As someone who is happy about the move to Freedom Hall and is excited about the renovations it is still not the ideal situation for the long term. Where would you all like to see ETSU build a new arena at? What size and accommodations would be needed?

Personally, I would like to see the arena at the corner of state of franklin and university parkway where mcdonalds and the planet are located. To fit it would also probably need to remove a portion of west walnut street where poor richards and a couple of businesses are. I have attached an image. The image also shows the proposed parking garage on that end of campus which could be used for the new arena with a walkway over the road.

Anything that seats less than 8k is a waste of time.

Not realistic location.
Maybe the old General Mills location since being on campus for basketball doesn't seem to matter ( but it is of supreme importance for football, go figure).
Or to keep on Campus, knock down that doctor's office and those houses, close off those roads build it between UH and the Road Runner probably add a parking garage to more
make up for the few lost parking places and help for arena parking.

(04-21-2016 09:14 AM)RodShaw2 Wrote:  Not realistic location.
Maybe the old General Mills location since being on campus for basketball doesn't seem to matter ( but it is of supreme importance for football, go figure).
Or to keep on Campus, knock down that doctor's office and those houses, close off those roads build it between UH and the Road Runner probably add a parking garage to more
make up for the few lost parking places and help for arena parking.

Explain why you think it is not a realistic option. Not disagreeing with you necessarily. The hold up would probably be the McDonalds property but I would think they could work something out. That area is listed on the latest master plan as a "potential growth site".

(04-21-2016 09:29 AM)brock20 Wrote:  

(04-21-2016 09:14 AM)RodShaw2 Wrote:  Not realistic location.
Maybe the old General Mills location since being on campus for basketball doesn't seem to matter ( but it is of supreme importance for football, go figure).
Or to keep on Campus, knock down that doctor's office and those houses, close off those roads build it between UH and the Road Runner probably add a parking garage to more
make up for the few lost parking places and help for arena parking.

Explain why you think it is not a realistic option. Not disagreeing with you necessarily. The hold up would probably be the McDonalds property but I would think they could work something out. That area is listed on the latest master plan as a "potential growth site".

Bingo.

Just Like Road Runner would have no interest in selling because they are making bank in beer sales in their location McDonalds who have no reason to want to move from that corner. There really isn't a comparable piece of property, why would they hurt their long term profits and sell a piece of property long since paid for and move to a less profitable location and rebuild?

(04-21-2016 09:48 AM)RodShaw2 Wrote:  Bingo.

Just Like Road Runner would have no interest in selling because they are making bank in beer sales in their location McDonalds who have no reason to want to move from that corner. There really isn't a comparable piece of property, why would they hurt their long term profits and sell a piece of property long since paid for and move to a less profitable location and rebuild?

If McDonalds thought they could make a good profit on that piece of land and ETSU offered them (JE Davis Enterprises) some kind of deal where they could operate a restaurant in the parking garage rent free for 10 years or something it could be done. There are plenty of other good locations near there that would work for them. It's actually a cluster to get in and out of that location. It would be a holdup but not impossible to overcome.

(04-21-2016 10:18 AM)brock20 Wrote:  

(04-21-2016 09:48 AM)RodShaw2 Wrote:  Bingo.

Just Like Road Runner would have no interest in selling because they are making bank in beer sales in their location McDonalds who have no reason to want to move from that corner. There really isn't a comparable piece of property, why would they hurt their long term profits and sell a piece of property long since paid for and move to a less profitable location and rebuild?

If McDonalds thought they could make a good profit on that piece of land and ETSU offered them (JE Davis Enterprises) some kind of deal where they could operate a restaurant in the parking garage rent free for 10 years or something it could be done. There are plenty of other good locations near there that would work for them. It's actually a cluster to get in and out of that location. It would be a holdup but not impossible to overcome.

? such as

(04-21-2016 10:48 AM)RodShaw2 Wrote:  ? such as

The tire center next to Buc's Pizza, the bank next to pal's, the lots next to that bank, at the intersection of the train tracks and univeristy pkwy at the baseball field, etc. There even could be space next to the arena to build again, it's just that particular spot has to be used by the arena to make use of the proposed student parking garage.

McDonald's is a cluster because they stay busy, on top of congested roadways. I don't know anything about the budget & funding process at the university, but I imagine McDonald's will need a bid that pays for all of their relocation costs (demo, search, new build, good will towards any lost sales during that time, etc.) Alternatively, McDonalds chooses to become a sponsor of the new arena, in which case it better be an arena for a highly demanded basketball team in this region. Thoughts....

(04-21-2016 11:51 AM)shampoo Wrote:  McDonald's is a cluster because they stay busy, on top of congested roadways. I don't know anything about the budget & funding process at the university, but I imagine McDonald's will need a bid that pays for all of their relocation costs (demo, search, new build, good will towards any lost sales during that time, etc.) Alternatively, McDonalds chooses to become a sponsor of the new arena, in which case it better be an arena for a highly demanded basketball team in this region. Thoughts....

Yeah, they stay busy....I think they like that.

