On their stadium:
"Hill noted that several Pac-12 schools have recently downgraded their capacity. Athletic directors uniformly have given him the same advice: It's better to have a smaller stadium (Utah has a capacity of about 46,500) that's full than a larger stadium with empty bleachers."
"I said I'd take a look at it, and then a few years later I'm looking at it and thinking, man, our atmosphere and Oregon's are the only ones that feel great when you go into them," he said. "Expanding would be the cheap seats, and it would cost $50 million. People ask, 'Why don't you expand?' But you research, you ask around, and there's not a team in our league that would tell us to expand."
On the PAC 12 Network:
PAC-12 NETWORK • Hill hasn't been exactly hiding his displeasure with the how Pac-12 Network's revenues have not been as high as once hoped. But the AD painted the clearest picture yet of just how far Pac-12 schools could fall behind.
While the Utes receive $18 million per year thanks to national TV deals with Fox and ESPN, the Pac-12 Network only generates about $1 million per Pac-12 institution. By contrast, Hill said he's seen figures that the Big 10 Network will generate as much as $10 million per school.
The Pac-12 Network model is unique in that it is owned wholly by the universities, meaning the schools get to keep all the revenue they generate. But the SEC Network and Big 10 Network (both which have partnered with networks to help distribute and produce content) project to be much more lucrative models in the future — an assertion that the San Jose Mercury News reported on about two months back. Hill said the time has come to at least discuss new models, although that discussion is mostly in the hands of commissioner Larry Scott and the Pac-12 presidents.
"I know it's going to be reevaluated by our presidents to see if the model's working," he said. "I think they're taking a look at the landscape and see should we stick with the model, should we move on. It could be anything from sticking with where we are, which has some real advantages, to moving in another direction."
http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/uofusports/2458013-155/utah-ad-chris-hill-talks-stadium
"Hill noted that several Pac-12 schools have recently downgraded their capacity. Athletic directors uniformly have given him the same advice: It's better to have a smaller stadium (Utah has a capacity of about 46,500) that's full than a larger stadium with empty bleachers."
"I said I'd take a look at it, and then a few years later I'm looking at it and thinking, man, our atmosphere and Oregon's are the only ones that feel great when you go into them," he said. "Expanding would be the cheap seats, and it would cost $50 million. People ask, 'Why don't you expand?' But you research, you ask around, and there's not a team in our league that would tell us to expand."
On the PAC 12 Network:
PAC-12 NETWORK • Hill hasn't been exactly hiding his displeasure with the how Pac-12 Network's revenues have not been as high as once hoped. But the AD painted the clearest picture yet of just how far Pac-12 schools could fall behind.
While the Utes receive $18 million per year thanks to national TV deals with Fox and ESPN, the Pac-12 Network only generates about $1 million per Pac-12 institution. By contrast, Hill said he's seen figures that the Big 10 Network will generate as much as $10 million per school.
The Pac-12 Network model is unique in that it is owned wholly by the universities, meaning the schools get to keep all the revenue they generate. But the SEC Network and Big 10 Network (both which have partnered with networks to help distribute and produce content) project to be much more lucrative models in the future — an assertion that the San Jose Mercury News reported on about two months back. Hill said the time has come to at least discuss new models, although that discussion is mostly in the hands of commissioner Larry Scott and the Pac-12 presidents.
"I know it's going to be reevaluated by our presidents to see if the model's working," he said. "I think they're taking a look at the landscape and see should we stick with the model, should we move on. It could be anything from sticking with where we are, which has some real advantages, to moving in another direction."
http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/uofusports/2458013-155/utah-ad-chris-hill-talks-stadium
Last edited:
