AA Renovation

[Cowboy Junky]

Wait.... Our total capacity with this new renovation is 11,000 seats? Were pulling 4000 seats out?!?!? Is this new or when did this happen? Holy hell....

It already happened. The addition of chair back seating and more space dropped the capacity to 11,600.

Shit I completely missed that along the way... Damn. I guess the glory days of 16000 people cramming in the AA and sitting in aisles and walkways watching Josh Davis and company bitch slap Utah are no more. 11000 seems really sad. Am I just looking too much into this? Where does this compare to other arenas in the conference and round the country?

I like the atmosphere better in the new configuration. The video boards, sound, lighting, fire effects, and new seating make it feel like a professional arena. I've sat in about 6 different seats in the new configuration. They're all very comfortable.

The atmosphere didn't seem to suffer. I was at that Utah attendance record game and the UNM, Nevada, CSU games the year we won the conference tourney. The crowd in the new building is still extremely loud when it's full.

When they moved the student section closer to the visitors bench and down on the floor, it made a big difference.

12 K is respectable when compared to other division one basketball arenas. I know it pisses people off that we aren't 16 K anymore, but it's still one of the best home court advantages in the land when it's full, and the atmosphere is way more professional than it was before the construction.

 

[TSpoke]

Wait.... Our total capacity with this new renovation is 11,000 seats? Were pulling 4000 seats out?!?!? Is this new or when did this happen? Holy hell....

It already happened. The addition of chair back seating and more space dropped the capacity to 11,600.

Shit I completely missed that along the way... Damn. I guess the glory days of 16000 people cramming in the AA and sitting in aisles and walkways watching Josh Davis and company bitch slap Utah are no more. 11000 seems really sad. Am I just looking too much into this? Where does this compare to other arenas in the conference and round the country?

11,000 is a fine number, IMO, if we can start filling that up and getting sellouts at that number that would be a good thing. (not saying we should reduce capacity just to make it easier to sellout but just that 11,00 is still a fine number of seats to have). I don't have any numbers but I think 11,000 is around an average size for a college basketball arena. while 15-16 was a large arena for college basketball. there are always outliers but most college basketball arenas are between 10-15 with many very good basketball schools having capacities less than 10k. (don't feel like doing the research right now but someone else can)
I would have preferred to keep all the seats but for the upgrades we got 11,000 is a fine number.

 

[laxwyo]

Que Kansaspoke


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[cali2wyo]

When's the last time we had 11,600 show up to a game? Cowgirls NIT? What about men's? Until we're consistently averaging 10-11k, complaints about the reduced capacity are silly. It's not like we reduced capacity by putting tarps over a bunch of seats like EMU football. We took out seats in an attempt to enhance the Gameday experience and provide more resources to our basketball teams. If/when this pays off with increased attendance, then talk about added capacity make more sense, IMO

 

[joshvanklomp]

The previous capacity of 15,028 ranked 31st in all of Division I hoops and fourth in the MWC behind UNLV, FSU and UNM. The reduction dropped the capacity to 11,445, which is 70th in Division I and seventh in the MWC (also behind BSU, SDSU and UNR).

 

[WyoExpat]

I was upset at how small it got too. At one time, people were saying it was actually going down to something between 10,00-10,500 and folks here were giddy over how many sellouts we could eventually brag about. 11,000+ is almost monstrous by comparison.

I still think that, at the end of the day, it boils down to ticket prices and number of tickets sold.

I have to also say I hate the fact that the students got moved behind a backboard to a section that used to be the last to fill up. Sure they can try to distract FT shooters, but that is a horrible place to watch a game from. I am sure that it is easier to follow the action on TV at home than from the far end of the gym behind the backboard. (Frankly, I always looked down on the other schools that put their students at the end of the court as being unfair and disrespectful to students.) As a student, I was always appreciative that I had access to decent seats.

 

[stymeman]

I like the new configuration except for when you get tickets and start cheering in lower bowl everyone turns around and tells you to be quiet and such, OH REALLY, what happens when we get good again, I'm not going to to the "library" to sit on my hands and watch the game. but it's more intimate and I like it, for the most part, I still don' t like the student section configuration as I used to sit there to lend a helping hand/voice, oh well, gotta grow up someday, LOL

 

[Lost Poke]

From a TV perspective, the gaping hole of the access tunnel just doesn't look good. The cameras spend about half the time pointing that way. Makes the place look empty.

 

[WyoVaquero]

I agree with the gaping hole of the access tunnel. It looks horrible. They need to put some sort of covering over it. I don't understand with this current renovation on the exterior, what's the purpose? More money should have been spent on the sitting bowl.

 

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

I agree with the gaping hole of the access tunnel. It looks horrible. They need to put some sort of covering over it. I don't understand with this current renovation on the exterior, what's the purpose? More money should have been spent on the sitting bowl.

I am usually more concerned about the horrible display ON the court versus the views off the court. Hopefully Allen gets that trait switched in a hurry

 

[johnywyo]

Seems like a couple good ideas here, especially with that concrete driveway leading up to the lower access area. How about a retractable Steamboat, large enough to cover the majority of the space (which is huge) to fill that corridor up. The question at hand is how much was eliminated from the budget to reduce the exterior entrance to leave us with the scaled down version? The original design was worth the wait, and capital fundraising should have been encouraged to get that original design completed. The AA would have been one of the sweetest arenas in the US with that massive glass enclave. Total Band-Aid with what could have been accomplished. So, back to the cut, how much from original design was alleviated....anyone?

