Bradley publically announces plan for new arena

[squeaky]

The worst kept secret in Peoria--

Plans for a 4,500-seat arena that will replace Robertson Memorial Field House and for a new student recreation center are expected to be unveiled by Bradley University next week.

http://pjstar.com/stories/081906/TRI_BANB2C5K.027.shtml

[chitownBUB]

How sad, the Fieldhouse is slated for demolition!

[tornado]

So the PJS concedes that this news has been known for months.
Why have they been attacking Bradley for keeping secret something that's not secret?
And why do they still say details are secret when they are not?
Is this their way of spinning their tardiness in getting this story?
Did they have the same reporters on this case that did the piece reporting that Manual Cass had signed with Bradley?

"Bradley has been showing the plans to selected groups of alumni, Braves Club officials and potential donors for several months. A scale model of the project has been on display in the Alumni Center and has been shown to various groups, along with blueprints and a 3D video.

It's been widely known for months that the university has had a project in the works, even if the details have been secret."

[tornado]

I have seen and read some people who are criticizing Bradley's plans and saying BU completely dropped the ball and they should have planned for an arena on campus big enough for mens basketball.

There really aren't any such proponents on this board, and I have a feeling most of them are just the garden variety BU-bashers looking for just about anything to criticize. But this is a topic worth addressing, and here was my response.



Seems some of the posts in this thread haven't put much thought into this whole thing.
The feeling up on the hilltop is pretty much presently just what it was in the 1960's and 1970's.
Everyone knew even back then that BU needed to upgrade and find a solution to playing their games in a WWII hanger.

Bradley was never going to be able to compete at the D-I level unless they could get a great, basketball facility and they knew it had to be downtown where the road access, hotels, parking, restaurants, and media are.
Everyone has known for decades that the traffic patterns, streets, parking, etc. simply would not allow for a huge arena and parking anywhere near the campus.
Is everyone who seems to think BU dropped the ball unaware of this?

Back in the late 60's Bradley and the city of Peoria looked into buying up all the properties on the north side of Main Street. I know---I lived in one of those houses!
If they could acquire them all, then Main was to be widened and moved to the NORTH, and the property used for an arena and parking.
In the end both BU and the city thought it was way too expensive as many of the homes that bordered the campus were very fine and expensive homes, and there would still be the residential pattern of traffic to deal with that would ultimately doom any plans to bring 4,000 to 6,000 cars into the neighborhood.

Then when the city began the studies and the plans for the downtown Carver Arena, it seemed that this was a great solution that was going to please everyone.

Now we have people wanting to go back to that old drawing board from 30-40 years ago. It couldn't be made to work then and it simply cannot be made to work now. Reminds me of the slaves leaving Egypt in the Exodus, then longing to go back into slavery!!
NEWSFLASH!!! Bradley mens basketball draws 11,000+ for home games, and no other sport does. Those 11,000 plus media, team busses, and vendors bring up to 6,000 vehicles, trucks, equipment, etc.!
If BU is going to build on the hilltop to accomodate mens basketball, there isn't enough money, land, or city resources to make it work.
I can't believe there are so many people who fail to see that.

It would infinitely worse than trying to jam a square peg into a round hole, and just as soon as it finally gets declared a horrible and costly mistake, then the same few people who are crying now about BU making a mistake, will just jump on the next such bandwagon and cry even louder about the worse mistake.
BU has done very well to get this present plan working. I have seen the plans and heard the presentation. It is an absolute masterpiece given the tight boundaries and requirements the city will impose.
Not one person (or newspaper) who is presently spewing criticism could possibly have done it any better.
Credit should be given where credit is due.
The BU people have worked hard and long and have come up with a superlative plan.

[flipper]

the overall student body needs better facilities more than the basketball team. most of the time when i go to work out, i can't find an available machine.it was so frustrating i finally joined landmark to get my workout in. too bad for me this will be completed when i am gone but as an alumnus this will be a good thing.

[McFly]

I have seen and read some people who are criticizing Bradley's plans and saying BU completely dropped the ball and they should have planned for an arena on campus big enough for mens basketball.

There really aren't any such proponents on this board, and I have a feeling most of them are just the garden variety BU-bashers looking for just about anything to criticize. But this is a topic worth addressing, and here was my response.



Seems some of the posts in this thread haven't put much thought into this whole thing.
The feeling up on the hilltop is pretty much presently just what it was in the 1960's and 1970's.
Everyone knew even back then that BU needed to upgrade and find a solution to playing their games in a WWII hanger.

Bradley was never going to be able to compete at the D-I level unless they could get a great, basketball facility and they knew it had to be downtown where the road access, hotels, parking, restaurants, and media are.
Everyone has known for decades that the traffic patterns, streets, parking, etc. simply would not allow for a huge arena and parking anywhere near the campus.
Is everyone who seems to think BU dropped the ball unaware of this?

Back in the late 60's Bradley and the city of Peoria looked into buying up all the properties on the north side of Main Street. I know---I lived in one of those houses!
If they could acquire them all, then Main was to be widened and moved to the NORTH, and the property used for an arena and parking.
In the end both BU and the city thought it was way too expensive as many of the homes that bordered the campus were very fine and expensive homes, and there would still be the residential pattern of traffic to deal with that would ultimately doom any plans to bring 4,000 to 6,000 cars into the neighborhood.

Then when the city began the studies and the plans for the downtown Carver Arena, it seemed that this was a great solution that was going to please everyone.

