"The Plan" is officially in place

[MacGuy]

Gonzaga's arena was done by Ellerbe-Becket out of Kansas City. They are the same company that did the renovation plans for UT's Savage Hall.

Here's a link with great photos: http://www.ellerbebecket.com/portfolio_ ... e_210.html



BTW, I don't know if anyone mentioned the Saturday Sentinel-Tribune article where they said "the capacity is rumored to be no more than 5,500."

Board president Mike Marsh said .."we've scaled back the convo center more than some people would like to see...we're not going to be able to build a mini Schottenstein Center (OSU). It's not in our universe."

The article said construction is to begin in early 2010 and be finished in fall of 2012.

[BGSU33]

Gonzaga's arena was done by Ellerbe-Becket out of Kansas City. They are the same company that did the renovation plans for UT's Savage Hall.

Here's a link with great photos: http://www.ellerbebecket.com/portfolio_ ... e_210.html



BTW, I don't know if anyone mentioned the Saturday Sentinel-Tribune article where they said "the capacity is rumored to be no more than 5,500."

Board president Mike Marsh said .."we've scaled back the convo center more than some people would like to see...we're not going to be able to build a mini Schottenstein Center (OSU). It's not in our universe."

The article said construction is to begin in early 2010 and be finished in fall of 2012.

Some great photos in the photographs link there. I love the look and design of the facility on the outside. I also like the seating all the way around the arena but I eally like how the seats rise on the sidelines putting most of the spectators (capacity) on sideline angles. Very nice arena all the way around.

[Globetrotter]

http://www.ellerbebecket.com/portfolio_ ... e_152.html

They did Virginias too, that place looks nice. I love the Zags. How many does it seat.

[MacGuy]

6,000

[Falconfreak90]

IMO, 5,500 seats is about perfect for BGSU. And after looking at the Zags' new digs, I would love to see something like that out by Perry Stadium.

Students near the floor? ABSOLUTELY. Without question.

[ZiggyZoomba]

I'm probably allowed to say that Ellerbe-Beckett was partnered with one of the top 4 companies who presented/bid on this project. If I'm NOT allowed to say that... this post will self-destruct in 24 hours...

[able1]

The first time I remember these discussions coming up on the site, I couldn't help but think of my junior high school auditorium. I always thought the idea behind it would be really cool for a university in our situation that normally only needs a certain number of seats, but once in awhile could really use more.
This auditorium was there when I was in junior high school in Arizona 23 years ago (holy crap!!) and it's still state of the art by today's standards. It holds 750 in the main seating area. When they have big events and need more room, there are two smaller pods that are usually their own smaller seperate classrooms, that can be rotated to face into the main auditorium to add about 500 more seats. The two smaller pods are off to the sides of the lobby. You can get the idea of where they are in the picture I've linked below. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the whole building sits on a slope that angles down toward the stage. The pods are to the back of the auditorium, but are still at ground level compared to the front door. It's really an amazing building, especially for a public school district.
I'm not really suggesting it, just thinking out loud about how cool that could be if done right in a basketball arena.

http://www.sahuarita.k12.az.us/aud.html

[ZiggyZoomba]

Maybe my favorite Elerbe-Beckett projects (and perhaps the project most on par with ours as far as capacity and budget goes) is the DeVos Fieldhouse at Hope College in Michigan... it's absolutely gorgeous in my opinion.

http://www.hope.edu/pr/campusdev/devos.html

[h2oville rocket]

I'm probably allowed to say that Ellerbe-Beckett was partnered with one of the top 4 companies who presented/bid on this project. If I'm NOT allowed to say that... this post will self-destruct in 24 hours...

Well, you would want the firm that did UT's design- we know quality when we see it. Duck in 5..4..3..2..

[kdog27]

They haven't even broken ground yet. We may be looking at a 2009 completion date at the EARLIEST.

Now that I'd like to see - a start date in early 2010 and a completion date in 2009 8)

Not even Falconboy could complain about those results.