Reed Green's new look

[Soldier Eagle]

As you may be aware, last year the university engaged one of the world's leading sports architects, Populous, to study a potential renovation and transformation of Reed Green Coliseum. We asked Populous to assess the condition of the coliseum and then provide answers to a couple of key questions:

1. What are the possibilities?

2. If feasible, what is the likely cost of a major renovation and transformation of the coliseum...a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose venue that could effectively serve or support the entertainment, convention, academic, assembly and related interests of the Pine Belt region and state of Mississippi for decades to come?
The Populous study is essentially now complete, and we'd like to share the results of the study with you and others in the community.

Cost Estimate: 35-40 Million

 

[Houston Eagle]

Jason Munz tweeted a bulletin of the details...can anyone zoom in on it because I'd like to read it....it is titled the Basics of Reed Green Renovation Plans.

Basics of Reed Green Renovation Plans

 

[Soldier Eagle]

 

[Houston Eagle]

Thank you...if we're going to lose 1,000 seats then I hope the tradeoff is worth it...concerts? WWE?

When this occurs,I hope we can begin by hosting Kansas(basketball team and maybe even more cowbell)......

 

[Houston Eagle]

I wonder will happen to the "duck blinds" and the fire cracker stands outside? My joke about the football stadium was always about those large steel basins that can easily be mistaken and used incorrectly

 

[Eaglebird Humperdink]

Originally posted by Houston Eagle:
Thank you...if we're going to lose 1,000 seats then I hope the tradeoff is worth it...

What exactly is the tradeoff?

 

[usmstud]

It's not like we use those extra seats. Maybe when we used to play Memphis or the NIT games we hosted.
Ticket office will be built into the renovations near the main entrance. Duck Blinds are going to be replaced with a new club level about 10 rows up and running length of the court. One option has it behind the seating similar to the Touchdown Club at The Rock and the one pictured has it open so you have a view of the game while in the club.

 

[Wonder Boy Eagle]

My question...

Do we actually have 40 million dollars to make this happen? I know I don't.

We can dream all day long and get studies done and look at images, but we can't do anything without the money.

I'd rather blow it up and start over, which is roughly as feasible as the renovations, without the money.

I do hope it happens, I just wondered if we were trying to get some money.

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Re: My question...

They wouldn't waste all of the time and money having the study and plans done if they didn't think we could make it happen. The funding will come from a variety of sources. Surrounding counties will want to have events here, so they will be asked to help fund it.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Eaglebird Humperdink]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:
Surrounding counties will want to have events here, so they will be asked to help fund it.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

And they will politely decline. I'm not sure what events you are referring to, other than a couple of high school commencement ceremonies.

 

[usmstud]

Re: My question...

Building a new facility would more than double the cost. This is the best option and I believe it will happen within the next 5 years.

 

[Houston Eagle]

Re: My question...

It will have to happen for their to be any hope of succeeding in athletics...if USM were smart they would put the athletic future in the basketball program...you don't have to have a 100,000 seat stadium to bring attention to the university through basketball.

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Eaglebird Humperdink:

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:
Surrounding counties will want to have events here, so they will be asked to help fund it.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

And they will politely decline. I'm not sure what events you are referring to, other than a couple of high school commencement ceremonies.

They would be stupid to decline and lose the economic impact that it would bring to them. But they have been involved in the design process so that we can be sure that the facility meets the needs of everyone involved. You people could at least learn the facts about the project before crapping on it with your negative, useless attitudes.

As for events, they have these new things called "concerts". It's where musicians come and play music, and people buy tickets to watch. They're actually pretty cool. Or you could just look at the Coast Coliseum's event list to see what type of events we can hold....rodeos, Disney on Ice, monster truck shows, arenacross, conventions, and countless other events that are held in arenas across the country.

Hattiesburg made a huge mistake in under-building the tiny convention center. They're losing out on attracting any decent events to the area, and surrounding businesses are suffering because of it. The city would be stupid to not jump at this huge opportunity.

