Belmont Park Arena , etc

We already have a commuter arena in Manhattan. Should we get rid of that? If MSG approached us tomorrow asking us to play all of our games there at a 50% discount for renting the arena, are you going to pass? Are you going to tell the media, fabase, alum that you prefer to have us play in a 5,500 seat High School gym?




not only that , good luck telling that to recruits.
 
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I enjoy attending games at both MSG and CA.

I hope some renovations can take place at CA.

Winning will cure our MSG problems and make it, once again, a great advantage. .
 
[quote="redstorm89" post=379061]We already have a commuter arena in Manhattan. Should we get rid of that? If MSG approached us tomorrow asking us to play all of our games there at a 50% discount for renting the arena, are you going to pass? Are you going to tell the media, fabase, alum that you prefer to have us play in a 5,500 seat High School gym?




not only that , good luck telling that to recruits.[/quote]

Why does it have to be an either/or? I would never give up MSG, but I wouldn't substitute Belmont for C,A. As for what to tell recruits, how about that we are making huge upgrades to Carnesecca arena, a short walk from your apartments, where you will play in front of a packed gym for every game filled with your fellow students and rabid SJU fans. As for MSG, if the thought of playing there was such a magnet for recruits, we would not be in a 20 year slump. Players love to play there, but many also cherish the campus life and playing in the same gym where they practice daily. Keep MSG, upgrade C.A., and use both as a recruiting tool. I;m sure many recruits would rather play in front of a SRO crowd in their campus arena with a wild home crowd intimidating our opponents, than an MSG 1/2 filled.
 
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Reading this post I just wanted to add a couple of points.
1- Part of the problem of wanting a bigger or better building in Queens is opposition of the surrounding community. Doing anything has and (just a guess) will meet with resistance. Zoning etc. It’s the city so...what’s new.
2- I think most (myself included) would like to remain with MSG. However, playing some occasional games at new Belmont, Barclays or at the NYCB (Nassau Coliseum) should not be dismissed. Not understanding that we have a large alumni presence to the East is denying reality. As poorly as things have gone with this Program we can’t dismiss any ideas. Just once in awhile won’t kill anyone.

While we all search for answers, the real answer as others have eloquently stated is Winning. Fans will come if you win. Other teams will play us anywhere Manhattan, Queens or the suburbs if you have a winning team. Look at Seton Hall. Would you have ever thought fans, players and other teams would want to play in Newark? It can be done.
 
[quote="SJUFAN2" post=379021][quote="SLYFOXX1968" post=378985]A few posts under other topics talked about these subjects ; 1. Getting booted out of the BE . 2. Getting booted out of MSG . 3 CA as a old and outdated Home Court . I don’t live in NY anymore so I’m not up on a lot of inside stuff going on in the school or locally .. I notice a brand new facility is being built for the Islanders near Belmont Park . It ‘s suppose to seat 17-18 ,000 for Hockey . I don’t know if it’s adaptable for BB? While , it would seem the University would not willingly abandon Games at MSG , might it be attractive to transfer CA games to this new venue , if details like finances , etc could be addressed ? I’m sure the price tag for use of the new Arena would be high but , I assume could be dealt with ... of course, we would need to draw more than the 5000 that usually show up at CA . Fan attendance is a ratio between winning BB and fan excitement for the team. Both lacking over the last 20 years , save for the few times we had winning teams and some credibility as more than a has been .. Could we attrack 10,000 fans to Belmont Park Arena if we had a top 25 ranked team and some shot at a BE Championship? Could we play more National Powers if we could get back to playing the UCLA’s, Kansas , Indiana , Duke, etc if we had competitive teams ? Instead of playing some of the Cup Cakes we currently do? I’m just throwing this out as a idea , given the overwhelming dissatisfaction with CA .. it might put some sizzle in a Program that surely needs new Branding to attract better Players , fans , etc . I’m sure anyone could come up with a dozen reasons this isn’t a feasible suggestion but , what’s the risk in doing some basic analysis ? We need to rethink a lot of things about our BB program as it has gone off track for too many years .[/quote]

I like the idea of playing our CA games at Belmont. CA is dump. If we played at a10k puls seat arena we could 5k seats away to students for free.

