April 9, 201411 yr U.S. Bank Arena to undergo major renovations CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) - FOX19 has confirmed that there will be a $650,000 upgrade to U.S. Bank Arena that will make room for larger stages and 1,300 additional seats added in the coming months. http://www.fox19.com/story/25189494/us-bank-arena-to-undergo-major-changes
April 9, 201411 yr Hallelujah. We are now going to BIG Time. Big time renovations, Big Time arena. WOOT
April 9, 201411 yr LOL!!! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 9, 201411 yr Fleetwood Mac? Not on the list. They are doing both Columbus and Indy. That's another thing--when you have as many accessible places as we have here, you're not going to get everyone logistically anyway. Springsteen's current tour is a good example (it was a great show last night BTW). He's coming to Cincinnati, Columbus, and Pittsburgh. No Indy, no Louisville, no Cleveland, heck no Chicago or Detroit on the current schedule (which runs through May). I think there's a lot that goes into deciding where to go. Would we get more shows if we had a nicer arena? Sure. But even if the arena was just as nice as whatever is in Louisville or C-Bus, big acts just aren't going to play every single place.
April 10, 201411 yr The question is what does a new arena bring to the table. NCAA tourney and Sweet 16 rounds, Hockey Final 4, a few extra concerts. Jake is right, is it worth 300-400 million for this? KC did that recently, but they did not build 2 new stadiums in the last decade. Maybe in 2025 it may be worth the capital investment. Unless we are going to really push for an NBA or NHL team it is not worth it. I don't think there is the desire to push for either. I know KC built their arena in hopes of getting the NBA back and that has not happened yet and does not look like it will. I do not see UC Basketball as the same draw as Louisville ball because, Cincy is a major league city and U of L is the only thing happening in Louisville. There is more diversity in Cincy to spread the dollars around. Therefore, even UC would not be a large enough tenant to support a 300-400 million upgrade of the arena. There needs to be an NHL or NBA team for that. To be honest, NHL is attainable. Columbus may not like it but there are enough marginal NHL teams out there that would jump at a package to go to a better revenue market or better arena lease. If there was enough support for that it could be a possibility. Side note on the KC references you made. They may not have built new stadiums, but Arrowhead and Kauffman underwent major renovations recently. The city poured $850 million into the complex in 2007-2010 after paying the vast majority of $276 million for the Sprint Center, which was completed in 2007. KC spent over a billion dollars on sports venues in about a five year span.
April 19, 201411 yr UCBearcats @UCBearcats 2m NEW DETAILS on UC's proposed renovation of 5/3 Arena, coming soon. Would cut to 10,000 seats, no bleachers (via @cliffpeale) #Bearcats
May 22, 201411 yr Well the GOP party is not coming to town because of this place. Why even bid then????
May 22, 201411 yr Screw the sleezy GOP ... Pearl Jam is coming to the arena in October! But seriously, this city is long past due for a legitimate arena. US Bank is a garage compared to the new facilities in Louisville, Indy, Cbus, Denver, Dallas, etc. It would be nice for it to come with a new NHL/NBA team, but Kansas City built a state-of-the-art facility without a major sports tennant. And now that they have it, they're always on the short list of relocation possibilities for the NHL. If KC (or Cleveland, Pittsburgh and St. Louis for that matter), which already has MLB, NFL, MLS and major college sports nearby, can support a NBA or NHL team, why couldn't Cincinnati?
May 22, 201411 yr Oh dear lord can we please shut down this thread? This was a convenient explanation for the party not choosing here. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this arena from the perspective of a convention of this kind -- the luxury boxes are a non-issue.
May 22, 201411 yr You can choose to stop receiving notifications from this topic if you want. You don't need to keep asking for the topic to be shut down.
May 22, 201411 yr Jake, the arena is outdated and it would not put the best face out there for the national media, etc. who would be at the event. Yes, it would be functional, but at the end of the day, when there are much nicer facilities, all else being equal, US Bank was not going to cut it. What needs to be decided is that in the future, is the cost benefit analysis enough to support building a new one. At this time, I agree with you it is not, but know that it comes with trade offs. KC built their arena with the hopes of bringing an NBA team there and you can see it is a lightly used place. Look at San Antonio with the Alamodome. Also not the best use of public money. Indy was lucky when they built the hoosier dome years ago, but most places are not that fortuitous. By the time an NBA team would go to KC, the arena is out of date and they would need a new one.
