Jake

They are scheduled to be open in August of 2010. That is the target date from the very start.

You just did and BTW, Canal Park is a bad idea for UA to take over. One big reason: It's not on campus nor can it ever look like it is on campus. End of discussion.So far now: 51 for on campus 12 against on campusWhy do I even bother, but what the heck. I don't know what math you are doing but...Rec center parking lot [ 6 ] [9.09%] On CampusKaiser building location [ 3 ] [4.55%] DowntownCentral-Hower location [ 21 ] [31.82%] Off CampusLocation south of Exchange St. [ 6 ] [9.09%] Off CampusLocation North of campus [ 3 ] [4.55%] Off CampusMemorial Hall location [ 8 ] [12.12%] On CampusLocation east of campus [ 1 ] [1.52%] Off CampusOther location downtown [ 12 ] [18.18%] DowntownOther location on campus [ 6 ] [9.09%] On CampusFrom my calculationsOn Campus = 20Off Campus = 37Downtonw = 15So, off campus it is. I mean shouldn't you stick to your guns "conspicuously in the middle of campus"?Anyway, I just did this to point out the way you continue to skew facts and so that I can read the huge hissy fit you will have. Otherwise I and probably everyone else is pretty much done with this thread until we get another sound bite in about 2 - 3 months.Look who the lair is. You just did this because you know you are toying with the facts. Central Hower, South of exchange and north of campus and east of campus are all soon to be on campus. Now take a look at another fact. The area east of the stadium which will soon be on campus is perfect for an on-campus arena. The only person having the hissy fit is you.

You just did and BTW, Canal Park is a bad idea for UA to take over. One big reason: It's not on campus nor can it ever look like it is on campus. End of discussion.So far now: 51 for on campus 12 against on campus

So far the score at Zipsnation.org is 50 votes for an on-campus arena against 14 for an off-campus arena. Seems perfectly clear to most peple where the new UA arena should be and that is on the UA campus. Duhhhhh, imagine that, a university arena on a university campus. Seems like only in Akron such a concept would turn into a controversy.

You are right about that. I've been through the stadium twice and it is just awsome. Thanks for the photo of today's practice. Great job. I'm also taking this opportunity to encourage everyone on ZipsNation.org and more to go out and purchase an official Zips stadium flag and fly it from their front porch. I have already done so and it would be great if we started seeing Akron Zips flags outnumber OSU flags in our neighborhoos.

You may comment on the story about SkyWay on Ohio.com. Give it another try. Initially the story did not allow comments but I believe at the time it was due to its recent posting

In today's ABJ: Skyway restaurant plan in holding pattern By Jim Carney Beacon Journal staff writer POSTED: 01:26 p.m. EDT, Aug 04, 2009 Several months after a sign went up announcing a new Skyway Drive-In restaurant was planned for East Exchange and Spicer streets, in the shadow of a new University of Akron football stadium, no work has been done on the site.And it's not clear whether the plan will ever move forward.The sign announcing the restaurant is still there.But city of Akron Planning Director John Moore said no drawings or plans for the project have been filed with the city.Steve Large, owner of Skyway, said he does not know what is going on with the site.Attorney Tom Bartlebaugh said earlier this year he planned to build a Skyway franchise with both outdoor space for cars and indoor seating. He has said he hoped to break ground on the restaurant in May and planned for it to be ready for the stadium's scheduled opening next month.It was to be the first Skyway with indoor seating.The first game at the $61.6 million stadium will be Sept. 12 against Morgan State.Bartlebaugh did not return phone calls for comment.Large said he has heard that the property by InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field may be the subject of discussions with UA.I am still holding out hope’’ that a restaurant will be built there, Large said.Laura Massey, a UA spokeswoman, said ‘‘there have been no discussions that I'm aware of about the University of Akron purchasing the tract of land across from InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field.’’The drive-in was to be built on the site of a former car wash, Subway restaurant and law office.The franchise, if it is built, would be the third Skyway restaurant. Skyway, in addition to its first restaurant on West Market Street in Fairlawn, and another company owned location in Medina, has franchise restaurants in Green and Stow.Looks like UA may have the same location in mind that I have for the new UA on-campus Arena. It's a perfect spot with plenty of room and there will be no need to disrupt any Greek Housing.

Again, sir. take your own advice and lighten up yourself. Growing big over little things like my typo is a clear indicator that you have a hostile streak and that you need to get over yourself. Stop making dishonest accusations about my attacking people when it is you who have done so. I take responsibility for my own behavior and no one elses. I assume you and others on this board are adults. I suggest you start acting like ones. Good day, mam!

