New Illini Ice Arena?

[illinicb]

Originally Posted by KL1517

Most universities simultaneously fund raise and build when they want to either revamp and existing facility or build a brand new one. Illinois preferring to raise all or nearly all of the funds ahead of time means that it takes forever to get something done,

Hard to beleive someone would build something on spec in hopes they can raise the funds, but I will take your word for it.

IIRC, to get your name on a building, you had to pledge half the cost of the buidling and put half of that up front. I might be wrong on the numbers but there was (is?) some criteria for a building.

On a side note, people forget that the operating costs of a building can be significant and while most of us think about the cost of a building in terms of bricks and mortar, the university has to absorb the expense related to the operations of any new facility and the only ones that have any kind of revenue stream that I can think of are MS and AH. I guess Harker Hall does since it houses the UIF.

[KL1517]

Originally Posted by illinicb

Hard to beleive someone would build something on spec in hopes they can raise the funds, but I will take your word for it.

IIRC, to get your name on a building, you had to pledge half the cost of the buidling and put half of that up front. I might be wrong on the numbers but there was (is?) some criteria for a building.

On a side note, people forget that the operating costs of a building can be significant and while most of us think about the cost of a building in terms of bricks and mortar, the university has to absorb the expense related to the operations of any new facility and the only ones that have any kind of revenue stream that I can think of are MS and AH. I guess Harker Hall does since it houses the UIF.

Arkansas has one currently in the works. They've got a grant and some private donations, and will have to have a lot of the cost secured (but not all by any means) before construction starts. Their latest renovations are for football operations facilities, locker rooms, training rooms, basketball practice facility, and competition facility for women's sports.

[etakappapsi]

I used to play for the Illini Hockey ACHA D1 Club team and due to the fact that we were a club, I was exposed to a lot of interaction between the University and our team. That being said I thought I'd share some of that information with you so you all can have a better understanding of the potential for a D1 NCAA hockey program at Illinois.

As a club team, the Illini Hockey program is funded entirely by player fees (about $1500 per player/season) and gate/merchandise sales. The team also has a large number of costs that it must cover in order to play each season including paying the university to staff each game, to rent the ice for each game, to rent the ice for practice 4 times per week, advertising, etc. After all is said and done, the team has been able to turn a profit over the last couple of years, operating on a 6 figure budget, as the popularity of hockey has increased both on Campus and a regional scale (the Blackhawks winning obviously helped).

Even though the club team has operated at a profit and has the third highest game attendance per season of all sports on campus (average 800-1000 per game with an all time high of around 2000), there are still too many things standing in the way for Illinois to field a D1 NCAA hockey team in the near future. Using the current ice rink for a D1 team is not an option due to the fact that the NCAA requires a minimum seating capacity of 4k-5k for all new D1 NCAA hockey teams (seating capacity at the current rink is ~1250) and the rink is not regulation size. Another problem is that while hockey may have proved that it is in demand in C-U, it is pretty far down the list of sports the AD would like to add. Mens swimming and men's soccer are both sports that could be added to the Illinois AD for significantly less money and without having to add new facilities to the university.

In the end the crux of whether or not Illinois ever gets a D1 NCAA hockey program depends on money and Title IX. Penn State would likely never have added a program if their donor hadn't donated upwards of $80 million to cover not only the cost of the new rink but also scholarships for both the men's and women's teams in the early years of the program. I've met a lot of Illinois Hockey alumni and even our most prestigious alumnus (he's an astronaut) hasn't been able to drum up the support needed to create a D1 NCAA program. Sorry for the length and the negative outlook, but I don't see this happening anytime soon.

[carmelillini]

Originally Posted by KL1517

Arkansas has one currently in the works. They've got a grant and some private donations, and will have to have a lot of the cost secured (but not all by any means) before construction starts. Their latest renovations are for football operations facilities, locker rooms, training rooms, basketball practice facility, and competition facility for women's sports.

The Hogs also have the Walton and Tyson families living 20 miles from campus.

[saleen970]

The UofI ice arena got a new floor and air conditioning in 1997, I worked on the floor project. The original floor was in really good shape but started to heave in the middle due to frost caused by running the rink year round, believe it was 14ft deep. Use to shut it down and open the doors in the summer months. The old floor now has warm water running through it as an insulation barrier and the new floor is on top. The equipment is in pretty good shape really. I believe when built in the 1920s that it was the largest indoor rink in the world. It is also a couple feet short of being able to host speed skating events. I would hate to see it torn down, place has character.

[Oskee Mayer]

Originally Posted by doho19

The teams such as Wisconsin, OSU who play where they play basketball, the ice is not always in so they practice at the local community rinks when the ice is not set...

