The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

From the C-USA board.

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/news/03-28...ign=buffer

I think it's obvious that these rankings are a joke.

That said What are your thoughts on arenas and some of the neat venues you have been to?

Also, how would you rank them and being objective (If that's possible)where would Bartow land?

My personal opinion is there are some sub 200 and possible a 300 I would put in the top 100 and drop some of the top 100s down. Difficult to rank unless you have been to a lot of them.

To be fair, Bartow is becoming dated. Cinderblock construction, ancient lighting, & horrible concessions all count against us.

And we need some subs that go BOOOOOOM like at Regions Field for the hip hop stuff.

IMO he disregarded atmosphere and preferred the fancy things a stadium has to offer. Objective proof is Duke at 31 and Vanderbilt at 54. Tennessee was ranked above Vanderbilt which I know is wrong. Duke is an ideal college basketball environment regardless who is playing. Vanderbilt has a strong atmosphere due to its set up. I agree UAB is a top 100, especially when it is filled to the roof. Atmosphere is everything to me.

Tennessee > Vandy IMO. Louisville should have been much higher. Memphis should have been lower, but probably still in top 10. I'd have UAB in top 50 when it's full.

Vandy is the absolute worst place I have ever watched a game without a doubt.

The best in terms of atmosphere was Allen Fieldhouse. I saw a Kansas NCState game there in the early 90’s and the place dripped in history and was electric in atmosphere.

There is no way possible you can rank all the arenas. You might be able to do a top 10 or 20, but not all of them.

I agree. Vandy is a horrible venue.

(04-09-2014 09:05 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  To be fair, Bartow is becoming dated. Cinderblock construction, ancient lighting, & horrible concessions all count against us.

basketball is a 2 hour event, I can't say I've ever used the concession stands at a game.

We could probably use a small update on a few things but I'd rather see an OCS than a new basketball arena.

Yea Bartow needs to be updated but I would not count off for CMU construction as that is simply how new facilities are built. It does need new lighting and sound. The concourses should be a colored polished concrete. Concessions suck. Everything is fixable but we simply need funding. There have been some improvements with locker rooms and lower bowl seating. I was told more changes to come.

To be fair to Bartow Arena, very little in that article could be used as a guide towards improving its offering. The various descriptions of sites seemed to reflect the success records of the teams playing there. If winning, the building is "historic" (or some synonym) but if not, it is just old. (Kind of reminded me of how Legion Field is described)

Because of the limitations imposed by the size of the basketball court, there is just no way to build a huge arena (over 20,000 or so) for it while maintaining good sight lines and intimacy of atmosphere. The author struggled to find new ways to say the same repetitive things about various arenas, but at least he tried.

Did nt Bartow get an updated sound system a few years ago. In the past few years, they have gotten a video board, new scoreboards, a new court, new locker rooms, new seats in the lower level.


They have done a damn good job of updating it. Unless you tear it down and start over, there isn't. UCF more to do.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Bartow arena that 6k to 7k fans regularly in the seats wouldn't fix. Because some idiotic article written by someone who most likely has never stepped inside Bartow ranks it low, doesn't mean anything

I definitely did NOT like UNCCs arena. It looked like a dated high school gym. The concessions area looked like a high school cafeteria. However, to my surprise, it was built in the mid 90s! I'd take Bartow over that arena.

Bartow doesn't have much in terms of bells and whistles, and it definitely needs some upgrades. However, when it's full or close to full, it has a great atmosphere and can give us a great home court advantage

The concourses are bare and ugly. Why isn't there more green and gold and murals old UAB teams and gene Bartow in action? Basically looks like a bare cinderblock building on the concourse areas. The new video boards are nice

All you have to see to know this ranking should not be taken seriously is when you get to #147 and find the glorified high school gym that is Pete Mathews Coliseum at JSU.

I agree that the concourse could use a face lift. Otherwise, I've got no problem with Bartow, and think it's a great venue for basketball.

I haven't been to many, and the only road trip I made this year was MTSU, and their gym is awful. 70s era multi-purpose arena. Round, meaning the closest seats are on the corners. Running track on concourse. Two men's room signs with arrows pointing at each other, with no men's room in between. Weird.

(04-09-2014 10:18 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  All you have to see to know this ranking should not be taken seriously is when you get to #147 and find the glorified high school gym that is Pete Mathews Coliseum at JSU.

Yeah, 185 might not seem bad until you get a load of some of the barns in front of us.

I don't like Vandy's raised floor and the teams sitting beyond the end lines.

Continue updating the concourse (the tv's are a nice touch,) dramatically update our embarrassing concessions, update the lighting, and Bartow is good for another 20 years.

There is also a lot you can fix that won't cost a dime: better game management (music/band/entertainment/etc) and get rid of the seat nazi's.

One of the possible future things is staining the concrete floors. I know the guy that was asked to price it.

(04-09-2014 10:18 AM)Smaug Wrote:  I agree that the concourse could use a face lift. Otherwise, I've got no problem with Bartow, and think it's a great venue for basketball.

I haven't been to many, and the only road trip I made this year was MTSU, and their gym is awful. 70s era multi-purpose arena. Round, meaning the closest seats are on the corners. Running track on concourse. Two men's room signs with arrows pointing at each other, with no men's room in between. Weird.

You left out the part about the worn out wooden bleachers on the upstairs apron and the pee wee football concessions.