Sports in Austin

[drummer]

I've never heard the term "highwayfication" before....but it totally fits here. Kudos for creativity.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by odelayjb

I realize that football is second to no other sport in Texas. And currently fútbol is the talk of sports development in Austin. But does anybody have insight on the prospective new basketball arena for UT?

I attended my first Erwin Center event on Friday to see Jayhawks-Longhorns game. I can see why replacing that 40-year old, decrepit building is high on the new Texas Athletic Director's to-do list. Traffic flow getting there was awful. Parking was way too difficult (learned never to park at the Health Center Garage again, despite purchase in advance; what a standstill and cluster job that was). And the venue itself is nothing to heap any praise upon. Stained, sagging ceiling panels were a microcosm of the whole place.

best to just uber down there....makes is soooooo easy.

[papertowelroll]

Originally Posted by drummer

I've never heard the term "highwayfication" before....but it totally fits here. Kudos for creativity.

Technically the term would be "freewayification". I'm torn on Guerrero. I like the area, and it is a reasonable bike ride from me in 78702, but I tend to think that it will be harder to get to for the majority of the metro population than the McKalla site would be. Maybe I am underestimating the difference an improved 183 could make.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by odelayjb

I realize that football is second to no other sport in Texas. And currently fútbol is the talk of sports development in Austin. But does anybody have insight on the prospective new basketball arena for UT?

I attended my first Erwin Center event on Friday to see Jayhawks-Longhorns game. I can see why replacing that 40-year old, decrepit building is high on the new Texas Athletic Director's to-do list. Traffic flow getting there was awful. Parking was way too difficult (learned never to park at the Health Center Garage again, despite purchase in advance; what a standstill and cluster job that was). And the venue itself is nothing to heap any praise upon. Stained, sagging ceiling panels were a microcosm of the whole place.

The new basketball arena is going on campus and is going to exacerbate the parking situation. The plans are definitely about getting students to the game, a new arena allowing them to switch the seating arrangement to bring more students around the court and trying to create some kind of a game day atmosphere.

[odelayjb]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

The new basketball arena is going on campus and is going to exacerbate the parking situation. The plans are definitely about getting students to the game, a new arena allowing them to switch the seating arrangement to bring more students around the court and trying to create some kind of a game day atmosphere.

I am all for this. Granted, I attended a game during winter break. But even when classes are in session, I gather the game day experience is lacking. The UT basketball program has enough past success to merit more support from the students and locals alike.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by odelayjb

I am all for this. Granted, I attended a game during winter break. But even when classes are in session, I gather the game day experience is lacking. The UT basketball program has enough past success to merit more support from the students and locals alike.

When we were consistently a top 10-15 team and expectations had us in the Sweet 16 every season.. and we made multiple elite 8 and a single Final Four appearance along with two Naismith winners in a ~5 year period...

I would say our game day environment and support was above average to fine. Had the stadium been on campus and the students enclosed the lower bowl I would say it could have been very good as the student body was pretty Bball crazy at the time (and to be fair, that was a moment in time when UT was on top of the world in pretty much all sports so the campus felt much more athletic-centric than it does today).

The problem is students are the most fickle of fan bases. So when teams are bad, they are the first to find something better to do that day. Which has always been the argument against giving them prime seating.

Basketball and Texas is ice skating uphill I fear.

[papertowelroll]

I do think that a slightly smaller, newer, and better designed arena could make a big difference. The Erwin Center has some serious issues as a basketball venue (and for that matter any particular type of event)

[odelayjb]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

Basketball and Texas is ice skating uphill I fear.

I understand the reflex to chalk it up as "Texas and basketball are not simpatico." That was even what I was considering. But I think it's off the mark. There are 3 pretty successful NBA franchises within the state.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by odelayjb

I understand the reflex to chalk it up as "Texas and basketball are not simpatico." That was even what I was considering. But I think it's off the mark. There are 3 pretty successful NBA franchises within the state.

The Mavs and Rockets are the #3 teams in both their respective cities though. San Antonio is an NFL town that has one pro team and they've gotten behind them as a big part of Civic pride (MLS in Austin could be similar).

I'm not saying no one will ever like UT basketball but putting structural problems (arena size, layout location + sub par teams) on top of bball being a less popular sport isn't helping anyone.

I went to every UT home game for ~6 years and kind of came to the conclusion that it was always going to be mostly an afterthought for our fanbase.

[odelayjb]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

The Mavs and Rockets are the #3 teams in both their respective cities though. San Antonio is an NFL town that has one pro team and they've gotten behind them as a big part of Civic pride (MLS in Austin could be similar).

I'm not saying no one will ever like UT basketball but putting structural problems (arena size, layout location + sub par teams) on top of bball being a less popular sport isn't helping anyone.

I went to every UT home game for ~6 years and kind of came to the conclusion that it was always going to be mostly an afterthought for our fanbase.

