72 Roo Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 My sense is that the best site will be next to the JAR where we already have the land, except for a couple Greek houses. The JAR could become the home of volleyball, women's BBall and our practice facility. We already have new player lounges and a weight room, so those could be left out of the new arena. Parking can be handled with existing decks and surface lots. I also believe that Luis wants it on campus and not downtown. The results of the Saaski (sp ?) and Associates study is already in the hands of our athletic administration. It will be interesting to see what they recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 My sense is that the best site will be next to the JAR where we already have the land, except for a couple Greek houses. The JAR could become the home of volleyball, women's BBall and our practice facility. We already have new player lounges and a weight room, so those could be left out of the new arena. Parking can be handled with existing decks and surface lots. I also believe that Luis wants it on campus and not downtown. The results of the Saaski (sp ?) and Associates study is already in the hands of our athletic administration. It will be interesting to see what they recommend. It's Sasaki. Now I was just reminiscing about what was at the corner of Exchange and Spicer back when I was a student. There was a bike shop there -- does anyone remember the name? That corner was the furthest that I would drive in my daily search for a parking spot. There was occasionally a space open on the expressway side opposite the bike shop, but I was always afraid to park there, and one day my fear was confirmed: I drove by, and someone in a large truck had turned the right-hand corner onto Spicer, and had driven right up and over the trunk of the car parked there, flattening it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 @72 Roo, I agree with you that the area next to the JAR makes way too much sense to be eliminated as a potential site for a new arena. Because of the way it could be tied into the JAR and the existing parking deck, it has to remain at the top of the list of potential sites. It would be interesting to see the detailed list of pros and cons for each of the potential sites that UA must surely be putting together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xu9697 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Someone mentioned it earlier in these posts, but I do think it is important to look at who will be going to the games. Is the focus on UA alums/general fans/"Joe Akron"/etc. or is the focus on the students? Obviously, it is not so simplistic as that. But if you think that you could have good attendance from those 25 years + (alums/residents), then maybe the best focus is on the downtown location and building up that urban area. If the focus is on student attendance, then it is better to have it on campus. Again..I am generalizing a bit. One group of folks will want it where they can also go to a restaurant/bar and make a whole evening of it. The other group will want to head to the house parties/frat parties or back to their dorm. I'll speak from some personal experience as an XU alum= I love going back to games at Cintas, and it is cool to walk the campus if it happens to be a nice day. However, if I want a bite to eat or a beverage or 3...I have to take my car and the group somewhere else. It would be nice if I could park for the game, get a beer before or after and then jet. Part of their study, if it does go downtown, has to be having very accessible and comfortable transportation for students to and from the game. Again, speaking to my experience at X= when I was there, we played at the Cincy Gardens. We would take yellow school buses to the games, and it was further away than what UA would have. We never minded the transportation much, but I probably went to a few less games than I would have if it were right outside my door (as Cintas is now to many students). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Someone mentioned it earlier in these posts, but I do think it is important to look at who will be going to the games. Is the focus on UA alums/general fans/"Joe Akron"/etc. or is the focus on the students? Obviously, it is not so simplistic as that. But if you think that you could have good attendance from those 25 years + (alums/residents), then maybe the best focus is on the downtown location and building up that urban area. If the focus is on student attendance, then it is better to have it on campus. Again..I am generalizing a bit. One group of folks will want it where they can also go to a restaurant/bar and make a whole evening of it. The other group will want to head to the house parties/frat parties or back to their dorm. I'll speak from some personal experience as an XU alum= I love going back to games at Cintas, and it is cool to walk the campus if it happens to be a nice day. However, if I want a bite to eat or a beverage or 3...I have to take my car and the group somewhere else. It would be nice if I could park for the game, get a beer before or after and then jet. Part of their study, if it does go downtown, has to be having very accessible and comfortable transportation for students to and from the game. Again, speaking to my experience at X= when I was there, we played at the Cincy Gardens. We would take yellow school buses to the games, and it was further away than what UA would have. We never minded the transportation much, but I probably went to a few less games than I would have if it were right outside my door (as Cintas is now to many students). Those are some very good thoughts Dave. I would interject though that outside of the Spicer Residence Hall, the bulk of student housing is in the center and southwest corners of campus. Walking from Grant and Exchange (or a 2 minute Roo Bus) to Main St. is probably easier than walking to the JAR. For those living in the honors dorms, etc. The JAR is probably very easy to get to, but a walk to Main St is a covered walk from Wolf Ledges to Main St. As to some of the others about the former Memorial Site, or between the JAR and Buchtel/Spicer. I don't see direct East of the JAR as viable as Delta Gamma and Phi Delta Theta have invested heavily in their buildings there. DG is the oldest existing chapter of the sorority and has a lot of influence. The only issue I would see with Memorial site is that it probably doesn't fit with the campus vision. The idea is to have a wide open view of Buchtel Hall, arenas and stadiums are typically edge of campus locations to ease traffic patterns. Lets remember that students make up an anticipated 20-30% of attendance, the bulk of attendance are alumni and fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Those are some very good thoughts Dave. Dave? I consider that a personal attack. What did "X" ever do to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Dave? I consider that a personal attack. What did "X" ever do to you? LOL My bad, I was reading some of Dave's and X's and when I hit the reply.... Oh well, all apologies X-Man... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xu9697 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 LOL My bad, I was reading some of Dave's and X's and when I hit the reply.... Oh well, all apologies X-Man... No problem, we are good. Maybe my good writing rivals the writing expertise of Dave! I hear what you are saying about walking. Obviously, as we all know, this is a difficult decisioni and is layered with many factors to consider. As long as it is done right, I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the locations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 No problem, we are good. Maybe my good writing rivals the writing expertise of Dave! First time in ZN.o history someone has personally attacked themselves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 First time in ZN.o history someone has personally attacked themselves? How well does the block function work, if you block yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Someone mentioned it earlier in these posts, but I do think it is important to look at who will be going to the games. Is the focus on UA alums/general fans/"Joe Akron"/etc. or is the focus on the students? Obviously, it is not so simplistic as that. But if you think that you could have good attendance from those 25 years + (alums/residents), then maybe the best focus is on the downtown location and building up that urban area. If the focus is on student attendance, then it is better to have it on campus. Again..I am generalizing a bit. One group of folks will want it where they can also go to a restaurant/bar and make a whole evening of it. The other group will want to head to the house parties/frat parties or back to their dorm. I'll speak from some personal experience as an XU alum= I love going back to games at Cintas, and it is cool to walk the campus if it happens to be a nice day. However, if I want a bite to eat or a beverage or 3...I have to take my car and the group somewhere else. It would be nice if I could park for the game, get a beer before or after and then jet. What if the area around the arena ans stadium becomes a bar and restaurant district (again)? Best of both worlds. Not to mention what it would do to campus life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottditzen Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Uh oh, I'm sure there's a valuable lesson in here for us. Cleveland State University ponders the future of the Wolstein Center March 10, 2012 CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State University, which won a hard-fought battle 30 years ago to obtain state funding and local support to build the 13,000-seat Wolstein Center, is now seriously considering whether the university should keep it. Naysayers who warned when the center was proposed that it would be too large, would never turn a profit and would never consistently attract top music and sports events may have been proven right. Hoping to generate more business, CSU hired a new company in August 2010 to manage the facility. But its inability to attract events and revenue has led university officials to believe it may be the market, not the marketing, that keeps the center empty. "I think where we want to get to at the board level is to be very clear as to what is the best purpose for Wolstein in terms of CSU's overall plan and strategy," Stephanie McHenry vice president for business affairs and finances, said Friday. "What do we need Wolstein to do for us? It is a great venue for basketball and commencement and some of the things we could put on that are core to what CSU does. Then we need to understand what is the cost of being able to provide that." Read the rest here: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/03/cl...ersity_pon.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Certainly doesn't help their cause to be competing with The Q, that's less than 1 mile away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronad Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Interesting information. Since, originally, we were suppose to have the Convoaction Center in Akron. Then politics got in the way. IMHO, I thimk that a 13,000+ seat facilty is bit bit much for us. That's a lot of seats. We would be best to have something built in the 10,000 seat range. In planning for such a facility, they need to look at what the draw is now, as well as the uptick draw with a new facility, and how many of those new fans will continue to go to games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronad Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Interesting information. Since, originally, we were suppose to have the Convoaction Center in Akron. Then politics got in the way. IMHO, I thimk that a 13,000+ seat facilty is bit bit much for us. That's a lot of seats. We would be best to have something built in the 10,000 seat range. In planning for such a facility, they need to look at what the draw is now, as well as the uptick draw with a new facility, and how many of those new fans will continue to go to games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbozeglav Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Im not terribly surprised by this. The wolstein center always seemed far too large for its tenants, especially considering that CSU doesn't draw THAT large of a crowd to its basketball games. Also bear in mind that the building was completed only a year before Gund Arena, a much larger and in my opinion more flixible building, broke ground 1/4 mile away. At the time that the Wolstein Center broke ground, nothing had been said about the Cavs leaving the Richfield Coliseum and building Gund Arena downtown. My guess is they were hoping to be the downtown arena major events were hosted at.... except they were "one up'ed" by the Cavs. Our situation is a bit different. We don't have any arena of comparable size or use anywhere near Akron. In fact, only Cleveland is the closest, and we can all mostly agree that its far enough away that it's not a major factor. Building a new arena has far too many benefits that I cannot foresee us having the same issues CSU is having Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Im not terribly surprised by this. The wolstein center always seemed far too large for its tenants, especially considering that CSU doesn't draw THAT large