Bradley facilities

[BradleyBrave]

Sounds like they're finally getting close to doing something. This is only about 20 years overdue, but I guess you could say that the Sweet 16 was about 50 years overdue. We like to take our time on the Hilltop ya know.

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/032906/BRA_B9CMOLHR.071.shtml

[tornado]

Hope people remember that when Jim Les was selected as coach, he and others predicted that within a few years Jim Les would help to raise the funds and begin the action of getting state of the art facilities on campus. This has been a decades long desire that has been held up by lack of funding and negative publlic opinion.
There were doubters that this could be accomplished by Jim Les.

I wonder if anyone noticed how this guy Les is prophetic!!

[thefish7]

Hope people remember that when Jim Les was selected as coach, he and others predicted that within a few years Jim Les would help to raise the funds and begin the action of getting state of the art facilities on campus. This has been a decades long desire that has been held up by lack of funding and negative publlic opinion.
There were numerous doubters that this could be accomplished by Jim Les, and some who still exist today have conveniently forgotten their claims that Les would never be able to get this done.
One of them writes for a local newspaper.

duh.......wonder if anyone noticed how this guy Les is prophetic!!

I just wish what I was reading indicated that the men would be playing on campus also...

[tornado]

Quote from PJ Star (November, 2004)

"The ocean of optimism that gushed over the program and its true believers when Les was crowned head coach in April 2002 has drained...."

"A group of staunch BU fans ....were battling doubts."

"I guess," one said, "maybe this is what happens when you hire someone with no coaching experience."

"Impatience is growing"

"Bradley hasn't won the MVC or been to the NCAA since 1996. In the interim, four Valley rivals have made multiple trips to the NCAA, and Creighton has been there five times. Braves fans justifiably look at the Bluejays' success and say, "Why them and not us?"

"Bradley fans loved him as a player. Not all, however, liked the idea of Les as head coach."

"...Les is blamed for every loss, every player defection and the failure of the university to make any sort of move toward a permanent solution for its pitiful on-campus athletic facilities. These fans expected to be back in the postseason by now, and they hold Les accountable."

duh.......wonder if anyone noticed how this guy Les is prophetic!!

No way the crowds or the parking that would accompany mens basketball would fit on or near the campus.
Bradley's home facility (Carver Arena) is far, far better than most schools of Bradley's size. We really have nothing to complain about..

[BradleyBrave]

Hope people remember that when Jim Les was selected as coach, he and others predicted that within a few years Jim Les would help to raise the funds and begin the action of getting state of the art facilities on campus. This has been a decades long desire that has been held up by lack of funding and negative publlic opinion.
There were numerous doubters that this could be accomplished by Jim Les, and some who still exist today have conveniently forgotten their claims that Les would never be able to get this done.
One of them writes for a local newspaper.

duh.......wonder if anyone noticed how this guy Les is prophetic!!

I just wish what I was reading indicated that the men would be playing on campus also...

Jim knew that if he could put a winner on the floor, the money would come flowing in. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. To Jim's credit, he put a winner out there...and then some! It took 4 years, but the visions finally came to fruition. All of BU Nation (yes, it is a nation, I saw it first hand) is very grateful. Now it's time to use this foundation to build the consistent winner we've all been waiting for.

As far as playing on-campus again - that's probably never going to happen again. With that being the case, hopefully after the Civic Center expansion is done, the PCC can devote some money to renovating Carver. The concourse and restrooms could use some major remodeling, even if it's just the flooring. Perhaps an Allstate Arena-type renovation could be done.

[dogsrus]

Let BU play ONE year at the new practice facility while the inside of the arena gets a major overhaul including luxury boxes etc.

[swimmermdg]

Hope people remember that when Jim Les was selected as coach, he and others predicted that within a few years Jim Les would help to raise the funds and begin the action of getting state of the art facilities on campus. This has been a decades long desire that has been held up by lack of funding and negative publlic opinion.
There were numerous doubters that this could be accomplished by Jim Les, and some who still exist today have conveniently forgotten their claims that Les would never be able to get this done.
One of them writes for a local newspaper.

duh.......wonder if anyone noticed how this guy Les is prophetic!!

I just wish what I was reading indicated that the men would be playing on campus also...

Jim knew that if he could put a winner on the floor, the money would come flowing in. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. To Jim's credit, he put a winner out there...and then some! It took 4 years, but the visions finally came to fruition. All of BU Nation (yes, it is a nation, I saw it first hand) is very grateful. Now it's time to use this foundation to build the consistent winner we've all been waiting for.

