Williams Arena: If you could upgrade it, what would you do?

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SanDiegoGopherFan

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I would upgrade the bathrooms and this wont be a popular opinion but I would get rid of the raised floor. I've just seen too many times where guys are playing hard then they end up going over the floor, one of these days someone will get seriously hurt bc of it.

I wonder if any recruits had/have the raised floor as a negative at MN. It's nothing you will see in the NBA, so it doesn't prepare you for anything.
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
I would upgrade the bathrooms and this wont be a popular opinion but I would get rid of the raised floor. I've just seen too many times where guys are playing hard then they end up going over the floor, one of these days someone will get seriously hurt bc of it.

I wonder if any recruits had/have the raised floor as a negative at MN. It's nothing you will see in the NBA, so it doesn't prepare you for anything.
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I think the raised floor is a "thing." For the past few years hasn't the Final Four floor been raised?
 

I can't shoot from the hip. This is a toughie, and you'd have to study the hell out of it including structurally. But high level, you have to think big. You have to improve the fan experience. We need to get fucking indoor plumbing up to the second level. That said, you want to keep some of the charm, some of the quirks.
 


makemyday said:
I think the raised floor is a "thing." For the past few years hasn't the Final Four floor been raised?
Click to expand...

It has, I just don't like the feeling of, what if i fall off. When i used to play ball, worst case you run into the padded wall. Which happened a lot going 100mph.

Obviously when you're in the game you don't think about it, but then we it does happen that you have to be careful of not just the higher floor but then potential chairs. I wouldn't like it
 


Huh, found an article talking about the raised floor. Not many fans of it from the brief read

Elevated Courts: A Good Thing for NCAA Basketball?
ANDREW KNEELANDMARCH 28, 2008

gia_crop_north.jpg&w=630&h=420

If you are planning to attend a Midwest or South regional game this NCAA Tournament, you may be in for a surprise.
The NCAA is "experimenting" with a new-look for their games by raising the elevation of the playing court by 27 inches. They will be placing the court at the 50-yard line of a football field instead of situating the court in a corner.
There is some mixed feedback from this change. Players are obviously worried about injuring themselves, like Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds:
"What if we go for the loose ball and dive off the court? I mean, that's the thing I was scared about."

It also stirs up the coaching mindset. Bill Self, head coach of the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, says it causes a problem for him:
"I like to coach sitting down. But if you do that here, you're 15 feet away from the court."
Players and coaches aren't too fond of the change, but NCAA officials are all for it because of the fan's new viewpoint.




















Videos you might like
Kent State athletic director and member of the NCAA Division I basketball committee Laing Kennedy has this to say about the elevated courts:
"It really opens up the whole stadium and makes it so much better for the fans. Having the court elevated like that just makes for a terrific view from the upper level."
It's a battle of fans against players. Fans and officials love the new-look, while players like Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts aren't too fond of the idea:
"I'm definitely not jumping in the stands. I'm not even going to act like it. If it's going out of bounds and I can't get it, hey I'm not going to fake hustle and act like I'm diving for it."
Those two opinions aren't the only viewpoints out there, though. Texas guard A.J. Abrams says that the change is something that you can get used to fairly easily:
"There's going to be an obvious depth perception [problem] just from the goals, but nothing you can't handle. Just go out and get a couple shots up and get the feel of it and that's what it's all about."

NCAA Tournament officials have apparently taken the players opinion into their plans, as they have added a ten-foot carpet section bordering the elevated court to slow down any player who might be rolling across it.
This change will have an affect on attendance numbers, which is taken into account by the NCAA. The more people, the better, right? The world record for highest attendance in a basketball game is 78,129 in 2003 when Kentucky beat Michigan State.
Experts don't expect that kind of attendance, but they do expect a twenty percent increase in attendance from last year, totaling somewhere around 250,000 fans.
 

Before John Cunningham left to become AD at Cincinnati, there were some plans in the early stages to widen the concourses. Can't recall if restrooms upgrades were in that or not. I think the cost even to do this bit was north of $20 million?
 

given the size of the building and the internal layout, I'm not sure how much "tweaking" would really help.

if you really wanted to bring it into the 21st century, you would basically have to keep the outside shell and gut the interior, then rebuild it from the inside out. That would obviously be a huge project and completely outside of current financial reality. I can't remember - did the U ever reach it's fund-raising goal for the Athlete's Village? last time I saw any numbers, they were still quite a bit short.

Like it or not, the U does not have the kind of booster support - including fat cats with deep pockets - that you see at other D1 schools.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I can't shoot from the hip. This is a toughie, and you'd have to study the hell out of it including structurally. But high level, you have to think big. You have to improve the fan experience. We need to get fucking indoor plumbing up to the second level. That said, you want to keep some of the charm, some of the quirks.
Click to expand...
An improvement in my fan experience would best be served by a program that can compete for the conference championship, make solid runs in the conference and ncaa tournaments - in part by recruiting our best in-state talent - and last but not least, offering $5 beers in the concourse. Oh, and reducing the adjunct fees on my season tix. That’s reasonable isn’t it?🤔
 



Gut and try to fit 10,000 seats, allowing for the best fan experience.

