UCONN hockey program won't be complete until on-campus barn/team facility opens | Page 9 | The Boneyard

UCONN hockey program won't be complete until on-campus barn/team facility opens

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ct06111 said:
Great article:

https://cthockeyviolence.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/all-aboard-the-icebus-a-new-hope/
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Yeah...until you come to the "reonvating Freitas to be a suitable practice facility" part. Here is what becomes lost in translation with the XL renovation crowd...something that you understand...but the majority do not. A "Suitable" practice facility means just enough to get it done. Freitas needs to be turned into a place that rivals the Champions Center and Burton/Schenkman. In doing so that means allowing games on campus. If this is not done..recruiting will stagnate and so will this program. When that happens...all these "play in Hartford" former Whaler fans will be gone. The other thing I don't think the author of that article understands is that UCONN Hockey isn't the NHL...he seems to basically be saying..."hey this team I can root for..they won't leave like the Whalers did". What happens if a NHL team ever comes back...the average fan will have to make a decision on where to spend their money..NHL tickets aren't cheap no matter where the franchise is. When I was up in Buffalo last winter to help with that huge lake effect snow storm they got pummeled by...a Buffalo fireman tells me he has season tickets to the Sabers and that the tickets were $75 per game for "ok" seats...that hit me like a ton of bricks. I was used to paying what I thought were inflated NYC prices for the Rangers when I realized that the Sabers were charging basically the same price per seat. The fan like the guy who authored that article will be going to NHL games again...and UCONN hockey will become an after thought...as will the scheduling issues that will come up. There is a divide because people in CT view Hartford city politicians a always having their hands out leveraging the fact that "we are the capitol city we are better than everyone else..the state needs to take care of us". That theory was evident growing up in eastern CT...and is evident now.
 
I mean, Freitas is basically a fine practice facility as is. It's got a rink and a dressing room.
 
zls44 said:
I mean, Freitas is basically a fine practice facility as is. It's got a rink and a dressing room.
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Are you serious? That's like saying that the Fieldhouse was good enough for the football team.
 
FDNY99 said:
Are you serious? That's like saying that the Fieldhouse was good enough for the football team.
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Practice facility. BU uses WBA for the same, I believe. Ditto Wisconsin. Using the old crappy rink as a "practice facility" is a common card.
 
zls44 said:
Practice facility. BU uses WBA for the same, I believe. Ditto Wisconsin. Using the old crappy rink as a "practice facility" is a common card.
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I'm going on record on the fact that schools like BU, BC and Wisconsin don't have their players doing pre-practice stretching in the lobby of their practice rink. Either do this the right way or they should have stayed in the AHA. And for the record...of the 4 "top level" HE recruits we signed this year 2 fell into UCONN's lap because of admissions issues (Letunov and Masonius). They don't fix the Freitas issue and upgrade it..UMASS Amherst will look like a top flight HE program compared to UCONN.
 
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zls44 said:
Practice facility. BU uses WBA for the same, I believe. Ditto Wisconsin. Using the old crappy rink as a "practice facility" is a common card.
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BU does not use WBA for practices except when there's an event at Agganis, which is very infrequent. 90%+ of practices are on the Agganis rink. WBA is exclusively the women's team's rink.
 
I have to agree with those wanting a first class on campus facility. I don't agree with a schedule exclusively at Storrs, especially if the success the team is having in Hartford continues and even improves in terms of attendance. My reasons are as follows:
  1. Even if we stay in this conference AAC, our situation in HE for hockey is an unbelievably great situation. Proximity to our opponents, superior competition to any other league, great local and regional talent pool and ability to recruit out of area nationally and internationally due to the prestige of the league. We can't let this gem we've been given not be developed properly and displayed as a crown jewel. I know hockey is not basketball or football in terms of importance, but in terms of a program that can succeed on it's own merits here in New England it is perfect for us. The HE invite is similar to the Big East invite for basketball years ago.
  2. I can't see us succeeding in HE if we only build a suitable practice facility in Storrs. It might work for awhile but if Cav has to try to make this work without any guarantees he probably won't stick around as others have indicated. After the dramatic progress he has fostered, I can't think of how horrible it would be for him to be looking to get out. It should be a situation where he consciously wants to stay and wants to build this team into a powerhouse. With the assurances he had before of proper support and facilities, he was sure he could do that job.
  3. Whatever else happens, we need to build a proper facility on campus. Then work out the schedule and games split with Hartford if the financial pieces work. If it doesn't, play on campus if attendance is good.
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
BU does not use WBA for practices except when there's an event at Agganis, which is very infrequent. 90%+ of practices are on the Agganis rink. WBA is exclusively the women's team's rink.
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My mistake then.
 
CTHUSKY74 said:
I have to agree with those wanting a first class on campus facility. I don't agree with a schedule exclusively at Storrs, especially if the success the team is having in Hartford continues and even improves in terms of attendance. My reasons are as follows:
  1. Even if we stay in this conference AAC, our situation in HE for hockey is an unbelievably great situation. Proximity to our opponents, superior competition to any other league, great local and regional talent pool and ability to recruit out of area nationally and internationally due to the prestige of the league. We can't let this gem we've been given not be developed properly and displayed as a crown jewel. I know hockey is not basketball or football in terms of importance, but in terms of a program that can succeed on it's own merits here in New England it is perfect for us. The HE invite is similar to the Big East invite for basketball years ago.
  2. I can't see us succeeding in HE if we only build a suitable practice facility in Storrs. It might work for awhile but if Cav has to try to make this work without any guarantees he probably won't stick around as others have indicated. After the dramatic progress he has fostered, I can't think of how horrible it would be for him to be looking to get out. It should be a situation where he consciously wants to stay and wants to build this team into a powerhouse. With the assurances he had before of proper support and facilities, he was sure he could do that job.
  3. Whatever else happens, we need to build a proper facility on campus. Then work out the schedule and games split with Hartford if the financial pieces work. If it doesn't, play on campus if attendance is good.
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This is an excellent post, spot on.
 
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Does anyone know the property lines around Freitas? Maybe build a hockey complex to the East or to the South of the existing rink and expand the parking lot?
 
huskymike said:
Does anyone know the property lines around Freitas? Maybe build a hockey complex to the East or to the South of the existing rink and expand the parking lot?
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Not 100% sure, but if they're replacing morrone and building a new morrone in the same location, they should just re-do Freitas at the same time. Have it both be done by the same crew. You could save money on engineering costs, prep costs, construction costs etc. have them share the ticket office or concessions, etc.

There's no point in paying an entire engineering, construction, site prep, possible demolition, remediation crews twice. I know parking garages are expensive, but maybe build one on or near X lot so it can be shared for hockey, soccer, baseball, and softball once their new stadia are built. It could also be used if they expand gampel etc.

Get the hockey and soccer both done at the same time.
 
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huskymike said:
Does anyone know the property lines around Freitas? Maybe build a hockey complex to the East or to the South of the existing rink and expand the parking lot?
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If you look at the boundary map they have show on the master plan the wooded tract that runs from Burton/Schenkman and the parking garage due south behind McMahon Hall all the way to South Eagleville Rd is school property.
 
FDNY99 said:
If you look at the boundary map they have show on the master plan the wooded tract that runs from Burton/Schenkman and the parking garage due south behind McMahon Hall all the way to South Eagleville Rd is school property.
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ct06111 said:
Not 100% sure, but if they're replacing morrone and building a new morrone in the same location, they should just re-do Freitas at the same time. Have it both be done by the same crew. You could save money on engineering costs, prep costs, construction costs etc. have them share the ticket office or concessions, etc.

There's no point in paying an entire engineering, construction, site prep, possible demolition, remediation crews twice. I know parking garages are expensive, but maybe build one on or near X lot so it can be shared for hockey, soccer, baseball, and softball once their new stadia are built. It could also be used if they expand gampel etc.

Get the hockey and soccer both done at the same time.
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I found an assessors map for Mansfield, I agree with trying to save money by a joint project (for lack of a better term) between the soccer stadium and hockey arena projects. I was thinking that there appears to be plenty of room for a Husky Hockey Complex in the wooded area by the parking lot. I don't believe there are any wetland concerns and you wouldn't be cramming the soccer stadium renovations next to an expanded Freitas. Just my two cents.
 
