A New Lynah

[Jim Hyla]

[Q]Felix said:

They could easily renovate lynah just a little bit by eliminating the parking lot and making the seats go all the way around. That would also probably give them more space for the locker room stuff which I know Schafer used to complain about.[/Q]Felix, please reread my post. That was my whole point, although doing might not be possible because of needing to bring it up to code.:-/

[Greg Berge]

Central scoreboards --> speakers --> piped in music -->  ::yark::

If they ever do wrap the seating around the open end without ruining the rink, we must have some clever engineering types who can design angled, flat screen scoreboards in the corners, oriented towards center ice and readable from every point in the building.  I have heard Lynah needs 176 additional seats to qualify for an NCAA regional bid, but given Ithaca's rural location I seriously doubt that would ever happen.

[Tub(a)]

[q]Central scoreboards --> speakers --> piped in music -->[/q]

I would like to think Athletics values our Pep Band more than that.

That's what I'd like to think.

[Lowell '99]

Personally, I think Lynah is just the right size.  Another 1000 seats would mean plenty of empty seats on a far too regular basis.  It's very myopic to judge our seating needs on this year- they'll never be higher.  Despite that, if I'm not mistaken, it was actually pretty easy to get a ticket to the non-Harvard games this year.  Besides this forum, there were often people selling outside the rink before game time.  Also, you could walk right up to the ticket window in the Field House and buy one!!!.  There were usually a few dozen returned from other schools.  

We're not getting an NCAA regional.  Minimums, shminimums- the other places that bid easily surpass these and therefore bring in more money.  I won't even get into the issues of parking, concessions, etc.

I'm not anti-change.  If renovations could be done to enhance the experience for the players (new new locker rooms, training space, etc.) and fans (wider concourses, a *few* more seats, a booster area at the end to reunite the students through section C, whatever) without leveling the place, I'd be all for it.  But as Jim pointed out, that's pretty much a legal impossibility.

[jtwcornell91]

Adam J. Doyle wrote:
When the roof collapses in the middle of a home game.;-)

Under the weight of too many banners. B-]

[jtwcornell91]

Greg wrote:
I have heard Lynah needs 176 additional seats to qualify for an NCAA regional bid [...]

164.  They already added 12 the last time they renovated.

[Keith K \'93]

Rebuttal:

1. New Facilities (locker rooms etc.) these guys deserve.

I have no idea how good/bad the facilities are.  I do think the lousy visiting locker room should be considered a feature, not a bug.

2. Attract recruits with our new rink.

Our old rink does a fabulous job recruiting players as it is (when they see a game).

3. Allow Cornell Hockey to expand to new fans, build a larger fan base, by making more seats available.

What new fans?  This is Ithaca we're talking about here.  I doubt there's any untapped market out there for Cornell hockey.

4. Allow more students and alumni to get into games.

nice idea in principle, but those who really want to go can pretty much always find tickets as it is.

5. Be able to host the NCAA REGIONALS!!! (ok maybe not that big)

Not a chance that it will ever happen.  Too many other suitable places in the east.  Even if we built a 6,000 seat arena (which would be a disaster on many levels), the lack of hotels and easy access to Ithaca would likely doom any bid.  Not that Cornell couldn't or shouldn't try to host somewhere like Rochester or Binghamton...

6. Nicer seats (not that I acutally sit) and facilities for fans.

Nicer seats brings other problems that I'll mention in a bit.  No prblem in principle with better facilities for fans, but that's not a compelling reason to me (I've never bought food at Lynah).

7. Add more here

OK, I will:

As someone mentioned, a new "Lynah" would probably need to be 50% bigger just to have the same capacity, in order to meet fire codes, make room for bigger seats, etc.  Bigger (per capita) almost certainly means less noise and atmosphere, no matter what you do.  Bigger also means further from the ice.  If built to current codes, I suspect the back row of Lynah would be much further from the action.  IMNSHO this is a major negative.  One of the great things about the college game is how close you can get to the action.

In terms of seating, I don't think there's a real need for more seating.  Sure, it's a little tough to get tickets now. We had a top ranked team this year.  While I hope and pray that Schafer will field Top 5 teams forever, realistically we'll have some years where we're only fighting for an ECAC first round bye :-) .[Aside: we need an obvious Carnellian colored glasses smiley]  Attendance pressure will drop in these years.  Don't let recent box scores fool you - there have been plenty of empty seats within memory.

