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Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: 1971 Arena needs a multi million dollar update
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bornacatfan
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Posted: 12/8/2013 4:18 PM
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 Interesting article    Looking at parallels and upgrades to our situation  . FOcus on entrance, restrooms and a problem we do not have with escalators

Found some statements to be curious. I do not see a lack of intimacy in the Convo with the sidelines and behind the baskets. 

........oversaw the bidding and construction of Assembly Hall in the 1960s. He was adamantly against a circular-bowl design such as Purdue’s Mackey Arena or Illinois’ Assembly Hall. He thought fans preferred sideline seats....... “We talked with a lot of people and drew from our own experience in coming to the conclusion (a circular seating arrangement) would be unwise. ... If you’re trying to sell tickets you better be in a position to provide potential customers with the best possible seats.”

 

Last Edited: 12/8/2013 5:04:08 PM by bornacatfan
SBH
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Posted: 12/8/2013 7:41 PM
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We have a great facility that needs a little TLC.  Great sight lines.  Gonna get $3 million in new seats before next year.  Would love video boards, but not holding my breath.  And I for one don't have a problem with the restrooms.



Recovering Journalist
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Posted: 12/8/2013 7:58 PM
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SBH wrote:expand_more
We have a great facility that needs a little TLC.  Great sight lines.  Gonna get $3 million in new seats before next year.  Would love video boards, but not holding my breath.  And I for one don't have a problem with the restrooms.


I agree. New seats, strategic upgrades and (please!) a hanging scoreboard would really do wonders. Even as it stands I never forget how lucky we are that Vern Alden had the vision and guts to build it. It was spectacular when it opened, and at 45 years old, it remains a great venue.

Indiana has bigger needs and a much bigger checkbook. It's not really an apt comparison for us, but it is interesting.
bornacatfan
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Posted: 12/8/2013 9:32 PM
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Recovering Journalist wrote:expand_more
We have a great facility that needs a little TLC.  Great sight lines.  Gonna get $3 million in new seats before next year.  Would love video boards, but not holding my breath.  And I for one don't have a problem with the restrooms.


I agree. New seats, strategic upgrades and (please!) a hanging scoreboard would really do wonders. Even as it stands I never forget how lucky we are that Vern Alden had the vision and guts to build it. It was spectacular when it opened, and at 45 years old, it remains a great venue.

Indiana has bigger needs and a much bigger checkbook. It's not really an apt comparison for us, but it is interesting.

Good info on the seats. That will be great. IU has a much bigger budget and not really half as nice a facility as the Convo IMHO.  Alden truly was a visionary and including the dorm portion was pure genius. I brought it here because it seems that since they have the practice facility done they are looking at the overall experience now.....

For those who want to continue on the bathroom thing..... My problem is only with drying my hands. Put towels in ....I do not care....I took this pic after the Evansville game....the GREAT grandfather of one of the players remarked that he remembered when these first came out while we were standing there drying our hands. Considering the conversation here I told him " They will probably be here when y'all come back"



 
Deciduous Forest Cat
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Posted: 12/8/2013 10:20 PM
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Do NOT put towels in. Just get better dryers.
KyleWvr13
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Posted: 12/8/2013 11:09 PM
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I am a huge fan of the idea of getting a video board, hanging or possibly up in the "corners" of the Convo. But one thing that I haven't really seen anyone discuss, at least in detail, is the cost of running and maintaining that thing every game.

First of all, we would probably need to hire at least 2 or 3 trained cameramen to get on court close up shots of the game, player reactions, ect for every game.  Sideline camera is already taken care of obviously because of the web stream.  But there are also other positions that we have to consider, like a switcher to change the video feeds, a scoreboard operator if we overlay the score and time on the video feeds, and a director to pull this all together.  Oh yeah, don't forget that they would probably be required to do all of the women's games as well.

And that's just the personnel factor, you also have to consider the cost of maintenance, what ever licensed software you decide to go with to run the board, ect.  We may have one of the biggest basketball budgets in the MAC, but unless we get a really good sponsorship with whoever decides to buy the name for the Convo or an increase in sustainable donations, keeping the video board up and running could be very difficult.
Recovering Journalist
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Posted: 12/8/2013 11:26 PM
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Kyle, you bring up some decent points, but I gotta believe if BGSU can run a 10x20 foot video board in front of 2,100 people a game, then the conference's hoops attendance and revenue leader should be up to the task.
OU_Country
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Posted: 12/9/2013 8:40 AM
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A Video board would be nice, but honestly, it would be a great improvement to simply take the current scoreboards and get them up high, perhaps behind the baskets.  I also think a sound system upgrade is desperately needed.  I don't know the cost of the upgrades, or maintaining them, by Kyle makes a good point about needing to have people who know how to use the new equipment when it arrives.  Ahhh...someday.
bornacatfan
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Posted: 12/9/2013 9:47 AM
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Interesting thoughts on the running of the boards.

