They'll presell the suites/boxes before any shovel is in the ground, likely based on 3-5 year deals dependent on location and price point
Demand for Luxury Seating at a RU B Ball Game
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I understand the concern Proud, but Hobbs has shown to be aces when it comes to facilities
Battaglia, Rodkin, RWJ have all been great
I'm confident things will stay the same for Rac
Regardless of what the renderings say, I would very surprised if the students in the first 5 rows of both sidelines actually ends up happening
Beyond shocked
I agree with the capacity aspect, but putting 2k more in the RAC might be impossible
I outlined this in another post, but I have no clue how we're going not increasing seating substantially based off the renderings - makes no sense we'd be decreasing based on what they're proposing
I anticipate donation levels for us in the 100 level to increase dramatically
Agree, and not sure how it's not increasing by the amount based on the renderings
Usually 3-5 years deals, that are signed before any shovel is put in the ground
No need to explain, I’m well aware of how it works.
Based on the survey I don’t think all of the luxury/club seats are going to be geared for companies. I’m skeptical how many fans/alums/big donors would be interested
Even if they were to lock in 3-5 year contracts there’s no guarantee that they remain filled in the future. Just look at what happened with the football club seats when the program took a turn.
And if they are going to fill most of these premier seats/club areas with corporate you can for damn sure bet it’s going to impact the environment
I can already see opposing teams fans sitting in these seats/areas from some schools like Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Penn State because of their alumni base and corporate presence in this area.
Our A.D. seems to be of the same mindset as many of our fans here
That the sideline fans do not make enough noise
He is going to do this, imo, unless there is major push back by existing ticket holders
And even that may not work to stop it
You’re right that Hobbs nailed it with Battaglia, Barnabas/APC, and Rodkin. But those were not revenue producing facilities.
I fear that the push to make the RAC a big revenue producer will cause Hobbs to favor the corporate club suites and bar area above the 100 level over atmosphere. There’s no reason why the following can’t be the parameters for the renovation:
1. New wider concourse that encircles the court, with all of the new bathrooms and concession options.
2. Build out section 118 to mirror the student section, plus fill in all four corners with seats.
3. Put in some “loge” seating toward the top of the 100s, where the ticket holders have access to a bunker bar/suite built underneath the new section 118.
4. Build club suites where the offices are currently located, above section 118.
5. Install new seats throughout the arena, including in the 300 sections.
This is all we truly “need” to renovate the RAC.
With the aforementioned facilities though they bring in no gate receipts for events they actually help bring in better student athletes who then bring fans to games and meets. So those builds are revenue friendly and Hobbs did well. Sometimes the AD also gets too much criticism from fans.
The truth is
If the school wants to be like all of the other pro sports In the area …and maximize revenue with club seats , luxury boxes …and PSL that will come with it ….it’s time to forget about the RAC as a basketball venue …and build a new arean in downtown New Brunswick for basketballand use the RAC for other sports as is.
If ita the school’s objective to have a prime COLLEGE basketball atmosphere ….What they need to do is very simple (similar to the Architect concept during the pernetti era
-get the capacity to close to 10,000 seats by reconfiguring the RAC by
-build out the concourse by the current entrance
-build up the seating in section 118 to the bottom of the windows for the offices
-connect the hall ways behind the seating in a refongired student section in 108-110
-with the built out concrorse …add a real merchandise shop , more ammentiies, more bathrooms . Etx
-skip the luxury boxes and club seats and make ONE club in the Currrnt offices above where 118 is
making the current RAC less in capacity for rhe wine and cheese crowd will ruin what made the RAC the RAC ….they would need to get Crate and Barrell as a new sponsor for the arena when the people are still in the club and bars at halftime and not in the seats and the fans are like , what happened p to the home court advantage ?
It’s either crate and barrel arena or the RAC
What do you want to seee????
If the school wants to be like all of the other pro sports In the area …and maximize revenue with club seats , luxury boxes …and PSL that will come with it ….it’s time to forget about the RAC as a basketball venue …and build a new arean in downtown New Brunswick for basketballand use the RAC for other sports as is.
If ita the school’s objective to have a prime COLLEGE basketball atmosphere ….What they need to do is very simple (similar to the Architect concept during the pernetti era
-get the capacity to close to 10,000 seats by reconfiguring the RAC by
-build out the concourse by the current entrance
-build up the seating in section 118 to the bottom of the windows for the offices
-connect the hall ways behind the seating in a refongired student section in 108-110
-with the built out concrorse …add a real merchandise shop , more ammentiies, more bathrooms . Etx
-skip the luxury boxes and club seats and make ONE club in the Currrnt offices above where 118 is
making the current RAC less in capacity for rhe wine and cheese crowd will ruin what made the RAC the RAC ….they would need to get Crate and Barrell as a new sponsor for the arena when the people are still in the club and bars at halftime and not in the seats and the fans are like , what happened p to the home court advantage ?
