zippy5 Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 True, however I doubt they'd be investing in stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) Fair point. It would most likely be some sort of blend. What sort of blend would depend highly on how far out they feel they could get an arena built. <5 years - very safe 10 years - moderate 15+ years - more aggressive Edited March 25, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 I can tell all of you that there will be plenty more improvements coming to the JAR to take us through the next several years. Whether we like it or not, that's the reality of our current situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) 34 minutes ago, skip-zip said: I can tell all of you that there will be plenty more improvements coming to the JAR to take us through the next several years. Whether we like it or not, that's the reality of our current situation. For a University that consistently mismanages money, I'd expect no less...sigh Edited March 25, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akron1 Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 I heard they were planning on replacing to the lower bowl seats. This project might be in jeopardy after the high-pressure water line burst earlier this month. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Has anyone looked at the Jack Stephens Center? It's a 5,600 seat facility that includes a full practice court, 12 luxury boxes, weight room, offices, and many other amenities. The cost to build it 2004 was ~25 million which translates to ~$30 million in today's dollars. I actually think it looks really nice and it is about the right size that I feel the Zips could sellout a decent enough games to create a good atmosphere (I'm assuming leather chair back seating and the smell of something new will attract more people than hard bleachers). Bigger than all this it is something that the Zips could actually potentially afford 5-10 years from now if they could get a decent capital campaign going and could find a buyer for naming rights and are able to sell personal seat licenses for premium seating. Spending 2x-3x as much for a 9k-10k facility that may sellout once every 5-10 years just seems like a guarantee for the athletic department to bleed money. http://lrtrojans.com/news/2005/11/2/Jack_Stephens_Center.aspx Edited March 31, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 Kreed, Actually, Little Rock and Akron are more similar than people might think. Both cities are about the same size, and both Universities reside a good distance away from any "major" program in the state. The only real difference is that there are only a few D-1 programs in that state, but that might be relative to the total population too. I'm hoping that we have our sights set higher than a 5k arena with some amenities to take this program through the next several decades, but I can't deny that it's a nice place for a similar program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) It probably wouldn't cost that much more to expand seating by 400 to make it an even 6k, which is what Gonzaga's arena is. I just feel smaller more intimate arenas help drive season ticket sales which in turn helps drive attendance numbers. Having a 13k arena and attracting only 3k fans, which is a generous estimation for CSU, looks tacky. I'm counting 4 MAC arenas over 8k. I wonder when's the last time any of them sold out? Edit: answered my own question. OU in 2012 is the answer. Convocation Center has sold out 4x in its near 50 year history. Edited April 1, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 Yes, you surely lose the atmosphere if you aren't filling the arena. I think the ultimate solution is a small upper section that can be closed off maybe? But I am sure we are getting way ahead of ourselves here. I think the real reason that I often don't like Gonzaga being used as an example is because they are in a less populated area, with a much. much smaller student population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosAngelesZipFan Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 "...and both Universities reside a good distance away from any "major" program in the state." Except for the other program that is 12 miles away from Akron competing in the same league at the same level. LOVE the look of Stephens Center...that'd be perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 47 minutes ago, skip-zip said: Yes, you surely lose the atmosphere if you aren't filling the arena. I think the ultimate solution is a small upper section that can be closed off maybe? But I am sure we are getting way ahead of ourselves here. I think the real reason that I often don't like Gonzaga being used as an example is because they are in a less populated area, with a much. much smaller student population. We are definitely getting ahead of ourselves. Gonzaga is also probably the #1 basketball team in their state (college and pro) and despite having 1/3 the enrollment of Akron, they slaughter us in student attendance numbers. If for whatever reason Akron basketball became relevant enough on campus that it could pack the arena on a nightly basis, I'd support tearing out some sections of the student seating and adding standing platforms(if the students were in favor of it). That would add additional capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 That place is nice, but it reminds me of the Stroh Center. We can do better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 I don't see the connection whatsoever. One actually has full wrap around seating while the other has a section that looks like it was carted in before the game. One has a 2nd level of seating and the other doesn't. Does Stroh Center even have luxury boxes? The only thing I see similar about them is they both aren't 10k+ monstrosities. Even then JSC seats 27% more people. That percent jumps to nearly 37% if capacity was expanded to 6k. At 6500, which may or may not be workable, it would be nearly 1.5x the size. If you add up Akron's and Kent's combined season attendance average this year, it adds up to around 7200. That's not a large market of college basketball fans in the area. I just can't see us being able to consistently fill something much larger unless we went on some sort of Gonzaga level of success. Even then we would be overshadowed by the Cavs season and like it or not there will always be OSU fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 Ah, I didn't see 2nd level seating in the first link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) 10 minutes ago, zippy5 said: Ah, I didn't see 2nd level seating in the first link! It was because 1 side of the arena has luxury boxes, which is the side you saw initially, with a small 2nd level while the other has just pure seating. The picture I posted shows the side that has seating. Edit: I probably should have posted pictures of the different angles to begin with. Edited April 1, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 In today's economy at UA and Akron as a whole, no one is going to finance a new arena. Once you come to that conclusion, the actual physical plant (the physical box of the building) of the JAR is okay. They need to dump that idiotic track and glass barrier between the levels, do away with that gap, improve the quality of the reserved seating and change the pitch of all of the seating to improve the sight lines. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to see the entire floor from every seat unless the doofus in front of you is standing. Bringing those upper level fans closer to the floor would also help the home team atmosphere. Nice graphics in the floor and adding color to some bleachers does nothing for the fan experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 If the sold beer at the JAR, it would help me digest the early-season cupcakes. That would be a nice improvement, and the University would make money rather than lose it. I liked having a Blue Moon at Ohio State's arena while watching the Zips. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) 46 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: In today's economy at UA and Akron as a whole, no one is going to finance a new arena. Once you come to that conclusion, the actual physical plant (the physical box of the building) of the JAR is okay. They need to dump that idiotic track and glass barrier between the levels, do away with that gap, improve the quality of the reserved seating and change the pitch of all of the seating to improve the sight lines. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to see the entire floor from every seat unless the doofus in front of you is standing. Bringing those upper level fans closer to the floor would also help the home team atmosphere. Nice graphics in the floor and adding color to some bleachers does nothing for the fan experience. The problem is the work needed to be done to the JAR isn't cheap. The proposed renovations needed to modernize the arena would cost more than what it would cost to build the Jack Stephens Center. Perhaps you could get away not doing 100% of the recommended renovations and only need to do 50%. That's still nearly $20 million dollars of work. Any new arena I wouldn't want them to break ground on until they had a sizable amount of upfront money pledged via donations, naming rights sold, ticket licensing for premium seats, sponsors, etc. When building the Stroh Center, BGSU had $10 million dollars committed before construction. If the Zips could find a buyer for the naming rights, I don't see why they couldn't raise a similar total or perhaps slightly more. Captain Kangaroo - I hear you on that. They are missing out on all kinds of revenue. They could even offer a reasonably priced beer night ($3 anything cheaper can attract the wrong kind of fans) 1-2 times per year for Tuesday games. I'm sure that would help pack the arena. Edited April 1, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morris buttermaker Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 You guys are talking about a new arena for a team that traditionally averages a little more than 3,200? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyZip Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 7 hours ago, kreed5120 said: The problem is the work needed to be done to the JAR isn't cheap. The proposed renovations needed to modernize the arena would cost more than what it would cost to build the Jack Stephens Center. Perhaps you could get away not doing 100% of the recommended renovations and only need to do 50%. That's still nearly $20 million dollars of work. Any new arena I wouldn't want them to break ground on until they had a sizable amount of upfront money pledged via donations, naming rights sold, ticket licensing for premium seats, sponsors, etc. When building the Stroh Center, BGSU had $10 million dollars committed before construction. If the Zips could find a buyer for the naming rights, I don't see why they couldn't raise a similar total or perhaps slightly more. Captain Kangaroo - I hear you on that. They are missing out on all kinds of revenue. They could even offer a reasonably priced beer night ($3 anything cheaper can attract the wrong kind of fans) 1-2 times per year for Tuesday games. I'm sure that would help pack the arena. No way beer is offered at the JAR prior to some major renovations. Those bleachers are nearly un-navigable stone sober. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 (edited) 17 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said: In today's economy at UA and Akron as a whole, no one is going to finance a new arena. Once you come to that conclusion, the actual physical plant (the physical box of the building) of the JAR is okay. On the contrary...the structural pillars at the 4 corners of the court are the biggest obstacle (other than money) to renovating the JAR into a true arena format. Edited April 2, 2016 by ZippyRulz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Check the notes at the bottom of this article from last month, where a question was asked to the County Exec. about the new arena. http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-community-news.asp?aID=30301 I guess this adds to the reason why JAR renovations are the inevitable short-term solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted May 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 I'd love a new arena, something along the lines of the University of Miami's (FL) arena. But an updated JAR would be nicer than most of the A-10 arenas... or at least nicer than half of them. There are quite a few rather unimpressive arenas in the A-10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted May 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2016 About that proposed new arena... LeBron's lifetime Nike deal worth $1 Billion. http://cavsnation.com/report-lebron-james-deal-nike-worth-an-insane-amount/ LeBron Nike UA City of Akron Summit County FirstEnergy Summa Akron General / Cleveland Clinic Goodyear Diebold Firestone Huntington & PNC increasing their presence in NEO w/ new regional headquarters in Akron. We've got to be able to piece together $80 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted May 17, 2016 Report Share Posted May 17, 2016 24 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said: Diebold We've got to be able to piece together $80 million. Thinking they would give a dime for a new arena... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.