The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-11-2013 01:13 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  

(01-11-2013 01:01 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  

(01-11-2013 12:50 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  In reviewing the presented numbers from the two locations, I'm not sure that the "much smaller is better" was the right way to have gone @ Bartow Arena, even then. I bring this up in light of the similar direction we took in designing an OCS in that same spirit. There is always the "We can always enlarge the place LATER" position, but how is that working so far for Bartow Arena? Perhaps the way WE believe is what we need is how others instate are prompted to believe about UAB athletics in general. Did UAB "set the bar" too low from the start? Perhaps UAB needs to rethink that 25,000 or so design BEFORE building it that small. The size of seating capacity may be considered by the public as a statement by the school as to what UAB's own BELIEF LEVEL is in the future of the school's program.

NO, I'm not saying the BOT would have endorsed a larger stadium, but we couldn't have gotten a worse reaction / result than we did for our "bandbox" design.

We haven't needed to expand Bartow. What the hell are you talking about. Are you saying Bartow is too small? 8500 is a respectable size arena. It gives us a good home court advantage when it has a respectable crowd and it should not have been bigger.

I know you are trying to shoehorn one of your pet soapbox themes into this conversation, but you failed miserably.

I'm a believer that those who don't learn from the past may be doomed to repeat past mistakes. I believe a <9,000 seat Bartow Arena was a statement of LACK OF BELIEF in the school's future and I don't want the same message to be transmitted to the public with the design of the OCS. There are a lot of seats between 8,000 and 20,000 and I believe UAB should have found a bigger point on the scale to build. How can UAB expect the public to think of our program as a serious new contender in major college sports when we don't project that in our own building efforts? THAT"S what the Hell I'm talking about.

BTW, There have been about a dozen new stadiums shown on this forum from around the nation. How many were as small as the one presented @ UAB for a D1 program?

I guess Duke isn't a major contender with that small arena they have. UAB built the exact size they needed to build. Bartow arena has averaged (averaged!!!) no more than 6000 or 7000 in its 20 year history. Why would they need more empty seats? And if you haven't heard - we arent building an OCS so it doesn't matter how big it should be until it is actually being built. What you are arguing is that we should not be allowed to build a 35000 seat stadium rather than not being allowed to build a 25000 seat stadium.

What stupid comments.

(01-11-2013 01:01 PM)the Dragon Wrote:  

(01-11-2013 12:50 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  In reviewing the presented numbers from the two locations, I'm not sure that the "much smaller is better" was the right way to have gone @ Bartow Arena, even then. I bring this up in light of the similar direction we took in designing an OCS in that same spirit. There is always the "We can always enlarge the place LATER" position, but how is that working so far for Bartow Arena? Perhaps the way WE believe is what we need is how others instate are prompted to believe about UAB athletics in general. Did UAB "set the bar" too low from the start? Perhaps UAB needs to rethink that 25,000 or so design BEFORE building it that small. The size of seating capacity may be considered by the public as a statement by the school as to what UAB's own BELIEF LEVEL is in the future of the school's program.

NO, I'm not saying the BOT would have endorsed a larger stadium, but we couldn't have gotten a worse reaction / result than we did for our "bandbox" design.

The BJCC didn't always bring 16k+. I wasn't around then, but didn't we have some small crowds there that were awful?

Season ticket sales keep the real attendance numbers boosted. The game against Longwood on the night right after our guys played Auburn at the BJCC the night before, there might have been 700-800 people in the audience. The media guide says 2228 for that game.

Quote:I believe a <9,000 seat Bartow Arena was a statement of LACK OF BELIEF in the school's future

Gene Bartow deliberately planned the arena that bears his name for its current size - he wanted it to be a tough ticket, to drive season ticket sales. He told me this himself, and verily I pass this on to you.

Gene Bartow is the Fount of All Belief. To say that Gene lacked BELIEF is to call the Golden Girls unattractive and flat-chested, to call Blaze the dragon blue, to call Bear Bryant a moral man, a monogamist, a Freedom Rider and a teetotaler. That is to say, a complete non sequiter.

It is to call Bamanblazerfan coherent.

From what I heard, there are maybe less than 500 tickets remaining now.