 

[cali2wyo]

So, back to the cut, how much from original design was alleviated....anyone?

The way I understood it, the design was scaled back to meet the budget because costs were increasing. In other words, the scaled-down design is now what our budget can afford, the total budget for the project hasn't changed throughout the whole process.

Either way, this whole exterior project has been a disappointment for me. The seating is great and the concourse upgrades sound nice, but I don't feel like the exterior will reflect that -- it might even take away from all the great things that have happened on the inside. The most annoying part for me is the AD saying the Board of Trustees decided on this boring exterior to "match other buildings around campus". Nevermind the brand new state of the art HATC being built 50 feet away... :tickedoff: :willybs:

 

[Cowboy Junky]

I think the excuse was that the rising construction costs put us 4 million short on the AA. When they realized that, they had already started the fund raising for the HAPC. Since Ben Blaylock and the Wyoming foundation helped raise funds for the HAPC, all donations went towards that project. They didn't want to wait on the AA because they had to wait until funds we're raised for the HAPC to raise the extra 4 million for the AA, especially since the construction costs might rise again and put us more than 4 million short of the total.

The whole thing was short sighted and second rate.

 

[TSpoke]

I'll wait till I see the final product before I judge.

 

[DVDA]

I think the excuse was that the rising construction costs put us 4 million short on the AA. When they realized that, they had already started the fund raising for the HAPC. Since Ben Blaylock and the Wyoming foundation helped raise funds for the HAPC, all donations went towards that project. They didn't want to wait on the AA because they had to wait until funds we're raised for the HAPC to raise the extra 4 million for the AA, especially since the construction costs might rise again and put us more than 4 million short of the total.

The whole thing was short sighted and second rate.

Bolded is very true.

 

[Cowboy Junky]

I think the excuse was that the rising construction costs put us 4 million short on the AA. When they realized that, they had already started the fund raising for the HAPC. Since Ben Blaylock and the Wyoming foundation helped raise funds for the HAPC, all donations went towards that project. They didn't want to wait on the AA because they had to wait until funds we're raised for the HAPC to raise the extra 4 million for the AA, especially since the construction costs might rise again and put us more than 4 million short of the total.

The whole thing was short sighted and second rate.

Bolded is very true.

I feel obligated to give them credit for Phase 1. They hit a home run with phase 1.

Phase 2, on the other hand, looks more like the factory shaped art building than any of the other projects we've built during the last 10 years.

Phase 2 leaves a lot to be desired. They didn't even leave the possibility to expand phase 2 to the original plan.

 

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

The project isn't even completed... how do we know it's not going kick ass? Sometimes I don't inderstand this board. People bitch and moan about facilities then turn around and bitch and moan when we upgrade facilities. I guess we should just keep phase 1 and ask them to stop phase 2 since it's going to be such a travesty. Jesus. We're going to have the newest and nicest basketball facility in the conference... why are we bitching about that.....

 

[Wyolie Coyote]

The project isn't even completed... how do we know it's not going kick ass? Sometimes I don't inderstand this board. People bitch and moan about facilities then turn around and bitch and moan when we upgrade facilities. I guess we should just keep phase 1 and ask them to stop phase 2 since it's going to be such a travesty. Jesus. We're going to have the newest and nicest basketball facility in the conference... why are we bitching about that.....

The revised design is half of the original. So I don't think it's short sighted at all to bitch. Should have found the additional money to do it right.

 

[DVDA]

The project isn't even completed... how do we know it's not going kick ass? Sometimes I don't inderstand this board. People bitch and moan about facilities then turn around and bitch and moan when we upgrade facilities. I guess we should just keep phase 1 and ask them to stop phase 2 since it's going to be such a travesty. Jesus. We're going to have the newest and nicest basketball facility in the conference... why are we bitching about that.....

We're bitching because they sold us on a great second phase of the renovation that they clearly fucked up with poor planning and/or with the typical deceit of projects of this nature. The renovation will obviously be a major upgrade and a nice addition to campus, but it'll be a downgrade from the original plan.

Edit: I feel bad for the donors on this project. They were sold on a fully loaded, brand new Corvette and are getting the base model instead. It's hard to bitch about having a brand new corvette, but you can certainly be pissed that you didn't get the car you thought you were buying.

 

[laxwyo]

The project isn't even completed... how do we know it's not going kick ass? Sometimes I don't inderstand this board. People bitch and moan about facilities then turn around and bitch and moan when we upgrade facilities. I guess we should just keep phase 1 and ask them to stop phase 2 since it's going to be such a travesty. Jesus. We're going to have the newest and nicest basketball facility in the conference... why are we bitching about that.....

We're bitching because they sold us on a great second phase of the renovation that they clearly fucked up with poor planning and/or with the typical deceit of projects of this nature. The renovation will obviously be a major upgrade and a nice addition to campus, but it'll be a downgrade from the original plan.

Edit: I feel bad for the donors on this project. They were sold on a fully loaded, brand new Corvette and are getting the base model instead. It's hard to bitch about having a brand new corvette, but you can certainly be pissed that you didn't get the car you thought you were buying.

This. Love the upgrades but having the one large main entrance was one of the premier upgrades. Now is sounds like a 20 million shitter and grill upgrade


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