Facility update event

[FlagCityFalcon]

After finally seeing the list (I could have attended, but Myles seemed to be a better choice prior to the game), I'm glad there is finally something positive that will happen to the ice arena. I'll be keenly interested to see what the architects will come up with!

Also, as for a name, I too am in agreement that something better than BGSU Ice Arena should be used. I like the Jack Vivian idea, but there are several others (York might actually be a good choice) just not Mason (he's got enough named after him)!

[Strouse]

The following is from a sheet that was handed out at the meeting:

The renovation will address three separate areas: infrastructure needs, cosmetic improvements and fan/community amenities, and varsity team needs. An exact list of improvements will not be finalized until an architect is selected and has had the opportunity to complete an analysis of priorities and costs; however, an initial list of priorities does include the following:

-Replace refrigeration system and all mechanical elements tied to the system
-Repair the roof and building insulation
-Ice plant repairs
-Clean-up the exterior of the facility
-Landscaping
-Re-pave the parking lot
-Replace or improve interior lighting
-Renovate the existing locker areas
-Renovate studio space into new locker rooms
-Convert the curling ice into a multi-purpose facility for skating and curling
-Address any ADA access shortcomings
-Seating improvements, including some sort of premium seating
-Paint the ceiling
-New scoreboard(s)/video board
-New sound system
-Update varsity team areas
-Hospitality lounge
-Lobby/main concourse
-Concession areas
-Media/Press area
-BGSU Hockey Hall of Fame

And you're right BG84, not much has been decided and there wasn't much information to give other than they have finally made a decision to do something, which in and of itself is a B!G step forward after endless talk and rumors of feasibiity study after feasibility study...

GO FALCONS!!
SWEEP NOTRE DAME!!!

FF, as a student, that is some major improvements that I would be happy with. I'll agree with some of the other posters and say that I also believe that until we can continually sell out the place for BG Hockey game after game, then this is what we should be content with unless there are some of you who have the expenses to donate the money for what you think the Ice Arena should have. Just like with the SEBO Center, someone saw that the student-athletes needed a brand new place for themselves, and donated the money for it. If you feel the Ice Arena needs better improvements right now, then send in the money. Just my 2 cents.

[Falcon Fanatic]

Just like with the SEBO Center, someone saw that the student-athletes needed a brand new place for themselves, and donated the money for it. If you feel the Ice Arena needs better improvements right now, then send in the money. Just my 2 cents.

And I'm sure the Athletic Department will be happy to name the arena after you!!!

[rc_ziggy84]

An interesting fact that was brought up at the meeting, is that the "dedicated" curling space brings in at TOTAL of $39,000 in revenue to the ice arena.

You could have an open room with tables and chairs and bring in more than that!

I have to believe that you.....RC Ziggy 84.....have a comment on this? If memory serves correctly, you enjoyed many opportunities to throw the rock on this sheet. Just curious what you think.

Well everything said in this thread has been correct. The curling rink can't bring in that much revenue, and yes there are people who come a long way to participate. It will be sad to see the rink go, if for no other reason than I drop in on Wednesday nights when I'm around to see old friends and enjoy a nice cold beverage of sorts. Curling's a great sport, and I encourage all to try it out sometime. It's the only sport I know of where it's written in the rules that the winning team buys beverages for the losing team and you sit around and shoot the breeze for hours. Fun stuff.

Also, I know that after the last Winter Olympics the club attendance jumped a lot as people were able to watch the sport and took an interest in it. I'm not sure the current attendance or status of the club however. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

[rc_ziggy84]

As someone who has had many a friend that played at the BG Ice Arena, I can't belive financially it isn't worthwhile to have a second full sheet of ice available for youth sports in Bowling Green.

One good reason is to continue to foster the idea that the University and the city are One not two entities, which is what would happen should BGSU decide that they don't want the youth teams anymore.

Second, I wished that BG's broomball program was better than what it is, and I think that if you played on a normal rink divided in half, you'd see the awesomeness that is broomball.

I did intramural broomball at OU and it's an absolute blast. It's even better when played on a full sheet of ice. It's especially good when everyone on your team has played hockey before and you get to kick everyone else's butt!

After finally seeing the list (I could have attended, but Myles seemed to be a better choice prior to the game), I'm glad there is finally something positive that will happen to the ice arena. I'll be keenly interested to see what the architects will come up with!

Great decision my friend..


edit: added last quote rather than spamming just to increase my post count [/quote]

[JoeFalcon]

An interesting fact that was brought up at the meeting, is that the "dedicated" curling space brings in at TOTAL of $39,000 in revenue to the ice arena.

You could have an open room with tables and chairs and bring in more than that!

Yeah. With all due respect to the curling and youth hockey folks, the goal of this renovation should be to improve things for our Division I hockey program.

I recognize that the facility has multiple uses and everyone is trying to protect their own little fiefdoms, but in the grand scheme of things, the hockey program is 5 million times more important than catering to an outside entity like youth hockey or inconveniencing the curling cabal.

[BGFan]

An interesting fact that was brought up at the meeting, is that the "dedicated" curling space brings in at TOTAL of $39,000 in revenue to the ice arena.

You could have an open room with tables and chairs and bring in more than that!

Yeah. With all due respect to the curling and youth hockey folks, the goal of this renovation should be to improve things for our Division I hockey program.

I recognize that the facility has multiple uses and everyone is trying to protect their own little fiefdoms, but in the grand scheme of things, the hockey program is 5 million times more important than catering to an outside entity like youth hockey or inconveniencing the curling cabal.