It’s either crate and barrel arena or the RAC
What do you want to seee????
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If revenue is his main goal, having students on the sideline is a net negative
I suspect, though, that putting students on the sidelines would be Hobbs’ concession to “maintaining the RAC atmosphere” while still building the stupid bar/suite area above the 100 level.
LOL if it is, I hope he has insurance!
Seriously though, those guys do read the board, whether they'll ever admit it or not
But he also pushed for the silly 118 which was a mistake. Hurt the home court advantage for half empty airport terminal.
Penny wise. Pound foolish.
More importantly to him, he got his courtside seat right by the bench where he can hang with murphy.
I would actually be surprised if this doesn't happen. The optics on TV of fans going crazy is well worth it and helps sell the program. I know some in the 100s will be displaced/moved up, but this is part of big time college basketball.
Duke started the trend w/the Crazies, so there's no going back there
We don't need it here
We have a top 5 arena in the country and a loud, large, boisterous student section
If the goal is to maximize revenue, putting students on the sideline is the wrong move
A lot of new or redone arena's do it - Auburn & Clemson come to mind
Michigan and Sparty also do it on one side
But this is Hobbs stretching - and it's the wrong move IMO
I'll meet you half way - dont think it needs to be done all around the arena - just on the side where the filming is.
Even then it’s not needed
Sure, it looks good on tv
But it’s money losing proposition, we’re not getting recruits bc of it, and you’ll piss off a ton of people
I think Hobbs gets frustrated every time he has to walk the floor to get people to stand up for player introductions. I am 100% positive he also wants people in the 100s standing until our first made basket as well. That is a tradition he stands by as you can see it happen at Seton Hall games supporting their team so I am sure that is where he got the idea. Many other colleges do this and we fail to.
He figures if he can get students lined up in the first 5 rows the noise level and "craziness" of the fanbase will be surrounding the court to get these players excited. You also wouldn't have to have Pike waiving his hands in the air either to get people to stand and cheer
He figures if he can get students lined up in the first 5 rows the noise level and "craziness" of the fanbase will be surrounding the court to get these players excited. You also wouldn't have to have Pike waiving his hands in the air either to get people to stand and cheer
Fans cheer when the team is scoring at a high level or the defense needs to stop the opponent from scoring.Everything else mentioned is irrelevant as seen with the consecutive home losses at the end of the season.
Honestly I find it irritating when Hobbs does that at the beginning of the game. He's not one of us - he's a suit who has proven in the past to be tone deaf. I'm just praying he doesn't screw up the RAC too bad. He'll be far gone in a few years when he doesn't have this job, while everyone here will still be here bleeding scarlet. I would rather he just watch the game from the offices in 118 where he belongs.
Ha - it looks dumb to me considering the arena is always loud. And certainly louder than the SHU crowd whether they are standing at tip or seated.
The below is what I sent to the AD a couple weeks ago, although I have received no response.
Some examples of pre-existing structures that already successfully include the concept below are the University of Minnesota McNamara Alumni Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Great Court of the British museum, the Bellevue Hospital lobby, and the Javits center.
Build a larger outer structure around the arena and make the outside a plaza filled with whatever we need. Flip the inside spaces to have outdoor entryways\exits and open up the "inner" concourse by removing and reorienting the food stands, weight room, etc. New amenities will be in the plaza.
The idea includes surrounding the existing building on three sides, with the largest area in the front. While I like the idea of building out the plaza as an outdoor space, we already have The Yard, and we don't need to replicate it on Livingston. Not to mention that most of the season takes place in inhospitable weather; JMA's facade would be enclosed and painted\shined. The amenities in the new plaza can be changed and upgraded at will; if they're not working, it can be moved and adjusted without heavy building changes.
For internal changes, demolish the press room and put in new bleachers that extend 116, 110, 108, 106, and 101 to the corners to make a bowl, build out the former 118 to match the student section, with a concourse cutout. Move the student section out more to the baseline again for even more seating. Raise and extend the offices into premium seating\box seating. Possibly cut out the front of the building where the windows currently are and turn that into a deck overlooking the plaza. Build a "recruiting deck" style spot where the current handicap seating is and turn the current lobby into the "club" space. The press room can be built into underneath the new plaza, or into a separate space; handicap seating can be moved to corners or side portions of the new box.
