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Keg Improvement Wishlist

GoonieBuff

Real home isn't Astoria
Club Member
Moderator
I know the focus is on the football facilities, and they should be. Hopefully the keg isn't ignored for too long, as it's been a long time since improvements have been done and it's pretty drab in there.

A few things I'd really like to see done at the CEC that wouldn't be too much work, but would seem to add a lot are:

- Removing the bleachers in the corners and the upper sections and putting seats in the entire arena. Heck, even the students get seats right now.

-Putting in different color seats around the arena. It's really obvious when seats are empty, as the yellow/gold empty seats really stand out.

- Removing the drop down baskets and using portable stand-alone hoops. We had those about a dozen years ago when I was in school, and then we go to drop downs that you see in high school gyms.

- Improving the sound system. It was either hard to hear or extremely muffled all game yesterday. Speakers could be put in the corners and around the concourse instead of the middle. It looks like an alien pod of some sort and reminds me of somebody who won't upgrade his sound system because it's "classic," even though it's outdated and you can get much better quality with smaller and fewer speakers.

-Putting video boards and scoreboards in the middle hanging from the ceiling (replacing the sound system). I know that weight is an issue, but I'm sure there is something that can be done.

-Adding a drop down type ceiling instead of all the dead space up in the rafters. It adds to the darkness/drabbiness of the arena. This would also help make the keg even louder than it already is. I think it would look really good to do something like how Utah State's place is. It would be light weight, brighten things up, and give a better overall look. This, along with better lighting would make it easier to see the crowd and make it easier to see the action on the floor.

Eventually, I'd like to see the bathrooms moved to the exterior and suites/press areas in the upper corners. This would obviously cost more money, but the purchases of the suites should pay for itself fairly quickly. This isn't an "easy" fix like some of the others, but would be a nice touch instead of having big concrete walls in the corners where the view is pretty darn good.

I wouldn't want the capacity to go up too much, as it's great when the stadium is full, and I'd rather have a full, small stadium like Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, etc. than a big stadium that's rarely filled like Coors Field, Chase Field, Skydome, etc. I think an overall capacity right around 12,000 would be good.

I know there were long term plans that came out while Bohn was around, but hopefully George looks at this as well and implements some improvements along the way, rather than waiting until things are painfully necessary.

This is just a wish list and something fun to think about while we have successful men's and women's basketball programs along with a successful volleyball program. Improvements would open the CEC to concerts and other things that could bring in money as well, something that is obviously important to the new AD.

Untitled.jpg
 
Look at the Pit in New Mexico. That is what we need. Just replace the Red with Gold and that is the Arena I want.
 
Look at the Pit in New Mexico. That is what we need. Just replace the Red with Gold and that is the Arena I want.

Yep. Basically same as Utah State like I showed. I'm just not a fan of the pit's video/scoreboards but like Utah State's setup.
 
The Pit has nice ambient lighting from the windows around the perimeter. Pop the top on the Keg to get a 360 ring of windows.
0908_PrideandthePit1.jpg


Center Court Scoreboard arrangement like Illinois
dscf1630.jpg

illini-hoosiers-paint-hall-orange-11.jpg


Ole Miss has got the general idea. Their seating looks really comfy, too.
5663324.jpeg
 
Ole Miss has an aggressive update to Tad Smith Arena planned. Check out the link to see some of the luxury appointments.

The existing arena is dated.

section-m.jpg
 
You gotta pop the top. I think they need to expand west a bit (you can move the sidewalk over by changing the hill next to the parking lot into a retaining wall). The add a center scoreboard and move the bathrooms to the outerwalls. Absolute dream would be a donor room that is above the main concourse with huge glass windows that face the flatirons and maybe a walkout balcony. Make this area for $500+ level donors.
 
I like Skiddy's idea of putting in windows around the top of The Keg. I'm pretty indifferent about a center scoreboard. Cover the rafters so that the sound gets trapped better.
 
Put the students on the side floor, a la Duke.

