Ryan Center In-Game Experience - Issues and Upgrades

[RhowdyRam02]

……..I do not doubt for a second, that the manner by which the funds are gathered and distributed are not accurate as described, but for me this is another prime example of the difficulties for URI to be big time, and try to fund that with less than full commitment that is needed…….wanna run with the big boys, gotta get off the porch……..champagne dreams on beer budget………this is a negative of our program, even with the many positives to be able to attract higher level coaches……..parking fees anyone?…….anyone?……..

Parking fees are a bad idea when you're already struggling to get people in the building. Parking fees only work when you have something to offer like tailgating with football or if you're generating consistently large crowds/sell outs. Parking fees aren't something that propel you to be successful, they're something that you can do when you're successful. You have the cart before the horse

[RoadyJay]

This has been stated somewhere here before but Spectra doesn't own the Ryan Center, the university does. They manage it on behalf of the university and the budget also comes from URI.

Good point. If that is the case then we need to be speaking with whoever from the University manages the Spectra relationship and their budget.

Anyone here know who that is?

[theblueram]

……..I do not doubt for a second, that the manner by which the funds are gathered and distributed are not accurate as described, but for me this is another prime example of the difficulties for URI to be big time, and try to fund that with less than full commitment that is needed…….wanna run with the big boys, gotta get off the porch……..champagne dreams on beer budget………this is a negative of our program, even with the many positives to be able to attract higher level coaches……..parking fees anyone?…….anyone?……..

Parking fees are a bad idea when you're already struggling to get people in the building. Parking fees only work when you have something to offer like tailgating with football or if you're generating consistently large crowds/sell outs. Parking fees aren't something that propel you to be successful, they're something that you can do when you're successful. You have the cart before the horse

I mean, wouldn't we want seat licensing first? Like the place is sold out?

[section(105)]

……..so, let me ask……….where oh where is the program gonna get more and necessary additional funds to raise the bar for all those bells and whistles……..practice facility, 100% charter flights, higher pay for assistants, etc, etc. RC upgrades…….we all don’t wanna pay more, including what some already donate……
Serious question, someone smarter than me(easy right)……show me a revenue plan…….wish lists count, other than GoFundMe……..whatcha you all got?…….

[theblueram]

……..so, let me ask……….where oh where is the program gonna get more and necessary additional funds to raise the bar for all those bells and whistles……..practice facility, 100% charter flights, higher pay for assistants, etc, etc. RC upgrades…….we all don’t wanna pay more, including what some already donate……
Serious question, someone smarter than me(easy right)……show me a revenue plan…….wish lists count, other than GoFundMe……..whatcha you all got?…….

IBID

[KingstonLane]

……..so, let me ask……….where oh where is the program gonna get more and necessary additional funds to raise the bar for all those bells and whistles……..practice facility, 100% charter flights, higher pay for assistants, etc, etc. RC upgrades…….we all don’t wanna pay more, including what some already donate……
Serious question, someone smarter than me(easy right)……show me a revenue plan…….wish lists count, other than GoFundMe……..whatcha you all got?…….

Donor fundraising. Which is monumentally easier when the program is successful

[RoadyJay]

……..so, let me ask……….where oh where is the program gonna get more and necessary additional funds to raise the bar for all those bells and whistles……..practice facility, 100% charter flights, higher pay for assistants, etc, etc. RC upgrades…….we all don’t wanna pay more, including what some already donate……
Serious question, someone smarter than me(easy right)……show me a revenue plan…….wish lists count, other than GoFundMe……..whatcha you all got?…….

Donor fundraising. Which is monumentally easier when the program is successful

It’s never going to be easy at Rhody.

A fair weather fanbase
Too few deep pocket donors that care about athletics
A State that doesn’t support its University

That’s why it was critical to not wipe out the progress that Hurley made.

