Stroh Center To Seat 4,700???

[rollalongFF0304]

Speaking of designs for the stadium, does anybody have that wild architect's drawing that had those two wild crossing arch things and a scoreboard/press box hanging from the center of it?

[BleedOrange]

I think 5-6,000 is plenty for BG.

I don't think that this 4700 seat facility, with its foofoo extras and long term limitations, if financially justifiable. If all that we're doing is building another rinky-dink facility but with better parking, why bother? Really. We're buying another 50 years of humble inadequacy that will preclude so much. Let's take this $40M on something that will make a difference. Beyond location, exactly WHAT is this thing going to give us that AA doesn't? A bigger lobby? Better restrooms? A bigger locker room? I can't see spending $40M on something that won't be opening doors to bigger $$$ potential over the coming decades. I can't believe that BGSU couldn't find 100 more beneficial ways to use $40M.

Off the top of my head:

Better restroom facilities, probably spaced throughout the facility rather than just one restroom.

More comfortable seating.

Modern floor that isn't so hard (this would please Dan).

Backboards that we can easily replace if a JuCo smashes one in warmups.

A roof that doesn't leak.

A scoreboard that works.

A sound system that is understandable at high volume.

Handicap accessibility.

A location that will be accessible to everyone that wants to watch a game.

State of the art training facilities for our athletes.

Modern office space for our coaching staffs.



I'm sure there are plenty of other things that a new arena will give to our program, but these are just the ones that jump to mind immediately. All of these are NEEDS for this program to more resemble a D1 basketball program. Maybe at some point in the future we will show a need for a larger facility, but we have never demonstrated a need for a larger venue in my time as a BG fan. Like I said we've only sold out a couple games here and there even in our best attendance years. It makes a lot more sense to build a facility with all the modern amenities that fits our size requirements than it does to build a facility that is larger in the hope that we'll someday pull in larger attendance numbers than we've ever had.

Now com'on hammbone. NONE of this s**t justifies the price tag. Not even close. Furthermore, almost all of these items can be addressed individually.

AND, for about the 80th time, this is a 50 year, multi-purpose investment. 10-20 years of attendance figures is just isn't a strong rationale for building the bare minimum capacity. I'd expect more circumspection and forward thinking. For a 50-year building, I need to see a far more wide-ranging set of considerations (and I'm sure that there are), as the possibilities are open ended. If X number of years from now fundamentals change and the basketball programs becomes VERY popular, what then? (Don't even THINK that that would be a good thing - if you do, I hope it's your ass that doesn't get tickets.)

I realize that it might be a simple matter of better capacity not being possible due to a hard monetary limit. But, if not, it agonizes me to think that we wouldn't consider an architecture mentioned by an earlier poster where sections can be blocked off so we have AA-like intimacy in the short term and expandability. With an approach like this, if financially feasible, how could 7.5-8K not be a good idea? Could we wait longer and accumulate more donations?

Either way, I certainly do not want to sound ungracious towards our donors. Just sharing my honest, unpopular opinion.

[BGSU33]

What happened to all the trees that were supposed to be planted around the Doyt?

LOL!!! Great question! My guess is, wherever they are, they are in the same place as all the ones missing around the rest of the campus.

[TG1996]

Speaking of designs for the stadium, does anybody have that wild architect's drawing that had those two wild crossing arch things and a scoreboard/press box hanging from the center of it?

[MacGuy]

"I want to see a facility built that not only looks at where we are now, but where we could be in the future. If the powers that be decide 4500 with suites for 250 that is fine with me."

Are there going to be suites? I had read there would be none.

[falconfan1]

There will be no suites. A "club" type area is possible and likely would work well. The capacity is right in line for me and, believe me, a 7500 seat facility takes the price tag up and beyond where we can go. There are limits.

It will be beautiful, functional and transformational for the University and athletics.

And very cool.

Go Falcons!

[ZiggyZoomba]

There will be no suites. A "club" type area is possible and likely would work well. The capacity is right in line for me and, believe me, a 7500 seat facility takes the price tag up and beyond where we can go. There are limits.

It will be beautiful, functional and transformational for the University and athletics.

And very cool.

Go Falcons!

AMEN!