C'mon GP1, when have you ever had a humble opinion? And Jake, for gosh sakes is your last name Off or are you like the son of a trustee with land to unload? We got it, you're for an on-campus arena and feel that anything else would be a huge mistake. Others see it differently. Move on.You might want to try reading your own post and taking your own advise. Also. check out the title of this thread. It is about location. Now calm down before you give yourself a nose bleed. And please cool it with your obsene posts. You need to learn how to be more comfortable with opinion which differ from your own. Now I strongly suggest you move on and stop being so hateful and abusive.Build the arena on campus where it should be. Bars and restaurants are just as accessible from an on-campus arena in the east quad. Downtown is not the only place people go to after a UA event. Virtues in City Hospital is much closer to the east end of campus. So are other restaurants and bars that are not downtown. Many people like to drive out to Ken Stewarts, Larry's and other places outside of downtown. UA is about the entire community and region and not just downtown and downtown bars. It's more about campus and university pride than it is about closeness to Galluci Hall. Also, you will have far more UA students living in the new multiplex dorms next to the stadium than Galluci. That coupled with the north quad dorms makes an east campus arena much more practical especially when one considers that UA will have all of its sports and phys ed facilitates in the same area. If you put the arena downtown, city hall will just get away with convincing people that it isn't a UA facility just like they do now with E.J. Thomas HallSo far, the poll indicates, 44 in favor of an on-campus arena and 12 in favor of an off-campus arena. Looks like the overwhelming majority on Zips Nation.Org want an on-campus arena. Same goes for UA Alumni and students.

Are they really renovating it? I heard mention once, nothing since. Unless they find a way to eliminate seats blocked by the track, no renovation will be good enough. Not to mention, the best basketball arenas have chairback where us old people sit (35 years old with a 65 year old back right here!). UA won't wait forever for Greek Village to develop. UA is buying up land in that area so that the chapters may choose to buy lots from UA to build new Greek Housing if they so desire. If they don't bite, then UA will do something else with the land they bought according to Ted Curtis. It's up to the individual chapters to make the move. If they snooz, they lose.

Part of doing it right is to put it on campus and not downtown, but thanks for your input.

As it stands right now, we do not need a new arena. As awful as the JAR is, it is not sold out except for a couple of games a year. When seasons start to get sold out, then they should look at building a new arena. There is no long term evidence in sports proving that "if you build it, they will come". They might come for a season or two, but when the excitment ends over a new arena, the big crowds will end. Let's see what football attendance is in three years. The last thing UofA needs is a top notch bb program with a 9,000 seat arena that sits half full for 80% of the home games."There is no long term evidence in sports proving that "if you build it, they will come". "UA built a new stadium based on the evidence you refute.

thank you.... I was somewhat shocked someone would actually want me to explain that one. Its fairly simple... good facilities = good recruits as evidenced by our recent improvement in recruit quality. Yes, coaching plays a part, but if you have the best coach in the world playing at the world's biggest dump, recruits are not going to want to play there.Jake, im sorry, but you need to stop trolling this thread for every possible way to call someone out on their opinion. I wasn't calling YOU stupid, I was calling the IDEA stupid... No, I don't know EXACTLY how much it'd cost to revamp the JAR, but I can tell you without a doubt that it would be a smarter investment to built a new arena elsewhere for some more money than itd cost to remodel the JAR. Case and point: Rubber Bowl and Infocision Stadium... can't say its not the same because, frankly, it is. The JAR may not be as old as the Rubber Bowl, but the quality of the facility versus the quality expected by fans and top-level recruits is the same between the two venues. We need a better arena that will help attract even better recruits and help bring in more fans. ON TOPIC...I have full faith in the administrators at UA to find the best possible location for any kind of multi-purpose facility that may be built in conjunction with the city. They've done us right with Infocision Stadium, and I completely expect them to be able to do the same with a new arena.Your's and your kind's silence at intervals on this thread do not mean you are listening. It means you are waiting to pounce.No, it means when I see someone make an idiotic comment like "please explain why it's bad to move a MAC champion team returning all but one starter with a top fifty recruit to an undersized dump like Memorial Hall, which is on the list to be torn down, for an entire season while the school puts money into a money pit instead of building what they need is bad," someone needs to point it out. Practically every post you've made is attacking someone on this forum, I'm tired of it, and I'm sure I'm not the only poster who feels that way. We're all Zips fans and want what's best for the school. Keep it semi civil or go troll at ohio.com."No, it means when I see someone make an idiotic comment like . . ." Nice! Look who the troll is now. Please show me where I have ever referred to anyone's ideas as an "idiotic comment." Once again, you attack those who disagree with you.

