perryc Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 RFP is out for a 5k seat arena on campus. https://kcroos.com/news/2023/5/15/general-kansas-city-athletics-begins-next-step-in-elevation-explores-new-on-campus-arena.aspx 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 A 5,000-seat arena for a 2.3 million population city? Does the school have money burning a hole in its pocket? Rent out one of the high school gyms if you are going to build such a small facility. Granted, bright, shiny new buildings are always good, but in today's age of NIL and "college free agency", kids don't care about the gyms they play in - just "SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 That sounds wonderful....how about getting a BASEBALL TEAM to replace Western Illinois???? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 12 minutes ago, theeagleman5 said: That sounds wonderful....how about getting a BASEBALL TEAM to replace Western Illinois???? The parcel of land would be better used as a baseball field than a 5,000-seat arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perryc Posted May 15, 2023 Author Share Posted May 15, 2023 42 minutes ago, Bogus Smith said: A 5,000-seat arena for a 2.3 million population city? Does the school have money burning a hole in its pocket? Rent out one of the high school gyms if you are going to build such a small facility. Lol. No, this is the right size. 5,000 is the capacity of venues at Long Beach State, Valparaiso, Delaware, Florida International, San Jose State, and others. We're giving the student rec center back to the students. The Roos can lease Municipal Auditorium or TMobile Center for any game with likely attendance of 10K or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted May 16, 2023 Share Posted May 16, 2023 I think 5,000 is plenty big enough for the Summit League. There is nobody in the conference that puts 5,000 butts in the seats on a regular basis. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Liberty just built a $65,000,000 basketball arena seating 4,000. Gonzaga plays in a 6,000 seat arena. NDSU plays in the Scheels Center which seats 5,460. Saint Mary's plays in a 3,500 seat arena. What is wrong with a new 5,000 seat arena? Just asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 2 hours ago, ORU82 said: Liberty just built a $65,000,000 basketball arena seating 4,000. Gonzaga plays in a 6,000 seat arena. NDSU plays in the Scheels Center which seats 5,460. Saint Mary's plays in a 3,500 seat arena. What is wrong with a new 5,000 seat arena? Just asking. When there are plenty of arenas to play in around the metro KC area, why is it necessary to spend financial resources on another building for athletics when it isn't what drives student-athletes to a particular school. If you rent Municipal Auditorium for, let's say, $5000 per game - that's $75,000 per season in a 15-game season, you could play in the Municipal Auditorium for 866 seasons to match the $65 million paid in Lynchburg, VA. Methuselah could probably watch all those games be played. With all the things to do in the KC-area, major league sports, and other trappings, why not save the money you have to raise for capital items and put it into the NIL and other things that drive high-quality student-athletes to a school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perryc Posted May 17, 2023 Author Share Posted May 17, 2023 I'll leave the economics of the arena decision to those who know the numbers. I love Municipal Auditorium and its basketball history. However, an on-campus venue has an intrinsic value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 14 minutes ago, perryc said: I'll leave the economics of the arena decision to those who know the numbers. I love Municipal Auditorium and its basketball history. However, an on-campus venue has an intrinsic value. Intrinsic and efficient are two very different things. Government-run schools are not known to be very efficient. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Baylor, coming off recent national championships in both men's and women's Bball is downsizing with their new arena. Going from about 10,500 seats to around 7000 seats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 I gotta go with "PerryC" on this one: an on-campus arena - of ANY size - is preferable to playing somewhere else in Kansas City. It's the only way you will ever get students to attend. Looking forward to attending an ORU-UMKC showdon in the new arena as soon as possible! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 24 minutes ago, Old Titan said: I gotta go with "PerryC" on this one: an on-campus arena - of ANY size - is preferable to playing somewhere else in Kansas City. It's the only way you will ever get students to attend. Looking forward to attending an ORU-UMKC showdown in the new arena as soon as possible! It may be a great facility and students may come for the first couple of years, but when the team sucks because there is no NIL money and the team has no chance to seeing the upper divisions of a low-major conference, it will just be another debt that has to be serviced by the taxpayers. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer on this topic, but bring me a winner with prospects and a plan for future viability and I will have a different opinion. Just like the MCAC, you have to have a winner that brings good, positive PR to the institution before you get bells and whistles that, in today's age of NIL, don't bring you anything than a nice building. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Honestly....do we really care??? Just sayin'..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 But TheEagleman will add this.....I attend a couple Rider U. basketball games each year as the NJ campus is 20 minutes away from my home....nice suburban school with a small student population and a mid major about the size of ORU....they have a nice little on campus gym that seats about 2000....its general admission for $10....the students literally have to walk 100-200 yards at most from their dorms....games are packed with students and pretty much every game I attend is a near sellout....great atmosphere and a great venue even if the Rider Broncs are mediocre at best.....but I agree with Old Titan that an on campus venue is usually for the best......UMKC probably doesn't even need 5000 seats but I won't quibble with that..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Good points given by OT, Bogus and the Eagleman. You are correct Eagleman that we really have no dog in this hunt in the sense that it is UMKC and not us. However, a similar question could be asked about the Mike Carter Center we just built, and before you jump on me for bringing this up, I want to go on record that I was very much in favor of what we did (Carter Center) and this is not to criticize that project. I also realize that the complex was built through donations and a donation is usually given for a specific project. That being said we spent a ton of money and applying the logic of the arguments put forth in this thread, could we have better served the program by raising NIL money and not spending Millions on this project? I know the question is academic only because the project is done and I am glad it is. However, would we have been better served by raising NIL money? Just asking and not taking a position. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleManiac Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 33 minutes ago, ORU82 said: .... However, would we have been better served by raising NIL money? Just asking and not taking a position. Yes. 100%. But things look wildly different compared than they did 24 months ago when the project began. I don't think any of us knew how important NIL dollars would be at the mid-major level and how quickly the shift would occur. I personally thought that NIL would affect the top tier programs but wouldn't trickle down much to our level. I was wrong. Even still, the Mike Carter Center is still tremendously valuable. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 1 hour ago, EagleManiac said: Yes. 100%. But things look wildly different compared than they did 24 months ago when the project began. I don't think any of us knew how important NIL dollars would be at the mid-major level and how quickly the shift would occur. I personally thought that NIL would affect the top tier programs but wouldn't trickle down much to our level. I was wrong. Even still, the Mike Carter Center is still tremendously valuable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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