-- [ From: Kepler * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --
 
John Whelan writes:
 
>  I'd much rather see a game in Appleton (SLU)
> than the ONCenter (Syracuse).  (I've never been to the Knick, so I'll
avoid
> disparaging it here.)  And can you imagine the stories a western fan would
> bring back from a weekend series at UVM, Cornell, BU or Clarkson (to name
a
> few)?
 
Second the motion.  As John and I both come from a school with a vociferous
crowd wedged into a small building, it makes sense we'd prefer the noise
level and crowd participation that large venue fans might not appreciate.
It's hardly universal, though, seeing as there are people who prefer Cheel
to Walker (Clarkson's new and old), for instance.  I don't share (or,
admittedly, fathom) the sentiment, but viva la difference!
 
(Weird that Appleton (SLU) would be mentioned prominently.  For my money,
that's the most gorgeous hockey rink left standing, with Matthews
(Northeastern) giving it a run on its best days.)
 
One objection to the modern multi-purpose arenas is seen one, seen em all.
I'm sure there are many people out there who like the Knick, the Fleet, Van
Andel, the Centrum, Providence Civic Center, etc., but are there people who
like *some* of those arenas yet not others?  Isn't that a little like
preferring McDonald's to Burger King?  I figure we'll see the same sort of
"tailoring" and size reduction in the next round of indoor arenas as we have
in the move away from the over-large, cookie cutter ballparks, and perhaps
someday we'll have 6-8k seat buildings which combine intimacy and charm and
all those amenities.   The Rose Garden has cup holders for each seat, and
that's pretty cool.  It also has glass that falls out all the time because
they shift in the hoops floor after every game, and that isn't.
 
The NCAA's in Boston last year were a good example of what a large venue can
do, in both directions.  It was interesting to have an "event" in a large
barn with a slick, generic environment.  The relative lack of energy in the
crowd wasn't surprising, since the crowd was bound to be less partisan given
it's multi-hockey-cultural makeup.  Two thirds of the seats were much too
far from the ice to feel remotely connected to the game, yet the experience
was still fun, as I hope the (even more laid back) Pond event will be this
Spring.
 
 
 
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*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
*  Greg Berge
*  Portland, Oregon
*  [log in to unmask]
*  www.spiritone.com/~kepler
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