Is it time to lower the Barn?

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Holy Man said:
I’d like a second deck that isn’t a mile away from the floor. Modern arenas don’t typically do that.
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Hmm...what are you talking about? (Or am I miss reading you?) At Williams you're right on top of the court in the 2nd deck. Go to the Kohl Center, Target Center, or the Excel Center and you're a mile from the court compared to Williams Arena. (Are you in agreement with me or not?)

The two downsides to Williams are the posts in the lower deck and seats without cup holders. Otherwise Williams is a great venue.
 
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If you were going to try and "modernize" the Barn - as in pull out the seating and make other improvements to amenities, concourses, bathrooms, eliminate obstructed views, etc - then the Gophers would have to play off-campus for probably 2 years.

but beyond that, the big question is still money. I don't see the state kicking in a lot of money for that project, and the 'private fundraising' route still hasn't paid off Athlete's Village, to the best of my knowledge.

So unless Rich Uncle Pennybags comes along with a major gift, I don't know where the money comes from.
 

I would keep the inside area of the arena as-is including the raised floor and sight lines. I love the retro vibe and sight lines. Williams is a terrific arena in that way. NO to another Target Center.

Learning from past history, I remember when baseball went through a period of building modern stadiums. Then they realized the mistake and paid to build retro stadiums. I like the retro feel of the Barn but would like some upgrades.

-I would upgrade the bench seating to chair seats.

-The bathrooms badly need renovations. It can't cost that much to renovate bathrooms. People do that all the time themselves at Menards and Home Depot. The women's bathrooms should be expanded or added..

Ideally the appearance of the walls in the concourses and entrances would be improved to look nicer and more upscale. It's not hard to put in nicer flooring, nicer wall textures (flat and maybe glossy), nicer fixtures. It looks neglected now.

I don't think we need wide and modern concourses. NO, TO ANOTHER TARGET CENTER.

I attended a basketball game at Iowa that has a modern and nice stadium. The concourses are wide and modern looking. I strongly prefer Williams Arena to Iowa. Both are considered top 20 college arenas. Williams is better. I like the sightlines and retro vibe at the Barn.

Let's keep the sightlines close to the action. Keep Williams.

Surely it can't be hard to make the walls and fixtures more upscale and replace the bench seats.

#12 Best College Basketball Arena: Williams Arena

www.redbull.com

Top 25 college basketball arenas

College basketball has a plethora of venues where you can truly appreciate the beauty of the sport.
www.redbull.com www.redbull.com
 

Bfan said:
I would keep the inside area of the arena as-is including the raised floor and sight lines. I love the retro vibe and sight lines. Williams is a terrific arena in that way. NO to another Target Center.

Learning from past history, I remember when baseball went through a period of building modern stadiums. Then they realized the mistake and paid to build retro stadiums. I like the retro feel of the Barn but would like some upgrades.

-I would upgrade the bench seating to chair seats.

-The bathrooms badly need renovations. It can't cost that much to renovate bathrooms. People do that all the time themselves at Menards and Home Depot. The women's bathrooms should be expanded or added..

Ideally the appearance of the walls in the concourses and entrances would be improved to look nicer and more upscale. It's not hard to put in nicer flooring, nicer wall textures (flat and maybe glossy), nicer fixtures. It looks neglected now.

I don't think we need wide and modern concourses. NO, TO ANOTHER TARGET CENTER.

I attended a basketball game at Iowa that has a modern and nice stadium. The concourses are wide and modern looking. I strongly prefer Williams Arena to Iowa. Both are considered top 20 college arenas. Williams is better. I like the sightlines and retro vibe at the Barn.

Let's keep the sightlines close to the action. Keep Williams.

Surely it can't be hard to make the walls and fixtures more upscale and replace the bench seats.

#12 Best College Basketball Arena: Williams Arena

www.redbull.com

Top 25 college basketball arenas

College basketball has a plethora of venues where you can truly appreciate the beauty of the sport.
www.redbull.com www.redbull.com
Click to expand...
There is no credible list of best arenas that includes Carver Hawkeye in the top ten. It is a textbook definition of modern cookie cutter bland arena.
 


We need to get Pat Ryan from Northwestern in the portal. Otherwise, with the pit of despair the basketball programs are in, there won’t be any appetite for public funding for a new or renovated on-campus arena. People just don’t care enough about them at this point.
 

