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Post by theneumann64 on Apr 2, 2021 8:30:37 GMT -5
I think the debate is whether upgrading the existing building will provide us with the change we really need. The renderings *look* like it would. Of course, those renderings are just pictures, and of course, painted in the most positive light possible. Then there's also the common scenario of architect's renderings looking nothing like the finished product, due to either budgetary or structural limitations. (I saw some awesome designs for the "new Meadowlands Stadium" and MetLife ended up looking like a giant can of cat food inside and out).
If a new arena is truly never going to be in the cards, yes, an upgrade to Gola is better than doing nothing (which I fear is still the most likely scenario). But my concern is any upgrade to Gola is going to be a "thumb in the hole of the boat" scenario and we're not going to be much better off than we were. I HOPE I'm wrong, but that's my fear.
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Post by diehardexplorer on Apr 2, 2021 8:34:12 GMT -5
you do realize there are already renderings and blueprints done for another gola/hayman/trumark renovation. explorertown.proboards.com/thread/3259/comprehensive-facilities-master-plan-trumark explorertown.proboards.com/attachment/download/912reading between the lines, this is what baptiste was talking about in the jensen interview. they will flip the court and have between 10-15 rows of seats on the two sidelines, 12-15 rows behind one basket, and around 30-35 rows behind the other basket. the current 3400 seat capacity will remain roughly the same unless they've figured out a way to add more since then. i've always felt this was the best we could hope for. la salle just doesn't have the money for a brand new arena. it's all about raising the funds at this point. i've heard that the glaser money has grown a little bit (can't confirm this) from the quoted $5m. the question then becomes what the total price tag will be and how much more will they need to raise for another renovation. I'm not about 10-15 rows along a sideline.... that would be a high school feel... like Rider's gym. I'm out if we do that. take a look at bucknell's arena. 13 rows on the sidelines, 15 rows behind one basket and 20 rows behind the other. this is a better comparison than rider (which only holds 1650) bucknellbison.com/facilities/sojka-pavilion/4bucknellbison.com/documents/2013/9/24/SojkaSeating.pdf
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Post by calsufan on Apr 2, 2021 8:39:47 GMT -5
...(I saw some awesome designs for the "new Meadowlands Stadium" and MetLife ended up looking like a giant can of cat food inside and out). I'm perfectly okay with this, after all, we're only talking about the NJ Giants (and the NJ Jets).
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Post by diehardexplorer on Apr 2, 2021 8:40:04 GMT -5
I think the debate is whether upgrading the existing building will provide us with the change we really need. The renderings *look* like it would. Of course, those renderings are just pictures, and of course, painted in the most positive light possible. Then there's also the common scenario of architect's renderings looking nothing like the finished product, due to either budgetary or structural limitations. (I saw some awesome designs for the "new Meadowlands Stadium" and MetLife ended up looking like a giant can of cat food inside and out). If a new arena is truly never going to be in the cards, yes, an upgrade to Gola is better than doing nothing (which I fear is still the most likely scenario). But my concern is any upgrade to Gola is going to be a "thumb in the hole of the boat" scenario and we're not going to be much better off than we were. I HOPE I'm wrong, but that's my fear. they are not just pictures. a full engineering study and blueprints were done.
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Post by calsufan on Apr 2, 2021 8:41:10 GMT -5
people need to come to grips with reality. i would love a 5-6k stand alone arena and to make hayman/trumark a rec center/practice facility. la salle would love it too. but the only way that happens is if there are at minimum a couple $10m donors out there (plus another handful of 6 and 7 figure donors). a new stand alone facility would cost at minimum $40-$50m to build. good luck coming up with that. so instead, this is the option. you either do it or you don't. This is pretty much it in a nutshell.
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Post by calsufan on Apr 2, 2021 8:43:21 GMT -5
Lol. That North Concourse should just be called North Hallway, but I'll take this over what we have. No one's writing a $50 million check so let's get something going before we lose John Glaser's bequest.
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Post by thelasallelunatic on Apr 2, 2021 8:46:34 GMT -5
If it's an obsolete butchered band aid from the ribbon cutting ceremony, I'm out. Alot of you are out if we drop conference levels. I'm out if we get the 2025 version of the 1998 Gola Arena.
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Post by theneumann64 on Apr 2, 2021 8:55:35 GMT -5
...(I saw some awesome designs for the "new Meadowlands Stadium" and MetLife ended up looking like a giant can of cat food inside and out). I'm perfectly okay with this, after all, we're only talking about the NJ Giants (and the NJ Jets). Haha. I think being a dual stadium was the problem. The Giants wanted a little more of an open ended stadium (think Heinz Field or Gillette) and the Jets wanted a traditional bowl. They also had to make sure there was no blue or green whatsoever, as not to show any partiality, so the stadium was an entire sea of gray. And the lighting they talked about that would bathe the stadium exterior in blue or green, depending on the game, is no where near what was promised in the renderings.
