Louisville to play ND 2009-2010

http://louisville.rivals.com/content.asp...CID=455623

tigersharktwo Wrote:Louisville to play ND 2009-2010

http://louisville.rivals.com/content.asp...CID=455623

More excited about Georgia then Lame.

Will this prompt UL to finally expand the football staduim?


Jackson

Jackson1011 Wrote:Will this prompt UL to finally expand the football staduim?


Jackson

Right now they are more focus on a new Basketball arena then Football expansion. We will expand within the next 2-3 years at Papa John's but they will first get the arena issue over with.

BTW as much as I am for Papa John's expansion the Basketball Arena issue is a more pressing concern. The arena would be downtown and State of the Art. Plus it will be hopefully NBA/NHL ready and will be able to attract major concerts and a couple of NCAA Regionals. Freedom Hall with all it history is now over 50 years old and showing it age. Plus it is no where near anything for pre and post game activities.

I believe ND will only play at stadiums at 50k or more.I also guess that Louisville could give ND their expected share.

Quote:Right now they are more focus on a new Basketball arena then Football expansion. We will expand within the next 2-3 years at Papa John's but they will first get the arena issue over with.

BTW as much as I am for Papa John's expansion the Basketball Arena issue is a more pressing concern. The arena would be downtown and State of the Art. Plus it will be hopefully NBA/NHL ready and will be able to attract major concerts and a couple of NCAA Regionals. Freedom Hall with all it history is now over 50 years old and showing it age. Plus it is no where near anything for pre and post game activities.

-- UL not playing in Freedom Hall will be like Duke not playing in Cameron...I wish there was some way just to improve the current building

-- isn't the state of Kentucky contributing a lot of cash for this building? How much money is UL going to have to put up? Was there any thought of UL building a gym on campus? Or a gym that the university will "own"? I was thinking of something similar to what Pitt recently built. The "Pete" is a great building

Jackson

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:Right now they are more focus on a new Basketball arena then Football expansion. We will expand within the next 2-3 years at Papa John's but they will first get the arena issue over with.

BTW as much as I am for Papa John's expansion the Basketball Arena issue is a more pressing concern. The arena would be downtown and State of the Art. Plus it will be hopefully NBA/NHL ready and will be able to attract major concerts and a couple of NCAA Regionals. Freedom Hall with all it history is now over 50 years old and showing it age. Plus it is no where near anything for pre and post game activities.

-- UL not playing in Freedom Hall will be like Duke not playing in Cameron...I wish there was some way just to improve the current building

-- isn't the state of Kentucky contributing a lot of cash for this building? How much money is UL going to have to put up? Was there any thought of UL building a gym on campus? Or a gym that the university will "own"? I was thinking of something similar to what Pitt recently built. The "Pete" is a great building

Jackson

We did an renovation back in 1984 and really another renovation would not help. Plus it is not in a Central location and that hurts it for any NCAA Regionals.

It will not be a University of Louisville arena but a City of Louisville arena. The City itself is putting up 75 Million and right now the process is starting in the State House. Also we are looking at Hotels around the arena. The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

Look for a new Louisville arena to be more in line with Fed Ex in Memphis or even the Staples Center in LA. The cost is projected to be at least 300 Million.

tigersharktwo Wrote:I believe ND will only play at stadiums at 50k or more.I also guess that Louisville could give ND their expected share.

Not true. ND played at BC bunch of times and BC only holds 44K. ND will play where they have alums. With the BE relationship, they have to play 3 BE teams a year.

The deal BC had will not apply to Rutgers,UConn or Louisville.Different circumstances.In fact they may want 60k.

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

We have in the past few years. We almost had the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Hornets. We were in the Final two when they made their decisions to leave Vancover(sp) and Charlotte.

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

No we aren't. In fact UofL is actively opposed to an NBA interest in the city and has basically said it would walk away from the city's arena deal if the NBA was involved. There is a book called 'Air Ball' by an attorney in Louisville who has tried to bring the NBA to the city for the past 20 years. The University has thankfully been one of the biggest thorns in his side.

