As has been mentioned here before, Ohio State will soon be constructing a new
arena to house the basketball and hockey programs, among others. It will seat
19,500 (but only 17,000 for hockey), cost $75 million, and is expected to
open in late 1998. This is according to my July Buckeye Sports Bulletin.
There has also been a great deal of skepticism on this list as to whether
this new arena will help vault OSU's hockey program into the top echelon. It
seems many s*bscribers feel that the school will not make the committment to
improve the hockey program and a big new arena won't help much. At least this
is what I gather from reading past posts.
Well, here are some excerpts from two rather long articles about the new
arena that pertain to hockey:
[much deleted]
[Athletic Director Andy] Geiger said the ice capability and the viability of
the OSU hockey program as a draw will be important factors in the arena's
success.
"A building that has the auxiliary gymnasium, the ice rink and the amenities
that this building has planned, we will have a very hard time sustaining the
building if we don't have the ice. We need the hockey games and ice-related
events to take place in the building," he said.
"Your whole operating base - concessions and ticket income and all those
kinds of things - is predicated on 6,000 people coming to hockey games. I
think that is a conservative estimate if we can get our hockey program up to
a national championship contention level, which I don't see any excuse for us
not doing given the facility. Hockey will become and has to become a real
linchpin in supporting other things in the department."
[much deleted]
The new arena could also serve as a recruiting tool for top-notch
student-athletes in the basketball and hockey programs, Geiger said.
[some deleted]
"No question it helps us there, and it totally changes what (new hockey
coach) John Markell can do," he said.
[much deleted]
=======================================================
In a separate article in the same issue of Buckeye Sports Bulletin there is
some more hockey related info on the new arena:
[much deleted]
[Hockey coach John] Markell, saddled with the burden of the OSU ice rink,
believes a state-of-the-art facility is just one thing that will propel
Buckeye hockey to the upper echelon of his sport.
"Anytime you move from a facility such as ours to something like the new
arena, it can only help the program," he said. "It may not be much, but next
year's freshmen will get to see a hole in the ground. The next group will get
to see more. Every little bit brings us closer to it.
"We have a chance to have the best hockey facility in the entire country. It
will be Olympic-sized, which is larger than NHL rinks. Only Minnesota has a
rink that size right now. The possibilities are endless for what we can
accomplish with this thing."
[much deleted]
Markell hit the ground running when named as Buckeye mentor after a couple of
seasons apprenticing under former coach Jerry Welsh.
He understands his program has the furthest to go, so he'll take any help he
can get.
"I'm probably going to benefit the most from it," Markell said. "Randy [Ayers
- mens basketball coach] and Nancy [Darsch - womens basketball coach] both
feel comfortable playing in St. John [the current basketball arena - but not
hockey rink], and it's a great facility and great atmosphere. Our rink has a
smaller capacity, so the chance to play in something like the new arena is a
great opportunity."
And while Ayers and Darsch already have established programs, albeit ones
that are trying to reclaim their place among the league's elite, Markell is
basically starting from square one.
"This is a heck of a challenge for me," he admitted. "Everyone says this is a
great hockey town, and now we'll get to see if that's true. Some people say
right now, 'Well, it's the rink.' We're getting a new one. Then they'll say,
'Well, it's the product.' That will be there too. People don't want to see
losing hockey. I certainly wouldn't. So if the facility and the team are both
there, there's no reason not to turn out."
=============================================================
It appears to me that OSU hockey may be on the rise. Once the school gets
serious about improving its program, which appears to be happening, IMHO the
new arena and the appeal of a large urban university with lots of amenities,
choices, and top-notch facilities will indeed be the impetus to vault OSU to
consistently be among the top ten hockey programs in the country.
I wonder though what the REAL reason is behind the sudden interest in
improving the hockey program. Do ya think it has anything to do with the
success of the hockey program up north at Ann Arbor???
Lee Hubbard
OSU '89 (But a BGSU hockey fan for many years)
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