Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

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Trojan_FB_Alum
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by Trojan_FB_Alum »

Ptown Playmaker wrote:An interesting tidbit...........I'm being told after all the promises...........the baseball field now has been stripped of the turf field, grass instead......will not have a sprinkler system for grass, (turf was promised so all could use the field even for youth football practice in the outfield area in the fall) no fieldhouse for equipment or players to change, no lights and last but not least....no restrooms............if this is the case, what the #$@! are we leaving Branch Rickey??? The first complex meeting held stated we would have all the above........now, we're outta money...........the 10million is only 5 1/2 million now after the great BARGAIN on land.......it was stated the guy who owned 85% of the property was going to give the school a good deal........4 1/2 million for vacant property.......hmmm..............also no track around the football field as promised either.......since we don't own.....I wonder whether if any decisions are even been made by school officials........and who is actually on the committee calling the shots?


I hope this isn't true, but I said from the beginning that 10 million would not be enough to build what they said. It looks as if funds have already started to run low. I will go on record again as saying that this new complex will be nowhere near what could have been done if this money was put into Spartan and Branch. It will just be new, but it won't be new for ever. What happens when the new wears off and will are left with a cookie cutter stadium with no history that we have to pay rent on. I still have no clue where the rent money is coming from. It just seems unreal that we will rent the land where the old school was when we already owned it.
Also has anyone else heard there will be no concession stand for the mothers club. They are the football teams biggest support and are responsible for the big banquet each year.


SOC_Track_Fan
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by SOC_Track_Fan »

What message does this send to the rest of the sports and athletes at Portsmouth?


battlecats
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by battlecats »

I always thought SSU was going to partner with the baseball field? That kinda sucks thoguh. Hopefully a few years down they can add restrooms and anything else they want. But anyway does this mean they dont have any money for phase 2 of the project?


biggdowgg
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by biggdowgg »

I ask about this tonight at the game, and that said this was nott rue,,,now, if it is or not I dont know, but if it is true, I would be very upset.


I thought by not digging and sinking the football fiels, the saved something like 300 grand, and that money was to be spent on the turf for the baseball fields?


softballlife16
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by softballlife16 »

The layout of the stadium at the begining of these posts is the original design. That design was running well over 12 million dollars so it took a few months of redesigning and aquisition of property then they were finally able to start.

As far as the baseball field goes it was gonna run over $500,000. Apparently some members of the committee went to Shawnee State but they were told that Shawnee had a spending freeze and they werent giving any money cause they had a future plan of having a new complex at the east end of their campus, so the turf was cut.

Now as far as the football field of the complex, it was originally gonna be in the ground 8 ft. but they have raised it to save some cost but when it is done it will have an illusion of being sunken but just not to the orginal design. It will have a concrete/stone wall around three sides of the field with the bleachers sitting up above the field at least five feet. The field wll be turf and blue end zones with red lettering and a Trojan head at the 50 yard line. Seating compacity is roughly 5000 with some box seating for season ticket holders. The track will not be around the football field but will be put in Phase 2. Its not illegal to have the track around the just wanted to get the fans closer to the field and make a legit football field. They are still looking to do phase 2 once phase 1 is finished.

Now the field house will house the trojans team locker, mens and womens restroom, 2 concession stands, refs locker room and a storage room. In the original design they had a two storey bulding and a seperate consession/restroom building but it was decided it would be more efficiant to have 1 combined building plus it saved more money. They had 10mil for buying all the property, engineer/ design fees, demo the buildings and build the facility. After engineering, buying property and tearing them down they had 6 mil left to build a 12million dollar design. So they redisigned it! From what i was told an elderly lady donated the money and was sprcificly supposed to be used for the kids and to build something nice in a ran down part of town. No school money is involved.

They are planning on having it completed this summer and even with the bad weather they are still on schedule. Sometime in April the turf goes down and the bleachers start going up. I was assured they were going to complete it thus summer because the forman for the construction company has a son that plays for the Trojans and the owner of construction company is a Trojan football alumni. So to me it sounds like they are gonna do whatever they can to get it done.

All of my info came the forman onsite so I consider this information fairly reliable. I will try to post updates as they become available to me!


biggdowgg
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by biggdowgg »

you said the Turf has been cut for the baeball field, what about Concesions and restrooms?

wouldnt make any sense to build a new baseball filed,and have to have Johnny on the spots lined down Gallia street :oops:


TrojanBuff
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by TrojanBuff »

Scoutteam08 wrote:They had 10mil for buying all the property, engineer/ design fees, demo the buildings and build the facility. After engineering, buying property and tearing them down they had 6 mil left to build a 12million dollar design. So they redisigned it!

Scoutteam08 wrote:The track will not be around the football field but will be put in Phase 2. Its not illegal to have the track around the just wanted to get the fans closer to the field and make a legit football field. They are still looking to do phase 2 once phase 1 is finished.

So they didn't have enough $$ to complete phase 1 but yet they have enough $$ for a phase 2?? Am I missing something?

So basicially we get one football stadium out of this and nothing else? Sounds like for all sports moving out of Spartan and Branch was not a good decision... :roll:

Nothing against you Scoutteam08, thanks for the information. Glad you told us.


OZZIEOHIO
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by OZZIEOHIO »

He said the only thing cut was turf on the baseball field. Not the whole baseball field.


softballlife16
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by softballlife16 »

Sorry I should have explained more about the phase 1 and 2 but it was 1:30 am when I posted last night and I was trying to hurry. They decided to take the track from around the football field to make it more of a football venue and get the fans closer to the field, so to make the track fit in phase 2 they have brought over the tennis courts and basketball courts and they are both now in phase 1 as well. So if I understand correctly phase 1 is consisting of the football field, baseball field, tennis courts and basketball courts. Phase 2 will have softball and track. I will try to find out more on the basefield restrooms and concessions. I will post as soon as the the imformation is available.

I really dont know what all was promissed at the beginning but it still sounds like its gonna be a great venue.

Oh one more thing, that is a levy going in on the north side of the field, I guess a manager for the construction company suggested it because it would save money in hauling off the dirt plus give it some character. Everyone involved with the project thought it was a good idea so they went with it. so thats why they were able to sink the field level at least 1/2 of it was originally designed.


TrojanBuff
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by TrojanBuff »

Does anyone have access to the updated blueprints / digitally enhanced images of what everything will look like post re-design?


Ptown Playmaker
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by Ptown Playmaker »

Once again...........I understand not putting turf on baseball field....to save money...BUT...how can we build phase two if we don't have money for sprinkler system for grass baseball field, no baseball building for field equipment, restrooms, water fountains, or players to change and last but not least.......no lights! Many times the lights are on in the 3rd or 4th inning especially during the first half of the season............? It seems all the money is going for the football stadium.......maybe because it's the big moneymaker.......can you imagine the football field without turf.....lights.......fieldhouse/locker room/restrooms?


biggdowgg
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by biggdowgg »

Scoutteam08

any word on the restrooms,concesions,locker rooms, for the baseball fields?


Ptown Playmaker
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by Ptown Playmaker »

reckon we can keep our same reserved seats in the new stadium?


battlecats
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by battlecats »

any updated images or renderings?


henrysteele
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by henrysteele »

Portsmouth fans might come out to see a new stadium, but they sure don't support the football team very well.

I sat in the stands for the final Ironton visit to Spartan. I got some great wide-angle photos that night. Sadly, the Portsmouth stands were nearly empty.

PHS had two high-level D1 players on the squad and their attendance looked like what you might see at a junior high game.


OZZIEOHIO
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by OZZIEOHIO »

reckon we can keep our same reserved seats in the new stadium?


Im sure that Notre Dame will sell you one. :lol: :lol: :lol:


Buckeye-4-Life
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by Buckeye-4-Life »

I hope for the sake of the Portsmouth community that this project doesn't get screwed up!


trojandave
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by trojandave »

Portsmouth fans are not the most loyal bunch.......they are like the great majority of fans of high school sports........if their team wins, they will come.......if their team loses, they will stay away.........the new stadium will bring more fans for a while, but when the novelty wears off, it will come down to whether the team wins or not as to how many fans show up.

Football is the most popular sport at Portsmouth........and you would think with that popularity comes fan support.......but in the end Trojan fans are just as fairweather as anybody else.........

As for myself, I have missed one game in the last 3 years........at Warren this year.......and we have had 2 losing seasons in those 3 years. I also went to the playoff game in 2007 at Pataskala, when the Trojans played Licking Heights.......we had a very large crowd for that game, but of course we were winning.......8-2 that year going into the playoff game..........

Basketball is by far my favorite sport, but I really enjoy watching the football Trojans.........and I never played football at any level...........sometimes I get so upset with the play of the team that I throw my hat..........

And this past football season, completely different..........I am just totally baffled by fans who show up only when the team wins........they are not fans of the sport, but instead fans of winning. It seems like those same people have all kinds of "other committments" when the team is losing...........
Last edited by trojandave on Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.


OZZIEOHIO
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by OZZIEOHIO »

I was looking at the Stadium and wondering. Will the home bleachers be on the West side so that your not looking into the sun when your sitting there watching warmups????


trojandave
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Re: Portsmouth athletic complex finally started!

Post by trojandave »

Ozzie: I would assume the home stands would be just like Spartan.......on the west side........but the levy is going to be on the North side...........


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