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Post by bison137 on May 16, 2019 16:32:16 GMT -5
The Reilly Center on the St. Bonaventure campus can be a tough place for opponents. Seats 5,480 with everyone very close to the court. They averaged 4,274 this past season which is pretty good for a school with an enrollment of about 1,800 in a fairly sparsely populated area of the southern tier of NY.  By jove, the Reilly Center sure looks like a big gym, except you can't tell because of all those standing, engaged fans blocking the view of what I'm guessing are pull out sections of seats........ Yes, there are about seven rows of pullout seats on each side. |
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Post by rgs318 on May 16, 2019 16:34:41 GMT -5
There appear to be about 8 rows of seats at each end of the court. Is that what you are speaking about?
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Post by CHC8485 on May 16, 2019 16:36:27 GMT -5
Sorry. Missed those. I saw this 360 photo from May 2013 shows no permanent seats on the end line and the retractable seats on the sidelines. Reilly Center 360 Photo |
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Post by rgs318 on May 16, 2019 16:43:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. That 360 degree view is pretty cool.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on May 16, 2019 16:52:16 GMT -5
Yeah, I've seen pictures of the empty facility many times before......sure looks nice filled up though. Taking another look at the pics Bob posted, reminds a bit of Stabler Arena.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on May 16, 2019 18:37:57 GMT -5
I'm told by someone who would/should know that there will be 2 games for HC in Boca Raton as part of this tourney, and a 3rd game is being sought vs a Florida school while down there.
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Post by res on May 16, 2019 18:49:59 GMT -5
What is now the Reilly center opened in 1966. Nine or ten rows of wooden bleachers lined the court on both sides. I forget what the capacity was upon opening, possibly 5,600, but there were no end zone bleachers for the first two years. Wooden bleachers were then added to both ends and capacity was listed (suspiciously) at an even 6,000, not including standing room. I can't remember exactly when, probably the early '90s, all the all of the lower level wooden bleacher seating was replaced. One side of the court became collapsible chairbacks. The other side became composite plastic bleachers. The end zone bleachers were also replaced. All of the changes reduced in substantially reduced capacity. The effect of the switch to chairbacks on one side is obvious. But updated fire codes also had a substantial impact. The newer end bleachers were materially smaller than those they replaced to widen the space to reach the exit doors. The new sideline bleachers, while equivalent in overall size, were required to have designated breaks in seating for quicker exit. And, the sideline bleachers are now not fully extended, cutting out a row of seating, because standing students were blocking the view of the first row or two of the fixed seating above. Capacity is now listed at 5,480.
And, no, the video screen(s) above center court does not rotate. It was a gift from one alumnus and replaced an older 4-sided electronic scoreboard. There are also older flat electronic boards on each end wall. The original plan was, and still is, that new video boards would replace the two older end wall boards. So far, the school has not been able to raise the funds to do so. So, if you sit in the end bleachers, you've got to go old school.
Overall, the facility is starting to show its age, but it is still serviceable and it is still a fine place to watch a college basketball game.
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Post by hchoops on May 16, 2019 19:16:39 GMT -5
I'm told by someone who would/should know that there will be 2 games for HC in Boca Raton as part of this tourney, and a 3rd game is being sought vs a Florida school while down there. How does this info fit with the original post in this thread that lists the 8 teams in the tourney and we are not listed ? |
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on May 16, 2019 19:29:28 GMT -5
I'm told by someone who would/should know that there will be 2 games for HC in Boca Raton as part of this tourney, and a 3rd game is being sought vs a Florida school while down there. How does this info fit with the original post in this thread that lists the 8 teams in the tourney and we are not listed ? No clue, and know nothing about the St.Bona fan. Just passing on info I was told. |
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Post by bison137 on May 16, 2019 23:06:46 GMT -5
The home courts of St. Bonaventure, Niagara and Canisius traditionally were known as snakepits, extremely tough places for an opponent to play. IMHO that's the way it should be - packed home crowd of screaming student "maniacs" with lots of deafening noise. Times have changed but that's the way it was in hs & college. BTW, I noticed the center court scoreboard in the photo above. It adds a nice touch doesn't it? Sarcasm intended. LoveHC SBU still draws fans and is a tough place to play. Canisius and Niagara, otoh, barely drew 1000 per game this year and haven't been tough places to play in a number of years, especially Niagara.. |
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Post by rgs318 on May 17, 2019 7:26:39 GMT -5
Calvin Murphy is long gone.
