BG also takes a look at Anderson Arena
5/1/2005BOWLING GREEN - The Sebo Center is not the only facilities project on the docket of Bowling Green State University athletic director Paul Krebs.
Perhaps the biggest is a study on the future of Anderson Arena.
The university recently contracted HNTB Corp. to study whether the school should renovate the arena, which was built in 1960, or build a new facility. The study is expected to be completed in August.
"We've hired an architect to do a study of Anderson Arena, really to study if we can renovate Anderson Arena - and at what price - and contrast that to cost and location and size of a new arena," Krebs said. "Our focus is this study, so that when we are ready to move forward we've got the data and we can move forward in whatever direction that happens to be."
Krebs is aware that BG basketball fans have mixed emotions about moving away from the arena, a place where Falcon men's teams have won more than 75 percent of their games.
"Anderson Arena on game night is a great environment, and when it's full it's as great as any place in the league," he said. "But there are some severe disadvantages to our coaching staffs who work in those buildings, and they make the best out of a not-the-best situation.
"On game night it's a great venue for basketball, but the other six days of the week it has some real limitations."
Krebs said another study will focus on the school's ice rink. The arena is managed by the department of intramurals and recreation, but the athletic department will be involved because of the impact on the hockey team.
"My sense is that [the study] will focus on how do we modernize the existing rink, and what needs to be done from renovations and existing upgrades up to expansion with second sheets of ice," Krebs said.
Krebs said Bowling Green has other projects to be completed in the near future.
"We're working hard right now to resurface our track, and we hope to do that this summer," he said. "We hope to resurface our tennis courts this summer, and we're trying to fund-raise for a new baseball and softball locker room."