I went to the new Fairfield Arena for the game against the Michigan women yesterday. It is magnificent. It has a luxury box area. It has great concessions. It has shiny new bathrooms. And it holds noise. It is so clear that the RAC must be upgraded substantially in 2024-5. It will also enhance recruiting.It matters.
Exhibit A
- Thread starter RU72
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I don't believe if affects recruiting at all. Recruits could care less about press boxes or bathrooms.
Maybe it will impress donors and potential donors who will be more willing to give to NIL?
To me the two biggest factors in the success of RU Basketball are Pike and the RAC. Be very careful what you do to it.
The RAC is the noisiest arena I've ever been in. But, it's a dump.
I mean, do some fans think we can get away with never making significant improvements? That’s not realistic.
Compare to 2010 RAC to the current RAC. Big difference. Take it a step forward.
Thinking the same thing. Thank you for expressing it better than I did. Video boards, AC, new sound system- were those bad things?
If you are being realistic and honest…….
You need to replace a good portion of those with good seats and replace them with people or entities that are currently not fans.
The new fans aren’t really fanatics. They are guests. They’ll leave with 7 minutes left and arrive late.
Definitely- but I pick my spots with TV timeouts and my seats are close enough to the restrooms.
1st media TO half #2. Minute the whistle blows I am gone. When I am back the team is still in the huddle.
Yes I wash my hands
People wonder about why we dont get recruits and think the Rac has nothing to do with it? I respectfully disagree. Rutgers is now winning, we have a terrific head coach and our current players love him. We have been to the NCAAs for essentially 3 years in a row.
I personally think the presentation of the RAC is terrible. They could have replaced that dirty, crusty brown ceiling and put something over the white stucco or whatever that is and it would have made a huge difference. Get rid of the old orange seats and replace with red or black.
I personally think the presentation of the RAC is terrible. They could have replaced that dirty, crusty brown ceiling and put something over the white stucco or whatever that is and it would have made a huge difference. Get rid of the old orange seats and replace with red or black.
People wonder about why we dont get recruits and think the Rac has nothing to do with it? I respectfully disagree. Rutgers is now winning, we have a terrific head coach and our current players love him. We have been to the NCAAs for essentially 3 years in a row.
I personally think the presentation of the RAC is terrible. They could have replaced that dirty, crusty brown ceiling and put something over the white stucco or whatever that is and it would have made a huge difference. Get rid of the old orange seats and replace with red or black.
Nothing has been done
I personally think the presentation of the RAC is terrible. They could have replaced that dirty, crusty brown ceiling and put something over the white stucco or whatever that is and it would have made a huge difference. Get rid of the old orange seats and replace with red or black.
Nothing has been done
100% - kids who have visited during the non basketball season, have been turned off by The Rac. It comes off as small time when the see it. 17 and 18 year old kids wanna be appear cool. A run down - basement lookin gym, don't look cool
I think the RAC helps us get recruits. Players see how alive the RAC is during and games are shown all the press it gets from being hell to play in.
95% of a players times is spent in the practice facility, which is top notch. I couldn't disagree more with your opinion.
what is the only reason why hands need to be dried?
i am rushing back to my seat. i am not shaking anyone's hands
Look at Fenway; Wrigley and even Cameron. They’re dumps and beloved. Keep RAC as is but construct some more bathrooms.
If you scatter NIL money around and have the recruits do a treasure hunt they will be fine with it
I get the argument, but y’all overplay this RAC architecture-influenced acoustics in my opinion. I’d bet if there was some science to it, it’d contribute only 5% more noise retention versus an arena with the same exact people and % capacity, but a different roof. The RAC is loud because of its fans the same way Rutgers Stadium was loud when football was at its peak. New Jerseyans just have a certain attitude and grit and maybe if anything the dirtiness brings out the less-picky, grittier fans? Keep the steep seats, so it has that colosseum-feel and everyone looking downward, but after that, have at it and build a proper, nice concourse surrounding all of the seats on the outside. Then everyone is happy.
Two of those 3 have iconic green walls so maybe we should have some ivey growing from the rafters.
The same can be said at football games where a segment of the fan base always arrives late and leaves early.Tail gating has always been more important at football games.
I'd be curious to get the take of a Giants season ticket holder in the old Giants stadium vs new one. Same with the Jets.
Wasn'tt there a lot of turnover in who owns the seats? What is the atmosphere like compared to old Giants stadium.
I don't know these answers
You go there and I'll go watch a game at The Palestra. Ask Izzo if he likes playing at The Palestra.
Bingo. And, I know that we like to say that it's a dump, but it's our dump. It can be upgraded without hurting the thunderous atmosphere. And it's inevitable that it will be upgraded. But they need to be very careful about maintaining the atmosphere. Fix the bathroom situation, improve concessions, make a nice entry way, add seats if possible. But make sure that the noise levels aren't affected and keep the fans near the court. That's all . . .
I would love for Geo baker to weigh in here . He would probably have good insight about the RAC and recruiting @Geo_Baker_1
To me the key is not making the 100s so comfy that it significantly reduces capacity in that area and as a result reduces the intensity/noise level
When you say comfy, do you mean kicking out the long-time loyal fans for corporate seats? To me, that would be a bigger concern than anything they would do the core structure over the court.
There’s a reason Schiano brings all his football recruits to basketball games. Gives a great sell in terms of energy and culture of Rutgers. It is underwhelming if you see it empty but the staff has good presentations of what it looks and sounds like during a game. Recruits definitely don’t care about bathrooms and press boxes lol. Im doing radio today for the first time and I’m gonna need help finding my way to the press box 😂 that being said a new looking rac just continues to show Rutgers is investing in and supporting its basketball team.
Best environment I’ve been to in person is Grand Canyon State. Those folks are crazy. They are at the arena 2 hours before tipoff doing organized cheers. Haven’t been to Rutgers yet. Illinois played out there a few years ago. It’s nuts. Not exaggerating about when they show up and start cheering. Definitely easier to get that going in smaller arenas.
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The new Texas arena is designed at 10K seats for Texas home games and is a 338M dollar price tag for their basketball games, concerts, it's a centerpiece of Austin.
The arena, Frank Irwin center held 16K seats, but offered no home court advantage, because it was too big.
The RAC is the ultimate Home Court. A few upgrades aren't going to change much in terms of noise or anything other than upgrades that are necessary in the B1G. We can't continue to collect checks and not upgrade.
The arena, Frank Irwin center held 16K seats, but offered no home court advantage, because it was too big.
The RAC is the ultimate Home Court. A few upgrades aren't going to change much in terms of noise or anything other than upgrades that are necessary in the B1G. We can't continue to collect checks and not upgrade.
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Geo, I'll be sure to say hello. You'll be a few feet away from where I sit. I promise not to toss popcorn on you during the broadcast...lol
