HoosierPal Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/17145766/atlantic-10-venues-ranked-according-difficulty Having only been to one other venue, it's hard to criticize this list. Have to rely on TV to make any critical judgement. Dayton first, VCU second makes sense. After that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Major BS that the Smith Center is above Chaifetz. Chaifetz is great on the rare occasion it's a packed house too, and has none of the horrible drawbacks of the Smith Center mentioned in the article. Edit: okay, it's toughest place to play, not really rating them as venues. But still hard to believe GW deserves to be that high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 -on a somewhat related note, Sunday marked 10 years from groundbreaking on Chaifetz, my how time flies -it would make a lot of sense for this ranking to include or be entirely based on the home win/loss record Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgstl Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 53 minutes ago, HoosierPal said: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/17145766/atlantic-10-venues-ranked-according-difficulty Having only been to one other venue, it's hard to criticize this list. Have to rely on TV to make any critical judgement. Dayton first, VCU second makes sense. After that ? VCU's looks likes Sluh's gym.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 This ranking has to do with which venue is the toughest to play in not which is the best venue in general. Given our poor performances the last two years in home games I am surprised we were ranked 7th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilkowsky Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 1 hour ago, hsmith19 said: Major BS that the Smith Center is above Chaifetz. Chaifetz is great on the rare occasion it's a packed house too, and has none of the horrible drawbacks of the Smith Center mentioned in the article. Edit: okay, it's toughest place to play, not really rating them as venues. But still hard to believe GW deserves to be that high. How often has Chaifetz been packed the last couple of years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 34 minutes ago, Tilkowsky said: How often has Chaifetz been packed the last couple of years? At least read the post you're quoting before trolling. I've always been able to control myself without blocking anybody on here, but if you're trying to be the first you're sure getting close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnkielBreakers Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 I have been to maybe half a dozen different CBB venues. Maybe more. GWU was by far the worst. It is like a high school gym, and not the old timey 'Cameron indoor' kind. More like the average suburban gym made in the 2000's. Also, for what it is worth, Chafitz is my favorite of all the venues I have been to, including Allen field house and Bud Walton (in its heyday). SLU did a great job with the arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Thanks a lot Crews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I guess the landscape changing is fine but be prepared to pay for each game then. Maybe OK since you won't be paying for monthly cable. It is just that seldom does things like this change and not cost you more money ultimately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 6 hours ago, wgstl said: VCU's looks likes Sluh's gym.. Not true at all. I went there last year for SLU's game against VCU. It is a very nice arena. I like Chaifetz better, but it's not far off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 -alcohol is sold at Chaifetz, overpriced no doubt, that should have also bumped the rank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgstl Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 10 hours ago, cgeldmacher said: Not true at all. I went there last year for SLU's game against VCU. It is a very nice arena. I like Chaifetz better, but it's not far off. I'd hope that in person its better, but on TV, it does resemble a new high school type gym. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 16 hours ago, AnkielBreakers said: I have been to maybe half a dozen different CBB venues. Maybe more. GWU was by far the worst. It is like a high school gym, and not the old timey 'Cameron indoor' kind. More like the average suburban gym made in the 2000's. GW and Dayton are the only two other A10 venues I've been to. The location at GW is nice, much better than where Dayton's arena is plopped on the side of the highway out by itself. But that's just about the only good thing I can say about the Smith Center. It reminds me a lot of the Vadalabene Center at SIUE, just a little bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 2 hours ago, hsmith19 said: GW and Dayton are the only two other A10 venues I've been to. The location at GW is nice, much better than where Dayton's arena is plopped on the side of the highway out by itself. But that's just about the only good thing I can say about the Smith Center. It reminds me a lot of the Vadalabene Center at SIUE, just a little bigger. UD Arena is the perfect size for NCAA Tourney games (and is usually filled) holding 13,409 in a facility built for basketball as opposed to multi-purpose arenas. At the same time, I much prefer the sight lines in Chaifetz - though much smaller at only 10,600. At UD Arena, though, while all the seats in the lower level are great, "corner" seating is generally missing in that there are more pronounced or squared off seating sections behind each basket as opposed to the rounded construction at Chaifetz. Consequently, many of the lower level or lower bowl seats in the corners at Chaifetz do not exist at UD Arena. While the concept is commendable in that most seats are built on the 2 equal sides of the basketball court to better view the game, the trade off is that the side court seat rows just go higher and higher and higher. And to compensate for the long distance from the court, lights are turned off/dimmed and darkened to make the lit up court easier to see. For those who have been to UD Arena and had to sit in the nosebleeds thanks to the good folks at Dayton, you know what I mean. And while the atmosphere of being at a live event cannot be simulated on a TV screen, at least you can truly see the action on a TV screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I have been twice to UD Arena. If you have seats near the court, you have a decent view. I would say that 8,000 of their 13,409 seats have terrible sightlines. It's almost like they plopped half of a football stadium inside of a building. The seats on either side of the court (not the ends) just keep going up and up and up. I would say that they go about 50% or 60% higher up than the seats at Chaifetz do. Every seat at Chaifetz has a good sightline and is near the court. Only so many seats at UD Arena are so situated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 UD Arena has an unconventional arrangement, true, given that the seats go so far up on the sides and the ceiling dips down instead of up, but with those features and the fact they turn the lights out, it actually frames the court pretty nicely for viewing. The sightlines are fine - you're just farther away. The ends are also tight, and right on the court, so the students and band are really loud at the end - again, assisted by the lower ceiling. Plus, they fill the place. The structure is unusual and dated but it's loud and not a bad place to watch a game. I think the Reilly Center is the only other A10 gym where I've seen a game. It's as basic as it gets, just a box with cinder block walls and stands. But they fill it and they're hostile. I would be, too, if I were stuck in such a remote place all winter with minimal other outlets for my pent-up energy. As just a building, Chaifetz is WAY better than most if not all of these other arenas. The size is perfect, the sight lines are perfect, the boards up in the corners are perfect. We just need to fill it more consistently. (FWIW, I've never thought much of Chaifetz from the outside. It's safe and boring, like the other stuff SLU builds on campus.) (By the way, yet again, people are starting redundant threads. This was up just a few weeks ago. What's going on here lately?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 24 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said: I have been twice to UD Arena. If you have seats near the court, you have a decent view. I would say that 8,000 of their 13,409 seats have terrible sightlines. It's almost like they plopped half of a football stadium inside of a building. The seats on either side of the court (not the ends) just keep going up and up and up. I would say that they go about 50% or 60% higher up than the seats at Chaifetz do. Every seat at Chaifetz has a good sightline and is near the court. Only so many seats at UD Arena are so situated. Yup, this is why I only go to Dayton now if I can get seats further down. I find decent tickets on stubhub and just deal with the angry looks I get from the season ticket holders in the area. Sitting way up in the rafters in the designated SLU section wasn't worth the trip, I didn't think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 16 hours ago, cgeldmacher said: Not true at all. I went there last year for SLU's game against VCU. It is a very nice arena. I like Chaifetz better, but it's not far off. wgstl may not have meant it as a negative. Have you seen SLUH's endowment lately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheA_Bomb Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Dayton arena has laminate floors. VCU's operates on septic. Chaifetz has real hard wood, gas oven, city sewage and an open floor plan prefect for entertaining. Plus the neighborhood is up and coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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