It would be crazy to build a new arena

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Reuben Kincaid

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Practice facility? Absolutely.
But we had a major home-court advantage last night. Being there was like the days when Clem's teams were peaking. It would be stupid to give that up. Fans will go crazy for a winner and fill that place with noise and intensity. The loudness clearly affected Ohio State's shooting.
 

How have the three B1G home-game crowds been? Rocking?
 

Perfect scenario: NEW state of the art practice/training facility. NEWLY renovated Williams Arena.

ESPN had about 4 short segments on the barn last night, they love the history and uniqueness. If we were playing in a newer stadium last night (ala the Kohl Center), there wouldn't have been any special segments or references through out the game. I like the extra attention the Barn gets in prime time.
 

Reuben Kincaid said:
Practice facility? Absolutely.
But we had a major home-court advantage last night. Being there was like the days when Clem's teams were peaking. It would be stupid to give that up. Fans will go crazy for a winner and fill that place with noise and intensity. The loudness clearly affected Ohio State's shooting.
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Did Wisconsin or Michigan State lose major home court advantages by moving into newer arenas?

You can build a carbon copy of Williams Arena without pop spills in the stands leaking into the concourse.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Perfect scenario: NEW state of the art practice/training facility. NEWLY renovated Williams Arena.

ESPN had about 4 short segments on the barn last night, they love the history and uniqueness. If we were playing in a newer stadium last night (ala the Kohl Center), there wouldn't have been any special segments or references through out the game. I like the extra attention the Barn gets in prime time.
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Why do those have to go hand in hand?

Did we lose the ability to build arenas in 1929?
 


Maximus said:
Did Wisconsin or Michigan State lose major home court advantages by moving into newer arenas?

You can build a carbon copy of Williams Arena without pop spills in the stands leaking into the concourse.
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But they won't build a carbon copy. They'll build a place with amenities that make opponents more comfortable (like state of the art locker rooms) and perks for fans that take their attention away from the actual game.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Perfect scenario: NEW state of the art practice/training facility. NEWLY renovated Williams Arena.

ESPN had about 4 short segments on the barn last night, they love the history and uniqueness. If we were playing in a newer stadium last night (ala the Kohl Center), there wouldn't have been any special segments or references through out the game. I like the extra attention the Barn gets in prime time.
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Especially from Joe "Raised Floor" Tessitore
 

Reuben Kincaid said:
But they won't build a carbon copy. They'll build a place with amenities that make opponents more comfortable (like state of the art locker rooms) and perks for fans that take their attention away from the actual game.
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Have you seen these design you speak of?
 

Reuben Kincaid said:
Practice facility? Absolutely.
But we had a major home-court advantage last night. Being there was like the days when Clem's teams were peaking. It would be stupid to give that up. Fans will go crazy for a winner and fill that place with noise and intensity. The loudness clearly affected Ohio State's shooting.
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It's so intimate, the worst seat in the house and you are still really close to the action, the creakiness adds to the charm, so you have to walk down a thousand steps at half time to go to the concession, it is all part of the experience.
 



If they build it, think Conseco

If there's a choice I'm for renovating/modernizing Williams Arena over getting a new arena, but if they're going to build a new one I'd highly suggest they hire the same company/architect, etc., that built Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy. A modern building with the bells & whistles, but a building and arena (most importantly) that still oozes old school & tradition.
 



SelectionSunday said:
If there's a choice I'm for renovating/modernizing Williams Arena over getting a new arena, but if they're going to build a new one I'd highly suggest they hire the same company/architect, etc., that built Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy. A modern building with the bells & whistles, but a building and arena (most importantly) that still oozes old school & tradition.
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I like Conseco too, but one of the best things about the Barn is that the upper deck seats are still close to the action. The retro style of Conseco (Bankers Life) does not have that. The upper deck there is a long way from the action that TV may be better than going to the game. A pipe dream I know, but the overhang style seating would be a great feature.
 



I have no doubt that any new arena would be very corporate friendly that would make for a less intimidating atmosphere in order to be a cash cow. It would be great if they put the students court side on at least one side of the court and have the section wrap behind the basket, but that would never happen at Minnesota. Which is sad because if Big Blue, MSU, Maryland, and other Big Ten schools can do it, then the Gophers should.
 

SelectionSunday said:
If there's a choice I'm for renovating/modernizing Williams Arena over getting a new arena, but if they're going to build a new one I'd highly suggest they hire the same company/architect, etc., that built Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy. A modern building with the bells & whistles, but a building and arena (most importantly) that still oozes old school & tradition.
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Something needs to be done with regards to Williams Arena. I don't see anything major happening anytime soon because of money. We need to address the practice facilities first. Williams Arena is 'adequate' at present.

Before anything is done to The Barn a study must be done comparing a major renovation vs new arena.....what is wanted/needed/possible and what the costs will be.

Drives me nuts when people say you can't even consider replacing the Barn..and many of the reasons they state. If they can feasibly do a major renovation and bring it up to date, fine. Let's see what they come up with and what it will cost.

