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  • Cessna Stadium

    Since track is in it’s off-season I thought this might be something interesting to discuss and get a few people interacting. I have seen in other forums lots of talk about Cessna Stadium and what will happen to it in the upcoming years. Some of it has educated thoughts and some does not.

    It appears that at some point in the near future the East side of Cessna Stadium will be removed, potentially for a parking garage. So if that is the case, what would you like to see Cessna Stadium become?

    Keep the following things in mind:

    -Wichita State and Cessna Stadium is host to the Kansas State Track and Field Championships that draw over 20,000 in attendance each day (40,000+ total). This has been told to me as the single most important weekend to the city of Wichita every year in terms of economic impact. More than any other sporting event or concert.
    -Wichita State’s track and field program is not only one of the best in the MVC, but it’s often a top-25 type national team as well. They deserve a facility that is to the quality of their team – at least it appears that is the WSU athletic department’s vision based on facilities of other teams on campus.
    -The track/cross country program accounts for 6 of the departments 15 MVC championship competitions (40%). They are, without a doubt, the most significant part of WSU’s all-sport trophy goals.
    -WSU has hosted national level competitions in Cessna Stadium in the past and as recently at the 2011 USA Junior Olympics. Cessna also has the annual KT Woodman Classic in April, which hosts over 100 college and high schools and 3000 athletes annually.

    If the East side is going to be gone, this is what I would like to see (obviously it’s a dream but that’s the point right?):

    Put an overhang on the West side stands so that fans are protected from the sun or rain. Make the East side (where the parking garage will be) a grassy and tiered area for a few thousand people to put lawn chairs or just hang out. Plant trees down the backstretch to provide natural shade. Make the south end where the rock wall is in levels a bit more accommodating to seat fans. With the dorm so close it could be kind of a “party spot” like the outfield at Eck Stadium. Put a jumbotron in the Southeast corner of the stadium. Get rid of Kapaun football so you can move the Discus and Javelin inside the stadium as well as putting a Shot Put area on the infield. And finally, put a new indoor track in the bottom level of the parking garage so you could use it as a warmup area for outdoor meets as well as the home of the indoor teams.

    For those of you who think Cessna Stadium is an eyesore, I disagree. I think it is a historic place (for track and field) that has seen world records and Olympians as well as great Shocker teams. It has a lot of character and is used by the community all the time for various reasons. I think it could be redone as a place that could hold national level meets often as well as add to the new philosophy of the campus.

    Anyone have any better ideas?

  • #2
    I really like your thinking here. Your hired. You can report to Eric Sexton tomorrow and tell him '72Shocker has annointed you to oversee this project. (Don't be too surprised in that doesn't impress him). That could really be something to behold and perhaps we could build our track teams to be even stronger than they are know and, hopefully, attract a much greater degree of fan interest and following than the programs currently enjoy.

    Comment


    • #3
      @goshox74:, Good job. Your plan seems to be very well thought out and a smart and efficient use of the facility. From a financial standpoint, it seems like a pretty feasible plan. I cannot disagree with the major points of your plan.

      Your plan would be my second choice concerning the outdoor track facility. My first choice would be to build a state of the art, new track facility. I cannot disagree with you about the historical significance of Cessna stadium, but I do not think it helps to recruit athletes to our program. And I agree with you that our track program is a quality and very competitive program. How much better would our program be with a state of the art facility? If the State track and field meet has as much of an economic impact on our community as you say, a new facility would be beneficial for keeping that event in Wichita, and maybe it could attract additional HS, AAU, JUCO, or NAIA events that might provide additional economic benefit

      I think that facilities for our athletic programs (other than men's basketball) is a big need that we have and would help to take us to the next level in college athletics.

      Now, with all of that being said I think it is highly unlikely that we are going to see significant investment in facilities for our non-revenue sports programs for two primary reasons:

      1. A very aggressive and substantial academic plan for buildings for the new Innovations Campus that is going to take significant resources.
      2. Concerns about the recent NCAA developments on P5 autonomy and the court ruling concerning compensation of athletes is going to be the mainfocus of our athletic program for the years to come.

      Therefore, I think your plan is the most feasible.
      ShockerNet is a rat infested cess pool.

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      • #4
        Somewhat selfishly, I would hate to lose the ability to host Drum Corps Int'l, events at Cessna. As long as bringing the shot and discus inside doesn't preclude putting yard markers on the field, it should still work. Is there another facility in Wichita that will seat up to 10k on one side of the field?

        Other than that, I like the idea of making some improvements as long as, like @Shocker-maniac: said, all these NCAA change with regards to full cost of attendance, will allow WSU to maintain a top-tier basketball program.

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        • #5
          Host the X Games, the place will never be the same, but great promotional exercise.
          For some the glass is half full and for others half empty. My glass is out of ice.
          - said no one ever...

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          • #6
            RoyalShock - Yes having the SP on the infield would still leave almost all of it available for an event like the Drums Corps.

            Shocker-maniac - if we were unlimited in budget I would be thinking like you as well!

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            • #7


              "You Just Want to Slap The #### Outta Some People"

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              • #8
                Football never worked in Wichita…

                Sedgwick County population 1986 = 385,000

                Sedgwick County population 2021 = 521,000

                Gotta think football would work at some level… I’ve said before, acquire BCCC and you’d have a pretty good start. Unfortunately, we can only dream and reminisce at this point.


                Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Wichita metro area from 1950 to 2024. United Nations population projections are also included through the year 2035.
                "You Just Want to Slap The #### Outta Some People"

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                • #9
                  Given those population numbers, attendance could go from 10000 back then to 14000 now.

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                  • #10
                    I believe the Wings had more fans attending games.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by RoyalShock View Post
                      Given those population numbers, attendance could go from 10000 back then to 14000 now.
                      Agree, that could be the base/starting point.
                      "You Just Want to Slap The #### Outta Some People"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Downtown Shocker Brown View Post
                        I believe the Wings had more fans attending games.
                        Could be wrong, but I don’t think the ‘cow palace’ held much more than 6000 for soccer… you could squeeze 10,000 for a NCAA first round regional which they did.
                        "You Just Want to Slap The #### Outta Some People"

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by WstateU View Post

                          Could be wrong, but I don’t think the ‘cow palace’ held much more than 6000 for soccer… you could squeeze 10,000 for a NCAA first round regional which they did.
                          I think max capacity was 9,xxx and average attendance in the early and mid-years was around 6,x00. Hmm, max might have been 8,xxx. Memory is fading.

                          Edit: Memory tells me just shy of 10k was max at Wings games.
                          Kung Wu say, man making mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Kung Wu View Post

                            I think max capacity was 9,xxx and average attendance in the early and mid-years was around 6,x00. Hmm, max might have been 8,xxx. Memory is fading.

                            Edit: Memory tells me just shy of 10k was max at Wings games.
                            Yes. Was just shy of 10k. Many years averaged over 9k.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by WstateU View Post
                              Football never worked in Wichita…

                              Sedgwick County population 1986 = 385,000

                              Sedgwick County population 2021 = 521,000

                              Gotta think football would work at some level… I’ve said before, acquire BCCC and you’d have a pretty good start. Unfortunately, we can only dream and reminisce at this point.


                              https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/2...ita/population
                              I think for WSU, they can look at the football situation however they want, but in the grand scheme of things it will have to be brought back eventually if the school is serious about playing in a respectable conference.
                              Look what the lack of football has done to KU. They are currently attempting to sail into the Big 10, but instead someone up there dropped their giant football anchor and made it to where at the very least trying to sail out of the turbulent Big 12 won’t be so easy

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