 

[Houston Eagle]

Re: My question...

Build the arena and I'll bet Hattiesburg builds more full service hotels.....

 

[yeoyeo78]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:

As for events, they have these new things called "concerts". It's where musicians come and play music, and people buy tickets to watch. They're actually pretty cool.

Concerts? I kinda vaguely remember when those were held at Reed Green. All kidding aside, when was the last time a big concert was held at Reed Green? Was it the Train concert in 2004? Seems like the big acts were reserved for Eaglepalooza after that.

Doesn't seem like USM had that many concerts on campus back in the day. It think the Better Than Ezra and B.B. King concerts were somewhat close in timing (what was that? 99? 2000?) but it was 4-5 years between when they were held and when SGA brought Train to campus (and ironically they brought Better Than Ezra back to campus as the opening act). The last time before Better Than Ezra and B.B. King were ... I can't remember... probably some time before I started at the university.

This post was edited on 2/3 9:32 PM by yeoyeo78

 

[eagleboy415]

Re: My question...

People don't do concerts in Reed Green because the audio sucks.

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by yeoyeo78:

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:

As for events, they have these new things called "concerts". It's where musicians come and play music, and people buy tickets to watch. They're actually pretty cool.

Concerts? I kinda vaguely remember when those were held at Reed Green. All kidding aside, when was the last time a big concert was held at Reed Green? Was it the Train concert in 2004? Seems like the big acts were reserved for Eaglepalooza after that.

Doesn't seem like USM had that many concerts on campus back in the day. It think the Better Than Ezra and B.B. King concerts were somewhat close in timing (what was that? 99? 2000?) but it was 4-5 years between when they were held and when SGA brought Train to campus (and ironically they brought Better Than Ezra back to campus as the opening act). The last time before Better Than Ezra and B.B. King were ... I can't remember... probably some time before I started at the university.

This post was edited on 2/3 9:32 PM by yeoyeo78

Then why are they remodeling with retractable baseline seats and a concert stage? Hmmmm.

You must be young. Lots of big names performed there back in the day. Alabama, Jimmy Buffet, Train, Willie Nelson, Tina Turner, Three Dog Night, The Temptations, Chicago, ZZ Top, etc. It's so old now, and the acoustics are garbage. That's why it has been a long time since we hosted concerts there.

Reading this board, it's easy to see why our administration isn't very keen on producing new ideas. Every time they come up with something, the naysayers come out of the woodword to crap on it, say why it's a terrible idea, and how it will never get done. People complain that we have "small time thinkers" in charge, but it's our small time fans that cause it.

 

[Daphne Eagle]

Re: My question...

I remember several concerts in the mid 70's and 80's including lynyrd Skynyrd, Doobie Brothers, War, Hank Williams Jr., Boz Skaggs, Jimmy Buffet, and the Beach Boys in the late 80's. With a remolded Reed Green, these concerts will return and bring in the needed revenue.

 

[yeoyeo78]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:

You must be young.

Pretty much because most of those acts you mentioned were already mostly playing on "oldies" stations - or at least considered music for old people - when I was a kid. The only exceptions on your list were Train, Tina Turner and ZZ Top - and even Tina Turner was considered a comeback artist by that point.

Now to address this comment:

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:

Then why are they remodeling with retractable baseline seats and a concert stage? Hmmmm.

Hmmmm. I don't think I was questioning the logic of having that set up in a renovated Reed Green coliseum. I was not criticizing the plan (although I suspect you hoped that I was criticizing it so you could jump up and down on a soap box and scream like a wild zoo animal on crack). I was posting an actual question out of simple curiosity, i.e. "when was the last time they had a concert in the coliseum?"

Perhaps the administration would produce more new ideas if folks like you weren't trying to paint innocent questions as some sort of modern-day Spanish Inquisition.

This post was edited on 2/4 4:19 PM by yeoyeo78

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Re: My question...

Nah, I think I was right the first time. If you were really interested in finding information instead of flaming, you would have just checked out the event calendar of the Coast Coliseum, Desoto Civic Center, Mitchell Center at USA, or other similar facilities.

 

[longhornedeagle]

Tina Turner came in 71 when she was still with Ike. Bob Dylan, John Prine, Chicago, Bob Seeger, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Edgar Winter, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Gino Vanalli, and others. It was free for students with an ID. Part of our $175 tuition. Those concerts may have been more educational than many of the courses. Mind expanding evenings in Hattiesburg. Acoustics weren't that important. I don't think they will go back to that free stuff. Pictures of the remodeled gym look great, but the priority right now should be working on the product we put on the floor.

 

[Eaglebird Humperdink]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:
They would be stupid to decline and lose the economic impact that it would bring to them. But they have been involved in the design process so that we can be sure that the facility meets the needs of everyone involved. You people could at least learn the facts about the project before crapping on it with your negative, useless attitudes.

As for events, they have these new things called "concerts". It's where musicians come and play music, and people buy tickets to watch. They're actually pretty cool. Or you could just look at the Coast Coliseum's event list to see what type of events we can hold....rodeos, Disney on Ice, monster truck shows, arenacross, conventions, and countless other events that are held in arenas across the country.

Hattiesburg made a huge mistake in under-building the tiny convention center. They're losing out on attracting any decent events to the area, and surrounding businesses are suffering because of it. The city would be stupid to not jump at this huge opportunity.

Legendary, without trying to sound like I'm poo-pooing improvements to the USM basketball facility, I think you are way off base on this one.

First, the entire convention industry has evolved over the years to a two-tiered model, illustrated here:
http://www.meetingsource.com/convention_centers.htm Or click the link below.

As you can see, the smallest markets included on the 2nd tier start at about 300,000 people. Hattiesburg is not on the radar. Hattiesburg could double the size of its convention center and still not attract Fortune 500 companies.

I'll give you tractor pulls and small moto-cross events (like the ones currently being facilited at the Forrest County Multipurpose Center). Aside from those events, its Ms. Hospitality, gun shows, Mississippi Presbytarians, and the like.

Second, I would just point out that the live music business, and frankly the way people discover and listen to music has radically changed since Ike Turner and Steve Ray Vaughn were out touring to promote albums.








This post was edited on 2/6 12:29 PM by Eaglebird Humperdink

List of 25 Convention Centers and Secondary Market

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Re: My question...

1) The main goal is to get this thing built for USM's future, not steal corporate events and concerts away from Las Vegas. If we fail to get this done, then we will continue to fall further and further behind.

2) To get it built, we need funding.

3) To get funding, we need the support of local communities.

4) We sell them on making contributions by being able to host events that will attract people from around the region. We're not looking to just entertain the locals. We will bring in people that will eat at local restaurants, shop in local stores, and some that will even stay in local hotels.

5) Think about all of the small towns in central and south MS that have nothing in the way of entertainment. I grew up in one of those small towns, and had to go to New Orleans or the Coast to do anything interesting. I would have loved to have had options in Hattiesburg, as well.

6) The business owners of Hattiesburg should love this idea. The idiot mayor of Hattiesburg will probably hate the idea of contributing money to any cause that doesn't line his pockets. But there should be enough public outcry to force him to do the right thing.

7) The live music business hasn't changed that much. Great artists and bands are playing in much smaller venues than Reed Green all over the country. I just went to a show by 2 artists with multiple #1 hits and platinum records this week in Denver at a venue that holds 3500 people. To think that we could put on good shows in a 7000 seat arena with hundreds of thousands of people within an hour or so from Hattiesburg is laughable.

 

[Eaglebird Humperdink]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:
1) The main goal is to get this thing built for USM's future, not steal corporate events and concerts away from Las Vegas. If we fail to get this done, then we will continue to fall further and further behind.

2) To get it built, we need funding.

3) To get funding, we need the support of local communities.

