I didn't want to start a new thread but it's been a topic of discussion lately. Where would you put a basketball practice facility?
Taking out part of the north parking lot and connecting it to the Boydston center seems like the most logical place to me.
I didn't want to start a new thread but it's been a topic of discussion lately. Where would you put a basketball practice facility?
Taking out part of the north parking lot and connecting it to the Boydston center seems like the most logical place to me.
What about the little field on the corner of Douglas Dr/Saluki Dr?
I didn't want to start a new thread but it's been a topic of discussion lately. Where would you put a basketball practice facility?
Taking out part of the north parking lot and connecting it to the Boydston center seems like the most logical place to me.
What about the little field on the corner of Douglas Dr/Saluki Dr?
That is not a terrible area. I was thinking the Boydston center connection as you'd still have 3/4 of that parking lot, would be able to use existing locker room facilities, and just connect to the water/hvac/electric instead of running new lines.
Plus you could connect it to the Arena, Boydston Center, and Troutt Wittman Center that are all already impressive and it would really put the nice finishing touches on a great facility.
An Admin will probably want to move these posts to their own thread.
Build a new practice facility attached to the west side of Lingle Hall, north of Banterra, and South of the Troutt Wittman Center. It would be connected to the locker rooms through the first floor hall. Current practice equipment could be moved from the Banterra Center to the practice facility as needed.
The location isn't close to the Arena, but I would love to demolish the blue barracks in favor of a nice looking building. There might not be enough room there, but I want those eyesores gone regardless!
Is this something that has been rumored to be in the plans with the athletic department?
What's the purpose of a practice facility? The arena's not often unavailable. Seems more like a keeping up with the Joneses than an actual need.
We need an indoor practice facility for football/soccer/track and field over one for basketball.
We need an indoor practice facility for football/soccer/track and field over one for basketball.
Disagree. Basketball needs to be the focus for athletics and if not having a dedicated practice facility compared to Valley peers is impacting recruiting then that needs to be top priority.
We need an indoor practice facility for football/soccer/track and field over one for basketball.
The rec center still serves as the indoor track facility right? Maybe one solution could be making the rec center strictly a basketball practice facility. With very little remodeling, they could bring the courts up to snuff as a dedicated space to the basketball teams. Maybe women on one side and the men’s on the other side. They could turn the pickleball spaces and weight rooms to offices. Not sure what to do about the pool unless it stayed for the swim teams. Then maybe it would make more sense to the public to raise public funds of student fees for a dedicated new rec center more centrally located on campus that is more modern and cheaper upkeep. Maybe a joint venture with the city of Carbondale as a campus/townwide community rec center or community center. Unless a donor steps up for basketball specific it seems hard to imagine them building a basketball only space from scratch. One thing to note: the women’s team at UE plays their games at their practice center, which is the only on campus gym. If we did get one built that could be a solution for volleyball instead of Davies and better for the women rather than playing in an empty Banterra
Just two cents from someone who worked for the basketball program during the Hinson era :
Basketball would benefit greatly from a practice facility. The arena is often available on paper, but there were many times where things just wouldn't be configured in the most efficient way. On days of games for example, you only would have 2 hoops availble. And this would impact the men on women's gamedays and women on men's gamedays. Or after graduation or a concert, the hoops wouldn't be on the floor at all. The managers would roll them out, but the maintenence people had to be the ones to actually hook them into place, so they weren't exactly stable. Davies was the backup facility, and its not a full sized floor if I recall correctly. Is it a first-world problem? Yes. Could SIU spend its money on something better? Probably. But if you're going to invest in athletics, I'd say a practice facility in the Arena parking lot would be a good one. You could probably put a small one in the north arena lot, connect it to the weight room.
@number-1-fan not a bad idea! A potential issue I see is that SIU has a history of being sued over Title IX. A complete move of the women to a smaller facility could be viewed as something worthy of bringing litigation against, so it would need buy-in. Its a shame that SIU didnt build the street-car in the 60s/70s like it was exploring. It would be a 10-15 minute ride from the rec to the student center and the arena.
@number-1-fan not a bad idea! A potential issue I see is that SIU has a history of being sued over Title IX. A complete move of the women to a smaller facility could be viewed as something worthy of bringing litigation against, so it would need buy-in. Its a shame that SIU didnt build the street-car in the 60s/70s like it was exploring. It would be a 10-15 minute ride from the rec to the student center and the arena.
I thought of Title IX also but I know Bradley and Evansville and likely others play their women’s games a separate smaller gym. Not sure if they can get away with more because they’re private but if I was a women’s athlete I would be in favor of playing in front of an intimate crowd with an atmosphere in a 1,000 seat gym instead of a couple hundred people spread out among 9,000 seats in a dead Banterra Center. Getting volleyball involved as a benefit to more athletes could help get it done. Surely recruiting volleyball players to Davie’s is a hard sell
One thing to note: the women’s team at UE plays their games at their practice center, which is the only on campus gym.
Those are two separate facilities. The women's team plays at Meeks Family Fieldhouse and teams practice at Fifth Third.
Granted they are less than a mile apart.
@salukiworld not sure if things have changed, but the rugby team might be a little sad if you take their pitch. Personally, I think SIU could use less parking lots but that may be an unpopular opinion!
