Thoughts on the new CWS?
- Thread starter ukwazoo
- Start date
I thought the grass was weird when the news was there a few weeks ago but I like it now. Looks good under the lights.
Looks great and agree that I like the camera angle much better now.
I really like it. It shows well on TV. I will make it up there this season no matter what to see it in person. Havent gone to a game of any kind in about 2 years but Ill break my old man habits of staying home and make it to Rupp and Commonwealth this year. You would think someone with a standing offer of free tickets would make more games. Just goes to show how health, age and new technology can keep someone away from the live event. I remember thinking I would never miss a game in my life (attending live) and nowadays just the thought of all the hassle wears me out!
You're kidding right? The upgrades were incredible. The atmosphere tonight was incredible. For the first time it felt like an SEC stadium being there. The upgrades were certainly not much ado about nothing.
Better bathrooms, more concession stands, wider concourses are just a few things that affect everyone. You might be the only one who thinks as you do.
Improvements are all great . However outside of section 226 they actually cut the size of the restroom more than in half. I supposed they were thinking the stadium club folks would not use it but it had one of the longest lines at halftime I have ever seen.
I do agree with you that the improvements have basically been mostly for the stadium club folks and the luxury boxes. People in 226 were complaining that the aisles were narrower . Don't know how that is possible but ten people must have said it. Wonder if they resloped it to fit the stadium club in and the adopted the airlines approach of reducing distance between seats.
Also the concession lines were the worst I have ever seen at halftime . No progress there at all . However I suspect the architects were told to reduce costs and some of the areas I mentioned is where they did it. Not good to treat premium seat holders that way but what it is it is.
Overall the stadium looks good and is an improvement even for those of us not in the stadium club or luxury boxes.
I don't know about the rest rooms in your area but they were really good where I was. I was kind of surprised how there was no line even during half time.
The concessions were another story. I missed half the 3rd quarter in line at the concession. Not sure if it was a design issue or an employee issue however. At one point I counted 9 people ahead of me so I thought this won't be so bad. However it took nearly 30 minutes for them to serve those 9 people.
I was in sec 9, i thought with the new backs it made it a real tight fit and there was no room at all. The place looks great, but they still have alot of little things to do.
Yeah I was in section 13 and my knees got beaten to death by the backs of those seats. Granted I have some long legs but I wish it had been more comfortable. Can't complain about anything else though, thought it was awesome.
Stadium looked great, went back and watched a little on tv and thought it looked good on camera as well. The angle had always bothered me in the past because it was too low and being wedged between decks meant the crowd noise was terrible, so that was a big improvement.
Now, the concession stands at halftime. My goodness. Waiting throughout halftime and the entire third quarter borders on ridiculous in a game that lasted 4 hrs. That certainly was not a "fan experience" improvement.
Now, the concession stands at halftime. My goodness. Waiting throughout halftime and the entire third quarter borders on ridiculous in a game that lasted 4 hrs. That certainly was not a "fan experience" improvement.
I found that simply by wading through the concession lines which extended wall to wall I could walk half the stadium to the end of the stadium and get in the restrooms there without a line because they were much much larger .
I suppose they skimped on the ones by 226 thinking they could downsize because of the stadium club. However faulty logic. They were so inadequate before that by downsizing they once again made them horribly inadequate even with fewer fans. Horrible architectural work. Wouldn't be so bad if the restrooms werent so inadequate for the fans who pay the highest premium for seats .
Again I don't want to be a debbie downer overall the new stadium is great. It's just those of us in 226 don't have a usable restroom and need to walk half of the stadium to avoid a twenty minute line to use one of four urinals for several thousand people . Wife said women had same problem
On a positive note we stayed to the end and getting out of the blue lot was the easiest ever.also on a positive note by using the whole scoreboard the screen looked much much much larger and was a wonderful experience compared to last year when they took up a third of it by ads
Exact same experience I had. We sit in 223 now and I thought the bathrooms near us were a big improvement but I missed the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter trying to get some Cokes at halftime. I'm not really sure what the answer for that is. No complaints other than that though.
The game was a sellout for the first time in years, keep that in mind. Long lines are also a product of more people in the stadium.
A couple of thoughts over the newly renovated CWS:
The outside of CWS looked great and was a needed upgrade versus the old concrete & steel look. Obviously, many of the outside aesthetics were not complete such as landscape beds and a few sidewalks were incomplete.
Besides the outside, I wasn't too impressed. I was hoping the changes inside would have had more of an effect on the consumer, especially those not located in luxury & club level seating. Besides the new press box and electronic banner, what really changed?
The restroom near section 20 was the same bathroom I have urinated in since 1980. The only difference was a fresh coat of paint and some obvious plumbing work.
The concession area near section 19/20 wasn't finished and was only served bottled drinks, so I will reserve judgement until next home game. Besides, the limestone entrance parallel to the Blue Lot, the only noticeable difference where the blue metal signs wrapped around the steel beams indicating the newly numbered seating.
