Pitt had Joseph Uchebo as one of its top targets this off season. Even before Steve Adams decided to go pro, he was someone they were pursuing. They needed to find help in the front court.
I know it has been a rough end of the season and off-season so far for Pitt. It has frazzled and worn many of you down to the point where you can’t recognize an obvious, slightly sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek comment. So, just to clarify: the rehiring of Barry Rohrssen had nothing to do with finally getting a commitment from Uchebo. None. He is a good recruiter, but the idea that within a few days of hiring he could cold-call a kid he never met or recruited and been the one to sway him. I don’t even… You would have to ask how Pitt “only” got the players they did get when Rohrssen was working for Pitt before.
Several teams were after Uchebo. He had gotten it down to Pitt, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma State. Even NC State seemed to be making a push to once more get him (perhaps because another former NC State recruit and JUCO teammate, Torian Graham is someone they might still be pursuing).
Uchebo is not without risk. I mean, if he wasn’t there would have been a lot more pursuit of a 6-10/11 who had been a top-100 recruit in 2011. From the issues of academics (three high schools) to coming back from the microfracture surgery on his knee. There is plenty that can go wrong.
It still seems like a good chance to take. He appears in good shape with both, but you can never know for sure.
Just as importantly, he seems to be the right fit for Pitt. He is a tenacious rebounder. Plays defense. He’s not looking to show off his offensive game. Rather he will take what he can get inside on rebounds and playing around the basket.
As an aside, it’s worth noting that Chipola College was a loaded JUCO team. In addition to Torian Graham, there was Sam Cassell, Jr. (typing that makes me feel old). Cinmeon Bowers (Memphis wants him). Kruize Perkins (signed with the University of San Francisco). Earl Watson (Wichita State — damn them!).
The Pete is an elite facility and ACC teams will dread the visit. What ACC team is fearful of Heinz? They probably get pumped up since its a pro stadium. And will Pitt even be allowed to mark the field with those ACC logos? Will visiting teams think our campus is somewhere on the North Shore?
For the entry into our new conference home, Pitt needs to restore some tradition. Bring back the script. Change that aweful vegas gold and begin plans to focus more on improving the overall quality of our athletic programs.
Planning should also work towards that feasibility study for an OCS and for any other project designed to improve Pitts athletic programs, make gameday more fun, restore and build new traditions, reconnect with the community and campus, reenergize school spirit, refocus committment to excellence, reignite passion for Pitt.
… and then people who look through a sports bar window from afar will say…
“hey, look, Pitt is Playing”…
instead of “Hey, who is that playing??? (squint)… Notre Dame?…. Navy…. ah, no, that is “silly Putty” gold and they have crap on the side of their helmet… I think that must be Pitt”.
and draping the stadium in dull colored ‘banners’… from Joanne Fabric or some place is NOT going to make that stadium feel like home.
hey, at least with the retro colors the seats look almost custom made and you can jazz up the place better… no matter what we are stuck there for some time to come.
let alone new revenue from sales of gear, etc.
This is the no-brainer of all no-brainers….
This stopped any inkling of starting any crowd based cheering at all. The overly loud music and even louder announcer was an irritant all game.
And then it was even louder when a stupid commercial ran on the Jumbotron.
All in all, there was NO COLLEGE ATMOSPHERE TO THE GAME AT ALL.
Other than the fact I did know my college was playing ! lol
Whoever is in charge of the ‘game day experience’ needs fired, last week. Hell I’ll volunteer to do it for free. (don’t these clowns ever watch college games from some of the great college venues)
All makes sense to me.
Here’s the thing though, SP would be admitting he made a mistake. And I don’t think he’s the type of guy who would EVER admit to making any mistakes.
Prolly still believes he was unjustly fired at Nebraska, his alma mater.
Marshall transfer DeAndre Kane heading home to Pittsburgh. He’ll fill a key need for the Panthers as a scoring wing:
Good news and he’s recommended from former Pitt asst. Coach Tom Herrion, one of our better ones.
TX_P & I invite you to revisit the PHP site, sign up so we can contact you (email & such) so we can further this conversation and make this happen as a group of loyal and supportive Pitt Fans!
Creating the new Trees Hall is probably more expensive by 4-fold that moving Frick onto Forbes Avenue.
