And dayton says they have a better facility than ours?

[94GRAD]

Today, 11:54 AM
Beerman
Academy Doolie Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Dayton
Posts: 39

Rain

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With all the rain we have had in the last couple of days is there any chance that there could be a water problem tonight at the Arena or have they eliminated this problem?




I don't recall us ever having a problem with rain. Whether at Schmidt, the Gardens, or the Cintas Center. urin dump arena is a joke.

[boozehound]

You've got to watch out for that rain...

[Kahns Krazy]

In fairness, unseasonably warm temps, high humidity and rain were frequent problems at the Gardens with condensation on the floor due to the ice underneath and the need to keep the doors open so we all didn't die from the circus smells.

UD has a lot of problems, but the arena isn't one of them.

[PM Thor]

Except when it floods with sewage, which in fact, it has.

X moved out of the Gardens and upgraded. dayton? They repainted their place and called it an overhaul.

[Kahns Krazy]

I guess that's why they are only 4th overall in NCAA games hosted. I know you hate Dayton, but if you tell me you don't respect the arena that UD has, you're not much of a basketball fan.

[GoMuskies]

UD Arena is a terribly designed dump. I respect their fan support tremendously. I think UD Arena is awful.

[chico]

I guess that's why they are only 4th overall in NCAA games hosted. I know you hate Dayton, but if you tell me you don't respect the arena that UD has, you're not much of a basketball fan.

The main reason UD gets to host the play-in game is because they know how to put on a show. The locals get fired up, they do a very good job hosting the teams, press, etc., and the fans buy tickets (probably because there's not much else to do). I don't think too many places would put 10,000 fans in the seats for a play-in game. By virtue of that, they get to host the occasional first/second round games. The NCAA, though, wants to have games in bigger venues, and it appears 13,000-14,000 seats is about as small as they'll go, especially in the Midwest where there are a wealth of large arenas.

As for the Arena, you get past the first 8-10 rows in the 400's and the view becomes very bad. Those seats end up being pretty far from the court.

[Kahns Krazy]

Wow. I guess we see different things. There are shortcomings in some areas like concessions and bathrooms, but from a basketball watching atmosphere, I think it's an excellent arena.

[Kahns Krazy]

chico, they were hosting NCAA games well before there was a play in game.

I just see a bias. In one thread, we all talk about how great the Gardens was, and in another, bash UD arena.

Poop in the arena is a major problem, though. I will take an over-lit lower bowl over dark and poopy.

[GoMuskies]

from a basketball watching atmosphere, I think it's an excellent arena.


Unless you are in the unbelievably terribly designed upper deck. Check out Freedom Hall for how an upper deck should be designed (and Freedom Hall is older than dirt, too).

[PM Thor]

I guess that's why they are only 4th overall in NCAA games hosted. I know you hate Dayton, but if you tell me you don't respect the arena that UD has, you're not much of a basketball fan.

Oh thank you KK, for letting me know that I'm not much of a basketball fan.

The dump is horrible. As Go said, if you sit up in the upper section, you can't see crap, this is especially true if someone anywhere below you stands up or moves through the aisle. Concessions bad, last time I was there they had troughs, and trying to get out of those lots is horrible.

Oh but its atmosphere is great. Whatever. You know why dayton gets so many NCAA games? It's because of location and fanbase. Just look at it. Why do you think dayton has the play in? Because for a large portion of the population, dayton is not a horrifically long distance to travel (in relation to regions specifically, midwest, east, and south), and the yokels go to the game even if their team isn't involved.

[chico]

Freedom Hall is a great place to watch a game. Best seats I ever had for a game (better than the 3rd row at Rupp) were in the first row of the upper deck at half court for a game about 20 years ago. I remember walking into that place and thinking, now this is what big time basketball is like.

[StanleyOwnsYou]

The problem with Freedom is its just too damn old. If they renovated it or Built a modern-day version of it, it could be one of the best in the country. This is really un-likely though ith a lot of the colleges that have downtown arenas, UofL & UK for example, now putting multi-million dollars into state of the art practice facilities. Freedom Hall and Rupp will be in use untril they crumble, literally.

[PM Thor]

I actually loved Rupp during the tourney last year. The benches sucked, there were walkways that would make the Salad Bowl in DC look like a through way, I never did find a bathroom, but there was something about that place.

[GoMuskies]

The problem with Freedom is its just too damn old.


Obviously, but it just goes to show that UD Arena's shortcomings aren't just about age. It was just flat poorly designed.

[Kahns Krazy]

Oh thank you KK, for letting me know that I'm not much of a basketball fan.

....

Your bias against all things Dayton is well known. I really don't question your basketball fan-ness.

In my opinion....
The upper level of UD arena aren't the greatest seats, but it's also almost 35% bigger than the Cintas. If you tacked another 3,000+ seats into the Cintas, the last 3,000 seats wouldn't be that good either. Anything shy of the 400 level there is a good seat.

The play-in game represents less than 10% of the total NCAA games Dayton has hosted. Geographically, Dayton is no easier to access than Indy, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville or Lexington, and the flight options are far worse than most of the others. There must be some reason the NCAA keeps coming back there. ESPN picked UD arena for their very first HD broadcast ever. Something about the place doesn't suck to a whole bunch of people.

I also tend to be the type of guy that ignores some shortcomings in favor of a little history and charm. The Cintas Center is great, but it's awfully sterile, and the layout of the bathrooms for a brand new facility is atrocious. The concession lines are very long, and the lower bowl is way too bright. I also live in a 100 year old house because I prefer that to a brand new house.


Having said that...
I'd much rather have a great program and no arena than no program and a great arena. Even better, we have a great program and a pretty good arena. I wouldn't mind if UD hosted the A-10 tourney every year. I love beating them there almost as much as I love beating them here.

(edit)Finally, to respond to the actual title of the thread, I don't believe Dayton has a better facility than we do. In many ways, the Cintas is far superior. The experience of watching a game at Dayton has something that we had at the Gardens that we don't have now. I miss that, but I'm not going to become a Dayton fan to get it back.

[Kahns Krazy]

Obviously, but it just goes to show that UD Arena's shortcomings aren't just about age. It was just flat poorly designed.

Freedom hall is only about 12 years older than UD arena. They are both showing their age.