I hear you. You definitely know better than me. I don't expect an Allen Fieldhouse experience, but am disheartened that you may be right and even a poor man's, big time college basketball atmosphere isn't in the cards.

If a year of Kevin Durant doesn't put that in motion, I suppose nothing can. I'll still hold out hope a new arena can work some magic.

[abigdeal]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

The Mavs and Rockets are the #3 teams in both their respective cities though. San Antonio is an NFL town that has one pro team and they've gotten behind them as a big part of Civic pride (MLS in Austin could be similar).

I'm not saying no one will ever like UT basketball but putting structural problems (arena size, layout location + sub par teams) on top of bball being a less popular sport isn't helping anyone.

I went to every UT home game for ~6 years and kind of came to the conclusion that it was always going to be mostly an afterthought for our fanbase.

When was that? During the early Penders era, and in the TJ Ford through Durant years, I thought the game day atmosphere was pretty good. However, I've only been to one or two games a year since then. Which I guess makes me part of the problem.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by abigdeal

When was that? During the early Penders era, and in the TJ Ford through Durant years, I thought the game day atmosphere was pretty good. However, I've only been to one or two games a year since then. Which I guess makes me part of the problem.

The game day atmosphere was pretty good then, when we were playing someone worth seeing. Big 12 in general was top to bottom pretty good back then, so those games were pretty decent.

We still had the issue of blue-hairs (of which I am quickly becoming one ) occupying most of the prime real estate and not really getting into the games for more than 30 seconds at a time.

But the student section was super raucous back then (at least for bigish games) , but that atmosphere is pretty much totally dead now. I think current UT students are on-part with late 80s-90s UT students who just aren't as into the athletics because all of our (non volleyball) teams have been butt since they were in Junior High.

[abigdeal]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

The game day atmosphere was pretty good then, when we were playing someone worth seeing. Big 12 in general was top to bottom pretty good back then, so those games were pretty decent.

We still had the issue of blue-hairs (of which I am quickly becoming one ) occupying most of the prime real estate and not really getting into the games for more than 30 seconds at a time.

But the student section was super raucous back then (at least for bigish games) , but that atmosphere is pretty much totally dead now. I think current UT students are on-part with late 80s-90s UT students who just aren't as into the athletics because all of our (non volleyball) teams have been butt since they were in Junior High.

Yeah, I started during the Mackovic era. We went to the games, unlike a lot of people we knew, but we always had green or blue UT sweatshirts. Nobody would be caught dead in burnt orange. Too easily identified with the failing football program.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by papertowelroll

Technically the term would be "freewayification". I'm torn on Guerrero. I like the area, and it is a reasonable bike ride from me in 78702, but I tend to think that it will be harder to get to for the majority of the metro population than the McKalla site would be. Maybe I am underestimating the difference an improved 183 could make.

The problem is Longhorn Dam / Pleasant Valley. The E. Cesar and P.V. intersection would have to be massively overhauled and I don't know how you do it without buying private land. Cesar already gets a massive backup in the afternoons from people coming from 183 who want to turn left onto Pleasant Valley.

Originally Posted by drummer

The latest update I've heard is that it might go on the current parking lot south of the track and field facility. That was not an announcement so much as a preferred proposal, so far as I understand.

This is the official preferred on-campus option. There are 3-4 other on campus alternatives and no current off campus options.



Fundraising and news on the project should heat up next year now that UT finally has an athletic director. There still needs to be a very clear point made to the people of Austin about how this is not a replacement for the Erwin Center in terms of its ability to hold major events and concerts. The proposed configuration caps concert capacity at around 13,000.

[drummer]

^ Where are the other on-campus options? I've heard reference to multiple sites (this location being the preferred one) but I can't recall seeing or hearing where those multiple sites are located.

[lzppjb]

The crowds during the TJ Ford era through the Durant era were pretty dang good. There were students camping outside the FEC for tickets, ala Duke. Coach Barnes would order pizza for them. There was a stampede before the games where students were allowed to sprint to their seats behind each basket since there were no assigned seats. We'd fill up the sections at least an hour before tip-off.

The student sections were also known to be very obnoxious and trash talked the opposition relentlessly. I remember some of the other players getting quite angry about it. That's what home court is about!

[freerover]

Originally Posted by drummer

^ Where are the other on-campus options? I've heard reference to multiple sites (this location being the preferred one) but I can't recall seeing or hearing where those multiple sites are located.

[We vs us]

Good pics. I hadn't seen any of those, either.

Is Erwin being torn down because it's part of the Dell Med hospital expansion plans? Or does UT just want a more up to date facility?

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Good pics. I hadn't seen any of those, either.

Is Erwin being torn down because it's part of the Dell Med hospital expansion plans? Or does UT just want a more up to date facility?

For future medical school expansion, yep. I'm sure the latter is an additional motivation, though.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Good pics. I hadn't seen any of those, either.

Is Erwin being torn down because it's part of the Dell Med hospital expansion plans? Or does UT just want a more up to date facility?

Medical School Academic Buildings.