All right, I'll hop in on this.
Pros:
- As far as watching the actual game of basketball is concerned, I feel like most seats in the Klotsche Center are far superior to those in the Cell. The viewing angle is outstanding, the closeness is obvious.
- Atmosphere for really good games is amazing. The end of the Davidson game was particularly great, as was the stretch against UIC in the tournament where we opened a can of whoop-ass on them. I feel like it's easier for people to get into the game when they're so close to it and they're boxed in by everyone around them.
- Concessions, parking and merchandise are better for the university and the fans. The merch stand is prominently placed and well-stocked, the concessions are within view of the game, and parking is done easily inside or with a short walk outside.
- It is on campus, somewhere you can accomplish things better than you can do downtown - fundraising has to be better when donors can be shown what it is they're donating into, no matter what school or college is raising the cash.
Cons:
- From a media stance, this is pretty much awful. You have to walk twice as far to the media room, which is about half the size of the Cell's, they have bad camera angles for TV, there is no real space for them to produce the television or set up, the internet connection gives us problems, there is no cellular reception in the media room...basically, nothing a normal fan would notice, but it really hurts the media. You want media to WANT to be there, and I'm not talking about me.
- Fan comfort isn't there. Chairback seats are uncomfortable and plastic, the new temporary backs get broken by the handful every game, and bleachers should be for students and students alone.
- Amenities aren't there. The best part about the Cell was across the street - without Goolsby's, there is no place where fans congregate. If I were raising money for the program, I'd want the hour pregame and three hours postgame to hang out with alumni and donors and tell them the Milwaukee story.
- It's a joke. I didn't fully understand this until we actually played here all season - as a D-I facility with no new one in sight, the KC was a bad decision. People laugh at us, the players don't feel like they're playing in a real home, and recruits only need to go to MU to find better women's basketball facilities.
The more I think about it, the more "Milwaukee's College Team" needs to play in Milwaukee's downtown. We need to buy it, for the grand total of $1, and see what we can do to help the WCD keep at least part of the tax they'd be giving up by selling us the Cell.