Talked with Gus Johnson last night...

[alltimetwinsfan]

After the game was over last night, I went over and talked with Gus Johnson to get his reactions to our game and such.

-He mentioned right away that he had never broadcast a game from the Barn, and that he had never been there before. I knew this was his first game broadcast from there, but I was a little surprised that he had never been there, considering the one year he broadcast for the Timberwolves was the same year the Gophers made their run to the Final Four.

-He MARVELED at the building. He was amazed at the architecture of the building, and couldn't stop looking around as we talked. He mentioned to me that "I hope never gets any smart ideas, like trying to build a new arena here." I mentioned to him to mention that to Tubby...he seemed surprised that he would need to, making me think that Tubby has warmed to the building more as he's been here. He also mentioned that it's one of his new favorites, and compared it to the older arenas he's been to, such as Duke.

-He was impressed by the crowd, and the team on the court as well. He wished us luck, and I told him I was hoping he'd be broadcasting our games during the tournament.

 

[TheDinkytowner]

They talked about it during the game and flashed the list of oldest arenas. I think one of the guys guessed it was 2nd or 3rd oldest, but was 5th. (Fordham, Harvard, Oregon, Penn's Palestra, Minnesota) and I think Oregon is getting ready to build a new one.

 

[Dr.Don]

Never, Never, Never...replace the BARN!!!!

 

[TheDinkytowner]

Here's a link to the 27 oldest arenas. I think Williams opened a few months before Butler's for #5. Williams has the largest capacity on the list, and some are no longer in use (Pitt). Oregon's is a great venue, but the capacity is small and I don't think they have any boxes which is why they want a new one.

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=archive.table&tableid=SBJ200112032701-01

 

[What Up Guy]

Gus is the best announcer in college basketball and its not even close. Honorable mention to Shulman and Sean what's his name, the guy that does the Red Sox games.

 

[sconniegopher]

I hate all elitist, corporate sales of seats. It's all BS. They should not have added the lofts. The upper deck is now full of seats that aren't good. Many are obstructed views that they can't sell. Many others are now ruined and excluded from the barn feel.

The Barn Lofts suck. Keep the game for the fans. Period. Any wannabees should have to also earn their stripes. I hate that stuff. That's why the Vikes struggled to sell out the play-off game. The prices are so high only corporations will buy them, but they don't care enough to buy the important games. Sports marketing sucks. Remove the lofts, return the barn to its original form.

 

[Dr.Don]

Sconnie....Please don't sugar-coat it, tell us how you really feel.

 

[sconniegopher]

How many seats did the "Lofts" add? Not many after you consider the obstructions they caused. Total waste of time. Lose them.

 

[mnboiler]

Yes the Ducks are getting a new Arena. They are in the process(or going to start this spring) building Matt Knight Arena. I'll give you one guess where the money came from.

 

[GopherRock]

When I went to a game in Eugene last year (has it been a year already? Jeez!), there was a front-page article in the Oregonian newspaper in Portland. Essentially, it was about how UO was trying to get the Legislature to fund the arena instead of a large donation by Phil Knight. Needless to say, it didn't go over real well in Salem, so they went back to using the Phil Knight bankroll.

Mac Court's footprint could fit on the Sports Pavillion floor. It is SMALL. Other than the 8-10 rows of pull-out bleachers at floor level, each deck only holds 6-8 rows, and they are sandwiched on top of each other wedding-cake style.

They also claim to be "The Pit," by the real Pit is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, not Eugene.

 

[tjgopher]

How many seats did the "Lofts" add? Not many after you consider the obstructions they caused. Total waste of time. Lose them.

The lofts weren't built to produce more seats. They were built to produce more revenue. Those things aren't cheap. If we didn't have them then your game ticket price would likely have to increase by several dollars per game which could add up if you have multiple seats for a season. Are they perfect? No. But, there's a cost to doing business in the Big Ten and the lofts were needed. It guarantees added fixed revenue.