May 23, 201411 yr I'm still not convinced that any taxpayer money should be spent on building a new arena in Cincinnati. Especially until the two new stadiums are paid off. There are lot of things that would have higher ROI's that we could spend our money on instead. Anything from rehabbing Union Terminal and Music Hall, to funding the Port Authority, to funding and expanding METRO, to the arts and culture levy that was proposed a few years ago.
May 23, 201411 yr You can choose to stop receiving notifications from this topic if you want. You don't need to keep asking for the topic to be shut down. Well this entire thread is off-topic.
May 23, 201411 yr The big thing KC had going for them when they built their arena, their stadiums were decades old and no longer being paid for by public bonds (at least the majority of it). Maybe in another 10+ years it could be worth exploring a new arena with public money.
June 7, 201411 yr The big thing KC had going for them when they built their arena, their stadiums were decades old and no longer being paid for by public bonds (at least the majority of it). Maybe in another 10+ years it could be worth exploring a new arena with public money. Interesting point. I know Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals baseball team for you non-sports people) was recently modernized but I don't know about Arrowhead. Was the Kauffman work privately funded? From about 10 posts up the thread... "Side note on the KC references you made. They may not have built new stadiums, but Arrowhead and Kauffman underwent major renovations recently. The city poured $850 million into the complex in 2007-2010 after paying the vast majority of $276 million for the Sprint Center, which was completed in 2007. KC spent over a billion dollars on sports venues in about a five year span."
June 9, 201411 yr There is no appetite for a new arena in Cincinnati nor a real appetite for another pro franchise such as the NBA, ( I think the NHL would be a better fit considering we have 2 college basketball powers) which is why a new arena is not gonna happen for a very long time. If I had to guess I think a massive convention center project will happen before a new arena but anyway, MAYBE landing a political convention and more concerts is no reason the public nor I will accept dropping 350 mil on a new arena. Yes people do want UC to do something for the Basketball program which will likely be a full renovation of 5/3 arena but that's it. A joint reno of us bank arena on behalf of UC basketball would be fine too. The idea of Cincinnati really missing out on concerts to other cities and that hurting us is silly, the fact is big acts still come to Cincinnati via riverbend and other venues. When it comes to the biggest concert events that can sell stadiums out they do come to Cincinnati such as Beyonce and Jay Z that will be here in a few weeks at Great American Ballpark it will draw Thousands and Thousands of out of town guest and is the biggest and most expensive ( ticket prices per Forbes article)of the year and as a side note Cincinnati is the only Midwest stop for that tour outside of a July date at Chicago's Soldiers Field. My point is Cincinnati will be just fine without a new arena for now at least.
June 20, 201410 yr U.S. Bank Arena upgrade plans back at square one Pick your saying when it comes to U.S. Bank Arena. Cincinnati is between a rock and a hard place. Upgrading the arena will cost $100 million, according to its owner. Not upgrading will cost the city high-profile events. Or you could go with the chicken and egg. It doesn't make sense to pour public and private dollars into the arena without a major tenant besides the Cincinnati Cyclones, a minor-league hockey team. Another tenant likely won't commit without knowing an upgrade is imminent. Either way, there are limited options for the 39-year-old, privately owned Downtown facility, which hasn't had a major renovation since 1997. The most recent window of opportunity closed in May, when Cincinnati withdrew its bid to host the 2016 Republican National Convention. [http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2014/06/19/us-bank-arena-upgrade-plans-back-square-one/11028467/]Cont[/url] "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
July 28, 20159 yr Anyone see this? Nederlander Entertainment, AEG Unveil U.S. Bank Arena Renovation Concepts MSA Sport designs new vision for downtown arena CINCINNATI - July 28, 2015 – Nederlander Entertainment and AEG Facilities today released renovation concepts for U.S. Bank Arena, designed by local architectural firm MSA Sport. “Cincinnati has proven that it can successfully host major events, including the MLB All-Star Game and the 2012 World Choir Games, but we know we need to improve our major indoor sports and entertainment venue to continue to be competitive for major events and national acts,” said Ray Harris, CEO of Nederlander Entertainment, which owns U.S. Bank Arena in partnership with AEG. “We’re confident this vision for a new and dramatically upgraded U.S. Bank Arena, when implemented, will give us the ability to compete for and deliver major events on a consistent basis. This is a critical component of our community’s economic development.” http://usbankarena.com/whatsnextcincy
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-plans-huge-renovation.html?ana=e_cinci_bn_breakingnews&u=mdqxSjVwpbwLHTa+xb7xwQ0dc4b18a&t=1438092862 Business courier has a story up. This is unexpected!
