Tejas_Duke wrote:

MikeR wrote:

I thought the court itself was being turned 180 degrees in the renovation. Any old seating remaining will not have the same orientation to the court. 

Don't you mean 90 degrees?  180 would just flip the endzones.
 

Yes, would be 90 degrees. But not sure if that is plan now. I could swear that at the time of the announcement it was said somewhere that the new game day alignment involved the court being oriented different from Palumbo. 

townsonkid wrote:

smack it up, flip it, rub it down, just give me good lighting, better seats, a nice design on the court, a sound system and video scoreboard.    Maybe something than cold popcorn for a snack, and a shop with new gear, not stuff from the 90s.   Thats not too much to ask for $50M, right?

I get the feeling that is exactly what we're getting. I think too many fans are expecting the place to be a palace. There's only so much you can do with 50 million, working inside the shell of Palumbo.
 

MikeR wrote:

Yes, would be 90 degrees. But not sure if that is plan now. I could swear that at the time of the announcement it was said somewhere that the new game day alignment involved the court being oriented different from Palumbo. 

Your memory isn't really incorrect. The original UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse press release promised a "new game-day layout." Some artist conceptions, like the one below, show windows similar to the ones on the Forbes Avenue side of the old building behind the end lines in the new building. I also recall during my own Duquesne days talk that the Palumbo Center could someday be expanded towards campus, building over what was then (and maybe still is) called McCloskey Field. Such an expansion would have likely led to a complete gutting of the interior and a 90-degree reorientation of the court. But based on everything we've heard about capacity of the new building and the photos of the renovation I think it's clear that the court will remain more or less where it is and parallel to Forbes Avenue.


 

I hope the Coop is like the Mullins Center at UMass. Also, do not schedule Sunday games.  Then Chic-fil-A will be an option.  Saturday night games are better. 

The Mullins Center seats almost 9500. The Coop is going to be more like 4400. I think the A10 TV commitments dictate the Sunday afternoon games. 

Face wrote:

When you are talking about drawings are you talking about the artist renderings? Or are there architectural drawings out there that I’ve missed?

This!!!!     No one know what it’s going to look like.   No one there will commit to say that the artist renderings are the actual plans.   

They are setting themselves up for people to be upset and disappointed.   Just saying.

I’m going on record now that the majority of the seats will be the same.   And that people are going to be upset come next November.   Unrealistic expectations along with being kept in the dark.

Last edited by A83 (1/06/2020 9:05 pm)

I was impressed with RMU's UPMC Events Center and beyond the two big and satisfying wins to start A-10 play, I enjoyed being in the arena. I thought it had good sightlines, my seat was just fine and that place could really be tough to play in with a packed house of engaged fans with the seats along the sidelines stacked closer to the floor. At times, it felt like being back in Palumbo, just with modern amenities and more leg room.

I'm fairly certain that the transformation from the Sewell Center to the current building was actually a gut and remodel that took about 18+ months and two basketball seasons to complete at about the same cost of the price tag of what has been reported that our renovations will cost. 

With the mention of the Mullins Center, even at half that size, I'd not want to have that style of arena for Duquesne, as IMO the best basketball venues layout wise are shaped in an octagon while Mullins is one of the few dual use college arenas for basketball and hockey. The rink pushes the permanent seats further form the floor and makes for less than optimal endzone and corner seating.  

I don't really know what's in store for what the Coop will end up being, but I'm hoping from a fan standpoint, a good video board, sound system as well as the seats are cozy with better leg room and the sightlines throughout the arena are vastly improved (the original red seats are so high and behind that glass it was like you were watching from afar while the new red seats were so poorly angled, you couldn't see the near side of the court while it got worse the lower you sat). Certainly an upgrade to the concourses and entries to seating sections would be of benefit as well.
I do wonder how much of the rumored $50M is going towards the fieldhouse over the old intramural field as well as the practice facilities, locker rooms etc.

In the end, I'm just hoping for the best that everything goes smoothly and on time for next year and we're all at least satisfied with it. If it ends up being like RMU's place, I more than can live with that as a 4,000 seat arena built primarily for basketball and modernized is the right size for the type of crowds we get. 

