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Post by LUconn on Jan 21, 2005 16:25:32 GMT -5
Does anybody think this is a dumb name? I used to think that but I guess I'm used to it now. I kinda like the name "the vines center". It's a nice name. I think we should make it the furnace and blast the the heat during games. Our players would get conditioned to it and it would be the ultimate advantage. Kinda like a dome team vs outdoor team in football. When the outdoor team goes inside it doesnt hurt them but the other way around is a huge advantage. Anway, at the very least we should blast the heat in the visiting locker room. Just thinking outside.
Other funny things about our facilities: I thought it was funny that the visiting football teams used to have to spend halftime in an equipment shed. Now they have to walk up what I refer to as "the hill of shame". It may take some energy to get up that thing.
Just thinking outloud here.
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aLUmnus
Full Member
old school LU
Posts: 192
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Post by aLUmnus on Jan 21, 2005 16:32:52 GMT -5
Yeah, whenever the visiting football team has to make it down to the field, they have to walk very gingerly down that hill or else they might twist something. It's kind of funny watching that.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jan 21, 2005 16:43:42 GMT -5
It was a natural nickname ... not necessarily the most ingenious.
As for giving the visiting team crappy facilities, it is a time-honored tradition. Just ask anyone from the Association about visiting the old Boston Garden.
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Post by eddantes on Jan 21, 2005 20:25:03 GMT -5
As for "The Furnace" - it's only natural because we are, after all, the Flames. Of course, I wish we were called something else (I think "Fighting Irish" would be cool because we're always trying to emulate Notre Dame), but that's regardless.
Now, if it were up to me, we would play off of our "Furnace" nickname and have red seats (instead of blue) and the cushioned ones would be black. Plus, I'd paint the walls black, and have ivy crawling up around the front of the building (hence the name, the "Vines Center").
And while I'm at it, have you ever seen those basketball floors that will have "the paint" as the hardwood and everything inside the arc is painted instead (I think Temple does this)? Yeah, that would be cool if we had it red and black.
Man, I wish I were in charge of these things.
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Post by Yohan on Jan 23, 2005 13:32:13 GMT -5
I could go for the red/black painted court. Red seats might be an eyesore though. Black cusioned seats sounds good.
I say we keep the blue seats, paint the court, and name it:
the pool of death.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jan 23, 2005 14:17:57 GMT -5
First off, welcome to the board, Yohan. Although I realize there are a number of lurkers who post from time to time. You might want to register and stick around & post regularly.
While I like the ideas Ed laid out, I do feel you need to be careful to not be too pretentious. You run the risk of forcing the issue as far as the homecourt advantage is concerned. We have built a nice atmosphere but we don't want to come across as too full of ourselves.
I'm not sure about the seat cover in Vines, but I know that they usually can be changed out for different color schemes. At Staples Center, they change them out for each Lakers & Clippers game. I do like the idea of red seating at the games.
As for the floor, if it could be painted tastefully yet implying the furnace theme, I'm all for it. But again, you don't want to go too far over the top.
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aLUmnus
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Post by aLUmnus on Jan 24, 2005 8:58:30 GMT -5
You've gotta be careful about who paints the court around here. I don't know how many of you saw the monstrosity they painted on the court in the late 90's. It was some kind of mountain/flame/? thingy. It was hidious, and no one know what it was. And supposedly it cost a lot of money. It had to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen on a court.
The University of Illinois-Chicago, who are also the Flames, had an amazing paint scheme a few years back that definitely reinforced the team's nickname. They had great fire graphics, very professionally done.
I don't know about painting inside the arc, though. Too much paint looks gaudy (Temple's court with the big owl wings looked terrible). I guess I like the clean look for basketball courts.
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Post by eddantes on Jan 24, 2005 10:33:59 GMT -5
Ah yes, the awful mountain logo. Fortunately, I was never around to see that. I have seen pictures of it, though. Yuck. In fact, that floor was soooo ugly that it was digitally replaced from the photos of the Vines Center that you will see in media guides and such.
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Post by LUconn on Jan 24, 2005 11:15:40 GMT -5
The current logo isn't exactly eye candy either. They were so quick to put the new logo on the turf, albeit faint and small. I was convinced that it'd be on the hardwood this season. But I think what takes the Vine's down 2 notches is the manilla/rubber color on the floor outside of the court. You know, the rubber stuff. If it were dark blue it would make a world of difference to the appearance of the entire inside. Ugliest courts: #3: Kansas - Gigantore Jayhawk #2: Temple- Big wings #1: Boise St. - At least it's not blue.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jan 24, 2005 13:33:13 GMT -5
I see plenty of WAC and Mountain West courts on TV down here and the Boise State floor is fairly representative of the gaudiness. As I mentioned earlier, it is a fine line between unique and embarassing.