As far as Memphis being the marquee game, it's true that someone else can and will replace it. Why is this game nearly a sellout already when neither team is even in the Top 25? Because there have been some good games and history between the schools and because there is a passion about the game. Eventually, there will be a passion that will emerge between UAB and whoever else is contending for the league title (Charlotte, ODU, UTEP, Tulsa, etc?).

We don't even know ultimately what CUSA or the BE will look like membership wise, so it's very hard to say at this point who will become our rival. For all we know, we could end up back with Memphis in the BE, but even if that doesn't happen, it is possible that Tulsa and UTEP won't be around to be rivals in which case the next most likely rivals become Charlotte, ODU, and MTSU. Simple fact is that there's a lot still to be determined.

UAB will be fine with or without this Memphis series. I hope it continues, but it seems abundantly clear that many of the fans at Memphis anyway don't want it to. Whether Pastner or their AD has any interest in the game is another matter.

(01-11-2013 02:10 PM)Blazer85 Wrote:  From what I heard, there are maybe less than 500 tickets remaining now.

As far as Memphis being the marquee game, it's true that someone else can and will replace it. Why is this game nearly a sellout already when neither team is even in the Top 25? Because there have been some good games and history between the schools and because there is a passion about the game. Eventually, there will be a passion that will emerge between UAB and whoever else is contending for the league title (Charlotte, ODU, UTEP, Tulsa, etc?).

We don't even know ultimately what CUSA or the BE will look like membership wise, so it's very hard to say at this point who will become our rival. For all we know, we could end up back with Memphis in the BE, but even if that doesn't happen, it is possible that Tulsa and UTEP won't be around to be rivals in which case the next most likely rivals become Charlotte, ODU, and MTSU. Simple fact is that there's a lot still to be determined.

UAB will be fine with or without this Memphis series. I hope it continues, but it seems abundantly clear that many of the fans at Memphis anyway don't want it to. Whether Pastner or their AD has any interest in the game is another matter.

Don't let a few blowhards on a message board represent an entire Memphis fanbase.

(01-11-2013 01:56 PM)58-56 Wrote:  

Quote:I believe a <9,000 seat Bartow Arena was a statement of LACK OF BELIEF in the school's future

Gene Bartow deliberately planned the arena that bears his name for its current size - he wanted it to be a tough ticket, to drive season ticket sales. He told me this himself, and verily I pass this on to you.

Gene Bartow is the Fount of All Belief. To say that Gene lacked BELIEF is to call the Golden Girls unattractive and flat-chested, to call Blaze the dragon blue, to call Bear Bryant a moral man, a monogamist, a Freedom Rider and a teetotaler. That is to say, a complete non sequiter.

I must admit that I never spoke to Gene Bartow about such issues so you have me at a disadvantage. How has his strategy worked out to date? I sincerely hope that season ticket demand will eventually reach the number Gene desired for his Arena. Perhaps we have the coach today to make that happen in this decade.

I am old enough to have opinions about some of Paul Bryant's "not so great" decisions so I would think I would be allowed to disagree, even with Gene Bartow, on that ONE. I believe he picked a smaller number of seats than he should have, but it was his decision to make and it is today literally "set in stone".

If UAB goes ahead with the smaller OC Stadium someday, it will also be "set in stone" for decades to come.

(01-11-2013 02:26 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  If UAB goes ahead with the smaller OC Stadium someday, it will also be "set in stone" for decades to come.

it is sooooooo much easier to expand a 28k OCS by adding in the end zone seats than it is to expand a basketball arena.

The OCS won't need an upper deck til we atleast break the 35k barrier consistently. (35k will be capacity once the endzone is added) Considering we broke that threshold like 3 times in the last 20 years we have some winning and recruiting to do before we get there.

Bartow Arena is perfectly designed so that when it's at full-capacity or near it, it's one of the most intimidating venues in college basketball.

You want to see an arena that was poorly designed? Go visit Auburn's fancy new arena. While the student section is near the floor, everything else seems to far away from the court. Only the student section can make noise by pounding the bleachers with their feet...

Most of that noise doesn't stay in the arena, but instead escapes into the arena-wide open area that leads to the concession stands, restrooms, etc.

(01-11-2013 11:46 AM)grendelson138 Wrote:  If the series ends, will we finally release all those Memphis fans from the dungeon under Bartow?

NEVER!!!!!!!!

(01-11-2013 02:33 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  Bartow Arena is perfectly designed so that when it's at full-capacity or near it, it's one of the most intimidating venues in college basketball.

