UVM New Arena Thread

[c00per]

Originally Posted by UVM Hoop Cat

That's the funny thing at UVM- the girl buying beers at Pearl Street Beverage with dreads and then jumping into her SUV probably has a $50M trust fund nobody knows about.

haha. I think a lot of ppl are on to that. The term Trustafarian comes to mind.

Regardless, I can't wait until the basketball team moves into Marley Arena.

[VT Cats Fan]

Originally Posted by Vermonster

If I win the $500 Million Mega Millions Jackpot you have me on record right here. I will buy the Arena myself. So long as it's named after my grandfather.

Did you get your ticket(s) yet? ;-)

[GoCatsGo]

Originally Posted by c00per

haha. I think a lot of ppl are on to that. The term Trustafarian comes to mind.

Regardless, I can't wait until the basketball team moves into Marley Arena.

We can call it The "Green" Room.

[c00per]

Originally Posted by GoCatsGo

We can call it The "Green" Room.

Haha. Catablunt Country.

We digress.

[VT Cats Fan]

Originally Posted by GoCatsGo

We can call it The "Green" Room.

LOL

+1

[VTBball]

http://www.vermontcynic.com/news/adm...lity-1.2721115

Vermont Cynic > News

Administrators consider new athletic facility
By Julian Golfarini, Cynic Correspondent


Published: Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Updated: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 12:03

2

In the most recent capital ranking proposal, in its sixth version, the University of Vermont listed a new arena as ninth on the list of new building projects with an estimated value of $500 million.

Budgeted for between $55 and $100 million, some students have questioned whether it is an effective use of schools money, suggesting that there are areas the school should invest in before building a new athletic complex.

While the need for a new event space may not be vital, the Board of Trustees started a task force to assess the need for a new space on campus.

“We answered that question with a resounding yes,” Director of Athletics Dr. Bob Corran said.

The proposed arena would be built with the Athletics Department and the average students in mind. The arena must address the University’s Health and Wellness, Recreational and Fitness needs, according to the Request For Information (RFI) requested by Campus Planning in 2010.

The arena – like all new buildings built on campus – must also be LEED Silver Certified.

For administrators like Vice President of Finance Richard Cate, creating student space with any new building is a priority.

“There is lots of competition for new facilities on campus,” Cate said. “The new arena needs to come with more recreational space for students.”

Many see the arena as a great tool for the University as well as the City of Burlington.

“Its not just an athletic arena, its for everyone,” Vice President of Student Life Thomas Gustafson said.

The arena would house the men’s and women’s Ice Hockey and Basketball teams as well as possibly a minor league hockey team.

The new space will also be able to serve as a multipurpose facility for Commencement, Convocation, concerts, Gustafson said.

There could also be the possibility of community events and shows like ‘Disney on Ice’, Cate said.

If built, the 6,000 to 9,000 seat arena would be the largest event space in the state of Vermont, an honor currently held by Gutterson Field House.

When Gutterson was built in 1963, the space could fit the entire campus at the time, Gustafson said.

There is also the fact that the Athletic Complex is outdated.

“[Current UVM facilities] certainly don’t help when recruiting students,” Gustafson said. “UVM needs an arena to compete with other schools.”

Not only in the actual bowl area, but also the amenities such as the weight room, home and away locker rooms and coaches offices. Some coaches now call what used to be a closet their office.

“There have been situations where a student is deciding between UVM and another school, and we know that we’ve lost student athletes due to our facilities,” Corran said.

Others, like current first year student Kyle Heffrin, think that although the arena would be a great boost to UVM and the greater Vermont community, he would like to see the school invest in different areas.

“I think that I’d like to see the University invest in advising before sports,” Heffrin said. “That’s where I feel we should make improvements.”

The Athletic department was contacted to have student athletes and coaches included in this article, however they were not available for comment.

[umainealum]

9th? Man, I thought the new arena was further along for you guys...that sucks. Also, a combo hockey/hoops facility? I thought it was going to be strictly a hoops arena...guess I was wrong on that or maybe plans have been adjusted. Having Alfond Arena, I can say that I am not a fan of multi-purpose facilities like that if you can avoid it in any way.

[Alumni96]

Originally Posted by umainealum

9th? Man, I thought the new arena was further along for you guys...that sucks. Also, a combo hockey/hoops facility? I thought it was going to be strictly a hoops arena...guess I was wrong on that or maybe plans have been adjusted. Having Alfond Arena, I can say that I am not a fan of multi-purpose facilities like that if you can avoid it in any way.

Hockey still drives the bus at UVM. Basketball just rides shotgun.

[Vermonster]

Not too worried that it's 9 on the list. I'm just happy it's being discussed at all!