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Post by LUconn on Jan 24, 2005 15:28:03 GMT -5
as somebody mentioned. UIC's court eh, it's nothing to write home about. Now, I googled around and found this picture on Southern Air's website (I guess they did the ducting) That red looks pretty spiffy. I'm sure most of you remember that, but it's not there anymore. The Liberty Flames isnt on the court and I can't tell what's in center court.
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Post by PAmedic on Jan 27, 2005 10:39:37 GMT -5
LUConn, are you saying this is an old pix of the inside of Vines? (never got to see the inside/finished product: just a big hole in the ground in '89)
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aLUmnus
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Posts: 192
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Post by aLUmnus on Jan 27, 2005 11:38:13 GMT -5
I'm not LUconn, but yes, it's an old picture. The court is different now, and there's big projection screens in each corner above the seats. But that's what it pretty much looks like.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jan 27, 2005 11:43:54 GMT -5
Change the blue & red in the arena to green & gold and you have the Ferrell Center at Baylor.
You'll have to excuse some of us oldtimers who still are impressed that the school has such a nice arena after the barn we called home back in the day.
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Post by SCAR on Jan 27, 2005 12:14:58 GMT -5
Sly Fox,
I have been to Baylor and with all due respect to the Vines center, their arena blows ours away. The reason is that in the Vines there is a supreme misuse of space. At Baylor and like many arenas they use the space beneath or behind the seats for offices and storage etc. They have so much more practicality of planning that shows through in their design. Sly if you come to Lynchburg I will show you exactly what I am saying when I give you a tour of the Vines. You are right to compare the 2 buildings because they look almost exact to the naked eye. But in terms of use of space, they have it beat. I still love the Vines though. It is a great place to watch a game and I'm sure I would have loved to play there in a real game (not just pickup or practice).
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Post by eddantes on Jan 27, 2005 16:10:14 GMT -5
Scar, I'm a little confused. If you think of the concourse section as the top floor, the men and women's basketball offices are located under that (in what would be the second floor). I assume they are under the seats.
Nice places too, those offices. You ever been in the giant media room? Gotta love the couches and the big screen TV.
As for supreme misuse of space, well, the problem is that the arena is in the middle of campus, and thus nowhere near parking. Now you and I both had media passes (I assume you got one) so you can really ignore the problem that is a bunch of people have to walk a bit from the religion hall or the pit by the six-story dorm.
As for parking in front of DeMoss- I made that mistake once and it took me 45 minutes to get out - of the parking lot - after a game.
I dunno, has the new ramp from 460 improved things in this aspect?
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Post by eddantes on Jan 27, 2005 16:12:36 GMT -5
Clarification: Top floor of the Vines is the third floor, the concourse... Second floor is where the offices are and the first floor (bottom, floor level) is where the locker rooms are.
It's not like we have a big slab of cement everywhere that isn't part of the arena.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jan 27, 2005 16:28:06 GMT -5
Scar, were you one of Mel's assistants on that team that played at Waco a few years back? If so, my wife & I were in the Ferrell Center that night. It was an evening that we'll never forget for demonstrating the vast differences between the two largest practicing-Baptist schools in the nation.
The team was probably already in the tunnel or in the lockerroom immediately after the game when Bliss took the PA microphone. He wanted to announce to everyone in attendance how happy they were that one of their starting guards had just become a father earlier in the day. Bliss (we didn't realize how big of a sleazeball he was at the time) went on & on about how wonderful the news was and led the entire crowd in a round of applause. As we left to head home to Austin, we caught the postgame show on the radio. The gushing continued for this player (who I believe had a few brushes with the law back in the day) who they mentioned was considering marrying the child's mother.
I don't see that ever happening at Liberty anytime soon. Even my University of Texas alum wife was stunned by the cavalier nature of the situation. At UT, they always keep that sort of pre-marital fatherhood under wraps. But at Baylor, it was openly celebrated. Bizarre.
This was all a couple years before the Dennehy-Dotson tragedy. But it was representative of how a portion of an athletic department can get out of control if left unchecked in order to win at all costs.
