Huntsman Center Upgrades and Basketball Facility

[Diehard Ute]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865580015/Utes-basketball-Proposals-being-considered-for-Huntsman-Center-improvements.html

Pretty good read on some possibilities

[LA Ute]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865580015/Utes-basketball-Proposals-being-considered-for-Huntsman-Center-improvements.html

Pretty good read on some possibilities

Cool. Very nice to see these things under way or being discussed.

[SoCalPat]

Cool. Very nice to see these things under way or being discussed.

What is the seating of the JHC in the lower bowl? Any guesses?

I also think we would be wise to eliminate 2-3 rows of seats in the upper bowl, and have a second draping there. My guess is that seating in the lower two-thirds of the arena would be about 10-11K, which is ideal. We're not going to create a raucous home-court advantage by filling the JHC, but we can create one by artificially making the JHC smaller.

[Diehard Ute]

What is the seating of the JHC in the lower bowl? Any guesses?

I also think we would be wise to eliminate 2-3 rows of seats in the upper bowl, and have a second draping there. My guess is that seating in the lower two-thirds of the arena would be about 10-11K, which is ideal. We're not going to create a raucous home-court advantage by filling the JHC, but we can create one by artificially making the JHC smaller.

10,000

Gymnastics would not be happy with any shrinking of overall capacity. They need the seats

[UTEopia]

I was told by the ticket office that there are about 9,000 seats in the lower bowl.

[SoCalPat]

10,000

Gymnastics would not be happy with any shrinking of overall capacity. They need the seats

I will gladly stand being corrected here with facts, but I think it's high time Gym stops giving away the house and starts charging expected/market value for a program that's top 5 nationally in its sport.

[Diehard Ute]

I will gladly stand being corrected here with facts, but I think it's high time Gym stops giving away the house and starts charging expected/market value for a program that's top 5 nationally in its sport.

They don't give away that many tickets anymore and haven't for a few years.

Last year nearly 7,000 season tickets were sold. In the gymnastics world Utah leads in paid attendance.

Gymnastics is a revenue sport at Utah, and would have even more donated money if donors weren't forced to give donations for football/basketball tickets without direction on where it's spent.

[SoCalPat]

They don't give away that many tickets anymore and haven't for a few years.

Last year nearly 7,000 season tickets were sold. In the gymnastics world Utah leads in paid attendance.

Gymnastics is a revenue sport at Utah, and would have even more donated money if donors weren't forced to give donations for football/basketball tickets without direction on where it's spent.

We could go all day long about whether or not a $30/$40 season ticket for a nationally ranked program's six-meet home schedule is giving away the house, so it's pointless. The only point I'm trying to make is the JHC's primary tenant is men's basketball, and any changes or improvements there should be geared toward the best interests of that program.

[Utah]

We could go all day long about whether or not a $30/$40 season ticket for a nationally ranked program's six-meet home schedule is giving away the house, so it's pointless. The only point I'm trying to make is the JHC's primary tenant is men's basketball, and any changes or improvements there should be geared toward the best interests of that program.

If you shrunk the seating in the HC to improve basketball, wouldn't it also artificially increase demand for gymnastics, thereby allowing higher ticket prices as well? I would be gymnastics revenue would be very similar.

[Diehard Ute]

If you shrunk the seating in the HC to improve basketball, wouldn't it also artificially increase demand for gymnastics, thereby allowing higher ticket prices as well? I would be gymnastics revenue would be very similar.

It wouldn't increase demand. The money generating core is about 7,000. Walk up sales fill the other 7,000 but you'd risk cutting that with much increase.

[U-Ute]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/57181316-89/facility-basketball-center-utah.html.csp

Links to renderings in the link.


Plans for a new Utah men’s and women’s basketball facility have been talked about for years.

Now, it’s for real.

he Utah athletic department kicked off fundraising efforts Monday for what will become the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Center. Major donors and media were invited to a news conference to view renderings of the new practice facility, which will sit on the north side of the Huntsman Center, adjacent to the new student life center currently under construction.


Groundbreaking is scheduled for this spring, with completion targeted for autumn 2015.


"We’re aiming to have the nicest facility in the Pac-12," Jon M. Huntsman Sr. said. "We want to have the best facility in America. We’re excited about the Runnin’ Utes for many, many years, and we think that we have the best coach in the country leading this charge."


The new facility will cost $24 million. Another $12 million has been targeted for Hunstman Center renovations — including a new scoreboard, the construction of suites and an overall reduction of seating capacity from the current 15,000. A larger overhaul of the 43-year-old arena could happen further down the road.


Utah athletic director Chris Hill said half of the new facility’s cost will be generated through fundraising efforts.


If construction is completed on schedule, the new facility would be completed for the start of Jordan Loveridge’s senior season and the rest of the 2012 recruiting class.


"It’s a pretty amazing time here," Krystkowiak said. "It’s going to be nice to have an opportunity to start breaking ground on this. I’ve seen the other 11 training facilities around the conference and there’s no reason that we can’t have the chance to really turn some heads. This is a special time because this is kind of a generational thing. You don’t build something like this once every 20 years."


Much like the new football facility — which opened last summer — the basketball center should be a game-changer for the program. It will feature a weight room, strength and conditioning facilities, a 6,000-square-foot hall of fame and a 7,000-square-foot medicine center.