What's the possibility of building a house that Coaches Howard and Barnes-Arico built?
The Crisler center was first build in 1967, and had a major renovation that was completed before the 2013 season. It looks great, the facilities are up to date, though the actual arena leaves something to be desired. There is less seating than before, sight lines aren't the best, the the place is rather dark. Coach Howard looks to be establishing a dynasty, though it's obviously too early to tell. The women have had great success this year under KBA and look to have another banner year in the 2021-2022 year as well. The term 'Basketball School' is vague, but does contain a ring of truth around these parts; Coaches Howard and Barnes-Arico may be establishing foundations that could surge the popularity of Michigan basketball. Questions: Will it be appropriate to build a brand new facility, and if so what would you like to see in the new facility? What would be a good name for it, and perhaps a good nickname?
I think, yes; if Coaches Howard and to some extent Barnes-Arico continue there trajectories toward basketball 'Blue Blood' status, new facilities should be built. I would like to have sky windows installed, a special floor, though not sure what at this moment, as well as a greatly enlarged seating area. It should be forward thinking, though it would be cool to have a nostalgic basketball arena look. Obviously top of the line facilities for the players. I think it should be named for someone with a basketball history associated with the program, though for financial purposes I could understand it it was named for a big backer. Nickname...just off the top of my head, The Fab? Of course in reference to Coach Howards playing days.
What do you guys/gals think?
First change to the new arena: it hangs the damn banners
...or it gets the hose again?
A brainfart is a terrible thing to taste.
"... sight lines aren't the best ..."
I think you have it confused with Michigan Stadium.
I like it better with the students near the court making all the noise. Those that used to quietly sit on their hands at court side can now sit where there are “bad sight lines”. If they complain, at least they are now making noise!
Agree that we should raise the banners.
April 16th, 2021 at 11:53 AM ^
Sightlines isn't the problem with Michigan Stadium.
Instead, how about W i d e r seats and rows, optional chair backs, major wifi improvement, lower music volume and less of the piped-in music but MOAR real music from our Marching Band...and a better W/L record, of course!
rob f, these would all be ideal upgrades where I would contemplate driving to Ann Arbor for at least one home game.
Can't justify the price of the ticket and hotel for the night with the current stadium conditions.
For the in stadium experience, I completely agree. Also, changing game times less than a week in advance and night games in November. Among the many reasons we gave up our small block of seats 3 or 4 years ago.
sightlines are the problem when you have someone standing in front of you all game
I get up for big moments, but I don't stand the entire game like some people who just like to make a point.
the stadium due to the way it is dug into the ground isn't as steep as some stadiums are so the sightlines are not as good
Yeah, let's spend more money on the basketball team. The Football investment hasn't paid off. Strategic plan shift is in order.
Yea, the football team definitely doesn't make any money...
I was last there a few years ago and thought it looked pretty good.
The challenge the women's team faces is filling the seats we currently have. That's going to be critical if they want to get to the next level with recruiting. That team needs and deserves the support...they're earning it.
This is not going to happen.
Eleventy-threeve percent.
No chance, but please continue the out of box thinking. Also, can you stop by HR after lunch?
Zero, unless you become a NYC real estate mogul and donate hundreds of millions of dollars.
no thanks, man. the thought of a "value city arena, or "yum center," or for that matter, an "al glick arena" in ann arbor makes me grind my teeth down to the nubs.
i wish we still called it crisler arena, rather than crisler center, but i like that it's named after someone for their contributions to the athletic department rather than their boring-assed, vanity-based dollar contributions.
...
...although, now that i think of it...(looks off in the distance, muttering to himself)..."matty blue arena. hmmmmm"...
No.
A waste of resources and, frankly, bad for the environment.
I’m a season ticket holder and rarely miss a game. The arena is rarely completely filled...even when the team is playing well.
Since the remodel, the overall ambiance and functionality of the arena is much improved.
The training facilities and locker room are state of the art.
Leave it as is.
April 16th, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^
Yeah the capacity comment was weird. It's not overflowing with fans every game. It's good that the renovations lowered capacity. I could be misremembering but I believe Crisler is on the bigger end of college basketball arenas.
April 16th, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^
No, it's actually on the smaller end for a major-conference arena. In the Big Ten, it ranks 12th out of 14 by capacity. Still, we often have lots of empty seats, especially for midweek games.
Note the dates of construction - the newer arenas are larger. Any new arena we'd build would almost certainly be larger than Crisler, because you'd want to recoup your investment. But we really don't need that.
Many of the newer large arenas are also built to serve as a regional multi-purpose arena. Think ability to host concerts and other touring shows, hockey, etc. That's unlikely to ever be relevant to Michigan.
I think 12-14000 is the sweet spot for pure college basketball arena size and unless you're a traditional blue blood with great fan history, that's probably all you need.
Great point. With Ann Arbor being so close to Metro Detroit, there's no need for an additional large arena.
