Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

First let me say that the viewing experience at the Mac is one of the best, if not the best in college hockey... but..
When you have 2500 seats and you sell almost that many standing room tickets, and do it several times a year, that means to me that you need more seats. I would think a healthy ratio of maybe 5 to 1, seats to standees is about right. selling 2000 standing room tickets seems like an awful lot.

Second, it's about more than seats. The food services are terrible and Tech could really make substantially more money on food if the service was good and people didn't have to wait for 30 minutes to get it.

Third, bathrooms. once again, bathrooms are fine with 2500 people but when you have 4000 or 3000 even, the waits are long, they run out of paper, and on the whole it's not that good. You should be able to go to the bathroom, get some pizza, and be back to your seat between periods, and that does not happen now.
Forth, we could use a place for the Hall of Fame and some additional suites.
Fifth, check out what newer arena's around the country are doing. Making the games an experience brings in more people.

So I'm for having an expansion sooner rather than later. I think additional, similar quality, seats are important in the scheme of it.

East end bar overlooking the ice. This is about the 14th time I've posted it, and it is still the best idea.

[pbr]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

I seem to remember some drawings of seating below the suites, which looked like retractable bleachers at ice level. That would be a good start, even if they were only used for high profile games. And the concession/concourse area's are terrible. Too many people in a space far too small for the crowds of the past few seasons. I've also heard that a space below the suites has been considered for beer sales, but those people would have to remain in that roped off fun spot.

[manurespreader]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

I'm not thrilled with retractable seats . If I paid for a ticket I want a real seat like everyone else

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

I'm not thrilled with retractable seats . If I paid for a ticket I want a real seat like everyone else

I would expect a reserved bleacher seat to cost the same as an SRO ticket, since they would be filling in that space at the end(s) ordinarily open for standing.

[bigmrg74]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

First let me say that the viewing experience at the Mac is one of the best, if not the best in college hockey... but..
When you have 2500 seats and you sell almost that many standing room tickets, and do it several times a year, that means to me that you need more seats. I would think a healthy ratio of maybe 5 to 1, seats to standees is about right. selling 2000 standing room tickets seems like an awful lot.

Second, it's about more than seats. The food services are terrible and Tech could really make substantially more money on food if the service was good and people didn't have to wait for 30 minutes to get it.

Third, bathrooms. once again, bathrooms are fine with 2500 people but when you have 4000 or 3000 even, the waits are long, they run out of paper, and on the whole it's not that good. You should be able to go to the bathroom, get some pizza, and be back to your seat between periods, and that does not happen now.
Forth, we could use a place for the Hall of Fame and some additional suites.
Fifth, check out what newer arena's around the country are doing. Making the games an experience brings in more people.

So I'm for having an expansion sooner rather than later. I think additional, similar quality, seats are important in the scheme of it.

Yeah, but at what point does it make sense trying to shoehorn all of that into the Mac, which has been open since 1972, versus building a whole new arena with all of those bells and whistles.

[manurespreader]

Yeah, but at what point does it make sense trying to shoehorn all of that into the Mac, which has been open since 1972, versus building a whole new arena with all of those bells and whistles.

You wouldn't need to shoehorn it at all, it fits just fine at the east end

[The Rube]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

They won't rent out the biggest two suites to normal folks, GPL has tried the last two years. After that first year, we were told that MTU "doesn't want that large of an opponent presence" in the marquee suites. The new reason is that that save the two biggest suites for alumni/big donors/prez/etc No problem with that, btw.

MTU is on the edge of expansion. If the crowds stick, then I could see it. If the honeymoon of success wanes, then I could see them standing pat.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

Yeah, but at what point does it make sense trying to shoehorn all of that into the Mac, which has been open since 1972, versus building a whole new arena with all of those bells and whistles.

The short version of why:
$10M < $100M
Unless you know someone who can kick in the extra $90M, I'm guessing they will go with the renovation / expansion option. (And I would be VERY surprised if they spent anything even close to $5M to blow out the end of the rink.)
Ryan J

[manurespreader]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

The short version of why:
$10M < $100M
Unless you know someone who can kick in the extra $90M, I'm guessing they will go with the renovation / expansion option. (And I would be VERY surprised if they spent anything even close to $5M to blow out the end of the rink.)
Ryan J

Just my opinion, but anything worth doing is worth doing right. I hope they go with the high end options.

