Bye bye water tower

[okeefe4prez]

Dumb discussion. Kinnick is a historic football venue and will be standing long after we are in the ground.. What's next, tear down Wrigley????

They'll never be able to tear down Wrigley, but there have been iterations of talks to move the Cubs. I don't believe they ever will. But I also couldn't imagine the Bears playing anywhere other than Soldiers Field and we're prolly only a few years away from them becoming the Arlington Heights Bears.

With the money they have sunk into Kinnick, it ain't going anywhere for quite some time. The Millennials will determine the fate of football nationally. I think the college game will be around for quite some time, but the youngsters sure don't seem to be into it like all of us were when we were younger.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

Northwestern's pricing probably includes many markups for the mob and union kickbacks but even leaving that aside it would be a pricy endeavor in Iowa as well.

What would it cost to build a new 8,000 to 10,000 seat fieldhouse somewhat adjacent to downtown?

 

[NCHawker]

When I worked at Kinnick as a student 30 years ago, I was told that the Football Stadium was going to move to where Finkbine was and that the hospital would take over the Kinnick land. Guess no one really knows how to urban plan that part of University owned land.

sprawl. I guess it never dawns on poeple in Iowa to build a building tall instead of sprawling out.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

They'll never be able to tear down Wrigley, but there have been iterations of talks to move the Cubs. I don't believe they ever will. But I also couldn't imagine the Bears playing anywhere other than Soldiers Field and we're prolly only a few years away from them becoming the Arlington Heights Bears.

With the money they have sunk into Kinnick, it ain't going anywhere for quite some time. The Millennials will determine the fate of football nationally. I think the college game will be around for quite some time, but the youngsters sure don't seem to be into it like all of us were when we were younger.

The Bears have played in a number of locations, including Wrigley. There is a very interesting history of Solider Field and how it came about. It is worth a google. I get that all any of us have known is the Bears at Soldier, but the stadium really sucks as a football venue because it wasn't really built for that purpose. And, the location is shit. No tailgating and no opportunity for development. NFL stadiums are not sacrosanct the way that college stadiums are. Teams need newer stadiums and opportunities for development around them to really cash in.

Other than Lambeau, there is not an NFL Stadium that cannot be replaced. And we all know Green Bay is a glorified college town that is still in the NFL because it is just grandfathered in. They could not afford a new stadium. The Chiefs will keep Arrowhead only because it is likely the Royals will move downtown and they can tear down Kauffman and build an entertainment district next to it. Beyond that, maybe the Bills stadium and the Superdome will stand because they probably can't afford to build a new ones in those smallish cities. Every other stadium was built in the 80s or after. Nothing historic about them.

 

[SmokeTownHawk]

The Bears have played in a number of locations, including Wrigley. There is a very interesting history of Solider Field and how it came about. It is worth a google. I get that all any of us have known is the Bears at Soldier, but the stadium really sucks as a football venue because it wasn't really built for that purpose. And, the location is shit. No tailgating and no opportunity for development. NFL stadiums are not sacrosanct the way that college stadiums are. Teams need newer stadiums and opportunities for development around them to really cash in.

Other than Lambeau, there is not an NFL Stadium that cannot be replaced. And we all know Green Bay is a glorified college town that is still in the NFL because it is just grandfathered in. They could not afford a new stadium. The Chiefs will keep Arrowhead only because it is likely the Royals will move downtown and they can tear down Kauffman and build an entertainment district next to it. Beyond that, maybe the Bills stadium and the Superdome will stand because they probably can't afford to build a new ones in those smallish cities. Every other stadium was built in the 80s or after. Nothing historic about them.

I believe the Bills have or are getting a new stadium.

 

[okeefe4prez]

The Bears have played in a number of locations, including Wrigley. There is a very interesting history of Solider Field and how it came about. It is worth a google. I get that all any of us have known is the Bears at Soldier, but the stadium really sucks as a football venue because it wasn't really built for that purpose. And, the location is shit. No tailgating and no opportunity for development. NFL stadiums are not sacrosanct the way that college stadiums are. Teams need newer stadiums and opportunities for development around them to really cash in.

Other than Lambeau, there is not an NFL Stadium that cannot be replaced. And we all know Green Bay is a glorified college town that is still in the NFL because it is just grandfathered in. They could not afford a new stadium. The Chiefs will keep Arrowhead only because it is likely the Royals will move downtown and they can tear down Kauffman and build an entertainment district next to it. Beyond that, maybe the Bills stadium and the Superdome will stand because they probably can't afford to build a new ones in those smallish cities. Every other stadium was built in the 80s or after. Nothing historic about them.

Soldiers is iconic because it is a few dozen feet off the Lake. Yes, the location sucks because it is far from the trains, has no parking, and is a clusterfvck to get to unless you live right there, but the presence of the Lake is amazing. Similar situation with Cleveland, though I think they got a new stadium at some point. Much will be lost if the Bears are playing in some sterile homogenous stadium in the middle of suburbia.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Soldiers is iconic because it is a few dozen feet off the Lake. Yes, the location sucks because it is far from the trains, has no parking, and is a clusterfvck to get to unless you live right there, but the presence of the Lake is amazing. Similar situation with Cleveland, though I think they got a new stadium at some point. Much will be lost if the Bears are playing in some sterile homogenous stadium in the middle of suburbia.

Eh, I don't know. To me, when they renovated in 2002 it lost its luster as a historic venue. It does not look iconic and historic like Wrigley or Kinnick. It looks like a makeover.

I am not a Bears fan, but I will would be excited to see the Bears new digs in the burbs when they play the Vikes. I like great stadiums, good sightlines, good atmospheres for pregame fun and well run access to and from. All of that will be better with what the Bears are thinking of doing.

Rumors are that the Jags could move to Chicago and move into Soldier. That would be fun.

Sorry, this is no longer historic looking:

 

[justwinbaby]

The hospital has better options for expansion than tearing down Kinnick. At one point I thought they were planning on taking the old college of pharmacy space. If push comes to shove they could start buying the houses South of Melrose. I also thought at one point the field house was in consideration for demolition.