Brian wrote:

I was impressed with RMU's UPMC Events Center and beyond the two big and satisfying wins to start A-10 play, I enjoyed being in the arena. I thought it had good sightlines, my seat was just fine and that place could really be tough to play in with a packed house of engaged fans with the seats along the sidelines stacked closer to the floor. At times, it felt like being back in Palumbo, just with modern amenities and more leg room.

I'm fairly certain that the transformation from the Sewell Center to the current building was actually a gut and remodel that took about 18+ months and two basketball seasons to complete at about the same cost of the price tag of what has been reported that our renovations will cost. 

With the mention of the Mullins Center, even at half that size, I'd not want to have that style of arena for Duquesne, as IMO the best basketball venues layout wise are shaped in an octagon while Mullins is one of the few dual use college arenas for basketball and hockey. The rink pushes the permanent seats further form the floor and makes for less than optimal endzone and corner seating.  

I don't really know what's in store for what the Coop will end up being, but I'm hoping from a fan standpoint, a good video board, sound system as well as the seats are cozy with better leg room and the sightlines throughout the arena are vastly improved (the original red seats are so high and behind that glass it was like you were watching from afar while the new red seats were so poorly angled, you couldn't see the near side of the court while it got worse the lower you sat). Certainly an upgrade to the concourses and entries to seating sections would be of benefit as well.
I do wonder how much of the rumored $50M is going towards the fieldhouse over the old intramural field as well as the practice facilities, locker rooms etc.

In the end, I'm just hoping for the best that everything goes smoothly and on time for next year and we're all at least satisfied with it. If it ends up being like RMU's place, I more than can live with that as a 4,000 seat arena built primarily for basketball and modernized is the right size for the type of crowds we get. 

Sewell was torn down according to what I can find, but you never know.
 

Last edited by duq81 (1/06/2020 10:18 pm)

Brian wrote:

I remembered this thread from a few years back and found it on a Google search. If not a gut and remodel, there's still elements of the Sewell that were incorporated in the new building.
https://robertmorris.forums.rivals.com/threads/sewall-center-to-upmc-events-center.2630/
 

Apparently a third of the building was incorporated from Sewell. I guess you'd need to have been familiar with Sewell, and maybe able to witness the construction to know what was reused. Obviously we're using much more of Palumbo.
 

One thing I already like is that there will be at least 3 and maybe 4 of these "fan corners". Takes care of some of that wasted dead space in the corners of square arenas. Appears to be a row of seats with standing area behind them. Not sure I've seen that anywhere else. And we know it's happening, earlier thread had pics of the new steel in place.

Last edited by MikeR (1/07/2020 10:44 am)

It looks good to me but I prefer a center scoreboard similar to the NBA.  I am sure that it will leave some disappointed but that is to be expected. With the PPG available for big games the goal should be to make the arena intimate and a difficult place for others to play.  Making it state of the art and best available should never be a consideration considering the cost of education today (unless you have a donor willing to fund the coast ala Gonzaga).  I never got the chance to see the old arena but I am excited to see the renovated one.

i really like the natural light in the drawings.  But I wonder how that will work with night games and what afect it will have on shooting.  It could be a big advantage for day games.

Last edited by Dsnyder15 (1/07/2020 11:09 am)

MikeR wrote:

One thing I already like is that there will be at least 3 and maybe 4 of these "fan corners". Takes care of some of that wasted dead space in the corners of square arenas. Appears to be a row of seats with standing area behind them. Not sure I've seen that anywhere else. And we know it's happening, earlier thread had pics of the new steel in place.

Why are so many "fans" in the bottom right corner looking a tablets/Ipads? Is this a tease for some cool, interactive, in-game technology?

Last edited by phil95 (1/07/2020 8:09 pm)

phil95 wrote:

Also, isn't the super-repetitive, short-haired blond in the green tank top chilly?

Hey, she's no more repetitive than the guy in the maroon shirt. The black guy in the grey sleeveless shirt repeats as well. If the pic was bigger, I could probably waste an hour looking for matches.