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Gampel renovation

uconnhuskies.com

UConn Athletics Announces Planned Renovations to Gampel Pavilion - University of Connecticut Athletics

STORRS, Conn. — The University of Connecticut Department of Athletics today announced Phase 1 of a significant renovation project at Gampel Pavilion, the ico...
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dailycampus.com

Second phase of Gampel Pavilion renovations to roll on with $63.4 million boost

The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees approved a proposal to use a total of $99.4 million to fund a second phase of upgrades to the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, the on-campus home of the sch…
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Personally, I think they are just 'putting a ribbon on an udder' at this point, and at significant cost. 1990 design era is miles away from modern sports facility design, and one of the issues is the fan access to the campus, which is a continued problem. Building a new facility on the state owned land (former Mansfield training school) at the intersection of Rte 32 and 44 with dedicated parking facilities would be a huge upgrade for out of town access, and a chance to build from scratch using a bigger footprint and designing from the start the additional facilities they want, rather than trying to shoehorn them into an obsolete structure.

They recognized the problem when they rethought football facilities and built 20 miles off campus. The advantage with the area I am suggesting is that they already have shuttle service to Uconn facilities in new/repurposed buildings on the Mansfield Training School land and could run ten minute shuttle service for students on game nights. While making travel for off campus students and the out of town fans a lot easier.

It is a much bigger ticket item, and Gampel is a lovely relic that I would be sorry to see disappear, but I think every penny spent on it is just putting off what is actually needed. They have a really nice newish training and practice facility for both the men and women on campus (on the old football field) so the short distance from campus of the new Gampel wouldn't be an issue. In fact, compared to most state schools, the new location would still be within the 'campus footprint'.
 
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ucmiami2 said:
Personally, I think they are just 'putting a ribbon on an udder' at this point, and at significant cost. 1990 design era is miles away from modern sports facility design, and one of the issues is the fan access to the campus, which is a continued problem. Building a new facility on the state owned land (former Mansfield training school) at the intersection of Rte 32 and 44 with dedicated parking facilities would be a huge upgrade for out of town access, and a chance to build from scratch using a bigger footprint and designing from the start the additional facilities they want, rather than trying to shoehorn them into an obsolete structure.

They recognized the problem when they rethought football facilities and built 20 miles off campus. The advantage with the area I am suggesting is that they already have shuttle service to Uconn facilities in new/repurposed buildings on the Mansfield Training School land and could run ten minute shuttle service for students on game nights. While making travel for off campus students and the out of town fans a lot easier.

It is a much bigger ticket item, and Gampel is a lovely relic that I would be sorry to see disappear, but I think every penny spent on it is just putting off what is actually needed. They have a really nice newish training and practice facility for both the men and women on campus (on the old football field) so the short distance from campus of the new Gampel wouldn't be an issue. In fact, compared to most state schools, the new location would still be within the 'campus footprint'.
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Getting to the campus is the biggest issue. There is a reason for half the games in Hartford (some 20 miles away) which is ease of access for anyone not a student.
Also, the food concessions are just brutal at Gampel. While Bear's BBQ was a good option, on Saturday, they ran out of food before the end of game 1. Seriously? Is the "grab and go" method really an upgrade, probably not but I doubt it will be worse than what they offer now.
 
Skeets said:
Please, no! Fans are already jammed in cheek to cheek (so to speak). Even the seat-back seating doesn't have a lot of room.
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If they move the Internal concourse to something external, including areas that are now used for purposes like offices, and the golf simulator, that could open up the Internal concourse for additional seating.
 
IMHO they should have built a new Gampel where the Werth Center is and built the Werth Center where Gampel is, building 2 ultra modern arenas!
Then they could have a 15,000 seat back, modern concessions areas, worthy of the greatest fans in Division I WBB/MBB!
 
As a fan, I went through the same kind of internal deliberations when Cornell decided to refurbish/modernize Lynah Rink instead of building a new Ice Hockey facility. I think they did the right thing with Lynah. Spruced up the arena with modern sound system and electronic message boards on each end of the building. The wooden bleachers remained and they insulated the ceiling to make it louder inside. Like Gampel, they are running out of space for new banners in the rafters of the building.
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I'm curious -- should either of the men's or women's teams get that far, with the renovations going on where would the FF watch party for the students be held? Outdoors at the Rent?
 
Jim said:
I'm curious -- should either of the men's or women's teams get that far, with the renovations going on where would the FF watch party for the students be held? Outdoors at the Rent?
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New hockey arena or Jorgensen I would imagine but are much smaller then Gampel.
 
RSHERMVIKES said:
IMHO they should have built a new Gampel where the Werth Center is and built the Werth Center where Gampel is, building 2 ultra modern arenas!
Then they could have a 15,000 seat back, modern concessions areas, worthy of the greatest fans in Division I WBB/MBB!
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The state would never let them take away business from Hartford.
 
DefenseBB said:
Getting to the campus is the biggest issue. There is a reason for half the games in Hartford (some 20 miles away) which is ease of access for anyone not a student.
Also, the food concessions are just brutal at Gampel. While Bear's BBQ was a good option, on Saturday, they ran out of food before the end of game 1. Seriously? Is the "grab and go" method really an upgrade, probably not but I doubt it will be worse than what they offer now.
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The real reason is more like subsidizing to city of Hartford. Chronically and Humongously is in the red. Having said that, I do like Harford over Gampel for creature comforts.

What doesn't get reported much is that UConn has to play 50% of their home games in Hartford (thank the CT Legislature) and they pay outrageous rental fees to do so.
 
DSquiz said:
New hockey arena or Jorgensen I would imagine but are much smaller then Gampel.
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Or they could just put up a screen in the student union quad and hold it there
 
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My understanding is the plan is to remove the vinyl wrap from the Patoni tiles and display them in their full glory, just as the maestro originally intended.
 
I'm all for preserving historic structures, and Gampel has certainly become that. It's iconic at this point, and I'd hate to see another big, cookie-cutter arena somewhere.
 
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