As Gophers Struggle, Push To Tear Down Williams Arena Begins (Gaard and Shelman chime in, and agree)

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It's going on 30 years since the last major renovation (which in my option was a big success), so it's time to at least start planning and scoping for the next one, even if a funding source hasn't been identified. Needless to say, it'll be hard to justify anything until the athlete's village is closer to being paid for.

I like some of the gutting/rebuild options I'm hearing, but... I wish I had more confidence in the Architectural community to be able to get this right. If the new Nicollet Mall is the best the profession can do, let's just keep what we have. Let's be honest: the reason we love these old spaces is that their designers understood building things for human use and to human scale in a way their modern counterparts don't today. It's a lost art.
 

KyGopherfan said:
I think it's time to change. There's loads of great new arenas that would be perfect like Auburn and Houston. They can make it unique so it's not a cookie cutter arena. But The Barn has had its run.
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With your ideas and your money anything is possible. Make the offer.
 

abrams said:
I'm fine with gutting the entire inside but you need to widen the concourse, install bathrooms in more then a couple places and have food options other than popcorn and diet coke. People who are going to spend money on entertainment want a few luxuries. Sorry this place sucks right now, only the gray hairs like it. I hate it and will never go until it's renovated, the fan experience is pitiful.
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Speak for yourself. I'm 26 and love the Barn. I'm all for doing a major renovation at some point, but tearing it down would be one of the biggest mistakes the university could possibly make imo.
 

It is time. And, funding won't be as hard as you think. It should start with about $50-$60 million in naming rights. It should continue with naming rights to other parts of the new building. Certainly there would be some moderate to significant state money (like most university buildings get, including TCF Bank Stadium). They would get money from premium donations for rights to premium areas, suites, etc. It would include grassroots donor money, bricks etc. And, finish with some big-hitters closing the deal.
 


Bad Gopher said:
It's going on 30 years since the last major renovation (which in my option was a big success), so it's time to at least start planning and scoping for the next one, even if a funding source hasn't been identified. Needless to say, it'll be hard to justify anything until the athlete's village is closer to being paid for.

I like some of the gutting/rebuild options I'm hearing, but... I wish I had more confidence in the Architectural community to be able to get this right. If the new Nicollet Mall is the best the profession can do, let's just keep what we have. Let's be honest: the reason we love these old spaces is that their designers understood building things for human use and to human scale in a way their modern counterparts don't today. It's a lost art.
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If the renovation ideas come from the same minds that decided on the white floor, then it’ll be a disaster.
 

tjgopher said:
It is time. And, funding won't be as hard as you think. It should start with about $50-$60 million in naming rights. It should continue with naming rights to other parts of the new building. Certainly there would be some moderate to significant state money (like most university buildings get, including TCF Bank Stadium). They would get money from premium donations for rights to premium areas, suites, etc. It would include grassroots donor money, bricks etc. And, finish with some big-hitters closing the deal.
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I'm in for a brick. I'll give them mine from Memorial Stadium.
 

watertown 1987 guy n said:
Someone please tell me what we would get for $125 million that we don’t get by continuing to use Williams arena? if someone says it helps recruiting, please provide examples where this was the case. If someone says it will attract a better coach, convince me a coach wont take the job because of the stadium. Is it better urinals, bigger concourses, what am i missing that adds up to $125 million.
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Here is what you'd get. A beautiful new arena, with all the amenities you want, a great, new and fun experience, and all the charm you had in the old building.........for example:
arena1.jpgarena3.jpgarena4.jpgarena5.jpgarena6.jpgarena7.jpgarena8.jpgarena9.jpg
 

Bad Gopher said:
It's going on 30 years since the last major renovation (which in my option was a big success), so it's time to at least start planning and scoping for the next one, even if a funding source hasn't been identified. Needless to say, it'll be hard to justify anything until the athlete's village is closer to being paid for.

I like some of the gutting/rebuild options I'm hearing, but... I wish I had more confidence in the Architectural community to be able to get this right. If the new Nicollet Mall is the best the profession can do, let's just keep what we have. Let's be honest: the reason we love these old spaces is that their designers understood building things for human use and to human scale in a way their modern counterparts don't today. It's a lost art.
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Are troughs for human use and human scale?

I don't trust the system to replicate the charm of the building, either. But my guess is there are architects who do get it, but there are other interests that have to be appeased who may not be as concerned about users.
 





Holy Man said:
Any idea on the capacity of the Barn if we renovated?
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I have no idea, but if it were me in charge, I'd make it about 11k.

Texas is building a new one at 10k, Baylor at 7.5k.
 







GoodasGold said:
So you’re saying we put some windows in?
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Windows are fine.

I more like the idea of nice bathrooms, great concession areas with room to eat, nice premium areas, wide concourses with a view of the game, comfortable seats with better leg room, escalators/elevators for ease of movement, places to meet and greet friends, a sound system where I can understand what is coming through the speakers, a nice new feel that will create some fun and maybe reinvigorate lots of people to buy season tickets and single game tickets, filling the place, built with acoustics that will be loud. You know, the stuff that a new place has given to many of our peers and people we're trying to beat.

But, if people are married to a building that was opened 95 years ago, hanging on to some "magic" that was there 30+ years ago and has clearly disappeared, then go for it. Power to you.
 

