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1985Hokie's picture 1985Hokie | 10 years 7 months # | Cassell Coliseum Catch-All Thread - Likes, Dislikes, Wants, etc.

Great post.

FYI- Virginia does not permit use of state funds for athletic facility construction. Would have to be privately funded unless Whit can convince them the large majority of use will be for general student use, but think that would have little chance.

Chris's picture Chris
TEEMING WITH INTEL
| 10 years 7 months # | Best Moment of '15

Best moment on the field: The comeback against UNC in regulation, we could have let it get away from us but we fought til the final whistle, offense and defense, for Frank.

Best moment overall: (tie) Watching the halftime video messages when Deangelo Hall thanked Frank for being the father he never had and I lost it. The three way BeamerBud hug.

VPIhokieME's picture VPIhokieME
'_'
| 10 years 7 months # | Most head scratching moment of '15 season?

I think we're straying off topic a bit. Again, I haven't seen the London-Stroman incident so I can't really comment on it. It looked like Dadi hit the ref intentionally. That is how I see it without O&M glasses on. He was penalized and subsequently suspended for the first half of the UVA game. I think we can probably move on now. We're only going to see Dadi in Maroon and Orange one more time and I'd rather celebrate his career than debate his intentions when he drew a personal foul penalty for hitting (by mistake or not) a ref. That is such a small fraction of the things he has done here at VT. He has been a good DE for us and I'm going to miss his fire and motor.

Vtkey's picture Vtkey
| 10 years 7 months # | Cassell Coliseum Catch-All Thread - Likes, Dislikes, Wants, etc.

I like the ideas in general, but what's the rough estimated cost, in both dollars and seating?

If I were Whit, I'd be considering this kind of thing, but I'd likely wait until I thought it could actually bring in revenue, and I'd also be weighing it against the number of seats they'll lose.

It's not just about revenue, as I'm guessing Cassell is paid for at this point. It's about fan experience. If you cut the number of seats, you'll be excluding fans from some of the more exciting games that I anticipate will be coming in the next few years. So you have to weigh that against the fans who will be using the premium seating. I agree that they could use some premium seating, but how much is needed, and what's the real cost and break-even point?

Also, what is the opportunity cost in terms of the raucous atmosphere we want in Lane for those Duke and UNC games?

In other words, I think we need to think of this in terms of "What problem are we trying to solve?" While I want a nice arena, I'm hesitant to give up a significant number of seats in one of the smaller basketball arenas in the ACC.

This article, from 2009, rates the venues in the ACC. It rates Cassell at number 2, behind Duke. While not scientific in the least, it considers how hostile a forum is to opposing teams.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/d1scourse/2009/jan/13/arena-rundown-ranking-the-accs-homecourts/

I think it has the reputation of being pretty austere, but hostile to visiting teams. So I think there's room for improvement, but I'm hesitant to remove 1/5 of the seats for some luxury boxes, if that's what we're talking about. I'm a little on the fence about it, though, if they want to put in some boxes and they can do that without significantly cutting the seating.

Hokie_x3_Hi's picture Hokie_x3_Hi | 10 years 7 months # | Most head scratching moment of '15 season?

Not sure it is really. London, being emotional, jumped up and down and at the very least pushed Stroman. It's certainly not with the same force from Dadi's incident, but I fully believe that a coach hitting a player is much worse than a player hitting a ref. Unless of course it's the incident from out in Texas where the coach told the players to spear the referee in the back. But coaches are held to a far higher standard than the players.

vtdlang's picture vtdlang | 10 years 7 months # | Cassell Coliseum Catch-All Thread - Likes, Dislikes, Wants, etc.

Thanks for chiming in fernley, I was hoping you'd make an appearance in this thread.

And your point about the corner suites not fitting Cassell is a good one - I like the ideas you're highlighting in that photo as well. The endline loge boxes would fit nicely in front of the media & expanded ADA sections they installed last year (seen in the background below):

That way the opposite end can be a wall of students. Speaking of the students, I like the suggestions others have made to get them closer to the court on the sidelines as well. In your diagram, the green rows of color seats could be constructed to have the front rows slightly elevated and then students could be standing in the rows below. That way you could get the atmosphere of having rowdy crowds on the sidelines but not interfere with the sightlines of premium seat holders.

VTMikeO's picture VTMikeO
| 10 years 7 months # | Best Moment of '15

Best game: Beating UVA. Again. Watching the Frank/Shane/Bud celebration one more time.

Personal happy moment: Running into Frank at the Miami team hotel, him hugging my wife (they know each other), and him thanking us for traveling to support the Hokies. It was the right time for him to go, and I truly believe Fuente was the 100% best hire, but it won't be the same. Frank feels like family.

VPIhokieME's picture VPIhokieME
'_'
| 10 years 7 months # | Best Moment of '15

Beamer being carried off the field at Lane North

VPIhokieME's picture VPIhokieME
'_'
| 10 years 7 months # | Most head scratching moment of '15 season?

I haven't seen the video of the alleged incident between Stroman and London so I cannot comment on it. I will wager that it is completely different from Dadi hitting the official.

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