I posted this in another thread..not sure it's big enough news to warrant its own thread but I don't see one for hoops. For those of you that have been to Millet, you know it's very dark in there with those awful green seats. Well, the seats have been replaced with red ones, and all new lighting is going in as we speak. There is an old indoor track around the court...I believe they are going to add a couple new rows at the bottom of the current seating areas to bring fans closer to the court as well.

Here's a pic:

https://twitter.com/MiamiOH_WBB/status/4...6082652160

That should really improve the basketball atmosphere by itself, although a decent crowd would go a long way towards making Millett a place to be feared again. Fortunately the program is improving and we're playing some good OOC opponents, so hopefully we're on the rise.

Night and Day. Nice upgrades Miami.

I've been to Millet Hall several times and always thought it had a nice Miami vibe. But... its potential was never fully realized. Lighting and seat upgrades will go a long way.

Can you provide a little history regarding Millet? Was the track ever used? It seems big enough for a ice rink with huge openings which a Zamboni could drive though. Was this ever a consideration?

Jato Rocket: Millet was built in 1968 as I recall....always was intended to be a multi-purpose arena and convocation/entertainment type venue concerts, graduations, etc.) It was never considered for an ice rink to my knowledge...Miami's first ice rink was built when I was in school in the late 70's. The track is an interesting story, too...as I understand it, it's not regulation size, even for indoor meets, so it's just for training.....too bad as it messes up having fans more on top of the court.

When I was a student, I actually liked Millett...the concourses are big and open, and the seats were very comfortable (albeit drab in darkish green color). One thing I do remember is how dark the place was......the new lighting and brightly covered seats should really help the atmosphere.

(08-14-2014 04:19 PM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Jato Rocket: Millet was built in 1968 as I recall....always was intended to be a multi-purpose arena and convocation/entertainment type venue concerts, graduations, etc.) It was never considered for an ice rink to my knowledge...Miami's first ice rink was built when I was in school in the late 70's. The track is an interesting story, too...as I understand it, it's not regulation size, even for indoor meets, so it's just for training.....too bad as it messes up having fans more on top of the court.

When I was a student, I actually liked Millett...the concourses are big and open, and the seats were very comfortable (albeit drab in darkish green color). One thing I do remember is how dark the place was......the new lighting and brightly covered seats should really help the atmosphere.

Just to add to your explanation above - my understanding is that the original design of Millett did not have a track included. It was a last minute (and very hasty) add to the design on the request of the president who lobbied the board hard for the change on the grounds that it would position Miami to be able to develop a top-ranked track program. Of course, in hindsight, a late stage design change was hacked into the base design and in the end, the track was not properly integrated and failed to be considered a regulation venue to hold indoor track meets. So in essence, a late change that bypassed the full design process failed to give MU a legitimate track venue, but also made Millett a less than ideal basketball venue due to the separation of the fans from the court - an epic fail on all fronts.

That being said, it is an extremely well-built building that has aged very gracefully with wide, open concourses and all of the walls in the seating bowl with brick veneer - they really don't build arenas like this very often anymore. Look around at newer arenas and you'll see poured concrete walls and painted cinder blocks. These improvements will make Millett a very solid venue going forward.

Thanks, TAW92....I never heard that story about the track going in last minute...thanks for the explanation. And you are quite correct in that there are many things to like about Millet...actually, if the track wasn't there in the first place and the seats went right up to the court it would be a great venue, especially now with the lighting updates. Many may ask why we can't just take out the track, and lower the floor and add more seats (since currently there is no elevation to do so)....the answer is that it would be prohibitively expensive....there is a lower level below the floor with more practice floors and other things...I actually went to Miami summer basketball camp when I was in HS and we played on those courts in the basement.

(08-15-2014 09:24 AM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Thanks, TAW92....I never heard that story about the track going in last minute...thanks for the explanation. And you are quite correct in that there are many things to like about Millet...actually, if the track wasn't there in the first place and the seats went right up to the court it would be a great venue, especially now with the lighting updates. Many may ask why we can't just take out the track, and lower the floor and add more seats (since currently there is no elevation to do so)....the answer is that it would be prohibitively expensive....there is a lower level below the floor with more practice floors and other things...I actually went to Miami summer basketball camp when I was in HS and we played on those courts in the basement.

Well, just lower the basement too. Duh.

Roberto: Don't think that hasn't come up as a suggestion....my understanding is that the underlying intrastructure costs to do so would make the project unrealistic.......given the cost estimates it'd be better to build a new arena but given the current financial realities that's not gonna happen in the short term....so, we have the renovations that they are doing now and Miami is spending about $20MM all told on the various projects ongoing (IPF, new locker rooms baseball and hockey, and this renovation, etc.)

A video of the progress to date ("dig" that groovy music!). Actually, at the very end you can get an idea of how large the arena really is......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyko3FYD...e=youtu.be

(08-15-2014 10:54 AM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  Roberto: Don't think that hasn't come up as a suggestion....my understanding is that the underlying intrastructure costs to do so would make the project unrealistic.......given the cost estimates it'd be better to build a new arena but given the current financial realities that's not gonna happen in the short term....so, we have the renovations that they are doing now and Miami is spending about $20MM all told on the various projects ongoing (IPF, new locker rooms baseball and hockey, and this renovation, etc.)

Yep, the practice facility directly under the main court is one reason a lowering of the court doesn't make sense. They have actually done a decent job of updating the lower practice court and it is quite nice by even today's standards. The players now have keycard access 24/7 to work on their game via the shooting gun, etc. on the lower level.

As was mentioned before, 2 rows of new seating will be added around the arena - that will shrink the gap between the court and the seating quite a bit.

The big payoff for Miami in terms of recruiting will come with the planned annex - brand new edition to Millett containing new lockerrooms, weight training and players lounge. That is probably still a couple years or more off.

Millet has the same feel as University of Michigan's Crisler Center--which is a good thing as not all late 1960's architecture was done well.

I'd discourage any talk of replacing Millet with a new facility. It isn't like the RedHawks play in BGSU's former home Anderson Arena. The Falcons new home is better but not better than a 45 year old Millet or OU's Convo.