Shooter: Gophers efforts to raise money for renovations to The Barn has been temporarily shelved in favor of raising NIL funds.

[BleedGopher]

This is the issue for many programs now, especially those like us who don’t have a visionary AD. Capital improvements will rarely be the priority when NIL is more urgent. Meanwhile our inability to address The Barn from 1994 (last material renovation) to 2020 (NIL Era) is going to be a bigger and bigger issue.

Per Shooter:

>> The University of Minnesota met nearly a half-dozen times in recent years with a Kansas City architectural firm about renovating Williams Arena, the storied basketball venue that opened in 1928.

The university was preparing to begin a renovation fundraising campaign but it has been temporarily shelved in favor of raising internal Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money, as well as an NCAA settlement that allows $20.5 million for schools this year to pay athletes annually.

Now, it appears the university will wait between 12 and 18 months before resuming talks with architects. A renovation of Williams Arena, though, remains on Minnesota’s radar screen.

>> The Gophers’ athletics department has been especially impressed by the Chicago Cubs’ complete renovation of Wrigley Field that concluded in 2019 and retained all the iconic ballpark’s amenities and personality inside and outside. That would be a similar strategy for Williams Arena.

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Go Gophers!!

 

[60's Guy]

It is now 2026...do not renovate Williams Arena. Build a new arena.
Awesome! '50's, '60's. '70's, '80's memories of basketball in the barn.
Let's make new memories in the 2030's with a new arena!

 

[Bad Gopher]

This is what it's come to, and it's hard to see this changing any time soon: payroll is an unfillable hole that will demand more and more from fans and boosters and supersede other needs.

 

[bga1]

To be honest, with the state of the program, I think spending the effort raising NIL is the higher priority at the moment. If they really go for it in a big way and win fairly big under a coach that is finally good enough to do so, the town will be on fire for the Gophers. It will be far easier to raise money for a new arena or remodeled Barn with a little success.

 

[GopherGrit]

This is what it's come to, and it's hard to see this changing any time soon: payroll is an unfillable hole that will demand more and more from fans and boosters and supersede other needs.

I dare say this is exactly the same case in the NBA, and they address facilities needs ... by getting the host city and/or state to build the new arena for them?

Guessing that is not an option for us. Unless we wanted to play home games at Target Center.

 

[GopherGrit]

It is now 2026...do not renovate Williams Arena. Build a new arena.
Awesome! '50's, '60's. '70's, '80's memories of basketball in the barn.
Let's make new memories in the 2030's with a new arena!

Would you play all indoor sports that don't already have separate buildings (hockey and indoor track) in one arena?

In other words, would you also demolish The Pav? I don't believe volleyball has a separate practice facility, and they also completed a top dollar facility built within The Pav. (They use the Pav with seats folded back as their practice courts.)