UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

[willythekid]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

Couple of observations from this weekend
1.Sioux played well overall but seem to need more time to really start "clicking" together
2.Bemidji has a very nice team and played the Sioux hard, especially on Saturday (this after not even playing a exhibition game!)
3.New BREC is a very nice barn and Bemidji's fans are quite nice.
4.BSU has the laziest band and cheerleaders I've ever seen (almost every time I saw the cheerleaders they were sitting down on folding chairs)
5.Row 8 at the BREC effing sucks beaver balls

 

[MissSioux85]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

A friend and I had a great time in Bemidji. The fans were great! We stopped into Keg & Cork Bar and Grill to ask if they had a shuttle to the game. The bartender joked that because we were Sioux fans we had to pay extra to ride the bus. We all shared a laugh and the bartender immediately hooked us up with shuttle passes. The door on the first shuttle bus wouldn't open so the bartender at Keg & Cork called to have another shuttle bus pick us up. He even waited outside until the shuttle arrived. Great guy!

We had several nice conversations with Bemidji fans on the shuttle to and from the game, as well as during intermissions. The BREC is nice. However, given the stories I have heard about the atmosphere at the Glas Fieldhouse I was surprised to see the crowd so quiet. Perhaps everyone was still taking it all in. The Sioux didn't play well in the first period and that had me a little worried, but it was great to see them weather the storm and grind out a win in the end. Frattin is a BEAST!

Also, I stopped into the Bemidji Dam store and found out that they had sold a commemorative hockey puck with both team logos on it. Unfortunately, the pucks sold out in roughly 30 minutes on Friday night. I ended up purchasing the commemorative puck with just the Beavers logo on it. If anyone has an extra Sioux/Beavers logo puck that they are willing to part with, please let me know. I am willing to pay more than retail for it.

 

[beaverhockeyfan]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

Couple of observations from this weekend
1.Sioux played well overall but seem to need more time to really start "clicking" together
2.Bemidji has a very nice team and played the Sioux hard, especially on Saturday (this after not even playing a exhibition game!)
3.New BREC is a very nice barn and Bemidji's fans are quite nice.
4.BSU has the laziest band and cheerleaders I've ever seen (almost every time I saw the cheerleaders they were sitting down on folding chairs)
5.Row 8 at the BREC effing sucks beaver balls

Good observations and as a Beaver Fan I would agree. I think you could really see the difference between the Sioux having three games under their belt and BSU having none. UND's passing looked crisp while BSU's seemed to be just a bit off.

The ice looked really soft. I know they had some issues during the week with it, but it didn't look nearly as good as it did during the Green White game the weekend before. The arena actually felt a little warm where we were sitting.

The atmosphere wasn't what I thought it would be. I thought the student section would be more into it and the place would be louder than it was. This is the WCHA and the Sioux were in town, for God's sake.

I agree with row 8, which is where our season tickets are. When I bought them, I specifically asked if that was a walk way and was told no it wasn't, there wouldn't be enough room once the chairs and cup holders were installed. With our two little ones, the less steps we have to manuever the better, so we took them. Friday night, we had to keep telling people that the row was not a walkway, but Saturday was a lot better. What really bugged me was the people that walked through us (going over a car seat, a diaper bag, a one month old and a two year old) would go down the next stairway to the concourse. Well, idiots, we have one on each side of our section and you could have turned around and used the one that you just went by.....

 

[Upper Deck]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

Overall, had a great weekend. You could feel the excitement all week and it was a blast being out before the games. The town was hopping and even the nay-sayers would have a hard time arguing what this weekend brought in for revenue.

* BREC - was quiet Friday night - not much to cheer about and I think fans were/are feeling their way through the new barn. The atmoshpere will never be like the Glas - same as old vs. new Ralph in Grand Forks

* I feel bad for those on row 8. They should/could have built a ring around the mid-concourse level and built it up higher for the upper level - but I'm sure it's cost related. This will get better as people learn their way around.

* BREC fans - don't get up or go back to your seats until the whistle blows!!!!

* I didn't think the concourse was bad, compared to other rinks I've been to (Ralph, DECC, Marriuci, etc).