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Post by trimster on May 17, 2019 7:39:34 GMT -5
The home courts of St. Bonaventure, Niagara and Canisius traditionally were known as snakepits, extremely tough places for an opponent to play. IMHO that's the way it should be - packed home crowd of screaming student "maniacs" with lots of deafening noise. Times have changed but that's the way it was in hs & college. BTW, I noticed the center court scoreboard in the photo above. It adds a nice touch doesn't it? Sarcasm intended. LoveHC SBU still draws fans and is a tough place to play. Canisius and Niagara, otoh, barely drew 1000 per game this year and haven't been tough places to play in a number of years, especially Niagara.. Major difference between playing in the A10 and the MAAC. More attractive opponents results in more people in the stands, more coverage, etc. |
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Post by hchoops on May 17, 2019 8:15:38 GMT -5
and most of all better players
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Post by res on May 17, 2019 8:29:07 GMT -5
The home courts of St. Bonaventure, Niagara and Canisius traditionally were known as snakepits, extremely tough places for an opponent to play. IMHO that's the way it should be - packed home crowd of screaming student "maniacs" with lots of deafening noise. Times have changed but that's the way it was in hs & college. BTW, I noticed the center court scoreboard in the photo above. It adds a nice touch doesn't it? Sarcasm intended. LoveHC It depends on the era you are talking about. From 1946 until 1975, Canisius played all of its home games at Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium which had a seating capacity for basketball of roughly 12,000 (17,000 after expansion). It could be a tough place to play, but it wasn't really a snakepit. It continued to play the majority of its home games there or in its successor (now named the Key Bank Center) through the 1998-1999 season. The Koessler Center, where it plays exclusively now, could be a snakepit but as bison137 implies, there isn't enough interest in Canisius basketball to make it so -- except for its local rivalry games. The Gallagher Center at Niagara was indeed a snakepit for many years, when they used to occasionally cram nearly 4,000 fans into an arena that seats barely over half of that today. Bu,t there were periods when Niagara also played a significant share of its home games at either "The Aud" and later at a court at the Niagara Falls Convention Center. Neither of these were particularly difficult for visiting teams except, of course, when the home team when was very good. The Gallagher Center isn't really a snakepit any longer -- again, except for local rivalry games.
The best example of a snakepit in WNY basketball history was the Olean Armory, where Bona played its home games from sometime in the 1950s until the Reilly Center opened in 1966. It was a cramped space with a capacity (including standing room) of roughly 2,500, with balcony seats hanging over the court. Given the time period, it was intensely smoky with a haze settling over the court by sometime in the 2nd half. Bona once won 99 games in a row there. However, even here there's an "asterisk". Few major opponents at the time played Bona there. Niagara and Providence were the major exceptions. Most of the opponents were what today would be lower D1 and D2/D3 teams. There were a lot of Belmont Abbeys, Villa Madonnas and the like visiting Olean in those days. Most of Bona's games against significant opponents were played at the Aud in Buffalo, usually on Saturday nights as the opener in double headers with Canisius hosting the 2nd game. In bad weather, a state snow plow (at least part of the way) would lead the team bus followed by buses carrying students and other fans, and a caravan of cars up the rural, mostly 2-lane road on the 75-mile trip to Buffalo.
A bygone era in college basketball...
