Tingey: New Arena My Top Priority

[BengalBannMan]

great comebacks. wouldn't expect you both not to defend your employer. you do have a fiduciary interest after all. and this helps with performance reviews too.

see you next season.

Donny,
I hope we don't see your input next season. No offense intended, but the world has enough negativity in it. I have no interest in ISU other than I am a local community minded individual and fan. So when I say that I appreciate the changes that has happened over that past few years, its truly from the heart. (As was our two posters you were refering to)... After going to every home football game for several years (including all those years they were struggling) I decided to do a better job supporting the women's sports as well. The women at ISU deserve more support. I realized I too may have daughters in the next several years playing college athletics, and may not be in close proximity for me to support every game. So I try to support those men AND women who ARE other people's children, hoping that in the future IF my children are playing college athletics that some people in THAT community will support my children in my supposed absence.
My point being that I hope the 18-23 year old girls/daughters missed your negative comments and impact throughout theses forums. I like to think about these kids like my own; and if they fail, we just encourage them to get back up.
Please, for the sake of these hard working kids.... just STOP. Be positive.

 

[otis campbell]

Somewhere it was mentioned Tingey looked at the attendance figures for the past 15 years to come up with the 4,000 seat figure. Basketball is in decline, nationwide. The NCAA womens coach(National Champions, again) had an interview which you all should google. He said, other than about ten programs nationwide, interest just isn't there.
One poster on eGriz came up with attendance figures for UM and MSU since 1978, which illustrate the decline. Its the figures, not the schools, that is the telling tale. I'm sure Tingeys figures bear out the overall picture.

Here are the attendance numbers starting from 1978:

1978: #44 - 8,204 per game. Cats #230 at 1,460 per game.
1979: #56 - 7,175 per game. Cats #102 at 4,808 per game.
1980: #69 - 6,393 per game. Cats #91 at 4,963 per game.
1981: #61 - 7,028 per game. Cats #112 at 4,263 per game.
1982: #53 - 7,436 per game. Cats #134 at 3,701 per game.
1983: #62 - 6,986 per game. Cats #158 at 3,052 per game.
1984: #65 - 6,876 per game. Cats #119 at 4,104 per game.
1985: #68 - 6,915 per game. Cats #125 at 4,029 per game.
1986: #59 - 7,511 per game. Cats back in the top 100 at #98, 4,905 per game.
1987: #77 - 6,274 per game. Cats at #75 with 6,413 per game.
1988: #76 - 6,574 per game. Cats at #64 with 7,382 per game.
1989: #76 - 6,416 per game. Cats at #86 with 5,920 per game.
1990: #101 - 5,589 per game. Cats at #99 with 5,663 per game.
1991: #91 - 6,160 per game. Cats at #95 with 5,890 per game.
1992: #76 - 7,034 per game. Cats at #84 with 6,260 per game.
1993: #82 - 6,233 per game. Cats at #96 with 5,580 per game.
1994: #91 - 6,047 per game. Cats not in top 100 at 5,720 per game.
1995: Not in top 100 with 5,688 per game. Cats #86 with 6,474 per game.
1996: Not in top 100 with 5,327 per game. Cats #92 with 5,892 per game.
1997: Neither in top 100. Griz at 4,787 per game. Cats at 5,081 per game
1998: Griz - 4,455 per game. Cats - 5,214 per game (Neither in top 100)
1999: Griz - 2,306 per game (Sentinel Gym). Cats - 4,867 per game.
2000: Griz - 4,462 per game. Cats - 4,445 per game.
2001: Griz - 3,569 per game. Cats - 4,197 per game.
2002: Griz - 3,668 per game. Cats - 4,691 per game.
2003: Griz - 4,491 per game. Cats - 4,293 per game.
2004: Griz - 3,605 per game. Cats - 3,644 per game.
2005: Griz - 3,472 per game. Cats - 3,758 per game.
2006: Griz - 4,977 per game. Cats - 3,596 per game.
2007: Griz - 4,041 per game. Cats - 3,024 per game.
2008: Griz - 4,230 per game. Cats - 4,768 per game.
2009: Griz - 3,713 per game. Cats - 3,387 per game.
2010: Griz - 3,382 per game. Cats - 3,389 per game.
2011: Griz - 3,996 per game. Cats - 3,228 per game.
2012: Griz - 4,005 per game. Cats - 2,922 per game.
2013: Griz - 4,497 per game. Cats - 2,523 per game.
2014: Griz - 3,562 per game. Cats - 2,259 per game.

