New hockey arena
There was talk on the Crisler Center thread about the possibility of the hockey team moving out of Yost in the next 10-20 years. I love Yost Ice Arena and wish the team would never have to leave, but I understand that it is old and small, so a new facility is probably necessary.
Does anyone have any information on whether the Athletic Department has had any kind of internal discussions about building a new arena? DB has talked about building a stadium for the lacrosse team as well, so what are the early indications on the projects?
Where would it be built? The athletic campus is already pretty full. Maybe if the Coliseum is torn down and the university bought some more land around there, there could be enough space for a new hockey arena. Or they could build it down State Street where the soccer and tennis centers are, though I would hate having them not within walking distance for students.
What size building does the team need? Yost maxes out around 6,000, but even then is rarely full. Would 10 or 12 thousand be too big, and lose the intimacy of Yost? If DB's previous actions are an indication, it will probably be as big as possible for max $$.
Red Berenson Arena is a no-brainer, right?
Apologies for the speculative nature of this post. Reading the other comments really ignited my imagination with regards to the hockey team.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:23 PM ^
Yost Uber Alles
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:23 PM ^
Yost Ice Arena IS Michigan Hockey. It has character, history, and the best home ice advantage in the sport. Thanks, but no thanks.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:28 PM ^
If DB's previous actions are an indication, it will probably be as big as possible for max $$.
Not necessarily. We just reduced Crisler's capacity by 1,000. Having a smaller, but easily attainable, capacity can be preferable to having a larger number that's hard to fill. Tickets become a hotter commodity that way.
Unless Yost is actually falling apart, I don't see a big need for a new arena. The size is about right for the program's fanbase.
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:08 AM ^
but put in the Wolverine Den which greatly inflates some prices of upper bowl seating. I don't know if you can say these tickets are easily attainable as the premium games run $100 a ticket instead of $25.
It's easy to see DB's direction. $500 for the interest list for football season tickets. Luxury areas that only certain fans can afford. It looks like he is following the Penn State model and we see information from PSU football attendance that this is the wrong path to follow.
Given what happened with football ticket prices on the secondary market this year, I should be able to attend 5 of the 6 home games for about half face or less and scream my head off at the TV for the MSU game.
December 23rd, 2011 at 1:08 PM ^
I think he means the arena can be filled to capacity more easily when the capacity is lower. Sellouts are the ultimate goal. If you don't sell out, tickets' individual value goes down.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:28 PM ^
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:42 PM ^
Ahhh that's why they put fences up
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
I don't think the lacrosse stadium is going to be at Elbel. That was the plan a few years ago when the club team was going to build their own PDC next to Elbel, but all that has changed since DB took over and the club became the varsity. I'm hearing the plan now is for lacrosse to build an indoor stadium (yes, an indoor stadium), probably down State Street near soccer? For now they are playing in the football stadium and Oosterbaan, but neither of those are the best situation for them (Big House is too big and Oosterbaan sucks). I suppose they could use the soccer stadium as well, but this indoor stadium idea is intriguing.
I can't see Yost ever going away unless it literally falls apart, which actually started happening a couple years ago when parts of the outside wall fell off. If there is any way to keep Yost, it must be preserved. The money they are spending on it now kind of indicates that's the plan.
December 23rd, 2011 at 2:35 PM ^
I took this screenshot from the lacrosse website. It no longer exists anymore but I took this back in July so I assume it's still on.
December 23rd, 2011 at 8:42 PM ^
Yup. That was for the club team. I think that might have been an older story that was rerun on whatever site that is. Plans have changed. Indoor stadium is the word now. Near soccer.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:30 PM ^
I could see Yost being renovated to improve the structural aspects, but I don't see the hockey team moving out Yost. The intimate nature, the closeness of the fans is a unique experience that is native to Yost. I couldn't imagine the public outcry if such a thing were to happen.
I've been to one of the newer arenas in college hockey (BU) and while it's nice, it's not college hockey. I don't want to see that at Michigan.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:31 PM ^
They are putting $14 million into Yost this summer. I highly doubt that they would put that much money into Yost and not see it as a long term home for Michigan hockey. I see no possible way that Michigan hockey gets a new arena in the next 20 years.
Link: http://annarbor.com/news/u-m-regents-approve-schematic-design-for-14m-r…
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:35 PM ^
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:07 AM ^
If they name anything involved with Michigan athletics "Centre" instead of "Center" I'm going to chain myself to the "Centre" and do a hunger strike until they change it. Or just get a pitchfork and torch and head for DB's door.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:12 AM ^
Agree completely. THIS IS AMERICA!
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^
FERGODSAKES!
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:26 AM ^
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:35 PM ^
build a larger basketball arena, renovate crisler for hockey if there comes a time and a need for a larger hockey arena.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:39 PM ^
This will never happen.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:36 PM ^
Personally i have a problem with naming ANYTHING after somoenone that is alive. (See Paterno) Nothing to take away from Berenson and his accomplishments (or say that there are any skeltons or the like), I just like the tradition that is Yost.
