History teaches prudent lesson on Pitt stadium. Hey Brian O'Neill

PG, April 4, 1999

Brian O'Neill Column

History teaches prudent lesson on Pitt stadium

"Pitt stadium will be razed..."

Sorry to see you feeding into the "done deal mentality." And, its nine-time national champions, not six.

Some of the mentions in the opinion article include:

• money corrupting games
• venerable structure
• tradition
• there was no innocent days of yore!
• obscure novel, Stadium, 1931

Listen:

1. Pitt Stadium was built with bonds. Big deal. Lots of businesses and buildings are built with bonds.

2. "The students, fervid old grads and townspeople who had nothing else to do, came to the stadium on Saturday afternoons, but seldom with enthusiasm."

   Yea. Yawn. So what is the point. The fans are not going to get excited when the home team losses all national significance. This is a timeless understanding. People would rather win than not.

Productive people don't spectate, they live

Pittsburgh should cater to the busy people in our communities, and not spectators anway. We, the citizens, want among other things, more spaces to engage with one another. These are high-level playgrounds. We like the idea of sports performance complexes, but they need to server citizens with much better cost/benefits.

One can live while in the role of a spectator too. In the stands one can build releationships. One can also appreciate a struggle of time, space and releationship in others, and learn for themselves.

Desirable for Bettering Releationships

Pitt needs students, old grads and idle townspeople to come to its campus on Saturdays. Pitt does not need empty seats on the North Side on Saturdays.

The Game and the Process of Games

The NCAA handbook has swelled in size from the times of Sutherland. Pay to players was not formalized in scholarships as it is today. Pay to players is nothing new. Scholarships of this era are under the table too, as they are not out in the open. Ask a coach or the athletic department to publish their scholarship levels telling who is funded and to what level. Ask a baseball coach, or a sports coach with another cap on scholarships if those numbers are public knowledge, and they are not. There are privacy reasons, sure. But todays ills are the same as those of the past. Scholarships are given and taken in an under-the-table maner as they are not out in the open. These scholarships are formalized and legal documents, but are not out in the open on the top of the table for sure.

Purity

Who said anyting about being pure? Why not argue and refute virginity as a reason to raze Pitt Stadium. The Brian goes on to write, "Better players engorged the stadium." Snicker. Seems you do have a dirty thought -- engorged!

Beano Cook

Beano is a pigskin prognosticator of national stature, and that makes him a gambling advocate, in turn less pure, in turn of under-the-table transactions. To say what Beano says is anything but a "gambling" perspective is unwise. If Beano says Pitt should move to the new Steelers stadium, I'm of a heart to say that the move should not happen all the stronger. You are talking out of both sides of your mouth. Just above you had a purity thread, and then below you switch to a source of the worst kind for purity.

Beano = Gambling
Gambling = Not Pure
Beano = Raze Pitt Stadium

I say do the inverse of what Beano says. For example: The CHOKE folks worked withing the system with the County Health Department to prohibit the opening of a new coke plant in Hazelwood. The Health Department uses consultants who are engineers who get paid by the polluters. Its the corporations that spend to keep their operations alive. Beano Cook is one of the polluters in sports today. His opinion has an inverse effect on what is right. He is biased won't say anything otherwise to go counter to the "done-deal mentality."

Same to with the PG. Thanks for helping in the arguements to keep Pitt Stadium.

Case in point: I've talked to a number of journalists and reporters in Pittsburgh in the past months. More and a couple have told me that they think that the closing of Pitt Stadium is a terrible idea. They are dead-set against it. However, they don't want to loose their jobs. They don't want to loose press-passes once the new stadium opens. They do not want to buck up against these vindictive leaders who are on the other side of the arguement.

Sad for them. Sad for us. Sad for my neighbors too.

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Gambling Stinks

Think of it in a perspective of the definition of sports as advocated here. Sports are games of time, space and releationship. Gambling is not a releationship builder. Gambling is not a space sensative activity, as it happens around the world. And, gambling is not much of a time game either. Gambling is anti-sport as it sets out to lessen all values of the game, time, space and releationships. Gamblers can't even bet upon who is going to win -- there are "favorites" and they change the rules of the games themselves as a team can win by 2 points -- and not cover the spread. How defeating.

Gambling is not sports and it greatly hurts sports.

Tainted but Valid Somewhere

Beano is a Pitt grad. Beano is a friend of Pitt and Pittsburgh. Beano has many releationships that might have some roots due to sports. There is much to build upon there, to make a sports person's opinion ring true, but the tainting is going to take great amounts of drilling to get to the sports person within Beano.

The Man Who Would Be Mayor (InPgh news article)

Article by Charlie Deitch, ran on January 3, 2001, in the now defunct InPGH , a weekly newspaper.

Unless, he says, there's anyone else better qualified. It's fascinating to watch mark Rauterkus watch the political process. As he sits in a council meeting or in a public hearing, this stay-at-home dad and inactive swimming coach is constantly observing what is going on around him while taking care of his children -- who may have a better attendance record than some current council members. Rauterkus assists his oldest son, Erik, who is coloring a picture he just drew, while helping his youngest son, Grant, build a car out of Legos. All the while, Rauterkus listens to citizens' concerns like a man with the power to help them. But he's not that man -- at least, not yet. Republican Mark Rauterkus wants to become mayor of the city of Pittsburgh so the next time he hears someone complaining to city council about a problem, he can do something about it. "That's all I've been doing since August," says the 41-year-old between bites of a tuna sandwich at Mario's on the South Side. "I've been listening to as many people who will take a moment and talk to me." It was, in fact, the current administation's inability to listen that prompted Rauterkus, a political rookie unknown to the Grant Street contigent, to enter the upcoming mayoral race. "This city needs a new mayor, whether it's me or somone else," he says. "They need a myor who will listen to their concerns and then actually do something about them." Rauterkus was upset at Myor Tom Murphy's refusal to listen to anyone concerning Fifth and Forbes development, but something more personal prompted his decision to run: the city's refusal to allow him to serve on a new task force designed to study how best to use the city's 32 swimming pools. He says he was rebuffed despite his knowlege and ideas. In fact, Rauterkus announced his mayor candidacy at the very August city council meeting at which we was turned down for the pools committee. And since that one public forum, his candidacy has been ignored. The mainstream press, along with political watchers and insiders, has only been touting the upcoming primary clash between Murpy and Council President Bob O'Connor, the guy who fell short in the primary four years ago. "The Post-Gazette may as well just sponsor Tom Murphy's campaign," Rauterkus muses. "And the Trib?" Shortly after Rauterkus announce his candidacy, a Tribune-Review reporter intervied Rauterkus and a Trib photographer took pictures of him at home. But don't search through the paper's archives looking for the peice, because it has never run. "I don't know when or if it will ever appear, but it's been done for months," Rauterkus says. "When I asked the editors about it, all they did was offer to sell me ads. It is hard to run a campaign when the city's two major newspapers refuse to give you any coverage." But that doesn't mean he plans to stop. His campaign homepage -- www.Rauterkus.com -- is up and running and full of his views on city happenings. The site is so comrehensive that it linked to this article weeks before it existed. In the meantime, Rauterkus is still in the listening stage. There are many problems facing the city, he opines: if elected, he says, he will have a lot of ideas on how to make things better. Bu for now he is spending time in the streets, time talking to people and of course time in council chambers, addressing its members. When he does speak before the panel, he's not just sonding off, he's proposing solutions so that others can listen -- unlike, say, the recently decessed half-billion dollar Downtown plan Pittsburghers found themseves shut out of. "Nothing ever seems to be organized or planned out," he explains. "There is no political will in this city to do the best thing. We find the worst option and then do one step above that." That's why Rauterkus says it's important to pose solutions, not just to harp on problems. At a council meeting last month, for example, Rauterkus noticed tension building among several residents who had to come to address council members. Several emotional speakers were upset over what they called harassment by officers assigned to the meeetings and by a perception that council members, who constantly start meetings late, didn't respect them or care about their problems. Rauterkus took to the podium in their defense. While it may have seemed trivial to political insiders used to grandstanding, it seemed genuinely important to Rauterkus. He suggested a resolution be passed that the cable access cameras be turned on at the regularly scheduled 10 a.m. meeting time. Whether the meeting had officially started or not, to 'let the people speak for a while. I guarantee after one meeting you guys will start getting here on time." Would his idea redevelop Downtown or fix the city's multi-million dollar structural deficts? No. But by actually reacting to the will of the people, Rauterkus has shown the characteristic most lacking in many current city leaders. He is no readying his campiagn headquarters on the ground floor of his home -- an old South Side shoemaker's shop on South 12th Street. Hi snext step is deciding how he wants to run the campaign. A former Democrat, Rauterkus is trying to decide wheter to make a run under the GOP banner or to go under the flag of one of the third parties. None of these options is the ideal way to take a stab at unseating the city's Democratic machine and a two-term mayor in prosperous times. Ideally, Rauterkus says, O'Connor would defeat Murphy and become complacent about a November showdown with the Republicans, who usually aren't worth fearing in a citywide election. That's where he says he will need public support and every bit of the $100,000 he hopes to raise. O'Connor would be better than Murphy, Rauterkus says, but having any consummate politician ack in the driver's seat would just lead to more of the same in city politics. And change is what Rauterkus' campaign is all about. "I've said all along. I don't have to run for mayor," Rauterkus says. "If someone else came along who was better qualified and wanted to make a serious run, I would step aside in a minute and work diligently for them. "We need a new mayor a whole lot more than I need to be mayor."

Photo showed me holding Grant, my son, in our home/office. Caption: Mark Rauterkus' only political experience has been dealing with the lobbying of his kids, like three-year-old Grant, above. Apparently Rauterkus can handle the pressure.

Hold the phone: P-G Headline was Panthers see move as positive. But I didn't.

PG, March 22, 1999

Headline: Panthers see move as positive

by Shelly Anderson, Sports Writer

A piece of lined notebook paper was taped to Pitt Stadium door leading to the athletics department yesterday in large letters was a note to the athletic director.

"Hey Steve Pederson, Thanks for destroying our tradition and our football program, SOS."

The three letters at the end stand for Save Our Stadium, a movement among student groups who unsuccessfully lobbied against the Univ. of Pittsburgh's plan to raze the 74-year-old stadium and move home games to the North Side.

Note: The PG reporter made it seem as if Pitt Stadium was razed. Pitt Stadium still stands. The students were not unsuccessful in the lobby campaign just yet. And, the first three paragraphs have noting to do with any "POSITIVE" mention in the headline. The note might have been put onto the door by a football player. The headline should have been: Unknown football player thanks AD for destroying tradition and football at Pitt!

Inside the stadium, the Panthers were holding a makeup practice for one that got snowed out a couple weeks ago. The fact that this will be their final spring in Pitt Stadium apparently does not weigh on their minds.

Note: This is proof positive that the Pitt football team will NOT step foot inside of Pitt's indoor football practice facility, the Cost Center, to play football. To cancel a spring practice because of snow when an indoor facility is available is a strange occurrence. Interesting, the writer must have ESP to know that the issue does not weigh on the minds of the entire football team. How subjective. Snow comes to the South Side too. A late winter storm on the grass fields that are planned for the river-front property being raised out of the flood plain can not be pushed aside with snow removal equipment. The Pitt Stadium artificial truf was plowed, and the field was able to be used the following day. Practices would have needed to have been canceled for more than one week if the team was at the planned facility, because of the snow, wet ground and mud. The river bank lands that are going to host that fields might have terrible drainage. The team should not expect to use the fields in the South Side for spring football until finals week. Pitt's academic schedule has graduation in early May. Finals and preparation for finals are in full swing in April. Spring football so late in the semester is another hardship on the student athletes. Penn State has spring football starting as Pitts is ending.

