Sid: Kaler in favor of remodeling The Barn, similar to Northrop Auditorium

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EG#9 said:
One thing I would like to see done, if a renovation happens, is to find a way to have students/younger fans closer to the court. All the great seats in Williams seem to be taken up by fans who rarely get on their feet or make any noise. That's not to say I don't have a great deal of respect for these (mostly older) fans, but it would be great if energy in the crowd come come from more areas than just behind the basket.
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Unfortunately, you and others who feel strongly about this, missed a golden opportunity to make noise about this that could have made a difference. The entire building was re-seated this year. It's too late now. (If you did e-mail, call and bang on doors, I stand corrected, but I didn't hear much of a ground swell....)
 

oak_street1981 said:
Today we have geezers and zombies in those seats.
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The U should really be billing the games as "The Original, Largest, Ongoing Zombie Pub Crawl Destination in America!"

You're welcome UofM marketing department!
 

I used to be dead set against replacing Williams Arena - for all the reasons people have already gotten into. Goll dang it, it is the coolest and most unique place. But at this point, I could go either way on the issue. I love the photos that were posted showing Missouri's new place. A person could fall in love with a joint like that. But I'd like to see what could be done with a renovation of the Barn. It would have to be, as Kaler said, a complete gutting. At that point, if only the outside walls and roof are left from the old building, what have you actually preserved? Especially if the outside walls are the constraint keeping you from having a place with the amenities that fans and players want.
 


Bad Gopher said:
I used to be dead set against replacing Williams Arena - for all the reasons people have already gotten into. Goll dang it, it is the coolest and most unique place. But at this point, I could go either way on the issue. I love the photos that were posted showing Missouri's new place. A person could fall in love with a joint like that. But I'd like to see what could be done with a renovation of the Barn. It would have to be, as Kaler said, a complete gutting. At that point, if only the outside walls and roof are left from the old building, what have you actually preserved? Especially if the outside walls are the constraint keeping you from having a place with the amenities that fans and players want.
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Precisely.
 


westcoastgopher11 said:
Some new pics of the finished renovations on Crisler Center at Michigan, price tag of $52 million. And Michigan has released a $250 million dollar facilities master plan that will upgrade every non-revenue sports' facility in the next decade. For all the complaining about Teague warranted or not, at least he's getting the ball rolling on this kind of thing.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=428490460533396&set=a.428490240533418.95469.113453778703734&type=1&theater
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Very spiffy. I have to admit - what would modern restrooms be like...
 

A complete gutting of the Barn would probably carry a similar price tag to building a brand new arena. Renovation would be very hard, but possible. One way to fit all the expected amenities into the Barn's shell would be to increase the incline of the seating bowl, similar to Mariucci and even Oregon's BBall arena. Right now, Williams is kind of flat. A steeper incline (not too ridiculous) could free up space to expand concourses. Keeping the raised floor might actually increase capacity and obviously will enhance sight lines. A steeper seating bowl plus a raised floor would be really intimidating to opponents.

Either way, if the Barn were to be completely renovated, you would have to expect watching a game in pretty much a brand new building. This wouldn't be a Lambeau Field renovation. This would be new building borrowing an old building's exterior. It can be done. But the possible drawback could be smaller capacity (stupid fire codes).
 




Gopherdrummer said:
A complete gutting of the Barn would probably carry a similar price tag to building a brand new arena. Renovation would be very hard, but possible. One way to fit all the expected amenities into the Barn's shell would be to increase the incline of the seating bowl, similar to Mariucci and even Oregon's BBall arena. Right now, Williams is kind of flat. A steeper incline (not too ridiculous) could free up space to expand concourses. Keeping the raised floor might actually increase capacity and obviously will enhance sight lines. A steeper seating bowl plus a raised floor would be really intimidating to opponents.

Either way, if the Barn were to be completely renovated, you would have to expect watching a game in pretty much a brand new building. This wouldn't be a Lambeau Field renovation. This would be new building borrowing an old building's exterior. It can be done. But the possible drawback could be smaller capacity (stupid fire codes).
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This is a likely idea I believe if they do remodel the place. I think it would be smart to eliminate the 2nd level behind the baskets, (or make them suites or something) and have a steeper incline to the seating for the student section. That way the students are more on top of the action and can be louder.
 










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