Playing on campus vs. off campus & mascots..

[tornado]

probably nowhere is this a more current argument than at UW-Milwaukee...
of course lots of issues are hot topics there....they are even trying to change their name but efforts are going slow...
They don't want to be UW-M, or UW-Milwaukee - they want people to call them the Milwaukee Panthers.

But just as they changed gears 2 or 3 times in regards to moving back and forth from the downtown Milwaukee arena to their tiny on-campus Klotsche Arena - now they have hired a new Athletic Director..
The new AD is apparently in favor of going back downtown to the larger arena for now - but also hints at rebuilding the on-campus arena and maybe some day moving back there...however fundraising and costs will probably be prohibitive.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/panthers/braun-will-build-carefully-at-uwm-kf9ui2d-207641181.htm

BTW - there's even a move on by some to change their team nickname back to what it was in the 1st half of the 20th century..
they were the Milwaukee Green Gulls (or more correctly Milwaukee State Teachers College Green Gulls)..
It probably won't get very far but some Milwaukee fans want to go back to the GREEN GULLS - they are wearing some flash-back baseball jerseys to celebrate the GREEN GULLS.

https://www.uwmpanthers.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/041513aac.html

[tornado]

after flirting with the idea of moving all their home games into the small on-campus arena....
this past year Milwaukee played only 13 scheduled games at home and only 11 were against D-I opponents...
8 were played downtown in Milwaukee (US Cellular Arena) and three were played at Klotsche Center on campus - capacity about 3000 - this is where Bradley played them this year - LINK

Anyway - it's good that they didn't carry thru with their downsizing-idea of playing all the games at Klotsche - as they had a pretty successful season and drew well over the Klotsche's small capacity for several games (5815 for Valpo)

Now they are having a big surge in season ticket requests....winning will do those things...

Speaking of arenas - here's a ranking of all 351 Division I schools' home arenas...
The rating is based on ...
"several categories including: food & beverage in the arena, the overall atmosphere,
the neighborhood in which the arena resides, the fans, the access (including traffic,
parking, restrooms, and ability to move around in the arena), overall return on investment,
and a catchall category for any extras."

Click on each to read the more detailed entry...here's Bradley's

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/carver-arena-s792

Bradley's Carver Arena is rated #58 - not bad - they do not list Ren-Col

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/news/03-28-2014/599/college-basketball-arena-rankings-2014?utm_content=buffere307c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

ISU's arena is ranked #82, U of I 230th!
WIU 326th (explains Mo's move?) and SIU 18th!

[tornado]

in the context of on-campus arena -- I happened to run across this from 2006

http://lydia.bradley.edu/hilltopics/archives/pdf/Hilltopics-v12i4web-2006fall.pdf

it is the plans and the discussion of fund raising for the new construction & new arena as written in 2006.
Interesting read - it turned out at least as good as was expected - everyone did a great job.
Caterpillar, Markin, Turners, other private individuals, etc...all the gifts are well appreciated...

[tornado]

after flirting with the idea of moving all their home games into the small on-campus arena....
this past year Milwaukee played only 13 scheduled games at home and only 11 were against D-I opponents...
8 were played downtown in Milwaukee (US Cellular Arena) and three were played at Klotsche Center on campus - capacity about 3000 - this is where Bradley played them this year - ...

UW-Milwaukee just made their big decision - they were gonna move to their small on-campus arena where they had a higher profit margin ****...
but decided to stay in the bigger downtown arena and have now signed a LONG term 10-year naming rights agreement

http://uwmilwaukeepantherarena.com/categories/3-uwmilwaukeepantherarena/documents/15-about-us

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/marquette-university-uw-milwaukee-take-differing-stances-in-downtown-arena-debate-b99399932z1-284259221.html

but - no sooner did Milwaukee sign the deal - now something new is up...
the arena might be demolished to make way for a BRAND new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks that could well also be the home for Marquette basketball...
This would leave UW-Milwaukee starting from scratch looking for a new place to play as they'd be at least 3rd in line to get dates at the new arena if both the Bucks & Marquette Warriors are ahead of them.

BTW- the Milwaukee Bucks may leave Milwaukee and move elsewhere if there's not a brand new arena up and running soon - or at least ground broken by 2017.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/arena-construction--not-just-plans--linked-to-bucks-lease-b99346176z1-274230051.html

http://www.biztimes.com/article/20131125/MAGAZINE03/311219984

****
"Recently, UWM moved its program back on campus to the Klotsche Center.
Though the move at the time was made to help promote additional student attendance,
it turned out to be a serious mistake. The Klotsche Center is at best a glorified high school gym.
When recruits visited the facility, it was noted that some of their own high school facilities were more adequate.
Money was put into the Klotsche Center to bring it up to higher standards, but it was still what it was
originally meant to be: a physical education building."

[Da Coach]

I have been talking to some Marquette people about this- The new arena in Milwaukee will probably get built in the near future, once Milwaukee works out all the kinks. The current Bradley Center (actually now called the BMO Harris Bradley Center) was opened in 1988, just 6 years older than the United Center in Chicago or the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. But it is way more outdated and obsolete. Because of the lack of space and limited luxury suites (where much of the revenue comes from), the city of Milwaukee is in danger of losing the Milwaukee Bucks. Their lease with the Milwaukee arena is up after the 2017 season, and the NBA may not allow the Bucks to stay there because of its limitations.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/jane-pettits-son-calls-for-demolition-of-bradley-center-for-new-arena-b99358424z1-276952511.html

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/bradley-centers-future-raises-larger-tax-questions-for-milwaukee-tk9ef5v-201779251.html

The Bucks and Marquette are both on board with the new arena, if and when it gets built, but UW-Milwaukee is not. They just signed a new 10-year lease to play in the older, smaller U.S. Cellular Arena. However, the people planning the new arena are eyeing the same property the U.S. Cellular Arena sits on. It will be interesting how it works out.

[tornado]

Princeton is doing something kinda unique this season - although it's similar to what Bradley has done in the past...

Princeton has scheduled one "throwback" game this season (an early non-conference game vs. St. Peter's) in their small on-campus arena
that they have not used since 1969.
Their old Dillon Gymnasium was used as their home court since the 1940's and seats 1,500.
Their usual & current home arena seats 6,854.

http://www.goprincetontigers.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=210307189

If you recall, Bradley did exactly this on Dec. 1, 1993 - when we played Illinois Wesleyan as a regular season home game but we played at the old Fieldhouse
- which had not been used for any regular season games in over a decade.
(BU won 81-63 in front of 5,205 fans)

[PTownHawkeye]

As a younger fan, that's the only time I've ever seen BU play at the Fieldhouse, although I've seen dozens of high school games there.

In that game, Anthony Parker had a dunk that has been in BU highlight reels for 20 years...would have been a freshman I believe.