Now we have people wanting to go back to that old drawing board from 30-40 years ago. It couldn't be made to work then and it simply cannot be made to work now. Reminds me of the slaves leaving Egypt in the Exodus, then longing to go back into slavery!!
NEWSFLASH!!! Bradley mens basketball draws 11,000+ for home games, and no other sport does. Those 11,000 plus media, team busses, and vendors bring up to 6,000 vehicles, trucks, equipment, etc.!
If BU is going to build on the hilltop to accomodate mens basketball, there isn't enough money, land, or city resources to make it work.
I can't believe there are so many people who fail to see that.

It would infinitely worse than trying to jam a square peg into a round hole, and just as soon as it finally gets declared a horrible and costly mistake, then the same few people who are crying now about BU making a mistake, will just jump on the next such bandwagon and cry even louder about the worse mistake.
BU has done very well to get this present plan working. I have seen the plans and heard the presentation. It is an absolute masterpiece given the tight boundaries and requirements the city will impose.
Not one person (or newspaper) who is presently spewing criticism could possibly have done it any better.
Credit should be given where credit is due.
The BU people have worked hard and long and have come up with a superlative plan.

So everybody should agree with it and be supportive because you have seen the presentation and deem it superlative. If I think its a bad idea then I havent thought it through very well?
I am glad you like the plan, but please stop with the arrogance that you know better than anyone else. For the record, I think its great. I hate the fact that the days of games on campus are gone forever and I do not like the CC as a BU hoops venue, but there is no wayround it.

If people disagree with the plan or dont like it, isnt that their perogotive regardless of why they dont like it. I dont like oranges. They are good for me. I have thought it through for years, but I just dont like them. You can provide link after link about how good they are and how much you like them...but I will not ever like them. Does that make you better than me or smarter than me....no just different and isnt that what makes the world go around.
This situation definatley does not remind me of the Egyptians and slavery, by the way

[Biff]

Some people just like to criticize everything Bradley does. I think this plan is fantastic. Does anyone realistically think Bradley could build a large stadium for the mens games on campus? That's not possible, and totally unrealistic. The examples given of on-campus arenas, like Drake and UNI, are not comparable. Bradley, even in bad years, draws 9,000-10,000 fans, so it would have to be at least that large. That would double the cost and parking would be impossible to provide. Residents in that neighborhood would probably find some way to block a larger development.
Drake only draws 3000 fans in their cozy 7000 arena, and the seats there are less comfortable that the Peoria Civic Center's, not to mention that they have bleacher seating in the upper sections. Drake will never be able to draw good competetion into their home arena, and let's see how well UNI does in getting good schools to play there in a campus arena.
Bradley was smart to stay downtown for men's BB and develop a suitable facility on campus for everything else.

[tornado]

So .............

Nope, everyone is definitely entitled to their opinions, but since some of the people expressing opinions have absolutely no idea that the things they are proposing for Bradley to do (like build a 12,000 seat area on campus) are so ridiculously impossible, then I figured it is the job of just about any reasonable person to tell them so.
I took on that challenge and feel I have accomplished it.
If people still think they're right and that BU would have been better off building on a far more massive scale and giving up playing in the Civic Center, then I guess I can't stop them from dreaming of the impossible.

[Dallas Brave]

I think the new plans sound great. I don't know the costs of building a 9,000 seat on-campus arena at BU, but I do think the cost would have escalated dramatically. Also, I don't think the community around BU would have been very happy.

I might be wrong, but I would think today's recruits like the idea of playing in a downtown civic center with 9,000+ fans. As long as BU has proper on-campus facilities for practicing and training, then playing actual games at the Civic Center might be a nice complement for attracting recruits.

[collegehoopjunkie]

From what I have heard, it's not the game facilities that cause recruits to spurn BU.
In fact when recruits come to Carver and watch a BU game, they often go away very impressed.
They like the BIG atmosphere, the huge crowds, the noise, the bright lights, the downtown atmosphere.
But it was the on campus/practice/training facilities that lacked, and which other coaches
used as a negative recruiting tool against BU.
That's what's being addressed with this project, and I think they've done a good job.

[Dallas Brave]

From what I have heard, it's not the game facilities that cause recruits to spurn BU.
In fact when recruits come to Carver and watch a BU game, they often go away very impressed.
They like the BIG atmosphere, the huge crowds, the noise, the bright lights, the downtown atmosphere.
But it was the on campus/practice/training facilities that lacked, and which other coaches
used as a negative recruiting tool against BU.
That's what's being addressed with this project, and I think they've done a good job.

Provided that new on-campus facilities will address the practice/training needs, then it sounds like BU will have a 1-2 punch that will appeal to recruits.

[Dallas Brave]

How sad, the Fieldhouse is slated for demolition!

Not to mention the Sigma Chi House - that place has a little bit of history too

[OrangeandBlack74]

How sad, the Fieldhouse is slated for demolition!

I'm sure efforts will be made to preserve the "history" of the Fieldhouse, but Bradley really has no place else to build this type of facility.

I wonder what will happen to the HS sectional games as the new facility is built? I don't believe they can be played at the CC.

[flipper]

How sad, the Fieldhouse is slated for demolition!

I'm sure efforts will be made to preserve the "history" of the Fieldhouse, but Bradley really has no place else to build this type of facility.

I wonder what will happen to the HS sectional games as the new facility is built? I don't believe they can be played at the CC.

what has been the attendance of the hs sectional games in the past?

[tornado]

what has been the attendance of the hs sectional games in the past?

2-3,000 for games with certain teams esp.if they are out of town teams, but when it's Manual-Richwoods or Manual-Central in some recent years it's been 5-7,000.

The Fieldhouse two years ago was remodeled and room made for offices and weightlifting facilities on the north end, and 1,000 seats were removed. Some of the top seats on the south end are gone, too as they are never used.
I believe as it sits now, the Fieldhouse would max out at a little over 5,000.