Providence to build $37 mil MBB Facility

[Corny T.]

Cooley gave one of his best speeches, skip to around minute 35. talks about being a small school, good stuff and worth 5 minutes.


Here are some details on the facility.and a few renderings,

http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151215/SPORTS/151219577/13933/breaking_ajax

 

[Halldan1]

Trove readers will remember how I noted that no coach in the league better handles post game press conferences than Cooley.

No wonder why players flock to him in droves.

 

[Bobbie Solo]

watching this magnifies how terrible of a speaker our coach is. it's a minor quibble compared to the important stuff, but Mr. "Um/Ya Know" has approximately 0% of what Cooley has.

 

[Halldan1]

In comparison to Cooley no Big East coach matches up. The guy is in a class of his own.

BTW, no need to turn another thread into a Willard bash fest.

 

[SOSHU]

Cooley exudes the energy, confidence, presence and articulate nature of a great salesperson. Without those skills, even a great x's and o's coach is not a program builder. When you have someone such as Cooley as the chief cheerleader for your most prominent sports program, great things such as this building can be achieved. He truly exudes the characteristics that any great program would love to have in their head coach.

 

[Piratefan2009]

BTW, no need to turn another thread into a Willard bash fest.

How about a "where could South Orange put a new state of the art practice facility" thread?

 

[coatofarms]

The right man at the right place at the right time. Perfect fit.

 

[lwyrup]

The Pru Center is nice. I'm not complaining about it. But with Providence and DePaul building new facilities, and most of the other schools already having an on-campus arena, we're going to be left in the dust in a few years. I don't think it's feasible for us (so not trying to make this an on-campus facility thread), but it's much better, and attractive, when you have an intimate place to play, where a 2k turnout still feels like a lot.

In a few years, Pru Center won't have the same feel anymore. We no longer have the NBA arena selling point, and haven't for a while, and the shine from the relative newness will rub off soon.

So what then makes SHU an attractive option? All we got is the "close to home" angle.

 

[Corny T.]

The Pru Center is nice. I'm not complaining about it. But with Providence and DePaul building new facilities, and most of the other schools already having an on-campus arena, we're going to be left in the dust in a few years. I don't think it's feasible for us (so not trying to make this an on-campus facility thread), but it's much better, and attractive, when you have an intimate place to play, where a 2k turnout still feels like a lot.

In a few years, Pru Center won't have the same feel anymore. We no longer have the NBA arena selling point, and haven't for a while, and the shine from the relative newness will rub off soon.

So what then makes SHU an attractive option? All we got is the "close to home" angle.

This is a practice facility and coaches offices, Friars will still play in downtown Providence at the Dunk

 

[TomD82]

The Pru Center is nice. I'm not complaining about it. But with Providence and DePaul building new facilities, and most of the other schools already having an on-campus arena, we're going to be left in the dust in a few years. I don't think it's feasible for us (so not trying to make this an on-campus facility thread), but it's much better, and attractive, when you have an intimate place to play, where a 2k turnout still feels like a lot.

In a few years, Pru Center won't have the same feel anymore. We no longer have the NBA arena selling point, and haven't for a while, and the shine from the relative newness will rub off soon.

So what then makes SHU an attractive option? All we got is the "close to home" angle.

I think the shine has already worn off. What ever happened to the Fire and Ice Lounges/Bars? Will Georgetown be left behind playing in the Verizon Center? They also use a curtain on the upper level like us.

 

[Rimas]

Blah Blah Blah. On campus arena blah blah blah. Never happen. Less convenience. Would need more police presence. South Orange area has nothing to eat as I would't take my family to eat at Cluck U or Tung Tin. South Orange residents would never ever ever ever ever allow us to build an arena in or around campus. Parking sucks. Area sucks. Want to take the train South Orange? Sure, but risk your life walking to campus. No thanks I will stick with Newark at the State of the Art Pru Center and drink beer. Also it will never happen.

 

[donnie_baseball]

Blah Blah Blah. On campus arena blah blah blah. Never happen. Less convenience. Would need more police presence. South Orange area has nothing to eat as I would't take my family to eat at Cluck U or Tung Tin. South Orange residents would never ever ever ever ever allow us to build an arena in or around campus. Parking sucks. Area sucks. Want to take the train South Orange? Sure, but risk your life walking to campus. No thanks I will stick with Newark at the State of the Art Pru Center and drink beer. Also it will never happen.

Risk your life walking from the train station to campus? Come on.

Whomever said that we'd be left behind because of a lack of an on campus arena should note that it hasn't stopped Georgetown (or Villanova, really -- their place sucks) from being successful.

