a-zip Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I have mentioned this before but what about Lebron? God knows he has plenty of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sportsjunkie330 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I have mentioned this before but what about Lebron? God knows he has plenty of money. A lot of people have plenty of money.... it doesn't mean that they should write a check to the U of A to build an arena though.No offense but other than KD, what tie does LBJ have to the U of A? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 ... No offense but other than KD, what tie does LBJ have to the U of A?He played many of his HS games at the JAR, he still practices at the JAR and some of his best friends played basketball at UA. He supports the entire Akron community, and UA is certainly a big part of that. How could the greatest basketball player on the planet choose to live in Akron and want the best for Akron and not be interested in having a nice basketball arena in Akron? He's certainly not going to pay for a new arena out of his own pocket. But he's the single most influential person around when it comes to convincing corporations to open their checkbooks. His involvement at some level would greatly improve the chances of getting others behind a new arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip_ME87 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 A lot of people have plenty of money.... it doesn't mean that they should write a check to the U of A to build an arena though.No offense but other than KD, what tie does LBJ have to the U of A?I agree, but what if it were a dowtown Akron arena, and LeBron put up funds for the naming rights? Would that help convince voters to put up some of the money with UoA and possibly others putting up some of the money as well? I don't know that LeBron would want to do so, but he might help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 A lot of people have plenty of money.... it doesn't mean that they should write a check to the U of A to build an arena though.No offense but other than KD, what tie does LBJ have to the U of A?He spent a good chunk of his high school career playing at the JAR.He also has shown a strong interest in improving the community, particularly for disadvantaged youth. Having a convention-center/arena downtown to host things in during the winter months helps in that regard. I don't want him to step in and bankroll an entire arena, but I think it would benefit him, his brand, and his foundation to have some naming rights to the court or lobby or something.Even among the big financial players, something as significant as an arena needs to be a collaborative effort. It's much easier to fundraise if you have plenty of options for naming rights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCK1 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 So you are proving the point that Akron Zips Basketball is fundamentally different than other university sports. The basketball team can keep winning the type of games currently on their schedule and not progress as a program. The basketball team could win 20 games this year and witness the attendance continue to shrink. I am in favor of building a new arena or a heavy renovation of the current space. I just don't think there is a huge upside when viewing this from the AD's office. There will be minor renovations to the JAR 5-10 million with the promise of a phased vision. Power conference teams are not going to be beating down the doors to play because of a new lobby. Power conference teams will not be beating down the doors to play at a 5,000 seat new area either. The only solution to this problem is to change the complaceny in the program. If the current group leading the charge is not capable move them out. I know it is not a popular opinion but we are at a crossroads. Go big or go home. 20 wins and a MAC Tourney Championship showing will not generate enough money to build a new arena. For that the University will need substantial tv money, cash games, and real hope of national impact. The current funding structure will just not support taking another high dollar risk. Power conference teams will not be beating down the doors of any MAC arena, regardless of the size or newness. Ask Ohio,Toledo,Ball State.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballzip Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 He put 1 million towards renovating St.V's gym a few years ago. Not sure what Lebron's worth, but I know he could afford building a downtown arena if he chose too. Easy for me to say, but obviously it would be his decision. He has a lot of pride in the city that he grew up in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 He put 1 million towards renovating St.V's gym a few years ago. Not sure what Lebron's worth, but I know he could afford building a downtown arena if he chose too. Easy for me to say, but obviously it would be his decision. He has a lot of pride in the city that he grew up in.If a renovation would cost $38 million what do you think a brand new arena would cost? I don't think he's that proud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Ok, let me get this straight……….Football has a bright shiny new state of the art stadium BUT because they don't win….nobody attendsBasketball wins tons of games (that apparently don't matter to anyone) BUT has an old dated JAR…….nobody attendsSoccer wins tons of games, has new Cub Cadet stadium, nationally ranked, good schedule……….1,800 per game attend Hmmm, I'm confused.What sort of numbers are you looking for, for a college soccer team in the rust belt? I can't find any data on what we should expect. There are hotbeds of college soccer, and there are athletic departments that know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to advertising. Outside that, I'm not sure we should be disappointed at 1,800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 I keep hearing the Info called an "albatross" and a "bottomless pit" from jealous non-football fans.When the decision to build the stadium was made, factoring in the naming rights and other sources of income, it cost less than repairing the foundation of the Rubber Blow and refurb'ing to a somewhat inhabitable state. And I wonder why anybody wouldn't want the same thing for basketball??? I know baseball fans and hockey who are jealous of the softbal stadium (and soccer stadium, and football stadium) but none of them would argue against having a Division I (or even a Division 2) facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 How do you figure? LOLI think what I have illustrated is no matter what this administration does, attendance will not change and the BS excuses people give for NE Ohio not supporting UoA sports are nothing more than BS. I challenge you to show me one example that would justify building a new arena. You never replied to the half-dozen examples I gave before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a-zip Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 You never replied to the half-dozen examples I gave before. Uh, sorry Spin but you really didn't give examples, you simply made statements about the Lil Indians moving to canal park, and summit county breaking attendance records in indoor freakin' soccer. Maybe if you would have actually presented actually "examples" of attendance figures I would have responded. Either way, they are not University of Akron teams so I don't really find them relevant.You did mention the "idea" of us playing schools that have famous football programs. Great idea but why would they come to play at Akron? There is nothing for them to gain. We did beat University of Southern California, South Carolina and Marshall this year….Oregon State last year. Big scars to those programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxZIP Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Uh, sorry Spin but you really didn't give examples, you simply made statements about the Lil Indians moving to canal park, and summit county breaking attendance records in indoor freakin' soccer. Maybe if you would have actually presented actually "examples" of attendance figures I would have responded. Either way, they are not University of Akron teams so I don't really find them relevant.Small pool of potential example teams. Akron only has 1 Men's BB team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Uh, sorry Spin but you really didn't give examples, you simply made statements about the Lil Indians moving to canal park, and summit county breaking attendance records in indoor freakin' soccer. Maybe if you would have actually presented actually "examples" of attendance figures I would have responded. Either way, they are not University of Akron teams so I don't really find them relevant.If you want to see real growth then you have to look past the Zips basketball fans who are alumni. You need to look at the local sports fan. College basketball is bigger and much more mainstream than AA baseball, indoor soccer and arena football, so there's no reason with a suitable facility and good marketing, college basketball should do AT LEAST as good as those niche sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sportsjunkie330 Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 If you want to see real growth then you have to look past the Zips basketball fans who are alumni. You need to look at the local sports fan. College basketball is bigger and much more mainstream than AA baseball, indoor soccer and arena football, so there's no reason with a suitable facility and good marketing, college basketball should do AT LEAST as good as those niche sports.Akron will NEVER see 8,000+ people at their basketball games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Akron will NEVER see 8,000+ people at their basketball games. It would certainly take some big thing to make that happen. Probably a team ranked at or near the Top 25 for a consistent period of time. You're probably underestimating the bandwagon mentality of the typical NE Ohio sports fan. Remember, when our soccer team was ranked, I think we once pulled 7,000+ into a game against blOSU. Now imagine how much something remotely similar (yes, I know basketball would never be #1) would impact Basketball vs. Soccer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballzip Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Played Pitt in the late 80's early 90's (Huggins era), at the old coliseum in front of over 11k people. Great game, Pitt had a guy named Gerome Lane in that game. We can attract big crowds as long as we keep winning and bring in big name opponents. How many fans did we draw in the MAC tournament finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balsy Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 It would certainly take some big thing to make that happen. Probably a team ranked at or near the Top 25 for a consistent period of time. You're probably underestimating the bandwagon mentality of the typical NE Ohio sports fan. Remember, when our soccer team was ranked, I think we once pulled 7,000+ into a game against blOSU. Now imagine how much something remotely similar (yes, I know basketball would never be #1) would impact Basketball vs. Soccer. Most of that attendance bump was students; and I remember there being very VERY good advertising/engagement of students on campus to get students attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sportsjunkie330 Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Played Pitt in the late 80's early 90's (Huggins era), at the old coliseum in front of over 11k people. Great game, Pitt had a guy named Gerome Lane in that game. We can attract big crowds as long as we keep winning and bring in big name opponents. How many fans did we draw in the MAC tournament finals.MAC Semis - 6,300MAC Finals - 5,300 (Akron didn't play)Pitt was a top 10 team in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyforPresident Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 2013 MAC Basketball Championship attendance: 12,102 (Akron did play). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Jerome Lane was also an Akron kid, having played at St. V-M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 His kid is presently a UA football player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a-zip Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 He played many of his HS games at the JAR, he still practices at the JAR and some of his best friends played basketball at UA. He supports the entire Akron community, and UA is certainly a big part of that. How could the greatest basketball player on the planet choose to live in Akron and want the best for Akron and not be interested in having a nice basketball arena in Akron? He's certainly not going to pay for a new arena out of his own pocket. But he's the single most influential person around when it comes to convincing corporations to open their checkbooks. His involvement at some level would greatly improve the chances of getting others behind a new arena.Thank you Dave…..just trying to think out of the box a bit. He is influential, he has money, has ties to Coach D and has made the choice to leave South Beach for Akron It is a unique opportunity for Akron to have the best basketball player on the planet choosing to come back home to live and one of the men that helped him become the best player on the planet as the head coach of UoA. Name it King James Court, King James Arena……how much would that help recruiting Seriously, a guy like LBJ does not come around very often and the odds of someone like him coming from Akron are slim to none. Make hay while the sun is shining.Funny, all the talk about attendance at the JAR and Info….one of the most well attended….exciting events at UoA was LBJ's welcome home at the JAR. Why wouldn't we be all over him. It's a win for him too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Played Pitt in the late 80's early 90's (Huggins era), at the old coliseum in front of over 11k people. Great game, Pitt had a guy named Gerome Lane in that game. We can attract big crowds as long as we keep winning and bring in big name opponents. How many fans did we draw in the MAC tournament finals.Most of that attendance bump was students; and I remember there being very VERY good advertising/engagement of students on campus to get students attend. Too bad that's the last time they did that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipsBurgh Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Obviously not the same thing, since Carmelo actually played/won at Syracuse for a year (and this is just a practice facility), but still somewhat relevant to this discussion I think.The Carmelo K Anthony Center at Syracuse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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