The days of big arenas seem to be over.

 

[Spudhead]

Oh I agree the attendance trend is down. But that doesn't mean it always will be. Like I have said before, it's dumb not to use the arena for other events when it's possible. So the question is, can you attract those events easier with a 4,000 or 5,000 seat arena? An active arena would be great for the local economy and ISU, so don't build it so small that it's not a factor from the get go. At least build it so that it can be added to without any considerable reconstruction.

It's called planning. :nod:

 

[bengalman]

Why should ISU spend extra money to build a bigger arena that benefits the community? The community had their opportunity to support ISU with the bond a few years ago and they clearly didn't. I say it's gonna be hard enough to build a 4000 seat arena. Not a lot of $20 million donors out there. 4000 seats with adequate parking, concessions and bathrooms would be perfect for ISU.

 

[sasquatch]

Why should ISU spend extra money to build a bigger arena that benefits the community? The community had their opportunity to support ISU with the bond a few years ago and they clearly didn't. I say it's gonna be hard enough to build a 4000 seat arena. Not a lot of $20 million donors out there. 4000 seats with adequate parking, concessions and bathrooms would be perfect for ISU.

The community said it didn't want to get stuck with increased property taxes to take care of state property which had been severely mismanaged and ignored for 30+ years. For the record, I wish it had passed, but I can see why it didn't.

This needs to be a facility dedicated to basketball October through March, give or take. However, being able to rent it out for events will, as has been mentioned before, alleviate the maintenance costs associated with such a facility. Why would ISU care if it benefits the community or not? From my experience, the more bridges built between ISU and eastern Idaho citizens, the better. An economic boost will come back and benefit ISU through more revenue and donations. That's not to say a 4,000 seat arena built right isn't the answer. It very well could be. But I would hope it's certainly explored if adding more seats now or in the future would be financially feasible and advantageous.

 

[SDHornet]

Just an outsider chiming in here, but I think pushing it to 5k would be more versatile of a facility. But if 4k is all you need then great. $20M seems pretty low, but maybe that is just the “skeleton” and other amenities (suites, training rooms, offices, etc) can be added at a later date.

Sac State (finally) just launched an effort to raise seed money for an events center. The projected capacity is just over 5k, which I think is low but with the Kings building a new downtown arena I guess we really don't need anything much bigger than that. Ours has a price tag of $125M.

 

[Skippy]

Just an outsider chiming in here, but I think pushing it to 5k would be more versatile of a facility. But if 4k is all you need then great. $20M seems pretty low, but maybe that is just the “skeleton” and other amenities (suites, training rooms, offices, etc) can be added at a later date.

Sac State (finally) just launched an effort to raise seed money for an events center. The projected capacity is just over 5k, which I think is low but with the Kings building a new downtown arena I guess we really don't need anything much bigger than that. Ours has a price tag of $125M.

I agree that $20 million seems low and I doubt there will be any suites, but holy crap Hornet, how could there be $105 M disparity between what you guys are building to seat 5000, and what ISU wants to build to seat 4k? You guys gold plating the toilet seats in Sac?

 

[SDHornet]

Yeah I have no idea. Obviously labor costs are a lot more in CA vs ID, but by 600%!?! Since the planned event center is designated to host a variety of sporting events (hoops, volleyball, gymnastics) and campus events (conventions, concerts, graduations) I’m guessing there are a lot of ancillary rooms/add-ons needed to support those events. I think this will include some training rooms, coaches offices, and suites as well.

Also part of the event center wraps around an existing parking structure (top right of the image above).

 

[otis campbell]

The tax angle is real, just check out Bannock Co. taxes. I have FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA!!! State school, State problem. The problem has been ignored for a very long time. Reed Gym it is Until demand forces some new direction.

