HOCKEY RENOVATIONS OFFICALLY ON HOLD

[gmartin]

Per the Sentinel-Tribune:

http://www.sent-trib.com/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=81


Renovations to the BGSU Ice Arena have been put on hold, arena director Buddy Powers said Monday.
The university originally had announced a $4 million renovation of the building would begin this spring.
But the university has put the project on hold because of the overall state of its budget and the rising cost of borrowing money.
The situation is expected to be re-evaluated in the spring.
Part of the $4 million was going to be used to replace “everything tied into the making of the ice,” Powers said.
The project also was going to seal the building and repair the arena’s gutters, downspouts and roof to stop the arena’s numerous leaks.
Also scheduled to be worked on were the air handling system and the lighting.
“This just means our guys will have to keep doing a good job of maintaining the facility,” Powers said. “We have a lot of old equipment and they get it repaired quickly.”
Construction of the arena started in the spring of 1965 and the building was dedicated on Feb. 25, 1967. Some of the equipment in the building is the original equipment.
The three compressors used to maintain the ice are 25 years old. Powers said one of the compressors is given “a major overhaul” each year.
“That keeps them running in a good manner,” Powers said,

Powers said the compressors have a lifespan of 15 years. But because of their age, replacements parts have to be specifically made for the compressors since they’re no longer available.
Powers said he doesn’t believe the compressors are in danger of failing, forcing the ice to be unplayable.
“Everything’s in good shape and we don’t anticipate any problems,” Powers said. “It would take something catastrophic and that could happen in any arena.”
Powers said the main sheet can be maintained for “a short period of time” with just one compressor.
Powers also hoped to improve the studio ice and the curling ice, and put up boards on the curling ice to allow youth games to be played there. The project also included additional locker rooms with showers.
“We just want to see how far the $4 million will go and then it comes down to a prioritization of what we can do,” Powers said. “We need to bring our facility into 2009.”
The arena has just four locker rooms with showers, although several other smaller rooms in the building are being used as locker rooms without showers.
One of the four locker rooms belongs to the Falcon hockey team.
During high school tournaments, teams sometimes start in one dressing room and then move into another one so they can shower after the game.
“We need to expand the number of locker rooms to help us with the number of high school and youth tournaments we host,” Powers said.
In addition to the university’s $4 million renovation project, the school and athletics department are trying to raise an extra $4 million for renovations to benefit the Falcon hockey program.
University spokesman Dave Kielmeyer said Monday that athletics director Greg Christopher told him on Jan. 26 that $400,000 of the extra $4 million had been raised.
“The renovation is an exciting piece,” Falcon hockey coach Scott Paluch said. “It’s something you want to get done as soon as possible, but we certainly understand the economic times and the decisions made. Hopefully, we can get it moving soon.”
The condition of the arena is one reason the Falcon program has slipped to the bottom of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association after winning the NCAA title in 1984.
Aside from the north end seats added for the start of the 1989-90 season and new coaches offices and new boards and lighting two years ago, little has been done by the university to improve the condition of the building.
The addition on the northeast corner of the arena was paid for by private donations.
On the other hand, many schools have built new or renovated their facilities, leaving Bowling Green far behind in the recruiting battle.
“We’re still working on the fact we’re optimistic that it’s still going to get done at some point,” Paluch said. “Our recruiting efforts haven’t changed very much.
“I still believe our overall experience at Bowling Green, there’s more to it. We have a tradition and we want to get to that point. We want players to understand that we have a quality education and we play college hockey in what we feel is the best conference in America.”

[murphdogg]

This is terrible news, and it just keeps piling on for BG hockey

[dforde]

"The rising cost of borrowing money"??????? Have you seen interest rates? It's never been cheaper to borrow money.

[sbkbghockey]

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/news/2009/news60811.html

Where's all this extra money going?
The article says BG raised an extra $26.5 million fom their goal!

I basically live at the ice arena and it's well below par with other DI universities and needs of an major update!

This is disturbing news on the heals of the rumor the unv. is planning to end its hockey program in the next few years.

