I don't know if I am the minority in my thoughts about CHA, but it seems as if there are a lot of posters on HN that are really down on the facility. So, I will give you my thoughts and let it go from there...
1. I like the uniqueness of the top ring of the arena, where the sight lines to the playing floor are pretty impressive. Seems like a "pit" set up which would be a positive for intimidation.
2. I don't really understand the complaints about the steps down into the arena. I guess you guys would enjoy climbing up from floor level? What is the difference?
3. There is really not a bad seat in CHA. Its big enough for large crowds, but small enough to have a pretty intimate feel. And, yes, I have watched games from many different areas in the arena, so I speak from personal experience. These days, I am blessed to be dead center court, on the aisle, 26 rows up opposite the bench; the good seat was primarily because I only buy a single.
4. The displays around the concourse are really nice. Even though I have seen them many times, I often re-visit them and see many other fans enjoying the experience.
5. The restrooms are fine. Beats troughs. I could not care less about the concessions. Don't use them, except for an occasional "twist" cone.
6. Traffic is annoying. What else is new?
7. Although I have never toured the new addition for practices, I have been told by others that it is really nice.
8. We have been through the student seating issue many times. You may want to look at the other 13 arenas in the Big Ten and see how many of them put the students in the "end zone." I know from personal experience that Wisconsin does, and they seem to have pretty good crowd participation...and, the students have to beg and borrow to get into the games at all.
9. The new display boards are pretty darn impressive. Just my opinion.
10. Finally, I have now taken 13 people to Iowa games who are from Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, Penn State, and all of them have been really impressed with CHA. They love the configuration of the concourse above and the floor below.
11. The complaint that the "blue hairs" sit on their hands and leave early is another common view among the critics. The people around me are a typical variety of age groups. Young couples, often with kids, those ranging from 20's to probably 80 are around, a few fans of visiting teams. My hair is not blue, I just don't have much left. I get really annoyed when people leave early, but I will admit that with games times being so erratic, and people coming from Des Moines, Davenport, are probably worried about getting home at a reasonable time. I am lucky. I just stay over for the night post game.
12. Iowa fans, in terms of participation in the games, are just about normal. When the team is playing well, when the team is on a run, when the game is close, they are pretty darn loud. And CHA really contains the noise. That I know. Too often, we fans are taken out of the game by poor play resulting in blowouts. When we have a lot of students on board, the noise level is pretty darn impressive. But, that, admittedly, is not happening often enough.
So: Its not CHA that is the problem. Its our competitiveness in the Big Ten.