Facilities and Arena discussion

[GMUSSTN]

Svrgula on Georgetown.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/09/georgetown-basketball-patrick-ewing-attendance/

Reminds me of the article by Steve Goff on "what;s happened to Mason" (or words to that effect) which preceded by a few weeks the firing of Paul Hewitt.

Fun times in the comments with people talking about GW like it's not in the exact same boat as Mason. Their NIT win is impressive but we're both about the same as far as quality in the last few seasons.

 

[jessej]

Svrgula on Georgetown.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/09/georgetown-basketball-patrick-ewing-attendance/

Reminds me of the article by Steve Goff on "what;s happened to Mason" (or words to that effect) which preceded by a few weeks the firing of Paul Hewitt.

Georgetown has been giving free tix away for the last 3 or 4 years.
Their OOC schedule is so weak that most will not pay to see those games.

This season opening night vs Coppin State was free to anyone who requested a ticket/
Other games are free for educators first respondents, faculty and staff. health care workers, youth basketball coaches, etc.

Attendance is still down because the team sucks and i understand that they have lost at least 1000 season ticket holders

 

[GMUSSTN]

Georgetown has been giving free tix away for the last 3 or 4 years.
Their OOC schedule is so weak that most will not pay to see those games.

Feel like that is their own doing. They have been setting up a Charmin Soft OOC for a long time.

 

[sleeperpick]

Yes but entertainment and sports arena being their best alternative, is limited to about 4200 seats. They should at least hit 5k in big east play. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Avg is 3500 right now and they might not win more than 10 games total. Free tix all over the place and people still aren’t showing up

 

[GMU79]

Feel like that is their own doing. They have been setting up a Charmin Soft OOC for a long time.

St. Leo's anyone?

 

[dr. gunnie]

I get emails from SLU where they offer free tickets as well.

 

[2011WinOverVillanova]

Seton Hall basketball: new photos, details of proposed practice facility

An update on the status of the much-needed renovation.

www.app.com

Ruane Friar Development Center and Innovation Lab - Facilities - Providence College Athletics

The official facilities page for the Providence College Friars

friars.com

Given the fact we lost Kim English to a Big East school... I think it's fair to post those two examples as what we're up against. I want GMU Basketball to get to the point where we can fend off the sharks when they come calling for our coach.

What are people's current thoughts on our practice facility? Do people think we need to keep pace against the big east?

Hope Mr. Met and Mr. Oriole allow this post and don't lock it. It's a fair question about University Resources and I think a lot of people aspire for this program to grow.

 

[MasonFanatic]

I don't think facilities differences were a major factor in Kim English's decision. The primary problem for Mason was that the Friars offered KE a life-changing amount of money with which Mason could not hope to compete. If another company offered you 3-4x your salary, would you stop to ask your current employer for a nicer office before deciding? I know I wouldn't.

As for keeping pace with the Big East and their massive media contracts, that's just not realistic, unless someone on these boards wins the next billion dollar PowerBall jackpot.

Edit: All that said, there's a huge gap in between "build a Big East-caliber facility" and "do nothing" and I certainly think some upgrades should be in the plans, if they aren't already.

 

[Falco]

I don't think facilities differences were a major factor in Kim English's decision. The primary problem for Mason was that the Friars offered KE a life-changing amount of money with which Mason could not hope to compete. If another company offered you 3-4x your salary, would you stop to ask your current employer for a nicer office before deciding? I know I wouldn't.

As for keeping pace with the Big East and their massive media contracts, that's just not realistic, unless someone on these boards wins the next billion dollar PowerBall jackpot.

Edit: All that said, there's a huge gap in between "build a Big East-caliber facility" and "do nothing" and I certainly think some upgrades should be in the plans, if they aren't already.

I wonder how Tony will facilitate practice. But I remember Paulsen making a comment that he holds practice at EBA. Something to the effect you should practice where you play.

I understand practice facilities help with recruiting and players practicing on their own time, but I can’t imagine spending to much more money on a place where players don’t practice.

 

[EXpatriot13]

I wonder how Tony will facilitate practice. But I remember Paulsen making a comment that he holds practice at EBA. Something to the effect you should practice where you play.

I understand practice facilities help with recruiting and players practicing on their own time, but I can’t imagine spending to much more money on a place where players don’t practice.

A modern college basketball facility is so much more than just a court. Weight/training rooms, recovery/rehab rooms, film and classrooms, player lounges, offices for the coaches, etc.

The school has been sitting on a plan for years to build an expansion onto the RAC that would satisfy all of this and immediately put our basketball facilities in the top tier of the A10.

Rumor has it the funding is in place and there will be an announcement soon. Soon being the key word because we all know how Mason operates, not holding my breath.

 

[MasonFanatic]

A modern college basketball facility is so much more than just a court. Weight/training rooms, recovery/rehab rooms, film and classrooms, player lounges, offices for the coaches, etc.

This is the crux of the issue. The practice courts at the RAC are fine. They're as good as any in the A10 and larger than some P5s. But the support infrastructure is sprinkled across several locations on campus (locker and film rooms at EBA, weight rooms at the field house, etc). Some long term decisions have to be made about facilities, so they know which location to centralize the basketball support into.

