NU's Renovations Done

redsoxn2004

redsoxn2004

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The Renovations for Matthews arena are virtually done. I believe they open the arena tonight for a women's hockey exhibition.

I've been to the arena myself and I like the renovations on the whole. Some of it remains to be seen how it'll look for basketball but I love the new press area and I think the new premium padded seats are fantastic.

This website http://matthewnareski.shutterfly.com/ has the most extensive footage(both video and Photo) of the "new" arena I would highly encourage fans of all teams to check it out.

For those unfamilar on the history of the arena I'd direct you to thishttp://www.uscho.com/news/college-h...slookingforwardtorenovatedArenanewseason.html article by USCHO which is a college hockey website, but I think it really gives an idea of the history of the building.
 
Looks good. Congratulations. NU has done well for itself in the conference considering how lackluster your facilities have been in the past. I'm sure the renovations will be that much more helpful in recruiting in the future. Hopefully this will also help with increasing attendance as NU has some work to do there as well.
 
It's not going to look to well for basketball IMO. The stands are too far away. It is a hockey arena. Sorry.
 
BaNgMyPrOgRaM said:
It's not going to look to well for basketball IMO. The stands are too far away. It is a hockey arena. Sorry.
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You are right on that point. For hockey it should be much nicer though. You guys have to find a way to put seats in closer to the court for basketball. It negates the homecourt advantage when fans are 20-30 feet away from the action. That said, Coen has done a HECK of a job recruiting and staying at the mid to top of the CAA despite all the disadvantages you guys face with your facilities. It really is quite remarkable how well you guys do in light of that.
 
Actually bang most of the renovations will look pretty good regardless of either sport(New locker rooms/weight room. a new walkway area and new seating among other things all of which aren't dependant on the sport). Now as to the general issue of seats not being close enough to the floor, I agree on principal that for basketball there's not enough seating on the floor.

There are some solutions being bandied about, but what is likely to happen in terms of basketball is that they will put 500 chairs(brand new from what I've heard) on each end of the court. The reason they can't use risers like say BC or PC does is that it cuts of the view of some season ticketholders, as a result we're left with students having chairs by the court. Is it a perfect solution, not by a long shot but it's the best they could come up with.
 
Been to this venue twice for VCU basketball. To be honest, basketball is almost foreign to NE students. Their fan base is extremely low. I just wonder how many are season ticket holders. Not to be negative, but I just don't see what NE brings to the CAA. I am sure they were voted in because of the Boston market. However, there are so many other good basketball programs in Boston, I doubt they receive much press. Maybe VCU needs to add ice hockey! Now they have great ice hockey facilities!
 
Don't we have club hockey? that would be kinda fun. Sure, we'll get stomped like they do in football, but who cares, it's another way to pass the off season!
 
I personally love the look of that arena...even if it's a "hockey arena". Just looks classic to me. Next step, gettin' butts in those seats. Rooting for you guys (as much as I can).
 
How many does the arena seat for hockey? It doesn't look like that many, but I know there is quite a following for the hockey team so it must have a higher capacity then it appears.
 
For hockey I know the pre-renovation number was 5406(BC, 2005). I know they took some seats out so I think it'll end up being about 5300. Here's what the arena looked like sold out for BC in 05'

http://gonu.com/mhockey/archives/matthews/arena.htm

In regards to getting butts into the seats, I will say that there's quite a bit of conversation on DHD as to how to do that. SGA has stepped up and begun some initiatives on campus making a point to get hockey fans out to the arena for Basketball. Our goal is to try to sell out a game this year and potentially average 3,000 fans for the year. It would be a huge step up for the program.

As for R4L what other programs are you talking about that the CAA could get? BU? HC? UMASS? BU has a nice facility but the same problem(terrible fan support) plus they dont have football, Holy cross wouldn't be able to compete on a facility level and honestly despite the brand name really only has regional value at best. Umass isn't leaving the A10 any time soon. BC sure as heck isn't leaving the ACC! SO R4L what other options are there? NU's one of the top academic schools in the CAA. Program wise we have won a few CAA titles in other sports and overall we provide a nice stop over regionally for schools going to DU and HU. I don't think NU is a perfect fit in the CAA but I think it's the best the CAA can do for an East coast school north of NY.
 
redsoxn2004 said:
For hockey I know the pre-renovation number was 5406(BC, 2005). I know they took some seats out so I think it'll end up being about 5300. Here's what the arena looked like sold out for BC in 05'

http://gonu.com/mhockey/archives/matthews/arena.htm

In regards to getting butts into the seats, I will say that there's quite a bit of conversation on DHD as to how to do that. SGA has stepped up and begun some initiatives on campus making a point to get hockey fans out to the arena for Basketball. Our goal is to try to sell out a game this year and potentially average 3,000 fans for the year. It would be a huge step up for the program.

As for R4L what other programs are you talking about that the CAA could get? BU? HC? UMASS? BU has a nice facility but the same problem(terrible fan support) plus they dont have football, Holy cross wouldn't be able to compete on a facility level and honestly despite the brand name really only has regional value at best. Umass isn't leaving the A10 any time soon. BC sure as heck isn't leaving the ACC! SO R4L what other options are there? NU's one of the top academic schools in the CAA. Program wise we have won a few CAA titles in other sports and overall we provide a nice stop over regionally for schools going to DU and HU. I don't think NU is a perfect fit in the CAA but I think it's the best the CAA can do for an East coast school north of NY.
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I agree that NU is probably the best choice for the CAA in the Boston market. I hope at some point Northeastern can get a basketball facility, though I'm not sure there is space for that. Fans will come with winning, and if what Bill Coen and his staff have done is any indication, they will be doing a lot of that in the future. Better facilities will make NU that much more of a threat on the hardwood. This is a great start towards that.
 
It is an impressive looking arena for hockey. It looks like it could be workable for basketball as well if demand was high enough to add tempory seating. Maybe something similar to what the Coliseum adds for the CAA tourney. 5,300 is a greater capicity then what I would have guessed by looking at the photos of the empty arena as I suspected it must be.
 
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