Play 6-8 games at MSG and the rest at Belmont and that would be a good start.[/quote]

There aren't 5k students interested in the basketball team. Its an age old story with SJU. The student body is eclectic but sports isn't a big part of their focus. Until we win consistently and create a winning college basketball culture, getting 1k students would be a coup.
 
This is a somewhat complex issue, but it seems clear that the three venues will be in play. At the very least, Belmont Arena gives us negotiating leverage, with MSG, that we do not currently have.
 
Want to talk about attendance? Here is another age old tradition with bad attendance.

UCLA men's basketball this season is "assured of setting a record low for attendance in Pauley Pavilion" despite having a shot at the regular-season Pac-12 title, according to Ben Bolch of the L.A. TIMES. Even with sellouts against Arizona State tonight and Arizona on Saturday, UCLA will "finish with the lowest average attendance during their 54 seasons" in the venue. UCLA has averaged 6,187 spectators in 15 home games, ranking seventh in the Pac-12. UCLA sold out one game, last month against USC. Even if Pauley Pavilion was "jammed up to its national championship banner-lined rafters and it averaged capacity crowds of 13,800 over the final two home games, the Bruins would finish the season with an average of 7,082 spectators per game, below the previous low of 7,711" during the '14-15 season. Tickets for tonight's game were "being sold for less than $30, one of several promotions intended to boost attendance." The first 400 students who show up tonight will "receive a T-shirt and laptop stickers, with a complimentary nacho bar stationed outside the student entrance before the game." On Saturday, the first 1,000 students "will get T-shirts and pizza" (L.A. TIMES, 2/27).

NOT ANY BETTER ACROSS TOWN: L.A. is on the verge of becoming a college basketball wasteland. In addition to UCLA's historic drop at the gate, USC's average crowd this season is 3,787. That actually is up year-over-year for a Trojans team that is 19-9 (Michael Smith, SBJ College).
 
[quote="SLYFOXX1968" post=378985]A few posts under other topics talked about these subjects ; 1. Getting booted out of the BE . 2. Getting booted out of MSG . 3 CA as a old and outdated Home Court . I don’t live in NY anymore so I’m not up on a lot of inside stuff going on in the school or locally .. I notice a brand new facility is being built for the Islanders near Belmont Park . It ‘s suppose to seat 17-18 ,000 for Hockey . I don’t know if it’s adaptable for BB? While , it would seem the University would not willingly abandon Games at MSG , might it be attractive to transfer CA games to this new venue , if details like finances , etc could be addressed ? I’m sure the price tag for use of the new Arena would be high but , I assume could be dealt with ... of course, we would need to draw more than the 5000 that usually show up at CA . Fan attendance is a ratio between winning BB and fan excitement for the team. Both lacking over the last 20 years , save for the few times we had winning teams and some credibility as more than a has been .. Could we attrack 10,000 fans to Belmont Park Arena if we had a top 25 ranked team and some shot at a BE Championship? Could we play more National Powers if we could get back to playing the UCLA’s, Kansas , Indiana , Duke, etc if we had competitive teams ? Instead of playing some of the Cup Cakes we currently do? I’m just throwing this out as a idea , given the overwhelming dissatisfaction with CA .. it might put some sizzle in a Program that surely needs new Branding to attract better Players , fans , etc . I’m sure anyone could come up with a dozen reasons this isn’t a feasible suggestion but , what’s the risk in doing some basic analysis ? We need to rethink a lot of things about our BB program as it has gone off track for too many years .[/quote]
If we got back to top 25 and BE title contention, we could pack MSG (or any local arena)
 
This topic surfaced a lot of discussion , pro, con and neutral .. A few takeaways . No one wants to give up MSG for the top tier BE games . Some thought Belmont Arena might be attractive for some games . SH barely plays anywhere but , the Pru Center in Newark for home games . The key to fan attendance is Winning . Students ? They come and they go . Most of the SJ fan base are Alums , Friends , College BB fans in NY , etc . Maybe more students would show if the Arena was bigger than a 1959 Gym, where they hardly have a place to cheer from . Maybe Recruiting would improve if Incoming Players knew they wouldn’t have to play 8-10 games or more a year in a Gym that is woefully out of touch . You think Fox likes to show us play Butler or PC or anyone in a Gym from the 50’s with barely 5000 fans ? The University’s Administration has time and again said there is little that can or will be done to upgrade CA . We all want to think the Program has to move forward , how can it with such a old and out of date on Campus Arena ? It says volumes about being Small Time and Small Minded . But , the bottom line is Winning . We haven’t done enough of it in over 20 years .
 