July 28, 20159 yr Anyone see this? Nederlander Entertainment, AEG Unveil U.S. Bank Arena Renovation Concepts MSA Sport designs new vision for downtown arena CINCINNATI - July 28, 2015 – Nederlander Entertainment and AEG Facilities today released renovation concepts for U.S. Bank Arena, designed by local architectural firm MSA Sport. “Cincinnati has proven that it can successfully host major events, including the MLB All-Star Game and the 2012 World Choir Games, but we know we need to improve our major indoor sports and entertainment venue to continue to be competitive for major events and national acts,” said Ray Harris, CEO of Nederlander Entertainment, which owns U.S. Bank Arena in partnership with AEG. “We’re confident this vision for a new and dramatically upgraded U.S. Bank Arena, when implemented, will give us the ability to compete for and deliver major events on a consistent basis. This is a critical component of our community’s economic development.” http://usbankarena.com/whatsnextcincy Looks awesome. Hope it has a private sponsorship financing plan though.
July 28, 20159 yr Wowzers! I certainly didn't expect the read about this! This certainly appears to be a huge upgrade over the current state of the facility. So if UC isn't moving basketball games downtown, I wonder how they are making this work financially?
July 28, 20159 yr oh snap. this came out of nowhere. love it. Nederlander and AEG didn’t say how much they expect to spend on the renovation of the privately owned arena or what the timeline for the project could be. aw, man. shouldn't have gotten my hopes up before i finished the article.
July 28, 20159 yr “My concern is that’s not even going to get you up to par with Yum Center,” he said. “I don’t even think $100 million is going to be enough. We’d be putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding wound.” I agree with this statement. The site lines are terrible compared to more modern arenas.
July 28, 20159 yr “My concern is that’s not even going to get you up to par with Yum Center,” he said. “I don’t even think $100 million is going to be enough. We’d be putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding wound.” I agree with this statement. The site lines are terrible compared to more modern arenas. Who made that statement?
July 28, 20159 yr There are other competing proposals for where a new arena could be built within the downtown basin area. Hopefully some of those proposals will be made public soon now that this USBank Arena plan is public.
July 28, 20159 yr “My concern is that’s not even going to get you up to par with Yum Center,” he said. “I don’t even think $100 million is going to be enough. We’d be putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding wound.” I agree with this statement. The site lines are terrible compared to more modern arenas. Who made that statement? Someone at HCG
July 28, 20159 yr 1) Without a new major tenant, I highly doubt they can fund this on their own. 2) That roof is begging to be filled with solar panels or a rooftop deck with views of both sides of the river. 3) Where else could an arena be built in the basin area? The only place I can imagine is west of 75 in Queensgate, but that doesn't sound too appealing.
July 28, 20159 yr “My concern is that’s not even going to get you up to par with Yum Center,” he said. “I don’t even think $100 million is going to be enough. We’d be putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding wound.” I agree with this statement. The site lines are terrible compared to more modern arenas. Hence the "raising the roof to improve site lines" part of the project.
July 28, 20159 yr Well, here was one possible location proposed by UrbanCincy: To that end, UrbanCincy recommends building a brand new arena adjacent to the Horseshoe Casino at Broadway Commons that would become the new home for the Cincinnati Cyclones, Cincinnati Rollergirls and University of Cincinnati Men’s Basketball. This venue would also accommodate the existing events held at U.S. Bank Arena and should be built in a way that is conducive for casino operators to program additional events, such as boxing, at the venue. As part of this plan, U.S. Bank Arena and the Cincinnati Gardens should be torn down, and Fifth Third Arena used as the multipurpose facility it was originally intended to be. This location makes perfect sense with immediate access to the center city’s hotels and convention facilities, casino, streetcar system, highways and abundant parking. Such a plan would also allow for the current U.S. Bank Arena site to be redeveloped with additional housing and shops akin to what is being developed at The Banks. The land left over at the Cincinnati Gardens site in Bond Hill could then be repackaged, with surrounding land, to be developed as part of community-driven master plan.
