-
Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
LGHL If I Was in Charge: St. John Arena would be revived as the home of Ohio State basketball
- News
- 0 Replies
If I Was in Charge: St. John Arena would be revived as the home of Ohio State basketball
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State Athletics / ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Still host to Skull Sessions and random events, the old arena has otherwise been reduced to a relic. But with modern upgrades, it could (and should) once again be the home of Buckeye basketball.
Located at 410 Woody Hayes Drive, St. John Arena is described as a multi-purpose arena on Wikipedia. While that might technically be true, none of the arena’s current “purposes” involve hosting an Ohio State game, match, meet, dual, or any other varsity sporting event.
And frankly, that is a shame. Because for many years, it was the raucous (at times, let’s not get carried away) home of OSU basketball. The men hooped at St. John from 1956-1998, while the women began play in 1965. The arena also hosted men’s and women’s gymnastics, M&W volleyball, and wrestling during its six-decade run as the indoor athletic hub of the Buckeyes, which came to an end in 2019.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24650222/1073337082.jpg)
Set Number: X41050
Dozens of concerts were also held at St. John, primarily in the 1970s, but the last of which was Black Sabbath on Oct. 7, 1980. From a performance venue for Ozzy Osbourne and of course, many legendary Ohio State athletes, to a vaccination clinic and designated technology pickup location for students, the old arena is certainly and unfortunately not what it used to be.
But if I was in charge, St. John would be on the receiving end of an arena facelift, modernizing and upgrading the facility to make it the home of OSU basketball once again.
For those who were never fortunate enough to attend a basketball game (or any other event for that matter) at St. John, the atmosphere was exponentially better than that of the Buckeyes’ current home, Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. There are some, perhaps many, who will argue that the latter has been an upgrade, but the “vibe meter” tells a different story.
St. John is/was a smaller, more intimate venue with seats near the action, great views, and great acoustics. Whereas Value City is a corporate mecca imagined as a general entertainment space rather than a sports-centric arena... In my humble opinion, of course. And since we’re doing an “if I was in charge” theme on LGHL this week, I will act as if my humble opinion is the only one that matters!
And I will scream from my own personal mountain top that St. John Arena is the rightful home of Ohio State basketball and needs to be treated as such. So if I ever was placed in charge of whatever hypothetical decision-making process we’re talking about here, I would demand that immediate and necessary upgrades be made to the ol’ fortress, in preparation for bringing Buckeye ballers back. But we’re not talking more seats and more suites. No, no, no...
Some people believe that increased or greater capacity automatically equals a larger crowd, louder cheers, and more money spent on concessions. But what if 20 percent of the invited or intended crowd never shows up, spends most of the game or event on their phone, and/or refuses to pay $12 for a small bag of popcorn? The fact of the matter is, if the ambiance sucks and a portion of the attendees are only there for a complimentary snack bar available in one of the lifeless suites, then the venue is likely missing its target(s).
I guess that’s where the supplementary events and sponsored concerts come into play, to make back some of the money. But guess what? Half empty concerts where the only eye contact made is via jumbotron, those suck too! Unlike a smaller event where a singer’s voice nearly blows out your eardrum.
Yes, I am exaggerating, but having attended games at both arenas and concerts on Borror Drive (Value City), I can tell you that the experiences are not one in the same. Value City is for guests and acquaintances, St. John is/was for diehards and real fans. Of course, students and lifers are going to flock wherever, but you get my point.
Which is that St. John does not have to be the Carrier Dome (capacity 34,000+) to offer and provide a fantastic game experience. Hell, Cameron Indoor Stadium, where Duke plays its home basketball games, holds just over 9,000 fans and is arguably the loudest, most insane atmosphere in college basketball. Sure the venue probably isn’t booking Taylor Swift anytime soon, but who cares!? The fans love it, the players love it, and isn’t that sort of the point of a sports arena? An enjoyable experience for all?
Here is what I would be asking for in my new and improved St. John Arena:
Now, you might be asking: What about the tiny, dated display board above the tunnel(s)? Or, is this peculiar visionary going to offer in-arena Wi-Fi? My answers are “not touchin’ em” and “nope”. I love the familiar, old-school look, and if you want to scroll Twitter during a game, do so at home.
If I was in charge, OSU basketball would return home. Where the Buckeyes are meant to play, at St. John Arena. If only the world we so lucky...
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State Athletics / ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Still host to Skull Sessions and random events, the old arena has otherwise been reduced to a relic. But with modern upgrades, it could (and should) once again be the home of Buckeye basketball.
Located at 410 Woody Hayes Drive, St. John Arena is described as a multi-purpose arena on Wikipedia. While that might technically be true, none of the arena’s current “purposes” involve hosting an Ohio State game, match, meet, dual, or any other varsity sporting event.
And frankly, that is a shame. Because for many years, it was the raucous (at times, let’s not get carried away) home of OSU basketball. The men hooped at St. John from 1956-1998, while the women began play in 1965. The arena also hosted men’s and women’s gymnastics, M&W volleyball, and wrestling during its six-decade run as the indoor athletic hub of the Buckeyes, which came to an end in 2019.
Dozens of concerts were also held at St. John, primarily in the 1970s, but the last of which was Black Sabbath on Oct. 7, 1980. From a performance venue for Ozzy Osbourne and of course, many legendary Ohio State athletes, to a vaccination clinic and designated technology pickup location for students, the old arena is certainly and unfortunately not what it used to be.
But if I was in charge, St. John would be on the receiving end of an arena facelift, modernizing and upgrading the facility to make it the home of OSU basketball once again.
For those who were never fortunate enough to attend a basketball game (or any other event for that matter) at St. John, the atmosphere was exponentially better than that of the Buckeyes’ current home, Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. There are some, perhaps many, who will argue that the latter has been an upgrade, but the “vibe meter” tells a different story.
St. John is/was a smaller, more intimate venue with seats near the action, great views, and great acoustics. Whereas Value City is a corporate mecca imagined as a general entertainment space rather than a sports-centric arena... In my humble opinion, of course. And since we’re doing an “if I was in charge” theme on LGHL this week, I will act as if my humble opinion is the only one that matters!
And I will scream from my own personal mountain top that St. John Arena is the rightful home of Ohio State basketball and needs to be treated as such. So if I ever was placed in charge of whatever hypothetical decision-making process we’re talking about here, I would demand that immediate and necessary upgrades be made to the ol’ fortress, in preparation for bringing Buckeye ballers back. But we’re not talking more seats and more suites. No, no, no...
Some people believe that increased or greater capacity automatically equals a larger crowd, louder cheers, and more money spent on concessions. But what if 20 percent of the invited or intended crowd never shows up, spends most of the game or event on their phone, and/or refuses to pay $12 for a small bag of popcorn? The fact of the matter is, if the ambiance sucks and a portion of the attendees are only there for a complimentary snack bar available in one of the lifeless suites, then the venue is likely missing its target(s).
I guess that’s where the supplementary events and sponsored concerts come into play, to make back some of the money. But guess what? Half empty concerts where the only eye contact made is via jumbotron, those suck too! Unlike a smaller event where a singer’s voice nearly blows out your eardrum.
Yes, I am exaggerating, but having attended games at both arenas and concerts on Borror Drive (Value City), I can tell you that the experiences are not one in the same. Value City is for guests and acquaintances, St. John is/was for diehards and real fans. Of course, students and lifers are going to flock wherever, but you get my point.
Which is that St. John does not have to be the Carrier Dome (capacity 34,000+) to offer and provide a fantastic game experience. Hell, Cameron Indoor Stadium, where Duke plays its home basketball games, holds just over 9,000 fans and is arguably the loudest, most insane atmosphere in college basketball. Sure the venue probably isn’t booking Taylor Swift anytime soon, but who cares!? The fans love it, the players love it, and isn’t that sort of the point of a sports arena? An enjoyable experience for all?
