I think this hasn't been discussed in the other facilities thread. Are we REALLY sure that the All-State Arena is the right/best choice for NU BkB during the WRA reno year?
There are some other options that have some advantages over All-State. Two of them are:
The Gentile Arena at Loyola is a relatively modern (1996) recently renovated (2011) arena. It has the very obvious advantage of being only about FOUR MILES from the NU Evanston campus. It is also easily accessible via EL, which makes it relatively easy to get to for those living in most parts of the city of Chicago, proper, and some nearby communities. It also has an equally obvious disadvantage: 4,500 seats. Considering that most who would go to a game at WRA probably would still go to the GA (and it may be more convenient for some), it seems the Arena would be sold out through the entire season. Money could be lost because of lack of seats, but some of it could be recovered through higher ticket prices.
Another very attractive option is the UIC Pavillion, just West of the Loop, and easily accessible via EL, which means moderately easy to get to from Evanston, and relatively easy to get to from most parts of the city. Its capacity of about 7,000 is probably adequate for an off-campus location.
It seems that either of these facilities (especially UIC) would be a superior solution to the AA. What do you think?
There are some other options that have some advantages over All-State. Two of them are:
The Gentile Arena at Loyola is a relatively modern (1996) recently renovated (2011) arena. It has the very obvious advantage of being only about FOUR MILES from the NU Evanston campus. It is also easily accessible via EL, which makes it relatively easy to get to for those living in most parts of the city of Chicago, proper, and some nearby communities. It also has an equally obvious disadvantage: 4,500 seats. Considering that most who would go to a game at WRA probably would still go to the GA (and it may be more convenient for some), it seems the Arena would be sold out through the entire season. Money could be lost because of lack of seats, but some of it could be recovered through higher ticket prices.
Another very attractive option is the UIC Pavillion, just West of the Loop, and easily accessible via EL, which means moderately easy to get to from Evanston, and relatively easy to get to from most parts of the city. Its capacity of about 7,000 is probably adequate for an off-campus location.
It seems that either of these facilities (especially UIC) would be a superior solution to the AA. What do you think?
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