Holy Man said:
There is no credible list of best arenas that includes Carver Hawkeye in the top ten. It is a textbook definition of modern cookie cutter bland arena.
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I'm not sure what you mean.

Carver Hawkeye in Iowa City, Iowa did not make the list I posted.

Williams Arena was #12.

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www.redbull.com

Top 25 college basketball arenas

College basketball has a plethora of venues where you can truly appreciate the beauty of the sport.
www.redbull.com www.redbull.com
 

Bfan said:
I would keep the inside area of the arena as-is including the raised floor and sight lines. I love the retro vibe and sight lines. Williams is a terrific arena in that way. NO to another Target Center.

Learning from past history, I remember when baseball went through a period of building modern stadiums. Then they realized the mistake and paid to build retro stadiums. I like the retro feel of the Barn but would like some upgrades.

-I would upgrade the bench seating to chair seats.

-The bathrooms badly need renovations. It can't cost that much to renovate bathrooms. People do that all the time themselves at Menards and Home Depot. The women's bathrooms should be expanded or added..

Ideally the appearance of the walls in the concourses and entrances would be improved to look nicer and more upscale. It's not hard to put in nicer flooring, nicer wall textures (flat and maybe glossy), nicer fixtures. It looks neglected now.

I don't think we need wide and modern concourses. NO, TO ANOTHER TARGET CENTER.

I attended a basketball game at Iowa that has a modern and nice stadium. The concourses are wide and modern looking. I strongly prefer Williams Arena to Iowa. Both are considered top 20 college arenas. Williams is better. I like the sightlines and retro vibe at the Barn.

Let's keep the sightlines close to the action. Keep Williams.

Surely it can't be hard to make the walls and fixtures more upscale and replace the bench seats.

#12 Best College Basketball Arena: Williams Arena

www.redbull.com

Top 25 college basketball arenas

College basketball has a plethora of venues where you can truly appreciate the beauty of the sport.
www.redbull.com www.redbull.com
Click to expand...
This is a highly handpicked article that lists ranks the arenas based on where you can storied tradition (that’s how I read the intro of the article at least). I don’t think many of us are arguing the Barn last history, but it is also a dump.

I’m in favor of a new arena 8-10k seats, but would be open to seeing proposals for retrofitting the Barn, but there would be requirements:

- taking out all seats and completely reconfiguring (I’d love to see the student section wrap around the baseline and also go behind the opposing teams bench) - when you watch games on tv it would help magnify the crazy atmosphere in the arena and make coaching / opponents have a harder time (I always think duke and how their student section is right on top of the opposing team)

- take one of the upper decks (baseline sides and above where the existing walkway is essentially collapse those seats and create a big open area with concessions pushed against that back wall (concessions are a huge issue and I would assume that the main concourse is really what it is) - they may also be able to add bathrooms up in the open area
 

What happens if a homeowner never does maintenance?

What Williams Arena needs is a trip to Menards or Home Depot for some common sense fixing up.

Update the bathrooms. Maybe a team of fans can do this. it can't be that hard to renovate the bathrooms.

Slap up some walls textures that look nice, Maybe something glassy, smooth. The paint now looks like it hasn't been updated since 1949.

Williams looks worse than it is because it has been neglected.

Put $300,000 into a spruce up and it won't look so bad. It doesn't need a tear down. The sightlines inside and vibe are excellent.
 



Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
This is a highly handpicked article that lists ranks the arenas based on where you can storied tradition (that’s how I read the intro of the article at least). I don’t think many of us are arguing the Barn last history, but it is also a dump.

I’m in favor of a new arena 8-10k seats, but would be open to seeing proposals for retrofitting the Barn, but there would be requirements:

- taking out all seats and completely reconfiguring (I’d love to see the student section wrap around the baseline and also go behind the opposing teams bench) - when you watch games on tv it would help magnify the crazy atmosphere in the arena and make coaching / opponents have a harder time (I always think duke and how their student section is right on top of the opposing team)

- take one of the upper decks (baseline sides and above where the existing walkway is essentially collapse those seats and create a big open area with concessions pushed against that back wall (concessions are a huge issue and I would assume that the main concourse is really what it is) - they may also be able to add bathrooms up in the open area
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This is a good plan. Creative.
 

