Amen. Love the idea. Reduce the size, pack in the basketball fans that want to be there and create a great college basketball atmosphere night in and night out. It would benefit the women's program as well.
May I add, Old Miss built this gem of a college basketball arena during Ross Bjork's tenure as AD there.
They aren't suites per se, but one side of the court at Fertitta Center has premium seating that was awesome to watch a game from. I didn't sit in the recliner shown in the video, but a padded seat back that all have a 'bar' in front of them to set food and drinks, etc.
Above the various levels of premium seating on that side of the court is a 'club' of sorts for those ticket holders.
The baseline facing seating is 'normal' seat back seating, and the rowdy student section is right on top of the court opposite the premium side. I was really really impressed with the facility. Seemed to me like it checked every box I'd like to see in College Station someday:
1. Very intimate feeling. Designed for basketball. ~7,000 capacity I believe. I went to a game against stinking Tulane and it was rocking. 2. Students on top of the court is great for the students, but it also presents a more daunting and hostile environment for the road team. Think Mich. State student section. It's a condensed but similar design to that. 3. Premium seats were amazing. I have season tickets nearly court-side at Reed, but would pay more for options like Fertitta Center offers. Club area, small monitors mounted and dispersed along the 'bar' in front of all the premium seating side seats that display stats, other games being played, etc. 4. Maybe my favorite part of the Fertitta Center was the investment made in projected animation onto the court from above. It was really fascinating. Instead of trying to explain, here's an example:
I was really really impressed with the facility and would love to see a similar home for Aggie hoops. $60,000,000 price tag. Obviously if a project like this wasn't stand-alone and involved the demolition of Reed that figure would increase, but now that basketball just about stands alone in not having a new build/renovated facility to play in (Kyle, Olsen/BB, Softball, Soccer, Track, Equestrian Center..) it would be welcomed news to me to drastically change the style and setup of our arena.
Never thought of the possibility of adding onto Reed. Went on a scavenger hunt for a similar project and found one. This is South Dakota. The Dakota Dome, which actually found a way to be uglier than Reed, was the original structure, the new addition is Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Dakota Dome used to be the home of the basketball and volleyball teams, but is now a multi-purpose stadium. Interesting idea.
For additional context/explanation of my Fertitta Center post for those who haven't been. Many of its attributes- the club seating, students court-side, etc. made for a great and very comfortable atmosphere. Obviously not saying make a carbon copy, but integrating a lot of the thinking used at Fertitta in a 'new Reed' would be smart in my opinion.
Left side, court-level are the risers that the students pack onto. Obviously UH is a lot smaller than A&M, but I love the idea of rowdy students being on top of the opposing team.
This is one of the two 'clubs' on the premium seat side. One is up, one down.
Here's another angle of the previous photo club area with the second elevated club area visible.
Under the Houston Cougar text in the previous photo is a section of these 'terrace' seats. This is where I sat when I went.
Most premium seats are like this. The Loge seating area where the bars and displays I mentioned previously are mounted. Other games or stats are on those displays.
These type of seats are very limited and a little excessive, but if that's what it takes for a BMA to cut the check. Break out the lazy boy's. Note displays.
Income is necessary. The only point of changing the facility is to create an environment that improves demand and income. If the costs increase income needs to repay the investment.
The goal is a permanent revenue stream paired with a vibrant facility and fans. While I definitely think students are a huge part of that, so are locals. And we have enough to support the team and other basketball venues depend heavily on locals.
We need to solve for that to have the rest be stable over time.
"We need help with some of our venues, Reed Arena needs help. We need to do a major renovation of that building to add to the fan experience".
"We need analyze all of the elements around tradition and what makes football special and how we overlay that to the other sports".
The conversation surrounding facilities and fan experience begins around the 8:45 mark and Reed Arena is mentioned at 10:30. This is the first time to my knowledge that the athletic department has publicly acknowledged that Reed Arena is in need of a renovation. I'd love to see this get done sooner rather than later considering UT and Baylor will all be playing in new facilities shortly and UH has a new facility and fan experience that runs laps around Reed Arena
"We need help with some of our venues, Reed Arena needs help. We need to do a major renovation of that building to add to the fan experience".
"We need analyze all of the elements around tradition and what makes football special and how we overlay that to the other sports".
Better "recruiting" = better fan experience
We will know this year if Bjork is the fund-raising and capital projects guy or the AD. Childress not being renewed and the rumored one-year final lap for Blair with two excellent hires paired with early prospectuses for new investments in Blue Bell and either a Reed redo or an on-campus more intimate basketball-only facility would mean he is the guy.
But we know John Sharp is and we know his focus is on real revenue and selling concessions for up from revenue stream commitments. We know he won't go with tradition if he doesn't like a hire and will either not extend or do a one-year extension then fire. I see Bjork rejecting his soft contract approach at Ole Miss and handing out shorter extensions to get better performance.
The upper from the CBS to ESPN for OTA and the then stable contract terms for the entire ESPN package gets us to the mid-2030s with additional revenue only from Learfield radio/streaming (term expires 2016), attendance, parking, hotel, and concessions (Levy contract for athletic venues was announced in 2014 with a 12-year term and was done in recognition of Levy's previous outsourcing of the cafeterias.) Ross is saying the right things and being responsive to fans concerns (see the missing bevel on the football uniform numbers at least this season.)
Ross has gone through this process before on the basketball arena front. Ole Miss constructed a new basketball arena during his tenure as AD in Oxford.
Ross has gone through this process before on the basketball arena front. Ole Miss constructed a new basketball arena during his tenure as AD in Oxford.
It's a bit of an easier sell when you're replacing a gym that opened in 1966.