You want to see an arena that was poorly designed? Go visit Auburn's fancy new arena. While the student section is near the floor, everything else seems to far away from the court. Only the student section can make noise by pounding the bleachers with their feet...

Most of that noise doesn't stay in the arena, but instead escapes into the arena-wide open area that leads to the concession stands, restrooms, etc.

Would have to agree with this and say that a number of high profile coaches have labeled UAB's home court advantage as being one of the best (at least when it is packed out). I believe it was either Pitino or Calipari that said Bartow Arena was the loudest place they've ever been to.

(01-11-2013 02:33 PM)Dracorex Wrote:  

(01-11-2013 02:26 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  If UAB goes ahead with the smaller OC Stadium someday, it will also be "set in stone" for decades to come.

it is sooooooo much easier to expand a 28k OCS by adding in the end zone seats than it is to expand a basketball arena.

The OCS won't need an upper deck til we atleast break the 35k barrier consistently. (35k will be capacity once the endzone is added) Considering we broke that threshold like 3 times in the last 20 years we have some winning and recruiting to do before we get there.

You are correct in that adding these lowest value seats in the end zone is easiest/cheapest to do. The reason for looking at two level sideline seating is that nearly all of these seats are sideline/ higher value seating, especially when you add in skyboxes between the levels. As the Park Board letter I circulated stated, Legion Field seats about 70,000, but only about a total of 26,000 of these are between the goal lines (down from 35,000 when it had the upper deck). Original costs of construction are important , but so is the value of what you are going to offer. If a maximum of possible higher value seating is not to be considered, then we will have to build what we can get for as little as possible. With the number of stadiums built around the nation in the last 2 decades or so, we surely can find a design we can adapt that fits our needs perfectly.

How about a stadium with ALL end zone seating? (LOL)

(01-11-2013 02:44 PM)Blazer85 Wrote:  

(01-11-2013 02:33 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  Bartow Arena is perfectly designed so that when it's at full-capacity or near it, it's one of the most intimidating venues in college basketball.

You want to see an arena that was poorly designed? Go visit Auburn's fancy new arena. While the student section is near the floor, everything else seems to far away from the court. Only the student section can make noise by pounding the bleachers with their feet...

Most of that noise doesn't stay in the arena, but instead escapes into the arena-wide open area that leads to the concession stands, restrooms, etc.

Would have to agree with this and say that a number of high profile coaches have labeled UAB's home court advantage as being one of the best (at least when it is packed out). I believe it was either Pitino or Calipari that said Bartow Arena was the loudest place they've ever been to.

That was Pitino if I recall correctly.

Calipari's quote: "UAB is what it is."

Pitino: "This game is on the road. Some of our coaches thought before we even played a game that the toughest game on our schedule was UAB on the road...my opinion is every road game you have no idea what's going to happen. This is a sold-out arena. This is a very difficult game against a very difficult team."

(01-11-2013 02:33 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  Bartow Arena is perfectly designed so that when it's at full-capacity or near it, it's one of the most intimidating venues in college basketball.

The original design Gene wanted had the concourse at the very top, and the bulk of the "multi-purpose facility" (it was never, ever to be referred to as a "basketball arena") sunk into the ground. The rocky ground at that site could only be excavated at enormous expense, and the plans were modified to what you see today.

(01-11-2013 03:21 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Calipari's quote: "UAB is what it is."

He was probably lying.

(01-11-2013 04:16 PM)58-56 Wrote:  

(01-11-2013 02:33 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  Bartow Arena is perfectly designed so that when it's at full-capacity or near it, it's one of the most intimidating venues in college basketball.

The original design Gene wanted had the concourse at the very top, and the bulk of the "multi-purpose facility" (it was never, ever to be referred to as a "basketball arena") sunk into the ground. The rocky ground at that site could only be excavated at enormous expense, and the plans were modified to what you see today.

+1.

I remember him saying he wanted something similar to "The Pit" at New Mexico

I'll say the same thing here that I've said in a couple of other forums.

The Coach Bartow connection should be enough for Memphis (and UAB) to at least attempt to find a way to have some form of revolving basketball relationship with UAB. One road game every 2 years to actively continue Coach Bartow's legacy shouldn't put too much of a strain on the scheduling process.

Good luck tomorrow evening, except of course when the final score is tallied up.