We tailgated in the Orange Lot and had great experience. Not so much for the exit. Unfortunately there is only one way out of the Orange Lot and coupled with the lack of policing & traffic control, it took almost 1 hour to exit. As for cellular service, I didn't have any from 3 pm until about 6 pm.
In my opinion, UK spent the money where the money sits; which is fine. However, I expected a little more from a $100M (+) renovation. Overall, I was underwhelmed with the experience.
The outside of CWS looked great and was a needed upgrade versus the old concrete & steel look. Obviously, many of the outside aesthetics were not complete such as landscape beds and a few sidewalks were incomplete.
Besides the outside, I wasn't too impressed. I was hoping the changes inside would have had more of an effect on the consumer, especially those not located in luxury & club level seating. Besides the new press box and electronic banner, what really changed?
The restroom near section 20 was the same bathroom I have urinated in since 1980. The only difference was a fresh coat of paint and some obvious plumbing work.
The concession area near section 19/20 wasn't finished and was only served bottled drinks, so I will reserve judgement until next home game. Besides, the limestone entrance parallel to the Blue Lot, the only noticeable difference where the blue metal signs wrapped around the steel beams indicating the newly numbered seating.
We tailgated in the Orange Lot and had great experience. Not so much for the exit. Unfortunately there is only one way out of the Orange Lot and coupled with the lack of policing & traffic control, it took almost 1 hour to exit. As for cellular service, I didn't have any from 3 pm until about 6 pm.
In my opinion, UK spent the money where the money sits; which is fine. However, I expected a little more from a $100M (+) renovation. Overall, I was underwhelmed with the experience.
I think it was an employee issue. I understand that those are good fundraisers for civic groups, but there was definitely room for improvement for the time waiting to figure out what button to hit on a cash register. I give them some slack because of the new technology and first game, but the service level could definitely improve.
The biggest problem is they're understaffed. Even though they pay $13 per hour, not enough people want to work for that. Perhaps a few more illegals are the answer.
Another big problem is they have the person taking the order make the drinks and get the food. This probably ties in to the first problem but it really slows things down. I suggested to one of the officials to convert one or two lines in each concession area to a drink only line. Would certainly get you in and out quicker if you only need a drink.
Outside looked great. Inside very nice. Ribbon board useage needs improvement. Why don't they run statistics on the board. Completions, catches, rushing totals, etc....?
While it was all very nice, I left thinking "$120+/- M doesn't buy what it used to buy".
As for spending it on rupp.....I hope the university/state never spends a red cent on that property. bball has what it needs to remain successful.
While it was all very nice, I left thinking "$120+/- M doesn't buy what it used to buy".
As for spending it on rupp.....I hope the university/state never spends a red cent on that property. bball has what it needs to remain successful.
1. Concession lines were horrible but that is fixable.
2. I do like the press box because I sit 5 rows in front of it. It will provide a lot of really nice shade for me for the afternoon games.
3. I really liked the new way you get to the seats in the upper deck. There is a nice little overlook area of the concourse. It's a great place to hang out at halftime and watch women.
2. I do like the press box because I sit 5 rows in front of it. It will provide a lot of really nice shade for me for the afternoon games.
3. I really liked the new way you get to the seats in the upper deck. There is a nice little overlook area of the concourse. It's a great place to hang out at halftime and watch women.
Should have spent a chunk of that money on real seats for the real fans. When the blue seat backs were set up prior to the game, many were not placed properly (beginning them 2 or 3 inches from the starting isle edge) which has a domino effect for the rest of the patrons sitting on the bench seats. We had 4 people trying to fit into an area that would comfortably seat 3. Mixing heat, long concession stand lines, long bathroom lines, a tight squeeze in the seats, and sub par football for 4 hours is not a winning recipe. I am sure the club level fans had a great time as they ignored the game while eating from a buffet and drinking their cold beer while I sqeezed into a 6 inch spot,sweated and swilled whiskey to wash away the pain of UK football. On a positive note, I am a die hard fan and will be there to beat my head against the newly painted walls for the annual Florida beatdown.
The newwere nice, but I miss the troughs
I used to miss those troughs all the time.
Overall thought the stadium had the look and feel of a SEC stadium. There remains a lot of detail work, landscaping improvements and a multitude of items on a punch list to complete. I'm in Section 4 near the field. Seating seemed to be tighter than my former seats on the north side. That could have been the number of large people occupying those seats. I agree with the impossible lines at the concession stands especially at halftime. The wider concourses, improved bathrooms and the new press box/suites structure really gave the stadium much needed improvement. All in all, I believe the completed plant will be among the best in the nation.
On a final note, the recruiting room is fabulous and student end zone with team entrance a great idea and impressive.
On a final note, the recruiting room is fabulous and student end zone with team entrance a great idea and impressive.
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