4) We sell them on making contributions by being able to host events that will attract people from around the region. We're not looking to just entertain the locals. We will bring in people that will eat at local restaurants, shop in local stores, and some that will even stay in local hotels.

Agree on all points.

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:


5) Think about all of the small towns in central and south MS that have nothing in the way of entertainment. I grew up in one of those small towns, and had to go to New Orleans or the Coast to do anything interesting. I would have loved to have had options in Hattiesburg, as well.

Yes. But you went to New Orleans or the Coast, just as I went to Memphis. Promoters know that avid fans will travel 90 miles to attend shows. But there aren't enough of these people. It makes more sense to place the shows in places like Denver or New Orleans where there is a critical mass of fans already there.

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:

6) The business owners of Hattiesburg should love this idea. The idiot mayor of Hattiesburg will probably hate the idea of contributing money to any cause that doesn't line his pockets. But there should be enough public outcry to force him to do the right thing.

Business owners hate taxes. Maybe it is anti-progressive, but it's the case. Any public outcry must be led by key members of the community such as FGH and local business coalitions to have much effect. (I'm assuming, here, that USM would already be on board with such a project).

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:

7) The live music business hasn't changed that much. Great artists and bands are playing in much smaller venues than Reed Green all over the country. I just went to a show by 2 artists with multiple #1 hits and platinum records this week in Denver at a venue that holds 3500 people. To think that we could put on good shows in a 7000 seat arena with hundreds of thousands of people within an hour or so from Hattiesburg is laughable.

I disagree. Everything about the music business has changed in the past 15 years. Denver is not a good example. How many good shows have you seen in Grand Junction City or Broomfield? Both are also in Colorado and have the same population base as H'burg.

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Eaglebird Humperdink:

Yes. But you went to New Orleans or the Coast, just as I went to Memphis. Promoters know that avid fans will travel 90 miles to attend shows. But there aren't enough of these people. It makes more sense to place the shows in places like Denver or New Orleans where there is a critical mass of fans already there.

I would have gone to Hattiesburg instead. Not as much traffic. Don't have to dodge bullets. Closer to home.

Originally posted by Eaglebird Humperdink:

Business owners hate taxes.
Maybe it is anti-progressive, but it's the case. Any public outcry must
be led by key members of the community such as FGH and local business
coalitions to have much effect. (I'm assuming, here, that USM would
already be on board with such a project).

Who said anything about taxes? Pledges should come from the city budget, not from tax hikes.

Originally posted by Eaglebird Humperdink:

I disagree.
Everything about the music business has changed in the past 15 years.
Denver is not a good example. How many good shows have you seen in Grand
Junction City or Broomfield? Both are also in Colorado and have the
same population base as H'burg.

One of the biggest music festivals in the state is in Grand Junction every year.

http://loudwiremusicfestival.com/

The 6500 seat 1st Bank Center in Broomfield has great event all year long. Concerts by well known artists, UFC fights, the Globetrotters, plays, sporting events, etc.

http://www.1stbankcenter.com

Sorry, but your arguments just don't jive with reality.



This post was edited on 2/7 1:04 PM by Legendary Eagle

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Re: My question...

And I enjoy the events in smaller venues much better than the larger places like the Pepsi Center and Mile High Stadium. The closer, more intimate experience makes you feel more like you're part of the show. It's about as exciting as watching on TV at the huge venues, unless you fork out $400 for a decent seat. I paid $45 for a ticket last week, and saw Seether and Papa Roach 15 feet from the stage.

 

[Eaglebird Humperdink]

Re: My question...

Originally posted by Legendary Eagle:
And I enjoy the events in smaller venues much better than the larger places like the Pepsi Center and Mile High Stadium. The closer, more intimate experience makes you feel more like you're part of the show. It's about as exciting as watching on TV at the huge venues, unless you fork out $400 for a decent seat. I paid $45 for a ticket last week, and saw Seether and Papa Roach 15 feet from the stage.

