I see where the Kap is discussed in a recruiting thread.
Cough ... cough ...
From the perspective of a Tribe alum whose son attended Purdue:
Hear me out ....
Purdue did not tear down Mackey. Purdue did not build a new arena. Since Purdue is an engineering school, maybe, just maybe, they knew what they were doing.
Purdue renovated Mackey, primarily by adding shiny new stuff to the perimeter of the footprint, keeping the main arena, and tinkering with certain aspects of the main arena.
In other words, Mackey is a circle. Purdue built some rectangles against the sides of the circle (addition of shiny things), and then tinkered with the interior of the circle. No boxes were put in Mackey, but some high price seats were put at half court which has not gone over well.
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pur/...erings.pdf
This is an option for the Tribe re: Kaplan Arena / William and Mary Hall. You've got three sides that arguably could be used to put in shiny new stuff. It can be a three stage process on the outside of the main arena, done at three separate times.
In fact, stage one could be the practice facility and whatever shiny stuff you can put in a new rectangle alongside one side of Kaplan.
Just sayin'.
P.S. Mackey's secret is the aluminum roof. If the Kap's roof is ever re-done, aluminum should be considered ... really reflects, not absorbs, the noise.
P.S.S. Mackey does not have air conditioning. So, the Kap is ahead on that score. If Saturday's scrimmage was held in Mackey, the fans, let alone the players, would have lost a few pounds.
P.S.S. The Mackey Complex Project with the help of Big Ten $$$:
http://www.purduesports.com/genrel/mackey-project.html