This idea that no other arenas have atmosphere and anything new is NBA like/terrible is really closed minded.

There many special memories in the Barn. The building, by today's standards, is nothing special; and no not all the seats are great.
 

They should make it like Xcel Energy. There isn't a bad seat in the house.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
I have no doubt that any new arena would be very corporate friendly that would make for a less intimidating atmosphere in order to be a cash cow. It would be great if they put the students court side on at least one side of the court and have the section wrap behind the basket, but that would never happen at Minnesota. Which is sad because if Big Blue, MSU, Maryland, and other Big Ten schools can do it, then the Gophers should.
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I wish we would do that as well. I went to a lot of Gonzaga basketball games the one year I went to school there and those games are still among the best I've ever attended. They put their students in the lower level along the sideline opposite the team benches. It makes for a really loud and rowdy student section. Here is a picture of it below, the red is the student section...

mccarthey-athletic-inside-560.jpg
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
I have no doubt that any new arena would be very corporate friendly that would make for a less intimidating atmosphere in order to be a cash cow. It would be great if they put the students court side on at least one side of the court and have the section wrap behind the basket, but that would never happen at Minnesota. Which is sad because if Big Blue, MSU, Maryland, and other Big Ten schools can do it, then the Gophers should.
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How do you know that? What seems unlikely today may be totalLy different 10 years from now. Stadium,arena and ballpark design has evolved incredibly in the last decade or two. Yes there was a bunch of crap built in the 70's and 80's but look what has been built recently in the NFL and especially MLB. Does anyone really think TCF is a step down from Memorial Stadium? Would many people still prefer The Met over Target Field?
 

station19 said:
How do you know that? What seems unlikely today may be totalLy different 10 years from now. Stadium,arena and ballpark design has evolved incredibly in the last decade or two. Yes there was a bunch of crap built in the 70's and 80's but look what has been built recently in the NFL and especially MLB. Does anyone really think TCF is a step down from Memorial Stadium? Would many people still prefer The Met over Target Field?
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Are you being naive or a contrarian?

As for the NFL, it's been strongly argued that the new NFL stadiums are worse for home crowds and home field advantage because they're less intimate and much more corporate.
 

Reuben Kincaid said:
So...you think they'd build a "carbon copy" of an arena they already have?
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I think there are tons of possibilities that could be built. You seems to have your mind made up that it would be an bad arena without having any design ever done.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Are you being naive or a contrarian?

As for the NFL, it's been strongly argued that the new NFL stadiums are worse for home crowds and home field advantage because they're less intimate and much more corporate.
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Tell that to the people of Seattle.

Now to address the BIG ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. Every time we disagree on a subject you come up with a new name to call me. First it was questioning what my problem was. Next I was obtuse. Now it is naive or contratian.

Let's just say 'charming' is not one of your virtues. This seems obvious, but probably not to you.
 


station19 said:
Before anything is done to The Barn a study must be done comparing a major renovation vs new arena.....what is wanted/needed/possible and what the costs will be.
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I hope this happens sooner rather than later (or has already happened)....already spent one offseason replacing the floor....another offseason replacing the scoreboard....another offseason replacing the roof.
 

Maximus said:
I hope this happens sooner rather than later (or has already happened)....already spent one offseason replacing the floor....another offseason replacing the scoreboard....another offseason replacing the roof.
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So do I but the practice facilities are so very important. The State is in a stadium building mode though.
 

Pop spills? Better build a new $200 Million arena. We don't need the student section to wrap around the court. They have trouble filling their section now. Maybe put a row of students in just the 3rd row, forcing the sidelines to get more into the game.

I really doubt they would be able to build the same sort of overhanging second deck. The upper bowl would be much farther away from the court in a new arena for a variety of reasons. Whatever they do, I hope they don't combine it with Hockey, which would put everyone farther away from the court.
 

AO54 said:
Pop spills? Better build a new $200 Million arena. We don't need the student section to wrap around the court. They have trouble filling their section now. Maybe put a row of students in just the 3rd row, forcing the sidelines to get more into the game.

I really doubt they would be able to build the same sort of overhanging second deck. The upper bowl would be much farther away from the court in a new arena for a variety of reasons. Whatever they do, I hope they don't combine it with Hockey, which would put everyone farther away from the court.
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You're probably right. They just don't make engineers like the used to.
 

Maximus said:
I hope this happens sooner rather than later (or has already happened)....already spent one offseason replacing the floor....another offseason replacing the scoreboard....another offseason replacing the roof.
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That new scoreboard needs to be re-replaced. The current one is unable to show replays.
 



I know less about architecture than basketball (which is very little), but it seems like most older building like the Barn that are long and narrow have the court set perpendicular to the arena's shape. Maybe they could turn the court and have more seats between the baselines and less seats in the corners and endlines. Hinkle Fieldhouse is this way. Even Assembly Hall has most of it's seats between the baselines, not that its ideal because I'm guessing the upper deck seats are a long way from the court. By turning the court, maybe it could create more room for those desired luxury boxes. It would be a total gut, but if it's cheaper than building a new one that is sterile, it's worth a look.
 

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