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Basketball practice facility (and more) coming


jupitertoo

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We talked earlier about the U building an arena downtown and hosting events for the whole city. The one spot I know of is the parking lot across from Canal Park. But if you build there, you would have the same problem we talked about the JAR/First Energy/Skeels Field a couple weeks ago. Parking and walking a distance during the winter.

 

The park on the west side of S.Main that’s used during Christmas and for concerts would have better parking, but I doubt anyone could use that to build on. 
 

Anyway, just an interesting idea, building downtown. I don’t see it happening though.

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@Spin, actually, we'd have two parking decks on adjacent blocks: The West Campus Parking Deck and the Lock 3 parking deck (connected to the Barley House).  

 

But for me it's not necessarily the walk from the Carroll Street Parking Deck to the JAR.  (Since we're an urban area we should expect to have to park & walk no matter where we build.)  It's that the Carroll Street Parking Deck does nothing to facilitate any downtown activity. It's not walkable to/from  Main Street and it's right next to the expressway.  So I drive to the Carroll Street deck, park, walk to the JAR, watch the game, walk back to the Carroll Street deck, and drive home.  It's a Zips game and nothing else.  I'd love for Zips games to feel more like RubberDucks games.

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7 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

No. If Cameron Indoor wasn't Cameron Indoor it would be a trash arena

 

How so? It's considered one of the greatest atmospheres in college basketball. Yes the program and fans have something to do with that, but so does the arena setup. 

Edited by Let'sGoZips94
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Cameron is about atmosphere, much like the Palestra or Butler Fieldhouse.  It's not about the physical plant.

 

When I was there 13 or 14 years ago when my son was looking at schools we wondered the campus and I was surprised that I was able to walk into Cameron and right out onto the floor.

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3 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

How so? It's considered one of the greatest atmospheres in college basketball. Yes the program and fans have something to do with that, but so does the arena setup. 

The JAR would be a great atmosphere if it was sold out every game with a perennial top ten team in it. You ever been there? It's ancient. What two level arena has 8 rows in the bottom level? There's nothing remarkable about the design that I'd want to model an arena after.

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  • 4 months later...
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21 minutes ago, monrowe said:

Now the JAR floor and outdoor track are being replaced.

5B4ED75C-D7A6-4804-B893-CD1C0D1528E9.jpeg

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It's great to see that the University is really working on getting all of our sports facilities updated/upgraded. Finally some real focus on our sports programs with these events and the coaching upgrades!

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3 hours ago, blueandgold said:

It's great to see that the University is really working on getting all of our sports facilities updated/upgraded. Finally some real focus on our sports programs with these events and the coaching upgrades!

 

Charles Guthrie has been a blessing! 

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3 hours ago, blueandgold said:

It's great to see that the University is really working on getting all of our sports facilities updated/upgraded. Finally some real focus on our sports programs with these events and the coaching upgrades!

These upgrades point out that previous AD's were at best caretakers who did not want to do the work necessary to improve all our programs. Charles is a different sort of guy. He carries a chip on his shoulder because he started on the low rung of the athletic administration ladder. But talent cannot be hidden and he has moved up with every school he has been at. Enjoy him while we have him. He will get a better offer and he will be gone if it puts him closer to his and his wife's families in NY State. While he is here he will do a great job and that's all we can ask. That being said I'd still love to see what he could do with 20 years at UA.

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On 2/4/2022 at 11:31 AM, clarkwgriswold said:

 

Oddly, Canton has a functional arena.  It's absolutely nothing special and a little outdated but it serves the purpose.  I actually like the Civic Center for basketball (much more than the JAR). 


We’ve spent a lot of time at the CCC. Both as a customer back in the Canton Invaders days (great times, won a lot of titles) and recently covering medical there, watched lots of Canton Charge games (several are on the Cavs now). Arena football. Harlem Globetrotters. Concerts. High school games. Then you look around and see Erie, Youngstown, Wheeling, Toledo, Ft. Wayne, even Huntington, Steubenville, Wooster, and Marion having arenas, it doesn’t make sense. Is Akron the largest city/market without one?

 

Where can you see a concert in Akron? I guess you can count Blossom if you want. It’s kind of a “tweener” between Summit, Cuyahoga, and Medina counties, and isn’t convenient for anyone. 
 