There is a practice sheet at the Kohl center-behind the ticket window by the main entrance.

[chubbyphillips]

if they want to add a sport, I have one that is or requires:

1. no investment in facilities
2. Is television friendly
3. Is growing nationally at a unbelievable clip
4. Illinois is exploding in talent at the younger levels
5. NCAA finals draw 60,000 plus
6. Would fill TV programing time on the Big Ten Network when no other major sport is filling time
7. already has a club team in place and other Big Ten members in division 1
8. You could fund the whole program for 13 scholarships the cost of travel and coaching, thats it
9. you could add a womens program to balance title nine with many of the above features

This is such a no brainer it is comical, as you could be up and running in DI in 5 years

[Shief]

And? What is it lacrosse? Rugby?

I still say hockey would fit Illinois very well. The club team won a national club championship when I was in school a few years ago, I dated a girl on the girls team for a little while but I would be in favor a different women's sport but I don't know what.

[chubbyphillips]

Originally Posted by Shief

And? What is it lacrosse? Rugby?

I still say hockey would fit Illinois very well. The club team won a national club championship when I was in school a few years ago, I dated a girl on the girls team for a little while but I would be in favor a different women's sport but I don't know what.

You got it= lacrosse

New Trier and Loyola drew about 2k for their game a couple of weeks ago

[Shief]

Not a terrible idea but we are not the ACC, Big East, ... with teams like North Carolina, Maryland, Duke, John Hopkins, Syracuse, ...

I personally think the new Ice Arena is way past due and I think hockey would catch on a lot faster and be more of a tertiary revenue sport behind football and basketball. For those still waiting on my arena design, I am still working on it. I have been mega busy with work and I am a perfectionist and the designs I've come up with just aren't right.

Lacrosse, not a bad idea but something for another thread and another day. I think we would have to build up the track/soccer stadium to include lacrosse.

[doho19]

Originally Posted by chubbyphillips

if they want to add a sport, I have one that is or requires:

1. no investment in facilities
2. Is television friendly
3. Is growing nationally at a unbelievable clip
4. Illinois is exploding in talent at the younger levels
5. NCAA finals draw 60,000 plus
6. Would fill TV programing time on the Big Ten Network when no other major sport is filling time
7. already has a club team in place and other Big Ten members in division 1
8. You could fund the whole program for 13 scholarships the cost of travel and coaching, thats it
9. you could add a womens program to balance title nine with many of the above features

This is such a no brainer it is comical, as you could be up and running in DI in 5 years

The argument on adding lacrosse is not what is being debated. We are not talking about adding a sport just to add a sport, its about adding a sport that is a Big Ten sport. I am pretty sure there are no Big Ten schools with mens' lacrosse and the only women's team I am aware of is NU.

So if you look at it from a Big Ten office/BTN persepective there is no money in that for the conference. Now if they started Big Ten lacrosse that is a different story.

I am not saying its a bad idea or sport, and I think that the Big Ten will get on that train someday soon, becasue you are right, the sport is growing.

Which brings me to my point which I think I have made already....

The Big Ten wants as many hockey teams as possible, and is doing their best to help schools find, money, donors, etc to get programs off the ground.

Someone above who played for the Illini Hockey club made points on why they don't think this will happen at Illinois. Those were all great points about why it wouldn't happen in the past. But things are different now with "backing" of the Big Ten and adding it as a conference sport.

I was involved with the club for many years and I am sure I know the above poster very well, but from what I am hearing about the conferneces involvment and help, I believe Illinois will have a team in 5-10 years along with a handful of other Big Ten schools who did not before.

[illinicb]

Currently UM, OSU and PSU have lacrosse teams at the varsity level.

I personally think that lacrosse is a much better sport to target because of the related expenses, facilities and a women's team would be easier to field as well. The BT may be pushing for hockey, but I suspect the expense not only to start a program, but sustain one (two with women's) are significant.

I live in an area that is a hot bed for both hockey and lacrosse at the high school level. Hockey still has more visibility at the moment, but the growth in lacrosse has been incredible over just the last few years. I don't have statistics to back it up, but I know that local baseball teams have lost a fair number of kids to lacrosse. I'm not as sure about it on the women's side.

[doho19]

Originally Posted by illinicb

Currently UM, OSU and PSU have lacrosse teams at the varsity level.

I personally think that lacrosse is a much better sport to target because of the related expenses, facilities and a women's team would be easier to field as well. The BT may be pushing for hockey, but I suspect the expense not only to start a program, but sustain one (two with women's) are significant.

