re: Will Wade hinting at PMAC renovations or possible new arena

GYM comes first as they are the bigger program now.Gym needs more seats. Whatever it is has to accommodate Gym and Basketball.

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Mid court seats. You know what I meant.

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No, there's a big difference. Especially since people argue on here that student seats are currently too far away from the court.

If they build a new arena out by softball, raze the pmac and build a new athletic admin building/taf/athletic hall of fame in its place. Then knock down the existing admin tower.

Building a new arena would be a waste of money. The fanbase isn't there yet to support that type of investment. Renovating the PMAC is the smart move

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Cameron is a glorified high school gym.

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Exactly. It's a crappy gym by today's standards. What makes it electric are:

1) The tradition that has been built over the years that has students camping out overnight to get prime heckling spots behind the opposing benches, the imaginative ways they try to get into the opposing teams heads, and the attitude that opposing teams just don't win in their house.

2) The layout that puts the students and a good the majority of fans right on top of the action and funnels all of the noise down onto the court.

3) The fact that it's packed to the rafters almost every game and everyone is on their feet yelling the entire time.

Renovating the PMAC would be just fine from a suitability point of view, and winning would accomplish a lot to improve the atmosphere. However, I agree that we would still need to somehow get most of the students and a large number of fans closer in on the action to become more of a factor in the big home games. When that happens, then the people in those spots start to take their jobs seriously, and magic starts to happen.

I just don't know if that can be done effectively within the existing structure or not.

Yeah #2 is true at just about every good arena in the country... But I'm not sure how you make it happen in our current arena without spending a boatload of money, and if you want to spend that, may as well just build a new arena

Wade does want to be here for the long haul. Coach Heiar confirmed months ago and again Saturday

TAF better save that $100M for more football buyouts.

Then the admin better do what ever is necessary to keep him here until he proves he's not worth it... But I don't see the latter happening ever

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 When I was a student the building used to hold 15,000+ and we used to pack it with raucous crowds every game. That is the way I want to see it again. Build a new 17,000 seat arena with all the bells and whistles. The PMAC has served its purpose. It was state of the art in the 1970's. It is time for a new PMAC.

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Although that would be cool, LSU fans were hungrier back then and Dale Brown accomplished unbelievable things in terms of fan support (some things no other coach anywhere had ever accomplished with the biggest basketball crowds ever for the Dome games). That was a moment in time.

I do think the fans will return big-time next year though if these recruits play like I think they will under Wade. Then the powers that be will be listening much closer when Wade speaks about what he feels LSU needs to become elite.