I would say put it where Follet’s used to be, or Attractions.
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Riverboat. Keep a practice space on campus. Then make the short drive to THE ONLY FLOATING ARENA (and movable to meet new fans at every turn along the alluvial floodplain) IN ‘MURICA!!! Get on board, granny. We sail tonight!
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Welcome to the REDHAWKS HOT HOUSE!
Just give out Chipotle mini burritos every game with hot sauce.
SPICY RED OUT GAMES!
Knock down the Hueston Woods lodge and put it there. But keep the paintings of the Miami Indians in the basement. Those are sweet!
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If Miami is having trouble fundraising to build an arena on property they already own why on earth would they be even considering building on property with an uptown price tag?
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Id imagine the anticipated increase in foot traffic and the absolutely great addition an arena would be to uptown
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If they ever build anything, and I will likely be dead before that happens, they need to put a big sign on it that says “Brick Street Annex” and then maybe students will show up!
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Would it though? In an area that already struggles with parking availability and traffic flow who would benefit from an increase in that on event dates?
We know that the economic impact of sports arenas is wildly overstated and the net gain for the uptown/city economy could even be a negative one considering the loss of residents and tax revenue of the displaced properties.
The minimum price tag to buy the property for the arena alone is probably $20 million and more likely double or triple that.
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I simply don’t see where there’s any space. I think building on the slant walk is an obvious no and buying out a block of property for an arena also seems unrealistic. My best bet would be maybe one of the corners of Campus/Spring? Close enough to say uptown but also to use some of the parking for Goggin.
I think it would be an obvious improvement for student attendance being much more central, and I assume uptown restaurants would be excited about the potential for people to park for games and be a short walk away. Not like a pro sports arena where some consultants are going to come up with numbers of how it would pay for itself with tax revenue though.
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To me, the better play (beyond the riverboat angle) would be to get rid of the giant lawn in front of Millett and move the building entrance to the street. Then you can tell the students who say it’s too far “we moved it 150 yards closer to you. Now quit bitching!”
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I can’t remember if they remodeled Phillips Hall, or not. I can see them tearing down Phillips Hall, and the building the big tower is attached to, to make room for a facility.
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And because I have time, the square footage of the Phillips Hall area is 4,000 more than Millett Hall, so Miami does have the space to relocate the basketball teams. It would also give them the opportunity to tie in student academic space to the building as well.
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The top two spots for any new arena construction landing are likely the lawn in front of Millett or the Phillips Hall location.
The Phillips space may be a bit of a squeeze but is probably feesible. Using Google earth it looks like you would need approximately a 400’ x 400’ area minimum. That area is right around 400’ wide between the main sidewalk and Oak St sidewalk. If you could utilize it as academic space and/or recreational space that would be a big bonus towards getting something built.
Campus and Spring has about the same width constraints as Phillips but I’m not sure it would be very PC to tear down the building recently dedicated to the first black graduate and the Alumni Veterans Memorial for an arena.
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Ya ain’t tearing down my memorial!..Honestly though, hopefully something happens in the next year or two…
I was hoping something would happen in the next month or two, if not a week or two. At 73, I am too old to wait a year or two.
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Hell’s bells! At 74, I’m hesitant to buy 2024/2025 season tickets. Time is growing short for at least three things for me: grandkids, a Seattle Mariners trip to the World Series and a new and improved basketball arena for Miami!
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As I mentioned in another post, Ross Chaifetz is a name to remember in the quest for a new and/or improved bball arena. His father, Dr. Richard Chaitetz donated $12M for the naming rights for the 10,000+ seat St Louis U bball arena. Ross is a 2015 MU grad and a member of the MU Athletic Directors Circle. Thanks to Blues, we also know that his wife is a Miami grad.
Maybe a MU Chaifetz Arena?
This is a previous gift Chaifetz’ made to Miami. I just don’t believe they are going to support Miami athletics, but maybe I am wrong.
https://www.givetomiamioh.org/s/916/22/landing-int.aspx?sid=916&gid=1&pgid=602
https://www.givetomiamioh.org/s/916/22/landing-int.aspx?sid=916&gid=1&pgid=8761
I found it quite interesting when Chaifetz decided to fund SLU’s basketball arena, there was an outcry over whether it was keeping with “SLU’s Jesuit ideals”. There was even an article written about it “Did SLU sell its Jesuit soul for a sports arena?” in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and then a long thread on the Billikens sports message board. Let’s just say some people raised an eyebrow over this, and the timing of the article shortly after Richard Chaifetz agreed to fund it. Richard Chaifetz is Jewish. Richard and Jill are major donors to the Illinois Holocaust Museum.
While the idea of an arena uptown is an exciting possibility for several reasons, I have preferred Cook Field as a terrific location. It is closer to students, has easy access, in and out, from south and north on 27 and 73. Plenty of room for parking. And MU already owns the property so no need to purchase uptown commercial properties and incur the costs of demolition and removal of present bldgs.
I do not know when or why Cook was deemed “untouchable”. I no longer care why it was deemed hands off. That was many years ago.
The location makes so much sense. I hope it is seriously considered if we are going to build a new arena.
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Those gifts were made by Dr/Mrs Richard Chaifetz. I agree that they have and are inclined to give to Farmer or other non-athletic causes.
Ross, however, is interested in Miami athletics. How interested is impossible for me to say. But his inclusion in the AD Circle indicates he has an interest in Miami athletics. Whether or not he has deep pockets is unknown to me. But I must assume that the AD identified him as an athletic donor.
Hope is not a plan. But, there is a connection which may include a major gift now or in the future from Ross and his wife.
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