Size of Planned On-Campus Barn

[CL82]

My primary argument for a new on-campus 6K hockey/12K basketball arena is because UConn does need a new hockey rink and because Gampel needs to be expanded and renovated. With limited funds, I think on facility serving both goals would be smart. Patrice time would not be an issue as both teams have a venue now to practice at. My only concern is how hockey games would feel/sound at such a facility when Ferris St or some other school that no one in CT has ever hard of only draws 4K to a game with the upper bowl closed off. A positive would be when BC comes to town and the upper bowl is opened and UConn has 12K fans screaming at the Eagles.

Some have speculated that converting Gampel to a dual purpose facility is not cost effective. It's definitely not a part of the master plan.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Some have speculated that converting Gampel to a dual purpose facility is not cost effective. It's definitely not a part of the master plan.

I have heard that, too. The building is enclosed by solid concrete and there are classrooms under the basketball floor. Plus, the pool actually is under the seats in one corner. Thu expanding Gampel and/or converting it to a dual purpose arena is not feasible as it would be cheaper to build a new arena from scratch.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Cornell does that, it stemmed from the BU-Cornell Red Hot Hockey series. Cornell has an absolutely enormous alumni base in NYC, bigger than SU I believe, and their games there are like their annual Super Bowl, especially against BU since we're their historic main rival. That'd be a good idea for UConn to try once hockey became more mainstream among UConn fans, and you could get a powerhouse western team to come play. Harvard and Yale played at MSG earlier this month and drew "12K" for it. But really, it was only about half full.

I have an MBA from BU and live in North Jersey, so I get all of those invites. Cornell is huge in NYC as it's New York State original land grant university and the school has it's medical campus in the city, too. Cornell is also involved in the new 'tech center' to be built on Roosevelt Island - http://construction.tech.cornell.edu/. Is it also worth mentioning that even Cornell is closer to NYC than Syracuse

 

[TheDoggPound]

Then why ask if I am taking a shot at Hartford? And why would you want to play games at the XL when you can play them in your new palace on campus and show it off to recruits?
Here are some quotes that give me that hunch:
(http://www.theuconnblog.com/2014/10/10/6956871/uconn-mens-hockey-interview-with-mike-cavanaugh)
You touched on the buildings of the different Hockey East teams, you guys will be playing in the XL Center this season. People have been discussing the possibility of something being built on campus. Is that something that's important to you and people within the program?

I think it's a necessity and it was part of the agreement when we decided to upgrade to Hockey East that we would build and on-campus facility. I think it is essential for our players. Whether that be a top-notch training facility like the Men's and Women's Basketball team have and we all play out of a multi-sport facility that's one avenue we're looking at, another avenue is to build a standalone facility that's just hockey only. I know the school is having meetings on this and discussing it and is supposed to be presented this December, either way it is something that I believe is essential to our program.



I've been to a few Hockey East barns, one of the great things about college hockey is that you get that quaint, small atmosphere that holds in the noise, it'd be nice to replicate something like that at UConn wouldn't it?

Oh it'd be fantastic. I mean, Gampel Pavilion is a 10,000 seat arena which is probably small for a Division 1 basketball program and that place is electric on game night. Our soccer team averages 5,000 fans per game, so this is a rabid, rabid fan-base here in the State of Connecticut and we certainly are looking to tap into that and have them support us as well.

If you would like to discuss the crowd at the Merrimack game, my season tickets are directly behind the UCONN bench. Feel free to stop by and I'll buy you a beer.

My point is that when UConn moves on to play in Storrs they're not doing so because Hartford is not drawing which is the case in BPort but they'll be moving on because they are required to and the intimacy of a smaller arena is preferable anyways. No one is thinking/saying otherwise but the team will still play 2-3 games in Hartford a season and who knows what the arena situation is in Hartford come the 2018-19 season. That is an extreme unknown.

 

[BoatShow]

Going to the game at BC really shined a light on how sweet a 6k on campus barn would be.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Going to the game at BC really shined a light on how sweet a 6k on campus barn would be.

Yep. It's great, and Conte is comparatively a mid-level HE facility at best.

 

[UconnDon]

How was attendance at the Bridgeport games besides the ND game? When I bought my tickets, the entire lower arena looked sold except for a few random seats here and there. Unfortunately, like many others, I did not make it to the game because it was not worth risking my family's life and limb to drive that morning on a sheet of ice spanning from North Jersey all the way up to Bridgeport. Thus, I would not want to see any decisions made just because of poor attendance at that one game.

 

[UconnDon]

There has been a decided lack of publicity circulated in Fairfield County about UConn hockey presence at the Webster facility in Bridgeport and poor attendance to date is the result. Publicity is difficult to generate in Fairfield County as there is no county newspaper, and neither the B'port Post or Courant have much of a readership throughout the county. They must compete with the Fairfield County commuter population and NY newspapers which focus on NYC and Northern NJ college and New York professional sports events.

As an avid fan of UConn sports living in Greenwich I can vouch for the absolute dearth of knowledge, publicity or written accounts of UConn student life. There are times when I have difficulty bringing in basketball or football scores and accounts following a UConn game only due to lack of means of reading of the games or schedule.

 

[FDNY99]

There has been a decided lack of publicity circulated in Fairfield County about UConn hockey presence at the Webster facility in Bridgeport and poor attendance to date is the result. Publicity is difficult to generate in Fairfield County as there is no county newspaper, and neither the B'port Post or Courant have much of a readership throughout the county. They must compete with the Fairfield County commuter population and NY newspapers which focus on NYC and Northern NJ college and New York professional sports events.

As an avid fan of UConn sports living in Greenwich I can vouch for the absolute dearth of knowledge, publicity or written accounts of UConn student life. There are times when I have difficulty bringing in basketball or football scores and accounts following a UConn game only due to lack of means of reading of the games or schedule.

I'll second this...having grown up in eastern CT and now living in just over the CT/NY border in Port Chester

 

[IceBus]

How about building the new barn in the Buckland Hills area? If it were attached to the mall it could help get the students to games as they can shop before or after.

 

[HuskyFan16]

How about building the new barn in the Buckland Hills area? If it were attached to the mall it could help get the students to games as they can shop before or after.

If your interest is getting students to games...why would you suggest anywhere other than Storrs?

 

[TheDoggPound]

We should be talking about how to get the students to the XL for the next 3 years and change. The students will go to games in Storrs, cool but they should be coming to the XL in the meantime, no excuses.