Re: UNH Wildcats 2019/2020 Ready to Rock and Roll!!
* We’d all love for UNH to have everything but that never has been and never will be reality. It’s why it’s taken 25 years for any substantial renovation to the Whitt to occur at all. Every decision and dollar spent is going to result in sacrificing the ability to spend a dollar somewhere else...
* I appreciate bckchk, Ref and DC passing along more concrete information into what the plans actually are and it certainly seems like they’re going to push through these renovations pre-capital project. I like them just doing it and figuring out payment later. Though I agree with deltabravo, among others, in hoping that this won’t hinder their ability to do things the right way or put them in a tough position when future spending decisions come along (which is definitely a threat)...
* Looking at the plans linked - I can’t help but notice that it mentions nothing about renovating space for locker rooms, a lounge or other amenities. It does mention moving all visitor space into previously wasted space - which would certainly create available room for these upgrades but in what state? Will these be makeshift improvement such as moving a couple Olympic platforms or couches/desks into existing rooms? Full renovations even to existing spaces wouldn’t be cheap - DU’s upgrading of a locker room to a locker room was well over a million dollars last season...
* This plan spells out that simply adjusting the seating bowl will cost 3 million dollars. There are still other costs associated with shrinking the rink too. Will this plan hinder the program’s ability to go all out on In arena amenities? Or is there more money unaccounted for in this plan? Posters have mentioned 13 million and this plan only accounts for 9 million...
* Spending 3 million plus on shrinking the rink is no insignificant cost - even if it is more affordable now than later. Whether this hinders In arena amenities or not it will force UNH to make sacrifices in other areas, like it or not...
* Three million dollars would likely allow UNH to maximize its recruiting budget and offer full cost of living stipends to men and women’s hockey players for 20 plus years. Will UNH coaches feel able to request extra recruiting trips or trips to Europe (or get the answers they want) after getting millions poured into the program for the sake of ice size?
* Whatever you think attracts recruits to a school or program the number one answer is always money. If you’re stacking up rink size versus the ability to provide a family an extra 5,000 in a cost of living stipend, the cash is always going to be more impactful. And it isn’t even close. UNH hasn’t been offering that and now it’s very unlikely they will. More and more teams will start to offer this and UNH will he paying off a 3 million dollar debt. This doesn’t even take into account legislation in other states to promote payments to student athletes. What happens if other avenues of financial incentives for student-athletes come along and UNH isn’t even meeting the existing standard...
* Rink size never had anything to do with UNH’s success or failures. It has even less to do with recruiting. Schools like UMass, Minn and SCSU have flourished recruiting to larger rinks. In just the pst few seasons Commesso, Gildon, Farabee, Stutzle and Crookshank have committed to UNH. A few ended up elsewhere for various reasons but none would have considered UNH if this was remotely a concern for them. Kids want scholarship money, an education, the college system and to win and develop (UNH has simply failed to prove itself in the last two areas in recent years)...
* And don’t forget - UNH is not even downsizing to an NHL rink but to a hybrid size. So presenting recruits with a differing ice size relative to their ultimate goal is still an existing reality. Additionally, UNH will still have to adjust its game due to ice size when traveling to BC/BU or any post season building. So it’s 3 million and they’re not even eliminating their primary concerns...
* Perhaps the biggest benefit to shrinking the rink would be a change in mindset that removes from the back of stakeholders minds the misguided idea that UNH is at a disadvantage and their beliefs will stop holding them back, but at 3+ million dollars it’s an expensive benefit when attitude is entirely controllable to begin with...
* We’d all love for UNH to have everything but that never has been and never will be reality. It’s why it’s taken 25 years for any substantial renovation to the Whitt to occur at all. Every decision and dollar spent is going to result in sacrificing the ability to spend a dollar somewhere else...
* I appreciate bckchk, Ref and DC passing along more concrete information into what the plans actually are and it certainly seems like they’re going to push through these renovations pre-capital project. I like them just doing it and figuring out payment later. Though I agree with deltabravo, among others, in hoping that this won’t hinder their ability to do things the right way or put them in a tough position when future spending decisions come along (which is definitely a threat)...
* Looking at the plans linked - I can’t help but notice that it mentions nothing about renovating space for locker rooms, a lounge or other amenities. It does mention moving all visitor space into previously wasted space - which would certainly create available room for these upgrades but in what state? Will these be makeshift improvement such as moving a couple Olympic platforms or couches/desks into existing rooms? Full renovations even to existing spaces wouldn’t be cheap - DU’s upgrading of a locker room to a locker room was well over a million dollars last season...
* This plan spells out that simply adjusting the seating bowl will cost 3 million dollars. There are still other costs associated with shrinking the rink too. Will this plan hinder the program’s ability to go all out on In arena amenities? Or is there more money unaccounted for in this plan? Posters have mentioned 13 million and this plan only accounts for 9 million...
* Spending 3 million plus on shrinking the rink is no insignificant cost - even if it is more affordable now than later. Whether this hinders In arena amenities or not it will force UNH to make sacrifices in other areas, like it or not...
* Three million dollars would likely allow UNH to maximize its recruiting budget and offer full cost of living stipends to men and women’s hockey players for 20 plus years. Will UNH coaches feel able to request extra recruiting trips or trips to Europe (or get the answers they want) after getting millions poured into the program for the sake of ice size?
* Whatever you think attracts recruits to a school or program the number one answer is always money. If you’re stacking up rink size versus the ability to provide a family an extra 5,000 in a cost of living stipend, the cash is always going to be more impactful. And it isn’t even close. UNH hasn’t been offering that and now it’s very unlikely they will. More and more teams will start to offer this and UNH will he paying off a 3 million dollar debt. This doesn’t even take into account legislation in other states to promote payments to student athletes. What happens if other avenues of financial incentives for student-athletes come along and UNH isn’t even meeting the existing standard...
* Rink size never had anything to do with UNH’s success or failures. It has even less to do with recruiting. Schools like UMass, Minn and SCSU have flourished recruiting to larger rinks. In just the pst few seasons Commesso, Gildon, Farabee, Stutzle and Crookshank have committed to UNH. A few ended up elsewhere for various reasons but none would have considered UNH if this was remotely a concern for them. Kids want scholarship money, an education, the college system and to win and develop (UNH has simply failed to prove itself in the last two areas in recent years)...
* And don’t forget - UNH is not even downsizing to an NHL rink but to a hybrid size. So presenting recruits with a differing ice size relative to their ultimate goal is still an existing reality. Additionally, UNH will still have to adjust its game due to ice size when traveling to BC/BU or any post season building. So it’s 3 million and they’re not even eliminating their primary concerns...
* Perhaps the biggest benefit to shrinking the rink would be a change in mindset that removes from the back of stakeholders minds the misguided idea that UNH is at a disadvantage and their beliefs will stop holding them back, but at 3+ million dollars it’s an expensive benefit when attitude is entirely controllable to begin with...
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