akronad Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Working on seating for hgih school gym, I was told by one of our architects that every chairback seat = 1 1/2 bleacher seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 But if converting to all individual seats would pull the official seating capacity down below 4,000, that doesn't sound like a very good option. Actually, it sounds like a great option if we had a larger basketball arena and the JAR was used for Volleyball and hosting non-athletic events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Actually, it sounds like a great option if we had a larger basketball arena and the JAR was used for Volleyball and hosting non-athletic events. Bingo, I don't think the JAR is going anywhere even if we do build a new arena. You can lower the cost of the new arena by forgoing admin offices and moveable seats for practice areas. If the Arena is just concessions, team shop, gameday locker rooms, suites, and restrooms, that lessens square footage, and lowers costs. The only other thing I would consider having in the arena is an upgraded Hall of Fame, but I thought space in Infocision should have been used for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksu sucks Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 I still think 10,000+ is way too big. I don't want some cavernous monstrosity that we fill once in a blue moon(a la OhioU). VCU's arena sits 7,600. It looked great on TV today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 I still think 10,000+ is way too big. I don't want some cavernous monstrosity that we fill once in a blue moon(a la OhioU). VCU's arena sits 7,600. It looked great on TV today. It looks cavernous. Compare that to Boise's arena which seats more but feels more intimate. The design is more important than the overall capacity. Multiple levels, stacked inward (not outward with a walkway like the JAR) moves the crowd in and reduces the open-air feeling that you get with the MAC's larger arenas. Look at Ohio's arena or Ball State's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 Or, to be more general, low seating angles are horrid. Combine that with two-story high walls behind the seats propping up the roof and you have a horrible place to watch a basketball game and one that detracts from any efforts at having a noisy, intimidating environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksu sucks Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 Combine Boise's design with a capacity closer to VCU's Siegel center and I'm happy. I agree that the angled seating looks better, but we will never be able to consistently fill a 10,000+ seat arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 I actually found a quality mid-major program playing in a smaller gym-like arena than the JAR. St. Mary's plays in the 3,500-seat McKeon Pavilion, which has been criticized by many but which does provide a tough environment for visiting teams. Here's part of the Wikipedia entry: Common criticism of the gym, including by students, is its age and size. It is one of the smaller gyms in the West Coast Conference. The seating is mainly along two sides, running along the long sides of the court. Behind one basket is a large wall, and behind another a handful of elevated, VIP seats. Seating is mostly bleacher-style, not stadium style. However, many feel that the small size of the gym adds to the intensity of the crowd at sold-out games, when the cheers of 3,500 fans are amplified due to the small space. Because of this, McKeon Pavilion is considered by many to be one of the tougher gyms to play in for an opposing team. Current athletic director Mark Orr has said there are design plans that would knock out the front and back walls of the gym, adding 1,000 seats, but there is not yet funding for the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 I actually found a quality mid-major program playing in a smaller gym-like arena than the JAR. St. Mary's plays in the 3,500-seat McKeon Pavilion, which has been criticized by many but which does provide a tough environment for visiting teams. Here's part of the Wikipedia entry: Common criticism of the gym, including by students, is its age and size. It is one of the smaller gyms in the West Coast Conference. The seating is mainly along two sides, running along the long sides of the court. Behind one basket is a large wall, and behind another a handful of elevated, VIP seats. Seating is mostly bleacher-style, not stadium style. However, many feel that the small size of the gym adds to the intensity of the crowd at sold-out games, when the cheers of 3,500 fans are amplified due to the small space. Because of this, McKeon Pavilion is considered by many to be one of the tougher gyms to play in for an opposing team. Current athletic director Mark Orr has said there are design plans that would knock out the front and back walls of the gym, adding 1,000 seats, but there is not yet funding for the project. They also only have 4,100 students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksu sucks Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 Speaking of WCC teams, Gonzaga's McCarthy center seats 6,000 and I think it's a good model for Akron: It opened in 2004 with a cost of ~$30 mill(2013 dollars). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Make it 8-10K to accommodate bigger Zips games (Can't State, OU, Bracket Busters), attract bigger OOC opponents (and potential entry into other leagues ), HS tourney, graduations & events (presidential town hall meetings). Create nice looking partitions (not a curtain!) to close off the upper half for most mens games and to not look empty for less-attended TV games), womens hoops, and volleyball. A nice concourse around the perimeter of the building. I agree with having the exterior complement the other newer campus architecture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odhgibo Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 A post in another thread read as follows: "[T]he Zips hosted top five ranked Pittsburgh at the old Richfield Coliseum. That game drew over fifteen thousand clear back in the Bob Huggins era." I was able to find the details on that. The announced attendance was 11,365. Was not able to find the details of the 1986 CSU game, but I did find some pretty high attendance figures for the 1985-86 season -- 5500 for YSU, 7100 for Murray St., 5500 for Austin Peay, 5600 for Tennessee Tech (OVC tourney) and 6700 for MTSU (OVC finals). If those Huggins' teams could draw 5-7K for OVC teams (at least after proving that they could win), there's no reason why this version of the Zips couldn't average 5K+, even in the MAC. With that in mind, I side with those who want a 7-8K seating capacity. The only proviso to this is if the arena is a joint venture with the city which wants to bring in other events (and maybe minor league hockey), in which case the arrangement will tend to push the seating capacity a little higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 The city doesn't have the money to help, and I don't want them involved anyhow. I do agree with the hockey-sized floor, stating up front that it does NOT have to compromise basketball seating (as I showed in the old thread). Anybody who was at the Zips game Saturday night understands there clearly is a need for a better facility. Anyone who wasn't needs not reply. Unless they outprice themselves like they did the Dialer, the U can lease out the arena for high school and minor league sports, concerts, shows. And not have to share the profit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Here is a picture of the University of Miami-FL's BankUnited Center. It's an approximately 8,000-seat basketball-specific arena (no hockey). It was built in 2001 for $48 million, which, according to Wikipedia, is $54.3 million dollars in 2013. I think 8,000-seats in the sweet spot for us. I really wouldn't want anything smaller. Coach D is pretty adamant about wanting a basketball-specific arena (no hockey, indoor soccer). The Wikipedia site says that the "venue hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture series, university events and sporting events, including all University of Miami men's and women's basketball games." BankUnited Center home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCK1 Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Missouri State University. Seats 11,000. Built 2008. $67million. 22 suites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Missouri State University. Seats 11,000. Built 2008. $67million. 22 suites. Now you're talking. An arena without suites is not an arena we should consider building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Missouri State University. Seats 11,000. Built 2008. $67million. 22 suites. Gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mivid12 Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Gorgeous. Indeed, even with just the lower bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Missouri State University. Seats 11,000. Built 2008. $67million. 22 suites. Take out the upper baseline seating on one end and make it a standing room/mezzanine to take the capacity down a little and that's probably the best we can ask for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 On modifying the Missouri State arena design to suit the Zips, I'd rather see them remove rows starting from the top down until they hit the magic number. I also wouldn't mind seeing the pitch be a little steeper on the lower sections like the pitch on the higher sections. Keep the focus on getting as many people as close as possible to the court for maximum crowd noise and intimidation factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 No concourse/mezzanine areas overlooking the court or cutting into one of the sides or ends. It contributes to an open/empty feeling, even when the seats are packed. Same with a wall on one end like the Wolstein Center, or low seating angles with a single level like NIU's arena. Same with an extremely high ceiling like Ohio's Convo. They all feel way too open, too airy, and empty even with a sellout crowd. I want opponents to see a wall of fans in every direction, going up at a steep angle, all the way into the rafters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 No concourse/mezzanine areas overlooking the court or cutting into one of the sides or ends. It contributes to an open/empty feeling, even when the seats are packed. Same with a wall on one end like the Wolstein Center, or low seating angles with a single level like NIU's arena. Same with an extremely high ceiling like Ohio's Convo. They all feel way too open, too airy, and empty even with a sellout crowd. I want opponents to see a wall of fans in every direction, going up at a steep angle, all the way into the rafters. Have you ever been to the Pete at Pitt? Same concept, just bigger. One open end on top isn't gonna hurt anything. Leaves space to expand too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 Have you ever been to the Pete at Pitt? Same concept, just bigger. One open end on top isn't gonna hurt anything. Leaves space to expand too. Have you noticed that every picture trying to market the Peterson Event Center tries to hide that part? It's because it looks like crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 To each their own, but I think a slightly scaled down version would be fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffQ78 Posted March 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 To each their own, but I think a slightly scaled down version would be fantastic. a scaled down verson of that would eliminate the wall anyway Also, would anyone happen to have the dimensions of one stadium seat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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