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Post by calsufan on Apr 2, 2021 8:57:33 GMT -5
I'm perfectly okay with this, after all, we're only talking about the NJ Giants (and the NJ Jets). Haha. I think being a dual stadium was the problem. The Giants wanted a little more of an open ended stadium (think Heinz Field or Gillette) and the Jets wanted a traditional bowl. They also had to make sure there was no blue or green whatsoever, as not to show any partiality, so the stadium was an entire sea of gray. And the lighting they talked about that would bathe the stadium exterior in blue or green, depending on the game, is no where near what was promised in the renderings. I've never been inside it, but I've driven by it often enough over the years. It's a pretty blah stadium.
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Post by thelasallelunatic on Apr 2, 2021 9:11:46 GMT -5
It's horrible, and navigating around inside of it sucks as well. It's so compartmentalized. You can't walk the whole stadium. Screw the Jets. I can't curse on Good Friday.
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Post by explorer88 on Apr 2, 2021 9:18:43 GMT -5
This configuration does not show that. The problem is there is no concourse possible because it is on the third floor. there is a concourse that runs underneath the seats. in the new configuration. Got it but it doesn't run along the sides which Lunatic has a problem with so we are limited with the sides.
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Post by explorer88 on Apr 2, 2021 9:24:19 GMT -5
If it's an obsolete butchered band aid from the ribbon cutting ceremony, I'm out. Alot of you are out if we drop conference levels. I'm out if we get the 2025 version of the 1998 Gola Arena. Okay, Lunatic you are banned from the new Gola until you make a $1M donation. In all seriousness, it is something like this or current Gola. Diehard is correct. It is this or nothing. This is still light years better than the current Gola and realistically all that we can expect.
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Post by thelasallelunatic on Apr 2, 2021 9:30:02 GMT -5
If I'm ever in position to give a million, you guys will know about it. Until then, it's jellybean challenge money.
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Post by thelasallelunatic on Apr 2, 2021 11:51:02 GMT -5
Sojka Pavilion is nice, bigger than Gola, but nice. I would love to know how we go from Louth's proposed 6,800 seat arena 25 years ago, to a band aid that's going to be 50% smaller. If we are going to upgrade, at least give me 1,500 additional seats.
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Post by diehardexplorer on Apr 2, 2021 12:23:10 GMT -5
Sojka Pavilion is nice, bigger than Gola, but nice. I would love to know how we go from Louth's proposed 6,800 seat arena 25 years ago, to a band aid that's going to be 50% smaller. If we are going to upgrade, at least give me 1,500 additional seats. louth can fill in the blanks if i'm wrong, but that 6k arena from 25 years ago required blowing out a portion of the olney ave wall and putting in a huge support beam, plus it was going to be done at cost. to do that project now would probably cost almost as much as building a new arena because no one will be doing it at cost.
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Post by broderickpresident on Apr 2, 2021 15:01:19 GMT -5
If money is the issue, I’d rather the spend be on a nice practice facility and renting out the Palestra for 10-12 home games per year
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2021 18:01:31 GMT -5
If money is the issue, I’d rather the spend be on a nice practice facility and renting out the Palestra for 10-12 home games per year
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2021 18:10:08 GMT -5
Coach feels the same about a practice facility.
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Post by explorerman on Apr 2, 2021 21:05:36 GMT -5
Coach feels the same about a practice facility. Yes he does... Plays great with recruits
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Post by jellybean on Apr 3, 2021 13:41:11 GMT -5
Let me add something to the conversation that is barely mentioned. The need to upgrade facilities is basically to help recruiting. Facilities in my mind are not just the arena but the following:
Improved Locker rooms for MBB, WBB, Visiting teams ( where the showers work, ceiling panels aren't missing and little furry creatures don't roam). This is huge for our teams in recruiting because players spend so much time there.
Practice court/facility. Don't see a separate stand alone. I think what we will see is those 34 rows rolled back and that area used for practice. Side note, I find it ironic that the school decided to cut Softball, Baseball and Volleyball. Three sports that use that area in the winter to either practice or in the case of Volleyball play their matches. So now I think Basketball has that area to themselves.
Film Room- state of the art facility.
Players Lounge- make it a place they enjoy. Every big time program has it.
Coach's offices- I was in the Basketball Office once about 5-6 years ago and could not get over how small G's office was. My North Philly rowhouse bedroom growing up was bigger. Talk about cramped quarters. Certainly not impressing recruits. The assistant's across the hall had cubicles. We can and should do better.
Conference Room. Something better than we what have. Looks right out of the 1960's.
