From Down the Drive:

Quote:After flirting with the idea a few years back, the old rumor of UC moving basketball to US Bank Arena pops up again Thursday
 Share on Facebook (9)  Tweet post (3) 3 Comments OK so in which old, rundown, badly in-need-of-a-renovation arena should UC play its basketball games in the future? Fifth Third Arena has been out of date for nearly 20 years. It was built with a few pennies UC found in the late 80's and while it has been the site of many many great games and memories, UC is falling behind especially as they're trying/begging/pleading/praying they get into the ACC or Big 12. Most of us know just how bad the arena is. There are too many things to list if you've been there to watch games. I think it's actually a good thing I haven't been to Louisville's Yum! Center to compare, but I've heard there is no comparison and it would make me sick to know exactly how bad Fifth Third is when putting the venues side by side.

As for US Bank...well yeah, it's a dump in my opinion. It's been renovated a few times but it really needs a major overhaul. It needs new seats, they need to move their suites (not sure how they do that), and a slew of other items. BUT...if you believe twitter, Zach Wells from Channel 12 dropped this one from Mick Cronin yesterday

Zach Wells @WellsZach
#Bearcats Coach Mick Cronin said playing in 5/3 Arena, as is, probably isn't viable long-term. Exploring option of moving games downtown.


What does it mean? Well obviously UC is exploring moving games to US Bank Arena. This started a variety of rumors around the twitterverse shortly afterward. The biggest and most intriguing one was that US Bank has proposed a $100 million renovation to the arena should UC commit to moving basketball games downtown for an extended period of time.

Take it for what it's worth because The Nederlander group who owns US Bank Arena have not officially made comment so it could be just a bad rumor...and with twitter that's always a possibility. But in my opinion, if the rumor is indeed true, I don't see any way UC can turn this down. Sure it would be harder for students to show up but let's be honest , the students would show up just as well/poorly as they usually do for games 10 minutes away especially if UC provided some sort of busing service like they have for football games at Paul Brown Stadium. Also, and I think this is the most important aspect of it all, UC doesn't have the money to renovate Fifth Third Arena. They are raising in the neighborhood of $75 million for the Nippert renovation, so asking for more money immediately following this for a Fifth Third renovation is going to be dicey.

Another factor we need to take into consideration: if you believe reports that Minnesota offered Mick $2.8 per year to leave UC, but Whit Babcock (and perhaps Prez Ono) stepped up with assurances that the basketball program would be taken care of...just what promises were made to Mick? If I'm betting (and I quit that years ago), I'd imagine some sort of discussion was held as to the future of Fifth Third Arena and facilities. Football was taken care of with the Nippert project, I'd bet Mick - knowing how bad his arena is - wanted to have his back scratched as well. Maybe renovating and moving to US Bank is what Mick asked for. We may never know exactly what was said or promised, but I'd bet Mick is pushing for something to be done.

So, if UC is not going to have to put up a dime and they'd get a brand new-ish arena that seats in or around 17,000, why wouldn't they do this? To me it's a no-brainer. US Bank is not a great place, but it could be a LOT better. We already know it gets loud AND UC plays very well there for some reason or another. With $100 million (allegedly) it could be a fantastic move for the future of UC basketball...and the financial status of the university and athletic department. I'm all in! Let's do this! (now I'm sure it won't happen)

http://www.downthedrive.com/2013/4/12/42...a#comments

I'm not a huge fan of US Bank by any stretch but it is MUCH NICER than 5/3 Arena and if they are going to do a $100 mil renovation then it is a no-brainer for sure... 5/3 absolutely sucks! Easily one of the worst arena's in all of college basketball.

Micks brother on twitter threw out the idea of a $100 million renovation. So it's not like its a done deal, but it's not coming out of nowhere.

rumor or not ... count me on board with this.

