Started By
Message
re: Ranking the SEC basketball arenas...
Posted on 12/4/14 at 8:08 am to MartyMoose09
Posted on 12/4/14 at 8:08 am to MartyMoose09
Coleman is awful. It isn't as bad at the Tad Pad because the renovations made the concourse and seats better, but Ole Miss is tearing down the Tad Pad so now we will be the worst.
Seriously, it's awful. Embarrassing.
Seriously, it's awful. Embarrassing.
1
Posted on 12/4/14 at 8:19 am to cjared036
quote:
1. Kentucky - never been but I heard it holds like 24,000 people. Which is insane. That number could be wrong, going off of old memory.
If you've never been, how can you rank it #1?
That is the problem with these threads. Very few people have been to all the arenas.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 8:47 am to SummerOfGeorge
Posted on 12/4/14 at 8:51 am to GetCocky11
quote:Correct, while I have been to most all the SEC football venues, I have only been to Arkansas, Florida and Miss St basketball arenas.
That is the problem with these threads. Very few people have been to all the arenas.
I have been to Gainesville 3 times and, to me, it has the feel of a High School Gym. Part of that may be due to the smell of chlorine from the swimming pool in the same facility.
From the pictures, all the facilities look pretty good.
This post was edited on 12/4/14 at 8:52 am
Posted on 12/4/14 at 8:59 am to GetCocky11
Stegman is prolly near the bottom of most lists...
Before renovation...
Now...
Before renovation...
Now...
Posted on 12/4/14 at 8:59 am to RazorHawk
quote:
I have been to Gainesville 3 times and, to me, it has the feel of a High School Gym. Part of that may be due to the smell of chlorine from the swimming pool in the same facility.
This is specifically mentioned as part of the renovation. I think they're closing off the pool area.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:00 am to GetCocky11
Because they are Kentucky and they can squeeze 24,000 people in it. People talk about Rupp as a place you gotta go to see a game. No one else in sec has that.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:13 am to MartyMoose09
I understand they want a lot of side line seats, but it always seems odd to see the arena set up perpendicular to the main body of the structure. Butler does that too.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:15 am to DynastyDawg
quote:
Couldn't be further from the truth. The hump used to be one of the top 3 atmospheres in the league.
When exactly was this?
Can you give me a year?
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:16 am to GetCocky11
quote:
Very few people have been to all the arenas.
I've been to all of them except Auburn's new one, but most were over 10 years ago before a bunch of them were renovated.
I thought Rupp was overrated, but it had more to do with the area around it I guess.
Arkansas's is my favorite, but I prefer their old one. But I like older arenas better anyway. Vandy's is awesome because it's so unique, but the sight lines are pretty terrible.
UGA's was a dump, but again that was in 2000 before they renovated it. It looks a lot nicer now.
My top 3:
1. Arkansas
2. Florida
3. Rupp, by default I guess.
The rest as I remember were either really bland(Coleman, Miss St, Tennessee) or dumps(Ole Miss, UGA, Auburn's old one).
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:36 am to Montezuma
I think they could take one side of the current sideline seats and make it a double tiered set up.
or they could rotate the court. Make the stands on the sidelines go all the way down and squeeze the stands in the new "end zones" in a bit. Have that extra space be a club area.
or they could rotate the court. Make the stands on the sidelines go all the way down and squeeze the stands in the new "end zones" in a bit. Have that extra space be a club area.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:41 am to The_Joker
Go to a game there. It is really cool.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:43 am to DingDongEddieStrong
Very thankful the tad pad's end is near.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 9:56 am to The Spleen
quote:
I thought Rupp was overrated
The key to Rupp is the era in which it was built. It is not an attractive building as it was built in the age of crappy concrete box architecture but it is more than just a building. It has 4 unique things that make it awesome for a college basketball game.
#1 sheer size
#2 no corporate suites which means maximum noise
#3 built before ADA handicap rules so steep seating puts crowd closer to game*
#4 atmosphere of seeing top teams in the nation play each other
* For a few years Rupp also played home to an AHL hockey team. Both the home team and the visiting teams all commented on the "closeness" of the crowds during game play.
quote:
I like older arenas better anyway
(insert kige here)
Stokley and Barnhill were great places to see a game. Memorial (UK) in the heyday was very intense. If you are really old, Alumni Gym was a place of magic and wonderment.
quote:
My top 3:
1 Rupp
2 Memorial
3 TB
BWA is right up there but they need to get the life back in it.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 10:00 am to Casper the Dawg
Stegeman would be fine if it didn't look like a total mess on the inside. There is absolutely no flow to the damn thing (not to mention that it looks and feels like a stone freezer in January, February, and early March)
Posted on 12/4/14 at 10:03 am to Casper the Dawg
Ooh...I like Georgia's arena architecture.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 10:05 am to Cheese Grits
What's sad is we built BWA 20 years ago and Barnhill is nicer than some of these arenas these schools are still using.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 10:06 am to cjared036
Mizzou is nicer than Arky's been to both several times. Both arenas were built and paid for by the Waltons BTW.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 10:08 am to Cheese Grits
I guess with Rupp I was just expecting an on-campus palace, but got a downtown almost shopping mall atmosphere outside of it. The inside of it was impressive as hell though, so maybe I'm being unfair. It was also the SEC Tourney in the early 90's so I didn't get the full Kentucky home game experience. Need to go back there for a Kentucky game, though my interest in college basketball isn't near what it used to be.
Posted on 12/4/14 at 10:11 am to Cheese Grits
quote:
The hump used to be one of the top 3 atmospheres in the league.
quote:
When exactly was this?
I'd say most of the 90's up until 2009 or 2010.
There was around a 3 year lull in the late 90's early 00's.
This post was edited on 12/4/14 at 10:15 am
Page 3 of 5
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News