Our new basketball arena for the AAC

[Jonnyeagle]

[Mean Green Matt]

The Super Pit is an amazing venue for basketball. Plus it is right by many dorms. Want to kill student attendance worse than it already is? Move the arena across the freaking highway. 

[Shark84]

9 minutes ago, Mean Green Matt said:

The Super Pit is an amazing venue for basketball. Plus it is right by many dorms. Want to kill student attendance worse than it already is? Move the arena across the freaking highway. 

Win and they will figure out how to get there. We rarely get more than a couple of hundred students now.

[Salsa_Verde]

13 minutes ago, Mean Green Matt said:

The Super Pit is an amazing venue for basketball. Plus it is right by many dorms. Want to kill student attendance worse than it already is? Move the arena across the freaking highway. 

Completely disagree. If the team is winning and playing teams people actually know people will walk a little farther. We walk all around campus already so that’s not an issue. Plus there are already dorms on the other side of the highway my man? 

[denton_days]

6 minutes ago, Salsa_Verde said:

Completely disagree. If the team is winning and playing teams people actually know people will walk a little farther. We walk all around campus already so that’s not an issue. Plus there are already dorms on the other side of the highway my man? 

No one who lives in most of the major dorms goes across the highway. It’s just athletes, really. 

[GrandGreen]

I think building a bright new McDonald looking basketball arena ala UTA, is foolish at best.  

The SP is fine, should be able to renovate it for a fraction of the cost of a new facility,

I honestly do not know what the rationale for this level of expenditure could be? 

I don't think it would help recruiting, if that is the justification just adding more to the recruiting budget would be a lot cheaper.

A new facility is not going to significantly improve scheduling or attendance. . 

[Mean Green Matt]

41 minutes ago, Salsa_Verde said:

Completely disagree. If the team is winning and playing teams people actually know people will walk a little farther. We walk all around campus already so that’s not an issue. Plus there are already dorms on the other side of the highway my man? 

It’s a winter sport. It should be as close to the main cluster of dorms as possible. And it currently is. And it’s fine. It’s actually better than fine. We shouldn’t be building things for the sake of building them. 

[Mean Green Matt]

47 minutes ago, Shark84 said:

Win and they will figure out how to get there. We rarely get more than a couple of hundred students now.

I have to imagine it will pick up this year after the NCAA win. The athletic department abandoning the pit crew concept was not ideal, hopefully that starts up again. Even with that it took Johnny Jones the better part of a decade to build up the fan base. Unfortunately it took Benford about a month and a half to eviscerate it. 

[MeanGreenRoadrunner]

I like the SP.  it just needs new seating.  No knee room for this 6'3" dude.  

[denton_days]

27 minutes ago, MeanGreenRoadrunner said:

I like the SP.  it just needs new seating.  No knee room for this 6'3" dude.  

Redoing the super pit would be the best move by far. Cool central building in campus next to parking, dorms, could still be owned by the university for events. 

[UNTcrazy727]

1 hour ago, Mean Green Matt said:

The Super Pit is an amazing venue for basketball. Plus it is right by many dorms. Want to kill student attendance worse than it already is? Move the arena across the freaking highway. 

The Super Pit is an adequate venue that is outdated in many ways. We've done a decent job keeping it updated, but like the other buildings built on campus from the same period (Willis Library, The GAB) it's an architect's worst nightmare. It's also just too big for a college venue IMO.  

It still would be an easy walk from most of the dorms so as long as the team is good attendance won't be an issue.

And let's not forget, the new arena would also be home to the volleyball team. We need to get them out of that warehouse they currently play in.

Edited October 20, 2021 by UNTcrazy727

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

2 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

I think building a bright new McDonald looking basketball arena ala UTA, is foolish at best.  

The SP is fine, should be able to renovate it for a fraction of the cost of a new facility,

I honestly do not know what the rationale for this level of expenditure could be? 

I don't think it would help recruiting, if that is the justification just adding more to the recruiting budget would be a lot cheaper.

A new facility is not going to significantly improve scheduling or attendance. . 

The Super Pit, with major renovations, would probably cost around the same as a new arena due to how it was built and the configurations of the stands. I swear Wren spoke on that, and somewhere in a master plan had the skeleton of the Pit and how adjusting/taking down the upper deck would be very difficult.

I don't think we need a new arena, but down the road in 5-10 years, I think so...

[GrandGreen]

15 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

The Super Pit, with major renovations, would probably cost around the same as a new arena due to how it was built and the configurations of the stands. I swear Wren spoke on that, and somewhere in a master plan had the skeleton of the Pit and how adjusting/taking down the upper deck would be very difficult.

