OT: Worst Basketball Arena?

Submitted by Ron_Lippitt on

 

Hey Folks,

Just got back from Chicago where I had the occasion to see our boys take care of business. Awesome experience seeing Michigan on the road, particularly in such a Wolverine-friendly venue.

Outcome aside, this was my first time at Welsh-Ryan Arena and let's just say it's hard not to feel a little sorry for the Northwestern fanbase/players having to call this cracker box their home. For those that haven't been there, it's essentially a large highschool gym with no amenities sitting on an athletic campus that's a mile from the actual campus. The gym looks like it's 100 years old, even though it was built in 1952 (yes I looked it up). I should also mention that, apparently, there's no HVAC in the building, so you might want to find seats as low as possible. Otherwise you'll get back sweat.

The only redeeming quality of the venue is the proximity of the fans to the floor. It COULD be a fairly intimidating place to visit if Northwestern ever coordinated a fanbase who didn't bring books to study during timeouts. I'm wondering how they expect to recruit top talent. One look has to have a negative impact. Don't get me wrong, I get it. It's Northwestern where academics are first. But they are still in the B1G, and last I checked we're still trying to reshape this conference competitively. Where is all the private school endowment money going?

It got me thinking. If you factor in location, amenities, and overall lack of coolness of a venue -- where is the worst D1 college basketball arena? Because IMHO - we might not have to look further than across Lake Michigan to find it.

  

ClearEyesFullHart

February 23rd, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^

Northwestern is very high school...But they could indeed go full on Yost in there if anyone cared.  I'm just glad Crisler is rocking again...or for the first time.  I've heard reports that Crisler wasn't that electric in the fab 5 era...I wasn't there in the eighties...The crowd was nuts during Amaker's first NIT run...but over the course of a season Is this year the best Crisler has been ever?

Naked Bootlegger

February 23rd, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^

Duke-UM during the Fab 5 frosh year was unbelievably electric.   The house was rocking mad.   But I'll admit that our home crowds did not seem as consistently rowdy as other schools...at least through non-scientifc means of watching a lot hoops on TV during that era!  

 

lilpenny1316

February 23rd, 2012 at 3:35 PM ^

Then again, we didn't have Heisman tropy candidates doing the "eating" celebration in the stands back when I was there in the 90s.  The crowd for the Duke games in '95 and '97 were good in stretches, especially late.  Unfortunately, the last game I went to as a student was in 1999 when all of EL came down to root on Sparty.  

Maize n Blue

February 23rd, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^

I was at the game as well and was trying to figure out if the video board was compatible with NES or just strictly Atari.

Definitely a terrible arena all-around, but lets keep in mind that that place (and the staff) have probably never had to accomodate a capacity crowd. When I called the ticket office the morning of the game they only had 16 tickets left (obstructed view and standing room)

Gitback

February 23rd, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^

I got into it with some old bitty at Yost last year about that.  She was sitting behind me making all kinds of comments about how she'd heard so much about the "atmosphere" at Yost but was completely unimpressed.  I ignored her after the first three or four comments, but then had to turn around and politely explain to her that the students were on break and the band was from Howell High School and they were being kind enough to fill in.  She then started musing about how, with "Michigan being Michigan" we should rip the place down and build something new and grand.  I said that "Michigan being Michigan" meant that we'd probably like to hang on to things that are unique and that this was a special old style hockey venue.  The lady then says "this is nothing compared to the Kohl Center!"  At which point my wife and I stood up, turned around and said "Ya!  If you like watching hockey in a fucking basketball arena!" 

She didn't come back after the first intermission. 

Naked Bootlegger

February 23rd, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^

I'll say it again loud and clear.  The Kohl Center is a nice modern facility, but it absolutely cannot compare to the Yost environment.   Not even close.  I would've punched that woman, or at least hip-checked her into the Howell High Pep Band.  You are a better person than me (kudos to your wife for dropping an f-bomb on her, though!).

I find myself sometimes bored watching hockey at the Kohl Center.   I don't know why...I absolutely love hockey, but something about that place just makes me slump in my seat and want to fall asleep.   The best part of the Kohl Center hockey experience is the "Enter Sandman" intro before Wisconsin takes the ice.  It's all downhill from there.   The students seem to have fun, but it just pales in comparison to Yost.

HermosaBlue

February 23rd, 2012 at 1:30 PM ^

Yost Ice Arena was called Yost Field House until 1973, when it became home to Michigan Hockey.

It was home to Michigan basketball games until Crisler opened in 1967 and thus, for a good portion of its existence, was a "fucking basketball arena" that saw its share of excellent hoops, including the Cazzie Russell-led Final Four teams of the mid-1960s.

Cazzie never played in the "House that Cazzie Built."

saveferris

February 23rd, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^

I'm wondering how they expect to recruit top talent.

Considering Northwestern has NEVER been to the NCAA tournament, I don't think they have any expectation to recuiting top talent. As for their facilities, I think Tony Montana said it best, "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women."

mGrowOld

February 23rd, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^

Did anybody else start to feel a bit sorry for the Northwestern fans at the end of Tuesday's game?  I know i did.  They all had the same look my seven year old had last Christmas when it became brutually apparent to him he WASNT getting a pony despite all his letters to Santa.  I have never felt pity for an opponent's fan base before but man, they kept putting this one guy with his kids and some students who literally made me feel bad for them.  They were SO excited to finally get that "signature win" and then...poof....gone.  They looked like they were going to break down and cry any minute.

