Future of Hilton Coliseum

[Havs]

Given the momentum of the program, and plans released in 2007 to renovate Hilton which have not been mentioned in years, will we see any construction in the near future? Having been to quite a few venues across college basketball and in sports overall, its pretty clear that Hilton needs a facelift badly, in terms of modern amenities. The main reason I can think of nothing too major being done is that the building is in a floodplain, and there have been two massive flood events in the last decade. I'm curious to know if they will continue to put money into Hilton long-term, or just let it age and build a new arena in 20, 30, or 40 years, outside the floodplain.

 

[jtdoyle1]

Given the momentum of the program, and plans released in 2007 to renovate Hilton which have not been mentioned in years, will we see any construction in the near future? Having been to quite a few venues across college basketball and in sports overall, its pretty clear that Hilton needs a facelift badly, in terms of modern amenities. The main reason I can think of nothing too major being done is that the building is in a floodplain, and there have been two massive flood events in the last decade. I'm curious to know if they will continue to put money into Hilton long-term, or just let it age and build a new arena in 20, 30, or 40 years, outside the floodplain.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I want leather seats. And a personal air conditioning system.

 

[2forISU]

I have been to a lot of venues too and the worst was UNC. Hilton looks great compared to that dump. At the time, I went to MSG last year for the ISU game and that might be too nice, wow.

 

[RedlineSi]

Given the momentum of the program, and plans released in 2007 to renovate Hilton which have not been mentioned in years, will we see any construction in the near future? Having been to quite a few venues across college basketball and in sports overall, its pretty clear that Hilton needs a facelift badly, in terms of modern amenities. The main reason I can think of nothing too major being done is that the building is in a floodplain, and there have been two massive flood events in the last decade. I'm curious to know if they will continue to put money into Hilton long-term, or just let it age and build a new arena in 20, 30, or 40 years, outside the floodplain.

I think it could be renovated to be a bit more modern. I wouldn't build a new facility.

 

[bigdaddykane]

Whats wrong with hilton?

 

[jtdoyle1]

Jamie Pollard was just interviewed on local radio yesterday and this was one of the topics of discussion. He didn't necessarily speak to long term plans for Hilton but he did say there are no plans in the near future for renovation. Before the bball practice facility was built their was an idea to build suites on the concourse to get revenue for new facilities but now that they have a suitable practice facility that plan has not been explored further. Also he mentioned that the recent floods led to the entire lower level being renovated along with hvac, electrical, etc.

 

[Havs]

I think it could be renovated to be a bit more modern. I wouldn't build a new facility.

That'd be my preference too, having a concourse expansion with a few aesthetic improvements inside. I wonder if they (the administration) would be willing to invest that much money into a ticking time bomb for the next disaster though.

 

[Cycsk]

There is new flood protection.

 

[Cyclones423]

Only upgrade I want at this point is remote controlled shutters over the lights so we can have awesome intros and add to the atmosphere.

 

[jbhtexas]

Unless ISU is planning on going after other non-university sporting events to make money, there really isn't any need to renovate Hilton as a university sports venue, other than to make sure the existing infrastructure is safe and in good working order. Doesn't the place sell out for nearly every MBB game? If that's the case, why pump money into adding amenities?

I would guess the AD has many more pressing needs than a cosmetic Hilton renovation. However, I suppose at some point the place will be desecrated by "suites" to make more money.

 

[Cydar]

I want leather seats. And a personal air conditioning system.

As Ricardo Montalban once said:
"Rich Corinthian Leather."

 

[alarson]

We just had a thread about this a couple weeks ago. Plenty of renovation opportunities.

- Widen outer concourse out to the pillars
- Johnnys expansion (this is already in the works)
- possibly add suite\loge seat options.
- redo the ceiling, especially in the middle, add LED lighting (projection too would be nice)
- replace the seats entirely (we did a cosmetic half-fix about 10 years ago now)
- new videoboards (also approaching 10 years old now)
- a thorough cleaning of all concrete inside and out might be a good idea.

I dont see a complete rebuilding ever happening. The costs for that would be just astronomical. It took us how long just to get the SEZ rolling, imagine how long it'd take to get a project 10x the size rolling.

 

[bigdaddykane]

We just had a thread about this a couple weeks ago. Plenty of renovation opportunities.

- Widen outer concourse out to the pillars
- Johnnys expansion (this is already in the works)
- possibly add suite\loge seat options.
- redo the ceiling, especially in the middle, add LED lighting (projection too would be nice)
- replace the seats entirely (we did a cosmetic half-fix about 10 years ago now)
- new videoboards (also approaching 10 years old now)
- a thorough cleaning of all concrete inside and out might be a good idea.

I dont see a complete rebuilding ever happening. The costs for that would be just astronomical. It took us how long just to get the SEZ rolling, imagine how long it'd take to get a project 10x the size rolling.

These would be nice, but no suites!!

 

[alarson]

These would be nice, but no suites!!

Suites pay money for all the other fun stuff.

 

[VeloClone]

Only upgrade I want at this point is remote controlled shutters over the lights so we can have awesome intros and add to the atmosphere.

This is a dead technology. At this point you take that money and pair it with a little more to install LED bowl lighting. It would be dimmable and much more energy efficient. You would very quickly pay for the difference in cost between shutters and new lighting fixtures through energy efficiency and reap the reward of energy savings for years to come.

 

[ThatllDoCy]

I am a really big fan of Hilton, CY Stephens and the Iowa State Center. I really like the facilities inside and out. Modernizing would be great, but if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[bigdaddykane]

Suites pay money for all the other fun stuff.

They also look stupid unless its a giant arena like the sprint center.
examples

 

[Havs]

They also look stupid unless its a giant arena like the sprint center.
examples

Illinois' renovations actually look really cool. Michigan renovated Crisler Center perfectly to maintain the historical context of the building with modern amenities.

 

[Luth4Cy]

Right now they don't need to do anything like suites to get Hilton more full. On top of that I'm sure they want to have a better feeling of where we'll be long term. Will we be a perennial National Title contender? What conference will we be in? Will we still have Division I-A football? All of those things would play into renovating Hilton or building a new facility.