Facilities

[Valpo2010]

Also might we expect to see the marketing (brand) company we recently contracted with involved in the "naming" options out there?  Not saying we generate much here but every little bit helps.

And I also like the idea of selling naming rights to the arena itself -- something like Thrivent Arena at the ARC.  If/when a building project is initiated, that would be a great time to go after corporations for something like that.

I would not be surprised to see some news on the idea of naming rights to the ARC in the next year or two.  This has been a topic discussed by the Board of Directors over the past few years.  With the contract with the new marketing company, I imagine this was on the list of items for them to pursue. 

Another interesting article I came across with a Valpo connection - https://www.nwitimes.com/business/lake-newsletter/centier-turns-highest-quarterly-profit-in-its--year-history/article_ab70e93a-a041-5992-a322-a2e16f154201.html

From near the end of the article - "Centier's recent philanthropy in the community included a $250,000 donation to the National Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting and a "significant sponsorship" for Valparaiso University athletics' 2018-19 season."

[NativeCheesehead]

No chance in hell Gus lets this pass him by. "Welcome to Family Express Arena!"

[VU2014]

A few natural Regional fits for the naming rights of the ARC are:
-Centier Bank
-Family Express
-Thrivent Financial
-Kenneth J Allen Law Group
-Horseshoe Casino Hammond
-Lakeside Wealth Management (less so for naming rights but a smaller sponsorship makes all the sense in the world)

No chance in hell Gus lets this pass him by. "Welcome to Family Express Arena!"

Interesting Fact: Gus serves on the board of directors of Centier Bank.

[talksalot]

The centier bank 3 pointer is back

[bbtds]

PA system over AC!  Yes!

With a new PA system we would have never lost to UIndy!

[VUME]

Attended Mercer Game last night. Was completely blown away by their game day environment. Only 3500 seats, but the entire environment was so well run that it felt like more. Also, the arena was a part of a larger student athletic facility called University Center. Why Valpo is adamant that a new basketball arena has to come at the expense of a new student facility completely baffles me.

[VUME]

MU basketball arena.

[vu72]

Attended Mercer Game last night. Was completely blown away by their game day environment. Only 3500 seats, but the entire environment was so well run that it felt like more. Also, the arena was a part of a larger student athletic facility called University Center. Why Valpo is adamant that a new basketball arena should come at the expense of a new student facility completely baffles me.

Oh I don't know, there are probably 35 million reason why.

[VUME]

Cannot tell if my pictures loaded or not. But please look up University Center if you get a chance.

For clarification, my confusion comes about as to why an updated basketball stadium and student athletic facilities are treated as mutually exclusive improvements. Perhaps I am out of the loop on this but I am curious.

As for the 35 million comment. Yes I understand the expense required of any facility. My confusion is why we cannot invest in both our student athletic facilities and the basketball facilities by building a single multi purpose facility as opposed to saying we need to invest in one over / before another.

[FWalum]

Cannot tell if my pictures loaded or not. But please look up University Center if you get a chance.

For clarification, my confusion comes about as to why an updated basketball stadium and student facilities are treated as mutually exclusive improvements. Perhaps I am out of the loop on this but I am curious.

As for the 35 million comment. Yes I understand the expense required of any facility. My confusion is why we cannot invest in both our student facilities and the basketball facilities by building a single multi purpose facility as opposed to saying we need to invest in one over / before another.

I believe the simple answer to that question is the required building footprint.  To turn the current ARC structure into a multi purpose facility would require massive changes to the current facility and the removal of all structure and trees to the East of the ARC.  This would most likely add a significant amount of expense to the project by having to change and accommodate the current structure which was designed to expand the arena to the North, but probably not expansion to the East.

[vuny98]

Cannot tell if my pictures loaded or not. But please look up University Center if you get a chance. For clarification, my confusion comes about as to why an updated basketball stadium and student facilities are treated as mutually exclusive improvements. Perhaps I am out of the loop on this but I am curious. As for the 35 million comment. Yes I understand the expense required of any facility. My confusion is why we cannot invest in both our student facilities and the basketball facilities by building a single multi purpose facility as opposed to saying we need to invest in one over / before another.

I believe the simple answer to that question is the required building footprint.  To turn the current ARC structure into a multi purpose facility would require massive changes to the current facility and the removal of all structure and trees to the East of the ARC.  This would most likely add a significant amount of expense to the project by having to change and accommodate the current structure which was designed to expand the arena to the North, but probably not expansion to the East.

To build on this, ideally the main arena portion would not be open for students / intramural games , etc. So there would need to be a very large court area for those uses, along with ideally an upgraded pool, gym, racketball, etc. Trying to do all that in the ARC, even with an expansion, would be hard to do, clunky and costly. Would be better to build a separate facility (field house) to handle those needs that can be better spaced and more suitable to the needs of students. Unless that new facility also incorporated a new main arena (which would be awesome), but then you are essentially saying the ARC is obsolete and there would not be a need for it anymore, which is itself a huge waste. I have to believe a new field house + ARC renovation would be a lot less costly than a new all purpose facility large enough to do everything.

[VULB#62]

¥¥  The metro area population of Gary is 708 thousand.  That includes Valpo as it is within a radius of 50 miles.  The metro area population of Green Bay, Wi is about 300 thousand.

¥¥  I attended a Trans Siberian Orchestra show at the Resch Center in Green Bay yesterday that was one of two sold out performances. Acts like this like 6-8K arenas.

¥¥   The atmosphere and overall arena environment shouted big time. But it really wasn't. And that was ok. It was about what we were experiencing at the time.

¥¥  The Resch is constantly booked for all sorts of shows and activities that draw money to the local economy.

¥¥  Just by "accident," UWGB plays their home games there. Being the only DI in the area, they have cultivated a pretty good local following. I emphasize cultivate.

¥¥  Valpo could duplicate that. E'ville kinda did that with Roberts.

Maybe the solution really  is to start pushing the local governments to build such an arena within say 10 miles of campus (shading the NW) with Valpo as a key tenant.

I never thought I would offer this but my experience living near GB has altered my perspective.

[VULB#62]

BTW, My previous post might aleviate financial pressures on Valpo to do it all by themselves.   Just  sayin....... it might be a win-win for the region.

Man, I never thought I'd say that, but  living in the GB metro area has softened my perspective.

[wh]

My previous post might aleviate financial pressures on Valpo to do it all   Just  sayin.......

Maybe the solution really  is to start pushing the local governments to build such an arena within say 10 miles of campus (shading the NW) with Valpo as a key tenant.

Such a facility is being seriously contemplated by White Lodging at the NW corner of the Rt. 30/I-65 intersection in Merrillville. They have already razed the Star Plaza Theater and Radison Hotel, and are scheduled to begin razing the Twin Towers next week.

Here's the back story:

Twin Towers superstructure demolition to start as soon as this week in Merrillville

"White Lodging has pitched the $356 million The Farm at Crossroad Commons, a walkable town square-like development with a meeting and event center, four hotels, an office building, an underground parking garage, a townhouse, condos, two restaurants, a craft brewery and distillery, an art gallery, a visitors center, a greenhouse, a 30,000-square-foot horse-riding arena and 24,000 square feet of outdoor space. But White Lodging has asked $138 million in incentives from the town, county and state, including $75 million from a new 1 percent food and beverage tax in Lake County, which the Lake County Council has shown little appetite for.

"Should we secure the community's support, work would begin on our transformational The Farm at Crossroad Commons mixed-use development in 2019, starting with engineering," Banas said. "Actual construction would likely begin in late 2019 or early 2020. If we are unable to secure the community's support for The Farm, we will pursue our original single hotel plan."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nwitimes.com/business/lake-newsletter/twin-towers-superstructure-demolition-to-start-as-soon-as-this/article_aa57fbd8-bbe2-5c55-b228-dbc09c3b44ae.amp.html

An individual who is aware of some of the details told me that the entertainment center would have the ability to host a variety of sporting events similar to what major Las Vegas hotels (think MGM)do. I think he said it could accommodate up to 6000 people for basketball, but don't hold me to that. Maybe he said 5000. In any event, White is hugely successful with deep pockets and strong banking connections. The biggest problem, as I understand it, are local and county government officials understandably a bit in over their heads trying to understand the cost/benefit relationship of granting tax incentives for a multi-faceted commercial development of this magnitude, which also overlaps jurisdictions.

