Jim: Thanks for the input. I obviously need to make a scout trip to Frankfort to familiarize myself with what is there that I'm not aware of.

 

Concur on the lighting. I liked it, except for the inoperative fixtures above press row.

 

I hated the hotel parking lot and was afraid to leave my spot for fear of not getting one when I returned. Busted up truck and siphoned gas tank didn't help improve my perspective.

 

There were two men's rooms - Really????? Learn something new every day.

 

Didn't get to test the hospitality room fare - wasn't invited in. Interview setup was an embarrassment. Seems they had a much nicer arrangement when the Girls State tournament was held there.

Doubtful. From what I understand EKU doesn't want it back.

 

EKU or the OVC??? The City of Richmond certainly wants it back.

Doubtful. From what I understand EKU doesn't want it back.

 

I think it has a lot to do with the sponsorship commitments the All A and City of Richmond were getting from the local business community.

I vote Richmond!

EKU or the OVC??? The City of Richmond certainly wants it back.

 

EKU. It was a pain for them. I'm sure the City of Richmond wants it back but EKU doesn't.

Now that we have our first year in Frankfort under our belts, what are the pros and cons between the two venues???

 

I'll start by saying that if you stayed at the Capital Plaza Hotel, you life was made easy with the ability to walk back and forth to the games, and the hotel did a great job having three hot meals available in the Terrace Restaurant. The rooms were spacious and the wireless internet was reliable.

HOWEVER Parking was a nightmare. What was suppose to be "Hotel Only" parking was open season to everyone coming to the games and often if you left the garage, you couldn't find a place in it when you returned. I tried to squeeze into a spot, only to scrape up my passenger side door, AND while it was parked in the garage the first night, had my gas tank siphoned. No attendent, no cameras, no security. My strong suggestion to Stan Steidel in my comments will be to insist that the garage be manned, and that the "Hotel Guests Only" requirement be enforced.

 

The Arena - One men's room located in a corner on the first floor - boo!!! The concession stands seemed oddly positioned. One on the main floor, directly underneath a basket, and the other in the far reaches of the extreme upper deck. Also the concession fare was poor. Add a Chick-Fil-A sandwich to the hot dog/pizza agenda and I might like it better.

I did think the arena was a nice place to watch a game, and liked the bright lights over the playing surface, spotlighting the playing of the game. The scoreboards were wierd in that instead of displaying information vertically, what was there was posted horizontally on two boards. Never were individual player fouls posted, which makes it tough if you are wearing headsets. The staff did their best to provide up to the minute stats after each quarter.

Never did the facility threaten, or remotely threaten to sell out.

 

Press Facilities - Press row at Richmond was directly behind the benches. At Frankfort they are in a crow's nest near the top of the arena. The area is dark with several of the lights not operational, and only one four outlet power source for the entire area. The in-house wireless was superb. The interview room/media room was far inferior to that at Richmond. The players and coaches being interviewed prbably felt more like they were in a lineup, than just having won or lost a basketball game.

 

Frankfort itself can't hold a candle to Richmond as far as eateries, and things to do and places to go. Unless you got in your car/bus and went out 127 to nearly I-64 there was NOTHING in the vicinity of the arena short of a Gatti's buffet pizza place.Being an old dog that doesn't want to learn new tricks, I would have preferred it stay in Richmond, but under the assumption that it had no choice but to move, I guess it will serve as a suitable replacement for the next two years - BUT I would be out there shopping to find a more suitable venue as we speak.

 

Are you kidding, Mr. Gatti's buffet is a LOCK, I miss the one that used to be off of Buttermilk. I used to "cruch" that badboy back in the day.

Lawn - Are you saying you could put a piece or 10 down at that buffet? - :ylsuper:

Very comfortable from a spectators perspective.

 

First time I've ever seen you shoot a game sitting down and not move to 20 different places in the gym. I agree though; I could have sat there all day and watched games!

 

I kind of liked the old Convention Center for the games. I was there for a couple of other tourneys a few years ago; to me, the place felt kind of spruced up a bit. Lighting was much, much better than the last time I was there. Concession stand was all I needed. First All A I've attended but I would probably go back.

First time I've ever seen you shoot a game sitting down and not move to 20 different places in the gym. I agree though; I could have sat there all day and watched games!

 

I kind of liked the old Convention Center for the games. I was there for a couple of other tourneys a few years ago; to me, the place felt kind of spruced up a bit. Lighting was much, much better than the last time I was there. Concession stand was all I needed. First All A I've attended but I would probably go back.

 

When it comes to state sanctioned events like this it is tightly controlled, show me your Media Pass or get lost. You are correct, I like to roam the end lines but for this one day I sat and enjoyed the game seated next to a couple of dear friends. Made it a very enjoyable day.

When it comes to state sanctioned events like this it is tightly controlled, show me your Media Pass or get lost. You are correct, I like to roam the end lines but for this one day I sat and enjoyed the game seated next to a couple of dear friends. Made it a very enjoyable day.

 

I was wondering why you weren't on the sidelines. Such disrespect shown to you paNDA, you should have pulled the, "do you know who I am", line.

Doubtful. From what I understand EKU doesn't want it back.

 

Really? I'm sure its tough for scheduling reasons with EKU, but this tournament brings in some nice dollars to EKU and Richmond. If that is true dmderringer I sure do hate to hear it.

Really? I'm sure its tough for scheduling reasons with EKU, but this tournament brings in some nice dollars to EKU and Richmond. If that is true dmderringer I sure do hate to hear it.

 

How does it benefit EKU financially? Aramark runs their food, I'm sure didn't get all of the gate sales, parking was a nightmare, and all their teams had to work around the All A. Not much good came from it for EKU. The city of Richmond loved it though.

Understand that the Frankfort Convention Center is much like Riverfront Coliseum (or whatever they are calling it these days). They have no affiliation to a specific school or team. Picking up events such as this is the primary focus of a place like Frankfort, so it is win-win with them. Those of us who prefer Richmond will have to resign ourselves to realizing that we are probably not going back there, or possibly to any venue serving as "home floor" to a specific college team.

How does it benefit EKU financially? Aramark runs their food, I'm sure didn't get all of the gate sales, parking was a nightmare, and all their teams had to work around the All A. Not much good came from it for EKU. The city of Richmond loved it though.

At one time, I believe the administration at Eastern liked the idea of having hundreds of students and parents getting exposure to the school and campus throughout the week. That attitude probably changed with the change in administrations.

 

Financially, I think the City of Richmond made sure that Eastern was compensated.

At one time, I believe the administration at Eastern liked the idea of having hundreds of students and parents getting exposure to the school and campus throughout the week. That attitude probably changed with the change in administrations.Financially, I think the City of Richmond made sure that Eastern was compensated.

 

I was speaking more from just an athletic department perspective. The President and other higher ups probably loved having so many potential students on campus.