I would like to see them do some thing really nice with the court in CA. You see some of these games and these schools have some really nice courts. Memphis has a great home court with the blue and light blue wood. Even Stoney Brook has a nice home court with the dark wood of the logo of Long Island extended over three quarters of the court. Columbia has the dark wood with the Lion image right at center court. But many of these schools whether power conference or mid major have very intricate detailed and artistic home hardwoods. If they can’t do much with the actual arena then do something special with the court. I’m watching Wright St vs Northern Kentucky right now and Northern Kentucky has a fancy home court.
 
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I was watching the Davidson-Dayton game earlier and Dayton both won and covered. The game was played at Dayton's campus arena that had the usual raucous sellout crowd of 14,000, including a very large student presence. The arena is modern and has all the amenities. It would be the best campus facility in the Big East. We would be thrilled to have something like this, if only half the size.
 
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[quote="Mean Gene" post=379144]I would like to see them do some thing really nice with the court in CA. You see some of these games and these schools have some really nice courts. Memphis has a great home court with the blue and light blue wood. Even Stoney Brook has a nice home court with the dark wood of the logo of Long Island extended over three quarters of the court. Columbia has the dark wood with the Lion image right at center court. But many of these schools whether power conference or mid major have very intricate detailed and artistic home hardwoods. If they can’t do much with the actual arena then do something special with the court. I’m watching Wright St vs Northern Kentucky right now and Northern Kentucky has a fancy home court.[/quote]

The court was just resurfaced last year. Cragg made a comment on a Twitter Q&A that he is not a fan of the loud courts with oversized logos etc. Noted that his wife has some background in art and she agreed.

I'm just glad the court shines now. Two years ago it was awful to see on TV.
 
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I was just at the refurbished spectacular 6000 seat Finneran Pavillion at Villanova. They gave it a whopping $70 million facelift after the neighboring townships gave them too much pushback on a new 10,000 seat on campus arena.

We are so far from doing anything close to that we are just going to have to deal with CA as is. with minor improvements
 
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[quote="Beast of the East" post=379174]I was just at the refurbished spectacular 6000 seat Finneran Pavillion at Villanova. They gave it a whopping $70 million facelift after the neighboring townships gave them too much pushback on a new 10,000 seat on campus arena.

We are so far from doing anything close to that we are just going to have to deal with CA as is. with minor improvements[/quote]

If we could ever blow out the end ramps at Carnesecca and have seat-backed seating up to the level of top of the corridor doors, our home court would start to resemble the Pit in New Mexico and be a nasty place for visiting teams. Would look much better on TV as well.
 
[quote="fuchsia" post=379209][quote="Beast of the East" post=379174]I was just at the refurbished spectacular 6000 seat Finneran Pavillion at Villanova. They gave it a whopping $70 million facelift after the neighboring townships gave them too much pushback on a new 10,000 seat on campus arena.

We are so far from doing anything close to that we are just going to have to deal with CA as is. with minor improvements[/quote]

If we could ever blow out the end ramps at Carnesecca and have seat-backed seating up to the level of top of the corridor doors, our home court would start to resemble the Pit in New Mexico and be a nasty place for visiting teams. Would look much better on TV as well.[/quote]

I know there were feasibility studies about doing just that but there were some rosdblocks. Not sure if it was just cost prohibitive or not. Appears Villanova is now all or nearly all seatbacks, although even there students are behind just one basket.
 
The cost to build or upgrade sports arenas seems to have gotten out of hand. Seventy million dollars to upgrade a not very big arena, six thousand capacity.
 
We can all appreciate the nostalgia and history of CA and al that it means to fans , Alums, etc . But , the reality is it’s obsolete and not conducive to a BE team . If you want to play St Francis or Sacred Heart in the early season is one thing but , if you want to ramp up the OOC and play Kansas , Indiana or a Gonzaga before the BE season starts , you need either MSG or the new Belmont Park Arena . The latter could be a virtual Home Court in a short time and likely could increase Attendance easily . There is no way a top 50 Program is going to come play us in CA , no matter what . It’s Economics 101. Several of our BE teams play off Campus , SH , PC , G’Town . It’s time to forget about renovating CA and school authorities have already deep sixed the idea . Move on to another suggestion .
 
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