New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Season

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

Mixed feelings, in general.

When you program has averaged, over the entire history of the program, nearly 7,400 fans per game for EVERY home date ever played by the program, and have had well over a dozen games that have drawn more than 10,000 fans and have had a couple games that have drawn over 15,000 fans, almost all of which have occurred during the "Blais era" (read, the past 5 seasons), why would you build a rink that seats only 7,500 people? You are only nearsightedly limiting your program, the product, itself, and hurting your fans and the season ticket holders.

I will now have to pay a premium to have seats like I have always had, as a result, if I want to keep them. That is my thanks for supporting the program and being a season ticket holder all these years. I get raped. All because the university could not wait a couple seasons, raise more money, and build the 10,000 seat or so arena that they should have built.

UNO has authored up this attendance success in spite of itself. Imagine if it had been any sort of a college hockey power, particulalry through the latter portion of our 17 year existence (meaning, after moving into the Qwest Center, now CenturyLink Center, which overlaps Blais' tenure) and what might have been possible, then, attendance-wise, as it relates to our new, undersized arena.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

Mixed feelings, in general.

When you program has averaged, over the entire history of the program, nearly 7,400 fans per game for EVERY home date ever played by the program, and have had well over a dozen games that have drawn more than 10,000 fans and have had a couple games that have drawn over 15,000 fans, almost all of which have occurred during the "Blais era" (read, the past 5 seasons), why would you build a rink that seats only 7,500 people? You are only nearsightedly limiting your program, the product, itself, and hurting your fans and the season ticket holders.

I will now have to pay a premium to have seats like I have always had, as a result, if I want to keep them. That is my thanks for supporting the program and being a season ticket holder all these years. I get raped. All because the university could not wait a couple seasons, raise more money, and build the 10,000 seat or so arena that they should have built.

UNO has authored up this attendance success in spite of itself. Imagine if it had been any sort of a college hockey power, particulalry through the latter portion of our 17 year existence (meaning, after moving into the Qwest Center, now CenturyLink Center, which overlaps Blais' tenure) and what might have been possible, then, attendance-wise, as it relates to our new, undersized arena.

UNO's Average Attendance the past 5 seasons:

2009-10: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2009-2010/">6,866</a>
2010-11: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2010-2011/">7,994</a>
2011-12: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2011-2012/">7,864</a>
2012-13: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2012-2013/">7,233</a>
2013-14: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2013-2014/">6,331</a>

Doesn't look like the program has been seeing quite the attendance you suggested. Not that the attendance figures are bad, but it does mean the capacity choice makes a bit more sense than you suggested.

Better to have a packed arena than have 2,000 (in a good season) to nearly 4,000 (in a bad season) empty seats on a given night (had they decided to build a 10,000 seat arena as you'd like). Considering UNO's average attendance the past 5 seasons, I think they got the capacity just about right.

Think about it this way. UNO will have a brand new arena with the 9th largest capacity in all of college hockey. And with the capacity they are choosing, unlike some schools ahead of UNO you should see it fill up to capacity on most nights. The atmosphere is what counts.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

UNO's Average Attendance the past 5 seasons:

2009-10: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2009-2010/">6,866</a>
2010-11: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2010-2011/">7,994</a>
2011-12: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2011-2012/">7,864</a>
2012-13: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2012-2013/">7,233</a>
2013-14: <a href="http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2013-2014/">6,331</a>

Doesn't look like the program has been seeing quite the attendance you suggested. Not that the attendance figures are bad, but it does mean the capacity choice makes a bit more sense than you suggested.

Better to have a packed arena than have 2,000 (in a good season) to nearly 4,000 (in a bad season) empty seats on a given night. Considering UNO's average attendance the past 5 seasons, I think they got the capacity just about right.

The program sold out every game it ever played in the Omaha Civic Auditorium, capacity 8,314, from '97-'98 through the end of the '03-'04 season. Sold out. 131 straight games. That is a larger crowd than will EVER see UNO play in it's new arena. UNO has had two other seasons in the CenturyLink Center where they have averaged more fans than the new barn will hold as well, '10-'11 and '11-'12.

The program has averaged, exactly, 7,318 fans per game over the entirety of its 17 season existence. Over those 17 seasons, the program has averaged more than 7,500 fans per game in 9 of those 17 seasons.

Since moving to the CenturyLink Center (nee, Qwest Center) UNO had drawn crowds of more than 8,314 fans (what the Civic held) almost 20 times. 11 of those occurrences were crowds of more than 10,000. Two of them were crowds of more than 15,000. How is this ever going to be duplicated on any level in a building seating 7,500? I am not saying we should build a 15,000 seat arena. That would be nuts. But it sure isn't unreasonable on any level to think a 10,000 seat arena or so would be a good idea.

The reason UNO's attendance is down the past two seasons is pretty easy to explain. Look at the final standings in those two seasons. They are an aberration when looking at the program's overall past attendance numbers.

UNO is located in a major metropolitan area. The school is located in the 2nd largest city of all the NCHC schools, and unlike Denver, the only larger city, UNO has no professional sports teams to compete with it whatsoever and cannibalize sports dollars.

A 7,500 seat rink in this situation is too small. I'll go to my grave saying so. This was a horrendously near-sighted and hasty decision that is going to haunt this program in the years to come. I am far from being the only UNO fan that feels this way, either:

http://huskermike.blogspot.com/2013/09/uno-starts-asking-for-donations-for-new.html

There are some incorrect assertions here (this post is over a year old), but, you get the idea.

 

[Bonin21]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

11 of those occurrences were crowds of more than 10,000. Two of them were crowds of more than 15,000.

Who were the opponents? Was there any kind of pricing promotion that obviously increased attendance for any of the games?

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

The program sold out every game it ever played in the Omaha Civic Auditorium, capacity 8,314, from '97-'98 through the end of the '03-'04 season. Sold out. 131 straight games. That is a larger crowd than will EVER see UNO play in it's new arena. UNO has had two other seasons in the CenturyLink Center where they have averaged more fans than the new barn will hold as well, '10-'11 and '11-'12.

The program has averaged, exactly, 7,318 fans per game over the entirety of its 17 season existence. Over those 17 seasons, the program has averaged more than 7,500 fans per game in 9 of those 17 seasons.

Since moving to the CenturyLink Center (nee, Qwest Center) UNO had drawn crowds of more than 8,314 fans (what the Civic held) almost 20 times. 11 of those occurrences were crowds of more than 10,000. Two of them were crowds of more than 15,000. How is this ever going to be duplicated on any level in a building seating 7,500? I am not saying we should build a 15,000 seat arena. That would be nuts. But it sure isn't unreasonable on any level to think a 10,000 seat arena or so would be a good idea.

The reason UNO's attendance is down the past two seasons is pretty easy to explain. Look at the final standings in those two seasons. They are an aberration when looking at the program's overall past attendance numbers.

UNO is located in a major metropolitan area. The school is located in the 2nd largest city of all the NCHC schools, and unlike Denver, the only larger city, UNO has no professional sports teams to compete with it whatsoever and cannibalize sports dollars.

A 7,500 seat rink in this situation is too small. I'll go to my grave saying so. This was a horrendously near-sighted and hasty decision that is going to haunt this program in the years to come. I am far from being the only UNO fan that feels this way, either:

http://huskermike.blogspot.com/2013/09/uno-starts-asking-for-donations-for-new.html

There are some incorrect assertions here (this post is over a year old), but, you get the idea.

You haven't averaged 8,000 fans in the past 5 seasons, but you want them to build a 10,000 seat arena based on alleged attendance in the 1990's? And i only say alleged because you just recently overstated your attendance in the last 5 years.

You said it yourself. They've averaged roughly 7,300 fans at games over the program's history. So please explain to me why a 7,500 seat arena isn't large enough?

Like I said before. You should be focusing on game time atmosphere and how the new facilities will help your program's recruiting.

I just don't see what ground you have to stand on with your complaints. But to each his own.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

Who were the opponents? Was there any kind of pricing promotion that obviously increased attendance for any of the games?

In order:

1. UMD 16,138 on 1-13-12 (UMD arrived in town the #1 team in the country with an unbeaten streak of 17 consecutive games).

2. Wisconsin 15,137 on 2-11-11

3. North Dakota 13,650 on 2-9-13 (this game was played outdoors at TD Ameritrade Park)

4. Ohio State 13,417 on 2-5-10

5. Wisconsin 12,146 on 3-2-13

6. Minnesota 11,772 on 2-25-12

7. Denver 11,504 on 2-26-11

8. North Dakota 11,181 on 11-19-10 (the first time UNO had EVER played North Dakota)

9. Michigan 10,628 on 2-13-10

10. Ohio State 10,598 on 2-9-08

The school's then annual "Sell Out" nights (abandoned, for reasons I am unaware of, last season) were conducted for games #1, #2, & #4 on the above list. As a season ticket holder, they were part of my ticket package, obviously. If tickets were available at some sort of discount for these 3 games, I am personally unaware of how these might have been obtained and there was certainly no advertisement here that any such tickets were available that I ever saw or heard about. The circumstances of the Duluth game and the Sell-Out night were mostly a coincidence. This game was earmarked for this mostly because UMD was then the defending NCAA champion. It was a happy coincidence that they were #1 and unbeaten in 17 games upon arrival for it.

The other games on the list, save, the outdoor game, are all happenstance. And, obviously the first ever game between UNO and North Dakota, along with the "Blais factor" of that, greatly contributed to turnout that night. Still, the greatest UNO home game I have ever seen, and, UNO lost.

Note that all 10 of these dates have occurred in the last 6 seasons and 9 of them in the last 4 seasons.

 

[Bonin21]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

The school's then annual "Sell Out" nights (abandoned, for reasons I am unaware of, last season) were conducted for games #1, #2, & #4 on the above list... The circumstances of the Duluth game and the Sell-Out night were mostly a coincidence. This game was earmarked for this mostly because UMD was then the defending NCAA champion. It was a happy coincidence that they were #1 and unbeaten in 17 games upon arrival for it.

The other games on the list, save, the outdoor game, are all happenstance. And, obviously the first ever game between UNO and North Dakota, along with the "Blais factor" of that, greatly contributed to turnout that night. Still, the greatest UNO home game I have ever seen, and, UNO lost.

1, 2, and 4 were on "Sell-out night"? And 3 was an outdoor game? lol if sell-out night didn't have tickets at throwaway prices, why wouldn't they just call every game sell-out night?

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

1, 2, and 4 were on "Sell-out night"? And 3 was an outdoor game? lol if sell-out night didn't have tickets at throwaway prices, why wouldn't they just call every game sell-out night?

The school decided to make a big push every year (so much for that, I guess, we didn't do it last season) to sell out a game (or, attempt to).

A big part of this was to encourage student attendance, something that is, by and large, pretty awful at UNO (normally, 2 or 3 hundred a game, max.). The campus is nowhere near the CenturyLink center. Plus, UNO is in the middle of a huge transition from commuter school to one with way, way more on-campus housing and dorms and the school is trying to encourage student involvement in school activities as there have been more and more students living on campus each year, now, for several years. UNO has been involved in a large scale on-campus housing building project for some time. The school has a point system to try and drive this student participation called the "Maverick Cup":

http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=208859272

It doesn't say so, specifically, at the link above, but, the maximum numbers of points that could be attained for participating in any single one of these activities, was by attending these designated hockey sell-out nights. This was true each of the 3 seasons it was held. There was massive, unprecedented student attendance at all three of these games, and, I know students pay some mitigated price to attend UNO hockey games, I just don't know to what degree. I am not a student there.

Transportation to and from games, now, is an issue for on campus students. The new arena is on campus. It stands to reason that students, who make up a very small percentage of UNO's attendance now, are going to at least attempt to attend games in unprecedented numbers. Where are THEY going to sit? Somewhere in this new arena at the expense of people like me? You're darn right they are. Look at this diagram of seating in the new arena:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...98901016.68963.210082859013724&type=1&theater

This is a larger designated student section than the school now has in an arena seating 17,100.

Anyway, I see absolutely no relevance to the price paid for a seat as it relates to interest in your program or going to hockey games, in general. If you aren't interested in going, you won't go even if the tickets are free. Fannies in seats are fannies in seats, no matter what the price paid.

Think everybody on the airline trip you just took all paid the same price to sit there? No, but they are there, just the same.

 

[MAVFANJEFF]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

1, 2, and 4 were on "Sell-out night"? And 3 was an outdoor game? lol if sell-out night didn't have tickets at throwaway prices, why wouldn't they just call every game sell-out night?

throw away prices and give aways.

we need an 8000 seat arena. That's about what we're getting. We need a new marketing dept. Not gonna happen. We didn't need the coaches contract extended more than one year. This team will suck for the next two years while rinkydink dean laughs all the way to the bank. I could sit here and type out a long bloviated reply but I'll leave that for people with no sex life. on nights when there is going to be a big opponent that travels well it will be standing room only. That's how the civic was and it was a great atmosphere. dean needs to go.

 

[HumRsky]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

Transportation to and from games, now, is an issue for on campus students. The new arena is on campus. It stands to reason that students, who make up a very small percentage of UNO's attendance now, are going to at least attempt to attend games in unprecedented numbers. Where are THEY going to sit? Somewhere in this new arena at the expense of people like me? You're darn right they are. Look at this diagram of seating in the new arena:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...98901016.68963.210082859013724&type=1&theater

This is a larger designated student section than the school now has in an arena seating 17,100.

Wow, almost exactly the same seating arrangement as Amsoil Arena for UMD. Even the students are in the same place (the dark gray area on the Amsoil diagram is the student sectionhttp://www.decc.org/cms/img/AMSOILseating_sm.jpg

 

[Biddco]

Wow, almost exactly the same seating arrangement as Amsoil Arena for UMD. Even the students are in the same place (the dark gray area on the Amsoil diagram is the student sectionhttp://www.decc.org/cms/img/AMSOILseating_sm.jpg

The renderings looked exactly the same too. I wonder if the same architecture firm did the designs for both arenas

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

The renderings looked exactly the same too. I wonder if the same architecture firm did the designs for both arenas

HDR, which is headquartered here in Omaha, is the architect:

http://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/uno-arena

I know school officials looked at other buildings for ideas for ours. It was specifically mentioned in the paper here that they looked at the Ralph, for example.

Mike Kemp, our former Head Coach and now our assistant AD has been heavily involved in the design aspects and construction of the new arena.

When my wife and I made our trip to Duluth and Amsoil Arena, right after it opened, to see UNO and UMD's season ending series in 2011, we ran into Coach Kemp in the Curling Club prior to the Saturday night game. We didn't get a chance to speak to him as it seemed he was just passing through. He walked in one end and walked out the other. We all wondered what he might be doing there, on the road, with the team. The 5 of us in our party sort of surmised that he was there for the same reasons we were, to see UNO play AND see your new arena. Since our new building was very on the radar even then, he may have done some list making while walking around Amsoil that weekend.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

Here is the latest video from the school, detailing the construction progress. This was released on October 3rd, so this was filmed on or before that date:

http://www.omavs.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=31400&id=3449864

Now that this is starting to look like something, and since the arena would seem to have sort of an odd shape, let me remind everyone that this is a dual rink facility and the rinks are perpendicular to one another:

http://dataomaha.com/media/sliderphotos/arenauno.JPG

Here is sort of an irony in our new arena story.

At the inception of UNO's program in 1997, the school originally was to play in Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum located at the site of the famous Omaha horse track of the same name. After the announcement of the program's start-up, so many season tickets were sold (over 6,000) that the Omaha City Council voted to pay for and install ice making equipment in the Omaha Civic Auditorium and allow UNO to play there as that facility seated 8,314 for hockey as opposed to the Coliseum, which had a hockey capacity at it's end of about 6,200.