[NYGFan_Section208]

……..I do not doubt for a second, that the manner by which the funds are gathered and distributed are not accurate as described, but for me this is another prime example of the difficulties for URI to be big time, and try to fund that with less than full commitment that is needed…….wanna run with the big boys, gotta get off the porch……..champagne dreams on beer budget………this is a negative of our program, even with the many positives to be able to attract higher level coaches……..parking fees anyone?…….anyone?……..

the day I pay to park anywhere on campus is the last day I step foot on it.

I just have a feeling this will not age well.

ETA:. Also... possible new thread topic.. "Worse fan...guy who won't go because he has to wear a mask, or guy who won't go because he has to pay to park?"

Paying for parking wouldn't keep me from going.

[KingstonLane]

……..so, let me ask……….where oh where is the program gonna get more and necessary additional funds to raise the bar for all those bells and whistles……..practice facility, 100% charter flights, higher pay for assistants, etc, etc. RC upgrades…….we all don’t wanna pay more, including what some already donate……
Serious question, someone smarter than me(easy right)……show me a revenue plan…….wish lists count, other than GoFundMe……..whatcha you all got?…….

Donor fundraising. Which is monumentally easier when the program is successful

It’s never going to be easy at Rhody.

A fair weather fanbase
Too few deep pocket donors that care about athletics
A State that doesn’t support its University

That’s why it was critical to not wipe out the progress that Hurley made.

That was more or less my point. It won’t ever be easy, but it’s going to be very hard if the team stinks

[KingstonLane]

……..I do not doubt for a second, that the manner by which the funds are gathered and distributed are not accurate as described, but for me this is another prime example of the difficulties for URI to be big time, and try to fund that with less than full commitment that is needed…….wanna run with the big boys, gotta get off the porch……..champagne dreams on beer budget………this is a negative of our program, even with the many positives to be able to attract higher level coaches……..parking fees anyone?…….anyone?……..

the day I pay to park anywhere on campus is the last day I step foot on it.

I just have a feeling this will not age well.

ETA:. Also... possible new thread topic.. "Worse fan...guy who won't go because he has to wear a mask, or guy who won't go because he has to pay to park?"

Paying for parking wouldn't keep me from going.

Is it that bad of a take? You have a non P6 basketball team playing at an arena in the middle of nowhere. Tickets on average are what, $30? The building isn’t exactly full (even with the inflated attendance numbers). There’s certainly a cost analysis to be done to factor in the trade off of losing potential fans, and that’s not even including irritating them further if the product on the court begins to be below average

[NYGFan_Section208]

the day I pay to park anywhere on campus is the last day I step foot on it.

I just have a feeling this will not age well.

ETA:. Also... possible new thread topic.. "Worse fan...guy who won't go because he has to wear a mask, or guy who won't go because he has to pay to park?"

Paying for parking wouldn't keep me from going.

Is it that bad of a take? You have a non P6 basketball team playing at an arena in the middle of nowhere. Tickets on average are what, $30? The building isn’t exactly full (even with the inflated attendance numbers). There’s certainly a cost analysis to be done to factor in the trade off of losing potential fans, and that’s not even including irritating them further if the product on the court begins to be below average

You do have to be good before you can do either and expect big crowds.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

……..so, let me ask……….where oh where is the program gonna get more and necessary additional funds to raise the bar for all those bells and whistles……..practice facility, 100% charter flights, higher pay for assistants, etc, etc. RC upgrades…….we all don’t wanna pay more, including what some already donate……
Serious question, someone smarter than me(easy right)……show me a revenue plan…….wish lists count, other than GoFundMe……..whatcha you all got?…….

Football.

Never mind.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

……..I do not doubt for a second, that the manner by which the funds are gathered and distributed are not accurate as described, but for me this is another prime example of the difficulties for URI to be big time, and try to fund that with less than full commitment that is needed…….wanna run with the big boys, gotta get off the porch……..champagne dreams on beer budget………this is a negative of our program, even with the many positives to be able to attract higher level coaches……..parking fees anyone?…….anyone?……..

the day I pay to park anywhere on campus is the last day I step foot on it.

