:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26903897/157470343.0.jpg)
I don't know if it ever got made but I remember reading about a movie idea once about a married couple who played a practical joke on their friends and family by telling them they were going to get divorced. Instead of being sad or horrified, the friends and family immediately started telling each member of the couple that this was great news, that they were better off and they knew this was going to happen. This, of course, causes the couple to reassess their entire relationship.
This is what comes to mind when I think about how many people are discussing the Carrier Dome right now. Four days ago, no one had a bad word to say about it. Today, no one can shut up about all the things that are wrong with it.
We're only a few days from learning that Onondaga County wanted to build a new sports arena in Syracuse until the mayor put the kibosh on things. But that doesn't mean the story is over. Far from it. Now comes the extremely-strong push by those in charge to move forward with either a new arena or, more likely, a completely-overhauled Carrier Dome.
Gross on @ESPNCNY: "This isn't a right now thing for us right now. For years I've been talking about how we can enhance or do we need to ...
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) January 15, 2014
Gross: "look forward to the future. We've done a lot of enhancements. Now we're talking about taking it up another level or if a new stadium
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) January 15, 2014
Gross: "is feasible. It's not like we've started talking about it the last couple of months."
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) January 15, 2014
Gross: "All I know is when the sun comes out, people want to be outside. They don't want to be under a roof. Maybe retractable makes sense."
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) January 15, 2014
Gross: "The top of the Dome is a large tent-like area. It's not the most energy efficient. That's not state-of-the-art."
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) January 15, 2014
Gross on @ESPNCNY: "We're continuing as we have been. If something can happen one way or the other, we're going to make it happen."
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) January 15, 2014
Gross: "It's an old building but we've made the best of it. We love it. If the Dome is the way we go, we're going to make sure it gets bette
— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) January 15, 2014
Like I said yesterday, if it came out tomorrow that DOC Gross orchestrated this entire new arena discussion like a Bond villain, I would not be surprised in the least. This is Phase 4 in the DOCTOR Gross Plan For New York Domination and he will not be denied from retracting that roof. He's repackaged Syracuse as the Orange (Actually, that happened before he got to SU, though he did fix the Block S logo, so we'll call that Phase 1). He's marketed us as New York's College Team. He's got us playing elite programs in the shadow of NYC. And now it's time for a state-of-the-art stadium to brag about.
While we're super-duper-early still, we're getting close to crossing the Rubicon as well. There's only so many times Syracuse University officials can publicly talk down the current shape of the Carrier Dome and talk up the potential of renovations/replacement before it has to happen. And, again, I would not be surprised if Gross was pushing everyone into making a decision (and I'm with him).