I would have no problem having something like Berenson Rink at Yost Field House somewhere down the line, but I don't think that Yost's name should be taken off the building.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 PM ^
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:07 AM ^
I wasn't trying to say anything about Red. He is as deserving as anyone around right now to have his name honored.
My statement was more along the lines of putting a living person's name on anything easily can lead to conflicts of interests, along with other potential major headaches.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:17 AM ^
True, but in twenty years Berenson will be celebrating his 92nd birthday. He'll have been long retired and probably not very involved with the program at that point, given his (future) age.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:38 AM ^
Given the way the guy can still get around the ice at the Alumni Game every year, I wouldn't put it past Red to be putting wristers past guys well into his 80s, if not beyond. Even past 70, the guy is one of the smartest hockey players I've ever seen.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:55 AM ^
Hopefully he can (if he still wants to that far down the road), but there aren't a lot of people who either want to coach or be heavily involved in the internal politics of a big-time program at that age.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^
and if we do move out of Yost I'd prefer it if we left it there for gymnastics or volleyball and not tear it down
December 23rd, 2011 at 10:12 AM ^
Does anybody remember seeing basketball games in Yost?
December 23rd, 2011 at 1:16 PM ^
Oliver Darden, Bill Buntin, Cazzie ...
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^
Get the Red Wings a new arena and that will be good for me.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:08 AM ^
I doubt we see a new arena open anytime soon. However, I could easily see us open a practice facility that could be rented out when not in use. While Ann Arbor already has 5 sheets in town (with another 2-3 in the area) it is still in high demand and would allow Michigan to bump up women's hockey to varsity.
December 23rd, 2011 at 1:54 AM ^
Ann Arbor has 6 sheets of ice (presumably you left off Buhr Park).
December 23rd, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^
I left off the figure skating one at the cube. Can't play hockey on it, so no use in mentioning it.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:10 AM ^
Uber Alles.
Nuf said, period.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:36 AM ^
Short answer: No.
Long answer: No, thank you.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:47 AM ^
purchases Pioneer high school from the Ann Arbor school district, perhaps they could build there.
Pioneer is getting long in the tooth and I'm sure the district will be looking to build a new Pioneer somewhere else, someday.
December 23rd, 2011 at 7:33 AM ^
They own nearly the whole block between W. Stadium, S. Main, Scio Church and S. Seventh actually. Plenty of room for a new arena and/or school if they're willing to give up the preserve on the south end. There's not a whole lot of large, open parcels near campus otherwise.
Fortunately, it's a decision 15 years in the future and I am not the one making it. Yost Uber Alles.
December 23rd, 2011 at 1:34 AM ^
Michigan has historically named its major athletic buildings after ADs (Yost, Crisler, Canham, Schembechler) not coaches. So unless you want to watch hockey games in Dave Brandon Arena, let's hope Yost is the home of Michigan hockey for a long, long time.
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^
Three of the four ADs you mentioned were also Michigan's three most successful football coaches. Also, Cliff Keen Arena and Fisher Stadium were named for coaches who had spent a combined 83 years as Michigan coaches. Canham Natatorium is actually the one of these that's not like the others. Red Berenson Arena (or, hopefully, Red Berenson Rink at Yost Fieldhouse or something like that) fits right in with the Michigan athletic landscape.
Edit: forgot Oosterbaan Field House, as well as Ocker Field. Both are also named for coaches, although both honorees served in the athletic department in other roles as well.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^
though Red was never an AD, he was offered the position several times before Bill Martin got the job, if I remember correctly. He always turned it down saying something along the lines of, "I know a lot about hockey, but nothing about being an athletic director, why would I do that?". So that's about as close as you can get to being an AD without actually being one. And he could probably still retire into a gratuitious athletic department position for a year or two and that would probably be enough.
I have a hard time, though, imagining any new building named after anybody that doesn't spend millions of dollars on it through donations to the University. So, unless Red (or his family in his memory) contributes a whole lot to the construction of a new ice arena, it probably ends up being the Meijer Ice Emporium or at best [random rich U-M donor] Ice Arena. I guess they could still have the Red Berenson Sheet of Ice at Meijer Ice Emporium, but I've always thought naming just the playing surface after someone is kind of tacky...
In conclusion: Yost Uber Alles. Red Uber Alles. David Brandon, I have a better idea as to where you can put that goal horn.
December 23rd, 2011 at 2:27 AM ^
I'd hate to get a big cavernous arena like Minnesota and Wisconsin have and then just have it be half full 95% of the time
December 23rd, 2011 at 8:40 AM ^
I heard they might be building a new football stadium in 20-25 years. I know that M stadium is the perfect venue and that they spent a shit ton of $$$ on it recently, but I nonetheless expect a totally new football stadium to be built somwhere in Saline in 2033.
December 23rd, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^
By then, the only sufficiently large plots of land will be in Webster and Northfield Townships, so I would guess the new stadium ends up with a Whitmore Lake mailing address then.
"You're looking live at downtown Whitmore Lake....yes, that building right there..."
December 23rd, 2011 at 10:35 AM ^
I have never heard of a worse idea in my life. I don't see how anyone who's been to Yost could think otherwise.