re: New LSU Arena? - EBR Metro Council Agenda

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This would be so fricking horrible. Women's basketball and gymnastics are drawing sellout crowds of 13,000 at the PMAC. Men's basketball appears to have turned the corner to where they will be competitive in the SEC and could approach crowds of 10,000 soon. It will be devestating to recruit to an arena with SWAC like capacity even for 2 to 3 years. They cannot give up the crowd advantage for any season.

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Maybe they will continue to use the pmac while building a new arena?

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This would be so fricking horrible. Women's basketball and gymnastics are drawing sellout crowds of 13,000 at the PMAC. Men's basketball appears to have turned the corner to where they will be competitive in the SEC and could approach crowds of 10,000 soon. It will be devestating to recruit to an arena with SWAC like capacity even for 2 to 3 years. They cannot give up the crowd advantage for any season.

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Holy overreaction

If LSU is going to build a new arena, particularly one at the current site of the PMAC (which is the best spot for it), they have to be able to play somewhere. The River Center for a year or two is the most reasonable and cost-effective site. If gym and WBB are good people will still attend the games. The men's basketball program hasn't turned a corner after two games. Hopefully they will. But huge crowds aren't on the horizon just yet.

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It will be devestating to recruit to an arena with SWAC like capacity even for 2 to 3 years.

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The days of new arenas with large capacities are over (at least for the foreseeable future). The last two new SEC basketball stadiums (Auburn and Ole Miss) hold less than 10,000 people. And for having, as you say, a "SWAC-like capacity", Auburn is the best home environment in the SEC. Likewise, Alabama has plans to build a new basketball stadium with an expected capacity of just over 10k to replace Coleman Coliseum which currently holds just under 15k. Last year Miss. St renovated Humphrey Coliseum to REDUCE the capacity to under 10k. Last month Baylor opened a new basketball arena that holds appx. 7,500. It replaced their old arena that held over 10k. And that's a school with multiple (men's and women's national championships) I would be very surprised if any new LSU arena would hold more than 11k (if even that). The River Center holds about 9k. That's plenty good enough for a year or two in exchange for a new arena.

A temporary seating capacity of 9k would have literally ZERO effect on recruiting.