[VTBball]

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...highest-marks-

A new arena is brought up in this article saying new progress on the arena will be released in the coming months

Officials give tournament 'highest marks'
World championship in Vermont drew largest U.S. crowd; showed improved competitive balance
11:48 PM, Apr. 14, 2012 | Comments

The IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship drew 26,205 fans to Gutterson Fieldhouse and Cairns Arena this week, the highest total in the three times the tournament has been held in the United States. / BRIAN JENKINS, for the Free Press
Written by
John A. Fantino



International Ice Hockey Federation, USA Hockey and University of Vermont officials held a press conference on the final day of the women’s world championships Saturday — a way to toss out thank yous as well as provide a verbal report card for the weeklong international competition in Burlington and South Burlington.

“I want to give Burlington the highest marks for this event,” said Dave Ogrean, USA Hockey’s executive director.

The eight-day tournament among eight countries wrapped up Saturday night with a gold-medal showdown between the United States and Canada.

Officials declared the event at Gutterson Fieldhouse and Cairns Arena an overwhelming success, from the competition on the ice, to UVM’s hospitality, to the community’s support.

“It’s hard to believe we started this on March 26, 2011, when we came (to Burlington) to make the announcement,” said Mike Bertsch, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director. “The last 385 days confirmed we made the right decision. The last 10 days have solidified that even more.”

USA Hockey officials said the 19 games combined to draw 26,205 fans, the most for a United States venue playing host to the women’s world championships. Both games between the United States and Canada sold out.

Slightly fewer than 22,000 fans attended the 2001 women’s championship in Minneapolis.

Ogrean said returning to Burlington will be considered when the United States next plays host to the women’s world championship in 2017.

“We are not giving it to you right now because we hope there are a lot of other cities that have an interest in it as well,” he said. “But there’s a great comfort level going to a place where you trust people and where you’ve had a good experience.”

When asked what he would like to see changed if Burlington were to play host again, Ogrean said he’d like to see a new rink at UVM and other countries close the competitive gap Canada and the United States have established.

Chris McCabe, UVM assistant vice president of marketing and business development, said there’s been progress in plans to build a new arena at UVM.

“We are a lot closer than we were a year ago,” McCabe said. “Because we are talking about it so publicly should be an indication of how close we are getting. We are not making any announcements this weekend, but I think you can bet to see some progress reports in the coming months.”

IIHF tournament chairman Murray Costello addressed questions about the state of women’s hockey and lack of competitiveness.

In the 14 years of the women’s world competition, USA and Canada have hogged all the gold and silver medals. They own all the Olympic gold medals, too.

Because of their dominance, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, demanded after the Vancouver games that other countries be more competitive for women’s hockey to remain an Olympic sport.

“We are trying to get this game up and running because we were issued a challenge in Vancouver after the Olympics when Jacques Rogge said the women’s game has to get more competitive, more parity, more balanced if we want to keep our spot in the Olympics,” Costello said Saturday. “I think you are beginning to see that now.”

Twelve of this year’s women’s world championship games were decided by two or fewer goals while nine were decided by one goal. Another encouraging sign was Switzerland winning its first bronze medal.

Still, Costello admits it will take time to close the chasm between USA and Canada and the rest of the world.

“The possibilities are very promising,” Costello said. “It would be nice to see a real difference in 2013. We may not see what we want, but I think by 2018 we will — where six or eight nations could compete for gold.”

[UVM Hoop Cat]

Very encouraging remarks by McCabe, and I'm even more encouraged by the pedigree of the people on the UVM Foundation.

[icemchine9]

http://www.wcax.com/story/17654505/in-the-works

More hints coming...

[Patch]

Much like UA's new multi sport facility (Football Stadium)as long as they're talking about it there is a shot it's going to get done. At UA it was a decade of chatter.

[dnapolit]

No exciting news on the arena front just another idea. Burlington recently changed the tax code for parts of downtown to make it more tax friendly to redevelop the dense urban core (I know Burlington doesn't truly have a dense urban core but lets pretend.) Part of Burlington that's included in this TIF (Tax Incentive Finance) District is the area where Memorial Auditorium sits. In addition to Memorial you have the vacant 1960's Motel and a parking lot. That represents half a city block and is located in the heart of Burlington. How about a public/private partnership between the city and UVM to tear down Memorial and the Motel and build the new arena on that half block? Seven Days recently ran an article about Memorial and flatly stated that it is not considered a historic property which would pave the way for demolition. It's also terribly outdated and incredibly inefficient. Think about how many more people would attend games if they were happening only steps from Church St., restaurants, and bars. The one big impediment would be parking. The only solution I can think of would be underground parking which must be wildly expensive given all the utilities buried in that part of the city but I really think it's a win win for both the university and city if they could make something happen on that site. I know the university is really committed to keeping the arena on campus but I believe the bottom of Main/College street is an extension of campus. Much of the housing on those streets is dominated by students and Waterman is only a few blocks to the east. I really do think you would see more fans attend games if you built something in the heart of city as long as you gave them a place to park.

[c00per]

It's true that it would be a great location. It would be great to have a competing venue bigger than the Flynn in the downtown area for touring shows, too. But I don't think the city would be into it considering the parking problem.