New arena???

[Flipper]

Then you renovate Savage hall....

[MacGuy]

[Falconfreak90]

What are the chances they are thinking of doing a basketball/hockey arena???

If anything we've heard over the past 5 years are any indication I'd say the chances of that are somewhere between winning the powerball and me dating Jessica Alba.

I can't believe you mentioned Jessica Alba without posting a pic.

My bad....here ya go...

[Rightupinthere]

Meh. Looks like a high school gym.

[Falcon137]

Meh. Looks like a high school gym.

Forgive me for my ignorance...but is UT building a new arena? I know the city is putting a downtown one in.

[VDub26Falcon]

The one downtown is for the Toledo Storm...it's replacing the Sports Arena...Savage Hall is being completely renovated with a new facade and everything.

[Class of 61]

What year is that from, one of those might be my dad, No joke. But it is funny.

Obviously, I can't tell you what YEAR this was taken, but I recall seeing Jimmy Darrow score 52 pts. in a game TWICE at that place (wasn't called Eppler by the way)... Neat view from the running track up around the floor...and it was VERY loud. BTW, Darrow graduated around '59, don't think he ever played in Anderson, but I could be wrong.

[TG1996]

What year is that from, one of those might be my dad, No joke. But it is funny.

Obviously, I can't tell you what YEAR this was taken, but I recall seeing Jimmy Darrow score 52 pts. in a game TWICE at that place (wasn't called Eppler by the way)... Neat view from the running track up around the floor...and it was VERY loud. BTW, Darrow graduated around '59, don't think he ever played in Anderson, but I could be wrong.

He graduated in Spring 1960, Anderson opened that year or the next, I believe, but don't have that date at hand right now.

http://www.bgsusports.com/mambo/content/view/127/0/

[Falcon Fanatic]

Realistically, we're looking at a long fundraising campaign before construction can even begin. Of course we started the Sebo Center before funding was completely secure, so who knows.

As I posted awhile back, there are a few plans the university is looking at:

1. Basketball facility ($$$)
2. Basketball/Hockey facility ($$$$$$)

Right now, they are looking at the costs and how much they can raise in private donations to make either one a reality. This is the silent phase (which is why you have not heard anything more since the company we hired to review ALL of our athletic facilities submitted their report).

My feeling is the AD does not want a facility like the Schottenstein Center with ice beneath the basketball floor. As I understood him, the second proposal has a separate area for the ice. I believe he would like to see #2 come to fruition.

I honestly believe you will see a new facility as Dr. Ribeau WANTS a convocation center. I think this will be his crowning achievement before he leaves the university. He has a daughter, who I believe is a sophomore at the high school, and I do not see him leaving the university until she graduates. So we have another 2 1/2 years (at least) with him at the helm. I am POSITIVE he will accomplish this.

In his speech at the Hockey Face-Off Reception, Christopher said they were close to announcing updates (or something along those lines) to the arena. My feeling is that from what he said (and didn't say), they will put money into improving the Ice Arena as opposed to a hockey/BB facility, which is fine by me!!

[Flipper]

Why are they trying to make Savage Hall resemble the interior of a parking garage? Sure, the continuity with the rest of the campous will be maintained, but won't all those exhaust fumes harm the players

[Class of 61]

What year is that from, one of those might be my dad, No joke. But it is funny.

Obviously, I can't tell you what YEAR this was taken, but I recall seeing Jimmy Darrow score 52 pts. in a game TWICE at that place (wasn't called Eppler by the way)... Neat view from the running track up around the floor...and it was VERY loud. BTW, Darrow graduated around '59, don't think he ever played in Anderson, but I could be wrong.

He graduated in Spring 1960, Anderson opened that year or the next, I believe, but don't have that date at hand right now.

http://www.bgsusports.com/mambo/content/view/127/0/

Tony, Forgot you'd have the bios on former athletes on your site....but my "memory banks" aren't too bad for an old man, right?

And Anderson DID open the next year, as part of our graduation ceremonies, i.e. commissioning of ROTC students, was done there.

[TG1996]

Tony, Forgot you'd have the bios on former athletes on your site....but my "memory banks" aren't too bad for an old man, right?

You do all right for an old man, Den.

[eRichFalcon]

I think this has come up before, but I don't know if it went anywhere.....

Is there any chance that we put whatever structure (preferably the bball/hockey combo) at the south end of the Doyt and psuedo-close the stadium? Something similar to what they've got up in Ypsi (which is by the way the only cool part of the campus IMHO, and they even managed to screw that up by having it sooooooo far away from everything else.)

[It's the Journey...]

That is my hope. I want the new arena as close to the south endzone of the stadium as possible. It will help "complete" the athletic part of campus. It will be easy to find and that should make it an attractive concert venue. It will have plenty of parking, and gives the Univesity an excuse to finally pave those lots becaue they will be used more frequently. The bookstore and Falcon Club can have facilities that are a little more permanent and could be used for both basketball and football. I see the SEBO as the "front door" of BG athletics from an administrative and student athlete point of view, but I see the new arena as the "front door" of BG athletics to the fan. Wherever they decide to put it lets get it done.

[BleedOrange]

I'm curious about the university's stance on the type of structure that they'd build. While there is a certain "efficiency" to having a hoops/hockey combo, such a structure has significant drawbacks. A combo would be more expensive than a basketball-only facility. Beyond that, a hockey rink is larger than a basketball floor. So, the deployment for basketball is invariably awkward and, imo, aesthetically not pleasing. Bad ambiance. Too many good seats are far from the floor. This detracts from fan involvement and the overall experience.

Let's not forget that our REAL need is to replace AA. AA's deficiencies are driving this discussion. We don't need to replace the hockey facility - we can improve that building to be more than adequate. So, should we spend $$$$$ on a combo when we already have a hockey facility, or spend $$$ on a basketball/concert/convocation facility?

Months ago, 'hammb' started a thread with unpopular but honest and intelligent questions about the overall viability of hockey as a university sport. Certainly, the decision makers are considering such questions for the sake of this LONG TERM investment decision.