Anyone been to The Bank of Kentucky Center at NKU? Looks like a very nice facility.

(06-07-2014 08:01 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  Anyone been to The Bank of Kentucky Center at NKU? Looks like a very nice facility.

I have been there for a concert, not for hoops, but yes, it is a very nice facility. I think it seats around 10,000 for basketball. all cushioned chair back seats.

(06-07-2014 08:01 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  Anyone been to The Bank of Kentucky Center at NKU? Looks like a very nice facility.

Very nice. NKU rarely draws over 2500. They play the local high school Regional finals there and draw 5-6 K. For a newbie D-1 it's an excellent facility.

I wonder how they raised the money for it. Naming rights brought in $6M of the $64M cost.

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The reason I ask is that our basketball coach flipped the script in a recent interview. Before, we all thought the plan was to renovate Hofheinz. During the interview, Sampson said we did not need to renovate. We needed a new arena.

So I was looking at some recent construction in the 7,000 to 11,000 range. Most of them (except Auburn) are some variation on the two-level "elongated octogon" layout (see below) where one of the "end zones" is retractable for staging of concerts. Auburn is more like Cameron Indoor or Moody, where temporary bleachers retract on three of the four sides.



Looking at these stadiums, we can build something nice in the 8,000-9,000 range for $80-100M I would think. We were planning to spend $50M renovating Hofheinz.

Several of these new arenas include full basketball practice facilities. At Houston, we are about to break ground on our $20M practice facility, so the arena wouldn't need some of the items (weight room, film room, coach offices, practice courts, etc.) and would be cheaper to build.

In 2012, UT Arlington opened College Park Center. It seats 7,000 and cost $78M. It includes a practice facility. Designed by HKS.







In 2011, Evansville opened the Ford Center. It seats 10,000 for basketball and 11,000 for Hockey. It cost $127.5M. Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport).







In 2010, Auburn opened Auburn Arena. It cost $92M and seats 9,121. The arena includes a full basketball practice facility. Designed by 360 Architecture.







In 2008, Saint Louis opened Chaifetz Arena. It seats 10,600 and cost $80.5M. Designed by Mackey Mitchell & Assoc.







In 2008, Northern Kentucky opened The Bank of Kentucky Center. It seats 9,400 and cost $64M. Designed by 360 Architecture and GBBN. It includes a weight room, academic center for the teams.







In 2008, Missouri State opened JQH Arena. It seats 11,000 and cost $67M. Designed by Ellerbe Becket.