Blue & Gold

<br /><br />Because you can't just count the seats when the SRO is actually preferred by the more crazy students. They're willingly not sitting in a seat but they're certainly contributing to attendance.<br /><br /><br />Oh! So that makes it a 33,000 seat facility. Couldn't we squeeze in another 10K in SRO? Then we could have a 43K facility. And we all know what that would be .................................... pimptastic.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Fo shizzle!

I think they are installing the wrought-iron railings atop the north endzone facility.

At the time the JAR was built, they tried to put too many eggs in one basket and got a building that was inadequate in all aspects from offices to seats to classrooms. For the cost a facility like this will command, I think we can assume it will be a multi-use facility. The building will need to be used often so good programming for the venue is essential. I hope we're far enough away from the Q to not clash for events. UA couldn't program EJ and The Civic properly so I believe it needs to be a separate group. I think we can also assume that if we need assistance from the city, the facility will need to be on the polsky side of campus. Summit County could also consider the facility a county-wide asset and assist in building. The county might want to push such a building closer to the Knight Convention Center (Quaker Square). At that location UA could maximize the hotel with the arena next door. Does that location have room for an arena and parking? There might be better locations no one has mentioned yet. My preferred location would be the Central-Hower site. It would help by getting high-schoolers off the campus and out of the student union where there have been altercations, and transform the North side of campus. I think we could also have a great parking situation there with the North Deck and large footprint for parking on site. The two obstacles I see for this location are APS(big obstacle) and money. I don't think that UA will be able to finance an arena without the city or county. Are there any more big donors that could make this happen?Be creative, have fun with it and tell us where you would like to see any future arena located.OK, my personal preference is to have a first class multipurpose facility because I would be a customer for both basketball games and concerts. For at least some of those events, I'd want to combine the experience with dinner at one of Akron's downtown restaurants, as I do when I attend a concert at the Q and have dinner in Cleveland. So ideally any new multipurpose facility would be reasonably close to good parking and good restaurants.I also believe that having lots of enthusiastic students in attendance is a key part of the college basketball experience. So I would not favor an off-campus location more than a couple of blocks from campus that would discourage students from attending. That pretty much defines an area east of Main between Market and Exchange.If it's closer to Market than Exchange, it would be far enough from the downtown restaurants I frequent that I'd probably end up having to get in the car and drive anyway, especially in the middle of the winter if my wife was with me. So there'd be no big advantage to me over the current JAR location in terms of having to drive between dinner and an event.But it does appear from looking at satellite images of downtown Akron that the area just northeast across the street (Mill) from the Knight Convention Center just might have room for a 10,000-seat facility and parking deck that could serve both venues. This just might be the best location in terms of getting full support from UA, the city and the county. I don't think there is any "perfect" location that will please all the people all the time. But this appears to me right now to be the best compromise location of any mentioned so far for a downtown multipurpose facility that would be convenient to campus. So I could support this location as long as no one comes up with any major negatives.This is where I'm starting to lean as to where to place a new arena. It's close to downtown's Historic and Northside Districts and could work in cooperation with the JSKnight Convention Center. In another thread I had proposed shutting down Mill Street & knocking the bridge down between Quaker Square and the proposed sight. Let me clarify what I was thinking here - I don't think we should close Mill altogether, just from EAST of Broadway to WEST of College Street. If you look at that on MapQuest, it would really expand the campus footprint and make Quaker Square pedestrian friendly. (I still think Quaker Square has A LOT of potential. I'm glad to hear that UA is going to be operating a hotel there instead of turning it all into dorm space. I think UA should use at least 2 of the old restaurant spaces - Trackside Grill & Tavern on the Square - as operational restaurants managed by their culinary arts program.)

Downtown desperately needs UA to take control of the Mayflower and turn it into student dorm space. I repeat, downtown desperately needs this. Lol.

Still waiting on those Zips replica football jersey's that cannot be found anywhere?I even emailed the marketing guy and he has not responded.UA athletics has been so abysmally bush-league for so long I, tragically, am often quite accustomed to it. But The University of Akron simply cannot afford a shabbily run athletics department anylonger - this year, with the opening of the Info, is a watershed year. Replica jerseys - be they football, basketball or baseball - are taken-for-granted staple offerings of any college or professional sports team shop. Any, that is, but UofA.

i think they should tear down the old softball field and let us tailgate on the grass over thereI heard that may end up being the premium tailgate lot.I still hold out hope that there is a big event area in the Coleman Commons with all the tents and inflatables and stuff. The university would be stupid not to do that.Excellent job, 'Kid! Oh, how I long for the day that the UA athletic department gives as much thought to UA athletics as most ZipsNation members do.

Speaking as one of those "handicap" parkers. may I just say, "FU!"That sight actually seems to be a long way off for handicapped parking. Shouldn't the handicapped parking be nearest the stadium?

Does anyone have an idea of how much single-game general admission tickets will probably run? I'm starting to try to get some groups together for some games, but I'd like to be able to tell my friends with kids just how much tickets will be. I'm going to guess $15. Does that sound about right?