[giwan]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

[QUOTE=MTU is on the edge of expansion. If the crowds stick, then I could see it. If the honeymoon of success wanes, then I could see them standing pat.[/QUOTE]

How close to this edge?

I don't see them building new even if they had a $100 million laying around. What is wrong that needs correcting that is not possible with a retrofit? Personally I enjoy how the crowd feels on top of the ice and a new arena would most likely not have this. NEW does not always mean better. Example the Berry which NMU plays at is not a great place. Another is the Amsoil arena where I've had several tours and seen several games at, which it does have some nice touches there are STILL obstructed view seating.

[The Rube]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

I agree there won't be a new building. They'll just expand the current one.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

I see zero chance Tech gets a new rink in the next 20 years. The seats alone are a 20+ year capital investment to say nothing of the videoboard or suites. You don't add those items to the building if you are even remotely thinking about a new barn. If you look at the teams that get those new $50M+ rinks they usually have one or more of the following associated with it:
- Alumni who donates the majority of the cost for construction
- New team, no current rink to speak of
- Formerly played in an unacceptable rink (really old, or seating capacity way too low)
- Rink was owned by the local city / county, not the university

I don't think Tech falls into any of those categories, unless John Scott becomes a 50 goal scorer and gets a much larger contract. If Tech were to get a new rink, in today's days of tight public school budgets, I'm pretty sure it would be something along the lines of NMU or LSSU not the Amsoil or Ralph. Those former rinks IMO would NOT be an upgrade from the JMSIA so there is no point in doing it.

Ryan J

[The Rube]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

I see zero chance Tech gets a new rink in the next 20 years. The seats alone are a 20+ year capital investment to say nothing of the videoboard or suites. You don't add those items to the building if you are even remotely thinking about a new barn. If you look at the teams that get those new $50M+ rinks they usually have one or more of the following associated with it:
- Alumni who donates the majority of the cost for construction
- New team, no current rink to speak of
- Formerly played in an unacceptable rink (really old, or seating capacity way too low)
- Rink was owned by the local city / county, not the university

I don't think Tech falls into any of those categories, unless John Scott becomes a 50 goal scorer and gets a much larger contract. If Tech were to get a new rink, in today's days of tight public school budgets, I'm pretty sure it would be something along the lines of NMU or LSSU not the Amsoil or Ralph. Those former rinks IMO would NOT be an upgrade from the JMSIA so there is no point in doing it.

Ryan J

I honestly put the Amsoil on par with the Mac. The one upside of Amsoil is the location, and that is admittedly a HUGE benefit for the arena.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

Yeah, but at what point does it make sense trying to shoehorn all of that into the Mac, which has been open since 1972, versus building a whole new arena with all of those bells and whistles.

Any new arena they'd come up with will give us a poorer viewing experience than the Mac, why pay 10-20 times the money to get an arena that is a worse experience than the current one?

[The Troll mtu86]

Re: Michigan Tech 2015 off-season I: Building on what we've learned...

First let me say that the viewing experience at the Mac is one of the best, if not the best in college hockey... but..
When you have 2500 seats and you sell almost that many standing room tickets, and do it several times a year, that means to me that you need more seats. I would think a healthy ratio of maybe 5 to 1, seats to standees is about right. selling 2000 standing room tickets seems like an awful lot.

Second, it's about more than seats. The food services are terrible and Tech could really make substantially more money on food if the service was good and people didn't have to wait for 30 minutes to get it.

Third, bathrooms. once again, bathrooms are fine with 2500 people but when you have 4000 or 3000 even, the waits are long, they run out of paper, and on the whole it's not that good. You should be able to go to the bathroom, get some pizza, and be back to your seat between periods, and that does not happen now.
Forth, we could use a place for the Hall of Fame and some additional suites.
Fifth, check out what newer arena's around the country are doing. Making the games an experience brings in more people.

So I'm for having an expansion sooner rather than later. I think additional, similar quality, seats are important in the scheme of it.

You do know you can get your hand stamped, leave the arena, use the bathrooms out in the SDC (if you head for the other end of the building or the 2nd floor you have no lines at all), and then get back into the arena before the start of the next period