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Post by hchoops on May 17, 2019 8:40:28 GMT -5
Jack Donohue(RIP) told a great story about a ref in the Olean Armory--Tommy Birch, ex-Marine.
Visiting teams loved him because he could not be intimidated by home courts, even Olean with its dominant home court advantage.
According to Jack, there was a very loud, obnoxious Bonnie fan who sat in the front row for every game abusing him during a game as he made some calls against the Bonnies.
Finally, Birch had enough. In the middle of play he cold cocked the fan.
Birch was forever banned from Olean, to visiting teams' dismay.
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Post by rgs318 on May 17, 2019 8:44:54 GMT -5
I'll bet he still thought it was worth it!   |
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Post by res on May 17, 2019 9:04:03 GMT -5
Jack Donohue(RIP) told a great story about a ref in the Olean Armory--Tommy Birch, ex-Marine. Visiting teams loved him because he could not be intimidated by home courts, even Olean with its dominant home court advantage. According to Jack, there was a very loud, obnoxious Bonnie fan who sat in the front row for every game abusing him during a game as he made some calls against the Bonnies. Finally, Birch had enough. In the middle of play he cold cocked the fan. Birch was forever banned from Olean, to visiting teams' dismay. The SI sportswriter, who witnessed the end of the "streak", called the Armory "hideous":
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Post by rgs318 on May 17, 2019 9:12:01 GMT -5
Interesting article. Thanks for the link.
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Post by rf1 on May 17, 2019 11:38:09 GMT -5
Keep in mind that the above photo of a packed Reilly Center was for its last home win versus a ranked opponent (#14th/16th ranked URI in 2018). It was also a rare ESPN broadcast home game held on a Friday night. The Bonnies also had a good team that year earning an NCAA at large bid. Note the photo was taken exactly as the clock expired just before the crowd was about to storm the court after the 77-74 win.
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Post by Ignutz on May 17, 2019 12:01:29 GMT -5
All this info about St. Bonnie's past, where they played, who their great players were, etc., is terrific, but can someone definitively say that our Crusaders will be playing in Boca Raton (or anyplace else in Florida) at the end of 2019?
And I'm still unsure as to how Boca can, in any way, relate to the Belfast tournament.
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Post by rf1 on May 17, 2019 12:12:02 GMT -5
All this info about St. Bonnie's past, where they played, who their great players were, etc., is terrific, but can someone definitively say that our Crusaders will be playing in Boca Raton (or anyplace else in Florida) at the end of 2019? And I'm still unsure as to how Boca can, in any way, relate to the Belfast tournament.
I commented on this in the original post. The tweet was a bit confusing as it mentioned Bona playing Hofstra and Holy Cross along with the games it will play in the Belfast Classic (Mercer and possibly Binghamton). Holy Cross and Hofstra are however just regular home games and not part of the Belfast Classic which might see its games played in Boca Raton this year. The other attached tweet names the probable eight team tourney field. This is the tournament that the Cross played in two years ago over in Northern Ireland.
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Post by Ignutz on May 17, 2019 13:47:52 GMT -5
All this info about St. Bonnie's past, where they played, who their great players were, etc., is terrific, but can someone definitively say that our Crusaders will be playing in Boca Raton (or anyplace else in Florida) at the end of 2019? And I'm still unsure as to how Boca can, in any way, relate to the Belfast tournament.
I commented on this in the original post. The tweet was a bit confusing as it mentioned Bona playing Hofstra and Holy Cross along with the games it will play in the Belfast Classic (Mercer and possibly Binghamton). Holy Cross and Hofstra are however just regular home games and not part of the Belfast Classic which might see its games played in Boca Raton this year. The other attached tweet names the probable eight team tourney field. This is the tournament that the Cross played in two years ago over in Northern Ireland.
Right. I was at the Belfast event in '17, and would certainly consider going again, but maybe not this soon after. If we're playing in Boca, however, it shouldn't be too hard to get that permission slip signed. (Although the signer may want to chaperone!) |
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