Hockey Arena Groundbreaking/Progress

[CL82]

It’s college hockey. The big ticket games (BC, BU) will sell out. The arena will not sell out ( once the newness of the arena wears off) for the majority of teams UConn plays.

At 2600? I’m not so sure about that.

 

[zls44]

Give it a season or two of selling out and they will add seats. I suspect that was always the plan.

Yes

But why can’t we just do it right the first time? Why can’t we ever learn!

 

[zls44]

Regarding Toscano, you’re letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. The new arena is 500-1000 seats too small, everybody who’s honest knows that’s the case. But guess what, there’s no going back.

1. Storrs is easy to get to for the entire fanbase as well. It’s 30 minutes from Hartford. This isn’t traipsing across Arizona. It is a small state.
2. For $70m, being too small is unacceptable. I will not let go of the anger nor should I. That’s how nothing changes. How about holding people accountable? Instead, you’re just gonna roll over and take it. Typical.

 

[zls44]

I think all of the complainers are going to be pleasantly surprised when they visit the new arena in person. Will be surprised if they are not.

It’s going to be nice. It’s also going to be the worst D1 facility in the state. Both are true. That’s unacceptable.

 

[zls44]

The new arena will be just perfect as an on campus facility. The locker rooms, training facilities, players lounge are first Class. Let remember that players, coaches, and UConn students are what really matter. They’re all going to really love the new on campus facility.

Does it have a shooting room? Team video facility? Weightlifting area? All of those are common features at new D1 rinks.

The lack of mention of any of them indicates they don’t have those. So no. Once again, it will NOT be a first-class facility.

 

[huskymedic]

Does it have a shooting room? Team video facility? Weightlifting area? All of those are common features at new D1 rinks.

The lack of mention of any of them indicates they don’t have those. So no. Once again, it will NOT be a first-class facility.

Video/pics of both the shooting room and weightlifting areas have been shown in previous posts in this thread. I believe the video review area was also addressed in a WHOC post.

It will will be a first class facility. You wanna continue to peck @ the capacity that’s fair game but they seemed to have covered all the other facility issues that were lacking from a player/student athlete perspective.

 

[UCONNJACK]

Does it have a shooting room? Team video facility? Weightlifting area? All of those are common features at new D1 rinks.

The lack of mention of any of them indicates they don’t have those. So no. Once again, it will NOT be a first-class facility.

New rink has all of the above. Look at the photos in the attached link.

UConn Announces Grand Opening of Toscano Family Ice Forum - University of Connecticut Athletics

The UConn Division of Athletics will host an exclusive ribbon cutting event and grand opening reception for the Toscano Family Ice Forum on Thursday, January 12

uconnhuskies.com

 

[zls44]

New rink has all of the above. Look at the photos in the attached link.

UConn Announces Grand Opening of Toscano Family Ice Forum - University of Connecticut Athletics

The UConn Division of Athletics will host an exclusive ribbon cutting event and grand opening reception for the Toscano Family Ice Forum on Thursday, January 12

uconnhuskies.com

Ok, good to know. Thanks for that. Also apologies for going multi-post rant, hard on a phone lol

 

[CL82]

Yes

But why can’t we just do it right the first time? Why can’t we ever learn!

I think you know the answer to this. Because we are a state agency, we pay a premium for labor, which makes anything we build more expensive. When we pitch to the legislature, some numbers just sound too high and wouldn’t get the necessary votes. So, we end up compromising on the initial construction and making it up down the line. It is much less cost-effective, and inevitably involves some compromises. Still, I would much rather be a state university than a private one.

Would I rather have a 12,500 seat Gampel, a 5000 seat Toscano, and an on-campus football stadium? Of course, but what we have is pretty nice.

 

[Viet Vet]

Project Labor Agreements.................suck the life out of taxpayers' wallets.

 

[Palatine]

There is never money to do it right the first time.

There is always money to do it over.

That's the game.

 

[Bomber36]

My disappointment with this whole process is off the charts. This was the first year since we moved to HE that I didn’t get season tix. Turns out I should have, as I only missed 2 games. Picked a bad year to nix the season tix.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[UCONNJACK]

Advertisers signage being installed on the boards this morning. How much do advertisers pay for signage?

 

[CTBballfan243]

I wonder when they will get CO so the team(s) can begin to practice on the ice.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

All in w/ time to spare…

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Sea Goat]

Video/pics of both the shooting room and weightlifting areas have been shown in previous posts in this thread. I believe the video review area was also addressed in a WHOC post.

It will will be a first class facility. You wanna continue to peck @ the capacity that’s fair game but they seemed to have covered all the other facility issues that were lacking from a player/student athlete perspective.

Re: capacity - consider that a lot of "no shows" in Hartford have been assigned seats (probably some pretty good ones) in the new rink. Let's see how it shakes out. Remember, in 9 years, we never again approached the turn-out (8000+) we had for game one @ the XL vs. BC in November 2014! UConn is playing great now, but how loyal are the season tix holders from say the Farmington Valley or down state going to be if we hit a rough patch? It's a hot ticket now, but does the enthusiasm last? We'll see.

So maybe the capacity is too small - we'll see in the long run. I was hoping for 3300-3500, but I didn't have the spare millions to make that possible. (Yale and Quinnipiac are in that range.) For someone, who has been there since day one (the 1-0 victory over #3 BC on 11/5/14), the jury is out on the capacity question. Fans (and season ticket holders) are fickle and can be of the "fair weather" type. I hope it turns into a "Lynah Rink" atmosphere. If you want to see 4300 of the most intense fans ever assembled for a college hockey game, it is worth the trip!

 

[JeannoCT]

I sit near, and have sat near Farmington Valley fans, and both groups told me they will not be making the trip to Storrs. Since some folks are older (including me), it is understandable that they don't want to make the trip. Doesn't make them bad fans at all. I consider myself a very loyal hockey fan, but I didn't even consider going to Fenway. Lousy views, and the cold I can do without. I'm usually up for a UConn road trip - I've been to Ireland with hockey, Arizona with baseball, and several football bowls and women's final fours. But as I get older, I have to think about it a bit more. Just the way it is, for me.