2nd opinion is to take down and build new facilities for Williams and Pavilion.

3rd move to Target Center
 

GoodasGold said:
An improvement in my fan experience would best be served by a program that can compete for the conference championship, make solid runs in the conference and ncaa tournaments - in part by recruiting our best in-state talent - and last but not least, offering $5 beers in the concourse. Oh, and reducing the adjunct fees on my season tix. That’s reasonable isn’t it?🤔
Click to expand...

Hey guy, you're pushing it with the $5 beers. ;)
 


GoodasGold said:
An improvement in my fan experience would best be served by a program that can compete for the conference championship, make solid runs in the conference and ncaa tournaments - in part by recruiting our best in-state talent - and last but not least, offering $5 beers in the concourse. Oh, and reducing the adjunct fees on my season tix. That’s reasonable isn’t it?🤔
Click to expand...

$5 beer? Take my money
 




MaxyJR1 said:
Gut and try to fit 10,000 seats, allowing for the best fan experience.

2nd opinion is to take down and build new facilities for Williams and Pavilion.

3rd move to Target Center
Click to expand...

1st option would definitely be best. I'd love to see it with at least 12,000 seats though. 10,000 would make us one of the smaller arenas in the Big Ten. Obviously we have seen that when the Gophers are a good team, we can fill 14,000+ regularly.

Option #3 is a huge, definite NO. I don't think after the move to the Metrodome (and how sad that was the final 20 years), there is any chance anyone from the U would consider moving to a shared pro arena. Plus, Target Center isn't even anything special.
 

howeda7 said:
Tear it down and rebuild an updated replica such as was done with Yankee Stadium.
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I just think if they were going to spend all that money to build a replica, they'd try to maintain the shell of the building for history's sake and do a full rebuild inside.

Realistically, before any discussions about any upgrades or changes to our arena, we need to focus on building a conistently competitive program. More than anything, that will get people on board with these kinds of budget numbers.
 

Keep the raised floor and put all the dead spots in it back in. Gives us an advantage over anyone not playing on it all year.
 

Not a lot of choices here as the building is so landlocked. One thing they could do is a 2 story expansion on the University Avenue side of the building. They could still do a drop off in that area and eliminate the dozen parking spaces that are there now. Two stories would allow for amenities on both the main and upper deck. Even better, expand to the street and provide the drop off on the oak street side.
 

This is a big IF (if even possible)- widen the concourse and update the bathrooms and concessions. It would be nice to get at least a few bathrooms up on the second level.

Other than that, I have little problem with it as-is. If y'all think Williams is so terrible, you need to do some travelling. I've only been to a couple other B1G basketball arenas, but I have been to all the football venues. The majority of them make Williams look nice, or at the very least, competitive.

Watching a game at Target Center and Williams are not even in the same league. OK, getting to my upper level seat at Williams is kind of a pain, but I'll take that every day of the week instead of sitting in a sterile environment like Target Center (looking at you, Kohl Center).

If there was a competitive product on the court regularly, few would be complaining about the venue.
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
Huh, found an article talking about the raised floor. Not many fans of it from the brief read

Elevated Courts: A Good Thing for NCAA Basketball?
ANDREW KNEELANDMARCH 28, 2008

gia_crop_north.jpg&w=630&h=420

If you are planning to attend a Midwest or South regional game this NCAA Tournament, you may be in for a surprise.
The NCAA is "experimenting" with a new-look for their games by raising the elevation of the playing court by 27 inches. They will be placing the court at the 50-yard line of a football field instead of situating the court in a corner.
There is some mixed feedback from this change. Players are obviously worried about injuring themselves, like Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds:
"What if we go for the loose ball and dive off the court? I mean, that's the thing I was scared about."

It also stirs up the coaching mindset. Bill Self, head coach of the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, says it causes a problem for him:
"I like to coach sitting down. But if you do that here, you're 15 feet away from the court."
Players and coaches aren't too fond of the change, but NCAA officials are all for it because of the fan's new viewpoint.




















Videos you might like
Kent State athletic director and member of the NCAA Division I basketball committee Laing Kennedy has this to say about the elevated courts:
"It really opens up the whole stadium and makes it so much better for the fans. Having the court elevated like that just makes for a terrific view from the upper level."
It's a battle of fans against players. Fans and officials love the new-look, while players like Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts aren't too fond of the idea:
"I'm definitely not jumping in the stands. I'm not even going to act like it. If it's going out of bounds and I can't get it, hey I'm not going to fake hustle and act like I'm diving for it."
Those two opinions aren't the only viewpoints out there, though. Texas guard A.J. Abrams says that the change is something that you can get used to fairly easily:
"There's going to be an obvious depth perception [problem] just from the goals, but nothing you can't handle. Just go out and get a couple shots up and get the feel of it and that's what it's all about."

