As you can tell from Luck's comments, he isn't much of a fan of Villanova joining;
"There are two sort of questions I think that people have," Luck said. "One is really what are the facilities that Villanova is able to use and how do those fit into the Big East with what we have now with our football schools. Are those really at a level that are BCS, automatic qualifier appropriate for a conference like ours? I think that's the first question and obviously the conference didn't feel quite comfortable with all the information regarding what I would call the infrastructure question."I would like to point out to Oliver Luck that the ACC, (a conference that I'm sure WVU would jump at the opportunity to join if invited,) has two stadiums with capacities of less than 35,000, (Duke and Wake Forest,) and the SEC, (which Luck would blow his load if he was invited to,) has one with a capacity of less than 40,000, (Vanderbilt,) and none of these conference's statuses as an automatic qualifier are in doubt. The fact is that PPL should be viewed as an asset, because it would instantly become the stadium in the conference with the nicest amenities, and as the former GM of the Houston Dynamo, Oliver Luck should know that these soccer stadiums are first class facilities, and a 30,000 seat all-seater PPL park will likely be one of the conference's nicest stadiums.
He went on to say:
"When we talk about adding a 10th member, the question is what does that 10th member bring and what are the other options, quite honestly," Luck continued. "It's sort of like buying a car, you don't go and just look at one model. You look around and say what are the different options, what are the different prices, and what are the plusses and minuses? I think a lot of schools were interested in having a better sense of what other possibilities would be out there."This is funny because

West Virginia shots aside it doesnt change the fact that PPL is only at 18k seats RIGHT NOW with no concrete plan to expand. Why are you comparing PPL to stadiums that currently seat 30k?
ReplyDeleteLook at UMass...They are expanding to 30k and had a plan in place to play in a NFL stadium till their renovations are done. Villanova is being out done by UMass and they are only moving to the MAC
Well put....Luck's own son escaped for the West Coast!
ReplyDeleteThe Stadium issue remains a major stumbling block that should have been dealt with and sealed early on in the process. I hope someone on Lancaster Avenue has the stature and ability to deal with the issue and do it very quickly. Time is fleeting.
"The fact is that PPL should be viewed as an asset, because it would instantly become the stadium in the conference with the nicest amenities"
ReplyDeleteThat's not true at all... Heinz Field, Raymond James Stadium, Papa John's Stadium, The Rent is new, Rutgers Stadium was recently upgraded, and TCU is being upgraded.
Plus, there are no definate plans to upgrade PPL Park.
Fact is, the Big East offered Villanova a seat at the BCS table and the best they could come up with was 18,000 PPL Park... If they were serious about the move they would have came up with an idea that shoot for the stars, not the minimum requirements.
*makes mocking masturbatory motion*
ReplyDelete*Making a waving bye motion* To Villanova's Big East Football Membership
ReplyDelete