Mabee Center Updates

[Old Titan]

4 hours ago, ORUJason said:

I expected almost 50 years of you sitting in that seat to lead to a little more wear and tear.

LOL - my souvenir chair was not one of my actual seats.  My seat(s) were in fact falling apart, partly due to my big keester, and partly due to Sections A, B, C and D getting so much more use over 50 years in the “Johnston Theater” configuration, with the black curtains running all the way down the aisles to the stage.

You may recall that those curtains did not hang in the aisles (which would have created a safety issue), but instead draped into several-inch wide gaps created by a single seat standing separate from the remainder of the seats in each row of the outside sections  

And it is those 40+ individual seats that were the only chairs to survive the demolition. 

That’s because they are the only chairs in the Mabee Center with independent frameworks and armrests; the remaining 10,000+ seats in the building all shared frames and armrests with the adjacent seats, and were unsalvageable as individual units. 

[EagleManiac]

12 hours ago, Old Titan said:

And it is those 40+ individual seats that were the only chairs to survive the demolition. 

That’s because they are the only chairs in the Mabee Center with independent frameworks and armrests; the remaining 10,000+ seats in the building all shared frames and armrests with the adjacent seats, and were unsalvageable as individual units. 

What a bummer. I was hoping they'd have plenty available to sell to donors. I am well below the line of important people to get one of those chairs. 

[Old Titan]

Mabee Center basketball seating diagram, from the season ticket renewal form:

Couple of observations:

• The section designations are changing from letters "A-thru-Q-with-no-O" to "101-thru-116-with-wait-for-it-a-Lucky-Section-113"
• Students, faculty and staff will be assigned to said Lucky Section 113 behind the visitor's bench.
• The new suites will be at the top of Sections 102 and 103 (formally Sections B and C)
• And I'm told from a source "on the hill" and "in the room" that ANY decision regarding "Expect A Miracle" staying/going on the court will ultimately come from the president himself.

[ORUalum]

kind of sad the student/faculty/staff turnout is so bad they did not even include 114 behind the band as student seating...

so many of the traditions from the mascot name, fight song, the flame, etc have gone, that dropping the expect a miracle would not really bug me.  

[Old Titan]

1 minute ago, ORUalum said:

kind of sad the student/faculty/staff turnout is so bad they did not even include 114 behind the band as student seating...

so many of the traditions from the mascot name, fight song, the flame, etc have gone, that dropping the expect a miracle would not really bug me.  

The students sit all over the arena; I'm always running them out of my seats in D/104 when I arrive late, and they typically fill dozens of seats in the lower half of C/103.

If those seats return to season ticket holders who show up for most games, those students will gravitate back to the new Section 113 and the adjoining sections.

[Old Titan]

 

[oruvoice]

13 hours ago, ORUalum said:

kind of sad the student/faculty/staff turnout is so bad they did not even include 114 behind the band as student seating...

so many of the traditions from the mascot name, fight song, the flame, etc have gone, that dropping the expect a miracle would not really bug me.  

10,000 seat arena with average attendance under 1,000 and this really is a moot point. Just sit wherever you want. 

[theeagleman5]

Well....I think attendance will be a bit higher in 2021-22.....especially with a new and upgraded Mabee Center along with an improved basketball team.....looking forward to seeing a Sweet Sixteen banner unfurled in the rafters.....

[Old Titan]

 

[ORUalum]

Those seats look nice....def does not look like they went cheap

[Old Titan]

3 minutes ago, ORUalum said:

Those seats look nice....def does not look like they went cheap

After 50 years...I've got a cup holder.

[EagleManiac]

2 hours ago, ORUalum said:

Those seats look nice....def does not look like they went cheap

If anything, they look even more comfortable than the old gold chairs (if that's possible). I was worried about the new seats, but this is a pleasant surprise. 

[EagleManiac]

What's the point of the additional suite build-out? I could be wrong, but I don't think we've sold a single suite for the last several years? Ol' Billy Willy and friends seem to be the only occupants we've had for quite a while.  Maybe they've had new corporate interest since last year's run, but I doubt it. 

I guess it cuts down on open seats in the GA area if nothing else. 

[ORUTerry]

We have the two existing suites sold; the third is for use by the school (President Wilson). The idea is to piggy back on the recent success and ‘sell’ three more. 

[EagleManiac]

38 minutes ago, ORUTerry said:

We have the two existing suites sold; the third is for use by the school (President Wilson). The idea is to piggy back on the recent success and ‘sell’ three more. 

Shows how much I know -  thanks for the explanation. Have they been sold historically, or are these new? I don't know that I ever see anyone in the suites except for Billy and crew.

[Old Titan]

I know at least one of the original suites has been occupied (and paid for) by the same ORU Athletics booster since Day One, over a decade ago.

[ORUTerry]

The other one was paid for by a local company who never sent employees to occupy it. 

[ORUalum]

looks good.....