Ceiling Repairs Delayed a Year

[Chin Diesel]

Aesthetics face the budget axe.

UConn Board Votes To Delay Gampel Repairs, Close Torrington Campus

 

[BUHusky]

Gampel roof/ceiling repair delayed

 

[tdrink]

You know it needs fixing when it gets mentioned on other teams message boards.

 

[DogMania]

Noooooooooo!!! The ceiling is an eyesore. Do you see anything like this at other top programs? As little as this seems, it's very disappointing.

 

[Chief00]

Additionally, the roof leaks - it's not just cosmetics - not fixing a leaking roof always leads to bigger long term costs. But then again, typical State of CT decision.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Gampel roof/ceiling repair delayed

Two days in a row I've carelessly double posted on a topic. Yesterday it was TO becoming a pitcher.

 

[FartMan69]

The CT way.. delay the problem until it becomes more expensive.

 

[CL82]

Hmmn, the State Legislature cuts funding so Suzie decides not to fix the Gampel tiles. I suppose the cynic in me might believe that she see value in sending a reminder to Harford about funding every single televised game.

 

[uconnphil2016]

No point in spending $10 million to fix the ceiling when in another decade they're going to need (or at least be asking for) a whole new facility. Get five more years out of the roof and then build a new multi purpose facility for basketball and hockey

 

[CL82]

No point in spending $10 million to fix the ceiling when in another decade they're going to need (or at least be asking for) a whole new facility. Get five more years out of the roof and then build a new multi purpose facility for basketball and hockey

Could...not ...disagree...more.

It needed to be fixed years ago. Delaying it further, even for a year is a mistake, unless the funds truly aren't available, which apparently is the case.

But planning not to fix it in the hopes that maybe we might replace the entire building at some point in the future is just foolish.

 

[BoatShow]

Just keep dimming the lights

 

[Hoophound]

The spray paint point is a good one. Geez, put a bandaid on it. I'm assuming getting someone up there to do some touch up must be an undertaking otherwise some clever maintenance guy would have done something by now. This is a problem that any good handyman could make passable. There has got to be a guy on staff at UConn that can fix or build just about anything who can put together a temporary fix that is virtually unnoticeable from down below.

 

[Waquoit]

This is so not a big deal now that they dim the lights at gametime.

 

[uconnphil2016]

The spray paint point is a good one. Geez, put a bandaid on it. I'm assuming getting someone up there to do some touch up must be an undertaking otherwise some clever maintenance guy would have done something by now. This is a problem that any good handyman could make passable. There has got to be a guy on staff at UConn that can fix or build just about anything who can put together a temporary fix that is virtually unnoticeable from down below.

Seriously. There's got to be a fix that is far less expensive than $10 mil.

Could...not ...disagree...more.

It needed to be fixed years ago. Delaying it further, even for a year is a mistake, unless the funds truly aren't available, which apparently is the case.

But planning not to fix it in the hopes that maybe we might replace the entire building at some point in the future is just foolish.

How is it foolish? I'm not saying that they would forego fixing the roof without a concrete plan to build a new stadium. I'm saying that they ought to think long and hard about how much they want to invest $10 million in an old, undersized stadium that the program has certainly outgrown. What's dumber than failing to fix the roof is pouring an exorbitant amount of money into a crappy arena. Just as a point of reference, Georgia Tech built a new arena in 2012 for a total of $50 million. Granted, it only seats $8,600 and we'd want a larger arena, but the point is this--we wouldn't be spending in excess of $60-65 mil on a new arena, and $10 mil on cosmetic repairs is a fairly large chunk of what it would take to get a new place. So why not at least consider it--especially when hockey needs an on-campus site in the future anyways.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Scratch the GT reference--that was just a renovation. Ole Miss did construct a new stadium for $95 mil recently though which opened this year. All I'm saying is that it's worth thinking about if Gampel is in such disrepair.

 

[UConn Dan]

$10mil is not just for cosmetic changes - the roof leaks - they're fixing that too.

We're not getting a new arena in the next 25 years or more. The master plan outlines the next upgrades to gampel including expanding the concourse so that there will be concessions behind the stands.

Gampel opened in 1990. Cameron indoor 1940. Dean Dome 1986. Rupp arena 1976. Allen Fieldhouse 1955.

Only way they would consider building a new arena is if we stopped playing games in Hartford and that's not going to happen.

 

[John]

 

[JSM1970]

They cancelled KO's basketball camp this year because of the repairs and now will have to again potentially. Guessing he will want a few $$ to offset what would have been his profit.

 

[Hoophound]

I'm guessing he's glad he doesn't have to do it.

 

[willie99]

not surprised by the delay, considering the massive deficits the state is experiencing

it's all about economic growth, or lack thereof

 

[CL82]

$10mil is not just for cosmetic changes - the roof leaks - they're fixing that too.

We're not getting a new arena in the next 25 years or more. The master plan outlines the next upgrades to gampel including expanding the concourse so that there will be concessions behind the stands.

Gampel opened in 1990. Cameron indoor 1940. Dean Dome 1986. Rupp arena 1976. Allen Fieldhouse 1955.

Only way they would consider building a new arena is if we stopped playing games in Hartford and that's not going to happen.

Actually, IIRC, they are fixing access and code issues. It's not all about the Pantoni tiles.

not surprised by the delay, considering the massive deficits the state is experiencing

it's all about economic growth, or lack thereof

I think this may have been largely a marketing move. Keeping Gampel an eyesore on TV is a potent reminder that UConn is making due with less. It's a smart move by Suzie, but an annoying one, which it is intended to be.

 

[CTBasketball]

I think this may have been largely a marketing move. Keeping Gampel an eyesore on TV is a potent reminder that UConn is making due with less. It's a smart move by Suzie, but an annoying one, which it is intended to be.

That's not how the business world works. Cost and schedule, my friend. That's what it always boils down to.

 

[CL82]

That's not how the business world works. Cost and schedule, my friend. That's what it always boils down to.

Disagree. It's basically free advertising. If you've got a choice between cutting something invisible that no one will see or care about or cutting a program that is very visible that will cause the public to complain about, the decision is an easy one. That's something that every school board across the country knows.