New Texas Basketball Arena at the site of the Statesman

[LongestHorn]

That could work.

 

[2003TexasGrad]

Yes. Make it even further away from campus. That will improve attendance.

 

[snek]

Maybe they would set up a shuttle service to transport students to and from the arena? It would encourage students to go without the hassle of parking or transporting themselves. It would also cut down on game day traffic, somewhat.

 

[Htown77]

Yes. Make it even further away from campus. That will improve attendance.

Seriously. Is our goal for our basketball program to be entirely for all the austin residents that never show up? If it is not going to be for the students or university and instead for austin, why should UT even have a basketball program? If the demand is there (based on attendance by non UT affiliated austin residents, it is not), let some private group provide a basketball team.

 

[Horns11]

I don't mind it. Students who attend the games now will still attend the games. It's not like there's a ton of real estate waiting to be developed for a $200 million arena right on campus. Plus, the city could use a better venue. If the program was in a better condition, more would be attending now at Erwin.

I don't think there's any chance that Patterson would enter into an arena agreement without someone other than the University paying for a lot of it. There's no money to be made by building it all yourself.

 

[Htown77]

Students who attend the games now will still attend the games.

I do not agree. Have you attempted to drive through downtown Austin between 5-7 recently? I am just talking about from the capitol to campus. The traffic is horrendous. It has taken me 20 minutes to get from 7th/south of the capitol to MLK/19th on some days. Plus, what will the parking situation be and will it be available to students or foundation members? A lot of students walk from Jester over and even west campus over. I see students navigating downtown traffic and attempting to find a parking space only one time in their four years for a weekday game.

It's not like there's a ton of real estate waiting to be developed for a $200 million arena right on campus.

Tear down some of the cruddy apartment complexes near Saint David's. They just bulldozed Concordia University a few years ago.

Plus, the city could use a better venue.

I could care less with the city wants. The "city" buys rows of primo tickets and leaves them empty whether we have a good team or not. It has been going on since at least 2007. If the city wants an arena that is best for Austin, they can build it. We need to have what is best for UT and if what it is offered is not better than the drum, keep the drum.

If the program was in a better condition, more would be attending now at Erwin.

Yes more but not full. Let me tell you a story about when #10 Texas (15-2) faced #11 Texas A&M (16-1) on Wednesday, January 19, 2011. Texas won 81-60. I had bought some tickets online months in advance. As I walked up to the drum there were thousands and thousands of students walking away from the drum (the most I have ever seen attempt to attend a Texas basketball game). I asked two what happened. The system in place (and as far as I know is still in place) is there is a limited number of seats for students and its first come, first serve to those who have purchased a longhorn sports package and have printed out an online ticket. Those that do not camp out do not get in. I heard numerous students say "I am never bothering to attempt to attend one of these again." I thought "early bird gets the worm" until I actually sat down in my seats for the game. There were lots of and lots of empty seats in the lower deck. The ticket holders did not even bother to attend a game between #10 Texas and #11 A&M! The seats remained empty the entire game. I talked to friends who watched on TV and they did not think based on the crowd shots, it was a sell out! Im not talking about an empty seat here or there. I am talking about groups of 3, 4 or more empty seats. It was very noticeable. Meanwhile, a small amount of rowdy students were packed in behind the basket and in their section in the upper deck.

On top of it, the event staff treats the students like garbage at both the football and basketball games (not the baseball games for some reason as far as I have observed). I remember watching Texas play Sam Houston State in 2010(?). The students had actually filled our their sections behind the basket but the sections to the right and left of the students section were nearly empty (the arena was pretty empty except for the students). The students stand the entire game (not sure when that aggy tradition caught on.) One student and his date/girlfriend attempted to move over to the seat backs in the empty section next to them so they could sit down and enjoy the end of the blowout. The event staff swarmed and threatened to get the police and throw them out. I and my family have walked over to better seats that were not ours in similar situations as alumni and have been ignored. (If its the second half and the section is empty, what difference does it make who sits there?) I wish this was a one time occurrence but i've seen horribly disparate treatment between the alumni and students (note, I'm not talking about drunk students asking for it) for the past seven years. I've also noticed student attendance thin over that time.

I know many alumni do not care about the students. This is a terrible thought process for a variety of reasons, but I will stick to one for now. The students will be alumni one day. If they do not have fond memories of Texas sporting events as students, I doubt they will return as alumni. The policy of running off the students, giving them bad tickets, treating them like garbage, moving the stadiums far away so they will not attend, will cost us dearly in the long run. There is a reason the University of Houston would rather play on campus than in the Astrodome/Reliant. There is a reason Central Florida moved from the Citrus Bowl to an on campus stadium. There is a reason Baylor built its new stadium on campus.

If we move the basketball stadium away from campus, we pretty much have decided we would rather make money from austin events and do not care about our basketball program. The city of austin is not going to fill up our games. We are not a pro basketball team. College is different because people like to root for their own colleges. A lot of austin immigrants are not Texans who grew up rooting for the Horns. They are from all over the country and could care less about Texas sports, much less Texas basketball. On the overall, if this move happens, it would be Bill Powers killing our basketball program on his way out. I guess we got an unnecessary medical school out of it that will be full of grad students that care nothing for Texas sports, do not attend games and instead root for their own schools.

 

[harry_horns]

On the lake it will probably be a really cool attraction, and architecturally be a very nice arena. But yes, having recently graduated, one the most frustrating things was dealing with how far away the basketball games were, and I don't see how this fixes that.