[Ken Deschere]

To twist the topic just a bit, I think the way to get more REAL fans in the seats is to change the seating policy - allow the "standing room" ticket holders to take any seats which are unoccupied 15 minutes into the game (i.e., at 7:15 for a 7:00 game.)   I'm amazed at how empty sections (other than A & B) are at faceoff, and how people come in at the end of the first period.   To be fair about it, this change would have to be publicized before the tickets went on sale.  

One of the good features of the General Admission days was that those of us who'd been waiting hours for the game were there to scream for (and at) the teams as they came out for the skatearound.  That frenzy level built and built throughout the evening.

As for making serious changes to the structure and seating of Lynah - no way!  Why "fix" something that's working so well?  Being undefeated at home this season testifies to the greatness of the team, but pays tribute as well to the fans and the atmosphere of the place we all call home.  Packing so many fans into so small a space, so close to the ice, helps create Lynah Magic.  Great recruiting years help too, but the ability to recruit is enhanced by the atmosphere at the games.  Why mess with it?

Ken '71

[tom nachod \'63]

As I undertand it, the CHA and Cornell have already seen Coach Schafer's plans which pretty much do what you say; expand the locker room to make it possible for teh entire team to dress at once!!! and add seating on the end  of the rink.  Wouldn't cost that much, and would retain the character of Lynah.  Don't know where this stands.

[crodger1]

Jim says:

[q]Wow, where have you all been when this has been discussed before. [/q]

I was thinking the same thing myself.  The conversation started about 7 messages into the topic Quantifications: http://elf.hockey.cornell.edu/read.php?f=1&i=13562&t=13562

And I thought that I was new around here

[Greg Berge]

Lynah has undergone many successive revisions over the past decade.  I don't think they'd be pouring mney into the place for improvements if they were thinking of scrapping it.  Among the improvements:

+ Better locker rooms (I don't know how they stack up against the other leading NCAA programs, but they are supposedly MUCH improved from just a fw seasons ago).

+ Better coach/staff facilities (which pretty much reads: any staff facilities).

+ Refurbishment of the roof (there was a time when you couldn't have ice in Lynah for 4 months out of the year because the temperature differential was actually a real structural hazard.  This is no longer a problem.)

+ A bunch of aesthetic improvements (new banners, wall nostalgia, etc).


My dream plan for Lynah is this:

(1) The seating/playing area should remain EXACTLY as it is, except section C's seats should be replaced by benches and the section revert to students.  Never lose a prospect to a more intense game atmosphere.

(2) Once the players leave the ice, their experience should be on par with or better than it would be at Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, or any other national caliber program: the very best facilities, lockerrooms, training rooms, the works.  Never lose a prospect to a better Nautilus machine.

(3) There should be even more tradition/success paraphrenelia, and recent championships and achievements should be given greater prominence, without devaluing the historical stuff.  Hang the two NCAA banners at center ice with spot lights on them as the Holy Grail to aspire to, but also hammer in that this team has done a lot JUST last year, and this is no dinosaur -- it's alive!  Never lose a prospect to a slicker promotional campaign.

When the players visit for a game, walk them through the player/prep area and let their eyes pop out with all the great eye candy, "we belong at the top," he-man stuff.  Then stand them behind the boards as the crowd roars and the players come on.  Shock and awe.



Post Edited (04-15-03 12:08)

[RedJeff]

Greg,

Outstanding post!  I couldn't have said it better and can't agree more.

One point - can someone ask our CURRENT players what they think/what they thought when they were being recruited?  I'm real curious to hear what they have to say.


Cheers

[Shorts]

So, the ideal situation seems to be:
On the one hand, have enough seats for every fan who wants to attend a game.
On the other hand, don't have any empty seats.

The answer seems clear:  about a day or two before a game, look at how many tickets have been purchased, and maybe factor in an extra hundred or so.  Then, the day of the game, the ceiling is lowered down to fill in the top part of the bowl, so that all the empty seats are above the ceiling, and the rink seems full.

Well, ok, maybe that might be a little costly.  But it would sure impress other ECAC fans.

[CU at Stanford]

[q]Greg said:
Shock and awe[/q]

You have put new meaning into this phrase.  I like it.  If Pentagon or CNN has not trademarked it, I'd like to see it on the Cornell programs next season :-D



Post Edited (04-15-03 14:33)

[Lenny]

Hey all,
First of all, I'm sorry I started a topic that was discussed before.  I guess I missed it.
I just wanted to see what everyone thought about this.  I still think there are positives and negatives.
I would like a compromise where we could fit a few more seats in and keep the old lynah.  I think some extra renovations would be nice too.
But the building does have history.... and it does still "work"
Lenny