The devil inside says there is a nice piece of land at the NW corner of South Eagleville and Route 195 that would be perfect for the new arena, all UConn has to do is to tear down Mansfield Town Hall, which is not being used anyway :cool:
 
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There's so much room back there, and I can't imagine Freitas and Morrone, as they stand now, go right up to UConn's property lines. There's MORE than enough room back there to rebuild the soccer complex, put a hockey arena and practice facility in, and replace the existing parking lot back there with a multi-level garage. I can't see space being a hurdle to this, it's 99% politics.
 
Mr. Conehead said:
The devil inside says there is a nice piece of land at the NW corner of South Eagleville and Route 195 that would be perfect for the new arena, all UConn has to do is to tear down Mansfield Town Hall, which is not being used anyway :cool:
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Across the street would be a great spot too!
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
There's so much room back there, and I can't imagine Freitas and Morrone, as they stand now, go right up to UConn's property lines. There's MORE than enough room back there to rebuild the soccer complex, put a hockey arena and practice facility in, and replace the existing parking lot back there with a multi-level garage. I can't see space being a hurdle to this, it's 99% politics.
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There's a multi-story parking garage next to Ingalls Arena.
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
There's so much room back there, and I can't imagine Freitas and Morrone, as they stand now, go right up to UConn's property lines. There's MORE than enough room back there to rebuild the soccer complex, put a hockey arena and practice facility in, and replace the existing parking lot back there with a multi-level garage. I can't see space being a hurdle to this, it's 99% politics.
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I believe wetlands are in play. It's not all politics, but it's a lot of politics.
 
pepband99 said:
I believe wetlands are in play. It's not all politics, but it's a lot of politics.
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With the road changes around campus, primarily Hillside, the primary way visitors will take to a new ice rink should it be where Freitas is the back way from Sepratist Road. That road can't handle 4,000 fans driving in and I am sure Mansfield will bring that up. Mansfield should have agreed to the original site at the SW corner of S Eagleville & Route 195 or right behind Storrs Center across the street from the new parking garage built there.
 
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DSquiz said:
And they also state that they have until 2019 to expand to 4,000. So we may not see work started for a few years while they confirm that the XL Center attendance maintains its high mark.
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Yup. I read something somewhere that they might combine the soccer and hockey expansion into one combined project to cut down on costs. That would be beneficial to save some money for upcoming Gampel and Renschler Field expansions and allow the state to thoroughly renovate XL (or build something new).
 
Dooley said:
Looks more and more like a Freitas expansion will be the route taken...

http://dailycampus.com/stories/2015/11/11/uconn-athletics-pushes-expansion-of-on-campus-hockey-rink
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Looking at things comprehensively, is a good. But, I don’t know how Freitas can be expanded and for the soccer stadium to be expanded in the same place that they are today as its about 7 feet (Google maps) between the two.

Also, not thrilled with this comment from Mansfield. With S Eagleville Road and Rte 195, that intersection is perfect for a ‘major’ development to complement the Storrs Commons across the street.

“Mansfield’s Director of Planning and Zoning Linda Painter said the Freitas Ice Forum was one of the locations put forward in the town’s plan of conservation and development as an alternative location for the rink. Painter said residents were concerned about the impact of construction on the Albert E. Moss Sanctuary behind Mansfield Apartments as well traffic from increased game attendance.

“I think all of those things have to be weighed and balanced,” Painter said. “There are definitely some that would prefer not to see that traffic out there.” ​
 
Definitely going to need a parking garage back there then. This is good because the parking garage can also be used for baseball/softball/soccer in addition to hockey. Sell the current Frietas lot as a "blue lot" type pass and make $$ off of it. Make legit concessions in a new Frietas (Gampel's "concessions" are a joke) and maybe even consider widening Jim Calhoun way OR making it one way only on game day's to use both lanes for better traffic flow. Instead of making everyone drive through the center of campus to get to the games, encourage people to enter from the back on Separatist Road. There's actually a lot of potential to have a great barn back there but the plan must be executed correctly.

Also for the sake of continuity the outside of the building should reflect what the renovated baseball stadium will look like.
 
A clearer picture of what's necessary to build a HE facility? How do they not know this already? It's not hard to find out.
 
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