TIPOFF RECEPTION at the JAR ARENA - THURSDAY, NOV. 3 at 7 PM

[Akron1]

 

You’re invited to spend an evening with the Akron Men’s and Women’s Basketball Program!

 

Both the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams are coming off post-season runs and the Tipoff Reception is your opportunity to meet and mingle with players and coaches.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be served.

 

When: November 3 at 7PM

Where: James A. Rhodes Arena

 

Click here to register for the Tip Off Reception:

https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/registration-form/?formId=8691075b-3c85-4a45-8591-5602bff3a509&envId=p-UMe-qg1RCU-VaHO2Nu8s5A

 

 

[Captain Kangaroo]

Bump reminder.

[NWAkron]

whoever goes try not to load up on those "heavy hors deurves." Whatever the hell that means? pigs in a blanket?  mini quiches?

[LoyalZIP]

1 hour ago, NWAkron said:

whoever goes try not to load up on those "heavy hors deurves." Whatever the hell that means? pigs in a blanket?  mini quiches?

 

Whatever it is, I'm sure they'll be 🔥

 

UA dining services puts out really good stuff

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, LoyalZIP said:

 

Whatever it is, I'm sure they'll be 🔥

 

UA dining services puts out really good stuff

Kangaroo cookies.  but i think Aramark makes those.

[LoyalZIP]

Cool event! Good food. BBQ meatballs, spanikopita (Greek spinach/feta pies), shrimp, charcuterie, cash bar. Nice to mingle with all the athletes and coaches. Groce and Jackson seem like they love coaching their teams, lots of returners for both. Melissa said they had 20 and 29 assists in scrimmages, emerging from a few years of Dawson carrying the team. Groce emphasized they are not defending the title, they are attacking. And it’s imperative that the team realizes they ain’t won s***
 

A cool event I hope becomes a tradition! It definitely got me pumped up for the season a bit more. 

[kreed5120]

53 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

Cool event! Good food. BBQ meatballs, spanikopita (Greek spinach/feta pies), shrimp, charcuterie, cash bar. Nice to mingle with all the athletes and coaches. Groce and Jackson seem like they love coaching their teams, lots of returners for both. Melissa said they had 20 and 29 assists in scrimmages, emerging from a few years of Dawson carrying the team. Groce emphasized they are not defending the title, they are attacking. And it’s imperative that the team realizes they ain’t won s***
 

A cool event I hope becomes a tradition! It definitely got me pumped up for the season a bit more. 

Did they have the zippy cookies?

[Akron1]

It was announced that they are starting a capital campaign to raise money for new seating for the JAR.

 

[Captain Kangaroo]

22 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Did they have the zippy cookies?

No. 🦘🍪👎🏼

 

I concur with @Loyal Zip - a fun, feel good event. Great food. Hoops will be fun in the AK again this winter!

[zippy5]

track is still there..

[Captain Kangaroo]

10 hours ago, Akron1 said:

It was announced that they are starting a capital campaign to raise money for new seating for the JAR.

 

Only new seats…no reconfiguration?

[LoyalZIP]

43 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Only new seats…no reconfiguration?

 

I wish he would have spent more time explaining the plan. A very basic rendering was shown and that was pretty much it. Currently, outside of football needing to get going (process is underway and out of his hands), making the JAR a decent facility and an attractive place to watch a game is Guthrie's priority, or at least it should be. And will he even be around here long enough to make it happen or see it through? I'm skeptical. 

[LZIp]

From the rendering, it looks like just plastic bleachers above and new chairbacks in lower section? If so, not a big fan. We should have chairbacks at minimum on both sides of the court.

[NWAkron]

13 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

 

I wish he would have spent more time explaining the plan. A very basic rendering was shown and that was pretty much it. Currently, outside of football needing to get going (process is underway and out of his hands), making the JAR a decent facility and an attractive place to watch a game is Guthrie's priority, or at least it should be. And will he even be around here long enough to make it happen or see it through? I'm skeptical. 

i think it's a great place to watch a game.

[LoyalZIP]

3 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

i think it's a great place to watch a game.

 
I agree. Unfortunately, it isn’t about the die hards and this stuff has a lot of influence on why people hate that place and are embarrassed by it. 

[Zipmeister]

4 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

 
I agree. Unfortunately, it isn’t about the die hards and this stuff has a lot of influence on why people hate that place and are embarrassed by it. 

 

There are worse D1 basketball facilities in the country, but not many.

I don't think there is enough lipstick in the world to make this pig attractive.

Plus, I hate its name because I was an Akron U student (no stigma attached to this name at the time) when Rhodes sent the National Guard into Kent State and I don't like being reminded of that creep. 

[LZIp]

4 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

 

There are worse D1 basketball facilities in the country, but not many.

I don't think there is enough lipstick in the world to make this pig attractive.

Plus, I hate its name because I was an Akron U student (no stigma attached to this name at the time) when Rhodes sent the National Guard into Kent State and I don't like being reminded of that creep. 

I imagine we would have done it already if permitted, but selling the naming rights to a business and using the proceeds for renovations sounds like a win/win to me.