Valpo fans should follow this with interest because the word on the street is that this could be an opportunity for Valpo to play some marquee games there. Beyond that, I have no idea what interest the university might have, if any.

[VU2014]

My previous post might aleviate financial pressures on Valpo to do it all   Just  sayin.......

Maybe the solution really  is to start pushing the local governments to build such an arena within say 10 miles of campus (shading the NW) with Valpo as a key tenant.

Such a facility is being seriously contemplated by White Lodging at the NW corner of the Rt. 30/I-65 intersection in Merrillville. They have already razed the Star Plaza Theater and Radison Hotel, and are scheduled to begin razing the Twin Towers next week.

Here's the back story:

Twin Towers superstructure demolition to start as soon as this week in Merrillville

"White Lodging has pitched the $356 million The Farm at Crossroad Commons, a walkable town square-like development with a meeting and event center, four hotels, an office building, an underground parking garage, a townhouse, condos, two restaurants, a craft brewery and distillery, an art gallery, a visitors center, a greenhouse, a 30,000-square-foot horse-riding arena and 24,000 square feet of outdoor space. But White Lodging has asked $138 million in incentives from the town, county and state, including $75 million from a new 1 percent food and beverage tax in Lake County, which the Lake County Council has shown little appetite for.

"Should we secure the community's support, work would begin on our transformational The Farm at Crossroad Commons mixed-use development in 2019, starting with engineering," Banas said. "Actual construction would likely begin in late 2019 or early 2020. If we are unable to secure the community's support for The Farm, we will pursue our original single hotel plan."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nwitimes.com/business/lake-newsletter/twin-towers-superstructure-demolition-to-start-as-soon-as-this/article_aa57fbd8-bbe2-5c55-b228-dbc09c3b44ae.amp.html

An individual who is aware of some of the details told me that the entertainment center would have the ability to host a variety of sporting events similar to what major Las Vegas hotels (think MGM)do. I think he said it could accommodate up to 6000 people for basketball, but don't hold me to that. Maybe he said 5000. In any event, White is hugely successful with deep pockets and strong banking connections. The biggest problem, as I understand it, are local and county government officials understandably a bit in over their heads trying to understand the cost/benefit relationship of granting tax incentives for a multi-faceted commercial development of this magnitude, which also overlaps jurisdictions.

Valpo fans should follow this with interest because the word on the street is that this could be an opportunity for Valpo to play some marquee games there. Beyond that, I have no idea what interest the university might have, if any.

If I were a Merrillville taxpayer I'd tell them to take a hike. The vast majority of these taxpayer subsidized projects never offer as much value as they claim. I'd be very skeptical of this pitch without even knowing most of the details.

I'm not sure I see much of a potential future benefit to Valpo Athletics from this. Maybe we play a few games over there but will they be paying the University to do so and will White Lodging be convincing big name opponents to play us there? We might as well just play at our home arena where we'd have a competitive advantage. I could see them hosting a small annual neutral site tournament but it wouldn't be much of a benefit to us unless they got some heavy hitters to play in it.

[bbtds]

It sounds a lot like what they are doing in Rosemont, IL with All-State Arena and the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. There is the Rosemont Entertainment District with different bars and an ice skating rink and a movie theater. If Merrillville could some how model that in the NW corner of the I-65 & US 30 interchange it would be a good start.

[Chairback]

If I were a Merrillville taxpayer I'd tell them to take a hike. The vast majority of these taxpayer subsidized projects never offer as much value as they claim. I'd be very skeptical of this pitch without even knowing most of the details.

Skeptical?  You have a family who built a very successful hotel, entertainment complex, office building that lasted 40 years and transformed NWI and now wants to invest 200+M in the area again.  I can't think of any projects like this in the US, certainly in NWI.  It's amazing what this family has done and wants to do in the future for NWI. 


Also, I believe they were a significant donor for our new ARC floor.  I don't rememeber hearing a word or any publicity about this.