I'm 100% with you on that. I miss the days when I could catch an up-and-coming band at Tipitina's for $7-12 a ticket. And a good arena show like REM or Ramones for $15-22.

 

[eagleboy415]

Re: My question...

Don't know how many good bands we're going to get in Hattiesburg. We have YouTube music artists ditching Eaglepalooza (stupid name). You have to pay out the money to make the come and no money wants them enough.


But we need this upgrade. People say we need to upgrade our level of play on the court first, and that's true. But you try to recruit players with Reed Green. You try to improve our team while having to recruit to the worst stadium in the nation.

 

[THE HEAD EAGLE]

Putting all our money into basketball is ridiculous as we have ZERO tradition there. Football has been Southern Miss' sport with baseball making splashes over the years. Basketball has been the WORST sport of the three. Why oh why anyone would think we need to put all our eggs in the one basket that has had a freakin hole in it for years is beyond me.

Having said that, the freakin YURT is a dump site. It's horrible in every way. It's an embarrassment. It's needs heavy renovation. The renovation they did years ago didn't make a dent. But renovating the YURT and calling basketball our "go to" sport don't necessarily have to go together.

 

[eagleboy415]

I don't think anyone's saying make basketball our go to sport. But we also shouldn't ignore it like we have. $200,000 per round in the NCAA tournament is a lot of money that we've missed out on for 20 years now. Imagine how much that would have helped our program if we had been there every year.

 

[Shifty_Eagle]

Hattiesburg is a turd and is ran by a complete horse's ass. So that doesn't help us any.

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Originally posted by Shifty_Eagle:
Hattiesburg is a turd.

And that's just the way Dupree wants it. He doesn't care about growth. All he cares about is continuing to get paid for doing nothing, and lining his crooked pockets.

If Hattiesburg starts making progress, then whites will start moving back into the city limits, and Dupree will lose the 50% black population advantage that keeps electing him. Sadly, they will continue electing him no matter how much he screws up Hattiesburg. Memphis and Jackson are good case studies for where Hattiesburg is headed if things don't change. A huge opportunity was missed in the last mayoral election.

 

[longhornedeagle]

Boy that's true!!!!! Hattiesburg should have been the one out front attempting to build an arena and hooking up the USM basketball teams to their arena.

 

[KAGoldenEagle]

The music industry has changed, yes. But it has changed in a way that supports touring and concerts as primary income for most artists. With streaming services like Pandora and Spotify increasing heavily in popularity, touring is the way artists are making their money.

Stops in smaller cities with smaller venues are what bands look for on weekdays in between bigger shows on the weekends. A Saturday show in New Orleans followed by mid week shows in Hattiesburg and Jackson with a Friday night in Memphis and a Saturday in Nashville seems like a pretty natural progression of cities.

Are we going to pull Elton John? Metallica? Katy Perry? No. Can we pull smaller acts that will sell the place out? Absolutely.

 

[Eaglebird Humperdink]

Originally posted by KAGoldenEagle:

Stops. A Saturday show in New Orleans followed by mid week shows in Hattiesburg and Jackson with a Friday night in Memphis and a Saturday in Nashville seems like a pretty natural progression of cities.

It seems like a natural progression unless you are a tour promoter, manager, or in a band that wants the best shot at selling out shows.

Most managers would look at our regional footprint and say that New Orleans (or sometimes Baton Rouge but not both), Birmingham (or sometimes Mobile but not both), Memphis or Nashville, and Atlanta seems like a better plan. Throw in an occasional dates at Jackson, Shreveport, and Biloxi...and you can see how cities like Hattiesburg get lost in the shuffle.

 

[Legendary Eagle]

Originally posted by Eaglebird Humperdink:

and you can see how cities like Hattiesburg get lost in the shuffle.

Except for the pesky fact that they don't, as discussed above when you tried to use Broomfield as an example. If you are opposed to the renovation, then that's fine. Just say that and stop making illogical excuses as to why it's a bad idea.