Pauley Restoration: Monday, May 11 Is A Big Day

by Nestor on May 7, 2009 6:53 PM PDT in Pauley Restoration Comment 12 comments

Morgan Center gives us a little glimpse of what they have on mind for Pauley renovation:

Got the image from the official site.

Remember they have a big announcement on the renovation scheduled for next Monday, May 11 at Pauley.

Around 1 pm that afternoon Chancellor Gene Block and Dan Guerrero will give their first public presentation of "both the renovation plan" that "will modernize" the House that Coach Wooden built, and "the fund-raising plan" which they are calling "the Campaign of Champions".

Of course Coach Ben Howland will be there. He will discuss the project with Bruin All-America alumni Mike Warren and Ann Meyers Drysdale. They will also a special video highlighting the renovation, which I think some of you who have been lucky to attend the banquet and alumni events have already seen

I know some of you already have concerns about the renovation plan. I respect that. However, for many of us we actually want to see what the plan entails, get the details, and also hear the perspectives from our coaches and players. I am not ready to reach a conclusion until I see what the folks have in mind and am anxious to hear and learn more about it.

Doors (Gates 1 and 2 of Pauley Pavilion) open at 12:30 pm, announcement begins at 1:00 pm. If you are on and around campus, show up, check it out, and blog about it here on BN.

GO BRUINS.

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I'll wait for the video

but from what I can see in this picture, I can’t believe that it’s costing 160 million to add a few seats behind the baseline, a video ticker, a new concourse, and a new exterior. This doesn’t look a whole lot different from the current Pauley

by Sideout11 on May 7, 2009 7:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

that's because it isn't

I am assuming they expect the guys in the 100 seats to be the ones ponying up the $160M, because the folks in the 200s and 300s get zero benefit, other than more potties.

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 7, 2009 7:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Your assumption is correct.

I am fortunate enough to have seats in the 100 section and have been informed that I will need to pony up between $100-150,000 over a five year span, in addition to the standard annual donations and ticket fees to retain my seats. This was told to me with a straight face.

For what its worth, I don’t think anyone will see significant benefits in the 100 sections either, aside from swapping benches for seat backs and adding new restrooms.

Pauley needs work, but I am not sold on the current plans or the funding scheme. While better than nothing, it will not be a “state-of-the-art” new facility. If we can’t afford or muster a new facility, the focus (IMHO) should be on new locker rooms and training facilities for our athletes, centering the court, and getting more students closer to the action.

Venting a bit here, but felt like I’d been mugged after my conversation with the fundraising department. Get it right, or at least break it down into manageable phases, prioritizing the most important changes. I’m still concerned they won’t get the financing necessary to complete the project in its current incarnation and we’ll be left with nothing.

by andrewsm78 on May 8, 2009 1:19 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

We just sent a pittance of a donation

to the UCLA Foundation for the law school (to stop the nonstop calls.)

Is this call next?

by freesia39 on May 7, 2009 9:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It is a fitting picture

It shows how far away most of the seats will still be from the main court

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 7, 2009 9:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yep.

We don’t have much of a homecourt advantage in terms of noise, and that’s not going to change if the seats aren’t moved closer to the court.

by BruinFanBaby on May 8, 2009 7:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

$160 Million to move the banners closer?

Who’s in charge of this renovation? Tony Soprano?

by alcor805 on May 7, 2009 9:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

One question

I have is, the capacity is supposedly going to be increased to about 14,000. Why? We don’t sell out our games in a 12,819 (approx.) capacity, so why the increase? If anything, the should be decreasing the capacity to about 12,500 (same as Pitt’s Petersen Events Center). I can already image our third home game against some cupcake drawing about 9,000. Doesn’t make sense to me.

Anyhow, they should have done what UW and Cal did when they renovated their Hec Ed and Haas: completely rebuild the seating structure. I don’t know what the challenges of Pauley’s original floor plan and height were, but if you’re going to renovate for the amount they will, you gotta all out.

And say what you want about Oregon, but they absolutely made the right call in abandoning Mac Court (however venerable it is) and building what looks to be a gem of an arena: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvuB74ZaMTQ&feature=channel_page

by TVN15NOV on May 7, 2009 10:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't confuse attendance with sellout

Every game is a sellout. Unfortunately, a lot of fans don’t bother to show up. So increasing capacity will mean more revenue.

In addition, I hope everyone realizes that every single seat in Pauley will be removed. The seating foundation will be rebuilt to meet earthquake codes. After that, 14,000 brand new seats will be installed. They are not just adding a few more seats.

That’s like saying they just reupholster the seats at Dodger Stadium.

by Gen2Bruin1987 on May 7, 2009 11:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Exactly.

Every game is sold out, we just don’t have enough people that want to show up for the cupcakes. I definitely want to hear the plans before I completely rip this project, but I don’t like what I’m seeing and hearing so far. From that picture, the students aren’t closer to the court and nothing has been done to change the 300 section. For $160 million, I expect a lot to be done. And how is this a modernization? All that has been done to make it more modern is adding a video ticker. Big deal.

I’m anxious to hear the announcement on Monday. Hopefully I’ll have a different opinion after the presentation.

by BruinFanBaby on May 8, 2009 7:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Think about all the concessions, parking and merchandizing revenue

they lose out on because watching at home is better than having to use binochulars. That’s how the dodgers actually make money, not on selling tickets, but on getting people to show up, drop $15 to park, pay $10 for a beer, and $6 for a hot dog, even though their top deck ticket only cost $8.

If you could make a game day experience that is worth attending (mainly meaning seats in the same zip code as the court) you would get much better attendence and could rake in a lot more dough.

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 8, 2009 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs