SMU Redskin Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I know there have been threads about how pathetic our video boards are before, but I found this especially interesting. Everyone knows about Jerryworld and the ridiculous new HD screens they have, but I found it interesting that the Rams are renovating the Edward Jones Dome and replacing their video boards. As it turns out, the Rams have an interesting clause in their lease agreement with the city of St. Louis which states that the EJD must be rated in the top 25% (8 of 32) of NFL facilities in 2015 or they can opt out of the lease and move elsewhere. This is pretty bizarre, and considering some of the new facilities which have been built recently and will be built by then (Dallas, new Meadowlands, Arizona, Indy) it's unlikely that the facility can be brought up to those standards, but nonetheless the city of St. Louis is investing $30 million in renovations. I'm no engineer, but I find the Rams case relevant to Fedex because the configuration of the video boards is similar, in that they both cut into the club seating level as opposed to being on top of the stadium. Take a look: Now, one of the excuses I've heard given by the Redskins is that since Fedex was built in the late 90's, it would be difficult to re-wire the entire stadium in order to make it compatible with a higher quality HD screen. However, the Edward Jones Dome was built before Fedex (it opened in 1995 I believe), and it's costing them $30 million to repaint the interior, build a new "Premium Club" and construct new luxury suites in addition to upgrading the video boards...not that $30 million is cheap, but if Danny can invest $57 million in DeAngelo Hall, can't he upgrade the video boards for us? Hopefully he'll get extra jealous after seeing Jerry's palace in November, we can only hope. I've been crusading against those mid-90's relics for some time now, and I think it really makes us look bush league compared to other stadiums like Dallas, Philly, and Baltimore. If you're sitting in the lower bowl it's not that big of a deal, but if you're in the end zone club seats or the upper level I've found that it's a little hard to see. I've heard other people speculate that Danny won't replace them because he's waiting to build his own stadium in DC, but how realistic is this in theory? The economy is in the tank, so the DC government probably won't splurge for it, Snyder's net worth has to have taken a hit with Six Flags problems, and the cost of breaking the lease with Prince Georges County would be substantial. To think that we will have a new stadium anytime in the near future is far-fetched IMO, and I'd much rather have Fedex than some domed crap anyways. I could give two s***s about having a Super Bowl or Final Four in DC if it means comprimising the tradition of Redskins football with a retractable roof. Redskins football is played outdoors, rain or shine, always have been, always (hopefully) will be. Sure, FedEx isn't perfect, but it's not as terrible as people make it out to be IMO. But upgrading the archaic video boards certainly would help. Follow STL's lead, Mr. Snyder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 i just hate that they dont use replays at fedex. it drives me insane when a crucial play just went down and theres a decision coming and im looking at larry michael grinning like an idiot in front of toyota and diago shots instead of the play in question. show me the replay damnit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DButz65 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 i just hate that they dont use replays at fedex. it drives me insane when a crucial play just went down and theres a decision coming and im looking at larry michael grinning like an idiot in front of toyota and diago shots instead of the play in question.show me the replay damnit! Our old analog system prevents them from showing replays all the time.. they have to rewind video tapes to do so. Yea yea, i know, upgrade the system :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stophovr6 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Our old analog system prevents them from showing replays all the time.. they have to rewind video tapes to do so. Yea yea, i know, upgrade the system :mad: Video tape. Ha. Maybe they should just use beta and play the audio commercials using an 8 track player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnhay Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 If the stadium has a retractable roof, can't we just not use it unless we need to for a Super Bowl? If Dan Snyder's such a fan, he'd probably prefer it that way like most of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMU Redskin Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 Our old analog system prevents them from showing replays all the time.. they have to rewind video tapes to do so. Unbelievable. How has this not been addressed by the Redskins management? Do we need to start a petition site to raise awareness? I'm not just bored because it's June, I've hated those damn things for years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney26 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Our old analog system prevents them from showing replays all the time.. they have to rewind video tapes to do so. Yea yea, i know, upgrade the system :mad: Rewind video tapes?? Whats a video tape?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 What's another $30 mil from the taxpayers. lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMU Redskin Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 What's another $30 mil from the taxpayers. lol! IIRC, FedEx was built with private money, and the renovations Danny has done to expand the seating capacity were financed privately as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffylookin Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Video tape. Ha. Maybe they should just use beta and play the audio commercials using an 8 track player. Hey I still have my old beta player and it still kick's VHS' ass. I have no stake in this because I'm no longer a season ticket holder, but I remember back in 1997 thinking that the replay boards were kind of small. But back then, after having no replay boards at RFK I guess anything was seen as a serious upgrade. It has gone from being unimpressive back then, to pretty embarrassing now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deiulay Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 They can rewire all of Tysons for metro yet they can't rewire the replay board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Our old analog system prevents them from showing replays all the time.. they have to rewind video tapes to do so. Yea yea, i know, upgrade the system :mad: wow, i can see larry michael now with a razor blade and two giant reels of tape, cutting the tape to make the play always go our way on the replay! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 IIRC, FedEx was built with private money, and the renovations Danny has done to expand the seating capacity were financed privately as well. I was referring to the EJ Dome in St. Louis. Sure am glad that Danny hasn't attempted to milk any tax dollars yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 What also is interesting is: by who's criteria are they going to rate whether the EJD is in the top 8 facilities in the league? One other thing: the Metrodome hosted a SB in '92, the Georgia Dome got one in '00, Ford Field hosted one in '06, and Indy is going to get one in '12. Its interesting how St. Louis never got one. I guess building the stadium was primarily to lure the Rams from LA but still, curious that they never got a Bowl. Yeah, considering that Snyder didn't build the joint, he probably takes too much of the heat for the complaints about FedEx. But one thing he could do to generate some goodwill would have been to replace the scoreboards. Its unbelievable that somehow we don't have the capability to do this, if true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking Deadman Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 One other thing: the Metrodome hosted a SB in '92, the Georgia Dome got one in '00, Ford Field hosted one in '06, and Indy is going to get one in '12. Its interesting how St. Louis never got one. I guess building the stadium was primarily to lure the Rams from LA but still, curious that they never got a Bowl. That stadium has been said by many players is the worst place to play b/c of the astroturf they used.....it was like green concrete. I think it now has the field turf but it has a bad rep. still from my understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thirtyfive2seven Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I learned my lesson but I SOOOO want to make a political joke right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 The reason Snyder hasn't upgraded the video system is because he can't charge any extra $$$ for it...unless he creates a Platinum HD Screen Viewership program for just $4500 per season, in which you get to wear special glasses that allow you to see the replays...everyone else is SOL. Not only do we NOT get replays, we don't even get any scores from other games. We are bombarded by commercials and Larry Michael's propaganda. ENOUGH!:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 What also is interesting is: by who's criteria are they going to rate whether the EJD is in the top 8 facilities in the league?. I thought about that too. curious that they never got a Bowl.?. Probably because Houston, Detroit, and Indi 2.0 all financed their venue construction through the NFL' stadium lender program. Superbowls were assured to help pay down bonds, despite the fact that those host cities are less than ideal for SBs. Jax and Minn were simply mistakes that they'll likely never repeat as SB host cities. I suspect that Hou, Det. and Indi will be one and dones for SBs. St.L built their stadium without any help from the league or a team owner. They followed the model that Indi had used to lure the Colts a decade earlier. The league never guarunteed St.L a team just for building the stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Thanks for the explanation RFKFedEx. Yeah, I suspect Detroit and Indy will only ever get one Bowl unless they for whatever reason wind up building more new places 20 years or further down the road. Houston maybe because there's a chance you could have decent weather in Feb. I think if Snyder were to ever build a retractable-roofed monstrosity we might get one Bowl and that'd be it. Whoopee! Although maybe I'd spring for what will then be the $2000/ticket face value just to hear Mark Kessler on the PA for the big game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annonymous Source Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Video tape. Ha. Maybe they should just use beta and play the audio commercials using an 8 track player. Dont give them any ideas, they might just take u up on that:silly: but seriously, the video boards at fed-ex are terrible. I never bother looking at them because I am too busy screaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzj Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 i figure the money snyder is saving by not updating the current stadium is being set aside for the cost building a big ass new stadium. something comparable to that crap in dallas. snyder always likes to make a splash, and he's definitely the type to buy a new home rather than redecorate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHendrix Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 What also is interesting is: by who's criteria are they going to rate whether the EJD is in the top 8 facilities in the league? Probably they use a formula for size/resolution comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.T.real,lights,out Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I know the economy sucks. But the Skins are still brining in a lot of money. And i really believe within the next 5 years we are going to have a brand new stadium. I mean we make more $$ than any other team in the east. And starting this year we are going to have the oldest stadium out of all the other teams in the east. I dont think Dan is going to be too happy about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMU Redskin Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 I know the economy sucks. But the Skins are still brining in a lot of money. And i really believe within the next 5 years we are going to have a brand new stadium. I mean we make more $$ than any other team in the east. And starting this year we are going to have the oldest stadium out of all the other teams in the east. I dont think Dan is going to be too happy about that. Yea, we make a lot of money, but the cost of building a new stadium in the same echelon as Dallas and NY would be astronomical. Jerryworld is going to end up costing Jerry and the city of Arlington anywhere from 1.3 to 1.5 billion (and that was on relatively cheap real estate), and the new Meadowlands stadium is even higher at $1.7 billion- and it doesn't even have a roof! Any stadium the Redskins build in the future (especially if you want to put it in DC) will undoubtedly be at least as much and probably more than this, not to mention the cost of breaking the lease in Landover, which certainly wouldn't be cheap. Who's going to finance all of this? The bloom is off the stadium naming rights boom, as even Jerry can't get a sponsor for his stadium, even though it's scheduled to host not only Cowboys games but also a Final Four, Super Bowl, Cotton Bowls, NBA All-Star game, and various college football games. The potential exposure for a corporation at Jerryworld is practically unlimited with all the events scheduled there (certainly more marketable than Fedex) and still, no takers in this economy. Everyone in the DFW area (I went to school at SMU and used to live in Dallas) seems to think AT&T will eventually pony up, considering they just moved their headquarters to Dallas and have been relatively unaffected by the economic downturn compared to other large corporations, but so far nothing. That's a telling sign. FedEx just laid off a lot of their higher paid execs in Memphis where they're based, so I'd be surprised if they were willing to up the ante on the stadium rights deal with the Redskins for a new and considerably more expensive price tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebster21 Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I wonder if he is holding off on any renovations for a trip back into DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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