Multipurpose stadium/dome essential to long term development.
The new stadium should be an architectural gem on campus blending both traditional and modern style from limestone masonry to iron wrought objects to graceful arches to sleek vertical glass windows. Unfortunately, her ugly sister, Posvar Hall, is beyond help.
How’s that for a disgusting visual?
I really understand your point, and it is not a drawback, but a valid consideration when the architects and engineers take over the project.
Our job is to get to a Feasibility, and get everyone involved and on-board.
And you are correct, that is a disgusting visual!
I agree that green is the way to go as long as it doesn’t bust the budget. I’m certain that many features can make use of natural and recycled products and the design aspects can be made energy efficient. Maybe even some roof sections can have natural grass and plants much like Phipps.
Frankly, I’m most interested in how architectural design can be used to amplify the noise inside the stadium in order to give Pitt a true home field advantage. I’ve already researched how through the use of the right materials and by building vertical along with other building features. It will be loud and rockin.
And, yes green space surrounding the stadium and natural stone pathways are a part of the design. It won’t be a sea of asphalt like Heinz.
My apologies for the bad visual but it will take all summer before I fire up a cigar on the back 9.
In a past life I was the GC of an architectural and engineering firm so I have some knowledge here.
Let me make a suggestion.
Pitt and PSU get major heat for costing too much. Let’s table that discussion for now and focus on how this project can gain added support.
Before it was renovated, Ohio Stadium in Columbus housed a dormitory! It was almost a cult and the entire concept was one giant “work/study” program where students worked by maintaining the dorm and working to do it. It was actually a scholarship program and their room and board were either reduced in large amounts or paid for by their work altogether!
They also had some Hellacious parties!!
Can your concept adopt something like that? Great venue fir game day parties for students and tailor made for sneaking friends into games!
Plus, it helps kids pay for college and teaches a work ethic, team work etc…
Can’t do this if it is an erector set like Beaver Stadium, but you can with limestone and glass!!
I really enjoy your comments and suggestions. The development project will be anchored by a stadium but the components will include dorms, classrooms, lecture halls, banquet rooms, retail and office space as well as a new parking garage. I’m not familiar with Ohio State as you mention but if more support can be garnered by students and the university by having the students be stewards of the stadium, it is something to further explore. If by what you mean, students can get reductions in their dorm rent if they help clean up after games and help maintain the beauty of the plazas, then I would be a supporter and we could at least recommend this option and make sure it gets mentioned in the feasibility study.
PITT fans view an on campus stadium as WAY more important that it really is to the city as a whole. See – the difference between PITT and a lot of other schools in that PITT doesn’t own any of the land in Oakland where it is actually feasible to locate a stadium and will not be able to use Eminent Domain laws to create that space.
Why? Because Eminent Domain was created under this: “The Fifth Amendment imposes limitations on the exercise of eminent domain: the taking must be for public use and just compensation must be paid.”
There is no way the City or State is going to see forcible removing any US citizens from their homes for anything as frivolous as a football stadium used by one semi-public entity. That stadium won’t benefit the city as a whole in any tangible way really and much like other stadium projects will have to be funded with assistance by the State.
The Petersen Center is a multi-use arena built of PITT lands and thus is a different animal.
Bottom line: Pittsburgers just don’t care one bit about an on-campus stadium for the sole use of one university and won’t tolerate disruption of citizen’s lives and quality of life to make it possible.
Our concept is more than just a football stadium. Visit our site. Then, I would appreciate your comments. I understand what you are saying. That’s why our idea is for a place where people can live, work and play. Don’t discount Frick being moved. Why wouldn’t Pitt allow that if it benefits the Art program and the univeristy and community at large? And our targeted location isn’t protected wetlands. Its a bunch of trees and poor biking trails with strewn garbage and the occassional rat. The 30 buildings that would need to be replaced in the Hollow are primarily very old housing stock in delapidated condition. I would call them slums. Our concept improves the quality of the area for the neighborhood and helps economically develop this cooridor. Don’t brush it off so lightly. Again, visit the site and educate yourself. Then I would love to hear your perspectives. This project benefits many partners and is defintely not just a football or Pitt thing. We understood those concerns in the very beginning. So we addressed them.
Pitt doesn’t need permission to move the Frick, It belongs to Pitt, it is just on “leased ground”, just like Mazeroski Field.
Eminent Domain is not and will not be a part of the process. We envision purchasing the properties. Go to our site and look at “Boundary Street” and see the photos of the area in focus.
Also see the Acquisitions section where we detail the properties in the Concept Area.
We also don’t have any taxpayer involvement. We plan on fundraising the stadium cost, and Pitt bonding the Dorms, Garage and Business Complex. The business complex and garage will bring more tax revenue to the city than the 30 odd properties currently do.
The “Frick” can’t and won’t ever be moved or have anything built over it as it is already on the National Register of Historic Places and thus sacrosanct. If that wasn’t enough I don’t think you realize that it is the “Jewel in the Crown” for PITT as far as arts and culture go and people come from all over the world to visit and do research there.
One thing you may not know or be privy to is that I guarantee you that if PITT jerks around, again, with a namesake donation like Helen Frick issued back in the 1962 or so. We lost out on that excellent source of old-Pittsburgh money by alienating her with the collection and building.
Do it again and say goodby to the Mellon-Hillman-Walton, etc big money that is still out there. Millions get donated to the university through various trusts held by that old money and they all tie in together. It just isn’t worth it, at all, to even attempt it.
That said the same holds for the parkland in Oakland and throughout the city. It is untouchable and is one of the major reason PGH has such a high quality of life ranking.
Thirdly – that ‘old housing stock’ are homes that have been in peoples families for over a hundreds years. You won’t be able to buy them out and the state and city won’t allow Eminent Domain as I stated above. PITT has a precarious enough relationship with the surrounding communities and the city council as it is. Imagine if they tried to push razing a full neighborhood through the city government.
Finally – I can tell you that PITT didn’t just cavalierly dump PITT stadium and jump to Heinz without a long hard look at putting a stadium elsewhere in Oakland. It wasn’t feasible 20 years ago when that stadium switching project started and it is even less feasible now with all the subsequent construction.
I don’t want to hijack this blog to defend or promote our concept but would appreciate Chas posting our brochure about this concept if he deems it worthy of discussion maybe during a slow time in the summer months.
I can quickly disect your criticisms because my partner and I have actually done our due diligence and haven’t half assed our way through this. All we asking for is a feasibility study and then we’ll all know.
And to correct you – Pitt did not do one for a new Pitt stadium when the old one got demolished.
Lastly, we believe millions will get donated to this concept…$300 million. It will have many partners and benefit more than just Pitt.
The Frick is NOT on the National Register of Historic Places:
There is no relationship between the Frick familiy and Pitt with regards to Frick Fine Arts:
“By the late 1960s Miss Frick, unhappy that the university did not conform to her restrictions on management of both the department and the new building, severed her ties with the University of Pittsburgh. She responded by creating a new venture, The Frick Art Museum, on the property of her ancestral home, Clayton, a few miles east in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood. That museum operates today as a part of the Frick Art & Historical Center complex.”
If you go to our web site and look at the table of property owners and potential acquisitions, you will be hard pressed to find any of the properties which have not be sold in the last 15 years. The “Old Italian” neighborhood commonly discussed is another block or two further south on Boundary Street and not involved in our project.
We have done our research, please do yours, so we can continue to have an intelligent, fact-based discussion.
I lived off Reynolds a stones throw from The Frick Art and another from Clayton. Too bad few go there.
Thanks for the compliments Tex and after this message, I’ll just comment and add thoughts to the website.
Pittsburgh is a revenue starved city.
The real gripe against the non profits is because so many tax paying entities and people left.
South Oakland is a student ghetto. The upper hill is a racial ghetto and Pitt sits between the two.
The Penguins, Pirates and Steelers got what they wanted because they threatened to leave…don’t tell me they didn’t either…it was the base of leverage for all.
If Pitt is serious about Oakland, then it must be shrewd about it and willing to flex some muscle.
If it weren’t for Pitt and CMU, the city of Pittsburgh would have dried up and blown away….look at Detroit…Pittsburgh on a larger scale with no university presence to speak of.
But shrewdness works better than brawn.
A single stadium will simply not work.