I don't think we need a new arena, but down the road in 5-10 years, I think so...

Look at the cost of the UTA basketball arena construction and that was a long time ago.   It would probably take much more now to build a new basketball arena; much more than the cost of Apogee.  

I think you could do a lot with the SP with a lot less than a $100m, and end up with a better facility than a brand new UTA like stadium.   I don't think UTA arena is better in anyway over the SP other than it can be louder.  

UTA had an awful arena, and had to build.  However, a new facility has not significantly helped ether their record or attendance. 

[PlummMeanGreen]

3 hours ago, Shark84 said:

Win and they will figure out how to get there. We rarely get more than a couple of hundred students now.

“Wow” on the rendering of Super Pit 2.0. 

When I was a UNT student less than a thousand NT students at the Super Pit for any game you’d think they must have had a major test to study for.  

Are you sure about a couple of hundred UNT students  per game with Grant McCasland running the show?
 

🦅

Edited October 20, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

[GrandGreen]

1 hour ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

The Super Pit is an adequate venue that is outdated in many ways. We've done a decent job keeping it updated, but like the other buildings built on campus from the same period (Willis Library, The GAB) it's an architect's worst nightmare. It's also just too big for a college venue IMO.  

It still would be an easy walk from most of the dorms so as long as the team is good attendance won't be an issue.

And let's not forget, the new arena would also be home to the volleyball team. We need to get them out of that warehouse they currently play in.

I am assuming that the NT plans will be for volleyball courts to be in a separate area than basketball. That would take some advantage away from NT playing with a low ceiling.   However, it should be a big boost to volleyball recruiting. 

[Wag Tag]

The AD doesn’t own the pit. The school does which causes numerous conflicts. A new pit with a shuttle would be great. I wonder with a number of AAC teams with baseball if this might jump ahead?

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

7 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

Look at the cost of the UTA basketball arena construction and that was a long time ago.   It would probably take much more now to build a new basketball arena; much more than the cost of Apogee.  

I think you could do a lot with the SP with a lot less than a $100m, and end up with a better facility than a brand new UTA like stadium.   I don't think UTA arena is better in anyway over the SP other than it can be louder.  

UTA had an awful arena, and had to build.  However, a new facility has not significantly helped ether their record or attendance. 

I tend to agree, but calling Texas Hall an arena is a stretch hahaha

[GrandGreen]

7 hours ago, Wag Tag said:

The AD doesn’t own the pit. The school does which causes numerous conflicts. A new pit with a shuttle would be great. I wonder with a number of AAC teams with baseball if this might jump ahead?

You know this makes no sense.  

The technical ownership has absolutely nothing to do with the scheduling of the SP.  The President and AD make those decisions just like almost every college owned athletic facility in the country. 

[MrAlien]

The super pit seems fine for now, sure it could use some minor updates, but doesn't seem like a priority at the moment.  plus I would like to see a baseball program, before a new arena. 

[Wag Tag]

1 hour ago, GrandGreen said:

You know this makes no sense.  

The technical ownership has absolutely nothing to do with the scheduling of the SP.  The President and AD make those decisions just like almost every college owned athletic facility in the country. 

It has impact on access for the basketball team. The new facility was also going to be for volleyball. I could see going baseball before the new arena.

[GrandGreen]

38 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

It has impact on access for the basketball team. The new facility was also going to be for volleyball. I could see going baseball before the new arena.

No it does not, years ago a girls basketball game was moved to the Pit when the SP was booked for some kind of robotics event.  

This was used as an example of lack of control by the AD.   Never mind the same decision would have been made  regardless of what department has title to the building. 

[Mean Green Matt]

24 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

No it does not, years ago a girls basketball game was moved to the Pit when the SP was booked for some kind of robotics event.  

This was used as an example of lack of control by the AD.   Never mind the same decision would have been made  regardless of what department has title to the building. 

This. And the reality is that the basketball program gets deference almost every time. And it’s not like they need the SP to practice anymore. 

[MDH]

I don't like spending $ because we have it when there may be something better to save for or spend on. I don't think SP holds us back in any way like Fouts did. 

[Salsa_Verde]

On 10/19/2021 at 10:33 PM, denton_days said:

No one who lives in most of the major dorms goes across the highway. It’s just athletes, really. 

I lived on Bernard this is not a long walk. 

[Salsa_Verde]

On 10/19/2021 at 11:43 PM, denton_days said:

Redoing the super pit would be the best move by far. Cool central building in campus next to parking, dorms, could still be owned by the university for events. 

I like where the Super Pitt is now too. But it needs a no BS renovation.