LSU recently announced an expanded stadium capacity of 102,321 entering the 2014 season. Combined with Death Valley’s historic appeal and universal acclaim for some of the most unhinged atmospheres in all of sport, there’s no question Les Miles loves that home-field advantage.
LSU celebrates Tiger Stadium expansion by opening 2014 at an NFL stadium
LSU football has a commitment to neutral-site games. But with one of the best home field advantages in all of sports, are paycheck kickoff games really worth it?
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“We like playing at home. There isn’t any question. We enjoy walking down the hill to that stadium. We enjoy the style of people that come in there who are intimately attached to our football team. The opponent has a very difficult time getting the ball snapped,” Miles said Wednesday.
So why are the Tigers opening 2014 in Houston's NRG Stadium against Wisconsin in a game that still hasn't sold out (capacity: 71,000)? Money, of course! But while neutral-site games can be exciting for TV and help promote the program, they also have their drawbacks. Attendance is declining nationwide, and as hard as it is to get fans to on-campus games, it's even tougher to get them to travel to Texas. Tickets to this year's opener against Wisconsin are still available, despite the stadium being much smaller than Tiger Stadium and the Badgers being a premier non-conference opponent.
”We also understand that when you’re playing a very quality opponent in a neutral-site game, when you’re going to be challenged, there’s a real necessity to answer that challenge that allows a level of play that you need to start the season with. There’s some advantages to that. Houston’s right down the street for us. It’s a very quality place to play at and to recruit to,” he said.
Between 2010 and 2016, LSU will have played neutral-site games in five of those seasons, most of them in Texas. The Tigers also have a neutral-site game (to be determined) against Penn State scheduled for 2020. Of the games in the current stretch, LSU has done well for itself.
| Year | Location | Opponent | Score |
| 2010 | Atlanta, GA (Georgia Dome) | North Carolina | W, 30-24 |
| 2011 | Arlington, TX (Cowboys Stadium) | Oregon | W, 40-27 |
| 2013 | Arlington, TX (AT&T Stadium) | TCU | W, 37-27 |
| 2014 | Houston, TX (NRG Stadium) | Wisconsin | TBD |
| 2016 | Green Bay, WI (Lambeau Field) | Wisconsin | TBD |
The Lambeau Field game will be new territory for the Tigers. It will be the first neutral-site game in which they have a definitive fan disadvantage, and it’s much farther north than most SEC teams are willing to play.
Bonus: Best Miles quotes from 2014 SEC Media Days
Les Miles is 3 minutes late for his presser. Clock management issues strike again.
— Richard Johnson (@RagjUF) July 16, 2014 Les Miles: "I'm so thrilled that some of those (star SEC) quarterbacks have left I can't even tell you."
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 16, 2014 LSU Coach Les Miles' image tripping balls over LSU Coach Les Miles talking pic.twitter.com/IO7rSwA6lR
— Derek (@DerekAggie06) July 16, 2014 Miles describes #SECMD14 as "1,200 credentials and a bunch of chaos."
— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) July 16, 2014 Les on family trip to Austin this summer to see daughter: "It was miserable. I hated it. But it was great fun."
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) July 16, 2014 Les said he congratulated Mike Slive on SEC Network picking up Cox as a provider. "I won't have to change my cable provider," he jokes.
— Robert Stewart (@TigerRagRobert) July 16, 2014
I like that Les Miles starts every Media Days appearance by updating you about how well his kids are doing.
— Spencer Hall (@edsbs) July 16, 2014 Breaking: Maisie Miles 4-0 as an under-10 league softball pitcher
— Steven Godfrey (@38Godfrey) July 16, 2014 Miles on freshman receivers: "There is a constant rumble in our building about the ability they have."
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) July 16, 2014 Les Miles subscribes to the Will Muschamp school of listing every player on the team in your opening statement.
— Hypno-Toad (@HypnoToad03) July 16, 2014 — Kevin Clark (@KevinClarkWSJ) July 16, 2014 Les Miles opening statement clocks in at 10 minutes long. This is not SEC Speed
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 16, 2014 Les Miles: "I keep approaching the NFL on the opportunity to draft back some of the players that they take" #SECMD14
— Brandon Larrabee (@TeamSpeedKills) July 16, 2014 Leonard Fournette said to be "pursuing the classroom" dang LSU, you makin him take classes in the mobile units or what
— Jason Kirk (@JasonKirkSBN) July 16, 2014 Miles on BCS to playoff: "The playoff will be equally kind to the SEC."
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 16, 2014 Les Miles always sounds like he's reading from a script someone punctuated at random. "We got a. Real. Quality, Freshman!"
— Spencer Hall (@edsbs) July 16, 2014 Les Miles on Wisconsin - "They play offense defense and special teams." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
— Derek (@DerekAggie06) July 16, 2014
"We're a society of immediacy." Hang on a sec coach, I'm trying to tweet this.
— Hypno-Toad (@HypnoToad03) July 16, 2014 "I'm sitting here thinking about my players and thinking 'Damn, three [years] and out!" - Miles
— Hypno-Toad (@HypnoToad03) July 16, 2014 Miles on who from the West can win the league - "The team that will win it is the team that does this...They don't answer that question."
— Derek (@DerekAggie06) July 16, 2014 Les rooted for USA, Costa Rica and Columbia in the World Cup. He says that Costa Rica had a "physical brand of ball"
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) July 16, 2014 . @CecilHurt used the word "deleterious" in a question to Miles, and you could see Miles' mind racing.
— Seth Emerson (@SethEmerson) July 16, 2014 Les Miles tries to backtrack on his Austin statement, then explains: "There was not a beach." #SECMD14
— Brandon Larrabee (@TeamSpeedKills) July 16, 2014 "Some of the experiences I had there I promise I won't have again." Les Miles may have just given Austin a new slogan.
— Aubrey Bloom (@aubreyrbloom) July 16, 2014 — Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) July 16, 2014
"Thanks men/ladies."
— Spencer Hall (@edsbs) July 16, 2014 Just heard Miles laughing as he left the stage. "I'm in trouble in Texas."
— Steven Godfrey (@38Godfrey) July 16, 2014 Kevin Trahan contributed to this story.
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