Hopefully (if this even turns out to be legit) since they're building it away even further, it'll prompt the university to set up a shuttle service. The UTexas IFC set that up for the Baylor game my senior year last season as a project, and it was a huge success. The student turn out for that game was phenomenal, which made it a much more raucous crowd to rally behind our squad.

 

[cnstoll58]

If we had approved the Light Rail line in November it would have gone right next to the proposed stadium site and then thru campus on San Jacinto.

 

[Horns11]

I do not agree. Have you attempted to drive through downtown Austin between 5-7 recently?

While in college, I drove from campus to almost the exact site by the Statesman for work nearly every weekday. Sure, there were days when it sucked. But I think the shuttle aspect of the whole thing would alleviate transportation pressures.

I also think that the med school has no bearing on whether the basketball program will gain any sort of increased student involvement. You stated that those students will be cheering for their own undergrad teams, but I think med school students have bigger things to worry about. Erwin wasn't exactly going to entice recruits sans med school either.

So is the basketball program for the University or should we have loftier goals? I think one could look at the less-than-salty years from the 60s-70s and argue that while just "having" a program was really convenient for students going to Gregory and filling it with 5K fans, but we had nearly no success. Building a state-of-the-art facility, even if it's a public partnership and a paltry 20 minute shuttle ride for students, could be one of those things that changes the trajectory of the team and allows us to show off a bit more.

Not that your other option wouldn't work (tearing down more apartments and squeezing in a field house), but I think that's less likely.

 

[ViperHorn]

McCombs and DF (where the "free" parking is next to the cemetery and a walk) are not on campus in reality but fill -up when the teams are competitive. No matter where the arena is, if the teams suck no one will go, and if they are competitive on a high level the building will be full. If you have to get in your car to go to the event what difference does it make if the drive is 5 minutes or 10 minutes?

If the budget for the arena is $500 million the choices are: (1) spend 2/3'rds of that on land and infrastructure next to the campus; or spend 3/4's on the building if someone else will help pay for the land and infrastructure.

 

[Htown77]

While in college, I drove from campus to almost the exact site by the Statesman for work nearly every weekday. Sure, there were days when it sucked. But I think the shuttle aspect of the whole thing would alleviate transportation pressures.

How recently was that? I currently drive through downtown Austin and it is horrible. Austin is significantly worse even from a year ago as far as traffic. There are even more building in the works for downtown and no infrastructure. The adding of more busses seems to have, if anything, made the traffic worse.

I also think that the med school has no bearing on whether the basketball program

It would not unless it causes the stadium to be moved south of the river.

. Building a state-of-the-art facility, even if it's a public partnership and a paltry 20 minute shuttle ride for students, could be one of those things that changes the trajectory of the team and allows us to show off a bit more.

It would be great if it was next to campus. There is no possible way the shuttle ride could possibly only take 20 minutes between 5-7 in austin on a weekday. In the summer, sure. College basketball is not played in the summer. A shuttle can only take so many students at a time. It's going to take numerous shuttle runs. This is going to lead to little student attendance. Stadiums away from campus have hurt student attendance everywhere (see Baylor, Houston, Central Florida, etc.). That is a fact.

It will change the trajectory alright, it will send it downward. You put the stadium south of the river, it will be mostly empty and hurt recruiting. What is even more sad about it being empty, is that the stadium Patterson wants is supposed to be smaller.

 

[THEU]

Let me first say I love the new layout of Hornfans. Secondly, I was brought back to this site during recruiting, and this is my first post here in probably over 5 years. I used to be a regular poster, but have been absent for many years.
There are a few considerations that come to my mind. Any basketball arena for The University should be primarily just that. A basketball arena. Given that very basic idea, the facility should be on campus. Off campus sites don't work well even for football, much less basketball. Also, given Austin, the city wants a first rate venue for concerts and other special events. Before the Erwin Center was the Frank Erwin Special Events Center, it was just named, the Special Events Center. It has always been just that and it's basketball usefulness for UT has always been somewhat compromised. I understand why that happened, and know that it will be somewhat of a compromise in any new facility. If Austin is going to contribute, and they should, then they need to understand that UT needs the place to first and foremost be a facility for bball, and the functionality of an events center designed around that. It isn't that hard to do, and can be done very well (see the American Airlines Center in Dallas).
But moving it downtown, worrying about transportation issues (which are somewhere between terrible and tragic in Austin) shouldn't have to be part of the equation.

 

[Htown77]

Solid first post back THEU.

 

[shaggy refuge]

I totally agree THEU. However, I must say I saw many a great rock concert at Gregory Gym in olden times, so it's not weird for a BB venue to serve other purposes.

 

[Dionysus]

Today I learned there were rock concerts in Gregory Gym.

 

[shaggy refuge]

I saw Janis Joplin and Three Dog Night for sure. There are others but I can't call 'em at this time.

 

[TOF]

Yes. Make it even further away from campus. That will improve attendance.

Does that mean we wouldn't have to put up with the Austin American-Socialist Person newspaper any more? If so I'm for it.

 

[tchill]

At a lot of the basketball crazy schools I see on TV, the students sit at floor level all around the floor. It looks like 10-15 rows of students. Maybe do that on one side and let the sometimes there sometimes not wanna sit down the entire game alums have the other.

I watched the women play at TCU on LHN. That gym looked like a mediocre high school facility.

 

[Horns11]

TCU is using a high school gym this year. Literally. Their arena is being renovated and won't reopen until the end of this year.