We have good facilities for practice, is Williams arena helpful or detriment?

[gopherdudepart2]

In recruiting, we have a good practice facility, athletes village set up, but is Williams arena helpful or detrimental when recruiting current players? I have to be honest, Williams arena doesn't feel like a great arena or atmosphere when it is mostly empty and cold in the winter at least this last year and two years ago. The renovations to the Pavilion, what they call Maturi arena, is there any chance that would be more attractive to todays players. The Volleyball team has great crowds and atmosphere inside the PAV, I know they have had great players and all and that contributes but does anyone else think or believe that Williams arena and how old it is, that the arena is starting to be a detriment to recruiting? You see what they have in Iowa, and Nebraska and our facility seems old and dreary compared to those two places. Maybe I am overthinking this, I have always enjoyed Williams arena when it is buzzing, and the team is digging in and playing great defense, but for todays game it is starting to feel the old barn is dated like an Old dirty shirt instead of vintage.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

It's detrimental...or at least something a good recruiter must address

 

[ISUnorth]

Probably?

On one hand I like the old place but on the other hand it's a dump of a facility for a 21st century team. I probably feel a sense of nostalgia attending games as it is like when I was a freshman and attended games at the Old Armory in Ames, Iowa. ISU replaced the Armory 50 years ago. It was also a 1920's built dump but had maybe 60% of the capacity of The Barn. That capacity, huge for the 1920's, has probably saved it all of the these years but it is still a dump.

No idea how it effects recruiting. Tradition might be a sell point or explanation to Minnesota kids but out of state recruits? Not so sure.

On the WBB side it is still a great atmosphere with good fans when the team is winning and drawing. 4,000 - 5,000 fans in The Barn beats the heck out of 1,000 in some huge new but empty arena on the road.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

When does vintage and tradition become stale and boring? I think Williams arena is becoming detrimental to recruiting, it's cold, it's old and it smells funky. To me I think the Gophers women's basketball team would be better served playing in something better. The men could benefit from a more modern arena too. The barn has lost it's luster and it's coolness factor I think, it really is starting to smell and look like a blighted strip mall shopping center.

 

[Belzx009]

There is nothing like a rocking Williams Arena. When the gophers start winning. The fans will come. I just spent two weekends there for state basketball. It’s still awesome.

Also new isn’t always better. Football has a newish stadium. I just saw a thing for the top 50 football stadiums. No Minnesota. It’s even harder when you build something new to stand out.

I don’t like basketball in the pav. That’s my opinion.

 

[whalenfan]

I dont think it really matters that much to recruits, they are barely in there outside of games. The atmosphere is still solid. I was at the MN-WI game in Madison this year and there was maybe 300 people there. I dont care how nice the arena is theres no way a recruit wants to play in that kind of atmosphere.

 

[LakevilleBro]

The seats are too small and have almost zero legroom, but I like the Barn, other than that.

 

[60's Guy]

When we didn't have facilities all we needed were top facilities and we would be competing for championships. A new arena is not the answer to rising up in the standings.

You could make an argument Williams Arena is an asset but your team needs to be relevant enough to draw fans as a first step. Great sight lines, great noise atmosphere. As a player the crowd looks closer and somehow makes you feel more important than other venues.

Concourses, bathrooms suck but that's a fan thing.
Locker rooms are not ideal but thats a coach thing...your players will follow your lead as to how they perceive them.

 

[Damien Cloud]

This reminds me of a TV interview that then Gophers Mens Head Coach Tubby Smith did years ago on the then state of the Men's team. I was doing other things and just had the TV on in the background but they asked him a similar question about the Barn in terms of recruiting players. As I recall, he apparently thought one of the major problems was getting enough big name non-conference opponents to willingly come to the Barn for early season matchups. Not sure if he was on the level or not but he mentioned other coaches flat out told him that they felt the raised floor was just too much of a psychological home field advantage when rejecting home-and-home series offers. If that was true, does the lack of such home games hurt both Gopher teams in terms of recruiting? Imagine exciting home games against uncommon quality opponents are a draw not only for fans but for players too. I don't know, but in terms of the Women's team I can only think of one home game vs a top 25 opponent outside the Big Ten conference or the ACC Challenge (where a random ACC team is forced to play here sometimes) in at least the past 5-10 years (Whalen's 1st year as coach vs Arizona State who was ranked at the time).

 

[GopherBlood777]

Time to fire the coach if the arena is being blamed. I've only watched a handful of women's games, but it was easy to see gophers not well coached under Whalen. Hard to fire someone hanging in the rafters though. 50 pt loss to Iowa extremely embarrassing. Shows they aren't even close 4 seasons in.

 

[From the Parkinglot]

The seats are too small and have almost zero legroom, but I like the Barn, other than that.

How the fire Marshall allowed those seats to be installed should be criminal. They are the worst seats I’ve ever sat in and that included the metrodome for baseball when the seats didn’t face home plate.