ORU’s ‘Grand Slam’ – Mike Carter Athletic Center and Mabee Center Renovation (TW)

[ORUTerry]

This new facility will be a game changer for athletics. I am thankful for the administration and especially the donors for their efforts in making this happen - though there is still some remaining fundraising to be completed to see it come to fruition. 

[vcboy2000]

Nice! Any renderings or will that be apart of the press release?

[vcboy2000]

And here it is!

What a quote by Bill Haisten!

"What a remarkable turn of events. Never before have I seen any school capitalize so immediately and so emphatically on a great situation."

Link to the article below:

https://tulsaworld.com/sports/college/oru/bill-haisten-oru-s-grand-slam-mike-carter-athletic-center-and-mabee-center-renovation/article_cf8fae9c-a086-11eb-ba22-03264a1582af.html

[EagleManiac]

Does anybody know the details of the Mabee Center seat upgrades? Probably the least important piece of the anouncement, but the one that affects me the most. 

- Are they replacing the seats, or just updating the seats we have and replacing the gold covering with the navy, similar to the top section? 

- Is this supposed to be done before the coming season? 

[Dr. Cornelius]

Quote

After the 15th-seeded Golden Eagles dazzled the basketball world with their NCAA Tournament conquests of Ohio State and Florida, I wrote about an unexpected opportunity for Oral Roberts University: For those tasked with ORU athletics marketing, there’s got to be a way to take advantage of this fantastic run.

I was thinking mostly about ticket sales and attendance. While mindful of the importance of that, ORU officials were prepared for something really special.

After the victory over Florida, an unidentified donor asked a million-dollar question: “What can I do to help the basketball program?”

That question led to dialogue and then to this. Because of what is described as a “significant lead gift” from that donor, ORU is about to launch a process described by deputy athletic director Tim Johnson as “transformational”: the development of the Mike Carter Athletic Center — a structure expected to be more than 40,000 square feet in size and connected to the Mabee Center... (FULL STORY)

 

[Dr. Cornelius]

31 minutes ago, EagleManiac said:

Does anybody know the details of the Mabee Center seat upgrades? Probably the least important piece of the anouncement, but the one that affects me the most. 

- Are they replacing the seats, or just updating the seats we have and replacing the gold covering with the navy, similar to the top section? 

- Is this supposed to be done before the coming season? 

From the article:

Quote

Johnson says the construction process won’t be gradual.

 

“After we break ground,” he explained, “we plan to be in the Mike Carter Athletic Center in no more than 12 to 18 months.”

The seating situation is also a interesting... do you recover the gold seats in navy or replace them with hard back seating like most modern arenas?

Mabee has comfortable seating BUT you could argue that leads to most people staying seated during the game. What decision is the best for game atmosphere?

[vcboy2000]

Call me crazy, but I think it would be a good idea to increase the size and number of suites and decrease the number of individual seats in the arena as a whole. Nobody in college basketball is pulling in 10k in attendance anymore. Not even the big boys.

The big names that come to Tulsa for shows who have the potential of hitting or exceeding that number are going to the BOK. 

The large high school graduations that used to max out the Mabee Center are also going to the BOK.

Decreasing the number of seats would do wonders for improving the game time environment and home court advantage for our team. Also the demand for tickets would increase. It might even force the notoriously late arriving crowd to get to the arena earlier. 

[oruvoice]

There are things more important than millions of dollars and shiny new buildings. There's some really bad stuff being swept under the rug. 

Matthew 23:27 says it all. 

I know I'm going to take some heat for this post right now, but the truth always comes out...

[vcboy2000]

No heat needed, Voice. You were apart of the athletic department for a long time and no doubt saw your fair share bad stuff. I'm under no illusion that everything is perfect there, and you have a right to share your views and voice your opinions. And IMHO, you're still the best PA announcer we've ever had. Just sayin!

[oruvoice]

6 minutes ago, vcboy2000 said:

No heat needed, Voice. You were apart of the athletic department for a long time and no doubt saw your fair share bad stuff. I'm under no illusion that everything is perfect there, and you have a right to share your views and voice your opinions. And IMHO, you're still the best PA announcer we've ever had. Just sayin!

Thanks VC. But, this current deal is way beyond the pale of my hurt feelings. Way beyond. 

It should have been brought out into the open immediately and dealt with. 

[eagle88]

I too ORU Voice have been around for a long while and i know things have been less than perfect. What you are referring too has it been a while ago or is it still existing  in the present?

[oruvoice]

4 minutes ago, eagle88 said:

I too ORU Voice have been around for a long while and i know things have been less than perfect. What you are referring too has it been a while ago or is it still existing  in the present?

Within the past month or so.

[titansforever]

I like the gold seats.  

[eagle88]

I hope things are done on the up and up or else you are right.... they will be exposed.

[Old Titan]

2 minutes ago, titansforever said:

I like the gold seats.  

[SpaceManSpiff]

2 hours ago, Old Titan said:

The seat color has always been an eyesore in my opinion. Especially when empty on a video broadcast. I have been wishing for blue seats, matching the balcony, for years!

[titansforever]

Just now, SpaceManSpiff said:

The seat color has always been an eyesore in my opinion. Especially when empty on a video broadcast. I have been wishing for blue seats, matching the balcony, for years!

I hope we don't switch to plastic or metal seats. Or vinyl cushions. 

[SpaceManSpiff]

1 minute ago, titansforever said:

I hope we don't switch to plastic or metal seats. Or vinyl cushions. 

 Hard to beat the comfort level of the current seats. Especially for a sports venue.