#RenovateBlackham

[CajunNation]

I agree that it won't happen but should. Only disagreement I have with what has ben said here is capacity. I would make it 6000 but no more. Way I came up with that figure is we were approaching crowds of that nature when the 2018 team was doing well. I am sure if someone went to Dr. Maggard and Dr. Savoie with a donation of 20 million for this purpose it would happen.

The Admin should, at least, go public with an announcement of intentions to renovate/rebuild Blackham. No time frame would need to be given at this point. This would just be UL throwing down a marker, a Vision Quest, if you will.

Things that nobody thought would happen have a weird way of happening here. Omaha, National Rankings in football. R1 status, etc. etc....

[BabbForHeisman]

Imagine this…

In 10 years, we are playing the majority of our home games in Blackham. Brad Boyd is the coach, the team is consistently in the top 25, and Blackham is rockin on a weekly basis. The Cajundome is still reserved for the biggest 1-2 games a year, and because now a special occasion, we put 8-10K in there.

Every single person on this board would take that future. Every single one.

[Turbine]

... Because, to make Blackham THE toughest venue in the country, would require dropping the floor and extending seating all the way down to it....

The Pit next to the below sea level Swamp ....

All inside of Cajun Basin...

I could go for that.

[Million$Mullet]

He's consistently on the wrong side of history. These people don't understand that fans pay for an experience. Shared energy and nostalgia is WHY you put up with crowds and inconveniences. Like you said, the CD has never "rocked" like Blackham, which is one of the biggest reasons why the place is empty.

It all goes back to the simple point: Some people want the Cajuns to WIN and be wildly successful in front of a passionate fanbase. And some people, want to kick back in a sparsely attended, nice arena, where they can yuck it up with their 3 friends, sit next to the coach and feel important. Way too many in the latter group.

I'll happily squish into a smaller venue to be a consistent winner with a real home court advantage.

You just wanna walk across the street for a game. Not that you go anyway

[CajunVic]

You just wanna walk across the street for a game. Not that you go anyway

He can always park at Fatima . . .

[ManAboutTown]

You just wanna walk across the street for a game. Not that you go anyway

Remember those little rental scooters that were here a few years ago? (Before Carrol Ross got them banned) We used to take those to the Dome. It was awesome.

[ManAboutTown]

Early in the thread, MAT said he spoke to engineers that estimated it would take $10-12 million to renovate Blackham, which (he said) was also the cost of the Cajundome renovation.

If memory serves me correct, the Cajundome renovation was actually over $20 million.

And that was really just internal re-arranging; nothing structural.

But renovating Blackham would seem to involve a much greater effort. I would imagine a building built in 1950 would pretty much require a complete gutting of the facility, and would cost considerably more than $10 million.

I'm pretty sure you're an engineer. Care to make a guess on what the cost might be?

My apologies. That $12 million figure may have been something more specific. Might have been the initial proposal. Not sure why I remembered that way. Here is a list of what was done and costs.

What can you do with $22 million and six months? Give the Cajundome a complete makeover.

Some of the renovations are immediately seen, such as the new seats in the arena and the new coating on the arena roof.

Others are less visible but equally important, such as the upgraded fire protection system and the enhanced electrical system.

These are the renovations that took place during the Cajundome renovation closure from May to November.

1. The south lobby concession stands were renovated and upgraded to include equipment to grill and fry on site, providing an enhanced menu selection.

2. The ceiling in the south lobby was elevated from about 8 feet to 12 feet.

3. The ground-level restrooms were renovated.

4. The first-aid room was moved to the south lobby for greater visibility and access.

5. All ground-level interior doors were replaced.

6. University of Louisiana at Lafayette graphics were installed in the south lobby, upper concourse and lower concourse.

7. Graphics that tell the history of UL basketball were installed in the lower concourse.

8. A hallway was installed from the arena to the east and west ground-level restrooms to ease wait times at the south lobby restrooms.

9. Half of the retractable seating was converted to permanent seating to install portals beneath seats.

10. All seats in the arena were replaced.

11. The arena lighting system was replaced with an LED lighting system.

12. The arena sound system was upgraded.

13. The scoreboard and video screens were refurbished.

14. Extra seats were installed behind each basketball goal.

15. A new seating bowl effect was created for UL basketball games.

16. The entire interior of the arena was repainted in a black and gray theme.

17. Handrails were installed on the arena steps from the lower to the upper levels.

18. Thirty-seven TVs were installed throughout the concourse and south lobby to live broadcast arena events.

19. The basketball court was resurfaced using UL's Cypress Lake as the theme.

20. New basketball goals were installed.

21. The fire protection system was upgraded and completely replaced.

22. The electrical system was enhanced.

23. All hallway, lobby and restroom lights were replaced with an LED lighting system.

24. The basketball TV lighting system was replaced with digital LED lights that are brighter and more concentrated on the court.

25. The seating capacity for basketball games was increased by 1,000.

26. The concert seating capacity was increased by 500 to 800.

27. New signage and a wayfinding system were installed.

28. Ribbon boards were relocated from behind goals to east and west of the basketball court.

29. The arena roof and metal roof were cleaned and recoated.

30. The upper-level concession stands and restrooms will be renovated (in progress).

Here is a breakdown of how the $22,175,000 was spent.

$5 million: lower level permanent seating structure
$4 million: seating replacement
$2 million: HVAC mechanical replacements and upgrades
$1.85 million: project design, management and administration
$1.7 million: fire protection systems
$1.1 million: dome and metal roof recoating
$1 million: concession stand renovations in the south lobby
$1 million: concession stand and restroom renovations on the upper level
$975,000: signage, wayfinding, graphics
$750,000: restroom renovations on the lower level
$700,000: electrical and lighting upgrades
$650,000: arena lighting replacement
$650,000: concession equipment
$300,000: audio/visual upgrades
$300,000: painting
$200,000: handrails

[ManAboutTown]

When I have time, I'll dissect this list. A lot of if, we wouldn't do in Blackham. But there would be added costs that we would need to account for.

[cajun4life]

https://gozags.com/facilities/mccart...letic-center/1

Build this instead right where Blackham sits!!!

[ZoomZoom]

Early in the thread, MAT said he spoke to engineers that estimated it would take $10-12 million to renovate Blackham, which (he said) was also the cost of the Cajundome renovation.

If memory serves me correct, the Cajundome renovation was actually over $20 million.

And that was really just internal re-arranging; nothing structural.

But renovating Blackham would seem to involve a much greater effort. I would imagine a building built in 1950 would pretty much require a complete gutting of the facility, and would cost considerably more than $10 million.

I'm pretty sure you're an engineer. Care to make a guess on what the cost might be?

Probably level it and start over would be the final plan. Water inside the building in pedestrian’s areas was always an issue when it rained

[JamesTheJeweler]

https://gozags.com/facilities/mccart...letic-center/1

Build this instead right where Blackham sits!!!

Costed 25 mil in 2003.

35 mil in 2023

[JamesTheJeweler]

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