 

[SHUSource]

Want to take the train South Orange? Sure, but risk your life walking to campus.

Wha?

How is that? by walking blindfolded up the center of South Orange Ave.?

I agree, the on-campus arena is a non-starter, but not for that reason.

 

[Piratefan2009]

Agree with above that an on-campus arena is not possible or practical. I would think the best you could do would be a great practice facility. Would only happen if you could find some extra space right near us or somewhere walkable in South Orange. I assume the outline would be something similar to what Providence is doing.

They would probably have to buy up part of Ivy Hill Park, or buy something from the town that they would never sell since they hate SHU for silly reasons.

 

[SetonHallPirates]

South Orange in recent years has added a lot more places to eat.

Stony's
Above
Reservoir
Ricalton's
Village Diner
Toro Loco
Tito's Burrito's
Gas Light

and a few more places. they really are trying to improve on the restaurants and places where students can go grab a bite to eat off campus.

 

[SnakeTom]

Trove readers will remember how I noted that no coach in the league better handles post game press conferences than Cooley.

No wonder why players flock to him in droves.

So why didn't we hire him ???

TK

 

[Pirate64]

Good for the Friars - Cooley's speech made my hair stand up- Terrific guy.

Our own Tony Bozzella can also get people to believe. "It's about the people" .

 

[Pirate64]

So why didn't we hire him ???

TK

Pat Hobbs loved Kevin. Apparently KW said all the right things and Hobbs offered him a boatload to come.

 

[hallgrad80]

Over the past decade we've seen another element added to a recruit's check list of the schools he's considering and that is the quality of the facilities and I'm just not talking about the arena the game is played in . It's about the quality of the practice facilities, meeting and locker rooms , the weight room , the training staff, sports medicine and the Taj Mahal residences like the residence hall at Kentucky. It truly has become an " Arms Race " centering on athletic facilities.

As to Ed Cooley and his communication skills , which are superb , it's an asset that can't but help his program especially when it comes to recruiting and in his ability to engage all the diverse group that makes up the PC fan base. I also have little doubt that he has the communication skills and personality to charm the media and that can help put his program in a favorable light , which never hurts.

 

[hallgrad80]

So why didn't we hire him ???

TK

He wasn't recommended by Rick Pitino.LOL

 

[cernjSHU]

While the on-campus arena would be awesome, it is not ever going to happen. Even if the campus had room to build such a facility, it does not have the infrastructure, such as parking and roads to accommodate it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Rock. It's a great place to see a game. If we were ever to have a winning program, that Arena would rock!

Not having an on-campus arena is just another excuse for not having a winning program. Quite frankly, I enjoy going to the Rock and going to the Ironbound to eat.

 

[Pirate64]

The Rock is fine. We used to draw 19500 at the Meadowlands for big games.
Basketball lovers filled the place- not just our own fans.
If we ever win big again, the Rock will be packed.

 

[radecicco]

Just win and the fans will come. In our best days with PJ, Amaker, and Orr we had no problem attracting good crowds. Gtown also plays in a big off campus arena and Nova and St Johns play their big games off campus. Let's move on.

 

[Corny T.]

So does Providence, this is only for a practice facility which I'm sure is on SHU's radar.

 

[SPK145]

The never-ending arms race. All that Seton Hall recently did will be obsolete in 2 years in the Big East.

 

[lwyrup]

The Rock is fine. We used to draw 19500 at the Meadowlands for big games.
Basketball lovers filled the place- not just our own fans.
If we ever win big again, the Rock will be packed.

How do you win? By attracting good players. How do you attract good players? Among other things, great facilities.

 

[Shuathelete]

The never-ending arms race. All that Seton Hall recently did will be obsolete in 2 years in the Big East.

It was kind of obsolete when they did it. SHU was so ever loving far behind in that dept. What they did was catch up to the back of the pack. But thats all we really can do.

As for Gtwon and Nova, look at their alumni base. Thats why it works. We dont have that and we wont have that due to the Gonzalez/Willard era that has blown apart a decade of fans.

We are in a tough dilemma. The Rock does nothing for us, makes student experience the worst it can be. Sure its easier for me to get to, but i think you got to go with the edge of the students here.

Building a bandbox would never happen, but that would be the ideal experience we are looking for.

I was sort of serious yesterday when i said we should pop NJIT a few mil and build a few thousand more seats to share their space.

 

[Shuathelete]

How do you attract good players?

hire their coaches!!

 

[The Crows Nest]

Cooley gave one of his best speeches, skip to around minute 35. talks about being a small school, good stuff and worth 5 minutes.