End result:
New and easily updated amenities.
Minimal disruptive indoor construction
Significantly widened concourses
Additional seating
Preserves much of current seating and sightlines
Architectural match the arena to the Business school, APC, and livi apartments
Keeps the RAC unique and loud
New all-weather premium event space on campus that can used outside of basketball games for additional revenue
Significant new premium seating and hospitality options,
Significant new naming rights opportunities (Audi lobby, Tommy's Tavern and Tap Sports Bar, etc.)
Significant new year-round revenue opportunities with space for additional events, expos, etc.
My plan adds space for boxes, *and* 1-2 club seating arrangements, without disrupting the majority of the traditional seating arrangement of the RAC.
Some examples of pre-existing structures that already successfully include the concept below are the University of Minnesota McNamara Alumni Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Great Court of the British museum, the Bellevue Hospital lobby, and the Javits center.
Build a larger outer structure around the arena and make the outside a plaza filled with whatever we need. Flip the inside spaces to have outdoor entryways\exits and open up the "inner" concourse by removing and reorienting the food stands, weight room, etc. New amenities will be in the plaza.
The idea includes surrounding the existing building on three sides, with the largest area in the front. While I like the idea of building out the plaza as an outdoor space, we already have The Yard, and we don't need to replicate it on Livingston. Not to mention that most of the season takes place in inhospitable weather; JMA's facade would be enclosed and painted\shined. The amenities in the new plaza can be changed and upgraded at will; if they're not working, it can be moved and adjusted without heavy building changes.
For internal changes, demolish the press room and put in new bleachers that extend 116, 110, 108, 106, and 101 to the corners to make a bowl, build out the former 118 to match the student section, with a concourse cutout. Move the student section out more to the baseline again for even more seating. Raise and extend the offices into premium seating\box seating. Possibly cut out the front of the building where the windows currently are and turn that into a deck overlooking the plaza. Build a "recruiting deck" style spot where the current handicap seating is and turn the current lobby into the "club" space. The press room can be built into underneath the new plaza, or into a separate space; handicap seating can be moved to corners or side portions of the new box.
End result:
New and easily updated amenities.
Minimal disruptive indoor construction
Significantly widened concourses
Additional seating
Preserves much of current seating and sightlines
Architectural match the arena to the Business school, APC, and livi apartments
Keeps the RAC unique and loud
New all-weather premium event space on campus that can used outside of basketball games for additional revenue
Significant new premium seating and hospitality options,
Significant new naming rights opportunities (Audi lobby, Tommy's Tavern and Tap Sports Bar, etc.)
Significant new year-round revenue opportunities with space for additional events, expos, etc.
My plan adds space for boxes, *and* 1-2 club seating arrangements, without disrupting the majority of the traditional seating arrangement of the RAC.
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"DOWN IN FRONT"
- Boomers
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This 1000’s likes. Sooo much easier. Sooo much less expensive. It solves all of the issues without literally redoing the RAC/JMA foundations
Check out what Indiana did with Assembly Hall. Very similar with overall bathroom, concourse improvements, along with a giant atrium and a club lounge above their 118 section. Give us new, improved seating with the corners creating a bowl. Give us an expanded 118 with an additional 1000 seats. Create the club area there. The external atrium provides the space needed for public gathering, food options, Winter Village etc.
Completely agree with the entire thread here!! Best option to get what we want on all fronts.
This x 1000. Nailed it. Follow what Assembly Hall did. Club seating in the offices, not at midcourt.
Hobbs needs to be careful about this. Do not displace current sidecourt seat holders.
Add all premier/club in the section 118 end court. As many as you want there.
need $$$$
If we had a better giving fanbase Hobbs could hypothetically do less to generate revenue but really maximizing revenue is what he should be doing and it’s long overdue.
“corporate crowd” cheers too. There is some kind of fallacy going on that everyone in the RAC today is a die heard screaming RU fan which is not the case.
If we had a better giving fanbase Hobbs could hypothetically do less to generate revenue but really maximizing revenue is what he should be doing and it’s long overdue.
“corporate crowd” cheers too. There is some kind of fallacy going on that everyone in the RAC today is a die heard screaming RU fan which is not the case.
Send emails letters all you want. He won’t listen to you. When you are just looking out for yourself individually it won’t matter. This fanbase does not give a dime compared to our peers and the 100 section is a graveyard to everyone but themselves. The athletic department needs money and this is how the RAC expansión will be done. If you give up your seats there are many people that will take them so please lose interest and give them up and you won’t because this fan base is all talk.
