RowdyZip Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 ...That corner of Buchtel and Wolf Ledges would be very convenient for additional PolySci or Law or student housing space.Speaking of which, UA should purchase the former Inventure Place building.Inventure Place still houses the Hall of Fame in the basement and a newly added magnet public school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 ...That corner of Buchtel and Wolf Ledges would be very convenient for additional PolySci or Law or student housing space.Speaking of which, UA should purchase the former Inventure Place building.Too late. The city bought it and turned it into a STEM-focused middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Snyder Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 The Globetrotters played at the JAR in January 2010. I wonder how many people didn't go due to the uncomfortable seats and poor sight lines? Maybe that's why they skipped Akron this year. I took my daughter to the Lady Zips soccer game on Sunday. We took umbrellas and a blanket. The blanket was for the seats so we would not get our arse wet. Turns out...the blanket also makes the aluminum seat very comfortable. Who knew...we learn something new every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I took the kids to see the Globetrotters at the JAR a few years ago. who won??Who'd they play?Did anybody get depantsed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 The Globetrotters played at the JAR in January 2010. I wonder how many people didn't go due to the uncomfortable seats and poor sight lines? Maybe that's why they skipped Akron this year. Actually, the Canton Civic Center is probably more of a dump than the JAR (and that's saying something), but at least their seats are chair-backed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I love UCF Arena. It looks to be exactly what we need @ UA. 10,000 seats looks/seems appropriate.However, it is a basketball arena (which can also host concerts) but not a true multi-purpose arena - which can accomodate hockey/indoor soccer. I prefer basketball arenas as, IMHO, half of the seats for basketball in a multi-purpose arena aren't very good. They're simply too far from the court.Again, I love UCF Arena. I think it's perfect. Pitt's Peterson Events Center is another great arena, but probably a bit too large for UA, as it seats (IIRC) 12,500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akron1 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 A nice 6,000 seat arena would be great. BGSU hit a home run with their new arena.http://www.bgsufalcons.com/sports/2009/6/1...3607.aspx?id=91http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroh_Center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Snyder Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Actually, I don't mind if the arena gets built on the western edge next to downtown. It would be better if it was somewhere near the sports complex but it would not be that inconvenient and there is so much development in that direction. What I do not want to see is a multi use facility. In a few years people will be whining about yada yada yada and use that as an excuse for the poor attendance. Let's get it right and build something great for basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Doug, it doesn't matter. People will find something to whine about no matter what. America leads the world in whining. It's what we do best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 A nice 6,000 seat arena would be great. BGSU hit a home run with their new arena.http://www.bgsufalcons.com/sports/2009/6/1...3607.aspx?id=91http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroh_CenterI like the Stroh Center much more than the JAR. But with only one level, IMHO, it still looks kind of like a glorified high school gym.I think that to really impress the high school kids, two levels is a must.One arena that is slightly larger than the Stroh Center, but which has two levels (3 actually, but it's a technicality & difficult to tell in the pictures) is Rhode Island's Ryan Center. Beautiful facility with 7,657 seats. I'd be thrilled if we could simply duplicate it.Ryan Center website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Let's get it right and build something great for basketball.+1.But I'd take anything over simply renovating the JAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyZip Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Let's get it right and build something great for basketball.+1.But I'd take anything over simply renovating the JAR.Minus the upper level benches, EMU's joint is a fantastic place for basketball as well. Look it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Snyder Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Let's get it right and build something great for basketball.+1.But I'd take anything over simply renovating the JAR. Not from you!!! They renovated the Hartville hardware many times and now are building a 9 acre beautiful facility. The renovations at the old building did not stop the new one from being built. Same here. I think the JAR should be continually upgraded and renovated. It can be used for many things down the road. But build a BASKETBALL facility. It should be GREAT for basketball. Don't make the same mistake they made when they built they JAR. Wait...and do it right. Do not compromise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxZIP Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Let's get it right and build something great for basketball.+1.But I'd take anything over simply renovating the JAR. Not from you!!! They renovated the Hartville hardware many times and now are building a 9 acre beautiful facility. The renovations at the old building did not stop the new one from being built. Same here. I think the JAR should be continually upgraded and renovated. It can be used for many things down the road. But build a BASKETBALL facility. It should be GREAT for basketball. Don't make the same mistake they made when they built they JAR. Wait...and do it right. Do not compromise.So why would they have to wait to get it right? Why not get it right now? I think Dr. P is a man of action and thus far his actions have revitalized the campus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptrumpet87 Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 If they can indeed get this going, the construction jobs will be a welcome boost to the local economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 As much as I would love to see a new arena... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Let's get it right and build something great for basketball.+1.But I'd take anything over simply renovating the JAR. Not from you!!! They renovated the Hartville hardware many times and now are building a 9 acre beautiful facility. The renovations at the old building did not stop the new one from being built. Same here. I think the JAR should be continually upgraded and renovated. It can be used for many things down the road. But build a BASKETBALL facility. It should be GREAT for basketball. Don't make the same mistake they made when they built they JAR. Wait...and do it right. Do not compromise.So why would they have to wait to get it right? Why not get it right now? I think Dr. P is a man of action and thus far his actions have revitalized the campus.I'll dream along with Hilltopper.Replacing a crumbling old football stadium could be justified as a necessity. Replacing a basketball arena that was just built in the 80s could not.We can continue to harp about "but we need it to grow the program" all we want. But, I'll still expect the idea of a new arena to stay in the "discussion" phase for several more years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 The way I see it, if they keep bringing forward new arena plans every couple of years as part of hypothetical overall Akron development, statistics suggest that one of these random times it could actually happen if only by accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 One factor KD and the Akron athletics staff has to look at is if they ever want to move beyond the MAC conference, a new arena is something that will most certainly be done. They can't be in an upper conference playing in a HS type facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Snyder Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 One factor KD and the Akron athletics staff has to look at is if they ever want to move beyond the MAC conference, a new arena is something that will most certainly be done. They can't be in an upper conference playing in a HS type facility. A new arena is a must if we are to move to a higher conference...we are in total agreement. A new arena or an improved JAR is needed for the Zips to make the next step even without a new conference. But I think it would be wrong to not try and elevate the MAC. Where was the Horizon a few years ago. We should try to improve the MAC in all sports while keeping our options open should something be available that will improve the stature of the UofA. For me...I am not a fan of CUSA. But that may be our only option. That is one reason I think a lot of effort to improve the MAC should be made...it gives us more options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Even if we don't go anywhere, an improved JAR is still a must.In fact, if the city builds us an arena and we use it for men's basketball, then stripping out the JAR bleachers and replacing them with chairbacks becomes a more palatable option than it is now because we don't have to worry about the loss in capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 One factor KD and the Akron athletics staff has to look at is if they ever want to move beyond the MAC conference, a new arena is something that will most certainly be done. They can't be in an upper conference playing in a HS type facility. A new arena is a must if we are to move to a higher conference...we are in total agreement. A new arena or an improved JAR is needed for the Zips to make the next step even without a new conference. But I think it would be wrong to not try and elevate the MAC. Where was the Horizon a few years ago. We should try to improve the MAC in all sports while keeping our options open should something be available that will improve the stature of the UofA. For me...I am not a fan of CUSA. But that may be our only option. That is one reason I think a lot of effort to improve the MAC should be made...it gives us more options.The MAC can be a solid basketball conference, but as a whole, I am not sold that every school is interested in improving their overall athletic profile. If the MAC wanted to make strides and improve as a whole as a better conference, I would be sold. Geographically, it is a nice conference. But Akron clearly wants to improve its status and a new or improved arena would go a long with that thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pack_The_MAC Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 I'm about to blow ya'lls mind. I am sick of building a baseball field over there behind Cub Cadent. There is no reason for that when UA can strike a deal with the Aeros and play in that ball park. That would be ideal for sure. Then, we take that space where the baseball field is and build the basketball arena. That way we have Info and the new basketball arena right next to each other, plus the baseball team will get to play at a minor league (great) stadium. The JAR is....excuse me, A DUMP. The eye sore that is those blue seats are sickening. Akron deserves better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted October 30, 2011 Report Share Posted October 30, 2011 It would be nice to have baseball play in Canal Park more often. We could schedule around the Aeros easily enough.As far as a new arena goes, the JAR is undersized in the MAC. The average MAC arena has 7,769 seats. Only WMU, CMU, and BG have smaller arenas than us and everyone else has at least 6k seats. So a new Arena should have 8k seats, minimum. That would still put us behind sush powerhouse basketball programs at Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.Don't tell me that it would always be empty. That shouldn't matter, anyways. It's more important that it's really nice and luxurious. You oversize it for two reasons: potential and recruiting. Potential for this team to string together several years of NCAA tournament appearances and make a run in one or two of them is there, and you don't want a crappy arena to hamper that. An arena, like a football stadium, is usually the only physical form of interaction between fans and a university. It's all they see and all they base their impressions on, so it had better be impressive. And with recruiting these days, kids would rather play in a really nice, huge arena that's three-quarters empty than a three-quarters full dump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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