The re-vitalization of downtown Cincy just adds to the appeal. Youd get a boatload of casual fans who will say hey lets grab dinner at the banks , go watch a nationally ranked college basketball program then go to the casino . How many of those people are doing that now in Clifton?

Also, I never got the notion of "US Bank is a dump for basketball". Yeah a bit outdated , but the comfort, sight lines and accessibility beats 5/3rd Arena hands down.

We can bus the students 3 miles downtown.

My only complaint is the concourses (inside and out) are terrible when it is a crowded event ie the Crosstown Classic.

(04-12-2013 01:21 PM)Overrated Wrote:  Micks brother on twitter threw out the idea of a $100 million renovation. So it's not like its a done deal, but it's not coming out of nowhere.

You would think. Then when you realize who tweeted that...

(04-12-2013 01:34 PM)bctn8n Wrote:  My only complaint is the concourses (inside and out) are terrible when it is a crowded event ie the Crosstown Classic.

The concourses inside 5th 3rd are even worse.

Sorry but I have had season ticket since 2008 and I will probley not go to games down there at US Bank. When we have had games there that were season ticket ones I got worst seats there then the ones I get at 5/3. If you are not within the court area down at US Bank the seats suck for Basketball.

(04-12-2013 01:22 PM)Bearcat2012 Wrote:  rumor or not ... count me on board with this.

The re-vitalization of downtown Cincy just adds to the appeal. Youd get a boatload of casual fans who will say hey lets grab dinner at the banks , go watch a nationally ranked college basketball program then go to the casino . How many of those people are doing that now in Clifton?

Also, I never got the notion of "US Bank is a dump for basketball". Yeah a bit outdated , but the comfort, sight lines and accessibility beats 5/3rd Arena hands down.

We can bus the students 3 miles downtown.

Completely agree. Hell I thought I was the only one on this board that felt this way. For UC to not take advantage of the huge growth in downtown Cincy would be dumb. As I've said before, I'm all for staying with Nippert because tailgating is the party portion of football games, but as far as basketball games go there has to be a place to go before and after. Those options are very limited in Clifton.

Add in the fact that Cincinnati has no pro basketball team so UC could fill that void if they are playing downtown. Xavier can't do it because they have a brand new arena to use, but we can.

Hey, it works for Louisville, why not us too? Post-$100M renovation of course.

If US Bank Arena is indeed going to be fixed up I don't have a problem with it.

Not buying this for a minute. With the emphasis the current administration has with keeping events on campus I would be very surprised. Could see it as a stop gap while the on-campus site is redone, but long term makes no sense.

I always liked having the games on campus. My first year at UC was the last year of playing downtown (1988/89) and I went to maybe 2 games. The next year Shoemaker opened and I went to the far majority of games the rest of my time there.
Now that I am an alumni, I like being able to come back to campus for games.

I see the benefit of moving IF there is a $100M rennovation that doesn't cost UC a dime, and IF Shoemaker cannot be rennovated within the next several years.

Basketball doesn't have the tailgating experience that football does. I love going to campus but I don't think basketball games need to be on campus. Give UC basketball a top notch arena anywhere and I will take it. Without renovations, I'd say no. Of course, we'd have to get transportation for students down there but that can be figured out. Imagining UC alums pregaming at the downtown/banks bars, going to games and then postgaming there. Parking isn't bad either. I'm a proponent of this as long as UC makes money off of it.. A renovated US Bank would also allow Cincy to host other national events.

(04-12-2013 02:11 PM)namrag Wrote:  I always liked having the games on campus. My first year at UC was the last year of playing downtown (1988/89) and I went to maybe 2 games. The next year Shoemaker opened and I went to the far majority of games the rest of my time there.
Now that I am an alumni, I like being able to come back to campus for games.

I see the benefit of moving IF there is a $100M rennovation that doesn't cost UC a dime, and IF Shoemaker cannot be rennovated within the next several years.

