Iowa basketball fan support

[HuckFinn]

I'm sure it isn't. But that's my fear, that the university dumps $100 million+ renovating Carver vs. doing it right with a new arena for $200M. It's a crappy location and a crappy design. I think the long term value of any renovations would be pretty limited.

Crappy design. Eye of the beholder. Unique? Yup. Sound, home crowd friendly with snake pit effect, yup. Concession and restroom arrangement, good. I don’t miss peeing in a metal trough, BTW. Defined individual, comfortable seating? Definitely. Hand rails to all seating benefits aging population, as well as mildly handicapped. Handicapped designated seating by permit is a great design. Ticket entry is quick and efficient. Exit is smooth. Scoreboards, video production, etc. is first class. Pep band placement and performance is amazing! They are disruptive, for sure.

FYI. I had season ticks for several years in the old field house Going back to Ralph Miller’s “six pack” and Lute. It was really, really loud. That was the only good thing about it. Crowded, filthy, terrible seating, obstructed views galore, no concessions, terrible bathrooms, entry /exit a nightmare. Nobody now would attend games in a venue like that. But, yeah. It was noisy.

 

[trj]

Could be.

Goetz’s first big call might not be replacing Kirk or Fran, but it could be what they end up doing with Carver. What I don’t understand is the “What to do with Carver” all based on the apathy towards men’s basketball or am I missing something?

 

[Gander Hawk]

Here's an idea. Create a section of roomier, plusher seating further from the court for the donors. This will soften the blow of being moved further from the court. This would also reduce some of the unused seating capacity. Then move the student section closer.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

I hear the ideas about going “downtown.” Smaller venue, which probably makes sense, although sports venues have a history of expanding seating. Read.

I am really curious about the location. Can someone be a bit more precise? How much of the current business district would be disrupted? What commercial properties would survive, or be torn down? Parking? That will be fun to watch.

If we are talking about getting rid of the old Capitol grounds, good luck with that. You are kidding, right?

Why the argument that CHA is a “crappy location”? Baseball, football, wrestling, basketball, track and field, lacrosse, softball, golf, soccer, transportation hub, tennis, indoor sports center, and probably some sports facilities I don’t know about or have forgotten. Oh, yeah. The indoor and outdoor football practice facilities, not to mention the football complex.

Ask every BT athletic department if they could start from scratch, if they would love Iowa’s arrangement. Duh.

Now. How about establishment of a mass transport system from the east side of the river to the sports complex? For example, I use the Hancher lot for my season basketball attendance. It is kick ass. Literally door to door.


How about a soft rail electric system, going east and west Over the river? Students in health related areas would love it, too.(Dumbest move ever by athletic department was ditching rail transport from Coralville, which could be used for basketball, football and wrestling. It had thousands of users. Too expensive? Fine. Raise the prices like you do for about everything else.

Minnesota example. Park at Fairgrounds. Free bus to front steps of stadium. Bus Route on game day designated traffic free. Quick, easy, safe. Works for basketball and wrestling at Iowa.

I picture a partially elevated rail system, all electric. Some venues are installing escalators or powered walkways for better access. Pay attention to the elderly and the handicapped. The children with their parents.

Or, I guess you can tear down CHA and spent multi millions of $$$ on a new venue instead.

Anyway, that was fun.

Huck

I get it, I'm not offering a realistic assessment of potential locations close to downtown. This is all sort of a fantasy. But I am curious if the university has assessed potential sites through the lens of a much smaller, 7,000-8,000 capacity footprint. Everything I recall reading in the past felt antiquated to me, like assuming 15,000 people coming to the game and the same number of adjacent parking spots for non-students as Carver has now.

I think there needs to be a paradigm shift. Cater to the students and put it in a spot they will walk to. Assume most folks aren't driving more than 45 minutes away for a game given the random schedules and tip times.

Again, this is a fantasy, but I think it'd be amazing to be able to walk from restaurants and bars to a game.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Meh, he did it off the court, I have almost no issues with someone confronting someone about an issue they have with them. Doesn't sound like he was violent, doesn't sound like it escalated to anything further. That's kind of life man. I respect Fran for calling it like it is and not backing down on his convictions. Sounds like this ref no longer does Fran's games, mission accomplished.

At the end of the day it's an "only we can do that to our pledges" argument. When Badger fans around here rip him, I defend him. When Chicago radio media like Laurence Holmes take shots at him, I start threads exposing Chicago radio media.

It was literally two days before covid starting shutting sports down. Holmes, who is otherwise a solid radio professional, took multiple shots at a coach he has probably never met or talked to. I called him out-big time.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Here's an idea. Create a section of roomier, plusher seating further from the court for the donors. This will soften the blow of being moved further from the court. This would also reduce some of the unused seating capacity. Then move the student section closer.

Might as well go Full Tilt

 

[HuckFinn]

Watch Beth’s comments about CHA renovation. Not a lot of detail. “Don’t try to sell a car to somebody who can’t afford it.” She referenced amenities, unspecified. Big donor premium seating sounds like part of the plan. And…move the students closer to the floor! HN goes wild! (She did reference student seating).

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

Watch Beth’s comments about CHA renovation. Not a lot of detail. “Don’t try to sell a car to somebody who can’t afford it.” She referenced amenities, unspecified. Big donor premium seating sounds like part of the plan. And…move the students closer to the floor! HN goes wild! (She did reference student seating).

I tend to think these renovations will be super costly, provide some immediate upgrades that are nice to have (easier access to bathrooms and ice cream), and put a few more students close to the floor.

But I question what kind of long-term impact those renovations will have on the environment at Carver.

In my opinion, the administration needs to focus entirely on one thing. How do we get a ton of students to consistently show up, even in years when Iowa men's basketball is only average? Everything else will take care of itself. Look at all the best environments around the country. The best college basketball atmospheres are based on students dominating the scene. That's also why non-students love going to college basketball games. It feeds off itself. You don't consistently bring people in with good food, easy parking, lots of bathroom access, the opportunity to sit for the whole game, etc.

So I'd figure out how you get students there. Do a whole bunch of focus groups with students. Focus not only on those who currently go, but also ones who like sports and/or social activities but never go to games at Carver.

What would get them there on a regular basis? And if location is absolutely a key driver, think long and hard before dropping millions into a Carver renovation.