"I think it is a positive move for the program," said sophomore linebacker Amir Purifoy. "Everyone can benefit from it -- everyone at the university.

"No one on the team has a big problem with it and, hopefully, recruits can be excited about the situation."

Note: It = silence. Everyone can benefit from silence. Everyone at the university (has been told to keep quiet. No one who wants to keep his scholarship on this team is going to have a big problem with keeping silent. Hopefully the recruits can be excited about the situation (as the players who are here now are not excited in the slightest.)

The players had a few days to digest the news. The Pitt board of trustees voted unanimously Thursday in favor of the plan, and university officials then outlined their intentions. A basketball arena, student housing and green space will replace the stadium.

Note: The players had a few days to digest the news, more if they read the student newspapers. The Pitt News scooped the PG at every turn.

Pederson and Coach Walt Harris later discussed the plan with the football team.

Note: Who, what, when, where, how, why, wow?

"They just said not to get wrapped up in the student fanfare -- that this is what's best for the program," receiver/punter Jay Junko said.

Note: The head coach and Athletic director said no to fanfare. Fans must not be important to Pitt football under these leaders. The AD and head coach told the athletes that your fellow students are not worthy of attention. They said don't build relationships with classmates. They said you are here to play football. They said keep quite. They said, we'll do all the thinking for you.

Althouogh the idea of the move has been controversial for several months, the players might be among the most understanding -- and trusting.

Note: Several months is wrong. In November the Athletic Director published other accounts that went counter to recent directions. The idea of razing Pitt Stadium had been mentioned for a few weeks. No controversial element was allowed to surface within the ranks of the Athletic Department. The players are understanding of who pays for their athletic scholarships. The football team, by NCAA regulations, is filled with 85 players who get full scholarships (room, tuition, board). Each scholarship is renewed on a year-to-year basis with each player. So, an athlete who speaks out of turn, misses the mark set by the coaches can not only get benched, but can lose his athletic scholarship. The frail position each athlete finds himself in as part of a NCAA football program make for slave labor situations with certain understandings understood --- hardly most understanding -- and trusting as described.

"I think the people in charge know what they're doing," said senior strong safety Seth Hornack, who thinks the resistance factor will die down."

Note: The Pitt Administrators ran a wear-them-down campaign and counted on the students to lose energy. They knew how to run a PR campaign.

"We've heard about this for a long time, and occasionally you'll see people wearing the T-shirts with 'SOS.' It would be nice to have the stadium stay on campus. It's sad to see it go. But once they see the new facility, they'll see what a nice thing it is for us."

Note: It would have been nice to have the stadium stay on campus. It is sad to see it go. Nobody has seen the new facility. The plans for the new facility are not done. It is foolish to go after two in the bush when one is in the hand. The decision to go to the new stadium should be made after the new facility is seen and known to work. The new stadium is a pipedream "nice." The existing stadium is a known "nice." The net gain is nothing.

Hornack won't get the chance to play in the new stadium. Many of his teammates will, and they're looking forward to it.

Note: What young person does not look forward to events in the future? Everyone on the team is looking forward to graduation day too. Of course people look forward, that is what people do.

"As far as the new stadium, for everyone who has a chance to play in it, it's exciting," said quarterback David Priestley, a transfer from Ohio State who is competing for the starting job.

Note: Duhh to Shelly, the writer. David, we'll be cheering for you.

"As far as tradition, I've been taught about that at Ohio State and I'm just learning about it here. But it's great that you can rebuild and play in a stadium like that."

Note: It is great that you can ... play in a stadium like Pitt Stadium. True? If you've been taught something about the college traditions at Ohio State, can you please share those with the Pitt leadership? It would be great if one can rebuild a tradition, but you can't.

Priestley has three years' eligibility at Pitt. He and other young players will compete in three home stadiums over the next three seasons --- Pitt Stadium this fall, Three Rivers in 2000 and a $233 million stadium to be built for the Steelers in 2001.