Here's a cool little hip-hop/rock ditty:

<br /><br />The MAC needs to have a balanced schedule, one where we play all the teams in our own division, or else the NCAA can take away the MAC championship game. We're only allowed to do it now thanks to a NCAA waiver. granted on the premise that we're actively seeking a way to balance the divisions. You may not like the championship game, but it brings in more money than all of the MAC bowl games combined. <br /><br />Why in the world would you want to cut Buffalo, Temple, and NIU but keep Can't, BG and EMU? The MAC is too concentrated in northern Ohio. Dropping Can't and BG loses nothing for the league. EMU just sucks all around.<br /><br /><br /><br />My sentiments EXACTLY, 'Kid. You beat me to the punch. I was about to respond that we don't need any more than 4 schools in the MAC from the state of Ohio. Drop Can't - leaving UA in NE Ohio, drop BGSU - leaving UT in NW Ohio. Then we've got OU in the SE corner and Miami in the SW.No way do we want to drop Buffalo! UA and U@B have so much in common - natural rivals. I'm also for keeping Temple - with the condition that they join for all sports.Also, I'd also vot for dropping Eastern Michigan and Ball State. EMU sucks at everything - and did you know their campus is only about 5 minuts from U of Michigan?! I feel sorry for them but they don't have a chance at drawing many fans @ that school. And Ball State? Well, if you'd ask 100 college football fans where the heck Ball State is located, 99 wouldn't have a clue. Drop them.Then I'll vote for adding Illinois State. Nothing bad about adding another state university that is actually a state. Lol.That would give us a trimmed down and stronger MAC of Akron, Toledo, Buffalo, Ohio, Miami, Temple, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois and Illinois State.IMHO that's really not a bad sounding conference!

I mentioned this in another thread, but man, something's just got to be done about the plasma center. I was checking out the stadium again last night and again, just like every time I stroll by, it smacks you in the face just how embarrassing that plasma center is going to be for UA. It is disgraceful and straight-ghetto. The average I.Q. of a plasma center loiterer appears to be somewhere between a plant and a frog. Last night I watched as some 250-pound, white-trash chick blew cigarette smoke in her babies face as she was just standing outside that place with this blank, mindless, oblivious expression on her face. It's gross.<br /><br />I know change won't happen over night, but I'm horrified to think that directly across from the striking Main Gate of the sparkling new Info will sit an old Speedway gas station and, gasp, the decrepid plasma center.<br /><br />Has ANYONE heard ANY rumors of ANY potential development on that block? What would it take to get The Winking Lizard to build where the PC is now located? That spot should be an absolutely PRIME location.

Good grief, fellas. Knock it off. We need to bulldoze the Plasma Center and build the arena there! (Only half joking) I was checking out the stadium again tonight and it struck me once again, wow, what an embarrassing, low-life magnet that plasma center is and it is going to be directly across from our new stadium's MAIN GATE!! Good grief.

<br />I wish him luck. He probably got tired of being on the practice team. Can't blame him.<br /><br /><br /><br />Very true. It's a good move for him. He'll do very well @ that level. Good luck Eric!

Straight pimpin'!

Eric Coblentz transferred to Malone.

That's funny, as the gray and white combo was my personal favorite. Ha. But I think we all agree that the gray helmet is great! Put me in the camp that likes what Oregon does w/ their uniforms.

Welcome to the ZN family! And good question. Could they be platforms to stand on as workers install the ribbon scoreboard?

Congratulations on graduating from Basic!

Sometimes my BlackBerry doesn't cooperate very nicely with the ZN board. But what, exactly, were we supposed to see w the link you provided?

Was that a serious comment? A professional sports team doesn't care about which college team fans root for.Was this a serious quote? Absolutely yes. Don't think for a split second that ANY professional sports organization is not KEENLY interested in where a potential fan base chooses to spend their limited entertainment $$$.

Sauerkraut balls & Barberton chicken. And, of course, HAMBURGERS - since the hamburg' was invented here, after all. And Strickland's ice cream!!! (Or custard, or whatever it is.)

I don't know, but last night I went to check out the stadium sight and happened to park next to Patrick Nicely and Joe Vidovic (sp?). So some of the freshmen must be on campus already.

<br /><br /><br />Amen, my Akron-area brother! Do not be deceived and make no mistake, Cleveland would, without hesitation, squash Akron like a bug if they could. Cleveland's professional sports teams don't want to see ANY Zips fans. Neither does Columbus. Go Akron! Go UA! Go Zips!

At the risk of drawing the infantile ire of a certain poster, as I look at our northern campus area in conjuction with downtown, I am beginning to think the best location for our new arena really may be the current parking lot just north of Quaker Square.Here is the BIG twist - we should close Mill Street and knock the bridge down - creating a large, pedestrian friendly, Arena-Quaker Square area. This location could help the bars/restaurants in the Historic District and Northside, as well as be a great same-block compliment to the Summit ArtSpace building. The Historic District is actually quite hip & seems on the verge of really becoming something special. If we could then somehow landscape the northern edge of downtown to make a pedestrian-friendly concourse from Perkins Street to the Northside District it would really create a truly substantial indie-bohemian-type area.This Mill Street location would also be but one block removed from the John S. Knight Convention Center and could be used for conventions as well as concerts and Zips b-ball.(I don't know how to post an image, but you can easily mapquest the area. In fact, Summit ArtSpace is located @ 140 East Market Street, Akron, OH 44308. QUAker SqUAre is then found one block to the south.)

Can "the MAC" make the corporate decision to drop down a level? How would that work without affecting the autonomy of member schools? If over 50% of the schools are for it, then must those programs that would want to remain D-1A have to either get on board or jump ship? And if we have to leave the MAC in order to maintain our D-1A status, then we risk the very likely posibility of being an independent for a number of years until another D-1A conference would let us join, no?