Here is what I would be asking for in my new and improved St. John Arena:
- Some new, comfortable seating. I admit that the old wooden options were a literal pain in the ass. But only some, not all. We’re keeping a portion of the bleachers for ambiance.
- A modern jumbotron. I don’t need the monstrosity inside “Jerry’s World” aka AT&T Stadium, let’s just spruce up the current version a little bit.
- The retro Block O in the middle. Ohio State has brought it back a time or two, make it permanent.
- Speaking of retro, find the old proprietor(s) of Catfish Biff’s and Bring. That. Sh*t. Back! I want it available in every corner of the arena.
- And finally, better parking. Whoever I delegate that responsibility to: Hire professionals, make it palpable. If you have to knock down a stupid chain restaurant or some Campus Partners money grab, in order to put up a garage, do it. Just leave Buckeye Donuts and Out-R-Inn alone.
Now, you might be asking: What about the tiny, dated display board above the tunnel(s)? Or, is this peculiar visionary going to offer in-arena Wi-Fi? My answers are “not touchin’ em” and “nope”. I love the familiar, old-school look, and if you want to scroll Twitter during a game, do so at home.
If I was in charge, OSU basketball would return home. Where the Buckeyes are meant to play, at St. John Arena. If only the world we so lucky...
Continue reading...
LGHL Buck Off Podcast: Recruiting roundup on defensive backs, B1G QB outlook, and if we were in charge
- News
- 0 Replies
Buck Off Podcast: Recruiting roundup on defensive backs, B1G QB outlook, and if we were in charge
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK
Definitely a busy news week, so we discussed a wide range of topic.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about what we would do if we were in charge of our favorite position group, team, conference, or sport. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”If I Was in Charge” articles here.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
On today’s episode of “Buck Off with Christopher Renne,” I’m joined by Jordan Williams to discuss the recent recruiting news on the defensive back front.
After a few new predictions rolled in for a big time local defensive back, the internet obviously handled it well. This led to a wide discussion about Ohio State’s two main corner targets, and why the battles against Michigan in this are more important. Then we get into the Elite 11 battle as well as Notre Dame being awful at recruiting.
Then we get into the Big Ten quarterback situations and rank them from bad to good with ‘need to see’ in the middle. We rate every quarterback situation from Illinois to Wisconsin, and there are definitely some disagreements here.
To close out the show, we finish with our final thoughts on the NCAA video game, NIL plans and the failures of southern education.
Connect with the Show:
Twitter: @BuckOffPod
Connect with Chris Renne:
Twitter: @ChrisRenneCFB
Connect with Jordan Williams
Twitter: @JordanW330
Continue reading...
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK
Definitely a busy news week, so we discussed a wide range of topic.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about what we would do if we were in charge of our favorite position group, team, conference, or sport. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”If I Was in Charge” articles here.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
On today’s episode of “Buck Off with Christopher Renne,” I’m joined by Jordan Williams to discuss the recent recruiting news on the defensive back front.
After a few new predictions rolled in for a big time local defensive back, the internet obviously handled it well. This led to a wide discussion about Ohio State’s two main corner targets, and why the battles against Michigan in this are more important. Then we get into the Elite 11 battle as well as Notre Dame being awful at recruiting.
Then we get into the Big Ten quarterback situations and rank them from bad to good with ‘need to see’ in the middle. We rate every quarterback situation from Illinois to Wisconsin, and there are definitely some disagreements here.
To close out the show, we finish with our final thoughts on the NCAA video game, NIL plans and the failures of southern education.
Connect with the Show:
Twitter: @BuckOffPod
Connect with Chris Renne:
Twitter: @ChrisRenneCFB
Connect with Jordan Williams
Twitter: @JordanW330
Continue reading...
