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Post by PantherU on Nov 10, 2011 14:31:51 GMT -6
The USCHO board is currently in a 4-page love-fest for a possible Panther program. They mention the Cell as a home, so even if we build a basketball-only facility, we could use the Cell for hockey. USCHO Thread dedicated to Panther hockeyExpress Milwaukee ArticleI think, because of our prospective departure in basketball with a new facility, the Wisconsin Center District would be forced to swallow a much more UWM-heavy deal if we wanted to play hockey. Without Panther basketball, the WCD's only year-round tenant at the Cell would be the Milwaukee Wave, and there's no way they'd survive with the Wave, the Circus, the monthly girls roller derby and a handful of concerts. We'd be able to practice at the Pettit Center or Wilson Park and play games at the Cell. If not the Cell, the arena can always be built for both basketball and hockey - the big problem with the hockey/basketball set-up is the end zone seating for basketball is far away and retractable bleachers instead of concrete. I would expect, however, that without a practice facility the end zones would have retractable bleachers anyways for practice. The thing that really surprises me is that the Badgers on that board are ALL for it. They want to see the level of hockey grow in the state and believe that another D-I program will foster more growth for the sport. Big difference from their football fan brethren.
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Post by Hack on Nov 10, 2011 15:03:49 GMT -6
I know I'm getting waaaaay ahead here ... if, IF, Milwaukee were to ever start a hockey program, the man to build it is in the state.
Tim Coghlin at St. Norbert. Built them basically from scratch into a D3 power.
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Post by gman2 on Nov 10, 2011 18:21:45 GMT -6
If not the Cell, the arena can always be built for both basketball and hockey - the big problem with the hockey/basketball set-up is the end zone seating for basketball is far away and retractable bleachers instead of concrete. Do not build the new arena as a combination arena to accommodate hockey. It needs to be basketball only. Hockey can be played at the Cell which has a layout that can accommodate hockey.
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Post by Hack on Nov 10, 2011 18:33:58 GMT -6
Do not build the new arena as a combination arena to accommodate hockey. It needs to be basketball only. Hockey can be played at the Cell which has a layout that can accommodate hockey. Just curious ... what are your thoughts on the Resch Center as an for basketball?
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Post by gman2 on Nov 10, 2011 21:20:11 GMT -6
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Post by illwauk on Nov 10, 2011 21:54:36 GMT -6
The thing that really surprises me is that the Badgers on that board are ALL for it. They want to see the level of hockey grow in the state and believe that another D-I program will foster more growth for the sport.Hockey fans are pretty good at putting the common good of the sport ahead of any desire to corner a market. I would much rather have football, but I hope that if starting a program proves to be too problematic that we could at least have a hockey team. As little sense as it makes that Wisconsin has only one D1 football program, it's even more ridiculous that a state with so many high school hockey programs (I think we're only behind Minnesota and Michigan) has only one D1 hockey team. As awesome as this is, I hope this push to add hockey can beget just as big a push for football.
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Post by gman2 on Nov 10, 2011 23:35:02 GMT -6
My wife often asks me why UWM needs a new basketball arena, what's wrong with the Cell. She's not alone, I know many people that ask that question. I can discuss various reasons to have an on campus BASKETBALL arena. When it comes to a dual purpose facility for basketball and hockey, you lose me. If we want a dual purpose facility to support men's basketball and hockey (and possibly women's hockey) work out a long term arrangement with the Wisconsin Center.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 11, 2011 9:10:26 GMT -6
If we want a dual purpose facility to support men's basketball and hockey (and possibly women's hockey) work out a long term arrangement with the Wisconsin Center. Given the cost of the current lease, does anyone want to speculate about the additional cost of playing hockey at the Cell?
If adequate funding can be gotten, i like the idea of hockey at UWM. i'm skeptical that such funding is available, but if i am wrong, i'd go to games.
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Nov 12, 2011 18:27:16 GMT -6
Do not build the new arena as a combination arena to accommodate hockey. It needs to be basketball only. Hockey can be played at the Cell which has a layout that can accommodate hockey. Just curious ... what are your thoughts on the Resch Center as an for basketball? I personally dislike the Resch Center for basketball. The seating bowl rake is too steep for bball. When you get towards the corners and the endzone, your perspective angle makes he court difficult to view, not to mention you're pulled away from the action. It's too small of a footprint for hockey, hence the steep rake to fit in the amount of seats. This of course makes the basketball configuration suffer. Madison did it right with the Kohl Center. They chose a slope that works well for both sports and poured it in concrete to a predetermined row (this distance changes as you move from sidelines to corners and endzones). Then they bought a German riser system that can change it's pitch depending on the sport, letting them have pretty decent sightlines for both sports. If we were to start a hockey team, I would be fine with them playing in the cell.
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Post by Hack on Nov 12, 2011 20:38:18 GMT -6
If we were to start a hockey team, I would be fine with them playing in the cell. No, you wouldn't once you saw the bill. You don't want to be renting when it comes to ice rink maintenance.
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Nov 13, 2011 0:13:11 GMT -6
If we were to start a hockey team, I would be fine with them playing in the cell. No, you wouldn't once you saw the bill. You don't want to be renting when it comes to ice rink maintenance. I understand how expensive ice time is, but I wouldn't sacrifice our new arena's basketball sight-lines for a hypothetical hockey team(s). So for now, yes I'd be fine with them playing at the cell/elsewhere. I used to play hockey when I was a kid and I would love to see us with a team someday, but in this scenario it seems as if the tail is wagging the dog.
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Post by illwauk on Aug 13, 2012 12:18:43 GMT -6
Having hockey capabilities doesn't necessarily have to screw up the sight-lines of a basketball arena... just look at The Cell. Even then, I think the Resch Center (Green Bay) and TD Bank Sports Center (Quinnipac) prove that venues built primarily for hockey don't have to be terrible places to catch a basketball game (like... say... the Bradley Center). I mean, can you honestly look at this and say you wouldn't want it on our campus (albeit, with a bigger capacity than 3,570)? Right now we have a baseball team at Milwaukee that plays (a.) what is a dying sport at the collegiate level in the Upper Midwest, (b.) off campus, (c.) in another town, (d.) at what is, at best, a D3 facility, and (e.) is no closer to campus than the city's Major League club. It seems to me that if we're going to drop $60 million on a new arena, it'd make more sense to use those baseball scholarships for a hockey program that could play on campus, in what would be our flagship sports venue, and potentially generate revenue for our athletic department... something that's impossible for baseball to do in the shape its in. We could also use a potential hockey program to solicit donations from non-alums who simply want to see the sport of hockey grow in Wisconsin and the US. Mind you, this is all coming from someone who played baseball all the way through high school and has been to waaaay more baseball games than hockey games in my lifetime.
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Post by fin on Aug 13, 2012 14:21:33 GMT -6
....and once again nobody is thinking about Title IX compliance. How many women's sports are we going to add or how many mens sports are you going to drop to be in compliance?
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Post by illwauk on Aug 13, 2012 14:40:04 GMT -6
....and once again nobody is thinking about Title IX compliance. How many women's sports are we going to add or how many mens sports are you going to drop to be in compliance? Did you actually read my post?
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Post by fin on Aug 14, 2012 7:19:36 GMT -6
Yes. What did I miss?
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