LONG post ahead...
As much traveling as I have done, the FC stacks up pretty well with other SLC schools for those of you that havent been able to travel the SLC and look at some of the gyms the rest of the schools play in. I think Monty and 75 (and even KOTS) can and have helped try to explain this to some of you in this thread. Monty did leave off Corpus Christi's arena, that is the nicest in the conference bar none.
However, it is
NOT an on campus facility ran by the school, so I put them in a different catagory.
Lamar's Montagne Center is the cream of the crop in the SLC as far as on campus arenas go in my mind. But they sure dont draw well for women. And since they dont have football, anymore, or it might be coming back, whatever...I'm sure they spent the time and money to build that place right to make it a showplace for a basketball school, and their men's history shows it too.
As far as the rest of the eastern division arena. The FC and maybe the University Center at Hammond are the cream of the crop bar none.
NW St. plays in this over-sized, arena/airplane hanger and they have curtains seperating about a 1/3 of the playing court and main seating from a volleyball court and a scoreboard no where near the playing court. It also features sections of seats that span the color of the rainbow, literally. I was also told when we were there last week, that it looked like a place that could also host rodeos and livestock shows, so who knows.
Nicholls' gym, well it had damage a few years ago during the hurricane and they are remodeling it some...but it is old, and if it isnt, it looks it, complete with the trough style urinals ala War Memorial Stadium. I may be kind in saying it is worse tham many high school gyms.
That brings me to McNeese. Burton Coliseum/Rodeo Arena/barn. Let's just say besides the size of the place, Jennings High School, where the SB's play McNeese this season, puts their real facility to shame, and it was just a high school gym. Burton is dark, or at least it was last year. It was dead empty, granted they've been down a while and they were terrible last year, not sure how they draw for guys. But it's almost like it's a rodeo arena (and a nice one for that use, seriously!) that they allow McNeese to play ball in. They would likely benefit from a basketball only facility as well.
I like the University Center, and look forward to our trip there a week from this Thursday. It reminds me of Tucker Coliseum in Russellville, complete by being decked out in all green and gold. AS mentioned before, seats WAY too far away from the court. Really, trying to picture it in my mind again, I think their seats, at least some of them, are actually further away than ours are.
Now to the Western Division...
UTA's stage is unique, I realyl did expect it to be worse than it was, but it WAS bad.
Texas State, bigger than the FC, but otehr than that, nothing special at all. It loses points with me with that rediculous wall at one end of the floor, even though it has a nice sized and well ued video board/scoreboard now. I will give them this. I do like their concourse area on the one side where they recognized all their hall of famers and have pictures and murals up of Texas St. basketball players and history, that was well done. But the other side of the concourse was jsut as bland as the FC's except they did have unopened concession stands, with one full of nothing but old, dusty trophies and banners from years and sports gone by just sitting there piled up in plain view.
UTSA's Convocation Center, as you smay have saw on tv is nothing spectcular, and really, I would expect MORE from a school that is a basketball school and does not have football (for now) It is a hyper center with seats, that's it.
Corpus' place is a mini-Alltel Arena, but as I mentioned earlier, it has an unfair advantage being a city owned and operated facility that I guess TAMCC has to pay rent for. But they DO have an on campus shack for visiting teams to go shoot around and practice in. I'll put it this way, the Prince Center, BEFORE renovations, was nicer than that place, so TAMCC runs has it all and nothing at all at the same time!
I liked SFA place, last year, and Monty just got back from there. It may have been the purple! It looks like nothing from the outside really, but on the inside well laid out, they have walls kinda like the FC, but they are not quite as high up, and they are still closer to the floor from what I can remember, Monty help me out. the concourse is all at the top, and it house their basketball programs, have huge trophey cases and honors their past, especially in women's bball, their bell cow.I just got back from Sam Houston & Johnson Coliseum early this morning. Floor layout was fine, seats on 3 sides close to the arena floor. But I still havnt figured out why they have the one side with the score table and benches with a HUGE cut out area and have not put some type of temporary bleachers in the that area to squeeze more people in, and put them right behind the visitor's ears. Those seats WAY above the action arent aywhere NEAR the floor.
SO IF I was to be honest in my rankings of all the SLC bball facilities at this point here I go:
1A. Lamar (on campus)
1B. TAMCC (off campus)
2. SFA (name escapes me!)
3. Sam Houston (Johnson Coliseum)
4. Texas St. (Strahan Coliseum)
5. UCA! (Farris Center)6. SELA (University Center)
7. NW St. (Prather Coliseum)
8. UTSA (Convecation Center)
9. UT Arlington (The Stage)
10. McNeese (Burton Coliseum)
11. Nicholls (Stopher Gymnasium, i think)
We do have a lovely place. It's called the Johnson Coliseum