With all due respect to your all due respect, youth and high school hockey both rent a very large portion of the ice time that the arena provides and, thus, much of the income that the arena is able to generate.

Opening up the curling ice for hockey and skating use will only add to the amount of available ice time that the arena can provide. (Not to mention more reasonable ice times....those 6:00 am practices were brutal!)

It looked to me like the were trying to come up with a way to allow curling to still exist as well as using the ice for other activities. I don't know how viable that is, but if they can pull it off it will be a win/win situation.

The goal of the renovation should be to make the building viable for the foreseeable future for all parties involved.

[JoeFalcon]

With all due respect to your all due respect, youth and high school hockey both rent a very large portion of the ice time that the arena provides and, thus, much of the income that the arena is able to generate.

Opening up the curling ice for hockey and skating use will only add to the amount of available ice time that the arena can provide. (Not to mention more reasonable ice times....those 6:00 am practices were brutal!)

It looked to me like the were trying to come up with a way to allow curling to still exist as well as using the ice for other activities. I don't know how viable that is, but if they can pull it off it will be a win/win situation.

The goal of the renovation should be to make the building viable for the foreseeable future for all parties involved.

Fair points, but the needs and wishes of the Bowling Green State University Division I hockey team should still come first.

I hardly think Miami was ringing their hands about the wishes of local pee wee hockey parents when they constructed their facility. They spent the money to provide the best venue for attracting recruits and maintaining a top tier national program.

I want everyone who utilizes the Ice Arena to be happy and get everything they want, but I'd rather play hardball with curling and youth hockey (if need be) than the BGSU hockey program.

[Falcon Fanatic]

It will be sad to see the rink go.

They are not trying to eliminate curling or the curling rink, but to find a middle ground where curling can still exist and that the curling ice can be put to more use rather than having it sitting idle for hours on end generating zero dollars. I do understand the curlers concerns, in that the ice surface is much different than a regular flat skating surface and that trying to combine the two onto the same ice is somthing that isn't going to be easy for anyone to work out.

[BGFan]

With all due respect to your all due respect, youth and high school hockey both rent a very large portion of the ice time that the arena provides and, thus, much of the income that the arena is able to generate.

Opening up the curling ice for hockey and skating use will only add to the amount of available ice time that the arena can provide. (Not to mention more reasonable ice times....those 6:00 am practices were brutal!)

It looked to me like the were trying to come up with a way to allow curling to still exist as well as using the ice for other activities. I don't know how viable that is, but if they can pull it off it will be a win/win situation.

The goal of the renovation should be to make the building viable for the foreseeable future for all parties involved.

Fair points, but the needs and wishes of the Bowling Green State University Division I hockey team should still come first.

I hardly think Miami was ringing their hands about the wishes of local pee wee hockey parents when they constructed their facility. They spent the money to provide the best venue for attracting recruits and maintaining a top tier national program.

I want everyone who utilizes the Ice Arena to be happy and get everything they want, but I'd rather play hardball with curling and youth hockey (if need be) than the BGSU hockey program.

I could be wrong, but I doubt that Miami has much of a youth hockey program given their location. It's a beautiful area, but there's not much there outside of Oxford. BG, on the other hand, rents ice to teams from the surrounding area, not just Bowling Green. This is particularly true for youth hockey. My son has played with kids from Findlay, Perrysburg, Rossford, Otsego, North Baltimore, Anthony Wayne, Eastwood, etc.

I understand what you're saying and I'm sure that the hockey program will have a big say on what all gets done, but there's a forest and trees thing going on here. If the goal is for the facility to be more self sufficient then you have to look at how that can be done. Adding, updating locker rooms and having an extra sheet of ice for other activities will make it easier to host youth and high school tournaments which generate money not only for the university but also for the community.

[FalconTurf]

I would have to agree that the first priority should be the Falcon hockey program. Wtih that said the very next priority is to find ways to make money with complex during the other 20 or so hours of the day with the easiest sources being the youth hockey, youth skating and the curling groups.

This will probably be Mr. Christopher's most dangerous juggling act during his whole career at BG with university, athletic and community needs all being addressed in one project.

Could be a reality TV show here (little more money for revovations).

[MACMAN]

with out a doubt its got to be about FALCON HOCKEY, that is why its there in the first place. Which is why I feel the community should step up and put in their own rink to supplement the current Falcon Arena. Between BG figure skating club, youth hockey and Bobcat hockey Im sure funds could be raised to build a simple purposeful structure.

[redskins4ever]

The second full Rink at Miami was specifically for the additional uses and demands that had been placed on Goggin Ice Arena. They wanted to make sure they weren't alienating the loyal folks who support the facility in the evenings, weekends, and summers.

If I recall correctly, renting ice costs in the neighborhood of $150-250/hr, and with your Division I hockey team practicing at most 3-4 hours a day, that leaves a lot of time for extra revenue generation.

[Rightupinthere]

The second full Rink at Miami was specifically for the additional uses and demands that had been placed on Goggin Ice Arena. They wanted to make sure they weren't alienating the loyal folks who support the facility in the evenings, weekends, and summers.

If I recall correctly, renting ice costs in the neighborhood of $150-250/hr, and with your Division I hockey team practicing at most 3-4 hours a day, that leaves a lot of time for extra revenue generation.

Thank you.
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for your avatar.

[redskins4ever]

She's one of my friends from high school... she's now a runway model and actress in NYC.