Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

    This was just moved by The Associated Press...

    INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IUPUI officials are negotiating with the Indiana Pacers to play home basketball games at the nearby 18,000-seat Conseco Fieldhouse.

    The Jaguars normally play home games at their 1,200-seat campus gymnasium, and coach Ron Hunter said the program ‘‘will not be able to move forward any further unless we get a new facility.’’

    The Summit League school on the west side of downtown Indianapolis moved to NCAA Division I in 1998. There are no locker rooms and few amenities for players or fans at the current gym, which is in the IUPUI Natatorium.

    ‘‘We can’t build one (on campus) because of the economy and those type of things. We’ve got maybe one of the five best facilities in the word just a few blocks away. Why not take advantage of it?’’ Hunter told The Indianapolis Star. ‘‘We’ve been underprivileged in the way we’re living. A place like Conseco is not a want at this point. It’s a need.’’

    The Pacers said the biggest obstacle is a possible conflict with the NBA schedule, which will be released in August.

    ‘‘But our folks want IUPUI to play here. It would be great for our environment,’’ said Jim Morris, president of Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

    IUPUI athletic director Mike Moore said he doesn’t think the scheduling issues are insurmountable. The Summit League usually plays conference games on Thursday and Saturday nights, and Moore said he has talked with other league members about playing on different days to avoid conflicts with the Pacers.

    ‘‘At the end of the day, we’re going to play as many games at Conseco Fieldhouse as possible,’’ Moore said.

    The Jaguars played at Conseco twice last season, averaging fewer than 3,000 fans.

    Hunter said moving to the fieldhouse will make it easier for IUPUI to attract quality non-conference opponents. He said Wake Forest, Minnesota and North Carolina State have expressed interest in playing the Jaguars there.
    Grumbling along and embracing my role. If I didn't care, I wouldn't care. Go Jacks!

  • #2
    Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

    I watched Butler beat Indiana in Conseco Fieldhouse a few years back, it is a great arena. It would seem very empty with just a few thousand fans in it, but still better then IUPUI's gym from what I hear.


    Go State!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

      Brookings HS Gym matches the IUPUI arena. A least Brookings has room beyond the hoops, IUPUI is walled on both ends of the court.

      Sad, Sad facility for the largest? population school in the Summit, and in the largest city within the league. (We could argue that Oakland is, ie Detroit, but they're in a 'burb, Rochester)

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

        And people think the Dakota Dome is bad.

        I like what IUPUI is doing with their athletic department. They're pushing. They will be, along with Oakland, ORU and the xDSUs, a program that pushes the Summit to be better than it is at present.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

          Originally posted by zooropa View Post
          I like what IUPUI is doing with their athletic department. They're pushing. They will be, along with Oakland, ORU and the xDSUs, a program that pushes the Summit to be better than it is at present.
          IUPUI has to be aggressive . . . very aggressive. There are ten D-1 basketball programs (plus the NBA's Pacers) in Indiana and IUPUI is virtually at the bottom of the totem pole.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

            This is all happening at a time when UMKC is considering bringing at least some of their games back on campus, to save costs and to create a better atmosphere than in the cavernous Kemper Arena, the atmosphere-free Hale Arena, or the nice but still too big Municipal Auditorium in KC.

            UMKC's on-campus facility (if it's the same one that the volleyball team plays in) is even worse than IUPUI's. At least IUPUI's facility was all chair-back seats.
            "I think we'll be OK"

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

              Originally posted by NightHawk78 View Post
              IUPUI has to be aggressive . . . very aggressive. There are ten D-1 basketball programs (plus the NBA's Pacers) in Indiana and IUPUI is virtually at the bottom of the totem pole.
              Geez. I'm going to need all my fingers and thumbs for this one:

              Purdue
              Indiana
              IPFW
              IUPUI
              Indiana State
              Butler
              Evansville
              Notre Dame

              uh I got the first 8 pretty easily---which two am I missing???

              Oh, duh.

              Valparaiso....

              Who else is there?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

                Originally posted by zooropa View Post
                Who else is there?
                Ball State, home of the Fighting Lettermans.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: IUPUI wants to play in Pacers' arena

                  Originally posted by NightHawk78 View Post
                  Ball State, home of the Fighting Lettermans.
                  D'oh! I knew that one!!!

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X