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Post by SCAR on Jan 27, 2005 16:59:57 GMT -5
Eddantes, The Vines Center offices are in a different section of the arena. They are under the seats at the far end but there are 3 other sides that have nothing under them whereas Baylor's place you can walk around the entire arena on the bottom level and the second level. Not just at the far end of the court. 3/4ths of the 1st and second floor area is not used. I hope that is not confusing but it may be. Basically what I am saying is that at Baylor they used their space better....Sly Fox, I was NOT on the staff under Hankinson. I don't think he even knows who I am. I tried to meet with him a couple of times to say hello but he was not interested in anyone from Liberty's past. He didn't even honor Matt Hildebrand's number being retired! Some freshman was wearing it when Hankinson took over. He corrected it when it was pointed out to him a year later. The reason I recognized it is because I wore #20 before Hildo so we have a sort of kinship about that and are sensitive to the sanctity of "our" number . I only worked for Jeff Meyer (Dunton was the top assistant). We went to Baylor for the Dr. Pepper invitational. What a great tournament. Our hosts were very cool. We played #22 Auburn in the 1st game and Larry Jackson missed a 24 footer that would have won the game. Our kids played great that day. Baylor had Brian Skinner. I wanted to see Aluma play Skinner but it never happened.
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Post by SCAR on Jan 27, 2005 17:09:16 GMT -5
Eddantes,
I know what you mean about parking although I park behind the Vines so I am straight. Most people have to walk a long way to get in. Not fun in the cold and the ice. That said, we still have the best arena in the Big South. I feel like ranking again. Here are the Big South buildings in order:
Vines Center Withrop Colusium Cameron Hall (VMI) Dedmon Center (Radford) Millis Center (High Point) Bill Battle Coliseum (Birmingham So) Justice Center (Asheville) Kimbel Gym (Coastal) CSU Fieldhouse (Charleston So)
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Post by Sly Fox on Jan 27, 2005 17:15:53 GMT -5
I thought you were probably too level-headed to handle working for Mel. But I wasn't sure. Dr. Pepper basically underwrites Baylor athletics. Those were some pretty awful days for Bear basketball, Skinner withstanding. Brian was a fun player to watch ... a shot-blocking machine.
I know exactly what you are talkign about regarding the catacombs at Baylor. I assumed it was a similar arrangement at Vines. I haven't been down underground.
One difference between Vines & Ferrell is where the areans were built. While Vines was built in the infamous ravine, Ferrell was built on a flat field with the court at ground loevel and the rest of the arena built up by berms on each side. So it was much easier from an architectural standpoint to do more below the seats at Baylor than at Liberty.
Is Cameron Hall the same building they had back in the Late '80s at VMI? If so, I"m guessing they must have put some money into that place since I was in school.
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Post by SCAR on Jan 27, 2005 17:24:01 GMT -5
To answer your Cameron Hall question, I think they have played there for many years. It could be the same one they played in back in the day. I played there back in 92 when I was playing semi-pro ball and it looked like an old gym back then. I think they have done some improvements.
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Post by JackSparrow81 on Jan 28, 2005 12:36:35 GMT -5
I think there should be one game each season where they play in the schilling, especially playing against radford or some other big south rival. The intensity in that small place with everyone and their mothers all packed would be just insane. Maybe we need to write the ole ball coach or AD about this.
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aLUmnus
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Posts: 192
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Post by aLUmnus on Jan 28, 2005 13:38:47 GMT -5
Here's another picture of the Vines for those expatriots out there. It's an old picture, and I'm not sure what kind of service is going on, but it's a good picture.
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Post by LUconn on Jan 28, 2005 13:54:59 GMT -5
and if you want to see the floor.
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Post by LUconn on Jan 28, 2005 13:56:27 GMT -5
Let me ask of you Texans: Does the place that Baylor plays in have that weirdo ceiling drop down from the dome part?
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Post by JackSparrow81 on Jan 28, 2005 14:46:47 GMT -5
Not sure, I havnt been out to Waco yet. Their High school facilities are really nice though. seems like Texas puts more money into their sports than they do in their towns.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jan 28, 2005 19:55:31 GMT -5
I believe they have the large drop-down 4-sided scoreboard in the center. Its weird we only use those dinky scoreboards I see in the pics.
Football is king here in Texas with basketball battling baseball far in the rear.
Where do you live in Texas, jack?
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Post by PAmedic on Jan 28, 2005 22:07:37 GMT -5
ok, my first question about the weird drop down thingy was answered, but I have 2 more for you guys still on campus:
1. what's the seating capacity in there? for all the mess created when building it (from what I recall) it looks REALLY small- holds maybe 7 or 8,000?
2. Dear lord PLEASE tell me the court doesn't STILL look like that with the hideous block lettering. My local yokel HS gym has more style!
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Post by jackparrow81 on Jan 29, 2005 15:46:38 GMT -5
Good ole Victoria. The only real HS football powers around here are the Cuero Gobblers and the Yoakum bulldogs
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