Doesnt that location have frat/sorority houses on it though? See, thats the problem I kept running into when looking for somewhere that the university could build an arena. Also, even if they can build in that spot... I don't know if it'd be smart to as it would block the main shot of the Info from Rt8, which I have personally come to love.No, not all of the area. Both Greek Village and an arena could co-exist just fine. And an arena would be seen on Rt.8 which would sell itself to the region without blocking the view of the stadium. One can't see the stadium from Rt. 8 unless one is further away from the entry/exit ramp.Also it's the other way around. A beautiful campus helps to build up the city. Research shows that would-be students and their parents look at the campus and make their decision based on its appeal and not the downtown area. Buidling an arena downtown would cheapen the campus and make it look try-hard and forced. No one likes a hustle and a joint venture comes off as a hustle.Well two years ago they both influenced me...Students want to go somewhere where they fit. I understand that in large part that has to do with the campus atmosphere, but you can't hide the surrounding area, either. Tons of students choose universities outside of big cities because they don't like the crowds, and tons choose the big city schools because they like the nightlife. In general, thought, most want to feel safe and not be surrounded by slums. Everyone is different! Sure some people only will attend a school with an on-campus arena , but there are numerous other ways to attract students (new library, green space, medical school). Oh, and to save me the time of having to type out a response: I do not feel that putting an arena on campus would cause the city to be nothing more than slums. I think the downtown arena has more short term benefit... long term I don't think we can really predict. Yes there are numerous ways to recruit students and UA should use them all. An arena is a huge investment and because of that it defiinitely needs to be on campus and not off campus. And perhaps you and I can't predict, but you can bet those responsible at UA can.

Doesnt that location have frat/sorority houses on it though? See, thats the problem I kept running into when looking for somewhere that the university could build an arena. Also, even if they can build in that spot... I don't know if it'd be smart to as it would block the main shot of the Info from Rt8, which I have personally come to love.No, not all of the area. Both Greek Village and an arena could co-exist just fine. And an arena would be seen on Rt.8 which would sell itself to the region without blocking the view of the stadium. One can't see the stadium from Rt. 8 unless one is further away from the entry/exit ramp.Also it's the other way around. A beautiful campus helps to build up the city. Research shows that would-be students and their parents look at the campus and make their decision based on its appeal and not the downtown area. Buidling an arena downtown would cheapen the campus and make it look try-hard and forced. No one likes a hustle and a joint venture comes off as a hustle.

Again, the support for a campus arena as opposed to a downtown one is astoundingly in the majority. UA would be foolish to build its arena anywhere but on its true campus and not some fake psueudo version of what some who are on an acid trip think is on-campus. There is room for a 10,000 plus seat arena east of the stadium bordering Goodkirk and the freeway.

totally worth itJake you always keep me coming back for more, that's a fact! I'm just curious, but hypothetically speaking, if the city offered a joint deal that could cut costs 50% as well as speed up the process by about 5 years would you decline their offer?Yes, I would indeed decline the offer. The ROI of an on-campus arena would be much more beneificial to UA's mission in the long run than any amount of superficial savings or accelerated progress of a shared cost, downtown/off campus arena.I would also ad that your scenario will remain hypothetical and would never end up being an offer by the city. From what I've been told, the only contribution the city wants to make is the land and they aren't willng to give it or sell it to UA. They want to keep the land and have UA build on it at UA's expense. And, that would also include UA managing the structure and pay for operating expensesTo me this whole joint effort thing is an incestuous hustle.

thank you.... I was somewhat shocked someone would actually want me to explain that one. Its fairly simple... good facilities = good recruits as evidenced by our recent improvement in recruit quality. Yes, coaching plays a part, but if you have the best coach in the world playing at the world's biggest dump, recruits are not going to want to play there.Jake, im sorry, but you need to stop trolling this thread for every possible way to call someone out on their opinion. I wasn't calling YOU stupid, I was calling the IDEA stupid... No, I don't know EXACTLY how much it'd cost to revamp the JAR, but I can tell you without a doubt that it would be a smarter investment to built a new arena elsewhere for some more money than itd cost to remodel the JAR. Case and point: Rubber Bowl and Infocision Stadium... can't say its not the same because, frankly, it is. The JAR may not be as old as the Rubber Bowl, but the quality of the facility versus the quality expected by fans and top-level recruits is the same between the two venues. We need a better arena that will help attract even better recruits and help bring in more fans. ON TOPIC...I have full faith in the administrators at UA to find the best possible location for any kind of multi-purpose facility that may be built in conjunction with the city. They've done us right with Infocision Stadium, and I completely expect them to be able to do the same with a new arena.Your's and your kind's silence at intervals on this thread do not mean you are listening. It means you are waiting to pounce.