[zippy5]

40 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

i think it's a great place to watch a game.

we have a connection and are die hards. it's nostalgic, and really loud for big games. for a casual fan with no connection to UA, it stinks. Better than it was 5-7 years ago before the paint job and video boards, but still very below average

[Captain Kangaroo]

I think we miss out on a ton of revenue because the JAR isn't a place for local businesses to entertain. Even for a date night...how many couples want to see a game smooshed together against Frank from Barberton on a wooden bleacher?  Even Kent has a nice enclosed area where bigger-donor fans can enjoy the game.

 

I went to the Tommy Evans Lounge once. Maybe 15 years ago. I won tickets at a golf outing. For the pregame (noon tip-off) there was a breakfast station with pancakes, eggs, etc. At 1 pm (halftime) we returned, and the same breakfast stuff was still sitting out. The blue hairs were scooping up their dried-out pancakes and trying to rehydrate them with butter and syrup. My young son wanted a soda. I poured one from the fountain dispenser and handed it to him. He gagged. There was no syrup in the dispenser. Along the front glassed-in wall were some cups of ice cream. They must have been placed on the table at noon, because they were all completely melted. The place was absolutely packed. Looked like  1984 Bulger Hall floor party, but without the kegs. I couldn't imagine an exec from Goodyear walking in there for the first time and saying "Gee...I gotta entertain our out-of-town rubber supplier VP's HERE!"

 

I like watching games at the JAR. It is a nice home court advantage for big games. It's nice that the simpletons who banned beer at the JAR for 35 years are either dead or fired. But as far as D1 arenas go, it is completely bush league.

 

I'd pay a lot more for a cushioned seat and a better view of the game. Hope it happens before I retire to Arizona, or croak. 

[kreed5120]

Was anything mentioned on what the capacity would be with the new seating or how much they're trying to raise?

[clarkwgriswold]

I can't imagine moving forward without the iconic glass rail.

 

The downstairs seating and sightlines are okay.  Upstairs, not so much.  All in all, I find the place place just adequate and worse than the average D1 basketball facility.  It has always struck me that we get to watch really awful football in a nice facility while we get consistently good basketball in a below average one.  I am happy, however, that the JAR is superior to the Brimfield Animal Husbandry and Agriculture Center.  That place has awful sightlines from the GA seats.

 

Heck, the Canton Civic Center, which is a dump built in the early 1950s, is a superior basketball facility to the JAR and the the PCCC BAHAAC.

[LoyalZIP]

@Captain Kangaroo I'm very curious to see what the Tommy Evans renovations turn out like. I forgot to grab a pic while at soccer on Wednesday, but the rounded front glass windows are gone and it looks a little more 21st century as a solid block shape, in addition to the LED lights. A cash bar with draft beer would be fantastic.

[NWAkron]

28 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I can't imagine moving forward without the iconic glass rail.

 

The downstairs seating and sightlines are okay.  Upstairs, not so much.  All in all, I find the place place just adequate and worse than the average D1 basketball facility.  It has always struck me that we get to watch really awful football in a nice facility while we get consistently good basketball in a below average one.  I am happy, however, that the JAR is superior to the Brimfield Animal Husbandry and Agriculture Center.  That place has awful sightlines from the GA seats.

 

Heck, the Canton Civic Center, which is a dump built in the early 1950s, is a superior basketball facility to the JAR and the the PCCC BAHAAC.

ugh...Clark, I came on here to type just that:  we watch garbage product in a beautiful setting and an excellent product in a much rougher setting.  I guess for me, i have so many good and exciting memories and a few bad ones as well that make me feel good when I walk in the JAR.  But when I walk into Infocision I'm overcome by dread and negativity.  It's just an awful experience watching Zips football (someone improved without Keith Kennedy)

 

Tommy Evans lounge is pretty bad.  The food they serve now looks quite good but its such an awkward room to eat and or socialize.  

[clarkwgriswold]

1 hour ago, NWAkron said:

ugh...Clark, I came on here to type just that:  we watch garbage product in a beautiful setting and an excellent product in a much rougher setting.  I guess for me, i have so many good and exciting memories and a few bad ones as well that make me feel good when I walk in the JAR.  But when I walk into Infocision I'm overcome by dread and negativity.  It's just an awful experience watching Zips football (someone improved without Keith Kennedy)

 

Tommy Evans lounge is pretty bad.  The food they serve now looks quite good but its such an awkward room to eat and or socialize.  

 

You're just worried that the new seating will give the guy with the t-shirt cannon a better line of sight to your seat!

Edited November 4, 2022 by clarkwgriswold

[Let'sGoZips94]

17 hours ago, Akron1 said:

It was announced that they are starting a capital campaign to raise money for new seating for the JAR.

 

 

If that rendering is what we'll get, why bother? I don't see any benefit aside from a slightly better sightline without the railing. This most likely reduces capacity (right side upper level would no longer be bleachers) and simply copies any modern high school gym aesthetically. 

 

I hope this is an "under promise, over deliver" situation.