That's how you build brand equity within the C-Unit.
Screen Shot 2013-12-08 at 12.59.41 PM.jpg
 
The Pit has nice ambient lighting from the windows around the perimeter. Pop the top on the Keg to get a 360 ring of windows.


Center Court Scoreboard arrangement like Illinois
dscf1630.jpg

illini-hoosiers-paint-hall-orange-11.jpg

That score is about right ... typical boring ass B1G 10 game
 
I know the focus is on the football facilities, and they should be. Hopefully the keg isn't ignored for too long, as it's been a long time since improvements have been done and it's pretty drab in there.

A few things I'd really like to see done at the CEC that wouldn't be too much work, but would seem to add a lot are:

- Removing the bleachers in the corners and the upper sections and putting seats in the entire arena. Heck, even the students get seats right now.

-Putting in different color seats around the arena. It's really obvious when seats are empty, as the yellow/gold empty seats really stand out.

- Removing the drop down baskets and using portable stand-alone hoops. We had those about a dozen years ago when I was in school, and then we go to drop downs that you see in high school gyms.

- Improving the sound system. It was either hard to hear or extremely muffled all game yesterday. Speakers could be put in the corners and around the concourse instead of the middle. It looks like an alien pod of some sort and reminds me of somebody who won't upgrade his sound system because it's "classic," even though it's outdated and you can get much better quality with smaller and fewer speakers.

-Putting video boards and scoreboards in the middle hanging from the ceiling (replacing the sound system). I know that weight is an issue, but I'm sure there is something that can be done.

-Adding a drop down type ceiling instead of all the dead space up in the rafters. It adds to the darkness/drabbiness of the arena. This would also help make the keg even louder than it already is. I think it would look really good to do something like how Utah State's place is. It would be light weight, brighten things up, and give a better overall look. This, along with better lighting would make it easier to see the crowd and make it easier to see the action on the floor.

Eventually, I'd like to see the bathrooms moved to the exterior and suites/press areas in the upper corners. This would obviously cost more money, but the purchases of the suites should pay for itself fairly quickly. This isn't an "easy" fix like some of the others, but would be a nice touch instead of having big concrete walls in the corners where the view is pretty darn good.

I wouldn't want the capacity to go up too much, as it's great when the stadium is full, and I'd rather have a full, small stadium like Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, etc. than a big stadium that's rarely filled like Coors Field, Chase Field, Skydome, etc. I think an overall capacity right around 12,000 would be good.

I know there were long term plans that came out while Bohn was around, but hopefully George looks at this as well and implements some improvements along the way, rather than waiting until things are painfully necessary.

This is just a wish list and something fun to think about while we have successful men's and women's basketball programs along with a successful volleyball program. Improvements would open the CEC to concerts and other things that could bring in money as well, something that is obviously important to the new AD.

View attachment 13172
The Superdome was the first place to master this and it was necessary for much of the Saints history, since they didn't sell well.

I agree with not raising capacity too much. Hoops has never been popular, but I'm not sure in 5-6 years if the enthusiasm will still be there. People aren't in too the early non-conference cupcakes like they were last year. One thing I don't want to lose is atmosphere and any luxury seats I hope would keep the "bowl" intact.
 
These are all great ideas, but part of the point of my post was that there are a lot of easy (semi-affordable) fixes that would really improve the game day experience.
 
Drop ceiling, speakers, and new lighting is easy and inexpensive, relatively speaking. Also they could replace the doors around the arena with full glass doors and it would solve the lighting thing.
 
These are all great ideas, but part of the point of my post was that there are a lot of easy (semi-affordable) fixes that would really improve the game day experience.


Moving students is pretty cheap.Screen Shot 2013-12-08 at 1.19.00 PM.png
 
Ole Miss has an aggressive update to Tad Smith Arena planned. Check out the link to see some of the luxury appointments.

The existing arena is dated.

They're not updating Tad Smith arena. Instead they're building a whole new arena. Maybe that's what you meant, wasn't sure.
 
Moving students is pretty cheap.View attachment 13178

Definitely, but you'd lose higher priced seats.

You'd have to have a trained group like at the schools that do that. Mandatory meetings, etc. Do we want that? Are we ready for that? Do the students want that? No more **** You type chants then...
 