of a crowd to its basketball games. Also bear in mind that the building was completed only a year before Gund Arena, a much larger and in my opinion more flixible building, broke ground 1/4 mile away. At the time that the Wolstein Center broke ground, nothing had been said about the Cavs leaving the Richfield Coliseum and building Gund Arena downtown. My guess is they were hoping to be the downtown arena major events were hosted at.... except they were "one up'ed" by the Cavs. Our situation is a bit different. We don't have any arena of comparable size or use anywhere near Akron. In fact, only Cleveland is the closest, and we can all mostly agree that its far enough away that it's not a major factor. Building a new arena has far too many benefits that I cannot foresee us having the same issues CSU is having They are similar in that the city of Akron wants a arena. What I am saying is that since CSU and Cleveland weren't really talking with each other, and the 10 year hang up on actual construction, we could run into a similar problem. If they had went jointly on the project, CSU could be playing at the Q instead of the Wolstein Center. It would be terrible for UA to build something in the 7000 range only to have the City build a 12000 arena for events like hockey and arena football. Both would likely lose in that scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksu sucks Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 The city needs UA more than UA needs the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbozeglav Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I agree, gmann. This is why, to this day, I still believe any arena built primarily as the home of Zips basketball will be with the City directly involved so as to avert a similar Cleveland/CSU situation here in Akron. Given the relationship the University already has with the city, it's very easy to see this project happening with both involved. Its mutually beneficial and I certainly feel neither would want to step on each others' toes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 The city needs UA more than UA needs the city. Its a symbiotic relationship. If either failed they would both fail, if either succeed they both succeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksu sucks Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Its a symbiotic relationship. If either failed they would both fail, if either succeed they both succeed. When it comes to an arena-- no. Do you think the city could afford to go all in on a downtown arena without the university? There's a reason the University is deliberating on which route to take, while city hall is clamoring for a partnership. They need us, and we're merely deliberating as to which route would be the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 By the way, Friday night I asked an usher what the Q's lower bowl capacity was (they had the upper, nose bleed seats curtained off). He said the capacity was right around 12,000. So if you've been wondering what a 12,000-seat hockey arena, configured for basketball, would look like, that was the Q for the MAC Tourney. (Btw, he said there were approximately 8,000 nose bleed seats that when open, brings the Q's capacity to right around 20,000.) I was sitting in an upper corner seat and my view was honestly pretty good. I'm still torn on the benefits/drawbacks of a hockey arena vs. basketball arena. It truly is an epic decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottditzen Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Saw this on the urbanohio forum re: talk of a new arena for Cincy. I just thought it was interesting how many teams in our future conference (ha!) play off campus. Georgetown - plays home games off campus in the Chinatown district of Washington, D.C. (home of the NBA's Wizards and NHL's Capitals) Marquette - plays home games off campus in the downtown Bradley Center (home of the NBA's Bucks) Providence - plays home games off campus in the downtown Dunkin' Donuts Center South Florida - plays home games in downtown Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum (home of the NHL's Lightning) St. John's - plays home games off campus at Madison Square Garden Seton Hall - plays home games off campus in Prudential Center in downtown Newark (home of the Devils and Nets) Louisville - plays home games off campus in the downtown KFC Yum Center Villanova - plays home games off campus at various locations, including the Palestra and the Wells Fargo Center Depaul also plays off campus, as does soon-to-be new Big East member Memphis. Read more: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/...l#ixzz1p0B4Xzyz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xu9697 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Saw this on the urbanohio forum re: talk of a new arena for Cincy. I just thought it was interesting how many teams in our future conference (ha!) play off campus. Georgetown - plays home games off campus in the Chinatown district of Washington, D.C. (home of the NBA's Wizards and NHL's Capitals) Marquette - plays home games off campus in the downtown Bradley Center (home of the NBA's Bucks) Providence - plays home games off campus in the downtown Dunkin' Donuts Center South Florida - plays home games in downtown Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum (home of the NHL's Lightning) St. John's - plays home games off campus at Madison Square Garden Seton Hall - plays home games off campus in Prudential Center in downtown Newark (home of the Devils and Nets) Louisville - plays home games off campus in the downtown KFC Yum Center Villanova - plays home games off campus at various locations, including the Palestra and the Wells Fargo Center Depaul also plays off campus, as does soon-to-be new Big East member Memphis. Read more: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/...l#ixzz1p0B4Xzyz I have mentioned this kind of thing in the past, and Louisville is a perfect one to look at b/c they built there arena in the last couple years. My guess is they built it right near restaurants, bars and other attractions. No matter if it is done in the downtown location or more "on campus" location, I hope there are plans to have at least a couple of good places right near the arena. Again..it is something that CSU did not do properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottditzen Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 No matter if it is done in the downtown location or more "on campus" location, I hope there are plans to have at least a couple of good places right near the arena. I am in absolute agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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