July 28, 20159 yr UC has already raised $20M in private funds for their on campus rehab of 5/3. I can't see them walking away from that to partner with US Bank or somebody else to build an off-campus arena. That ship has sailed in my opinion. They'll ask for and likely receive city/county financing. All the big wigs are upset about losing the RNC mostly because of US Bank.
July 28, 20159 yr “My concern is that’s not even going to get you up to par with Yum Center,” he said. “I don’t even think $100 million is going to be enough. We’d be putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding wound.” I agree with this statement. The site lines are terrible compared to more modern arenas. Hence the "raising the roof to improve site lines" part of the project. It won't change the angle/ set back of the seating as you go higher. In newer arenas when you are higher you still get a nice view of the floor. This is not the case in older arenas.
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-exec-talks-about-how-to-pay-for.html Crazy to me that they are going to spend $200M on this and UC will spend +70M to renovate their arena. Pool your efforts and build a state of the art facility together.
July 28, 20159 yr I think it's short-sighted for UC to downsize. That would give the Cincy area three arenas that seat 10K. I was tracking down some numbers for NBA/NHL teams and even with the renovation it wouldn't put US Bank in the middle of the pack. I think the 18,500 is for concerts so for games that would be $17K+ or so. NBA and NHL seem to avg just over 18K The avg. # of NBA suites (circa 2010) is 97. US Bank at 60 with a possibility of increasing. But I'm optimistic that in 2019 and foresee an announcement that the Cincinnati Cavaliers and Bluejackets with start playing there. ;-)
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-exec-talks-about-how-to-pay-for.html Crazy to me that they are going to spend $200M on this and UC will spend +70M to renovate their arena. Pool your efforts and build a state of the art facility together. Also, I think any poor sightlines would be fixed... "When U.S. Bank Arena does begin its renovation, it would have to close for a year, Harris said. Its main tenant, the Cincinnati Cyclones hockey team, would need to find a temporary location for a season. “This would take the structure down to its bones,” he said.
July 28, 20159 yr I know it is a pipe dream but would really love to see an NHL team in town. It could do well here even with a team in Columbus. I would love to see whatever they do with the arena at least position itself to take advantage of such an opportunity should one come available, just like Kansas City has done.
July 28, 20159 yr As for US Bank Arena, I have always thought it would be cool to do some murals of the various teams that have used the arena as their home court over the years like the Tenants Cincinnati Bearcats Cincinnati Cyclones Cincinnati Jungle Kats Cincinnati Swarm Cincinnati Stingers Cincinnati Kids Cincinnati Rockers Cincinnati Marshals Cincinnati Stuff added- Cincinnati Silverbacks added- Cincinnati Tigers any ones I am missing? did the might ducks play there? Bring back the Cincinnati Stuff!
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-exec-talks-about-how-to-pay-for.html Crazy to me that they are going to spend $200M on this and UC will spend +70M to renovate their arena. Pool your efforts and build a state of the art facility together. Maybe if they could get a state of the art facility on campus, but moving UC's arena off campus would be a mistake. I don't see how they'd get an 17k+ arena on campus. Plus, UC struggles to get 10,000 to games with the exception of bigger name teams, so playing in a 17k seat arena will give it an empty feeling.
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-exec-talks-about-how-to-pay-for.html Crazy to me that they are going to spend $200M on this and UC will spend +70M to renovate their arena. Pool your efforts and build a state of the art facility together. Maybe if they could get a state of the art facility on campus, but moving UC's arena off campus would be a mistake. I don't see how they'd get an 17k+ arena on campus. Plus, UC struggles to get 10,000 to games with the exception of bigger name teams, so playing in a 17k seat arena will give it an empty feeling. Maybe bringing them downtown would help increase attendance make it more of a destination instead of more geared towards students. Helping improve the image of the program and attract bigger name recruits.
