After intensely studying a campus map I am totally on board with the @JohnnyMac plan.
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Wouldn’t the site that Millett is on make a good location for hotel/conf center?
Tear down Phillips! The world doesn’t need more kinesiologists. Whatever they are.
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The football program needs that major!
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I’d go the Phillips area route. As a health and sport studies major, I spent way too many hours there, I always thought it looked out of place amidst so many beautiful buildings. Surely they could do some sort of integration, Phillips has a gym that could be kept for practice (or at one point it did), keep some semblance of lab space, create modern classrooms with the arena.
I had classes at Yager, Millett, and Withrow when I was in school, definitely added to the experience.
If that gym is still there and if enough room for seating, why not a volleyball only spot attached to a new bball arena.
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As of 2016, there still were gyms in the Phillips basement (though the whole building felt very dated). I would think an arena in that location would be able to integrate a side gym for classes and/or volleyball in the same sense that Goggin accommodates hockey/synchro along with broomball/skating classes and community events.
Would it not (together with the front yard and some of the parking) make a good place for intramurals?
An interesting idea. I think the geo thermal wells would not impede too much, if at all. And if intramurals are that popular, it would get students used to going about 90% of the way to Yager! 
This is what gets destroyed if a new arena is built across from Lewis Place. No way around it no matter where on that spot it is placed. Many, if not most, of these trees are gone. Photo taken 10/26/24. It’s important for those that haven’t been there in awhile to see.
Maybe we are doing this whole thing all wrong. I mean the premise of putting it up town because the bars are close and the students will be more likely to attend. What I mean is, since it’s going to be limited seats, maybe we should gate who gets to go. Ie: you can only get free tickets as a student if you are going to actually attend and stay. You have to apply in advance. There’s a selection process. If you get picked, your food and drinks are covered every game, but you have to go or someone else gets your spot. If you had demand in advance and a waitlist (think about how Google launched emails, not anyone could get one, you had to know someone) you could put it anywhere there’s space and not destroy a historical area. Me? I still like the Millet site, but I would rezone it to have some restaurants. Knock it down and put up a convo center/arena to make money from events. Keep the sub basement idea for when teams need a place to practice if an event is booked. If you neglect this end of campus, you are actually hurting football in a way. Unless the plan is to one day rebuild Yager on Millet’s grounds, it’s a huge piece of property ready to be reused. Knock it down and get going!
Cincykid3
What are the implications of shitty student attendance at football games as we/ Miami are also contemplating where to place a new BB arena. If students are too lazy to walk to Yager and prefer an uptown bar, can we believe that a BB arena across the street from Lewis Place will be better able to attract students for either Saturday or mid-week games. If the students would still prefer bar hopping to hoops (see what I did there) does it really matter where the new BB arena might eventually be placed?
Factor in that Miami FB actually has “produced” a very watchable product these last few years having had a very respectable QB, defense and STs and it’s probably comparable to what the long-term prospects are for BB… percentage-wise W-L results… Keep in mind that it’s easier for FB to go bowling (an average of 6 MAC annual bowl invites) whereas MAC hoops remain a one bid NCAA league plus perhaps another 2 teams to other post-season BB tourneys.
Just trying to noodle through the variables…
As the poster who started this thread, I thought I would update you with what I heard today on my bike ride with the same Miami professors. Earlier this week, Miami’s planning board, which is composed of Miami faculty and staff, met with Miami’s facilities office and the development people who facilitated the gift from a donor to fund a portion of the new arena. They presented a map with a number of options for locating the arena. Number 1 on the list was the green space across from Lewis Place. That is where the donor wants it built. But even more interesting is that Lewis Place itself and the old historic homes to the west like the Lottie Moon house, was also identified as options. Can you believe this? Miami would consider tearing down Lewis Place to build a new arena! Why doesn’t Miami just buy some run down student houses and build it there? There were several other locations on the map as well. This is supposed to be presented to the university Senate in December. What I have been told is that this will generate huge opposition from faculty and some alumni and could end the Crawford presidency if he attempts to ram this through with the trustees.
The planning board is going to go public with its opposition after the meeting with the Senate in December.
Sounds like the donor has more money than brains.
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Happy, I don’t mean this the wrong way, but as a guy who is a quasi professional catfisher, I feel you are catfishing us. Or, these easy riders you went on that rolling adventure with are catfishing you. For a gazillion reasons, it would be almost impossible to tear down those structures due to various preservation laws. Maybe the goal here is to drive sympathies toward another location? Thus, I smell a fart! (I’ve got three dogs in the room as I write this so don’t take that the wrong way.) Uptown is not viable IMO. A better arena with a better product (we are there) will draw better. Even if it’s where Millett is.
Trust me, not only is it possible. It happens on a regular basis. There are buildings and other structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places that get demolished or fall into ruin through intentional neglect every year.
I only trust doctors. Because years ago, a dentist on tv told me to trust him because he was a doctor.
Thus, I’ll ask the question: Bash…are you a doctor?
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and trusting medical doctors on matters of historic preservation is like going to your auto mechanic for your hemorrhoid problem.
Who told you about that…
Hans and Fritz, your auto mechanics.
They are filthy yet fickle mistresses.