ZippyRulz Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 If you listened to the pregame show yesterday on 1350am Steve F. asked Mack about planned facilities upgrades in which he mentioned they are thinking about what to do about the basketball arena. There were no specifics given or timelines or anything like that but it was the first time I recall hearing anything straight from the horses mouth that they are planning on doing something. I know, it's more "hurry up and wait" for Zips fans but who knows, maybe we'll get an arena announcement even as the football stadium is going up. Mack also mentioned the soccer stadium which I see happening pretty quickly since it won't be as big or expensive as the others. We still have a lot to look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 I didn't hear the interview. Can you tell me, did it sound as if Mack had a new arena in mind, or simple renovations to the JAR? PLEASE TELL ME IT DIDN'T SOUND AS IF THE ADMINISTRATION IS MERELY PLANNING A JAR RENOVATION! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 I didn't hear the interview. Can you tell me, did it sound as if Mack had a new arena in mind, or simple renovations to the JAR? PLEASE TELL ME IT DIDN'T SOUND AS IF THE ADMINISTRATION IS MERELY PLANNING A JAR RENOVATION! It sounded to me like it he was referencing a replacement for te JAR. It is already known that they are tearing down Carrol Hall, and possible Memorial next to it. That clears the perfect area for an arena more befitting a 26-win team. That would make the JAR more like what Memorial is now: an academic building focusing on physical education.It will be a very long time before we see anything happen, I think. It would be nice to have a new football stadium and basketball arena built at the same time, which would help propel us much farther than they would if built seperately.I think they are waiting for us to outgrow the JAR first, which means that we need to sell it out consistantly. It shouldn't be that hard to fill it up, but we still only sell out once or twice a season. Fans need to go to the games as often as they can. KD wanted at least 3 games last year with over 5,000 fans. We had two, with that massive blizzard ruining our best shot at a third one. I know that we can do that goal one better this year, but we have to drag our friends to the games. They'll come back when they see how much fun they are. The Rowdies have grown substantially this year, but we have yet to see if that translates into more students showing up for games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 I didn't hear the interview. Can you tell me, did it sound as if Mack had a new arena in mind, or simple renovations to the JAR? PLEASE TELL ME IT DIDN'T SOUND AS IF THE ADMINISTRATION IS MERELY PLANNING A JAR RENOVATION! I detected a sense of desire for a whole new basketball facility. If I recall Mack talked about the effects of having top of the line facilities on recruiting and such and hinted at the fact that what we have now is inadequate for this.I got the impression that at the moment it is all somewhat wishful thinking, but that the wheels are turning and something just might come of it all. Stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted October 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 It sounded to me like it he was referencing a replacement for te JAR. It is already known that they are tearing down Carrol Hall, and possible Memorial next to it. That clears the perfect area for an arena more befitting a 26-win team.I don't think that will be the case, I think they want to keep that area open for the "outdoor living room" and to not block Buchtel Hall from Jackson Field. Also, I recently read that Mayor P. said the U. had agreed if a new arena is built it would be located downtown...that was part of the fallout from the Quaker Square spat. I think Mack alluded to a desire for impressive locker rooms, player lounge, etc. in addition to the arena itself to help in recruiting. If the city pays some of the cost it will happen a lot sooner than if the U. has to come up with another $60M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 I didn't hear the interview. Can you tell me, did it sound as if Mack had a new arena in mind, or simple renovations to the JAR? PLEASE TELL ME IT DIDN'T SOUND AS IF THE ADMINISTRATION IS MERELY PLANNING A JAR RENOVATION!Yes -- I was listening on-line, and as I recall, Mack's exact words were, "We plan on constructing a true world-class sports palace, seating a minimum 25,000 fans, which will make Northeast Ohio sports fans forget that the Quicken Loans Arena, or the Value City Arena or Nationwide Arena ever existed. And the name of this new Taj Mahal of Summit County will be 'Blue and Gold Arena at Blue and Gold Place', in honor of the man who's generous personal contribution will make this facility possible: that guy who calls himself Blue and Gold from the ZipsNation.org website."Hey, let me say, on behalf of the Zips in Paradise, University of Akron Aloha Section Alumni, "Mahalo, Brah!" Can we stay at your place when we come home to see the new arena? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 I'm not sure how you could "renovate" the JAR to add more seating.And I also don't see "talking" becoming "doing" until we start to pack our current arena, which didn't happen during a 26 win season, with two local HS stars in the starting lineup.We have a long way to go in order to make a new basketball arena a reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippyrifle32 Posted October 6, 2007 Report Share Posted October 6, 2007 they're supposed to be remodeling the jar from my understanding, not necessarily replacing it. i only know this because a new rifle range has been mentioned, but as to when it's going to happen... don't know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottditzen Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 they're supposed to be remodeling the jar from my understanding, not necessarily replacing it. i only know this because a new rifle range has been mentioned, but as to when it's going to happen... don't knowI for one would like to see the JAR lined up in front of a firing squad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 they're supposed to be remodeling the jar from my understanding, not necessarily replacing it. i only know this because a new rifle range has been mentioned, but as to when it's going to happen... don't knowWell "replace" would suggest removal of the JAR and that is very unlikely. The most likely scenario (if a new arena were to be built) is that the JAR remains with some renovations. This JAR would be used for training purposes (practice); low profile women's games, volleyball, and hopefully a new state or the art rilfe range.You will notice that I did say low profile women's games. Games against BGSU, or even the MAC women's tournament could be held in a new Akron Arena.The Arena would also give the Hockey club the opportunity to expand to a team or for the University of Akron to create a woman's hockey program.The JAR would pretty much stay put as a very usable facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-mann17 Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 I managed to post the message twice So me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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