Renzi Stone says OU needs a new arena

[SoonerNima]

if a new arena were to be built, they out to put it in edmond, and it might actually fill up.
students and residents in norman have failed for years.

The LNC is almost 40 years old. it's a dump. the best thing about the place is the scoreboard and that's about it. regardless of attendance, the men's and women's team both deserve a new place. now that the new athletic dorms have been started, maybe they can start looking at leveling the LNC and starting over.

 

[skyvue]

The LNC is almost 40 years old. it's a dump.

Define "dump," please.

It's not in disrepair. it's not dirty. Plenty of stadiums and arenas are forty years old (or older). Age means nothing if the place has been kept up, and the LNC has.

I think all of you who have been calling for a new arena for literally years on end would be stunned to see how little difference it would make. Maybe the novelty of a new arena would fill some seats for a season or two, but if all the games continue to be televised and the Thunder continue to be good, it's just not going to make that much difference. When the Sooners are good and they're playing a big game against a rival or ranked (or both) opponent, no one gives a second thought to the supposed deficiencies of the arena. We pack the house and we rock the house, period.

That'll happen again when the team's good again, and not before. A new arena would be a very expensive bandaid, if the state of the team doesn't improve. And if it does, we don't need a new arena.

 

[CobraKai]

Renzi works for the Kaiser Foundation, right? He should tell the Kaisers his idea.

Renzi works for a public relations firm called Saxum. He is at our offices once a week with his team. We are a client of his. Smart guy.

 

[tycat947]

Define "dump," please.

It's not in disrepair. it's not dirty. Plenty of stadiums and arenas are forty years old (or older). Age means nothing if the place has een kept up, and the LNC has.

I think all of you who have been calling for a new arena for literally years on end would be stunned to see how little difference it would make. Maybe the novelty of a new arena would fill some seats for a season or two, but if all the games continue to be televised and the Thunder continue to be good, it's just not going to make that much difference. When the Sooners are good and they're playing a big game against a rival or ranked (or both) opponent, no one gives a second thought to the supposed deficiencies of the arean. We pack the house and we rock the house, period.

That'll happen again when the team's good again, and not before. A new arena would be a very expensive bandaid, if the state of the team doesn't improve. And if it does, we don't need a new arena.

This ^^^^^!

I'm totally amazed everytime this subject comes up. IMO it's just another excuse. We also need a new football stadium. OMS is old, seats are cramped and are on benches (most of them anyway). Not enough parking, blah, blah, blah!

 

[eddie4osu]

I hope you don't mind if I add my opinion.

LNC is not a dump. Joe Castiglione did a very good job in refurbishing the arena. It's very clean and has a great scoreboard. You don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water.

It seems to me that it would make more sense to fix the complaints about the arena rather than razing it. I know the arguments against lowering the floor (though I'm not sure why it still couldn't be done). But if you went in right after the season was over and totally ripped out the seating area and then rebuilt it closer to the floor, that would remove the argument of it being too far away. I know it will cause it to be a smaller arena but right now too small is not the problem. It would also create a larger concourse too.

If the team becomes very successful, then you could raise the roof and expand.

Also, if the distance to the arena is a real problem, it would also seem cheaper to run shuttle buses continually in a loop from main campus to the arena and back before and after the games.

 

[Max Power]

I hope you don't mind if I add my opinion.

LNC is not a dump. Joe Castiglione did a very good job in refurbishing the arena. It's very clean and has a great scoreboard. You don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water.

It seems to me that it would make more sense to fix the complaints about the arena rather than razing it. I know the arguments against lowering the floor (though I'm not sure why it still couldn't be done). But if you went in right after the season was over and totally ripped out the seating area and then rebuilt it closer to the floor, that would remove the argument of it being too far away. I know it will cause it to be a smaller arena but right now too small is not the problem. It would also create a larger concourse too.

If the team becomes very successful, then you could raise the roof and expand.

Also, if the distance to the arena is a real problem, it would also seem cheaper to run shuttle buses continually in a loop from main campus to the arena and back before and after the games.

All great points.