As far as playing on-campus again - that's probably never going to happen again. With that being the case, hopefully after the Civic Center expansion is done, the PCC can devote some money to renovating Carver. The concourse and restrooms could use some major remodeling, even if it's just the flooring. Perhaps an Allstate Arena-type renovation could be done.

You are definately right, there is nowhere near enough room for a full arena, you would need to knock down more then just Haussler.

[thefish7]

Hope people remember that when Jim Les was selected as coach, he and others predicted that within a few years Jim Les would help to raise the funds and begin the action of getting state of the art facilities on campus. This has been a decades long desire that has been held up by lack of funding and negative publlic opinion.
There were numerous doubters that this could be accomplished by Jim Les, and some who still exist today have conveniently forgotten their claims that Les would never be able to get this done.
One of them writes for a local newspaper.

duh.......wonder if anyone noticed how this guy Les is prophetic!!

I just wish what I was reading indicated that the men would be playing on campus also...

Jim knew that if he could put a winner on the floor, the money would come flowing in. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. To Jim's credit, he put a winner out there...and then some! It took 4 years, but the visions finally came to fruition. All of BU Nation (yes, it is a nation, I saw it first hand) is very grateful. Now it's time to use this foundation to build the consistent winner we've all been waiting for.

As far as playing on-campus again - that's probably never going to happen again. With that being the case, hopefully after the Civic Center expansion is done, the PCC can devote some money to renovating Carver. The concourse and restrooms could use some major remodeling, even if it's just the flooring. Perhaps an Allstate Arena-type renovation could be done.

You are definately right, there is nowhere near enough room for a full arena, you would need to knock down more then just Haussler.

That's what the housing behind Haussler is for (stadium space). The Civic Center is a fine venue, but it's a bit small in that it keeps us from hosting things like NCAA regionals, and it being off-campus is for me a major problem. The basketball team exists for the students, and having the games a couple of miles away from campus is a problem for them... I also don't understand concerns about parking. For one thing, anybody been to a Cubs game? They don't have any parking either... for the other if you're shelling out for a stadium, the parking comes cheap.

Anyway, don't misunderstand me, new facilities would be great, especially in that the students could enjoy the new rec facilities, and also that state of the art training facilities should really pay a recruiting benefit for our programs... but I'll always be looking for that on-campus basketball stadium.

[egib52]

Hope people remember that when Jim Les was selected as coach, he and others predicted that within a few years Jim Les would help to raise the funds and begin the action of getting state of the art facilities on campus. This has been a decades long desire that has been held up by lack of funding and negative publlic opinion.
There were numerous doubters that this could be accomplished by Jim Les, and some who still exist today have conveniently forgotten their claims that Les would never be able to get this done.
One of them writes for a local newspaper.

duh.......wonder if anyone noticed how this guy Les is prophetic!!

I just wish what I was reading indicated that the men would be playing on campus also...

Jim knew that if he could put a winner on the floor, the money would come flowing in. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. To Jim's credit, he put a winner out there...and then some! It took 4 years, but the visions finally came to fruition. All of BU Nation (yes, it is a nation, I saw it first hand) is very grateful. Now it's time to use this foundation to build the consistent winner we've all been waiting for.

As far as playing on-campus again - that's probably never going to happen again. With that being the case, hopefully after the Civic Center expansion is done, the PCC can devote some money to renovating Carver. The concourse and restrooms could use some major remodeling, even if it's just the flooring. Perhaps an Allstate Arena-type renovation could be done.

You are definately right, there is nowhere near enough room for a full arena, you would need to knock down more then just Haussler.

That's what the housing behind Haussler is for (stadium space). The Civic Center is a fine venue, but it's a bit small in that it keeps us from hosting things like NCAA regionals, and it being off-campus is for me a major problem. The basketball team exists for the students, and having the games a couple of miles away from campus is a problem for them... I also don't understand concerns about parking. For one thing, anybody been to a Cubs game? They don't have any parking either... for the other if you're shelling out for a stadium, the parking comes cheap.

Anyway, don't misunderstand me, new facilities would be great, especially in that the students could enjoy the new rec facilities, and also that state of the art training facilities should really pay a recruiting benefit for our programs... but I'll always be looking for that on-campus basketball stadium.

I agree with Fish...if they could put an arena on the hilltop, it would result in more students coming to the games. Right now it is too inconvenient, especially the mid-week games. Bradley has been buying up a lot of the houses around campus to expand. They were doing it 3 years ago when I was still there. We made movement to getting that arena talk started while I was there. If we will have any chance to get high-level opponents and talent we need a huge upgrade. Parking is no big deal, you can shuttle from downtown, or offer neighborhood parking. This is basketball, not MLB, there aren't as many home dates so it wouldn't be a huge inconvenince. I think they can knock down part of the neighborhood, and get us an Allstate type arena. Furthermore, while I was there they were supposed to have a ground breaking for a new rec center. We even were making prototypes for the building, and student senate was making suggestion. Hopefully, they get things rolling now.

[crpacey20]

[/quote]That's what the housing behind Haussler is for (stadium space). The Civic Center is a fine venue, but it's a bit small in that it keeps us from hosting things like NCAA regionals, and it being off-campus is for me a major problem. The basketball team exists for the students, and having the games a couple of miles away from campus is a problem for them... I also don't understand concerns about parking. For one thing, anybody been to a Cubs game? They don't have any parking either... for the other if you're shelling out for a stadium, the parking comes cheap.

Anyway, don't misunderstand me, new facilities would be great, especially in that the students could enjoy the new rec facilities, and also that state of the art training facilities should really pay a recruiting benefit for our programs... but I'll always be looking for that on-campus basketball stadium.[/quote]

I dont really think the Cubs can be compared. They do have limited parking, plus people opening up their garages....the big thing is they have the train.....that helps a lot......and really that is the main reason they are talking about getting RID of wrigley (how dare i say those words!)

and we arent out of the loop or anything by not being able to host an ncaa regional.

[dogsrus]

[quote=". The basketball team exists for the students,




The basketball team exsists because OF the town of Peoria, its faithful fans and Alumni..PERIOD.

It does NOT "exsist" for the students.....

The lame excuse that its not convient doesn't fly.....its NO further now from BU to PCC than in 86 for the Hawk years or in 96 for AP.

People like me will go to games and support BU winning or losing....Students will only go for a winner with all apologies to the 7 that DO attend.

If it wasn't for the faithful fans of the City of Peoria BU would be DII at best.

[egib52]

It does NOT "exsist" for the students.....

The lame excuse that its not convient doesn't fly.....its NO further now from BU to PCC than in 86 for the Hawk years or in 96 for AP.

People like me will go to games and support BU winning or losing....Students will only go for a winner with all apologies to the 7 that DO attend.

If it wasn't for the faithful fans of the City of Peoria BU would be DII at best.

I disagree with that totally. On the basis it does not exsist for the students. Bradley is a University, the team is comprised of students, and therefore is there for the students. I agree that the community support is huge. However, if you want student crowds like they have at U of I, where the student section is huge, you have to make it more convenient. Yes it was the same distance back then, but I guarantee it was just as tough for the students. When I was at BU, you had to catch a bus down there, and if you had homework or other organizations it was tough to catch the bus when needed. Regardless of how much community support there is, the students should be part of the heart because those are the people who know that athletes and are friends with them. I made it downtown most of the time (when I had a car), but I am just saying more students would be prone to go if it was on campus. I have been to many games and when the student section is full there is a lot more energy. I would also love to see the students on a sideline, but I am sure that will never happen.

[Fetz86]

I think the main problem for students not attending basketball games is apathy. The "Bradley Basketball Fans" group of facebook grew a lot during the tourney, and I called them out on not actually going to games. It is NOT inconvient to walk to the student center and get on a bus for a 2 minute ride downtown to watch the game. The problem is one of caring, not convience. And we win most home games anyway so it shouldnt be a matter of "if they win more, more people will show up."
It is the students who dont care enough to go, or who just sit there the whole game without any standing or cheering.

An upgrade of facilities is important, but an on-campus arena is not. I dont think Bradley has the resources to buy out the necessary space, and construct a suitably large arena on-campus right now anyway.

[Fetz86]

The only way to get U of I size student crowds is to greatly increase enrollment, or make students sign a contract saying they will go to games. It worked for i think Georgia Tech or Wake Forest, where the coach recruited a large number of kids to go to the games and made them sign that they would be there.

[egib52]

The only way to get U of I size student crowds is to greatly increase enrollment,

Sorry, I knew that comment would get taken out of context. I didn't mean the size, I meant the kind of student support they get. Although I do agree that there is a lot of apathy. Kids (outside of the Peoria area) don't grow up BU fans. I grew up a U of I fan by Joliet. Therefore when kids come to BU its because of the academics. I just feel if it was closer to campus (I am talking ideally, not necessarily realistically) that it would aid in the students attending the games....thats all.