I have decided to dig up the scoring card that I developed for whenever I visit other valley conference schools so that I could put the new arena to the test so everyone can know how I feel about the arena, and also in case anyone is interested to see what the new place is like.

Arena Overall: I will give the JQH overall a 5 because it is really impressive in just about every way for any D-1 program, let alone a ‘mid-major’. I’ll place some more photos and comments below.

Crowd Involvement: It may be a new arena but it’s still the same bears fans who like to sit and generally require something substantial before they get fired up. The lady behind me tapped on my shoulder twice to ask me to sit down. The first time I obliged, but the second time, with the bears up by one point and roughly a minute remaining… I just ignored her. It’s a known fact that an excited crowd on their feet can give a team a boost.

Team Intros: The videos and spotlights were cool, but the crowd didn’t really know how to participate. I would like to see some new music with a good loud beat so the crowd can all clap or something like they used to. Or something new… just something at least.

Concessions: I didn’t get any concessions, so I don’t know what they had or prices or anything like that, but it did seem that concession offerings were far more plentiful, at least in terms of variety and locations.

Parking: The arena displaced a fairly large parking lot and because everyone has to enter through the main entrance now it makes for a substantially longer walk from the parking area we use, but I would say it’s still above average given the size of the event.

Restrooms: My one visit to a restroom Saturday night was probably the longest line I’ve ever waited in at a bears game. The restrooms were nice in that they were new, but logistically they were only marginally better than HSC. I was disappointed there is still only one way in and out, creating the same bottleneck problem we had at HSC. I was also disappointed that they had traditional urinals instead of the eco-friendly waterless ones like we have at MSW.

The arena looks very cool as you approach, with the upper perimeter illuminated with the bear eyes peeking through. Here you see mom, dad, and bridget walking by in the cold.

The front entrance on opening night. Unfortunately the entrance is at the farthest corner from the parking garage.

The main lobby isn’t anything particularly noteworthy, but I really like how they have the live tv monitors so you can see what is going on if you are ever late and waiting in line.

The main concourse with one of the refreshments. This was taken from the bridge that goes to the upper seating area where we were sitting. For the record, section KK is about as good as you can get without being in the lower section.

This is one of my favorite aspects of the new arena… a dedicated student section. During my years at SMS, student participation at the games was at an all-time low so I am extremely envious of the large “maroon madness” section they have now. I hope the students take full advantage of this so that I can live vicariously through them.

The sign guy has relocated from the corner in the old arena to a pretty great seat about 10 rows up in the new place. I thought this sign was clever, as are most of his signs.

Here is the scoreboard. I may have a hard time getting used to the scores being on top of each other, rather than side by side, but the stats on the side is AWESOME. The video board of course is a great add and re-plays will be nice once the video crew gets a little more nimble with the equipment. Also, note that the blimp has migrated to the new arena.

Venue: Hammons Student Center
Capacity: 9000

Arena: HSC isn’t above average by any stretch of the imagination, but it gets the job done. The bleacher seating on either is is attrocious, as well as the poor overall logistics of the arena. Multiple bottleneck points prevent anyone from getting anywhere in any kind of hurry. It appears that whoever designed the arena did not expect it would ever have a crowd of more than 1,000.
City: Everyone knows how much I love Springfield. It’s probably nothing special to the average visitor, but nearby downtown offers ample unique restaurants and venues to out of town guests.
Crowd Involvement: Bears fans are generally enthusiastic, although it sometimes takes a really great play or awful call to fire them up. The newly revived student section is a great, and much needed improvement. There is an unspoken rule that no one sits down until the first basket is made. The big downside is the fact that bears fans are notorious for leaving in the final minues of close games to “beat the traffic” as if they were at a Chiefs game or something.
Team Introductions: The clapping routine is fairly lame, but at least the whole crowd does it.
Concessions: Pretty much your typical arena stuff, with the exception of the enormous ice cream scoops.
Ease of Parking: It’s always easy to find a spot in the parking garage, sometimes in the lot next to it. Either way, it’s never a long walk to HSC.
Restrooms: They are small, have a strange odor, and the sinks are in a terrible position relative to the paper towel dispensers. You also have to rub shoulders getting in or out – again, the logistics are terrible. I see many people skip the handwashing because they can’t get to the sinks. Which is gross.

The ISU fans we talked to were very nice to us, complimented our team, and offered to take Coach B. off our hands. There was also a guy from Terre Haute sitting in front of us wearing a maroon shirt (over his ISU Tshirt) who said he has a shirt for every opposing teams color so that he can sit in the visitor section. I felt very bad for the Sycamores, and their fans. Their season was obviously long over, and everyone knew it. They appeared to be playing the game, simply because they had to.

All in all it was a great time, mainly because the bears had a stellar game and got a much valued road win.

PS – Because I am such a MSU bbal geek, I will “rate” all the places I visit on a scale of 1 – 5 stars. Here is what I came up with for ISU.

Venue: Hulman Center (More pics here.
Capacity: 10,500

Arena: A bit dated with really a terrible, hard to read scoreboard, but otherwise large, with a nice concourse complete with live video feeds to tv monitors – plus the seats were padded!
City: Terre Haute wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly interesting either. They had a TGI Friday’s, which kept it from earning only 2 stars.
Crowd Involvement: I can’t blame them, given the current shape of the team. With maybe 10% of the seats filled, you can’t expect much.
Team Introductions:
Concessions: Cheap… plus they had dippin’ dots!
Ease of Parking: I should note that if there were more than the 1000 people at the game, parking would have likely been a real chore given the arena’s downtown location with limited parking options.
Restrooms: Very spacious with ample facilities.