These are all great ideas, but part of the point of my post was that there are a lot of easy (semi-affordable) fixes that would really improve the game day experience.

Some of your ideas are in-congruent with each-other. You cant add chairbacks and capacity at the same time, switching from bleachers to chairbacks costs you capacity. By doing that alone you'd drop the keg's capacity to 10.5-10.8k. Just to get back to original capacity you'd have to find room for more seats - let alone expand the arena to 12k.

Center court Video Boards have already been discussed and there are engineering challenges there, for what you would get in return it simply isnt worth the move unless it is part of a major re-do.

I do agree a couple of things would really help the Keg:
- New sound (RG is already discussing this)
- Bathroom updates
- improve and increase food/bev/gear sales
- a couple of new bathrooms on the outside of one of the concourses.

You could get this all done rather responsibly and it would really help the fan experience. I like the roof idea especially if you can leverage it to make the arena louder.
 
Hasn't hurt Illinois, Pitt, Duke, Mich State, Michigan to name some off the top of my head.

Most of the schools you named are the blue bloods of college basketball. Lots of $$$$ coming in for the programs.
 
Some of your ideas are in-congruent with each-other. You cant add chairbacks and capacity at the same time, switching from bleachers to chairbacks costs you capacity. By doing that alone you'd drop the keg's capacity to 10.5-10.8k. Just to get back to original capacity you'd have to find room for more seats - let alone expand the arena to 12k.

Center court Video Boards have already been discussed and there are engineering challenges there, for what you would get in return it simply isnt worth the move unless it is part of a major re-do.

I do agree a couple of things would really help the Keg:
- New sound (RG is already discussing this)
- Bathroom updates
- improve and increase food/bev/gear sales
- a couple of new bathrooms on the outside of one of the concourses.

You could get this all done rather responsibly and it would really help the fan experience. I like the roof idea especially if you can leverage it to make the arena louder.

I mentioned that I didn't want the capacity to change much, so I'm completely fine with it dropping a bit in order to put chairs in. I said it would be nice for it to be about 12k. Bleachers for basketball games suck.

Regarding the engineering challenges, video boards have the potential to be much lighter than they used to be. Also, moving the sound system would alleviate some of the weight issue. I allude to the potential issue, which is why I mentioned the sound moving being a help

Not being worth what you get in return for the video boards is your opinion. With the sound system and drop down baskets in the way, there are places in the keg where you can't see the score or don't have unobstructed views of the video boards. I think this would be worth it and along the lines of what you'd expect at almost any major college basketball program.

I think the food setup is fine (might even be overkill for the size of the arena), however, the quality of items and the selection could definitely be improved.

I think we're mostly in agreement and pretty much on the same page.
 
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Hasn't hurt Illinois, Pitt, Duke, Mich State, Michigan to name some off the top of my head.

A.) We arent those schools
b.) You'd moving 2500 students to seats that now cost an average of about $600

play it conservatively that would cost us $1,000,000 in ticket revenue - we cant remotely come close to affording that.
 
Definitely, but you'd lose higher priced seats.

You'd have to have a trained group like at the schools that do that. Mandatory meetings, etc. Do we want that? Are we ready for that? Do the students want that? No more **** You type chants then...

Make em go to women's games to practice.
 
For sport i checked - my tickets at duke would require me to make a $7,000 donation to get high enough up the equivalent of their Priority Points system, and then buy the seats for $1580 EACH. My total at CU is about 1200 donations everything all-in.
 
Didn't read the whole list, but was "another championship banner" on the list? That's what I want.
 
Didn't read the whole list, but was "another championship banner" on the list? That's what I want.

Agree. That's number one. I think improvements could continue to help us get to the next level of recruiting as well.

The last banner we put up was a giant slab of rock. Too many of those and we'll definitely run into some engineering challenges.
 
I just want to be able to see the score board from my seats. I can see every thing but the (Buffs) score ... It's cut off at the top ..

A bigger more comfortable lounge and a better beer/booze selection downstairs wouldn't hurt either
 
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