't generated by opposing fans? They could literally replace all of their bleachers with Chairbacks (which would decrease capacity) and still not sell it out for the average game.
While I agree, almost all of it is suites and premium seating in the end zones so they will probably make decent money. It’s actually going to be a pretty cool little stadium when they are done.
It's perception. I watched some Brits watch a "reaction" video about SEC stadiums. They assume "Kroger Field" sucked because the guy doing the video made fun of us for having a corporate sponsor. It didn't matter that we have a better stadium, not counting capacity, than half the SEC.
Uh, you think you're getting $100 per ticket per game for adding upper level seats???
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