 

[Moose31]

I think the arena at Grand Canyon University is a better example of what should be considered and what actual costs would be. It was constructed in 2011 is 5,000 seats and came in at 40 million. It has lots of bells and whistles, so costs could be reduced, but it would be an amazing centerpiece for both sports and entertainment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM0gYrjAFBE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[/url]

 

[SLCBengal]

Portland State awarded the construction contract for its new Viking Pavilion. It's $32M, seats 3,100 in the arena portion, but also includes an academic center (i.e. classrooms)...

Read more: GoViks.com: The New Viking Pavilion

 

[mighty_bengals]

From a source that's definitely in the know, it looks like we could have the finances needed to construct a new basketball gym here a lot sooner than you may think! And one poster here stated that we'd never be able to build a new gym within his lifetime.

 

[Skippy]

From a source that's definitely in the know, it looks like we could have the finances needed to construct a new basketball gym here a lot sooner than you may think! And one poster here stated that we'd never be able to build a new gym within his lifetime.

You have to think ISU has at least a "lead donor" lined up before publicly announcing that an arena is now the top priority. A new arena would certainly give the program a much needed shot of adrenalin. As I noted above, I hope there is an emphasis on "quality over quantity" in the design and execution. When the Dome (now Holt Arena) was built, it was financed on such a shoestring that a lot of corners were cut (Including those ugly multi-colored seats, which I think I read they bought second-hand.) If they can make this a quality product for the players, coaches and fans, it will be a huge step forward.

 

[Skippy]

I enjoyed this article about how the designers of Boise State's new football lockerroom facility (also priced at $20 M, by the way) went about incorporating the BSU "brand" in their work. They met with several players to pick their brains, giving the team a sense of "ownership" in the facility. If ISU gets to the point of design on a new basketball arena, I would hope they'd take a similar approach:

http://populous.com/posts/design-details-communicating-the-brand-at-bleymaier-football-complex-at-boise-state/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[SLCBengal]

Kyle Franko had a couple of tweets from yesterday regarding Jeff Tingey and the arena...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ByKyleFranko/status/637004099360174080[/tweet]

 

[Skippy]

Kyle Franko had a couple of tweets from yesterday regarding Jeff Tingey and the arena...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ByKyleFranko/status/637004099360174080[/tweet]

My broadcast partner and good friend Mark went to the press conference and will have a more in-depth story in the Twin Falls paper on this topic soon. It sounds promising, but they have to get the two major donors to sign on the dotted line.

:thumb:

 

[sasquatch]

The Beach Boys drew probably 5,000 to 6,000 fans tonight at the new Portneuf Amphitheater. I hope there is still an eye on attracting events to a reasonable sized arena, with ISU taking precedence of course.

 

[Skippy]

The Beach Boys drew probably 5,000 to 6,000 fans tonight at the new Portneuf Amphitheater. I hope there is still an eye on attracting events to a reasonable sized arena, with ISU taking precedence of course.

They are still talking 4,000 to 5,000 seats, and frankly, we already have plenty of capacity for concerts of that size in Pocatello: the ISU Performing Arts Center, the ShoBan Convention Center, now the Portneuf Amphitheatre and soon the new Events Center that Grace Lutheran is going to build and lease to the Convention District. Throw in the Blackfoot and Idaho Falls Performing Arts Centers, and there is almost a glut of "mid-sized" shows in the area right now.

What the area needs is a venue for larger, big-name concerts. ISU is talking about strengthening the rafters at Holt -- hopefully one of the goals is to make them strong enough to support the lighting and video infrastructure of major concert shows. That has been one of the things preventing big name acts from coming to Holt in recent years.

 

[NewBengFan]

Has there been any developments in the construction of the new arena? Has funding been secured? Site proposed? Conceptual designs? Anything at all??

 

[Skippy]

Has there been any developments in the construction of the new arena? Has funding been secured? Site proposed? Conceptual designs? Anything at all??

Last I heard fundraising had hit a dead end when one of the two major donors backed out. It will be interesting to see if they move all games to Reed this year. I know that was under discussion.