Best BE Basketball Arenas (2024)

Post: #1

http://www.bigeastcountry.com/articles/t...arenas.php

Thanks to CTO from the Syracuse board for the link.

When filled the Dome is hard to beat. Probably give the nod to MSG during the Championship.

Post: #2

good list....the only correction I would make is taking out Continental Airlines Arena...Since WVU has been in the BE that never struck me as being a "tough" place to play.....Usually more empty seats them people anyway

-- Otherwise...it looks good to me

Jackson

Post: #3

Post: #4

Post: #5

The Bradley Center is a pretty bad arena for college basketball IMO. The students are way too far away from the court and the fans that fill the place are extremely fair-weathered.

And the weather isn't all that fair in Milwaukee all that often.

But what do I know? I only work at the BC. ;-)

Post: #6

Bearcat T Wrote:The Shoe at Cincy belongs on this list. 1st and most important its on campus and in the heart of the beautiful new several Hundred million dollar Varsity Village. I believe is the 2nd largest on campus arena in the conference next to the Carrier Dome. The winning percentage speaks for itself. Ask Pitino about the noise and student sections. There is the beautiful full service restaurants and the sporst bar on top both just behind the student section etc. Hopefully we will get some improvements to some of the seating area in the next few years. I would say historically Freedom Hall is
at the top by far with great sideline seats. The Bradley Center is beautiful NBA quality and in a nice location in Milwaukee and not too far from campus. I would love to get to see the Peterson Events Center at Pitt. It looks great on TV. I cannot wait to experience Madison SQ Gardens in NYC this March.

I gotta agree with you on that, the Shoe should be on that list. Very tough place to play and before Nancy Z came along was almost impossible to win there.

Post: #7

Bearcat T Wrote:The Shoe at Cincy belongs on this list. 1st and most important its on campus and in the heart of the beautiful new several Hundred million dollar Varsity Village. I believe is the 2nd largest on campus arena in the conference next to the Carrier Dome. The winning percentage speaks for itself. Ask Pitino about the noise and student sections. There is the beautiful full service restaurants and the sporst bar on top both just behind the student section etc. Hopefully we will get some improvements to some of the seating area in the next few years. I would say historically Freedom Hall is
at the top by far with great sideline seats. The Bradley Center is beautiful NBA quality and in a nice location in Milwaukee and not too far from campus. I would love to get to see the Peterson Events Center at Pitt. It looks great on TV. I cannot wait to experience Madison SQ Gardens in NYC this March.

Bearcat T, again, your enthusiasm is great. But looking at it honestly, and from a seating point of view, our arena is not top 10 in the BE.

The upper level seating is just plain bad, in my opinion. You sit on a hard plastic bench crammed in like a sardine (at least you used to, when most games sold out).

Yes, UC has a great winning percentage there, and it can get loud and intimidating when it is full, but it's not a top 10 facility in the BE.

UC needs to gut the inside of the arena, including the upper levels, and reconfigure the seating.

Post: #8

stpnum4 Wrote:The Bradley Center is a pretty bad arena for college basketball IMO. The students are way too far away from the court and the fans that fill the place are extremely fair-weathered.

And the weather isn't all that fair in Milwaukee all that often.

But what do I know? I only work at the BC. ;-)

Must be a UW or UWM fan. The BC is ok for college hoops. It is terrific for big games. As for MU fans being fair weather, MU has averaged over 10,000 fans per game for 40 of the past 41 years, I believe. MU should average around 15,000 again this year. For a school of 12,000, those are pretty good numbers. Yes, the students are a little far from the court. But, MU has sold between 3500 and 4500 student tickets for the past few years.

Post: #9

How is the Shoe not on this list!?!?!?!?!?!? I've seen games there that were so loud my ears literally rang for two days.......a great home court advantage.

whatever......

Post: #10

Let's just say I was a little shocked the other night, when I was finding my seat in the Shoe, to discover that I would be sitting on a red plastic seat that you would normally find in a high school gym. I also thought the sellout would only have 8,000 people there since only that many were when the game started.

It got better though. By the time the game was 5 minutes in everyone had shown up and there were a small limited amount of empty seats, and those were scattered in the upper deck with me. It was very loud when UC needed it also, and the students were into it.

I'd say the Shoe should be in the Top 10 based on the environment alone if we are going to put Continental Arena in there. However, the Shoe isn't making the Top 10 list if we're talking "actual facility features".

Post: #11

Post: #12

stpnum4 Wrote:The Bradley Center is a pretty bad arena for college basketball IMO. The students are way too far away from the court and the fans that fill the place are extremely fair-weathered.

And the weather isn't all that fair in Milwaukee all that often.

But what do I know? I only work at the BC. ;-)

I disagree. I love the Bradley Center and the Marquette fans. The games I go to are great. I wish DePaul and the Allstate Arena had that much spirit.

Post: #13

Post: #14

I find it a travesty that Gampel Pavilion is not in the top 10.

I find it a BIGGER travesty that the Hartford Civic Center IS in the top 10.

Post: #15

I hate the concourses at the Shoe. Its so damn narrow that you cant move after the game. I hate the red bleacher seats with no backs. I hate that the rafters hang so low that you are literally "in the rafters" when you sit in the upper deck.

That said, the Shoe is a quality arena and I'd have it in the top ten.

Post: #16

[/quote]

Must be a UW or UWM fan. The BC is ok for college hoops. It is terrific for big games. As for MU fans being fair weather, MU has averaged over 10,000 fans per game for 40 of the past 41 years, I believe. MU should average around 15,000 again this year. For a school of 12,000, those are pretty good numbers. Yes, the students are a little far from the court. But, MU has sold between 3500 and 4500 student tickets for the past few years.[/quote]

Yeah I'm a UWM fan, but 1st I am a Bearcat, and I dont think the BC, which is a hockey arena, has much going against the Shoe...which places the students so close to the court.

Maybe I have a bad impression of the BC since I always seem to work games (San Fran., Lewis U., etc) when the students are on break. When Wade was running the show that place was hopping...

Post: #17

Quote:Question for BE fans of certain schools. I used to follow BE basketball in the late 80's while in High school(went to a bunch of Nova games). My question is how many games do St. Johns, Georgetown, or UConn play at these arenas? I remember these schools playing at on campus facilities also. On a side note give me the old gyms like Reynolds, Carmichael, fieldhouse at Pitt any day of the week over the new arenas.

We have played all but one (I believe) game at the MCI/Verizon Center. Our on campus gym is pretty small, maybe it could hold 5,000. We played an NIT game in there and it was electric, and sometimes the WCAC high school tournament is played there and it is electric. Before we played at MCI/Verizon Center, we played at the Cap Center/US Air Arena. While at the MCI Center this year, our largest crowd was against Duke (21,000), and our smallest crowd was against South Florida (4,000).

Post: #18

Post: #19