Area for pre and post game gatherings or to grab a beer and something to eat.
Those are my thoughts. We have to incorporate more than just the 3400+ seats in the arena or we are truly setting ourselves behind.
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Post by roaddog77 on Apr 4, 2021 3:22:00 GMT -5
My idea on the new basketball arena for Lasalle men and women basketball program is to build the new arena on the baseball field (Hank DeVincent field). If the University is still planning to drop the baseball program, that would be the perfect place for the new arena. I don't know the cost of the project, but my guess is about 20 to 30 million dollars. The Sojka Pavilion at Bucknell is the perfect look for the newly Gola arena(add 5,000 seat instead 3,400 seat). Lasalle AD Baptist need to start this basketball renovation ASAP instead of talking about it. Like the late Elvis stated in one of his song "little less talking and little more action".
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Post by JoeFedorowicz on Apr 4, 2021 6:44:56 GMT -5
Not enough space. Or parking. The armory would work. Did La Salle ever buy that? Forget where that left off. Oh and the cost of a new standalone arena will be twice that.
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Post by GlitterBro #2 on Apr 5, 2021 12:53:37 GMT -5
Not enough space. Or parking. The armory would work. Did La Salle ever buy that? Forget where that left off. Oh and the cost of a new standalone arena will be twice that. If I'm remembering correctly, they bought the armory and then had a campaign they were kicking off to make it a rec center/practice space. There were some brochures and things they printed up and gave out about 4 or 5 years ago I think? Then it went nowhere. It turns out the space required too much remediation from all the chemicals there over the years, so La Salle was trying to sell it last I heard.
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Post by JoeFedorowicz on Apr 5, 2021 16:21:54 GMT -5
Figured that’d be something you’d know before you bought it.
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Post by GlitterBro #2 on Apr 5, 2021 20:11:59 GMT -5
Bought in 2014 if I remember correctly. And agreed....how do you buy that and not do some type of inspection or something to see if it is usable?
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Post by explorer88 on Apr 5, 2021 20:20:42 GMT -5
Bought in 2014 if I remember correctly. And agreed....how do you buy that and not do some type of inspection or something to see if it is usable? Insane. Every land purchase should have an environmental phase I study.
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Post by 1863 on Apr 5, 2021 20:38:46 GMT -5
If a new arena is truly never going to be in the cards, yes, an upgrade to Gola is better than doing nothing (which I fear is still the most likely scenario). But my concern is any upgrade to Gola is going to be a "thumb in the hole of the boat" scenario and we're not going to be much better off than we were. I HOPE I'm wrong, but that's my fear. I'm afraid you're right with regard to the "just an upgrade" mentality and it won't be enough to get us the recruits we need to get the program back to the prominence it used to have. It'll be lipstick on a pig. I understand the financial realities, but it's just not going to make us competitive (maybe not even within the Big 5).
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LaSallePal
Mop-Up Time
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Post by LaSallePal on Apr 5, 2021 21:37:04 GMT -5
Those are my thoughts. We have to incorporate more than just the 3400+ seats in the arena or we are truly setting ourselves behind. Mostly agree. On the old account I did a small writeup of the competition that I thought was much longer - here that is: I can't draw many conclusions from stud walls and dreams, but it'll probably be nice enough for the kind of kid they're trying to recruit. Here's what I consider the gold standard in athletic facilities, regardless of sport: The Oregon Hatfield-Dowlin Football Performance Center Price tag: $68,000,000. A big part of why it looks good is because the university didn't just hand it over to the football coach to design. La Salle could get it done for a lot less, partly because basketball requires less but also because the people they hired to do that are prestigious and therefore expensive. All paid for by Phil Knight and Nike, of course. A more relevant approach is Villanova's Davis Center. $18,600,000 for all this luxury and... painted cinder blocks. It also hosts intramurals, staff and a fitness center for the student peasantry to use. Here's another good, more relevant facilities tour: VCU.
Something like this would go a long way locally.
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LaSallePal
Mop-Up Time
Formerly FjordExplorer, currently handsome
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Post by LaSallePal on Apr 5, 2021 21:42:15 GMT -5
Bought in 2014 if I remember correctly. And agreed....how do you buy that and not do some type of inspection or something to see if it is usable? Are you sure it's remediation that's a problem? Because that's a problem I might actually be able to get off my ass and help with. Any chance you can verify?
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Post by hykos1045 on Apr 5, 2021 22:43:29 GMT -5
According to the Collegian archive, articles indicate the school purchased the building amd 2.5 acre site in 2013-2014 for $485,000 then turned around and listed it for sale in 2019 for $1.2M. Not sure if the impending sale ever went through, but I could find no more trace of news after one mention of its being "for sale" in 2019.
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