As far as I can tell nobody that matters much is talking about a new arena for UAA. And after I finish this post that will continue to be the case. But having heard some talk about a new arena I'll happily chime in. I'm all for it ... duh. It makes some sense to me to build a new arena on campus. It makes sense to me for it to seat at least 8,000. It makes sense to me for it to accomodate all of UAA's athletic's. Lastly, it makes sense to me to move this from the talking stage to the planning stage.
For most of UAA's D-I history, UAA has played it's home games at Sullivan Arena. The Sully was built in the early 80's. The "glorydays" of the early 90's saw 6400+ in attendance at virtually every UAA game. There were a couple of years where UAA ranked in the top 5 nationally for average attendance. The Sully's been a good home rink for UAA; it's always had good ice and it can be a damn noisy place when it's full. But with that in mind it's important to remember that the Seawolves certainly haven't outgrown the place. I can't remember the last time the place was packed. No longer is UAA the darling of the local sports community. The Aces have long since gained that blessing.
Building an arena on campus will bring the opportunity to about 900 dormitory students to attend games. Walking five minutes across campus is a helluva lot easier than getting to the Sully. We've never seen any sort of organized student presence at the Sully. There have been times when a few more students showed up and those limited instances tell me that their enthusiasm is regularly missed at the Sully. 500 or 600 students in a section being raucous has an effect on the whole arena. I've seen that happen. When 500 or 600 organized UAF fans (lots of students) showed up at the Sully and humiliated the UAA fanbase. The Sully has lost it allure as a great home ice venue when that sort of thing happens. A campus arena would give UAA the true home ice that it needs in the WCHA and it will provide better access to a cultural right of passage for university students.
What? You say that if UAA were more successful, that those problems wouldn't happen at the Sully? It'd be packed with UAA fans so 500 Squarebankers couldn't take over. Yeah .. perhaps. But the competition for the working man's dollar is going to go to the Aces. Beer and fighting? You think "Joe Hod Carrier" goes to sports to appreciate the amateur athlete? No. They go for the beer and the fights. So even if UAA were successful what we have at the Sully is a very similar situation to other programs with off-campus arena's. Lots of people who are loyal to the program. Lots of people that appreciate amatuer hockey at it's highest level. And (unlike those other WCHA schools with off campus arenas) a few students. Unfortunately people loyal to the program combined with amatuer hockey affcianado's don't exactly make the loudest supporters. And 27 students sitting in the student section of a half empty Sully means virtually nothing. So what I'm saying is if you transfer the current core of UAA supporters (3.5K to 4K) and add a few hundred students in a section then home ice would be more meaningful. Access for the on-campus popualtion is absolutely necessary for UAA hockey. We need the student's enthusiasm.
Put 4500 people into a rink that seats 8000 when they're already playing at a rink that sits 6400? It'll look even more empty! It's true. It will at first. But even just a marginal increase in success and more UAA fans show up. A big increase in success (like home ice for the playoffs) would fill the place. I have little doubt of that. Besides, it would be an arena for the future. A future that already includes D-1 gymnastics and perhaps a possible (probable?) move to D1 basketball at some point. Real planning should start soon. I'd imagine it would take at least 5 years from the start until the opening. Corporate sponsors and politicians need to be wooed to get the ball rolling. So everyone who likes UAA hockey outta get to wooing. Bribe some politicians or whatever it takes. Call up Exxon and tell them we'll name it after Joe Hazelwood if ya havta.
For most of UAA's D-I history, UAA has played it's home games at Sullivan Arena. The Sully was built in the early 80's. The "glorydays" of the early 90's saw 6400+ in attendance at virtually every UAA game. There were a couple of years where UAA ranked in the top 5 nationally for average attendance. The Sully's been a good home rink for UAA; it's always had good ice and it can be a damn noisy place when it's full. But with that in mind it's important to remember that the Seawolves certainly haven't outgrown the place. I can't remember the last time the place was packed. No longer is UAA the darling of the local sports community. The Aces have long since gained that blessing.
Building an arena on campus will bring the opportunity to about 900 dormitory students to attend games. Walking five minutes across campus is a helluva lot easier than getting to the Sully. We've never seen any sort of organized student presence at the Sully. There have been times when a few more students showed up and those limited instances tell me that their enthusiasm is regularly missed at the Sully. 500 or 600 students in a section being raucous has an effect on the whole arena. I've seen that happen. When 500 or 600 organized UAF fans (lots of students) showed up at the Sully and humiliated the UAA fanbase. The Sully has lost it allure as a great home ice venue when that sort of thing happens. A campus arena would give UAA the true home ice that it needs in the WCHA and it will provide better access to a cultural right of passage for university students.
What? You say that if UAA were more successful, that those problems wouldn't happen at the Sully? It'd be packed with UAA fans so 500 Squarebankers couldn't take over. Yeah .. perhaps. But the competition for the working man's dollar is going to go to the Aces. Beer and fighting? You think "Joe Hod Carrier" goes to sports to appreciate the amateur athlete? No. They go for the beer and the fights. So even if UAA were successful what we have at the Sully is a very similar situation to other programs with off-campus arena's. Lots of people who are loyal to the program. Lots of people that appreciate amatuer hockey at it's highest level. And (unlike those other WCHA schools with off campus arenas) a few students. Unfortunately people loyal to the program combined with amatuer hockey affcianado's don't exactly make the loudest supporters. And 27 students sitting in the student section of a half empty Sully means virtually nothing. So what I'm saying is if you transfer the current core of UAA supporters (3.5K to 4K) and add a few hundred students in a section then home ice would be more meaningful. Access for the on-campus popualtion is absolutely necessary for UAA hockey. We need the student's enthusiasm.
Put 4500 people into a rink that seats 8000 when they're already playing at a rink that sits 6400? It'll look even more empty! It's true. It will at first. But even just a marginal increase in success and more UAA fans show up. A big increase in success (like home ice for the playoffs) would fill the place. I have little doubt of that. Besides, it would be an arena for the future. A future that already includes D-1 gymnastics and perhaps a possible (probable?) move to D1 basketball at some point. Real planning should start soon. I'd imagine it would take at least 5 years from the start until the opening. Corporate sponsors and politicians need to be wooed to get the ball rolling. So everyone who likes UAA hockey outta get to wooing. Bribe some politicians or whatever it takes. Call up Exxon and tell them we'll name it after Joe Hazelwood if ya havta.
