For a weeknight game between EMU/Ball State? Less than zero. For a premium game like a rivalry matchup, P5 team, or during a good season you’d come close to selling out. Most games would fall somewhere between, which means you’d design the facility with that type of capacity in mind instead of the levels you’d see at a major program. The CSU New Belgium porch is unrealistic for Miami to attain, but doesn’t mean that a similar concept isn’t doable.
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CSU level engagement would be hard for us to attain? Would love to know why. I view that school as on par athletically football wise with us.
Build it and they will come
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Im actually very surprised that Miami hasnt made a determined effort to build that pressbox/box seating. Statues > Revenue
“Premium” would be $29.
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Weeknight games are a buzz killer.
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Here are some interesting stats…much gleaned from Wiki.
CSU is located in the middle of a “city” with more than 160,000 inhabitants. The Metro area is 360,000. The CSU student enrollment (undergrad and grad) is over 34,000.
Denver, 60 miles away, has a population of over 700,000 and a Metro population of over 2.9 MM and is a popular landing spot for CSU graduates. Boulder, CO, essentially a Denver suburb, has a population of 108,000, and is home to the Univ. of Colorado with 30,000 students…and is an annual CSU opponent quite like Miami vs UC.
Cheyenne, WY is 45 miles to the north, has 65,000 inhabitants and the U of WY, another CSU annual conference opponent, has 12,000 students.
Colorado Springs is 133 miles to the south, has a population base of 480,000. It is also home to the Air Force Academy, a second CSU annual conference rivalry…
The CSU FB facility is really a terrific venue. Even with all these annual rivalries located relatively close to Fort Collins, CSU still struggles in bad FB years to sell out their 36,500 seat stadium (41,000 can actually be accommodated). In a really bad year, they have trouble putting 12,000 fannies in the seats…
In the six years the stadium has been in operation, the largest crowd was 37,583 and they have only topped 30,000 in attendance on 12 occasions…but keep in mind they have only played 31 home games since opening.
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Our AD David Saylor has lost quite a bit of weight and actually looks younger and healthier now than he did 6 and a half years ago. Congratulations on that. I do think that Coach Steele and Coach Box need to do their part my creating championship level programs and then I think Mr. Saylor can probbly get people to commit the money.
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The statues come out of an endowment specifically for the cradle.
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I was part of that 37,583. Fun time, good game, and a great facility.
Laramie (UW) is a little further from FC than Cheyenne - but your broader point stands. Fort Collins is nothing like Oxford.
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Welcome Back Chief!
The fact Miami has literally one of, if not the worst, arena and practice environments in the MAC is embarassing. Millett was a dump in the 90s let alone today. It has served its purpose and the time has come to build new or completely renovate the arena. And get a practice court not in the basement without windows and more than one court. High schools have better facilities.
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There is only one thing that will help with this, and that is oodles of donation money.
“No bucks? No Buck Rogers!”, as someone once wisely said.
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I don’t think Millett is a "dump per se, but obviously it needs major internal renovations and reconfiguration of the seating.
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I’ve been around several mid-major D1 basketball families. Millett is a dump. Wright State makes it look like a JUCO facility (their practice facility is nicer than Millett as a whole). BG makes it look like a joke. There are maybe one or two MAC programs that are worse, but it’s close.
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Millett in no way could be considered “a dump.” Considering it is more than 50 years old, it is well-maintained and attractive. The problem with it is that it was build as a “multipurpose arena” with seating and elevation that lends itself far more toward a concert or performance venue than a classic basketball arena. Multi-purpose arenas have fallen out of favor during the past 20 years in football, baseball and basketball. The only one in the MAC that seems to still work is Ohio’s Convo. I haven’t been in there in decades but I don’t hear much dissatisfaction with it coming from Athens.
Ball State and BG both built arenas far more suitable to hoops in recent years. Elon built one here in NC, too. There are obviously others.
The cost of building a new arena in Oxford isn’t a line item on anyone’s budget at the present time. I think an attempt to make Millet more favorable to basketball is ongoing this offseason. Maybe that will help.
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there are plenty of ways to consider it a dump. ask any player, coach, recruit what they think of Millet and its amenities and gameday experience. A 50 yr old arena’s time has come and gone, served its purpose. Invest in it just like any other building on campus. it should be put into the 5 year plan and budget. Schools all have money that they have no idea what to do with which is reflected in all the construction going on at every campus, Miami included.
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Party of one here, but I think ultimately what will make the new arena happen is success. When we make a run in the dance. There will be more interest. And before that as we start winning more games every season, more fans show up and it shows the issues of the space. Maybe to more who aren’t acutely aware. Crowds force the hand for change: The longer lines for concessions, lack of rest rooms, seating challenges, whatever. I actually do think it could happen in the next 5 years.
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Just curious, when is the last time you’ve been in Millett? IMO, age doesn’t matter. A high school athlete doesn’t care if your arena is 10 or 100 years old, they care about about quality and amenities. No recruit is saying, “I’ll give this building a pass because it’s multi-purpose and 50 years old.” Have you seen the practice court in Millett? It looks like a 70 y/o elementary school gym. It’s bad among D1 facilities. I stand by my statement there are only 1 or 2 worse facilities in the MAC.
Compare that to this: Mills Morgan Center / Setzer Pavilion - Facilities - Wright State University Athletics
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#RaiderUp