Facilities

72 posted a link to Torch Sports earlier in the. Week. In one story, Nikki Coryell interviewed Small and asked about facilities plans.  New arena mentioned again along with more upgrades to the ARC. He also threw out the concept of a Victory Village.  Check it out. 

@vulb62 I'll take a hunt for it. Interesting to see talks about things similar to "The Battery" in Atlanta. A lot of places seem to be wanting to copy the "all-inclusive" nature.

Sounds like Dr. Small wants something like Ballpark Village in St. Louis to put between the ARC and whatever the new facility would be? Good luck with that, unless you can get some good quality brewpub/restaurant there yearround...

@valporun2004 Trust me, there is no shortage of people looking to start up a brewpub or a restaurant. Most likely a Triple X or a hangout-style restaurant will pop up. Big thing to look at is  Dr Small mentioned including a ballpark village-style area into the mix. Getting the city involved by leasing land to build a restaurant is a big money-maker for the university. Just look at what The Battery did for ATL and the designs of the Sox park on the 78. You make a deal with the city to accrue funds, and you promise a return on investment to the city to give you money. If we want something to be built, and maybe push up the 10-year timeframe a bit, VU needs to get the city involved in talks over the new Sports district. I have heard a rumor that VU is looking to work with the city to sell off the old soccer stadium behind Baur Field to the county to partially fund the arena project.

@rezynezy Will be interesting to see what happens. Has the relationship between the Region and the university changed enough for this to happen, or are we just expecting the Region to cowtow to something new?

@valporun2004 The relationship is that of indifference. The region largely does not care about VU. What I think is happening is that the university is trying to get the region to care more about the university. The problem is that, with the advent of large-scale sports streaming media, people would rather watch Purdue, IU, Butler, ND, ect, on tv rather than attend a VU game in person. Paul Oren outlined this during an interview with the State of Basketball podcast on YouTube (Check it out. it's a good watch). The focus on branding and identity that Dr. Small has taken seems to be, in large part, an effort for people to start hanging Gold and Brown in the city again rather than just Green and White. People care more about VHS than they do about VU. Also, a reason why we hired Powell as the coach. He lived in close proximity to VU for a long time, and his focus on talent that is "home grown" will probably attract more fans to the games and get people to care about the school again.

I was bored and made something that in my mind is a "perfect scenario". While this image is highly unlikely to ever actually occur. It is something that I believe is a route that the school should at least attempt to take, that being a partnership with the city as to the construction of a civic center. While these ideas have come and gone, I currently work in the "Youth Sports" division of the Valpo Parks and Rec, and word is that the city has been looking to build a civic center and new Baseball fields, but is falling short on funding. A partnership where the city and the University both foot some of the bill, would allow for a facility to be built sooner rather than later.

EDIT: I tried to make something that a "Mid Major" school would realistically build, so nothing over 10k but also big enough that they can host games against big schools. No more Duke vs Valpo at the United Center. I also took into account the need for an easy switch to a concert venue while also catering to the fan experience. The Upper deck is only on one side. partially as a nod to the ARC itself being heavy on one side, and to keep the overall cost down. Someone mentioned a shared press box with Brown Field which I incorporated into the design. 

https://imgur.com/a/7H6USHi

Nice ideas. But here is reality. All MVC teams are experiencing a downturn in attendance. But it is not just MVC teams. Baylor just opened a new BB arena and it was downsized from the old one. Loyola’s Gentile Center is beautiful and seats around 4,000.  Gonzaga’s arena is around 5,000.  Any new Valpo arena, whether in conjunction with a community civic center or not, should target the 4,000-5,000 capacity window in a comfortable seating arrangement, with premium seating as well, that allows for a variety of events beyond just BB. 

i am thinking that’s the direction Padilla and Smart are heading. 

@vulb62 True, but I truely think 8k is a happy medium. You have it for when you need it. The main reason I saw 8k as a good number is because whenever VU plays big name schools. They have always been playing offsite. Getting people to come to games and to the campus would pose a big boost to recruitment and attendance. I also believe ISU has truly put the MVC back on the map. Hopefully we start getting mock ups somewhat soon as the dorm renovations start to iron out.

EDIT: I researched Baylor's decision a bit and came up with this result. The decision to downsize from 10k to 7.5 k was largely to improve fan experience over a true need to downsize. The Pavilion allows for fans to be closer to the court and for better noise retention. I agree with this sentiment. A range of 6-8k is probably the happy medium for schools to consider when building new venues. In amending my design. I would take out the upper deck and instead make it once massive, continuous line of seats reminiscent of "The wall" being built for the intuit dome in LA. Maybe take out the baseline upper deck and just have the "Wall" on the one side. The Power 6 can keep their 10k seaters, and mid majors can provide an unparalleled fan experience with capacities of under 10k. I feel as if 5-6k is too small for future arenas. It effectively "future proofs" the arena. Just look at the Hulman center. They only reduced capacity by 1bout 500 from 10k down to 9.5k and they are able to sell out games. If we future proof the arena now. There won't be a situation in which VU would need to build a new arena due to capacity issues. Also the design of this facility plays largely as a "Multipurpose Civic Center" for use by  the County as well. Hosting Concerts. Trade shows, ect, are big money generators for the School as this facility would split revenue from concessions with the City/County. (I am not a politician so I don't know the logistics of revenue splitting, only that most facilities operate under revenue splits such as the Hulman center and City of Terre Heute. Ultimately this facility was designed under the impression of being a year-round money maker.

@rezynezy A stadium that fits your model (but on a slightly smaller scale at 5,200 Capacity) is the TU Arena for Towson University. They have a 3/4 Upper Deck with one side having hospitality suites and press boxes. They also utilize the retractable seating in the lower level like you mentioned for special events (I saw they hosted the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team). Your stadium concept is likely the best one for what Valpo needs in order to be flexible with events and connect with the city.

@slimjimjz If the school cannot, or likely wont, reach an agreement with the city, the attached fits what they would realistically build. I am not an architect. I'm a tech guy. All my architecture knowledge comes from my Great Uncle. His portfolio includes the doorstop in Chesterton and the Porter County Admin Building. But I truly feel as if would be stupid to not approach the county, or the city once again as to constructing a Civic Center style building to relieve some of the financial burden off the university. I did try to keep it realistic. I don't think Valpo will magically get 10k students overnight let alone back up to 4k for another 5 years or so, but I believe the University itself has gotten past the worst of it and there is nowhere else to go but up. Having a good facility attracts talent, fans, and outside events. Last major event I can remember at the ARC was the WWF hosting one of their old "traveling circus" style shows in the gym. Anything that can be used year round is a massive +

Posted by: @slimjimjz

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@rezynezy A stadium that fits your model (but on a slightly smaller scale at 5,200 Capacity) is the TU Arena for Towson University. They have a 3/4 Upper Deck with one side having hospitality suites and press boxes. They also utilize the retractable seating in the lower level like you mentioned for special events (I saw they hosted the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team). Your stadium concept is likely the best one for what Valpo needs in order to be flexible with events and connect with the city.

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I actually attended a Baltimore Blast game there last month! It is a very nice, intimate, modern facility…

@valpo04 Looks like a nice, modern, arena for a MM school. I saw it consistantly makes top 10s for best MM arenas

If they do end up actually going through with replacing the ARC, would it theoretically be more logistical to just gut the Facility of all its electronics and retro fit it into a volleyball facility. They already have the 2 scoreboards they just plop on top of the chair backs when the ARC is in Recreation Mode. They just replaced the scoring devices anyway. Just rip em out and slap em in another location to cut costs.