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Message: [QUOTE="Husky25, post: 4838027, member: 2839"] While both venues have their pros and cons, and my preferences tend to shift between the two in a variety of ways, I've thought for sometime that having two home courts with different characteristics is a net positive for the program. Location is both a net positive and negative. XLC is more centrally located, which is attractive to fans outside of Eastern Connecticut. It has better parking options, and more pregame/postgame options for fans. On the other hand, Gampel is better for students and parking is evidently not as convenient for the late arrivals. The courts are different. The Court is the floor of the arena on campus. The court is laid over a rubber mat, which is, itself, laid over a sheet of ice at XLC. Capacity-Though lower, 10,000 voices going crazy in a geodesic dome can get head-splittingly loud and can probably surpass the decibel level of nearly 16k at XLC, which has cavernous rafters. XLC can get real loud as well, it just seems like it takes more effort. Fans don't seem as constantly engaged. I prefer Gampel's lighting as well. I'm pretty sure they changed out the fixtures in XLC, as I don't recall hearing buzz during foul shots recently and the entire seating area is still lit up. Gampel's fixtures are aimed at the court. A strategy that I believe in part was aimed at deemphasizing the deteriorating interior roof tiles at the time. Finally... Shooters Background. Students and other baseline fans are closer to the baseline and the steepness of the stands provides a more shallow background behind the clear backboard, which I believe is the preference of the higher caliber players. By virtue of the hockey rink, baseline seats and the rows leading to the concourse at XLC are less steep and provide a deeper background, mirroring most professional venues where many postseason tournament games are played. However, the above factors, coupled with at least 80% crowd support gets the team prepared to play in various other environments around the country. Duke has crazy support at 9,500 seat Cameron Indoor and I would love for UConn students to surround the courtside, but I can't be convinced that there is not a bit of an adjustment when they visit Louisville, UNC, or play in the bigger venues of the postseason tournaments. UConn has already played half their home games and most road games in a similar environment. [/QUOTE]

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