WriterGoph said:
Um, have you heard about TV money? That number is about to go up exponentially in.a couple years when the Big Ten negotiates a new TV deal
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Plus if the CFP expands, that will be a big step change upward in dollars that get distributed to the P5 confs. Maybe another $5-10 per year to Gophers, just from that? Multiply by 15 years ...
 

tjgopher said:
Here is what you'd get. A beautiful new arena, with all the amenities you want, a great, new and fun experience, and all the charm you had in the old building.........for example:
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These look awesome, thanks for posting! Would love to see the U invest in a new arena of this caliber, in the next 5-10 years.
 

Whether a new barn is built or keeping it the same, it will not be filled unless the Gophers win consistently. Just win and they will come.
 

GopherCountry said:
Whether a new barn is built or keeping it the same, it will not be filled unless the Gophers win consistently. Just win and they will come.
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True. But eventually, modern amenities need to arrive, whether it is by renovation or new construction, win or lose.
 


gopherblowhard said:
The Barn is an original. Renovations, sure that would be fine, but it's already a great place. No comparison between the Barn and sterile places like the Kohl Center in Madison. What's missing is the Saturday afternoon/evening basketball experience at the Barn that the Big Ten Network has taken away.
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That Big Ten Network cash (along with Fox, CBS & ESPN) sure is nice though.
 

MplsGopher said:
Plus if the CFP expands, that will be a big step change upward in dollars that get distributed to the P5 confs. Maybe another $5-10 per year to Gophers, just from that? Multiply by 15 years ...
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I put the likelihood of any additional revenue sharing being allocated to capital improvements to be less than 2%. That money will go to operations, i.e. paying coaches, (and probably players), recruiting budgets, etc.
 

Bad Gopher said:
It's going on 30 years since the last major renovation (which in my option was a big success), so it's time to at least start planning and scoping for the next one, even if a funding source hasn't been identified. Needless to say, it'll be hard to justify anything until the athlete's village is closer to being paid for.

I like some of the gutting/rebuild options I'm hearing, but... I wish I had more confidence in the Architectural community to be able to get this right. If the new Nicollet Mall is the best the profession can do, let's just keep what we have. Let's be honest: the reason we love these old spaces is that their designers understood building things for human use and to human scale in a way their modern counterparts don't today. It's a lost art.
Click to expand...
Disagree. There are a lot great architects for this kind of remodel, and they would line up for the chance to do it. The U has done it with buildings on campus (Tate, Pioneer Hall, Coffman...), so I'm confident it can be done.

cse.umn.edu

University of Minnesota completes $92.5 million renovation of historic Tate Hall

Building includes new research labs, classrooms, offices, and public space for star-gazing MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/05/2017) — The University of Minnesota completed major construction on a $92.5 million renovation of historic Tate Hall that includes state-of-the-art research labs, classrooms...
cse.umn.edu cse.umn.edu
 

Holy Man said:
I put the likelihood of any additional revenue sharing being allocated to capital improvements to be less than 2%. That money will go to operations, i.e. paying coaches, (and probably players), recruiting budgets, etc.
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Probably true, but they could also use it as justification for being able to build it (issuing bonds, etc).
 

tjgopher said:
Windows are fine.

I more like the idea of nice bathrooms, great concession areas with room to eat, nice premium areas, wide concourses with a view of the game, comfortable seats with better leg room, escalators/elevators for ease of movement, places to meet and greet friends, a sound system where I can understand what is coming through the speakers, a nice new feel that will create some fun and maybe reinvigorate lots of people to buy season tickets and single game tickets, filling the place, built with acoustics that will be loud. You know, the stuff that a new place has given to many of our peers and people we're trying to beat.

But, if people are married to a building that was opened 95 years ago, hanging on to some "magic" that was there 30+ years ago and has clearly disappeared, then go for it. Power to you.
Click to expand...

Again, with your ideas and your money most any dream is possible and will not cost anything to have.
 


Lady Gopher said:
Funny I haven’t heard that Duke is getting a new arena. The Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs do well in old stadiums. Win and it just won’t matter how comfortable fans are!
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The Cubs did or are in the process of spending $575-million to bring Wrigley into the 21st century.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Disagree. There are a lot great architects for this kind of remodel, and they would line up for the chance to do it. The U has done it with buildings on campus (Tate, Pioneer Hall, Coffman...), so I'm confident it can be done.

cse.umn.edu

University of Minnesota completes $92.5 million renovation of historic Tate Hall

Building includes new research labs, classrooms, offices, and public space for star-gazing MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/05/2017) — The University of Minnesota completed major construction on a $92.5 million renovation of historic Tate Hall that includes state-of-the-art research labs, classrooms...
cse.umn.edu cse.umn.edu
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Precisely. Another GREAT example is Northrop. If you haven't been in it since the renovation, it's well worth your time.

University of Minnesota - Northrop Auditorium Revitalization

hga.com hga.com

As an Architect (whose firm does a fair amount of work at the U), an Architect is only as good as the client. If you've never worked with one (especially in a commercial setting), the driver is almost always the one paying and/or decision maker. Any good project is always the culmination of a good team (Architect, contractor, and owner). Williams arena could absolutely be remodeled to fulfill the current "needs". With a set amount of volume to work with, the seating capacity would need to decrease to accommodate the additional needs. However, if you had 12,000 seats that had good accessibility and no obstructed views instead of 14,000, that's probably a fair trade-off.

The other major factor is budget. If you're willing to spend the money to do it right, it absolutely could be done well. With that said, I like the charm as-is, but I do understand the desire to renovate.
 
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