[NWLB]

"The rising cost of borrowing money"??????? Have you seen interest rates? It's never been cheaper to borrow money.

Actually this doesn't have anything to do with the prime rate, this is about bonds, and presently that is a very different world. Plus you have to find somebody willing to loan money regardless of the cost, again, a different world than it used to be.

[NWLB]

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/news/2009/news60811.html

Where's all this extra money going?
The article says BG raised an extra $26.5 million fom their goal!

I basically live at the ice arena and it's well below par with other DI universities and needs of an major update!

This is disturbing news on the heals of the rumor the unv. is planning to end its hockey program in the next few years.

ATTENTION WORLD! sbkbghockey WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW THERE IS A RUMOR HOCKEY MAY BE AT RISK!

In case you have not seen him dwell on this every chance he gets, I will walking through churches this weekend with a sandwich board predicting the end is near and hockey may be cut.

Babies being born this year, will have this message tattooed on their foreheads. School children will now be required to stand before class, place their hands on their hearts and recite the rumor aloud, except for for those related to Warthog who does not observe hockey fandom.

[bgpuckster]

"http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/news/2009/news60811.html

Where's all this extra money going?
The article says BG raised an extra $26.5 million fom their goal!

I basically live at the ice arena and it's well below par with other DI universities and needs of an major update!

This is disturbing news on the heals of the rumor the unv. is planning to end its hockey program in the next few years."




This decision was actually made in November, just not publicly announced. I understand the economic conditions and bonds have become more expensive if you can find someone to invest in them. However, the Administration needs to publicly come out and state that hockey will become the top priority within the athletic department after the economic recovery happens. By then football and basketball will have been taken care of.

The other major problem I have is that what the university is putting on hold is, in my mind, items that should be routinely fixed and repaired on a consistent basis. Every building on campus has a roof and HVAC system. Do we wait and raise money to fix or repair a dorm or the Math Science building?!?!? Certain items fall under routine maintenance and repair. It's part of owning the building.

[sbkbghockey]

ATTENTION WORLD! sbkbghockey WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW THERE IS A RUMOR HOCKEY MAY BE AT RISK!

In case you have not seen him dwell on this every chance he gets, I will walking through churches this weekend with a sandwich board predicting the end is near and hockey may be cut.

Babies being born this year, will have this message tattooed on their foreheads. School children will now be required to stand before class, place their hands on their hearts and recite the rumor aloud, except for for those related to Warthog who does not observe hockey fandom.

What the hell is that supposed to mean? I was just making a connection between the two.

[Strouse]

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/news/2009/news60811.html

Where's all this extra money going?
The article says BG raised an extra $26.5 million fom their goal!

I basically live at the ice arena and it's well below par with other DI universities and needs of an major update!

This is disturbing news on the heals of the rumor the unv. is planning to end its hockey program in the next few years.

ATTENTION WORLD! sbkbghockey WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW THERE IS A RUMOR HOCKEY MAY BE AT RISK!

In case you have not seen him dwell on this every chance he gets, I will walking through churches this weekend with a sandwich board predicting the end is near and hockey may be cut.

Babies being born this year, will have this message tattooed on their foreheads. School children will now be required to stand before class, place their hands on their hearts and recite the rumor aloud, except for for those related to Warthog who does not observe hockey fandom.

NWLB, that was kind of a b!tch move...sbk was only putting two and two together. Seeing as how the rumor that hockey might be getting the axe soon and now this doesn't bode too well for BGSU Hockey. Keep in mind though that I love BGSU Hockey as much as the next guy. It's just one of those things that can't exactly be ignored at this point, and until it's been denied, a lot of people will believe that it's true.

[murphdogg]

"http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/news/2009/news60811.html

Where's all this extra money going?
The article says BG raised an extra $26.5 million fom their goal!

I basically live at the ice arena and it's well below par with other DI universities and needs of an major update!

This is disturbing news on the heals of the rumor the unv. is planning to end its hockey program in the next few years."