thank you.... I was somewhat shocked someone would actually want me to explain that one. Its fairly simple... good facilities = good recruits as evidenced by our recent improvement in recruit quality. Yes, coaching plays a part, but if you have the best coach in the world playing at the world's biggest dump, recruits are not going to want to play there.Jake, im sorry, but you need to stop trolling this thread for every possible way to call someone out on their opinion. I wasn't calling YOU stupid, I was calling the IDEA stupid... No, I don't know EXACTLY how much it'd cost to revamp the JAR, but I can tell you without a doubt that it would be a smarter investment to built a new arena elsewhere for some more money than itd cost to remodel the JAR. Case and point: Rubber Bowl and Infocision Stadium... can't say its not the same because, frankly, it is. The JAR may not be as old as the Rubber Bowl, but the quality of the facility versus the quality expected by fans and top-level recruits is the same between the two venues. We need a better arena that will help attract even better recruits and help bring in more fans. ON TOPIC...I have full faith in the administrators at UA to find the best possible location for any kind of multi-purpose facility that may be built in conjunction with the city. They've done us right with Infocision Stadium, and I completely expect them to be able to do the same with a new arena.As do I. They know how to build an on-campus stadium w/o the city being involved and I trust they can do the same with an on-campus arena. Other than that your opinion like mine is just that. To call someone's opinion the dumbest thing you ever heard is an insult and you meant it to be one. So again, stop your disengenuous arguments. Memorial Hall as a temporary site will not discourage good team players. They will know it is temporary and they will know what positive results will come from it whether it is a major renovation of the JAR which BTW is not a band aide approach or whether it is the total demolition of the JAR and the creation of a new one on the JAR's footprint. Your nasty little dishonest agenda keeps showing it ugly little pischer of a head.At best you are an armchair navel gazer who has no idea of what he is talking about. Try some humility to replace your arrogance. Then, perhaps you can stop being the troll who continues to call me out on my opinion. Just look at your past posts and you will see that you are guilty of that which you accuse me.This whole thread started out as a fun brain storming session until you turned it into the typical diatribe that you did to Ohio.com...nasty little beeeeotch!

You're right. It is a no brainer. Plenty of room for a large multi-pupose arena for events from basketball to concerts. A college campus is a far superior place to have concerts than downtown.Now, if we can some how talk APS into giving it up as a swing school, so UA can have it now instead of nine years from now.You completely lose me with this statement. Would you explain to ZN why this would be true?No. I don't make it a habit to knowingly walk into a snare or an ambush. Guess you'll just have to stay lost.Ok, I'll bite. There is no reason to believe that an campus arena would yield a better concert than any other location in a city. If the programming is good, it would follow that the concert would be good. Possible exceptions are paper plant, rendering plant, sewage plant etc. etc. ps. No trap, I just don't understand how your statement can be supported.And, I can see right through your tired and usual, "yes but" game. That's why I won't bite. The more I explain, the more you'll nit pick. Try being a tad more proactive and less reactive.

You're right. It is a no brainer. Plenty of room for a large multi-pupose arena for events from basketball to concerts. A college campus is a far superior place to have concerts than downtown.Now, if we can some how talk APS into giving it up as a swing school, so UA can have it now instead of nine years from now.You completely lose me with this statement. Would you explain to ZN why this would be true?"...but when you have a top 50 player coming this fall and you are continually upgrading your status in the college basketball rankings, playing somewhere like that, for even 1 season, is like shooting yourself in the foot. "You completely lose me with this statement. Would you explain to ZN why this would be true?

The poll is for where people would like to see a proposed arena. The likely location would likely yield different results.Agreed, and the on-campus sites are disected into several. Like I said, 39 on campus and 10 off-campus. It's glaring.

You're right. It is a no brainer. Plenty of room for a large multi-pupose arena for events from basketball to concerts. A college campus is a far superior place to have concerts than downtown.Now, if we can some how talk APS into giving it up as a swing school, so UA can have it now instead of nine years from now.You completely lose me with this statement. Would you explain to ZN why this would be true?No. I don't make it a habit to knowingly walk into a snare or an ambush. Guess you'll just have to stay lost.

Stick to answering the question asked. This thread isn't about attacking other ideas and calling them dumb. You are suppose to just simply state where you would like to see a new arena. And. you have no idea of how much the cost would be to redesign the JAR unless your name is Ted Curtis. Your comparing it to the Rubber Bowl is what gives your ignorance away and is truly the dumbest thing I ever heard.

So far we have 39 votes for on-campus and 10 votes for off-campus. I'd say downtown is in the minority easily.