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.