People don't want that trash in the city anyway. Polling by the Louisville Courier-Journal confirms as much.

Maize's assertion that we were close seconds is misleading in that we were the first choice for these franchises but the city couldnt get the deal done because people werent interested in spending buckets of tax dollars for an arena for an NBA franchise.

In turn it

L-yes Wrote:

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

No we aren't. In fact UofL is actively opposed to an NBA interest in the city and has basically said it would walk away from the city's arena deal if the NBA was involved. There is a book called 'Air Ball' by an attorney in Louisville who has tried to bring the NBA to the city for the past 20 years. The University has thankfully been one of the biggest thorns in his side.

People don't want that trash in the city anyway. Polling by the Louisville Courier-Journal confirms as much.

L-Yes you truly believe that, the NBA/NHL will always be an option in regards to a Downtown Arena. Yes it is true that UofL is very much opposed to a Downtown Arena, but if one is built and they get certain guarantees in regards to the Arena they will play in it.

Maize Wrote:

L-yes Wrote:

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

No we aren't. In fact UofL is actively opposed to an NBA interest in the city and has basically said it would walk away from the city's arena deal if the NBA was involved. There is a book called 'Air Ball' by an attorney in Louisville who has tried to bring the NBA to the city for the past 20 years. The University has thankfully been one of the biggest thorns in his side.

People don't want that trash in the city anyway. Polling by the Louisville Courier-Journal confirms as much.

L-Yes you truly believe that, the NBA/NHL will always be an option in regards to a Downtown Arena. Yes it is true that UofL is very much opposed to a Downtown Arena, but if one is built and they get certain guarantees in regards to the Arena they will play in it.

I know for a fact that UofL would not be involved in the project if the NBA were involved, period. If UofL were not involved you have a dead project. Its that simple.

L-yes Wrote:

Maize Wrote:

L-yes Wrote:

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

No we aren't. In fact UofL is actively opposed to an NBA interest in the city and has basically said it would walk away from the city's arena deal if the NBA was involved. There is a book called 'Air Ball' by an attorney in Louisville who has tried to bring the NBA to the city for the past 20 years. The University has thankfully been one of the biggest thorns in his side.

People don't want that trash in the city anyway. Polling by the Louisville Courier-Journal confirms as much.

L-Yes you truly believe that, the NBA/NHL will always be an option in regards to a Downtown Arena. Yes it is true that UofL is very much opposed to a Downtown Arena, but if one is built and they get certain guarantees in regards to the Arena they will play in it.

I know for a fact that UofL would not be involved in the project if the NBA were involved, period. If UofL were not involved you have a dead project. Its that simple.

We will see, but I feel the new arena would be NBA/NHL ready. UofL would only provide at most 36 dates out of 364 days of the year. Got to pay for it some kind of way or the boys in Frankfort aint going for it.

Maize Wrote:

L-yes Wrote:

Maize Wrote:

L-yes Wrote:

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

No we aren't. In fact UofL is actively opposed to an NBA interest in the city and has basically said it would walk away from the city's arena deal if the NBA was involved. There is a book called 'Air Ball' by an attorney in Louisville who has tried to bring the NBA to the city for the past 20 years. The University has thankfully been one of the biggest thorns in his side.

People don't want that trash in the city anyway. Polling by the Louisville Courier-Journal confirms as much.

L-Yes you truly believe that, the NBA/NHL will always be an option in regards to a Downtown Arena. Yes it is true that UofL is very much opposed to a Downtown Arena, but if one is built and they get certain guarantees in regards to the Arena they will play in it.

I know for a fact that UofL would not be involved in the project if the NBA were involved, period. If UofL were not involved you have a dead project. Its that simple.

We will see, but I feel the new arena would be NBA/NHL ready. UofL would only provide at most 36 dates out of 364 days of the year. Got to pay for it some kind of way or the boys in Frankfort aint going for it.