I live in an area that is a hot bed for both hockey and lacrosse at the high school level. Hockey still has more visibility at the moment, but the growth in lacrosse has been incredible over just the last few years. I don't have statistics to back it up, but I know that local baseball teams have lost a fair number of kids to lacrosse. I'm not as sure about it on the women's side.

UM just announced the addition of their team on Wednesday, so yes lacrosse is making its way. And I probably would see it being added as a B10 sport in the near future.

But you are right, hockey right now is till much more visible, and from the conference office perspective, has much more earning potential in terms of tickets, advertising (tv and in arena), postseason, etc.

We will see what happens, I don't think that the survey would have been sent out about the new ice arena if it wasn't on the radar.

[illinicb]

Originally Posted by doho19

But you are right, hockey right now is till much more visible, and from the conference office perspective, has much more earning potential in terms of tickets, advertising (tv and in arena), postseason, etc.

I meant that hockey was more visible at the high school level where I live, but that probably is true in general at the collegiate level at the moment.

From the BT office perspective, they see some hockey programs that are revenue (not sure net positive) producing, but probably no lacrosse programs that are revenue sports. I don't even know if the traditional lacrosse schools draw crowds and if they are paid crowds.

My son and I went out for breakfast this morning and those sessions always involve discussions about sports. I asked him about lacrosse and hockey (he is in eighth going to HS next year) and he said he has a lot more friends that are playing lacrosse now. Very unscientific and there are probably a lot of kids playing soccer as well, but I thought it was interesting.

[illinicb]

Looking at the NCAA lacrosse rankings lacrosse rankings there are only a few schools (that I recognize) in the top 61 that are outside the east: OSU, ND, Air Force and Denver.

The NCAA hockey rankings hockey rankings show a little more geographic diversity but mostly east and midwest still. I always found it interesting that some of the top hockey schools are smaller and known for no other sports.

[doho19]

Originally Posted by illinicb

Looking at the NCAA lacrosse rankings lacrosse rankings there are only a few schools (that I recognize) in the top 61 that are outside the east: OSU, ND, Air Force and Denver.

The NCAA hockey rankings hockey rankings show a little more geographic diversity but mostly east and midwest still. I always found it interesting that some of the top hockey schools are smaller and known for no other sports.

That's right... for example Colorado College is a DI hockey school, and that is the only sport that is DI and they have about 3,000 students. And alot of those smaller schools are out east where hockey is a big thing just like lacrosse.

Just like you, I am not sure about the economics of lacrosse and if admisssion is charged and if so how much.

Someone did make a point that the NCAA Championship draws 60,000, which is great but it is in Baltimore every year, which is in the middle of 99% of the lacrosse world.

The Frozen Four sells out every year and has a ticket lottery for new accounts, and it moves all over the country in more recent years being in Minnesota, Detroit, Washington DC, Florida, and California. Yes it is a smaller venue, but alot of the tickets sold go to fans from many different schools who are hockey fans and just want to see some good hockey, not just the schools in the Frozen Four that year. There is a big following.

I would be curious to see if the lacrosse championships were any where outside of the the east coast/new england area, if they could draw the same numbers and get people to travel.

[illinicb]

Originally Posted by doho19

I would be curious to see if the lacrosse championships were any where outside of the the east coast/new england area, if they could draw the same numbers and get people to travel.

Probably not. I think most of the championships are held in areas that will allow for better attendance. Some sports are down to so few schools that they almost rotate the location among the schools. I believe sports like gymnastics and wrestling are held at places that are more "conducive" to getting a crowd. Golf may be changing going forward. They are holding it at the Okie State course this year, but I think they will be going to more neutral venues in the future.

[ilphotog]

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/pol...arch-park.html

The expansion area also includes a site where Fox and others would like to develop a new $15 million ice arena east of the I Hotel and Conference Center, but that wasn't the driving force for the land transaction, officials said. Fox said they are still trying to put together financing for the 100,000-square-foot ice arena, which would contain two sheets of ice.

Good to hear this is back on the table as a possibility.

[Shief]

Hope this will turn into something great. Now what will come of the existing Ice Arena location?

[ijustkrushalot]

$15 million for 2 sheets?

this should put the varsity hockey chatter to rest, right?

[Wokker]

Originally Posted by carmelillini

I hope they keep the old one as well. Lots of memories of watching games in the mid 70s. The Old Style induced crowd chants of "TORA! TORA! TORKAR!" are as real as today as the flashy Illini center, Bobby Torkar, made a rush down the ice with his waist length mane flying behind him. Good times.

Those chants have been replaced by the likes of "Na na na na na na....you suck!" and "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! (to the opposing goalie after an Illini goal). Hockey fans are so friendly