A redesigned neighborhood with an enhanced Phipps, Carnegie, Schenley Park with housing planned for wealthy seniors who enjoy the culture and a multiple purpose stadium will bring in support.
A stand alone stadium will bring contempt.
If jobs are generated you will certainly get trade union support…absolutely essential in D only Pittsburgh.
The key here IS to think big.
I see their proposal as a helluva start!
Hate to be critical but I have to contest Pitt’s coaching staff improving their big men.
Adams did not regress but was restricted playing in the Pitt system. Blair was not worked with to improve his game facing the basket and handling the ball. Certainly you wanted him around the board but if he could of developed a game from 20 ft. his career in the pro’s would not be in jepoarday. As for Arron Gray he did not learn any other offense moves except the turn around bank shot from the lane during his time at Pitt. His ticket was he was 7′ and 250 lbs. physical enough to have a short term career as a backuup center in the NBA.
You need to re-read what I wrote above. I didn’t say there was an ongoing relationship with the Frick family any longer. I well know that it was severed back in the day because My Mom (ass’t Dean of Women at PITT) and my Dad (tenured professor in the Graduate Business school at PITT) went crazy when PITT dropped the ball with Helen Clay Frick.
It was also a reason Ed litchfield had to resign as Chancellor – because even before the building was finished he had alienated Mrs. Frick and the rest of the extended Frick family so much the relationship was doomed. That blew a major revenue stream for PITT, pissed off other wealthy families and set the university backwards financially for years afterward. It was a major embarrassment to PITT when it happened and a topic of conversation in my home for many years afterward because Chancellor Litchfield was a family friend and that made it worse for my parents.
That generous well of money and in-kind donations dried up without a trace after that happened Mellon Institute, Hillman Library, Scaife Hall, Benedum Hall, Heinz Memorial Chapel, etc… are all examples of how PITT has benefitted from the relationship with that old PGH money and and believe me PITT will bend over backwards to make sure nothing like that happened again.
Imagine what the outcry would be if there was a suggestion to demolish Heinz Chapel… same with the Frick Building.
Which is why I say that if PITT were to try to tear down or modify that building in any way there would be major ramifications by other old-line PGH families who are still giving big money without fanfare to PITT.
The pre-feasibility will ask the question – what does the Art Department think, what do art/Pitt donors think , what does the Pitt community think as a whole?
Reed, I luv ya, but you miss our point – WE WANT TO ASK THE QUESTION ! We don’t want someone to tell us WE AREN’T ALLOWED TO ASK THE QUESTION.
However, the Pittsburgh Frick museums are one of only two places in the US where anyone can view the Frick art collection. Henry Clay Frick was a huge and very good art collector and that is something that Pittsburgh has hung their hat on. The Oakland Frick building is a gateway to Schenley Park from the university’s southern grounds and is the best place to have a late morning class because you can walk over to Flagstaff Hill and get high before having that 1:00 class.
What I think PITT should do is look outside of the Oakland/Shadyside/Squirrel Hill area and find some land elsewhere to build a stadium on if the University feels it is necessary. That old Homestead LTV site would have been perfect IMO but we whiffed on that. One thing to remember is that anywhere PITT actually buys land automatically makes it “on campus” so outside of Oakland but close to PITT would suffice – if there is anywhere .
I think that PITT fans need to look at what they really want in a new stadium. Does it have to be in Oakland proper? Does it have to be 100% Panthers and 0% Steelers? Does it have to be PITT only or can it be used by the City and private contractors for different entertainment events.
But a lot of people are satisfied with the current arrangement with Heinz Field. It serves its purpose well in a lot of ways and is cost effective for the University. I sit in the upper end zone seats and think the sightlines are fine, especially for the price. The only thing I’d change is being able to drink beer during the game.
So personally I don’t think a PITT football dedicated stadium in Oakland itself will ever fly. The land there is just too valuable and the City and the city’s citizens don’t give a rat’s ass about PITT football enough to bend to PITT’s wishes on it. It has never been very important in the local populace’s consciousness even when we were actually a good football program. The alumni on the whole don’t care and the University itself is satisfied with the current arrangement.