My nephew graduated Balls school of T comm. He is a whiz at all that stuff and currently works cameras and mixes segments for BOA/DCI in dowtown Indy. I looked at OHIO course catalogue and could not find what I was looking for .....this is BALLS  Do we have similar offerings? I know he worked cameras and mixing boards for sports as part of his education.

I always thought it would be a great project for some kind of electrical and t comm engineers to work togeter in a situation like the biz school's Cluster to rewire the Convo and get it so it is broadcast friendly.
OU_Country
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Posted: 12/9/2013 10:01 AM
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bornacatfan wrote:expand_more
Interesting thoughts on the running of the boards.

My nephew graduated Balls school of T comm. He is a whiz at all that stuff and currently works cameras and mixes segments for BOA/DCI in dowtown Indy. I looked at OHIO course catalogue and could not find what I was looking for .....this is BALLS  Do we have similar offerings? I know he worked cameras and mixing boards for sports as part of his education.

I always thought it would be a great project for some kind of electrical and t comm engineers to work togeter in a situation like the biz school's Cluster to rewire the Convo and get it so it is broadcast friendly.


Another part of the process that your "rewiring" comment brings to my mind is a desire by me, and I assume others, to see/hear the streaming broadcasts that include Russ & Rob in the restroom and concession areas.
GoCats105
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Posted: 12/9/2013 12:24 PM
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If the athletic department decides to go with the hanging scoreboard, they may as well go all out and get the LED ribbons around the arena too. I'm not sure if the Convo has the space for the ribbons though. I know there is the signage hanging in each of the individual tunnels where the fans come in, but maybe behind the baskets?
 
When Xavier put there's in, it completely changed the atmosphere of the arena, and Cintas Center was not a bad place to see a game to begin with.

http://www.ancsports.com/news/ncaa/cintas-center-unveils-scoreboard

Here's something I found regarding running the operation:

http://www.broadcastpix.com/Press-Releases/Xavier-University-Upgrades-Cintas-Center--Video-Screen-Capabilities-with-Broadcast-Pix.html
KyleWvr13
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Posted: 12/9/2013 12:51 PM
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bornacatfan wrote:expand_more
Interesting thoughts on the running of the boards.

My nephew graduated Balls school of T comm. He is a whiz at all that stuff and currently works cameras and mixes segments for BOA/DCI in dowtown Indy. I looked at OHIO course catalogue and could not find what I was looking for .....this is BALLS  Do we have similar offerings? I know he worked cameras and mixing boards for sports as part of his education.

I always thought it would be a great project for some kind of electrical and t comm engineers to work togeter in a situation like the biz school's Cluster to rewire the Convo and get it so it is broadcast friendly.


My freshman year I was a media studies major.  While I didn't stick with it long, the media studies degree at Ohio is a bit different.  Now pardon me if I completely butcher this, because it has been several years since I had to be concerned about it.  The media major is split into 3 focuses: Audio, Video, and Management.  If you choose to take the video field, you can choose to involve yourself with projects that cater to what you want to do, like news casting, sports shows, comedy shows, technology shows, ect.

While there isn't a "Sports News" degree, there are several different options for students to partake.

It would be interesting to see if Athletics would provide opportunities for media majors like switcher, cameraman, audio engineer, ect. to students if we were to ever own a modern video board.
Pete Chouteau
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Posted: 12/9/2013 1:14 PM
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I'm not sure that pulling Kelvin Sampson's thoughts on recruiting are the best way to go about getting your building fixed.
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 12/9/2013 1:59 PM
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GoCats105 wrote:expand_more
If the athletic department decides to go with the hanging scoreboard, they may as well go all out and get the LED ribbons around the arena too. I'm not sure if the Convo has the space for the ribbons though. I know there is the signage hanging in each of the individual tunnels where the fans come in, but maybe behind the baskets?
 
When Xavier put there's in, it completely changed the atmosphere of the arena, and Cintas Center was not a bad place to see a game to begin with.

http://www.ancsports.com/news/ncaa/cintas-center-unveils-scoreboard

Here's something I found regarding running the operation:

http://www.broadcastpix.com/Press-Releases/Xavier-University-Upgrades-Cintas-Center--Video-Screen-Capabilities-with-Broadcast-Pix.html



Agree about the need for new scoreboards, preferably but not necessarily hanging.  Really like the LED ribbon idea.  With the new seats SBH is telling us about, the place would look a lot better. 