 

[gmujim92]

A modern college basketball facility is so much more than just a court. Weight/training rooms, recovery/rehab rooms, film and classrooms, player lounges, offices for the coaches, etc.

The school has been sitting on a plan for years to build an expansion onto the RAC that would satisfy all of this and immediately put our basketball facilities in the top tier of the A10.

Rumor has it the funding is in place and there will be an announcement soon. Soon being the key word because we all know how Mason operates, not holding my breath.

Don’t forget the laser tag arena and lazy river … if we’re gonna keep up with the rest of the A-10 those are must-haves.

 

[EXpatriot13]

This is the crux of the issue. The practice courts at the RAC are fine. They're as good as any in the A10 and larger than some P5s. But the support infrastructure is sprinkled across several locations on campus (locker and film rooms at EBA, weight rooms at the field house, etc). Some long term decisions have to be made about facilities, so they know which location to centralize the basketball support into.

They absolutely need to make some bigger decisions and investments with overall athletics facilities/strategic planning.

However that really shouldn’t be stopping them from building the basketball facility addition onto the practice courts at the RAC. If the school has now pivoted away from this very logical idea again, then I don’t think we’ll see this facility get built in our lifetime. Shouldn’t be this difficult.

 

[MasonSAE4]

We don't need to get into an insane arms race in facilities, we just need one nice, centralized location for everything and we need the admin to get its head out of its a** and make a decision and get some funding. They've dragged this out for over a decade and are seemingly unable to decide on what to do.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

If CTS can bring some consistent winning to the program, maybe these decisions regarding facilities can be on a much faster track.

It’s much harder to make basketball a priority when it’s constantly underperforming and not dancing in the tourney.

Yes Mason dropped the ball after 2006 with Merten and O’Connor. But the new administration I think will take much better advantage of program success when we achieve it.

 

[mkaufman1]

We don't need to get into an insane arms race in facilities, we just need one nice, centralized location for everything and we need the admin to get its head out of its a** and make a decision and get some funding. They've dragged this out for over a decade and are seemingly unable to decide on what to do.

No disagreement here as it sums it up well. At the end of the day, this is the next step for Mason Athletics facilities considering what we have.

If CTS can bring some consistent winning to the program, maybe these decisions regarding facilities can be on a much faster track.

It’s much harder to make basketball a priority when it’s constantly underperforming and not dancing in the tourney.

Yes Mason dropped the ball after 2006 with Merton and O’Connor. But the new administration I think will take much better advantage of program success if/when we achieve it.

It will be completely different with Dr W and it was even different under Cabrera. To me the fact that Athletics got the "low hanging fruit" improvements done, as well as increased their ability to spend for staff (English, Skinn), showed the commitment. There is ALWAYS more to do and I hope that they get the ball rolling sooner than later.

We're all just waiting for success to happen so that the random donations start coming in etc etc. Hard to expect that when you are mired in mediocrity for over 10 years.

 

[mkaufman1]

Merged all posts from Practice Facility discussion into Facilities and Arena Discussion

 

[EXpatriot13]

If CTS can bring some consistent winning to the program, maybe these decisions regarding facilities can be on a much faster track.

It’s much harder to make basketball a priority when it’s constantly underperforming and not dancing in the tourney.

Yes Mason dropped the ball after 2006 with Merten and O’Connor. But the new administration I think will take much better advantage of program success when we achieve it.

I get the larger point, but we can’t keep having a reactive approach when it comes to our basketball program. The more we wait the more we fall behind, and the more we have to spend down the road.

A smart administration sees potential and long term value by investing early and often. I think this administration is different than previous ones, Dr. Wash has a different vibe and seems to want to be involved at all levels.

They stepped up on coaching salaries (still can’t believe Curran is on our staff), and checked off lower hanging fruit projects. It’s well past time to invest further and get this basketball facility done. Really hope we hear a formal update from the admin during the offseason.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

I get the larger point, but we can’t keep having a reactive approach when it comes to our basketball program. The more we wait the more we fall behind, and the more we have to spend down the road.

A smart administration sees potential and long term value by investing early and often. I think this administration is different than previous ones, Dr. Wash has a different vibe and seems to want to be involved at all levels.

They stepped up on coaching salaries (still can’t believe Curran is on our staff), and checked off lower hanging fruit projects. It’s well past time to invest further and get this basketball facility done. Really hope we hear a formal update from the admin during the offseason.

Concur -- How about this. A strategy -- build a strategy - with milestones. Identify the challenges and road blocks to the strategic objectives and develop plans to address those. Then use that as the basis for fundraising. Show some killer objectives and incentivise the money to roll in.

 

[Old Man]

Concur -- How about this. A strategy -- build a strategy - with milestones. Identify the challenges and road blocks to the strategic objectives and develop plans to address those. Then use that as the basis for fundraising. Show some killer objectives and incentivise the money to roll in.

You mean ... kinda like those things one might learn in business school. Hmm ... if only there were a business school nearby to assist with these types of activities... Hmmm ... I'm drawing a blank.