[Falconbadger]

I've been reading through this thread with interest. Does anyone know how some of the programs with larger arenas do? Do places like OU, TU and Miami sell out very often or even come close to it? I was at BG in the early '70s and never missed a home game. I can remember Anderson Arena being packed, but I can't ever remember hearing about fans being turned away. (I always had season tickets, so it's possible people were turned away and I didn't realize it.) We had some pretty good teams in 72-73, 73-74 and 74-75 as well as some quality non-conference home games (Marquette, Houston, Dayton, Cincinnati, St. Joe's of Pennsylvania). From what you guys are saying about recent attendance, it would seem 4,700 to 5,000 would be about right although adding up to 1,000 seats beyond that might make sense if it was done in conjunction with developing a serious marketing plan to go out and fill those additional seats.
Thanks to Wizard of Azz for posting the article about the Doyt building and expansion possibilities. I remember reading that article somewhere back in the day.
I'm curious, though. Basketball was a pretty hot ticket back in my day. Streams of students would be headed to Anderson Arena from the dorms on game nights (then to the downtown bars on Saturday nights). The crowds weren't quite so big my first year. We went 4-20 and there were bigger crowds for the freshmen team games (in the last year when freshmen weren't allowed to play varsity). But for the next three years, even against weaker teams, A.A. was usually pretty full.
I'm curious about whether you folks have been around think attendance has been down because the teams haven't been as good, competition from other games on TV, or an outdated arena. I know it's probably a combination of things, but what do you see as most crucial?

[Falcon137]

Miami never comes close to selling out. The only games they get big crowds are for Dayton and Xavier.

[Falcon137]

I've been reading through this thread with interest. Does anyone know how some of the programs with larger arenas do? Do places like OU, TU and Miami sell out very often or even come close to it? I was at BG in the early '70s and never missed a home game. I can remember Anderson Arena being packed, but I can't ever remember hearing about fans being turned away. (I always had season tickets, so it's possible people were turned away and I didn't realize it.) We had some pretty good teams in 72-73, 73-74 and 74-75 as well as some quality non-conference home games (Marquette, Houston, Dayton, Cincinnati, St. Joe's of Pennsylvania). From what you guys are saying about recent attendance, it would seem 4,700 to 5,000 would be about right although adding up to 1,000 seats beyond that might make sense if it was done in conjunction with developing a serious marketing plan to go out and fill those additional seats.
Thanks to Wizard of Azz for posting the article about the Doyt building and expansion possibilities. I remember reading that article somewhere back in the day.
I'm curious, though. Basketball was a pretty hot ticket back in my day. Streams of students would be headed to Anderson Arena from the dorms on game nights (then to the downtown bars on Saturday nights). The crowds weren't quite so big my first year. We went 4-20 and there were bigger crowds for the freshmen team games (in the last year when freshmen weren't allowed to play varsity). But for the next three years, even against weaker teams, A.A. was usually pretty full.
I'm curious about whether you folks have been around think attendance has been down because the teams haven't been as good, competition from other games on TV, or an outdated arena. I know it's probably a combination of things, but what do you see as most crucial?

Attendance for BG is down because they haven't had a winner for years. It's not the outdated arena, EMU built a brand spankin new one and draws next no one. If you win they will come.

[MacGuy]

The biggest problem with all MAC attendance is the number of games on TV. If you're a casual fan do you go outside in the snow and drive to a game or sit in your warm house and watch North Carolina play Duke?

[hammb]

Along with the games being on TV, another thing that I think hurts attendance is how meaningless regular season games have become for MAC teams. I sit with the same people every game because we love watching MAC basketball, and college hoops in general. However, to a more casual fan it has to be pretty tough to get excited about a regular season MAC game when it's been pretty obvious over the past decade or so that the only games that matter are the MAC tourney. Yeah, the regular season affects seeding, but when you get down to it the games are not that greatly meaningful.

[Falcon137]

Along with the games being on TV, another thing that I think hurts attendance is how meaningless regular season games have become for MAC teams. I sit with the same people every game because we love watching MAC basketball, and college hoops in general. However, to a more casual fan it has to be pretty tough to get excited about a regular season MAC game when it's been pretty obvious over the past decade or so that the only games that matter are the MAC tourney. Yeah, the regular season affects seeding, but when you get down to it the games are not that greatly meaningful.

Great point hammb. Until the MAC starts putting more than 1 team in the big dance and teams are fighting for post-season births the regular season is for many people rather blah.