The BOV voted to officially rename William and Mary Hall as Kaplan Arena during their full board meeting.

One Tribe. One Family.

Here is the article on this: http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2016/will...lan-57.php

Sounds like they made another very significant recent contribution for scholarships. Thankful for their generosity and the generosity of so many others in supporting Tribe Athletics.

Agree on the thanks. The Kaplans have been very generous. Wish we could give them a better namesake than a dilapidated monument to mid-century modern commercial architecture that has not had a significant renovation since it opened.

That article says it's the largest gift ever received. It sounds like now all of the basketball scholarships are endowed. Great gift, and hopefully Kaplan cam be updated to reflect the commitment of their gift.

Local Richmond news stated Kaplan gift was "north of 20 mill".

Now wonder if COA will become a possibility.

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So can we name the new building after the Kaplans as well when the current building burns down in a mysterious electrical fire and we build a beautiful, state of the art building with the insurance money?

(09-23-2016 06:20 PM)Rocco Wrote:  So can we name the new building after the Kaplans as well when the current building burns down in a mysterious electrical fire and we build a beautiful, state of the art building with the insurance money?

Wasn't that written into the donation?

In addition to the remarkable funding of all basketball scholarships forever, the Kaplans also are funding the construction of a new wing to the Muscarelle. It's folks like Jane and Jim Kaplan who help make our College
as great as it is.

Kaplan Arena is a far, far better name, by the way, than the old William & Mary Hall!

(09-24-2016 05:37 AM)BigTribe2 Wrote:  Kaplan Arena is a far, far better name, by the way, than the old William & Mary Hall!

We'll have to agree to disagree there. A newly constructed Kaplan Arena would be far, far better than the old William & Mary Hall, though.

Since the Kaplans' have freed up the money previously used for basketball scholarships, perhaps the money donated for scholarships can be used as payments on a bond issue to upgrade the Arena, and not just have it disappear into the general athletic fund. Just sayin'

I like the renaming of the arena. It personalizes the building and let's people know that there are individuals Out there who give a s..t.

This is great news. We should also all take a moment to appreciate what Tony Shaver has been able to achieve with the program despite somehow not even having all scholarships endowed until now. Extremely impressive.

(09-24-2016 03:11 PM)Tribe2011 Wrote:  This is great news. We should also all take a moment to appreciate what Tony Shaver has been able to achieve with the program despite somehow not even having all scholarships endowed until now. Extremely impressive.

And, it sends a message to recruits that we're on an upward trajectory.


I don't know why people complain about Kaplan...it's not beautiful but I tend to focus on the product on the court. Who here has said, "Man, that win over JMU was fine, but the arena just ruined my experience."

I have never in my life considered concessions because I eat before or after games at a proper restaurant. Kaplan's seats are comfortable, sight lines are good, and it's easy to get in and out of the arena.

One Tribe. One Family.

(09-24-2016 03:18 PM)Tribal Wrote:  I don't know why people complain about Kaplan...it's not beautiful but I tend to focus on the product on the court. Who here has said, "Man, that win over JMU was fine, but the arena just ruined my experience."

I have never in my life considered concessions because I eat before or after games at a proper restaurant. Kaplan's seats are comfortable, sight lines are good, and it's easy to get in and out of the arena.

Agree on seats and concessions, but the fact is that Kaplan is just not conducive to building an exciting atmosphere. In an ideal world, we'd have an arena where the seats are right on top of the court, the student section is very close to the action behind one of the baskets, and noise is held in. Witness VCU's Siegel Center for an arena that does this excellently and has a phenomenal in-game atmosphere (also helps to have 30,000 students of course...). Also Towson's new arena, which I think is pretty much exactly what I'd want for WM if we had the ability to build an arena from scratch.

[quote uid=73535 name="Tribe2011" post=13606790 timestamp=1474747882]This is great news. We should also all take a moment to appreciate what Tony Shaver has been able to achieve with the program despite somehow not even having all scholarships endowed until now. Extremely impressive.[/quote]<br />
And, it sends a message to recruits that we're on an upward trajectory. <br />
<br />
<br />
I don't know why people complain about Kaplan...it's not beautiful but I tend to focus on the product on the court. Who here has said, "Man, that win over JMU was fine, but the arena just ruined my experience." <br />
<br />
I have never in my life considered concessions because I eat before or after games at a proper restaurant. Kaplan's seats are comfortable, sight lines are good, and it's easy to get in and out of the arena. <br />
<br />
One Tribe. One Family.
Besides, if you give enough money you get a free beer at halftime.

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Kaplan Arena is what we have...and will have for a long time.

Perhaps we'll see some interior redesign in the next three-five years: however, need to have a 10000 seat capacity for graduation and other special events makes it tough. Perhaps some kind of drapery system in the upper deck to cut basketball capacity to somewhere around 5000.

(09-24-2016 04:00 PM)BigTribe2 Wrote:  Kaplan Arena is what we have...and will have for a long time.

Perhaps we'll see some interior redesign in the next three-five years: however, need to have a 10000 seat capacity for graduation and other special events makes it tough. Perhaps some kind of drapery system in the upper deck to cut basketball capacity to somewhere around 5000.

This is what they do at Seattle U. It makes sense

They do tend to block off some of the upper seats for most games.

(09-24-2016 03:47 PM)Tribe2011 Wrote:  

(09-24-2016 03:18 PM)Tribal Wrote:  I don't know why people complain about Kaplan...it's not beautiful but I tend to focus on the product on the court. Who here has said, "Man, that win over JMU was fine, but the arena just ruined my experience."

I have never in my life considered concessions because I eat before or after games at a proper restaurant. Kaplan's seats are comfortable, sight lines are good, and it's easy to get in and out of the arena.

Agree on seats and concessions, but the fact is that Kaplan is just not conducive to building an exciting atmosphere. In an ideal world, we'd have an arena where the seats are right on top of the court, the student section is very close to the action behind one of the baskets, and noise is held in. Witness VCU's Siegel Center for an arena that does this excellently and has a phenomenal in-game atmosphere (also helps to have 30,000 students of course...). Also Towson's new arena, which I think is pretty much exactly what I'd want for WM if we had the ability to build an arena from scratch.

The acoustics in The Kap are not great and the sounds bounces around which makes it loud when fans make noise.The studen section is as close to the court as it can be it is not in some upper deck and The Pep Band is right behind the basket and the music is heard through the arena. So, do not blame the facility for when there may not be the Cameron atmosphere.