* Plexiglass - do they need all over the place - even on railings???

* They could have doubled the student section seating (probably cost again)

* They should have tripled the men's urinals.

* Parking - need more attendants taking general parking money
* Parking - need to do something to alleviate the Green Mill entrance congestion

* Overall, was impressed and it will get to be less chaotic

 

[moose97]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

Overall, had a great weekend. You could feel the excitement all week and it was a blast being out before the games. The town was hopping and even the nay-sayers would have a hard time arguing what this weekend brought in for revenue.

* BREC - was quiet Friday night - not much to cheer about and I think fans were/are feeling their way through the new barn. The atmoshpere will never be like the Glas - same as old vs. new Ralph in Grand Forks

I think there were a lot of people busy "looking around" both nights, and I don't mean looking at the ice. Brad Schlossman from the GF Herold had a great take on this:

http://undhockey.areavoices.com/2010/10/16/friday-night-rewind-3/

* I feel bad for those on row 8. They should/could have built a ring around the mid-concourse level and built it up higher for the upper level - but I'm sure it's cost related. This will get better as people learn their way around.

* BREC fans - don't get up or go back to your seats until the whistle blows!!!!

I think this too will take some time. People didn't necesarily know where they were going, and what the best way to get there was.

* I didn't think the concourse was bad, compared to other rinks I've been to (Ralph, DECC, Marriuci, etc).

* Plexiglass - do they need all over the place - even on railings???

OSHA baby, OSHA.

* They could have doubled the student section seating (probably cost again)

I think that's more a case of lost revenue than cost. Remember that for every student seat (at $5), you lost a regular ticket at $20-$40 depending on where it is and opponent...

* They should have tripled the men's urinals.

* Parking - need more attendants taking general parking money
* Parking - need to do something to alleviate the Green Mill entrance congestion

* Overall, was impressed and it will get to be less chaotic

I think some of those will be taken care of, and some might take even more time (hey, renovating bathrooms for more urinals isn't a quick fix).

 

[Dirty]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

Can we rename this place the MMFF Arena yet?

 

[Upper Deck]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

Yeah, it is very similar to the old/new Ralph situation with the atmosphere situation. By adding student seating, I should of said they could have built more by going further up/north - building up the north wall - adding more student rows - probably cost prohibitive.

Ushers need to hold people at the entrances between whistles and they should do a P.A. address about not getting up between whistles - very annoying.

There are some poor seats - like row 8 by the concourses - blocked by railings and plexiglass.

 

[beaverhockeyfan]

Re: UND to open the BREC FIGHTING SIOUX STYLE 10-15/10-16

Yeah, it is very similar to the old/new Ralph situation with the atmosphere situation. By adding student seating, I should of said they could have built more by going further up/north - building up the north wall - adding more student rows - probably cost prohibitive.

Ushers need to hold people at the entrances between whistles and they should do a P.A. address about not getting up between whistles - very annoying.

There are some poor seats - like row 8 by the concourses - blocked by railings and plexiglass.

Our view from Row 8 on the Club Level end (above the opening to the wheelchair seating at ice level) is very nice. The railing doesn't block my view of anything. It is just going to take some education to get people to realize it is not a walkway. The ushers do need to stop people at the entrances during play. Myself and a Sioux fan were at the top of an entrance and waiting for a whistle. People behind us were asking what we were waiting for and we said a stop in the action. They were dumbfounded that we would wait for that and the usher actually commented that it was a pretty good idea.

Parking/exiting is a problem. Hopefully they can get that worked out. We drove ourselves Friday night and had very little problem getting out, working our way to the Grant Avenue exit. Saturday night we used the "Round Tripper" and the exit by the Green Mill/Hampton took forever to get out of. If they can find a way to work with the City on traffic control at the exits, I do believe things could flow very nicely.

This first weekend, I think you had A LOT of people there that have never been to a hockey game and probably won't be again. Just going around town, I heard several people make the comment that they have never been to a BSU game before, but they wanted to see the new arena and got tickets from someone they knew. It was more of a "status" thing than a hockey thing. Hopefully once the newness wears off, the hockey crowd will show up in full force and make the place a snakepit to play in.