We will see. There are countless articles on the subject available on the CJ's web site. Not once do you read anything about bringing in professional basketball.

Remember that the only reason this proposal has gotten this far is because UofL is on board. They sunk the 'Bucket'/Griz proposal single handedly.

L-yes Wrote:

Maize Wrote:

L-yes Wrote:

Maize Wrote:

L-yes Wrote:

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:The University of Louisville will be the primary tennet and if a NBA or NHL team comes to the city UofL is guaranteed first rights to the arena dates.

-- Is the city of Louisville activley looking for a NBA or NHL team?



Jackson

No we aren't. In fact UofL is actively opposed to an NBA interest in the city and has basically said it would walk away from the city's arena deal if the NBA was involved. There is a book called 'Air Ball' by an attorney in Louisville who has tried to bring the NBA to the city for the past 20 years. The University has thankfully been one of the biggest thorns in his side.

People don't want that trash in the city anyway. Polling by the Louisville Courier-Journal confirms as much.

L-Yes you truly believe that, the NBA/NHL will always be an option in regards to a Downtown Arena. Yes it is true that UofL is very much opposed to a Downtown Arena, but if one is built and they get certain guarantees in regards to the Arena they will play in it.

I know for a fact that UofL would not be involved in the project if the NBA were involved, period. If UofL were not involved you have a dead project. Its that simple.

We will see, but I feel the new arena would be NBA/NHL ready. UofL would only provide at most 36 dates out of 364 days of the year. Got to pay for it some kind of way or the boys in Frankfort aint going for it.

We will see. There are countless articles on the subject available on the CJ's web site. Not once do you read anything about bringing in professional basketball.

Remember that the only reason this proposal has gotten this far is because UofL is on board. They sunk the 'Bucket'/Griz proposal single handedly.

Not saying it will bring in a NBA or NHL team, all I am saying is the arena will be NBA or NHL ready much like the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, New Orleans Arena before the Hornets moved their or the Gaylord Center in Nashville

I'm siding with L-Yes on this one. My personal feelings aside, UofL will not be a part of an arena with NBA involvement. The majority of the city does not want an NBA team there. And we all know that if they promised UofL the first dates, the second they thought they could get an NBA team they'd break the promise. I doubt an NBA team would even come without a promise of 1st date picks and the city would not say no to an NBA team on that issue alone, thus screwing UofL.

The NBA is basically a joke anyway. Players like Shaq admittedly take months off during the season effort wise and the players have the $ mentality more so than winning. Most Louisville people aren't interested in that.

Did it not come out earlier that all the Big East football teams would eventually play ND both home and away every few years? It seems like they are negotiating one by one now. I know a game at PBS in Cincy will draw 67,000. I have heard nothing official here on any set dates or talks.

"Maize's assertion that we were close seconds is misleading in that we were the first choice for these franchises but the city couldnt get the deal done because people werent interested in spending buckets of tax dollars for an arena for an NBA franchise"

L: I don't believe Louisville was ever first in line for an NBA team. Stern(?) the NBA commissioner, was pushing Memphis (Memphis had been quietly seeking a franchise through its blue ribbon "pursuit team". ) The biggest competition was Anaheim and Las Vegas. Anaheim already has a major league tenant, NHL, and the NBA does not like to share if possible. Las Vegas because of sports betting was out. Stern said that the demographics for Memphis were the best of any city without a major league franchise.

Another point, the NBA will never give UL first rights in any arena arrangement, you can forget that right now. They don't even share an arena unless they really have to. They even have a no compete clause in Memphis, they get any arena type attractions or have first refusal rights. The Pyramid or the old Mid South Colesieum cannot book an act without first going through the Grizzlies and FedExForum for approval.

Any new arena will have to have a large number of private suites and club seating areas. This is the only way to finance an expensive arena and it is also a prerequsite of the NBA (I believe).

I do think Louisville would be a good NBA city and also think UL could coexsist with that franchise. Your much like Memphis, many rabid basketball fans, and with the additional fans of other schools in your metro area, would help the NBA attendance.