Semi-OT: Dayton to put $72MM into Dayton Arena Renovations

[prebilliken]

Dayton is going to overhaul UD Arena. Say what you want about Dayton, and I will say some pretty terrible things, but that arena is already great. And this remodel looks amazing, plus the marketing is well done. 

$72 million is a f***-ton of money. To put that in perspective, the Chaifetz was built for just over $80MM. Granted, the remodel will take place over the next 3 years, but its still a really substantial investment into the athletic facilities. Dayton ain't going away y'all. 

Link to info

[Pistol]

That's a pretty impressive upgrade. They're doing it over 3 years, too, so they won't even be shutting down. Cincinnati is playing at NKU's arena this upcoming season while they shut down Fifth Third Arena for an $80 million renovation.

I see at least one game a season at UD Arena, so I'm excited for this. They seem to be addressing every area of need in the facility. Now if they can just fix the parking situation for non-season ticket holders...

[wgstl]

10 minutes ago, Pistol said:

 Cincinnati is playing at NKU's arena this upcoming season while

well that's just, odd. 

[DeSmetBilliken]

Are they going to use some of the $72 M to keep the lights on during games in the upper sections, so it's not like a movie theater? I found that to be really strange.

[Pistol]

5 minutes ago, DeSmetBilliken said:

Are they going to use some of the $72 M to keep the lights on during games in the upper sections, so it's not like a movie theater? I found that to be really strange.

Given the way the roof slopes downward, I actually like this feature quite a bit. It also has nothing to do with budget.

There are plenty of other arenas where they do this, too.

[Bobby Metzinger]

2 hours ago, wgstl said:

well that's just, odd. 

Do you honestly see Xavier unzipping the doors of its arena for the University of Cincinnati?

[Deutschkind]

3 minutes ago, Bobby Metzinger said:

Do you honestly see Xavier unzipping the doors of its arena for the University of Cincinnati?

What about US Bank Arena downtown? That was just granted 1st/2nd round games in the 2020-something NCAA tourney.

[wgstl]

5 minutes ago, Bobby Metzinger said:

Do you honestly see Xavier unzipping the doors of its arena for the University of Cincinnati?

absolutely not.  But any D1 school allowing another D1 school to use their gym just seems weird. 

[Bobby Metzinger]

1 minute ago, wgstl said:

absolutely not.  But any D1 school allowing another D1 school to use their gym just seems weird. 

The Yankees played their entire "home" 1974 AND 1975 seasons at Shea Stadium; it's happened in major professional sports before. U of Fightin' Illini let the Bears "play" their 2002 home slate at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Just a few examples of stadium-sharing off the top of my head.

[Pistol]

1 minute ago, Deutschkind said:

What about US Bank Arena downtown? That was just granted 1st/2nd round games in the 2020-something NCAA tourney.

US Bank Arena is a dump. To call it "dated" is extremely generous. Tight concourses, minimal suites (and they're bad), poor lighting, nasty seats, decades-old scoreboards, and the place even smells musty.

The NCAA Tournament first-round games were awarded based on the conditions that the proposed upgrades are approved and done by then. The owners have asked for public financing, and both parties at the city and county level have said no, there's no chance. The city is still smarting from a horrible NFL stadium deal (gee, where have we heard this story before?) and they want $200 million+ for the renovations. No way. Basically, those NCAA Tournament games are going to be played elsewhere (unless the owners decide to pay for their own building). It's just a matter of timing, in terms of the NCAA announcing a new site.

UC looked at US Bank Arena despite its issues because it was the most obvious choice. But I guess the terms weren't right. There's no way Xavier would've done it. Cincinnati Gardens is where both UC and Xavier used to play at various points, but it was sold last year and is being torn down for some warehousing and light manufacturing construction. So that left BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University, unless UC tried to find a site a little out of the area. NKU's arena is pretty new, and they're always looking for events. As a smaller-conference team, they don't have as many non-conference home dates as a program like UC, so the date conflicts would primarily arise during the conference season, and I guess both programs were satisfied with how they worked out the terms. Plus, it's only for one season. The UC women's team isn't happy, because they're playing in a local high school gym for this upcoming season.

[prebilliken]

3 hours ago, wgstl said:

well that's just, odd. 

