I agree. $7-$10 million is Botox when the arena needs bigger makeover.
Facilities and Arena discussion
- Thread starter sleeperpick
- Start date
Yeah I saw where the University has 250 million and the ability to take on up to 200 mil in debt, so why not do a full tear down and build something with 7500 seats thats legit and can ride the wave into the future.
Dawgs99
Starter
Any renovation that doesn't start with taking those god awful, hard small plastic chairs out is a non starter for me. We talk a lot about lowering the capacity numbers to make the arena seem more full.....put in all new seats, with cushions that are larger. Larger more modern seats will lower the overall capacity and improve the game day experience for the fans. Also with the ugly green and yellow seats, its very obvious to see when nobody is sitting in them. Looks terrible on TV. They're not going to get a lot done with just 10 million, maybe put up cubicle walls for the gold room....c'mon.
I am not sure what you guys have against EBA. I have been to every arena in the A10 and I would rate it number four, just barely behind Richmond.
Comparing it to arenas of top tier programs outside of the A10: Duke's Cameron is an absolute sh!thole. UConn's arena is pretty lame as well. If top tier programs don't need to redo the arena's for no reason. we don't need to either. I can't imagine doing a full renovation or tear down any time soon. There are much more pressing things to spend the money on.
Comparing it to arenas of top tier programs outside of the A10: Duke's Cameron is an absolute sh!thole. UConn's arena is pretty lame as well. If top tier programs don't need to redo the arena's for no reason. we don't need to either. I can't imagine doing a full renovation or tear down any time soon. There are much more pressing things to spend the money on.
I mean, bang for our buck wise, redoing a ton of West Campus is way better than a new arena. And I've been banging the new arena drum for years. That portion of campus has been crying out for more development for years. It needs a catalyst.
undertherock
Specialist
If we built a perennial winner and filled in those empty seats with fans, nobody would be complaining about EBA.
Dawgs99
Starter
I'm not beating the drum for a new arena, and it seems obvious to me that we are stuck with EBA for the long haul and I'm ok with that. This being said, the 2 main things that need to be updated/fixed IMO is the seating bowl and more/improved space for hospitality. I have not been to Richmond., but I like what they did with their corner sections. Otherwise I think EBA is just fine.
We've had a perennial winner in the past and those seats were still unfilled. We need less seats and improved hospitality areas.
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Barely behind the Robins Center? Concourses are fairly even, but the Robins Center seating bowl is far, far superior lol. I totally understand the reasons why their setup isn't realistic at EBA, and why permanently downsizing doesn't make much sense, but if we are just talking basketball usage, the Robins Center seating bowl would be a dream.
I believe (don't hold me to it) that hospitality is part of this renovation. I don't know if that is both levels of hospitality or not. My understanding is that seating bowl is really tough. As soon as we upgrade any piece of the permanent seating, we trigger needing to update the entire arena to the latest codes and that drives the cost up significantly.
My thoughts exactly, I think Brian had some green and gold tinted glasses on when ranking our arena
.I love the Robins Center, having been pre and post renovations - they did a fantastic job.
I've been to 8 (9 tomorrow) of the A10 arenas, my ranking would put us 7th based on first-hand experience and second-hand impressions, and I'm basing this mostly off of aesthetic appearance - not hospitality, concessions, etc.
Above us:
vcu, Lo-Chi, Dayton, SLU, Duquesne, URI, Richmond
LaSalle, Fordham and SJU are basically high school gyms and are embarrassing.
We (Jr. and I) rate on many things, not just the seating bowl. We are doing the ratings, so it is our rules! ;-)
...but, I'll take your point under advisement and reevaluate Robins Center within two weeks.
Again, our ratings our rules. I have to call BS on vcu. You must be factoring in the fan environment. We don't. We are only rating the physical building. vcu's physical building is not very impressive. It is just practice facility with seating. The design is very awkward and there is horrible traffic flow. Now, part of that is that the do sell it out, so props to them on that.My thoughts exactly, I think Brian had some green and gold tinted glasses on when ranking our arena
I love the Robins Center, having been pre and post renovations - they did a fantastic job.
I've been to 8 (9 tomorrow) of the A10 arenas, my ranking would put us 7th based on first-hand experience and second-hand impressions, and I'm basing this mostly off of aesthetic appearance - not hospitality, concessions, etc.
Above us:
vcu, Lo-Chi, Dayton, SLU, Duquesne, URI, Richmond
LaSalle, Fordham and SJU are basically high school gyms and are embarrassing.
All valid points and definitely different ways to evaluate - for me my biggest complaint about EBA is how it looks, and I think it looks like an outdated bland big concrete building with vast open spaces.
So when I see other buildings that look nicer - just simple things like paint schemes, signage, graphics - that's pretty much what my ratings were based on. And these are the easiest/cheapest things to fix.
Louisville's KFC Yum center for example - their wide-open concourse reminded me of EBA's, but way way better appearance.
Going through the list of A10 arenas, it actually sticks out how widely different all of the arenas are. You have HS gyms, then you have arenas crammed into their surroundings (Seigal, URI, GW), small arenas, and the big arenas (EBA, Dayton).
2011WinOverVillanova
Sixth Man
The next one should be 4500 or 5000 seats and keep the current EBA to use for concerts, circuses and graduation.
Not for nothing but Lasalle redid theirs and it looks pretty good for what it is.My thoughts exactly, I think Brian had some green and gold tinted glasses on when ranking our arena
I love the Robins Center, having been pre and post renovations - they did a fantastic job.
I've been to 8 (9 tomorrow) of the A10 arenas, my ranking would put us 7th based on first-hand experience and second-hand impressions, and I'm basing this mostly off of aesthetic appearance - not hospitality, concessions, etc.
Above us:
vcu, Lo-Chi, Dayton, SLU, Duquesne, URI, Richmond
LaSalle, Fordham and SJU are basically high school gyms and are embarrassing.
Ah - didn't realize it had already been remodeled. Glad they did, I think they had the absolute worst gym.
This is sooooo much better: https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/la-salle-university-john-glaser-arena/
I’ve mentioned building a team store attached to a hall of fame museum and a restaurant. Would be a nice amenity and also attract students over there on non-event days.
I dunno... I think EBA looks GREAT when there are 8,000+ raucous and delirious fans rockin' the joint during a basketball victory.
Dawgs99
Starter
When's the last time we had 8k in that arena for a basketball game?
Mount St. Mary's, circa 1975
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