Another "Neutral Site Game" for WI

Donate To GopherHole
markymark98

markymark98

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
434
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Okay, so this article says nothing specific, so crucify me for drawing a pretty obvious correlation, but couldn't WI gain a significant advantage from playing a game at Lambeau and then getting to play another game at Camp Randall? I'm not sure how this works, and am too lazy to do the research, but with Notre Dame playing a "Home" game in San Antonio and Indiana playing a "Home" game on the east coast against Penn State this made me raise my eyebrows.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090901/GPG0101/90901002/1978

"Webb said there are efforts to bring a college football game to Lambeau and said a large stadium concert isn’t out of the question. Making the logistics work is the tough part, he said."
 

It'll be different from the Indiana situation. I'd have to assume that if the Badgers played in Lambeau, they'd be considered the home team, meaning they're giving up a game in Camp Randall. In Indiana's case, they would be playing a "home" game 800 miles from Bloomington in an area that's populated with more Penn St fans than Hoosier fans.

As for Notre Dame playing in San Antonio...it doesn't matter since they're not in a conference. Scheduling equality doesn't matter in their case as they're not competing for standings in a conference.
 

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. My question is, couldn't a MAC school or some other institution with a much smaller facility than Lambeau ask to host the game there and be the "Home" team? I would think the revenue of playing the game there rather than at home for a game that is assumed to be a loss (hopefully not) for the MAC school, (or whomever), could be very attractive to a smaller school looking to boost it's budget. That can't make Western Michigan fans any more angry that Indiana fans. Plus, smaller school fans would probably like the opportunity for their team to play in a game like this. Almost like a guaranteed bowl trip to a less desirable city. (I can say that, I live in Green Bay.)
 

If Bucky schedules a non-conference "road" game in Lambeau I don't have a problem with it. They get a supportive crowd and a non-BCS school gets a payday. It's a win-win.

The Indiana/PSU problem is that it throws the road/home conference balance out of whack. PSU now has an advantage in the conference standings that no other schools have.
 

markymark98 said:
Okay, that makes a lot of sense. My question is, couldn't a MAC school or some other institution with a much smaller facility than Lambeau ask to host the game there and be the "Home" team? I would think the revenue of playing the game there rather than at home for a game that is assumed to be a loss (hopefully not) for the MAC school, (or whomever), could be very attractive to a smaller school looking to boost it's budget. That can't make Western Michigan fans any more angry that Indiana fans. Plus, smaller school fans would probably like the opportunity for their team to play in a game like this. Almost like a guaranteed bowl trip to a less desirable city. (I can say that, I live in Green Bay.)
Click to expand...

There has been talk of the Badgers playing a game there, but it won't be a conference game. Most likely would be a non conference game that was a buy game or a game where the opponent wouldn't come to Madison but would go to a "neutral" site. I will believe it when I see it.
 


UW does have a game in Chicago in 2011 with NIU. NIU will be the home team.

I think both teams split the tickets but Chicago keeps the parking and concession sales.
 

Badgers

I have it on good authority that the Badgers are considering moving to Lambeau Field permanently, and building an aquatic center on the field at Camp Randall. :)
 

go4rob said:
I have it on good authority that the Badgers are considering moving to Lambeau Field permanently, and building an aquatic center on the field at Camp Randall. :)
Click to expand...

Only if they put a Dome on it. That would be awesome.
 

markymark98 said:
Okay, that makes a lot of sense. My question is, couldn't a MAC school or some other institution with a much smaller facility than Lambeau ask to host the game there and be the "Home" team? I would think the revenue of playing the game there rather than at home for a game that is assumed to be a loss (hopefully not) for the MAC school, (or whomever), could be very attractive to a smaller school looking to boost it's budget. That can't make Western Michigan fans any more angry that Indiana fans. Plus, smaller school fans would probably like the opportunity for their team to play in a game like this. Almost like a guaranteed bowl trip to a less desirable city. (I can say that, I live in Green Bay.)
Click to expand...

I think Bowling Green or Toledo or someone like that did do this. They had a game against Ohio State in Cleveland and OSU was considered the away team. I think the small school had to pay for renting the stadium but got to kept the gate receipts. Basically, they made 2/3 times as much as they would have if they played at their smaller home field.
 



ditt1605 said:
I think Bowling Green or Toledo or someone like that did do this. They had a game against Ohio State in Cleveland and OSU was considered the away team. I think the small school had to pay for renting the stadium but got to kept the gate receipts. Basically, they made 2/3 times as much as they would have if they played at their smaller home field.
Click to expand...

I know Cincy did this with OSU back when they were in the C-USA. They played the Buckeyes at the Bengals stadium.
 

Fairly common to do this.

Missouri had a "road" game against "home team" Arkansas State at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Iowa was a "road" team before a sold out Soldier Field in Chicago against Northern Illinois. Ohio State has done it with a couple of teams at Paul Brown Field in Cincinnati. In some cases, lesser programs need a large "home" crowd to help meet minimum average attendance figures to remain in Division I. A big gate in a "home" game like this helps raise that average.

That is fine, in my book.

Playing CONFERENCE games at a neutral site that is five hours closer to the "road" team (i.e. IU/PSU) is NOT okay.

Huge difference in the two situations.
 

We played Bowling Green in Cleveland a few years ago, with BGSU as the home team.
 




On tv it was hard to tell how the crowd was broken up, but there were just over 30,000 there for the game. I seem to remember the weather was kind of crappy for the game. Drizzly, very Cleveland-like.
 

badgerman27 said:
On tv it was hard to tell how the crowd was broken up, but there were just over 30,000 there for the game. I seem to remember the weather was kind of crappy for the game. Drizzly, very Cleveland-like.
Click to expand...

That was still a pretty good gate take for Bowling Green, I would guess. I'm not surprised that more Badger fans didn't go though. Like I said, they travel well, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to road trip to an NFL stadium in Cleveland in September for a game that isn't a bowl or a game against a major BCS school.
 


I was at the UM-Kent State game and stuck around

badgerman27 said:
On tv it was hard to tell how the crowd was broken up, but there were just over 30,000 there for the game. I seem to remember the weather was kind of crappy for the game. Drizzly, very Cleveland-like quote

for the UW BGSU game with hopes of jet skiing on Lake Erie. It was just like last weekend, under 70 degrees and overcast.

Cleveland was still fun, and Wisconsin fans did arrive. They even had a decent event at some bar by the baseball stadium that served these really strange and great grilled sandwitches with egg and potato combinations. (friday night)

On Saturday the GF and I downed many vodka drinks in the warehouse district the the SW of Browns Stadium and then witnessed an ugly win over Bowling Green.

A highlight was the performance by 2/3 of the Wisconsin Marching Band.

Some of the OSU fans I talked to over beers in the stadium club overlooking Lake Erie centered around how nice it would have been to have MN-Kent State there the same night in a double header. They OSU fans mentioned that some of them had been to the Metrodome and would have like to have seen the Minnesota Marching Band in Cleveland as well.

I informed the OSU fans that our band paid leadership won't find a way to make a 5 hour bus trip once a year much less a trip to Cleveland.

It was great hearing the UW Band take over Cleveland from a B10 perspective.

I cannot imagine how great it was for the Iowa fans at the Navy Pier Ballroom when the HMB played the On Iowa and Sweet Home Chicago before the 2007 NIU game at Soldier Field.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNLl78um__s&feature=related
Click to expand...
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom