Re: Pictures of Your Arena
That place looks like it could be deafening.
too bad its near the end of it service, looks like it could really rock.
The Glas can get loud, and the students have been great. They stand the whole game and have several chants. Dave Burkholder, Niagara's head coach has compared the atmosphere quite favorably to Lynah - and he should know, the Purps play there just about every year.
As to it being near the end of service, there are mixed feelings. It certainly
is not a D-I rink in many ways, and is woefully behind every other arena in the WCHA.
Let's do it this way - positives: atmosphere. As noted, the place, especially when sold out (2414) can rock (
this was quite a loud game - unfortunately, WCHA games are a bigger deal already. The fans need to remember for Niagara next weekend that the team is still in the CHA and pack the place for the final weekend and a push for the NCAA's
this year). BSU is averaging 2145 this year, which is a "realistic" sell-out. Unfortunatley, this is about it for the positives...
Negatives: The views from the first couple rows stink, and the sections closest to the end walls are terrible too. This limits further the functional capacity of an already cramped building.
Speaking of cramped, each "seat" is a plastic pull-out bleacher like you see in your normal high school gymnasium. On top of that, each seat is about 15" wide. So, an isle with 19 "seats" in it would be 23 and a half feet long. Does it seem reasonable to try to squeeze 19 normal sized adults onto a bench that short? As an example, new seats are now usually a mimimum of 19" and are typically 22" wide...
Also to the cramped nature of the building, the "concourse" at the top of the bleachers is only about 8' wide, and there is only one entrance/exit from the main lobby. This lobby contains the only bathrooms, concessions, souvineer table and ticket purchasing options (plus chuck-a-puck, jersey raffle, etc.) in the whole rink. So, you've got a single door that 2200 people need to navigate through in a 15 minute span if they need a potty break at intermission.
The press area is a joke. There's enough space for about six meda people )at most), maybe two coaches, plus BSU Media Relations. And, at least two of the media people have to sit directly behind a post. The TV crew has to sit at ice level and broadcast from the corner of the rink.
I really could go on, but I think I've said enough. The new building will be a welcome addition to the community, BSU and the WCHA. Will the atmosphere move across town? That remains to be seen, but I hope so. The passion for Beaver hockey has never been as high - at least as long as I've been in town.