July 28, 20159 yr I think it's short-sighted for UC to downsize. That would give the Cincy area three arenas that seat 10K. I was tracking down some numbers for NBA/NHL teams and even with the renovation it wouldn't put US Bank in the middle of the pack. I think the 18,500 is for concerts so for games that would be $17K+ or so. NBA and NHL seem to avg just over 18K The avg. # of NBA suites (circa 2010) is 97. US Bank at 60 with a possibility of increasing. But I'm optimistic that in 2019 and foresee an announcement that the Cincinnati Cavaliers and Bluejackets with start playing there. ;-) I think it's short-sighted for UC to downsize. That would give the Cincy area three arenas that seat 10K. I was tracking down some numbers for NBA/NHL teams and even with the renovation it wouldn't put US Bank in the middle of the pack. I think the 18,500 is for concerts so for games that would be $17K+ or so. NBA and NHL seem to avg just over 18K The avg. # of NBA suites (circa 2010) is 97. US Bank at 60 with a possibility of increasing. But I'm optimistic that in 2019 and foresee an announcement that the Cincinnati Cavaliers and Bluejackets with start playing there. ;-) UC did their research, and in order to have appropriate common areas, suites, premium seating they had to take out bleacher seats that nobody wants anyway.
July 28, 20159 yr The NHL did announce that they are looking at expanding. Maybe the Cyclones could move up or coax the Florida Panthers to move.
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-exec-talks-about-how-to-pay-for.html Crazy to me that they are going to spend $200M on this and UC will spend +70M to renovate their arena. Pool your efforts and build a state of the art facility together. Maybe if they could get a state of the art facility on campus, but moving UC's arena off campus would be a mistake. I don't see how they'd get an 17k+ arena on campus. Plus, UC struggles to get 10,000 to games with the exception of bigger name teams, so playing in a 17k seat arena will give it an empty feeling. Maybe bringing them downtown would help increase attendance make it more of a destination instead of more geared towards students. Helping improve the image of the program and attract bigger name recruits. Going downtown to a renovated US Bank is interesting, and UC did discuss it with US Bank ownership in some capacity. Maybe they did not like the deal points being presented.
July 28, 20159 yr I think it's short-sighted for UC to downsize. That would give the Cincy area three arenas that seat 10K. I was tracking down some numbers for NBA/NHL teams and even with the renovation it wouldn't put US Bank in the middle of the pack. I think the 18,500 is for concerts so for games that would be $17K+ or so. NBA and NHL seem to avg just over 18K The avg. # of NBA suites (circa 2010) is 97. US Bank at 60 with a possibility of increasing. But I'm optimistic that in 2019 and foresee an announcement that the Cincinnati Cavaliers and Bluejackets with start playing there. ;-) Average attendance figures across all NCAA sports (and professional sports) has been trending down for years. When you have increasing access to see games in the comfort of your own home, not as many diehards want to make the 30-60 minute commute to and from games, not to mention ticket and parking costs. I'd rather see a game in person, but the trend is what it is. Decreasing seats is the right call. Make the environment more intimate.
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-exec-talks-about-how-to-pay-for.html Crazy to me that they are going to spend $200M on this and UC will spend +70M to renovate their arena. Pool your efforts and build a state of the art facility together. Maybe if they could get a state of the art facility on campus, but moving UC's arena off campus would be a mistake. I don't see how they'd get an 17k+ arena on campus. Plus, UC struggles to get 10,000 to games with the exception of bigger name teams, so playing in a 17k seat arena will give it an empty feeling. Maybe bringing them downtown would help increase attendance make it more of a destination instead of more geared towards students. Helping improve the image of the program and attract bigger name recruits. They used to play downtown and IIRC attendance wasn't exactly stellar. Not saying it couldn't be now but IMO it should remain on campus.
July 28, 20159 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/07/28/u-s-bank-arena-exec-talks-about-how-to-pay-for.html Crazy to me that they are going to spend $200M on this and UC will spend +70M to renovate their arena. Pool your efforts and build a state of the art facility together. Maybe if they could get a state of the art facility on campus, but moving UC's arena off campus would be a mistake. I don't see how they'd get an 17k+ arena on campus. Plus, UC struggles to get 10,000 to games with the exception of bigger name teams, so playing in a 17k seat arena will give it an empty feeling. Maybe bringing them downtown would help increase attendance make it more of a destination instead of more geared towards students. Helping improve the image of the program and attract bigger name recruits. They used to play downtown and IIRC attendance wasn't exactly stellar. Not saying it couldn't be now but IMO it should remain on campus. Actually UC's attendance down there was very good, until the program went into the tank and on probation. BTW I just looked up attendance..... Cats averaged about 10,000 this past season. Low major games don't draw well, mid/high majors and conference games 12-13K.
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