I know this will fly in the face of the "but we have graduation ceremonies" advocates, but I still think removing about 2,000 seats would help also.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 12/9/2013 2:16 PM
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Nice to see the Dry Paws movement in back in force.
OhioStunter
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Posted: 12/9/2013 2:16 PM
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Reposted from earlier this year:

According to the rough budget estimates I've seen so far on this, the line item breakdown includes:

$3.1M - Retractable roof with view of Bong Hill
$2.4M - Daktronics shot clock that actually works
$2.2M - Richard Vedder athletic spend digital clock
$1.7M - New strength and conditioning room complete with team assortment of "Shake Weights"
$1.2M - HDTVs in visiting lockerrooms that only show reruns of MacGuyver
$1.0 M - Pretzel vending upgrades
$478K - Additional security to ticket team buses, player and coach vehicles in Convo lot
$423K - Rohr Room motion detector to set off actual Bobcat roar (with Beats Audio)
$397K - Locker room showerheads replaced with Amazon rain forest soaking shower heads
$63.75 - New urinal cakes (featuring the Redhawks logo)
$1.3M - Conversion of outdoor upper level into beer garden
$7,500 - O-Zone t-shirts upgraded to 100% Egyptian cotton
$1.1M - Heated leather seats for Bobcat Club members (with cup holders)
$212K - Bench towels replaced with Sham-WOWs
$1.0M - Those cheap little white plastic Larry Conrath Realty basketballs the cheerleaders throw to fans during three-pointers? -- now it's iPad minis
$945K - Bobcat Fan Zone with Patrick Flomo Block Party area and Geno Ford growth posters
$745K - Starting line-up announcer: Michael  Buffer
$342K - BobcatAttack.com members-only lounge with ICEE machines and green "members only" jackets

Keep in mind, this is very preliminary information.

Last Edited: 1/3/2013 6:55:39 PM by OhioStunter


 
GoCats105
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Posted: 12/9/2013 2:33 PM
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OhioStunter wrote:expand_more
Reposted from earlier this year:

$342K - BobcatAttack.com members-only lounge with ICEE machines and green "members only" jackets

Last Edited: 1/3/2013 6:55:39 PM by OhioStunter


 


Why are these not being printed ASAP?
roar-room
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Posted: 12/9/2013 4:26 PM
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OhioStunter wrote:expand_more
$423K - Rohr Room motion detector to set off actual Bobcat roar (with Beats Audio)
 


+1
anorris
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Posted: 12/10/2013 12:17 AM
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Our video program has wonderful assets when it comes to doing studio broadcasts and shooting in the field, but we have little in the way of game production like Ball State has, because we don't have a production truck of the sort needed for such a production.

Balls program is/was way out in front, but some big $$$ athletics schools are starting to have a lot of opportunities due to Big Ten Network, Longhorn network, etc. I'd love to see more along those lines at Ohio, but we'll need some conference TV money or Letterman money to make it happen.
bornacatfan
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Posted: 12/10/2013 12:23 AM
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thanks for the insight Norris. I wondered what the difference was...any comment on how Oakland was so advanced?
OhioStunter
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Posted: 12/10/2013 12:24 AM
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Lauer money?
OU_Country
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Posted: 12/10/2013 10:12 AM
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I just caught this to add to what Bornacat posted to begin this thread.  Renderings and plans for the proposed upgrades to Assembly Hall. 

EDIT -- It's seemingly about the same article to include the images and renderings.
Last Edited: 12/10/2013 10:13:52 AM by OU_Country
giacomo
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Posted: 12/10/2013 11:43 AM
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We need new seats and maybe a coat of a paint here and there, but I'm fine with the Convo just the way it is,
RSBobcat
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Posted: 12/10/2013 9:57 PM
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OU_Country wrote:expand_more
Interesting thoughts on the running of the boards.

My nephew graduated Balls school of T comm. He is a whiz at all that stuff and currently works cameras and mixes segments for BOA/DCI in dowtown Indy. I looked at OHIO course catalogue and could not find what I was looking for .....this is BALLS  Do we have similar offerings? I know he worked cameras and mixing boards for sports as part of his education.

I always thought it would be a great project for some kind of electrical and t comm engineers to work togeter in a situation like the biz school's Cluster to rewire the Convo and get it so it is broadcast friendly.


Another part of the process that your "rewiring" comment brings to my mind is a desire by me, and I assume others, to see/hear the streaming broadcasts that include Russ & Rob in the restroom and concession areas.


Live and loud "BANG" in the restroom - Awesome..................


 
RSBobcat
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Posted: 12/10/2013 10:01 PM
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OhioStunter wrote:expand_more
Reposted from earlier this year:


$1.0M - Those cheap little white plastic Larry Conrath Realty basketballs the cheerleaders throw to fans during three-pointers? -- now it's iPad minis
 

ANYTHING but Red balls (Athens Realty?) - NOTHING RED should EVER be part of a give away on OHIO UNIVERSITY campus property..............

 
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