What is overlooked IMO during these discussions is the importance of the cultural aspects of the city of Pittsburgh which are greatly underestimated by PITT football fans. For a mid-sized town it is far ahead of the pack in that aspect and that is a huge plus for the tri-state area. Oakland is the heart and soul of that; it was designed to be that way and that shouldn’t be changed.
Oakland was a whole different area back when PITT stadium was built in the 1930’s. Wide open spaces and had that real neighborhood feel to it. Back in the day, even when I was a kid, going to Forbes Field for any game or PITT stadium on a Saturday was no big deal – just walk up to the box office and buy a few tickets… or sneak in as we used to do.
Now going to any sporting event is a much bigger event and needs a much bigger footprint and more infrastructure to accommodate it. I don’t think Oakland has that type of space, even in levelling Panther Hollow, to provide that.
Just to be clear – I’d love to be able to go to a PITT football game in Oakland and drink beer before and after in the local bars then walk over to Shadyside to finish off the day. I had been attending PITT football games in diapers since 1955 until I left PGH in 1978 and loved every minute of it. So I’m not against what you are proposing, I just feel that the cons outweigh the pros when looking at the issue, with an unbiased (i.e. not a PITT football fan’s) eye.
I do agree with you in regards to redesigning certain places in the Schenley Park/Oakland area to make it more non-student friendly. To be honest if my wife wasn’t set on where we currently live I’d buy a condo in the Oakland/Shadyside area in a heartbeat.
I’ve run some projections which I think are realistic like getting 2/3rds of Pitt fans to donate on average $500 over a 5-year period. I didn’t say it wouldn’t be challenging, but I think you could rally support around this concept since it’s more than just a football stadium. Its a place where people live, work and play.
What we’re doing is the pre feasibility part right now. We fully understand that the current AD and Chancellor won’t support this idea; however, the new AD and Chancellor in 5 years just might be receptive. The development should help enhance the overall area and compliment surrounding buildings. That’s one of the project’s goals for architectural design.
One drawback is that Frick would need to be relocated about 100 yards further north, but it can still act as a gateway to the Park. And, the plan is to preserve the structural integrity of the building and also enhance some of its features. It would be moved to a more prominent location. Heck we could even build a tunnel between the two buildings so that the public could enter the Frick and pass thru art galleries on the way to the new facility. What a way to help promote the Frick and Art History. There are several creative possibilities to make sure Frick and the Art’s program is positively impacted by the move.
I also don’t think you need substantially more infrastructure for a city stadium particularly when you have a light rail component (existing lines are already there), utilize a park n ride system, have existing bus lines, and prepaid parking for garages and lots (feasibility study will provide those answers).
What are Pitt’s plans when Heinz in 15 years becomes no longer suitable for pro games? It would probably be too expensive to remodel much like old Pitt stadium. The Steeler ownership will most likely want to build a new facility where they incorporate all the latest in engineering design and take advantage of technology and the new game day experience. Games will be watched differently 20 years from now. The fan experience is evolving.
This is a chance to bring a stadium back to campus so fans can re-connect with campus and re-establish new traditions and re-energize their passion for the university and Oakland. Furthermore, the concept provides new dorms for students, new retail and office space for local businesses, and new classrooms and lecture halls. It will be a stadium that can also be used by the track team (still without a home), lacrosse, high schools, and hold special events.
The plan is to not disrupt the neighborhood but to re-energize and re-vitalize it. It can be part of a new Renaissance. Right now the land isn’t generating any revenue for the city. This development concept will raise dollars for the city and the economic multiplier for this corridor should be significant.
All we’re asking for is some rationale debate on its merits. We believe this idea is possible over time but it won’t come without its detractors (Crazy Paco) and unique set of challenges. But, I believe these hurdles can be overcome with hard work, determination, and sustained committment to the vision.
Again, we’re just two guys with full time jobs and families to manage whose passion led us off the sidelines and into the game. Our site is a work in progress but please come and visit, contribute to the discussion, volunteer if you like.
You may be able to privide us with information that puts the Concept “to bed”, or find that, it might work with this change or that change and if someone wants some “say” in the matter.
As I said before, we’re still asking questions and gaining tacet support to finding those answers.
HTP! Brother..
Sort of like a stuffed uniform with massive paperweights in his shoes.