NCAA Tournament officials have apparently taken the players opinion into their plans, as they have added a ten-foot carpet section bordering the elevated court to slow down any player who might be rolling across it.
This change will have an affect on attendance numbers, which is taken into account by the NCAA. The more people, the better, right? The world record for highest attendance in a basketball game is 78,129 in 2003 when Kentucky beat Michigan State.
Experts don't expect that kind of attendance, but they do expect a twenty percent increase in attendance from last year, totaling somewhere around 250,000 fans.
Click to expand...
Only two other raised courts besides Williams. Butler and Vandy. All built around the same period of time I believe.
 


nitramnaed said:
Not a lot of choices here as the building is so landlocked. One thing they could do is a 2 story expansion on the University Avenue side of the building. They could still do a drop off in that area and eliminate the dozen parking spaces that are there now. Two stories would allow for amenities on both the main and upper deck. Even better, expand to the street and provide the drop off on the oak street side.
Click to expand...
This makes the most sense of anything I've heard. You're totally confined on the west side. On the north side you have the street; even if you remove a travel lane, that still only buys you a dozen feet at most. On the east you have the gathering space, which is nice. I've wondered whether there's a way to build second-floor restrooms outside the original wall over that gathering space.

The south side is where you have some options, as you noted. Rather than another gathering space, my thought is build something inside the ticketed area, perhaps a dual-level food court of some kind with an escalator.

One way or another, if you establish second-floor restrooms on the east and south sides, you provide a restroom option a short, level walk from anywhere on the second level.
 

nitramnaed said:
Not a lot of choices here as the building is so landlocked. One thing they could do is a 2 story expansion on the University Avenue side of the building. They could still do a drop off in that area and eliminate the dozen parking spaces that are there now. Two stories would allow for amenities on both the main and upper deck. Even better, expand to the street and provide the drop off on the oak street side.
Click to expand...
Done right it might not even have to be two stories...Have it run the length of the whole building and be a shared open gathering/concessions area for both venues. Rework the basketball concourses with more bathrooms once all the concessions are removed.
 

Some of this was mentioned years ago by a veteran poster here, but I can't remember who- station 19 perhaps?
Anyway- I would blow the inside of the old hockey side out and make it the main entry area and a lot of the concessions and add new stairways up to the balcony. Then put on a two story addition on the University side which would add to the width of the walkways on the perimeter and create new stairwells going to the balcony seats. There is nothing wrong with the basketball court and seating area. Yes, there are obstructed seats, but if people don't buy them- so sweat. You can never duplicate the closeness to the floor you get in the Barn and if you have a good team and a full house, the experience is amazing...much better than new building IMO.

Wide concourses, easier to access concessions, better stairwells and a better look on the perimeter is all that is needed. The building would be awesome with an industrial design to the staircases etc.
 



Do people actually have a problem with the arena itself? I get the concourse and the bathroom issues (personally I think they are charming in their own way). I have been to multiple other college basketball and Williams has one of the best atmospheres by far when it is even moderately full. It isn't Williams Arena's fault the product has been terrible.
 

I would go for more of a rustic barn look. Especially out by the concessions/bathroom area. I feel it ties in history and modernization at the same time. Gut everything else when it comes to the court and seating area. Lower the court is a must in my opinion. I also don’t mind the court design we currently have. But I feel we can get creative with it. I’d try a barn like design on the court. Also please please please redesign the jerseys (we can realistically do this next year). They’re so boring to look at. I also don’t think it helps with recruiting at all. I’d go for a design similar to the Atlanta Hawks (picture reference attached). Obviously, we would fill the jersey with our team colors. I’d also toss in an alternative “revamped” throw back jersey. Maybe have Goldy on the front similar to one of Oregon’s alternative designs (love that programs creativity). Maybe use this on special game days such as on holidays or against Wisconsin!
 

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WriterGoph said:
I just think if they were going to spend all that money to build a replica, they'd try to maintain the shell of the building for history's sake and do a full rebuild inside.

Realistically, before any discussions about any upgrades or changes to our arena, we need to focus on building a conistently competitive program. More than anything, that will get people on board with these kinds of budget numbers.
Click to expand...
Obviously get rid of the awful beams, narrow concourses the current ugly white floor. Keep the elevated floor, the arched roof etc.
 

bga1 said:
Some of this was mentioned years ago by a veteran poster here, but I can't remember who- station 19 perhaps?
Anyway- I would blow the inside of the old hockey side out and make it the main entry area and a lot of the concessions and add new stairways up to the balcony. Then put on a two story addition on the University side which would add to the width of the walkways on the perimeter and create new stairwells going to the balcony seats. There is nothing wrong with the basketball court and seating area. Yes, there are obstructed seats, but if people don't buy them- so sweat. You can never duplicate the closeness to the floor you get in the Barn and if you have a good team and a full house, the experience is amazing...much better than new building IMO.

Wide concourses, easier to access concessions, better stairwells and a better look on the perimeter is all that is needed. The building would be awesome with an industrial design to the staircases etc.
Click to expand...
The "old hockey" side is the Pavilion where gymnastics, volleyball, wrestling call home. It's considered one of the best volleyball venues in college.
 

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