 

StephenRKass

February 23rd, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^

Fans and excitment are what make a facility great. A facility does not make excitment.

There is something sterile about many modern stadiums. I'm sure there is a reason why Camden yards, and Comerica and Yankee Stadium and Jacob Field were designed to be throwbacks, and not to be completely symmetrical. I'm not an architect or design guy, but when a stadium or arena is "perfect," something is . . . wrong. That's why 3 - Rivers Stadium and some of the other modern fields are already being demolished. No one likes them.

I never did like Crisler Arena, and am glad to hear that improvements are being made. There is something about an old building, with pipes, and bricks, and windows that open, that just feels right. That's part of the attractiveness of Yost. That's part of why I always liked going to the IM Building instead of the CCRB (don't know if they're still called the same thing.) Even though the new basketball practice facility is very modern, I think it was a great decision to have some windows at one end of the practice courts.

The best stadiums blend the old and the new seamlessly. That, I think, is what makes Michigan Stadium so good. The bones of the place are old, but the scoreboards and the high rent district luxury boxes are new, and beautiful, without being out of place.

There are definitely examples where bringing in something "new" failed badly. The Halo around Michigan Stadium was one example. Another is the monstrosity that is now Soldier Field.

There also are some old stadiums and fields that just don't have the space to really be successfully changed. I think that Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are examples of this. For all the fans who wax poetic about Wrigley, the players and coaches hate the place.

If Duke can succeed in Basketball, so can Northwestern. If NW had the right coach, and the kind of players at Duke, they could easily update Welsh-Ryan, and it would be a formidable location to play at.

Oh, and I don't like the purple floor. I don't dislike purple, but that floor doesn't do it for me.

jmblue

February 23rd, 2012 at 4:32 PM ^

Why didn't you like Crisler?  I've always thought it was underrated.  Yeah, it used to be a little dark inside, but there's never been a bad seat in the house.

Speaking of stadiums, I find that the new generation of MLB stadiums is still very cookie-cutter: green seats, only one deck in the outfield, off-center scoreboard, "Pepsi Porch" (there are like five stadiums with one), view of the skyline behind center field, etc.  The field dimensions (and the skyline behind the stadium) are really the only distinguishing factor for most of them.

French West Indian

February 23rd, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^

...and my memory might be a bit sketchy because it's been 20 years since I've been to any of these places but I seem to recall that Central Michigan had a goofy basketball arena.  On the other end of the spectrum, I remember going to Ferris State for a regional high school basketball game and it seemed like it was one of the coolest fieldhouses ever. Like straight out of Hoosiers cool.

AVPBCI

February 23rd, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^

NW Basketball - i like it, but they need a new scoreboard and updated concessions areas !!!!!

 

NW Football - The football stadium is a dump ! the videoboard is horrible, the one scoreboard didn't even work when we were their. and their concession stands suck, how do you run out of coca cola by halftime...

If they decide to renovate ryan field, they need lights, renovate the concession stands, 2 new scoreboards, both with video screens

I heard from soneone their talking new football stadium and basketball arena, but i don't think any drawings or pictures or anything has ever came up

M Fanfare

February 23rd, 2012 at 1:33 PM ^

The Bob Devaney Center at Nebraska was pretty gross. The concourse was ok, but the seating area made me want a tetanus shot. The place was silent as a morgue, even with a decent crowd. However, I will say that my impression is somewhat colored by the possibly homeless guy sitting two rows in front of me who smelled like he had recently shit his pants.

Luckily, Nebraska just broke ground on a new arena.

WMUgoblue

February 23rd, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^

Don't kill me, but I hate Joe Louis arena. It's a dump, the men's bathroom is the smallest thing ever, the stairs make me feel like im going to break my neck if I have anything to drink and the parking is awful. This whole talk of a new stadium/mall downtown is a much needed change.

Wolverine Devotee

February 23rd, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^

Agreed. I sometimes fear for my life when I go to JLA. Place is pretty old and rickety.

Seats haven't been replaced in the buildings entire existance. Out of town scoreboards don't work anymore. 1990s scoreboard with a bad screen.

Best franchise in professional sports deserves the best arena in professional sports.

Solution: New Olympia Stadium

StoneCold

February 23rd, 2012 at 2:57 PM ^

My vote is for the Allstate Arena home to the DePaul Blue Demons.  My main beef with this place is its location.  It's located  15 miles off campus.  Student are transported by bus to the arena (if they want to go).  Judging by last week's game vs Louisville...not many student wanted to go.  There were maybe 100 students sitting in folding chairs behind one of the baskets.  Louisville fans came by the bus load and easily outnumbered DePaul fans.  Lastly, I think it cheapens the accomplishments of the great DePaul teams from the Ray Meyer era when you have your Final Four banner hanging in the same rafters as banners for the Chicago Wolves (minor league hockey) and Chicago Rush (arena football).

jsquigg

February 23rd, 2012 at 4:25 PM ^

Maybe it's because I played Class D basketball in Michigan, but I kinda like smaller gyms.  We played a team that played in an armory with no bleachers.  They pulled out folding chairs for the fans and it was poorly heated.  When we went out for warm ups, it was hard to warm up....