 needed. Really, is the tailgating “one common experience” or is it smaller groups scattered throughout Lot K now? To me, it’s smaller groups who tailgate together and go in separately. Plus, students who take up a large part of Lot K now will be funneled to Liacouras Walk for their own tailgates. The official alumni tailgates now conducted under a large tent closer to the Linc entrance can be moved to the Bell Tower.
No. 6 “traffic will be horrendous” doesn’t really apply to football because fans usually don’t get there five minutes before a game. Their arrival is scattered starting with the opening of the lots five hours before the game, not five minutes, with groups filtering in four, three and two hours before the game. Traffic won’t be great, but it won’t be horrendous, either.
No. 7 “don’t take the subway” doesn’t really come into play, either because there is a perfectly good regional rail station located right on Temple’s campus that provides the kind of transportation option fans do not have going to LFF now. In fact, if the new stadium is built, my days of taking the subway to the Temple games–which I have done for 15 years–are over. I will hop on the Regional Rail and be at Temple in 20 minutes.
No. 8 “the Linc has easy accessibility” is true, but a football game is an event lasting from the start of tailgates to the end of the game and that’s an all-day deal. Again, I don’t see all the traffic arriving at the same time. If you want to drive, get off the Roosevelt Boulevard extension and make your way down Broad Street.
No. 9 “Temple will lose a large percentage of its older fans” and some of their contributions. I’m an older fan. They won’t lose me but the point is that the university has 40,000 students now and must cultivate that fan base which really has not been tapped into seriously. This stadium could create the kind of experience for them that binds them to the university for decades to come.
No. 10 “Temple will incur a large unnecessary debt” could be true, but the bean counters running the university say it will be more than offset by combining the money they pay for rent now with revenue gained from parking and concessions and the retail element of the stadium.
To me, there is a larger issue involved that goes beyond signage on the field or comfort in the stands. In my lifetime, I have never experienced a real home-field advantage following the Owls except for maybe the Tulane game in 2015 when all 35,000 fans were screaming their heads off for Temple. Getting 35,000 fans in a defined space on top of the field and making so much noise that the bad guys’ quarterback has to use hand signals to snap the ball is something I’d like to see before I leave this earth. It hasn’t worked for the beautiful new on-campus basketball facility, but maybe football is another animal.
The university needs to end five years of constipation on this issue and bleep or get off the pot.
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Saint Rhule said God wanted Derreck Thomas to play for him at holy Baylor.
I wish he would keep his grubby hands off our players.
the 72nd ranked recruiting class, mixed results on the field, and now losing two potential starters?
Back to the point: Thoughts on the stadium. Why does this can kept being kicked down the road? My thinking is that they realize deep down they have to get permission from the city to do it and it’s just not coming.
I’ve proposed many of these points previously to many TU officials but have never heard them voiced by any TU official. Their behind the scenes advocacy is wrong-headed and counter-productive. They should be shouting these points from roof tops so that the public know that there are pluses in building a stadium and not all negatives as the anti-stadium crowd is screaming.  Being from New York, I’ve noticed that Philly likes being second. By that I mean that Philadelphians are happy that Philly isn’t New York. A perfect example of that is how long it took to build a building higher than William Penn’s cap. The same theory applies here. Many people I’ve spoken to about the stadium complain that TU is trying to be Penn State in football, as if that’s a bad thing. I just don’t understand why trying to be the best is frowned upon in Philly. In any event, at the last tail gate I was talking to a higher up in the athletic department who said that TU is on the five yard line with respect to the stadium. I did not have the heart to ask whether it was TU’s five yard line or the opponents’. I guess we’ll know one of these years.
If they are at the 5 and trying to get this ball across the line without running behind the political version of Nick Sharga or Rob Ritrovato, they’ll end up punting from the 36 on 4th down.
…..and back in the real world there wont be 1,250 for Temple’s BB game w Cincinnati (including the people who have to be there).
There won’t be many people at the Cinncy game because of the snow and the starting time. I know TV money is important but no eastern time zone team should have to play at nine on a work or school night. It means not getting home til after midnight.
…and the excuse for the 85% empty arena vs Tulane at 7 PM and a clear night?
It also doesn’t help that Temple is still on winter break. Temple will have to rely on local alumni and students to show up tonight in today’s horrible weather. Hopefully playing a top 25 in conference team is enough incentive.
This was one game I was planning to go but don’t have wheels and rely on public transportation and my Septa app shows only canceled trains from Glenside. I guess if TV told Temple to play at midnight when school was on break, Temple would do it.
Traveling with the team I got to go to my fair share of stadiums around the country. Though I saw 60k at ECU, 100K at PSU, and even 69K at the linc, nothing was ever as loud as Houston’s 35K for the championship game in 2015.
To your closing point Mike, built correctly, our stadium of 35,000 students and alumni can be one hell of an atmosphere.
FWIW I saw Mayor Kenney courtside at the Villanova MBB. Philadelphia needs to show its open for business if they want to attract Amazon and other job creators.
#9. Some older fans should stay home and watch the games on ESPN with a Geritol and Tonic. I’m retired and moved to the opponent’s side of the field years ago with the cool people. We have fun win or lose. Much less whining and more cheering. Highly Recommended! Someday I’ll be in the senior center watching on TV and sending in my Conwell checks. That’s life.
I hope I never get so old that I’m fretting walking from 12th and Norris to 15th and Norris. Temple TUFF, man.
That walk you cite Mike is about as far as one walks from the subway to LFF. So no difference from what some do now.
Considering everything, all angles, practicalities, emotions, politics, etc. the most sensible thing to pursue is a reasonable deal with Lurie at LFF. Barring that, keep an OCS as inexpensive as possible and one that will accomodate expansion and improvements later as attendance and revenues increase.Assuming Beta prices are any indication, a full set of Vengeful / S3 gear will cost something like 57k honor, while a full set of Brutal / S4 gear will cost 70k honor. 

Also, and altough it's possible I didn't look hard enough, Gladiator / S1 and Merciless / S2 gear sets are to be removed entirely, except for S2 belt, bracers and boots. You can still obtain these pieces if you get the tokens from Karazhan, Gruul, Maggie, SSC or TK, but other than that, I think they're gone. 

Vengeful / S3 belt, bracers and boots are seemingly gone as well, together with Vindicator neckpieces. Vindicator rings are still available, however.I visited Baltimore in the summer for a soccer game, the Aquarium is great, the World Trade Center there has an amazing view of the harbor and surrounding areas if that kind of thing interests you. We ate at an Irish bar called Tir Na Nog that has great outdoor seating overlooking the harbor. Those would be my main recommendations. Someone else suggested the zoo, and personally I wouldn't recommend it. There wasn't much there and was the most expensive zoo I've ever been to with not much to do, not to mention it's in a pretty sketchy area (coming into the zoo there was definitely someone on meth hanging outside the entrance). Baltimore has some bad areas but I feel like as long as you stay near the harbor area it's perfectly fine and was quite enjoyable for the 2 days I was there.Rodman Slough
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