I had three years of the bussing BS. One year at Riverfront and two years at the Gardens which we shared with Xavier. It is a terrible idea, because the students will not attend. We will not draw the same number of fans as Louisville, because our base is not as large.

(04-12-2013 02:28 PM)rosewater Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 02:11 PM)namrag Wrote:  I always liked having the games on campus. My first year at UC was the last year of playing downtown (1988/89) and I went to maybe 2 games. The next year Shoemaker opened and I went to the far majority of games the rest of my time there.
Now that I am an alumni, I like being able to come back to campus for games.

I see the benefit of moving IF there is a $100M rennovation that doesn't cost UC a dime, and IF Shoemaker cannot be rennovated within the next several years.

I had three years of the bussing BS. One year at Riverfront and two years at the Gardens which we shared with Xavier. It is a terrible idea, because the students will not attend. We will not draw the same number of fans as Louisville, because our base is not as large.

I agree.

I think the student body is more into the basketball program than they were in the 80s thanks to the efforts of the Administration and the level of the program itself. A bus ride to Bond Hill or a dead riverfront to watch a bad basketball team isnt what we are talking about 30 years later. But I could be wrong.

(04-12-2013 02:28 PM)rosewater Wrote:  I had three years of the bussing BS. One year at Riverfront and two years at the Gardens which we shared with Xavier. It is a terrible idea, because the students will not attend. We will not draw the same number of fans as Louisville, because our base is not as large.

Those teams sucked. Students didn't go to 5th 3rd when we were bad either. If the team is winning students will go downtown. You will also get a good number of fans who will go downtown that refuse to go to Clifton.

(04-12-2013 02:33 PM)namrag Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 02:28 PM)rosewater Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 02:11 PM)namrag Wrote:  I always liked having the games on campus. My first year at UC was the last year of playing downtown (1988/89) and I went to maybe 2 games. The next year Shoemaker opened and I went to the far majority of games the rest of my time there.
Now that I am an alumni, I like being able to come back to campus for games.

I see the benefit of moving IF there is a $100M rennovation that doesn't cost UC a dime, and IF Shoemaker cannot be rennovated within the next several years.

I had three years of the bussing BS. One year at Riverfront and two years at the Gardens which we shared with Xavier. It is a terrible idea, because the students will not attend. We will not draw the same number of fans as Louisville, because our base is not as large.

I agree.

Haven't we been through this before?

Nothing has ever succeeded long-term at the Coliseum, neither UC basketball nor anything else. It's almost as if the building is cursed (Who concert, anyone?) But I suppose that moving games there for a season might be a necessary exercise to disabuse the delusional of any idea that UC would benefit from this particular change of scenery.

Watch the attendance figures plummet.

(04-12-2013 02:38 PM)Former Lurker Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 02:33 PM)namrag Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 02:28 PM)rosewater Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 02:11 PM)namrag Wrote:  I always liked having the games on campus. My first year at UC was the last year of playing downtown (1988/89) and I went to maybe 2 games. The next year Shoemaker opened and I went to the far majority of games the rest of my time there.
Now that I am an alumni, I like being able to come back to campus for games.

I see the benefit of moving IF there is a $100M rennovation that doesn't cost UC a dime, and IF Shoemaker cannot be rennovated within the next several years.

I had three years of the bussing BS. One year at Riverfront and two years at the Gardens which we shared with Xavier. It is a terrible idea, because the students will not attend. We will not draw the same number of fans as Louisville, because our base is not as large.

I agree.

Haven't we been through this before?

Nothing has ever succeeded long-term at the Coliseum, neither UC basketball nor anything else. It's almost as if the building is cursed (Who concert, anyone?) But I suppose that moving games there for a season might be a necessary exercise to disabuse the delusional of any idea that UC would benefit from this particular change of scenery.

Watch the attendance figures plummet.

IF they are going to do a $100 mil renovation, I can guarantee you the agreement with UC BB would be more than one season.