View embedded media

Here are some details on the facility.and a few renderings,

http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151215/SPORTS/151219577/13933/breaking_ajax

A $37 million practice facility? I can think of better ways to spend $37 million.....

 

[Corny T.]

The first phase is the basketball facility, that's about 18 mil, phase 2 connects it and other buildings together into one big facility, housing the student fitness center, Alumni Hall (recently renovated) where the women play and the new men's facility. The women will be moving into the current men's office and locker room which was just redone at a few years ago. 37 mil for the whole thing, its in the attached video if you care to see it. There is about a 2 minute video about the new facility at about the 12:15 mark

 

[Seton75]

Gu is playing Monmouth in front of a rock like crowd as we speak. They seem to be ok

 

[SHUisNJsTeam]

The never-ending arms race. All that Seton Hall recently did will be obsolete in 2 years in the Big East.

That can be said for everyone. You just need to constantly upgrade.

South Orange in recent years has added a lot more places to eat.

Stony's
Above
Reservoir
Ricalton's
Village Diner
Toro Loco
Tito's Burrito's
Gas Light

and a few more places. they really are trying to improve on the restaurants and places where students can go grab a bite to eat off campus.

South Orange is woefully lacking. The town basically stands in the way of any progress the university wants to make. The new mayor or whatever they call it is a Seton Hall alum who I believe was involved in student government when she was at SHU. You would think that this connection would help but I don't think it has. If we could just become part of Newark I think it would be a lot easier for the university to move forward at a normal pace instead of the one step forward, two steps back approach that South Orange seems to embrace with gusto.

 

[SHUisNJsTeam]

How about a "where could South Orange put a new state of the art practice facility" thread?

Walsh is our practice facility, always will be. The outside hasn't changed (though some branding could be nice on the left side opposite where the new fitness center is) but the inside has changed tremendously (new lockers for all teams, new varsity weight room, new academic center) and there is more stuff planned (Hall of Fame).

 

[The Crows Nest]

That can be said for everyone. You just need to constantly upgrade.

South Orange is woefully lacking. The town basically stands in the way of any progress the university wants to make. The new mayor or whatever they call it is a Seton Hall alum who I believe was involved in student government when she was at SHU. You would think that this connection would help but I don't think it has. If we could just become part of Newark I think it would be a lot easier for the university to move forward at a normal pace instead of the one step forward, two steps back approach that South Orange seems to embrace with gusto.

It may get worse...due to a recent court ruling involving Morristown Medical Center, municipalities with colleges (non profit) may begin looking for them to pay property taxes.....or some payment in lieu thereof

 

[Piratefan2009]

I was sort of serious yesterday when i said we should pop NJIT a few mil and build a few thousand more seats to share their space.

That would be have been amazing (and forward thinking). I would assume you'd save money over what we pay for the Prudential too. Still wish we had a better practice facility. The current building is small by any standard.

 

[Rimas]

Walking up and down South Orange Ave was always dangerous at night. Many robberies and an abduction occurred right in front of campus. I feel much safer near the Pru but don't walk too many blocks past it.

 

[lloyde dobler]

Providence is spending $30 million, but it's not all for basketball... Enhancements to the adjoining student center, improvements to the career center that's also part of the building, etc, etc.

But the point remains... It's an arms race. What everyone is billing as state of the art is going to be "obsolete" in a dozen years.

 

[MBF72]

I like Cooley. He is a Providence guy not good enough to play at PC coming out of high school. Althouhg he will continue to grow, in his first years there, he reminded me of Gonzalez: he committed to some very questionable kids who never saw the light of day.... similar to the Carr kid we made a pass at out of Baltimore.

 

[Shuathelete]

That would be have been amazing (and forward thinking). I would assume you'd save money over what we pay for the Prudential too. Still wish we had a better practice facility. The current building is small by any standard.

The Aux gym might be the biggest joke in D1 sports

 

[Bobbie Solo]

Walking up and down South Orange Ave was always dangerous at night. Many robberies and an abduction occurred right in front of campus. I feel much safer near the Pru but don't walk too many blocks past it.

Robberies happen in midtown Manhattan in broad daylight. Are you clutching your pearls there as well? As long as you're not making a right out of the campus' main entrance or going straight back into East Orange, you're in a very safe area. South Orange is a perfectly safe, typical suburban NJ town. Downtown Newark around Prudential is safe as well. There are cops everywhere making sure nothing bad goes down. Sure it's a sketchier, rougher urban environment, but this isn't The Wire people. Get out more.