A few days ago the class visited the Stroh Center, a new multi-million dollar athletic facility that houses the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams as well as the Women’s volleyball team. The facility was impressive in its sustainable practices and general architecture. The most obvious, striking thing to me was the reserved parking spaces for “Fuel Efficient Economy Cars” that plastered the first two rows leading into the main entrance. I had never seen anything like that before and thought immediately how this building was going to be great in its sustainable practices. The outside of the facility is very intriguing as well, the front of the building looks very modern and artistic, while the sides of the building look dull and have a sort of warehouse-esque to it. The inside of the building could use some more decor and color, but time will help heal that process as more memorabilia and ideas emerge.
The functional layout for the facility seems to be pretty good. The locker rooms were located in an area that is hard for fans to access during the game, and there is a practice court that is open 24/7 to all players. Everything a student-athlete needs seems to be within the building. When there is another event within the building, the athletes still have a place to practice which makes it easy to reserve court times and keep a consistent practice schedule. There seemed to be ample storage within the facility so ease of access to the equipment seemed to be pretty good if an athlete wanted to come in during off-hours to practice on their own or with a small group.
In comparison, I think this facility matches up pretty well with any other facility. It meets the needs of the athletes and surrounding area. It only seats a little over 4,000 people for any athletic event which is concurrent with the population size and fan base. The General Manager even stated that it was nice to have a smaller facility because it was easier to fill up which adds to a more exciting atmosphere. If I could compare it to any other facility I guess I would compare it the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Quicken Loans is highly versatile; holding concerts, ice hockey, and other special events. The seats all fold up or are stored elsewhere to make for more room and on basketball game day it provides a big atmosphere without too much seating. While the Stroh Center does not have the versatility the Q does, it does have the proper amount of seating and the comfort of the Quicken loans Arena. It seems that both facilities meet the needs of all the parties involved and that each is different in their own way but yet the same in other ways.