 

1 hour ago, Pistol said:

US Bank Arena is a dump. To call it "dated" is extremely generous. Tight concourses, minimal suites (and they're bad), poor lighting, nasty seats, decades-old scoreboards, and the place even smells musty.

The NCAA Tournament first-round games were awarded based on the conditions that the proposed upgrades are approved and done by then. The owners have asked for public financing, and both parties at the city and county level have said no, there's no chance. The city is still smarting from a horrible NFL stadium deal (gee, where have we heard this story before?) and they want $200 million+ for the renovations. No way. Basically, those NCAA Tournament games are going to be played elsewhere (unless the owners decide to pay for their own building). It's just a matter of timing, in terms of the NCAA announcing a new site.

UC looked at US Bank Arena despite its issues because it was the most obvious choice. But I guess the terms weren't right. There's no way Xavier would've done it. Cincinnati Gardens is where both UC and Xavier used to play at various points, but it was sold last year and is being torn down for some warehousing and light manufacturing construction. So that left BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University, unless UC tried to find a site a little out of the area. NKU's arena is pretty new, and they're always looking for events. As a smaller-conference team, they don't have as many non-conference home dates as a program like UC, so the date conflicts would primarily arise during the conference season, and I guess both programs were satisfied with how they worked out the terms. Plus, it's only for one season. The UC women's team isn't happy, because they're playing in a local high school gym for this upcoming season.

Beat me to it Pistol. The pulse from Cincy fans on Reddit is that NKU is the far better option. While I am at it, here is the link the Fifth-Third's renovation website, they are very impressive as well. 

NKU's campus is a 15 minute drive from the campus of UC, so while it will suck for students, its not a truly terrible situation for fans at large. Plus, BB&T Bank Arena actually seems like a pretty impressive place. 

[Cowboy]

-Chaifetz Arena is 9 years old, I wonder what our upgrade plans are? are the locker rooms under construction?

[shempie]

There is probably an added benefit of solidifying Dayton's role as host of the First Four each year. 

[billikens747]

5 hours ago, Cowboy said:

-Chaifetz Arena is 9 years old, I wonder what our upgrade plans are? are the locker rooms under construction?

On a similar note, wasn't the player's lounge going to be upgraded as well?

[slu72 fan]

2 hours ago, billikens747 said:

On a similar note, wasn't the player's lounge going to be upgraded as well?

Yes in both locker rooms 

[Deutschkind]

Thanks for the information Re: Cincinnati, guys! By the way, I'm moving there this summer to be a resident at the Christ Hospital. I'll be quite busy, but hopefully I can watch some games and maybe even make it to Dayton.

[Old guy]

Good luck to you Deutschkind, residencies have gotten much softer than they were with regulations about the amount of time a person is allowed to be on call, etc... However they are still a major challenge for all involved. All the best.

[Pistol]

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 3:07 PM, Deutschkind said:

Thanks for the information Re: Cincinnati, guys! By the way, I'm moving there this summer to be a resident at the Christ Hospital. I'll be quite busy, but hopefully I can watch some games and maybe even make it to Dayton.

Congrats!

That's where my son was born. Be sure to shoot me a message when you get settled, or if you have any questions ahead of time.

[Taj79]

Apparently, Dayton's plan to upgrade the arena was started as an attempt to expand seating capacity and thereby move off the NCAA's "First Four" listing for games at the YouDee arena.  An arena with 13,000 seats has very little chance to host first and second round games.  These get dolled out to the big boy arenas that hold nearly 20K like MSG, Wells Fargo, United Center, the Pond and so on.  Same with the Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight rounds.  And then three out of four Final Fours move into domes for really gouging the attending public.  So Dayton's original attempt was to add seats and make the place bigger with an eye on the NCAA rewarding them every few years instead of annually with the First Four.  Some even thought they'd get both -- maintain the Four and get next rounds games as well..

This was met with a 50/50 eye towards skepticism, because while Dayton does lead the A10 in attendance, the pervasive thought in the area was no way 20,000 would show up night after night for the likes of Austin Peay, Mount St. Mary's, Nebraska, Portland, Winthrop or East Tennessee State (2016 OOC opponents) let alone the likes of Mason, Geedubya and Duquesne.  Even if you still put 13,000 fans in the seat for those games, the place is only 65% full -- almost half empty.  So the money is going into creature comfort upgrades for the loyal sweater vest crowd.  And it will be gradual as they work the remodeling over the noted three year period.