(04-21-2016 11:51 AM)shampoo Wrote:  McDonald's is a cluster because they stay busy, on top of congested roadways. I don't know anything about the budget & funding process at the university, but I imagine McDonald's will need a bid that pays for all of their relocation costs (demo, search, new build, good will towards any lost sales during that time, etc.) Alternatively, McDonalds chooses to become a sponsor of the new arena, in which case it better be an arena for a highly demanded basketball team in this region. Thoughts....

Well there is zero chance of them becoming a sponsor.

If ETSU and some donor(s) really wanted that spot they could get it done. Those things happen all the time.

The university has at least thought about trying to acquire that land.

Personally I'm happy with what is going on over at Freedom Hall. I don't think a new arena is going to happen in most of our lifetimes...but it is fun to discuss I guess.

(04-21-2016 01:02 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Personally I'm happy with what is going on over at Freedom Hall. I don't think a new arena is going to happen in most of our lifetimes...but it is fun to discuss I guess.

I'm happy too. If they get the video boards like they have mentioned it should be pretty nice with all the renovations. On campus or adjacent would still be nice though.

It is basically going to take the emergence of a new donor(s) that wants to give around 15 million and even then it would happen no sooner than 10 years from now. There is still an outdoor track that needs to be built first.

Nothing is impossible in regards to location. Everyone has a price. I've said for years that's the ideal location for an arena that could be classified as off campus, meaning they could sell alcohol and make more money to pay it off. ETSU's attendance warrants a 5,000 seat venue with some loge seating/boxes lumped in. I would personally think they should build something that's 10,000 fixed, with around 4,000 in the lower bowl so it'll look filled. You can always light the court as such and tarp off an upper level to make it look full. It should house multiple locker rooms so it can play host to tournament type settings (NAIA, AAU, high school basketball, Division II, Division III, etc...) I'd make the ends retractable so it can be large enough to host concerts, hockey, monster truck, and rodeo events.
If they had to have it a little further towards downtown, that's okay, too. I would just ensure that you could turn West Walnut and downtown into an "it" part of the region, where the arena served as a centerpiece for downtown entertainment where bars, clubs, restaurants, coffee houses, etc... dominate the landscape. Think the love child between State Street in Bristol, Broadway in Nashville, and downtown Franklin. It's not just an arena, it's an entire renaissance of the downtown sector that needs to happen.

(04-21-2016 02:54 PM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  Nothing is impossible in regards to location. Everyone has a price. I've said for years that's the ideal location for an arena that could be classified as off campus, meaning they could sell alcohol and make more money to pay it off. ETSU's attendance warrants a 5,000 seat venue with some loge seating/boxes lumped in. I would personally think they should build something that's 10,000 fixed, with around 4,000 in the lower bowl so it'll look filled. You can always light the court as such and tarp off an upper level to make it look full. It should house multiple locker rooms so it can play host to tournament type settings (NAIA, AAU, high school basketball, Division II, Division III, etc...) I'd make the ends retractable so it can be large enough to host concerts, hockey, monster truck, and rodeo events.
If they had to have it a little further towards downtown, that's okay, too. I would just ensure that you could turn West Walnut and downtown into an "it" part of the region, where the arena served as a centerpiece for downtown entertainment where bars, clubs, restaurants, coffee houses, etc... dominate the landscape. Think the love child between State Street in Bristol, Broadway in Nashville, and downtown Franklin. It's not just an arena, it's an entire renaissance of the downtown sector that needs to happen.

It seems the city has been talking about what to do with West Walnut street as they agree with you that it could serve as the gateway to downtown.

An arena in that area would be the shot in the arm it needed to make JC a destination like Asheville's downtown.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/20...y-corridor

I'm sure the trees streets would have a lot to say with an arena on walnut. hell, they give the bars on the street a hard enough time now.

(04-21-2016 07:25 PM)Bringbackpluto Wrote:  I'm sure the trees streets would have a lot to say with an arena on walnut. hell, they give the bars on the street a hard enough time now.

It's commercial property, the Tree Street old farts don't run the town. If something could ever be worked out between JC and ETSU to do this, the town would become a regional destination for tourism and entertainment.

I think the Tree Street community would support an arena there. They just don't want student housing and other businesses that are going to bring a bad crowd. An arena brings just the kinds of activity that you want in a commercial area such as this and would likely raise the property values within that neighborhood.

(04-21-2016 09:10 PM)etsubuc Wrote:  I think the Tree Street community would support an arena there. They just don't want student housing and other businesses that are going to bring a bad crowd. An arena brings just the kinds of activity that you want in a commercial area such as this and would likely raise the property values within that neighborhood.

I would agree. They would totally support an arena with restaurants there.

The cubs are renovating outside of Wrigley field. They recently purchased the land that a McDonald's franchise had been on for decades. The catch was they promised them a prime spot once the renovations are over

(04-21-2016 09:44 PM)ETSUAlumni Wrote:  The cubs are renovating outside of Wrigley field. They recently purchased the land that a McDonald's franchise had been on for decades. The catch was they promised them a prime spot once the renovations are over

Yeah that would have to happen in this case. They would be able to give McD's a good spot near there but for the arena to work in that area it would need to be at that corner where the McD's is now.