Now if the University builds an arena, look at what they could use it for, between games. Look at the Wolstein Center. They of course have the Vikings basketball, even though they curtain off most of it because they can’t draw flies. CSU hosted the Crunch indoor soccer team and broke league attendance records and won championships. They now have the Cavs minor league team. It’s revenue for the university.
 

Heck if Wooster can have a hockey team for 16 years and counting, Akron can support an arena.

Edited by Spin
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20 hours ago, monrowe said:

Now the JAR floor and outdoor track are being replaced.

5B4ED75C-D7A6-4804-B893-CD1C0D1528E9.jpeg

 

 

When you said, "Track," I thought you were referring to the track at the JAR. Boths tracks need renovated, but in completely different ways.

 

 

Regarding Guthrie, I full-heartedly believe his goal is to get us out of the MAC. Upgrading the primary AND secondary facilities, a miniature rebrand with the new logo, and hiring Joe Mo - these are beyond-the-MAC moves considering how nice our football stadium already is. He's a big brain, and I'd imagine he's not one to be "content" and will look to make his mark as an AD before presumably going back to Syracuse someday. A few years of football/basketball/soccer/track & field success, plus a renovation or new basketball arena will be the ticket out of the MAC.

Edited by Let'sGoZips94
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I get a kick out of these "we're getting out of the MAC" threads.  Guys, if you haven't noticed, enrollment issues haven't turned around yet, so budgets are tight.  That alone makes a conference affiliation move impossible, unless it's going downward to a non-BCS conference.  Secondly, what does Akron (or any other MAC school for that matter) bring to the table for a larger/more prestigious conference?  Great attendance?  Big share of a large media market?  Nope and nope.

 

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9 hours ago, jupitertoo said:

I get a kick out of these "we're getting out of the MAC" threads.  Guys, if you haven't noticed, enrollment issues haven't turned around yet, so budgets are tight.  That alone makes a conference affiliation move impossible, unless it's going downward to a non-BCS conference.  Secondly, what does Akron (or any other MAC school for that matter) bring to the table for a larger/more prestigious conference?  Great attendance?  Big share of a large media market?  Nope and nope.

 

 

Don't you have a going-nowhere-fast football team to worry about at Appalachian State North Campus? 

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44 minutes ago, GoZips86 said:

If Akron was to leave the MAC, what conference would suit them well and be considered a "step up" or "conference upgrade"?

 

I'm curious. I've thought about this too, wanting to see what other minds are thinking! Maybe the day won't ever come, but maybe it will!

 

There's only one (at the moment) - American Athletic Conference.

 

They have a $1B TV deal with ESPN, which is the largest non P5 media deal. The MAC I believe is #2, but that might change soon.

 

In terms of growth, the American Athletic Conference and Mountain West have been the two conferences that get picked over by the P5 conferences. The Mountain West is geographically locked, especially from us, so the American Athletic Conference is the only viable option for growth at the moment. 

Edited by Let'sGoZips94
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1 minute ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

There's only one (at the moment) - American Athletic Conference.

 

They have a $1B TV deal with ESPN, which is the largest non P5 media deal. The MAC I believe is #2, but that might change soon.

Yeah American 

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1 hour ago, jupitertoo said:

What would AAC membership do for the Zips aside from doubling the cost of travel?  Cincinnati is exiting, so...

 

 

 

Per On3...

 

AAC

In 2019, the 11-school league reached an agreement with ESPN on a 12-year, $1 billion deal; it started in the fall of 2020 and runs through the 2031-32 academic year. The deal averages $83.3 million per year, which means each school receives about $7 million annually. (Navy is in the league for football only; league member Wichita State does not play football.)

 

Mid-American

In 2019, the league and CBS Sports Network announced a four-year extension to televise football and basketball games through the 2022-2023 season. The deal, a four-year extension from the original agreement signed in the 2015-2016 season, is through a sublicense agreement with ESPN. The deal is worth about $8 million a year, which means each of the 12 schools receives about $600,000 annually.

 

 

I don't know about you, but I'd double travel costs for 11x the amount of automatic revenue...

Edited by Let'sGoZips94
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