This decision was actually made in November, just not publicly announced. I understand the economic conditions and bonds have become more expensive if you can find someone to invest in them. However, the Administration needs to publicly come out and state that hockey will become the top priority within the athletic department after the economic recovery happens. By then football and basketball will have been taken care of.

The other major problem I have is that what the university is putting on hold is, in my mind, items that should be routinely fixed and repaired on a consistent basis. Every building on campus has a roof and HVAC system. Do we wait and raise money to fix or repair a dorm or the Math Science building?!?!? Certain items fall under routine maintenance and repair. It's part of owning the building.

Its a different issue because the athletics department has to raise money separately for everything it does

[MACMAN]

you know, there is another possibility. The University could well be putting the rink on hold because they want to explore and actually maybe even try a more expansive remodel of the building or even potentially a new facility.

Also including hockey there are 7 mens varsity sports, and 9 womens...ask me and that is not ballanced...take hockey away and now your down to 6 mens and 9 womens. A case for mens sport under title could be made.

Also that said BG is a state School...I wonder if the Univ should applies for some bail out funds... a new rink would create jobs...toss on on some solar panels and a wind turbine and BGSU hockey just became a greenie wet dream...eco ice

but seriously the optimist in me wants to see the potential in waiting to see if a new facility is possible.

[USGFreddie05-06]

[quote="MACMAN"]

Also including hockey there are 7 mens varsity sports, and 9 womens...ask me and that is not ballanced...take hockey away and now your down to 6 mens and 9 womens. A case for mens sport under title could be made.

quote]

It is not a question about how many sports the school offers under Title IX, but how many scholarships are offered to men and women. They should be equal. We are going to have more female sports because football takes up a large number of the men's scholarships. Now if any men's sport were to be cut, and I doubt hockey ever will be, we may have to adjust the scholarship ratio.

[murphdogg]

you know, there is another possibility. The University could well be putting the rink on hold because they want to explore and actually maybe even try a more expansive remodel of the building or even potentially a new facility.

Also including hockey there are 7 mens varsity sports, and 9 womens...ask me and that is not ballanced...take hockey away and now your down to 6 mens and 9 womens. A case for mens sport under title could be made.

Also that said BG is a state School...I wonder if the Univ should applies for some bail out funds... a new rink would create jobs...toss on on some solar panels and a wind turbine and BGSU hockey just became a greenie wet dream...eco ice

but seriously the optimist in me wants to see the potential in waiting to see if a new facility is possible.

A nice thought, but I highly doubt it. They explored the possibility of a combination basketball/hockey arena when planning the building that will become the Stroh Center, but determined it was too expensive. A whole other building would be even more expensive and even less likely

[MooneyRich86]

Can someone tell me why we're getting this news from Buddy Powers several months after the decision has been made .What other projects have been put on hold ? Where was this big push for matching funds for the arena ?
I'm sure far more would have been raised had the Athletic department approached this project like they did the Sebo Center, Doyt turf replacement
and the new Convocation center. Seems to me the Ice arena and the hockey
program are being purposely pushed aside by the department. The money is out there from alums, current and former NHL players and Executives. The cost for this arena upgrade is peanuts compared to the costs of the
football and basketball projects. Why can't we get our AD to address this ?

[sbkbghockey]

you know, there is another possibility. The University could well be putting the rink on hold because they want to explore and actually maybe even try a more expansive remodel of the building or even potentially a new facility...

Also that said BG is a state School...I wonder if the Univ should applies for some bail out funds... a new rink would create jobs...toss on on some solar panels and a wind turbine and BGSU hockey just became a greenie wet dream...eco ice

but seriously the optimist in me wants to see the potential in waiting to see if a new facility is possible.

I had a dream like that once! But you do bring up some good points. If an ice arena is say in a 5-10 year plan there's no use in putting alot of money into the current one and then spending more money to build a completely new arena. Not sure about how Ohio works, I know in Minnesota some of the schools are getting state support (i.e. Bemidji State-http://bemidjievents.com/ and UMD-http://arena.decc.org/ [/url]).