Image: Scout.com
Auburn has finally approved plans to build a new arena for basketball. It won't open til the 2010-2011 season. Per SI.com, the project includes:
The plan calls for a basketball-only arena, including practice facilities, offices, dressing rooms, luxury suites and seats close to the floor. Athletic director Jay Jacobs said the tentative plan is for 9,600 seats, some 900 fewer than Beard-Eaves.Auburn is issuing around $60 million in municipal bonds to pay for part of the construction. A series of questions comes to mind upon learning that fact:
It would be the SEC's second-smallest arena, ahead of Mississippi's Tad Smith Coliseum, which seats 8,700.
- 1. What kind of person buys stock in Auburn? That's like investing in an asbestos wholesaler or short-selling Exxon. If Bobby Lowder dies or gets pissed and writes Auburn out of his will, they won't be able to pay.
2. Where's the $60 million going to come from? After paying Saban, there's no money left in the State of Alabama system.
3. If they try selling naming rights, who are they going to call? John Deere? Natural Light? Skoal?
As it relates to UGA:
- Our new practice facility for basketball will soon have its grand opening. We spent $30 million on the project. Chip Towers took a tour recently, and he said that it's amazing. I walked around it two weeks ago, and I'm thrilled with the progress.
- There is no announced time table for renovating Stegeman. However, Auburn and Ole Miss were tied for the most rancid, disgusting hoops arenas in the SEC. While the practice facility is amazing, we're right there with Miss State and Bama for the next most sucky arena. If AU is upgrading, that raises the expectations for us, and I think the pressure is on Damon to produce a timeline.
- There is no chance that we will build a new arena. First, there's no new place to put it on UGA owned property. Second, we just built the practice facility and a new parking deck right next to Stegeman. Why would we move the arena elsewhere? Third, tearing it down and building on the same spot would probably double or triple the cost and we'd be playing hoops in Gwinnett for 4 or 5 years if we started over on the same spot. I'd wager that an aggressive renovation could happen for $30-40 million, and you wouldn't even recognize the place. Plus, we'd only have to play in Gwinnett for two years.
- I do like the idea of building a smaller arena for Auburn. South Carolina and Tennessee both built arenas far too large for their needs, and the massive number of empty seats is sort of an anchor on the program. If we renovate, I hope we don't go over 12k or so. I'd rather have a packed house and a waiting list than empty seats.
-- AU plan clears last hurdle - Huntsville Times
-- AU's new gym - Press Register
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