Note: Given the transfer from OSU, that counts as four stadiums for this athlete. Given the way the stadiums are being portrayed in the media, how about the: $16 Billion Pitt Stadium $700 Million Three Rivers Stadium, and the $233 million STEELERS stadium. Let's use inflation adjusted dollar values to 1999 settings and some cost benefit factors to account for the traditions, history, emotions and innate functionality. Once Pitt Stadium is close, razed (if ever) and needed again in a few years, how much is it going to cost Pitt to rebuild a Pitt Stadium on campus? Hospitals will have to be torn down, infrastructure will have to be rebuilt, new code changes are going to be in place. Other NCAA Division I programs made the same decisions, SMU and Univ. of Minnesota, to move off campus and play football games in pro sites, only to need to rebuild stadiums on campus years later. The above numbers are fictional, but an accounting of the cost of the associated stadiums would be welcomed by anyone interested in doing this analysis. For example, the RAD board has been putting $10M per year into Three Rivers Stadium for the past few years. Pitt Stadium got a $5.8 Million upgrade to the football training facilities in the past couple of years.

That doesn't seem to bother them.

Note: Editorial, not news.

"I think we're all pretty positive about it," said Junko, who redshirted last fall and has four more years to play.

"There's understandably a lot of nostalgia here, but football is football."

Note: A redshirt freshman is "pretty positive." Not so convincing. These players do want to keep their scholarships remember. The football is football statement is insightful. Football is a game of space, time and relationship. Pitt football played off campus in the Steelers stadium is going to hurt many relationships. Pitt football practiced off-campus is going to hurt many relationships student-athletes, and cause many troubles with their management of space and time. Football is football, and in no time frame should a team give away 4-miles of yardage. Home games at the Steelers stadium are going to be road games for Pitt players, Pitt students and everyone else except club-box owners. Football is football, and practices on the South Side for Pitt players are going to be another major waste of time for travel, and a poor utilization of space, given the 80-yard fields. The time, space and relationship factors for the UPMC football compound don't make sense for the student-athletes. The UPMC facility make sense for a few doctors who desire to hang out in secluded, river-view offices when they are not in surgery at a hospital elsewhere.

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PG Editors Shame

Shelly, the hope for you is that I'm going to assume that the above story assignment was a trap that the editors of the PG baited for you. That is my guess.

I'm sure that the PG sports and news editors do not have the guts to cover this story as it should be investigated and reported.

John Craig, we saw you on the Sunday Morning TV Interview show on KDKA with Pitt's Chancellor. All hopes were dashed after seeing your interview skills and follow-up questions that grey winter morning.

WTAE makes big mistakes in its reporting

Radio Talk

Miss Info on WTAE

Tidbits atat Odds with Truth

Pitt Stadium Upgrades Have Happened Recently

Pitt has not put any money into Pitt Stadium in many years. Wrong. Pitt has spent a lot of money in recent years on the Pitt Stadium experience.

The football training rooms upgrade done about 1997 cost $5M.

Pitt spent money and turned the corner on a number of issues for game day enjoyments of the fans, such as tailgate parties, a huge #12 jersey, shuttle buses.

Pitt spent a lot of money on signage, estimated cost, $2M.

The Pitt AD needs to be well liked and needs to build better relationships.

The Pitt AD does not care if he is popular and well liked. Wrong. The Pitt AD does have a job to do. The Pitt AD does have to make some tough business decisions, and be held accountable for those decisions. However, since one of the largest points of philosophy in sports is to improve upon relationships, it is most important to be well liked.

The Pitt AD is a fund-raiser. People do not give money to people they do not care for. If people in Pittsburgh, students, alumni and corporate folks included, do not like the new Pitt AD, the program is sunk.

Pitt Friendly Set-Up of the New Three Rivers' Stadium

If Pitt does not have to spend a lot of money on the stadium, it can spend more money on the program.