The Pizzarena is more than large enough for concerts, events, tours, etc.
They don’t need a new arena.
Only if we name it after Zak Novak.
I think he would prefer that his name is spelled correctly :)
Addendum: After a quick search to verify that I spelled his name correctly, Zack Novak is currently listed on the roster of the Landstede Hammers - a Dutch pro basketball team.
Addendum 2: He's apparently not listed on the current roster. Further research indicates he hasn't been on that roster since 2013?
April 16th, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
Thanks for the correction Nekkid Bootlegger.
Seems nice. Get back to us in a decade.
Lifespans for arenas in this day and age are much too short. It feels like such a waste when places like the Georgia Dome, Silverdome and Turner Field (luckily repurposed) are abandoned or torn down after not even half a century.
Out at Colorado State there was controversy among their student body due to them raising tuition for a new football stadium and tearing down a fifty year old Hughes stadium (which had a picturesque view of the Fort Collins foothills)
I like Comerica Park but there are some days I daydream about what it would be like if the Cochrane Plan was adopted for Tiger Stadium.
I also miss the Palace already even though it had no feasible tenants other than the Golden Griz, which fell through. That is not an indictment of LCA, though.
To answer your question, no. Crisler is fine in terms of upgrades and convenient location relative to campus and hotels.
Agree on all points. The one thing about CSU that was a mitigating factor is that the old stadium was about 4 miles off campus. That said, both the Georgia Dome and Turner Field were built in the 90s (1992 and 1996, respectively, the latter serving as the main Olympics venue for the opening/closing ceremonies and track & field). The moves by the Falcons and Braves were basically money grabs, although MB stadium is pretty dang fantastic. SunTrust, otoh, still pisses me off, mainly because Cobb County (where the stadium is located) has for decades been shooting down plans to extend public transit northward. It would've been a major boon to have had train lines stopping there, but whatever. I don't live there anymore and need to stop getting so worked up over the stupid county leadership.
April 16th, 2021 at 11:25 AM ^
Never heard of Cochrane plan.googled it and wish it would have happened.Been to many games at Tiger Stadium,what a great venue beams and all.Went to Comerica one time meh.New arena and stadiums wouldn’t be built if owners had to pay for it.
Couldn't agree more. Tiger Stadium was unique. You could tell immediately when a photo was taken there. Comerica is just another new stadium, in the same cookie-cutter mold.
Went to Tiger Stadium a few times while at UM and glad I did.
Side note - they used Tiger Stadium as a stand-in for Yankee Stadium in the movie "61". Yankee Stadium no longer had the beams after the 1976 renovation.
Crisler was an absolute dump for years. As a student, it was still a fun place to go to games (even though during my time we were umm...not good at all).
They did a fantastic job on the renovations, and I can't wait to hear the Maize Rage again (all things going well, hopefully next year).
Yeah going to Crisler before the renovations was like going back in time twenty or thirty years. It was dark and spooky walking around the concourse.
Everything was literally just renovated. You’re not going to see many better facilities around the country than this one. Why would we tear it all down and build it all over again?
I don't think there's a need to replace Crisler right now. I mean, it doesn't even get filled on most weeknight games when the team is really good. Maybe rearrange the donor seats close to the court to give the Maize Rage more - and better - seating. No need to ask Al Glick to move, though! But the regents and others that take those 2nd and 3rd row seats need to go somewhere else.
Nonetheless, if the funding were arranged and the decision made, I'd be in favor of a new, state of the art, basketball arena. Yeah, Crisler looks good now, but its bones are 54 yrs old. Still young enough, but time for a replacement design to start getting some thought. By the time a design is completed and approved, funding arranged, and building permits bought, Crisler is going to be 60-some years old...
April 16th, 2021 at 11:57 AM ^
I'm going to assume that during the renovation, they took a look at the bones of the arena and performed any necessary repairs.
Whats the possibility of smoking some motherfucking crack?
The only reason I'd be for a new arena or major renovation is to see them play basketball at Yost for a season. Small arena, guaranteed sell outs every night, great atmosphere. That would be kinda fun to see.
I am sure they'll get right on that project after the athletic department fills in that $26.1 million dollar budget deficit they are predicting for FY2021
+1 underrated
What’s the possibility of building a house and having all of the coaches and their families live in it, together?
April 16th, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
Probably could be the source for a hell of a reality tv show.
Harbaugh would be the guy to make all the rules then do no cleaning.
Not all ideas are good ideas, but if you're going to go down.... go down swinging, not standing there with the bat on your shoulder.
What's hundreds of millions of dollars between friends.
Username belongs to original owner of "Cazzie's Castle"?
Hi Mr. Russell!!!
Aside from the fact that there’s no need for a new arena given that we can’t reliably fill the current one, in the current fiscal environment your idea has literally zero chance of happening. We don’t even know with certainty that football attendance will return to “capacity” crowds whenever TPTB decide that attendance doesn’t need to be restricted because of COVID.