[VU2014]

If I were a Merrillville taxpayer I'd tell them to take a hike. The vast majority of these taxpayer subsidized projects never offer as much value as they claim. I'd be very skeptical of this pitch without even knowing most of the details.

Skeptical?  You have a family who built a very successful hotel, entertainment complex, office building that lasted 40 years and transformed NWI and now wants to invest 200+M in the area again.  I can't think of any projects like this in the US, certainly in NWI.  It's amazing what this family has done and wants to do in the future for NWI. 


Also, I believe they were a significant donor for our new ARC floor.  I don't rememeber hearing a word or any publicity about this.

How can you not be skeptical about major businesses asking for taxpayer dollars to fund these major projects? I'm not impugning that they have bad intentions. Maybe they could turn Merriville into the next Rosemont (minus the internal airport across the street).

There are just so many countless examples of taxpayers footing the bill for major projects that have overly rosey economic projections on the community. If they could turn that space into the next Rosemont it would be a economic boost from a tax generater over time.

[valpo64]

Are you saying that a 6,000 seat arena would be a great venue for Valpo?  I don't think so...if special opponents" would go there to play us in that size arena why wouldn't they play at Valpo if we had seating for about the same number?  Doesn't make sense to me.

[bigmosmithfan1]

I'm not sure I see much of a potential future benefit to Valpo Athletics from this. Maybe we play a few games over there but will they be paying the University to do so and will White Lodging be convincing big name opponents to play us there?

That project sounds years away and unlikely to hapen, but if it gets off the ground sooner, it would give VU a place to play for part or all of one season when Valpo completes it's full renovation and expansion of the ARC.

[crusader05]

Just jumping in that there was never a plan for an arena there in the final proposal. They wanted a large convention center, hotels, including more boutique styles and lots of restaurants/green space etc but no arena and unless something changes the 1% food and beverage tax increase is currently a no-go. Also, the company wasn't asking for subsidies, they were proposing a tax increase specifically to cover a 3rd of the cost (they would put up the other 2/3). This is a much smarter way to do something like this as it's a increase in revenue, not a decrease in revenue with the promise of bringing in more than you're losing in subsidies down the line.

That being said, the White Family, while huge Purdue boosters, have been very generous to the region but not really in Porter county, however I could see how many having an arena named after them would be too good to pass up, especially if they're in an ornery mood after what just happened here.

[VU2010]

Enough about Merrillville. If you're interested in that, go to a Merrillville city council meeting or something.

Let's talk about the ARC and Valpo again. As season ticket holders for a second consecutive year, I've gotta day: it erks me to see the conditions of this arena. 1 of 2 things needs to happen.
1. Make an announcement if/when a partnership is forged and/or if/when improvements are in the works of being planned.
2. Make some cosmetic upgrades, if nothing else. And, don't tell me this and that about costs. They have the money. It's a choice on how it's spend and what they want to invest in. I'm a graduate. I'm well-aware if the tuition rates.

Look around. The tile all around the arena racked to all the walls? It's horrific. Ugly. Outdated. Embarrassing. Put up some drywall. Paint!

Brown is ugly and outdated - let's face it. The new yellow paint between the free throw line and basket is different than center court. Come on. The chairbacks are horrific. Falling apart. Idk why you'd pay extra to sit there.

They sell retractable bleachers now that have individual, cushioned seats. I mean try something. Audio, as others have mentioned, is terrible.

And, what about the tin foil around the duct work? Gotta be a fire hazard. Sorry - I love this team, and I love this University. But, the arena is atrocious. Not to mention the handicap parking, which is way too far away. The Gold lot should be handicap. Dangerous walk, especially during winter months with ice. Give us a better game day experience. For a game or two we had the drum line come out this year for intros. Many of us have asked for that to come back.

Why not hold a night for folks to come in and have an open dialogue about a potential commitment towards funding improvement on the existing ARC or the possibility of building a new structure?

[oklahomamick]

Well said VU2010

modernize it but still keep the historic field house feel

[bbtds]

modernize it but still keep the historic field house feel

That's what Collier said.

[oklahomamick]

Back when the ARC was full (HL championship games and NIT games) it made for a great environment with a home court advantage that could not be duplicated in a new, large, open stadium