The race track and Coliseum have since been torn down, in 2005.

UNO's new arena is walking distance, just a few blocks, from the former site of Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum. Things have come full circle.

 

[Biddco]

HDR, which is headquartered here in Omaha, is the architect:

http://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/uno-arena

I know school officials looked at other buildings for ideas for ours. It was specifically mentioned in the paper here that they looked at the Ralph, for example.

Mike Kemp, our former Head Coach and now our assistant AD has been heavily involved in the design aspects and construction of the new arena.

When my wife and I made our trip to Duluth and Amsoil Arena, right after it opened, to see UNO and UMD's season ending series in 2011, we ran into Coach Kemp in the Curling Club prior to the Saturday night game. We didn't get a chance to speak to him as it seemed he was just passing through. He walked in one end and walked out the other. We all wondered what he might be doing there, on the road, with the team. The 5 of us in our party sort of surmised that he was there for the same reasons we were, to see UNO play AND see your new arena. Since our new building was very on the radar even then, he may have done some list making while walking around Amsoil that weekend.

Ha nice. My wife used to work for HDR as well.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

This speaks for itself:

http://vimeo.com/108291868

 

[Critical Thinker]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

This speaks for itself:

http://vimeo.com/108291868

Very cool. As an architecture major, I love watching these new college rinks come up. It's also nice to see a school move their rink onto campus where it belongs.

 

[MAVFANJEFF]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

Does anyone know the details of Ryan Massa being called for roughing?

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

It's a beautiful sunny day here and I thought it might be a good time to repost the link to the web cam (hi-def) feed from the construction site, particularly since jaw-dropping progress has been made on the arena in the last 30 days or so:

http://www.truelook.com/clients/tetrad-unoarena/?full

You can control the camera, by the way.

The intention is to have the building completely enclosed by the end of December.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

Facts and figures about the new arena project from the school's own web site:

http://www.unomaha.edu/athletics/arena.php

This was recently updated.

Still no word on a name or naming rights. I know it is being negotiated. With whom, I don't know. More on that and the finances:

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/uno...cle_c1e9bd99-ae9c-51cc-872e-281c53255a87.html

Bear in mind when reading this article that UNO is part of the same state university system as the University of Nebraska is. The NU Foundation, mentioned in the article, which is the privately owned, non-profit fundraising arm for the University and, by extension, UNO, sits on a war chest of 2 billion dollars according to the foundation's most recent annual report, and is an organization that has 250 full time employees and whose offices cover a city block in downtown Lincoln, NE.

Heritage Services of Omaha, also mentioned in the article, is an equally deep-pocketed, heavy-hitter, privately owned fund raising/philanthropic organization, the founder and Chairman of which is Walter Scott, Jr., who is the CEO of Kiewit Construction, which is one of the 5 Fortune 500 companies HQ'ed in Omaha and who is one of, if not the largest construction company in the world:

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/her...cle_9f24ab89-ae7a-5504-9be1-da21fc1ad1cd.html

 

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: New UNO Arena Construction Thread---Facility to open for the start of '15-'16 Sea

Bear in mind when reading this article that UNO is part of the same state university system as the University of Nebraska is. The NU Foundation, mentioned in the article, which is the privately owned, non-profit fundraising arm for the University and, by extension, UNO, sits on a war chest of 2 billion dollars according to the foundation's most recent annual report, and is an organization that has 250 full time employees and whose offices cover a city block in downtown Lincoln, NE.

I wish you the best on this, so don't get me wrong, but from one red-headed stepchild state university to another, I'd advise you to not count on getting too much of that money. As in, essentially none. And as someone who lives in the hinterlands of the state (i.e., not Lincoln and not Omaha), I can tell you that there rarely is any support out here for any money to go to anything university related other than the Ag school and Big Red athletics.

Heritage, Kiewit, Buffet, et. al.,- Fine and dandy. I hope you can talk them into it. The NU Foundation? Good luck.