I will preface this by saying I have not been in the new Moss Center, but it does look pretty amazing from the photos.
What are the thoughts on using this as a wrestling venue? When I first heard this announced, it immediately sounded like a gimmick, but I think it has the makings of being a cool, unique and intimidating venue. Cassell is certainly way too big for wrestling and the Moss Center may just be a more intimidate venue for watching VT's best athletic program this year. It will be interesting to see whether they schedule more matches there next season and what some of the wrestlers have to say about performing there.
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wow, great idea. I love it. You can watch wresting from any side or angle so having a wrapped around seats, especially with height like that almost looking on top of it, would be pretty damn cool
Gives sports fans a great reason to go to the arts center. Hell, why not?
Anything that showcases the facilities and resources of the University is a good thing. If it provides a fun or interesting venue for sports, all the better.
I will say gimmick if only because I don't see how they* can make any money off of it. After they give away tickets for players and coaches families/friends it will leave only about 800 or so tickets. Throw in the fact that matches at Cassell are free and I think it could turn away some people now that they are asking $15 a ticket or more. Virginia will probably sell out just because of who it is and Pitt has the chance to, but I don't think will. By the third match against NCST I just don't see people wanting to shell out the money unless they are diehard wrestling fans.
*To clarify, the "they" is the wrestling program and athletic department as a whole. The facility has to be rented and and they use their own concessions, so no profit for VT concessions and extra cost.
Are those who work concessions in Cassell paid or volunteers?
If it's like the concessions at Lane Stadium then most of them are people working to fundraise money for things like church groups or sports clubs
Depends on what booth probably. Hethwood market for example uses their own employees for their booth, but as far as I know will not have one at Moss. The Dairy Club milkshakes are students so they will miss out on any money from those matches. Most of the other booths are a mix of paid and volunteers as far as I know.
Since there has been a big problem finding acceptable events to schedule for the center (topic for a far different discussion), they might as well try this. I'm in favor of anything that benefits the wrestling program & enhances the perception of us providing quality sports across the board.
This is f!cking sweet. That picture makes them look like they're gladiators at the Coliseum
We should ice the drillfield and have a winter classic in the middle of campus too. The sides of the drillfield slope upward, too, so people could just bring lawn chairs.
Whit and I were chatting early last fall and he asked me if I thought this would be a good idea. He said he wanted to bring the "historical Olympic" feel to the event. Also was trying to continue to build on the buzz around the wrestling program in the community, with Alumni and in the conference. I told him I thought it would be a great idea as long as the ticket prices weren't too high.
Next thing I know it's been announced- I hope it gets great support.
ok, so turkey leg for casually dropping that you are casually chatting to Whit.
leg for insider info of said chat.
leg for being absolutely correct about what a great idea it is.
leg for being new to TKP
(I can only give one turkey leg but I would give you more)
I'm claiming that this was your idea and running with it
LOL- wasn't trying to be a name dropper. Idea was to let folks have an insight into what his thinking was regarding the venue based on a first hand conversation. I am sure he asked many of the other older Alum their opinions as well.
BTW-thanks for turkey legs!
This is me if I make it to the UVa meet:
Already got my tickets for the UVA match. Really looking forward to it.
With the program trending upward, this could prove to be a unique place to showcase our top matches. Coming up with original ideas that differ from the norm is difficult in todays world of college athletics; we should embrace them. Its kind of like the stick it in chant. Oh wait
Its a good place for a showcase match. I expect the atmosphere will be great
I think it's a gimmick. The Moss Arts Center, especially this main orchestral hall, was designed for concerts and plays. It's like how we have rap concerts and bluegrass concerts (referencing Old Crow) at Burruss, it doesn't make sense. If you get the chance, you should definitely try to attend a concert at Moss sometime, it's a phenomenal piece of architecture and something I heavily applaud Tech's admin and BOV for supporting.
So a building is limited only to what it's original design was intended?
Half of New York City and most of Europe would like to speak to you.
There is absolutely no reason why you can't hold something other than concerts and plays in an Arts Center. Nor does holding a wrestling match there undervalue the concerts and plays that are performed there.
As an architect myself, I'm proud that my designs are used as I envisioned them but what I love is to see how people use them for things that were completely unintended. If anything the fact that something as foreign as a wrestling match could be held successfully here is a credit to the architect for creating a venue that is powerful enough to hold its integrity beyond it's original scope.
(BONUS, for those architects in the TKP crowd you can tell I am con-Frank Lloyd Wright, haha)
It doesn't match though, part of any form of entertainment is the atmosphere. Does a rap concert in Burruss make any sense? No it doesn't. Would you hold an orchestral concert in Cassell? No, it doesn't provide the necessary atmosphere. I respect your viewpoint, but to me it seems almost tacky to have a wrestling competition in a music hall. You would never see a wrestling match occur in the Grand Ole Opry or the Sydney Opera House.
I think this goes into what swvadon said. If it's true that it isn't being booked for fine arts functions, why not use it for something different?
The place cost $100 million. Tech should use it as often as possible
Ah, but you see this is where you are delightfully wrong. In fact the Sydney Opera House has been a venue for many a non-concert/orchestra/theater performance. Having lived in Sydney for 2 years and knowing a ridiculous amount about this building I present you with the trivia that Arnold Schwarzenegger won his final Mr Olympia body building title in the Concert Hall in 1980. It also used to be used as a cinema focusing on Surfing movies, for the true Australian experience. Two examples among many.
I don't know as much about the Grand Ole Opry but I am willing to bet it's had it's fair share of performances that are not in it's core purview.
Maybe it will turn out to be the worst venue for viewing wrestling. maybe. But being an architect and having been a wrestler in high school I can tell you that the vantage points offered by this kind of seating is going to be exciting for real wrestling fans. What you can see straight on is actually a fairly poor representation of the sport. In actuality the best view of wrestling is like this:
the closer you can get to that the better because you will see more of the technical skill in the various moves.
I don't think it's gimmicky at all. It may suck, but I think it will be pretty cool for those that go to watch.
Been there for a jazz concert, and the acoustics are incredible. Place is definitely a heck of a concert hall. That said, no doubt it's also a sweet place to watch a wrestling match. It looks great and the atmosphere is awesome. I really hope they do more of these types of things.
Big 26-10 win tonight over Pitt. Three guys picked up some upsets and Devin Carter came back early and put up a tech fall. Look for a couple lineup changes on Sunday depending on who recovers well enough. Also, there are free tickets for students who walk up to the match, so make sure that thing is packed on Sunday vs NC State.
I've never been to moss, but wrestling is far better in smaller venues, especially when you can spot light the match. Cassel is not as great venue for wrestling because even the lower level seats are kinda far away to actually see the action.
Not a gimmick. The wrestling and other Olympic sports bleed money almost no matter what they do. This wasn't done to make money, it was done to raise the profile of the team to recruits and alumni, and probably benefit the actual wrestlers. As a former athlete, a change of venue into something that makes you feel "special", especially in a sport where you don't get many fans can get you pretty jacked up on competition day.
Also, it's probably a tactic to get more people to see other events at the Moss Center. Getting people that may never set foot in there to check it out for wrestling, have a good time there, and find reasons to go back for other things. Which is promotional tactics 101.
Either way, I think it's awesome for these wrestlers to get to experience something like this, and be center stage, so to speak. They've earned it!
Wrestling at the Moss Center is a brilliant idea. The seats aren't necessarily close, but the views and the overall venue is impressive.