University of Washington's Hec Edmundson Pavilion opened about the same time as the Barn. They are the oldest Power 5 basketball facilities. And for college kids, being the oldest is not a selling point.
 


MennoSota said:
Hmm...what are you talking about? (Or am I miss reading you?) At Williams you're right on top of the court in the 2nd deck. Go to the Kohl Center, Target Center, or the Excel Center and you're a mile from the court compared to Williams Arena. (Are you in agreement with me or not?)

The two downsides to Williams are the posts in the lower deck and seats without cup holders. Otherwise Williams is a great venue.
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Excellent point on cup holders. Seems like such a small thing, but I miss those things every single game.
 







Ope3 said:
Twice.
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And which generation of Madison Square Garden are we on now? Renewal and rebuilding are a natural and normal thing, but so is historic preservation. The trick is to find a balance between the two. As I mentioned above, if I could be assured that a new place was built to a human scale and emulated the intimacy and warmth of the current arena, I'd be way on board.
 

Bad Gopher said:
And which generation of Madison Square Garden are we on now? Renewal and rebuilding are a natural and normal thing, but so is historic preservation. The trick is to find a balance between the two. As I mentioned above, if I could be assured that a new place was built to a human scale and emulated the intimacy and warmth of the current arena, I'd be way on board.
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This is version 4.0 of MSG, and a $1.2 Billion remodel was just finished in 2020. #1 only lasted from 1879 - 1890.

en.wikipedia.org

Madison Square Garden - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 

The raised floor works but...the Gophers seem to shoot like the backboard and basket are 13 feet above it.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
If you were going to try and "modernize" the Barn - as in pull out the seating and make other improvements to amenities, concourses, bathrooms, eliminate obstructed views, etc - then the Gophers would have to play off-campus for probably 2 years.

but beyond that, the big question is still money. I don't see the state kicking in a lot of money for that project, and the 'private fundraising' route still hasn't paid off Athlete's Village, to the best of my knowledge.

So unless Rich Uncle Pennybags comes along with a major gift, I don't know where the money comes from.
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A number of people in this thread have mentioned playing "off campus" if necessary, probably Target Center or Xcel. But they'd play across the street in Mariucci, which is the perfect size (aside from being a hockey arena) and allows them to keep all the revenue.

I'd love a new arena, but don't assume that's going to lead directly to more wins.
 

I like the idea of a modern building that maintains some design features (brick facade, raised floor) of the original, as Huntington Bank Stadium did from Memorial Stadium.
Regarding the location, that is easy and obvious- the parking lot north of Mariucci Arena. Then you convert the Williams Arena property into a parking lot.
 

roadrunner said:
I like the idea of a modern building that maintains some design features (brick facade, raised floor) of the original, as Huntington Bank Stadium did from Memorial Stadium.
Regarding the location, that is easy and obvious- the parking lot north of Mariucci Arena. Then you convert the Williams Arena property into a parking lot.
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Parking is fine, but if you thought bigger, you could really go to town. After visiting St. Louis this past summer and seeing how the Busch Stadium setup kicks Target Field's ass because of the space they've devoted to public use, you start to wonder what could be done instead of just build another parking lot. Imagine a plaza that could be used for football game congregation--in addition to what you already have in the tailgate lots. Imagine now that the thing has a four-season capability. I'm not sure exactly how you do that, but as I drove past Stanley's the other day and noticed that they keep their tent up the whole year, it occurred to me that that could be done on a grander scale. I realize we already have some public space in the alumni building, but something outside would be kind of a cool thing, too--something bigger (and/or contiguous with) what we currently have outside of the stadium.

You caught me thinking out loud. I'm not sure what I even mean by all this...yet.
 
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That is an interesting option. I think you could fit a modest basketball arena on Lot 37 and still maintain some parking. Then, maybe, you could split the Williams Arena property into a parking lot and a small plaza for football goers on the stadium side.
 

The only thing that people truly care about is the raised floor. Who says you can’t build a shiny new arena from the ground up with a raised floor? The rest of Williams is a dump. I say tear it down and build a brand new arena.
 
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Golden Shower said:
The only thing that people truly care about is the raised floor. Who says you can’t build a shiny new arena from the ground up with a raised floor? The rest of Williams is a dump. I say tear it down and build a brand new arena.
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Utter nonsense.
 

As Jim Morrison once observed when speaking of arenas, "None get out of here alive."
 




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