I just have a feeling this will not age well.

ETA:. Also... possible new thread topic.. "Worse fan...guy who won't go because he has to wear a mask, or guy who won't go because he has to pay to park?"

Paying for parking wouldn't keep me from going.

Bad take??

$30 a pop for a family of four. The obligatory cokes and chicken fingers and we’re purposing parking fees to park in a empty parking lot at a public school?

Nuts to that. Do something first. Earn it.

[rhodyrudder]

Nm

[Taylor Swift]

Spectra DGAF

Specrta response emails from the Ryan Center are about as canned as you can get. Perfect corporate response, which makes sense because they're owned by Comcast. They most certainly DGAF because the Ryan Center is like a sardine on the food chain of Specrta-owned venues. Companies like Comcast run as lean as possible so knowing that factoid leads me to believe we'll be hard-pressed to see any kind of update in the foreseeable future. The only way they'd probably update the RC capabilities is if there was some company-wide initiative. Other than that they're certainly not going to invest in it since it would cost them "too much".

This has been stated somewhere here before but Spectra doesn't own the Ryan Center, the university does. They manage it on behalf of the university and the budget also comes from URI. It's the same way at many arena's all over the country. Comparing the Dunk for example, it's owned buy RI Convention Center Authority and managed by ASM Global. ASM global isn't paying the operating costs of the Dunk the Convention Center Authority is. For the Dunk's most recent renovation, the management company didn't pay for it the Convention Center Authority and ultimately taxpayers paid for it.

Same thing at URI, the university and or taxpayers through a bond (like the Dunk did) would need to pony up the cash for upgrades.

However a possible answer, (that has been mentioned many times before in this thread) instead of the university, students or taxpayers paying the bill and one that could create an opportunity for additional revenue is alcohol sales & sponsorship/pouring rights. That additional revenue could be used to help pay for these other more costly upgrades. I know some are against it but it's an easy answer if the university would pursue it.

You missed my entire point. I know firsthand that the decision-making comes directly from Specrtra, not the university. The infrastructure of the building (like Wifi) is tied directly to Spectra Management, not the university - doesn't matter if Elon Musk owned the building, it still goes back to Spectra.

The university cannot pursue that as an option since..... it's not an option.

[Ramulous]

I went to the Harvard game. Huge parking lot on the arena grounds. $10 to park. Non P5. I paid.

[GansettSummer]

Specrta response emails from the Ryan Center are about as canned as you can get. Perfect corporate response, which makes sense because they're owned by Comcast. They most certainly DGAF because the Ryan Center is like a sardine on the food chain of Specrta-owned venues. Companies like Comcast run as lean as possible so knowing that factoid leads me to believe we'll be hard-pressed to see any kind of update in the foreseeable future. The only way they'd probably update the RC capabilities is if there was some company-wide initiative. Other than that they're certainly not going to invest in it since it would cost them "too much".

This has been stated somewhere here before but Spectra doesn't own the Ryan Center, the university does. They manage it on behalf of the university and the budget also comes from URI. It's the same way at many arena's all over the country. Comparing the Dunk for example, it's owned buy RI Convention Center Authority and managed by ASM Global. ASM global isn't paying the operating costs of the Dunk the Convention Center Authority is. For the Dunk's most recent renovation, the management company didn't pay for it the Convention Center Authority and ultimately taxpayers paid for it.

Same thing at URI, the university and or taxpayers through a bond (like the Dunk did) would need to pony up the cash for upgrades.

However a possible answer, (that has been mentioned many times before in this thread) instead of the university, students or taxpayers paying the bill and one that could create an opportunity for additional revenue is alcohol sales & sponsorship/pouring rights. That additional revenue could be used to help pay for these other more costly upgrades. I know some are against it but it's an easy answer if the university would pursue it.

You missed my entire point. I know firsthand that the decision-making comes directly from Specrtra, not the university. The infrastructure of the building (like Wifi) is tied directly to Spectra Management, not the university - doesn't matter if Elon Musk owned the building, it still goes back to Spectra.

The university cannot pursue that as an option since..... it's not an option.

I didn't miss your point, just disagree with your "firsthand" knowledge.

If my own firsthand knowledge of the subject is right though and know how it all operates, let's wait and see that full beer/wine sales at games is announced within the next few months.

[bigappleram]

I don’t know many arenas or stadiums anywhere where parking is free.

[RhowdyRam02]

I went to the Harvard game. Huge parking lot on the arena grounds. $10 to park. Non P5. I paid.

There's a giant difference parking right outside of Boston and parking in Kingston

[RhowdyRam02]

the day I pay to park anywhere on campus is the last day I step foot on it.

I just have a feeling this will not age well.

ETA:. Also... possible new thread topic.. "Worse fan...guy who won't go because he has to wear a mask, or guy who won't go because he has to pay to park?"

Paying for parking wouldn't keep me from going.

Is it that bad of a take? You have a non P6 basketball team playing at an arena in the middle of nowhere. Tickets on average are what, $30? The building isn’t exactly full (even with the inflated attendance numbers). There’s certainly a cost analysis to be done to factor in the trade off of losing potential fans, and that’s not even including irritating them further if the product on the court begins to be below average

Begins is doing a lot of work in that last sentence

[KeaneyBluBallz]

Free parking is something that should help sell your lackluster product.

[ramster]

I just have a feeling this will not age well.

ETA:. Also... possible new thread topic.. "Worse fan...guy who won't go because he has to wear a mask, or guy who won't go because he has to pay to park?"

Paying for parking wouldn't keep me from going.

Is it that bad of a take? You have a non P6 basketball team playing at an arena in the middle of nowhere. Tickets on average are what, $30? The building isn’t exactly full (even with the inflated attendance numbers). There’s certainly a cost analysis to be done to factor in the trade off of losing potential fans, and that’s not even including irritating them further if the product on the court begins to be below average

Begins is doing a lot of work in that last sentence

You can sit in the Student Section for the games when students are out for $10 and even that will not draw enough fans to fill the student section. Do you then charge $10 or $15 for parking?
Just increase the price of the tickets and no need to pay people in the lot to collect the parking fees. It’s hard to hire people on campus now, help wanted signs everywhere. Good luck getting people to work the lot in 20 degrees in January.

And what does the parking fee really do? Turns potential fans away. Makes fans mad. Gets people go park further away to avoid the parking fee. Net of a few thousand dollars?

[NYGFan_Section208]

I don’t know many arenas or stadiums anywhere where parking is free.

Or...that will sell you a beer, and then make you stand in a cubicle to drink it...

[ramster]

I don’t know many arenas or stadiums anywhere where parking is free.

Or...that will sell you a beer, and then make you stand in a cubicle to drink it...

And have an unworkable Wi-Fi
And no replays

I’d suggest doing a feasibility study.

It’s a rural school. Other than the State Beaches I can’t think of anywhere in South Kingstown where paying for parking is in place.

[steviep123]

I went to the Harvard game. Huge parking lot on the arena grounds. $10 to park. Non P5. I paid.

Ditto. And wifi. And replays.

[ramster]

I went to the Harvard game. Huge parking lot on the arena grounds. $10 to park. Non P5. I paid.

Ditto. And wifi. And replays.

Harvard is in the city of Boston. Parking fees everywhere plus parking garages. People expect to pay to park.
Kingston RI is farm country. Nobody pays to park, not even at the Kingston Train Station.
Would have been a good question for Our AD on the recent Podcast.

[NYGFan_Section208]

I went to the Harvard game. Huge parking lot on the arena grounds. $10 to park. Non P5. I paid.

Ditto. And wifi. And replays.

Harvard is in the city of Boston. Parking fees everywhere plus parking garages. People expect to pay to park.
Kingston RI is farm country. Nobody pays to park, not even at the Kingston Train Station.
Would have been a good question for Our AD on the recent Podcast.

If they start charging...park at the train station and I'll shuttle you over

[ramster]

Ditto. And wifi. And replays.

Harvard is in the city of Boston. Parking fees everywhere plus parking garages. People expect to pay to park.
Kingston RI is farm country. Nobody pays to park, not even at the Kingston Train Station.
Would have been a good question for Our AD on the recent Podcast.

If they start charging...park at the train station and I'll shuttle you over

Or I'll ride my bicycle on the bike path. There is no way I will ever pay to park for any sporting event at URI.

[section(105)]

……..parking fees?……anyone?……..anyone?……..my point for going down this road was to stimulate discussion on the concept……..my issue is that the revenue options to get us off the porch are very limited, no?……more state funding? Doubtful……..deep pocket donor? Doubtful………alcohol sales? Likely………sear licenses?……….doubtful……….increase individual donors?…….sure, show me wins first, coupled with major donor campaigns……….so fill in the blanks, where else can the needed funds come from?……….increase in student activity fees?……….doubtful……..Maybe I am already paying for parking fees in my minimum donor level with near by parking to the RC with pass and gate keeper to get into that lot………I get what you all are saying about no parking fees and why………but when we dip into our pockets for parking fees elsewhere we probably pay it, mentally complain, the move into the venue……….hey, I never thought I would be paying for parking at local beaches, but here we are………we all wanna have the resources to annually compete at high levels in our league, but where is the funding to so gonna come from for ole State U?………I/ll bet in revenue brain storming meetings in the Athletic Department and the Foundation parking fees are on the table……..tell me where I am off the track here…….

[NYGFan_Section208]

……..parking fees?……anyone?……..anyone?……..my point for going down this road was to stimulate discussion on the concept……..my issue is that the revenue options to get us off the porch are very limited, no?……more state funding? Doubtful……..deep pocket donor? Doubtful………alcohol sales? Likely………sear licenses?……….doubtful……….increase individual donors?…….sure, show me wins first, coupled with major donor campaigns……….so fill in the blanks, where else can the needed funds come from?……….increase in student activity fees?……….doubtful……..Maybe I am already paying for parking fees in my minimum donor level with near by parking to the RC with pass and gate keeper to get into that lot………I get what you all are saying about no parking fees and why………but when we dip into our pockets for parking fees elsewhere we probably pay it, mentally complain, the move into the venue……….hey, I never thought I would be paying for parking at local beaches, but here we are………we all wanna have the resources to annually compete at high levels in our league, but where is the funding to so gonna come from for ole State U?………I/ll bet in revenue brain storming meetings in the Athletic Department and the Foundation parking fees are on the table……..tell me where I am off the track here…….

Not sure that parking fees are off track...I just think you need to have a product that already has high demand (or be in an urban area) before that can work.

Big unrealized opportunities w/alcohol sales imo.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

……..parking fees?……anyone?……..anyone?……..my point for going down this road was to stimulate discussion on the concept……..my issue is that the revenue options to get us off the porch are very limited, no?……more state funding? Doubtful……..deep pocket donor? Doubtful………alcohol sales? Likely………sear licenses?……….doubtful……….increase individual donors?…….sure, show me wins first, coupled with major donor campaigns……….so fill in the blanks, where else can the needed funds come from?……….increase in student activity fees?……….doubtful……..Maybe I am already paying for parking fees in my minimum donor level with near by parking to the RC with pass and gate keeper to get into that lot………I get what you all are saying about no parking fees and why………but when we dip into our pockets for parking fees elsewhere we probably pay it, mentally complain, the move into the venue……….hey, I never thought I would be paying for parking at local beaches, but here we are………we all wanna have the resources to annually compete at high levels in our league, but where is the funding to so gonna come from for ole State U?………I/ll bet in revenue brain storming meetings in the Athletic Department and the Foundation parking fees are on the table……..tell me where I am off the track here…….

I heard the massive donation to WBB during the day of giving came from a providence strip club owner. take it with a grain of salt, but I heard it. lets just say that is true for a moment. you're telling me with the amount of MBB alum, some of these guys can't kick back a bit? or a bit more? I put this one on the athletic dept and alumi dept. maybe time to work those phones a bit harder. or some personal calls from the AD and current coach to solicit. maybe Thor and DC are already doing that, I don't know but I doubt either have reached out to the big Cat, lamar, or wheeler. I'm not saying these guys should fork over their bank account or they should be the sole focus of funds but they're certainly the most recent notables to don the Keaney Blue. notable alum can certainly be the straw that stirs the drink and influence others.

beyond that, it's a fact, when football does well, everyone does well. that's every school. see where I'm going?? Football literally carries athletic departments and its non revenue programs all over the country. I truthfully don't think we have that. sure we have some deep pocket donors from that program but they're investing in their program. and I applaud that. they should. just like MBB alum should invest in their program. I don't think they do.

[RhowdyRam02]

I agree with NYGFan, ideally we get to a place where we're successful enough and the demand is there to charge for parking, but we're not even close right now and we probably couldn't have even gotten away with it a few years ago under Hurley when we went to the tournament. Look at the following link, if we have to run all those promotions just to attempt to get people in the door we can't expect them to pay extra for parking

https://gorhody.com/sports/2020/6/9/fan ... tions.aspx

[RhowdyRam02]

……..parking fees?……anyone?……..anyone?……..my point for going down this road was to stimulate discussion on the concept……..my issue is that the revenue options to get us off the porch are very limited, no?……more state funding? Doubtful……..deep pocket donor? Doubtful………alcohol sales? Likely………sear licenses?……….doubtful……….increase individual donors?…….sure, show me wins first, coupled with major donor campaigns……….so fill in the blanks, where else can the needed funds come from?……….increase in student activity fees?……….doubtful……..Maybe I am already paying for parking fees in my minimum donor level with near by parking to the RC with pass and gate keeper to get into that lot………I get what you all are saying about no parking fees and why………but when we dip into our pockets for parking fees elsewhere we probably pay it, mentally complain, the move into the venue……….hey, I never thought I would be paying for parking at local beaches, but here we are………we all wanna have the resources to annually compete at high levels in our league, but where is the funding to so gonna come from for ole State U?………I/ll bet in revenue brain storming meetings in the Athletic Department and the Foundation parking fees are on the table……..tell me where I am off the track here…….

I heard the massive donation to WBB during the day of giving came from a providence strip club owner. take it with a grain of salt, but I heard it. lets just say that is true for a moment. you're telling me with the amount of MBB alum, some of these guys can't kick back a bit? or a bit more? I put this one on the athletic dept and alumi dept. maybe time to work those phones a bit harder. or some personal calls from the AD and current coach to solicit. maybe Thor and DC are already doing that, I don't know but I doubt either have reached out to the big Cat, lamar, or wheeler. I'm not saying these guys should fork over their bank account or they should be the sole focus of funds but they're certainly the most recent notables to don the Keaney Blue. notable alum can certainly be the straw that stirs the drink and influence others.

beyond that, it's a fact, when football does well, everyone does well. that's every school. see where I'm going?? Football literally carries athletic departments and its non revenue programs all over the country. I truthfully don't think we have that. sure we have some deep pocket donors from that program but they're investing in their program. and I applaud that. they should. just like MBB alum should invest in their program. I don't think they do.

The donation came from Charlie Tapalian, not sure if they're the same person as H. Charles Tapalian who owned and operated Cheaters

[KeaneyBluBallz]

where there's smoke, there's fire.

[bigappleram]

And I believe he’s a lifelong Rhody supporter so like what’s the problem? He operated a legal business.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

I'm not taking an issue with it.

[Sweep The Leg]

And I believe he’s a lifelong Rhody supporter so like what’s the problem? He operated a legal business.

And as a lifelong Rhody supporter, he missed an opportunity to name his establishment KeaneyBluBallz.

KeaneyBluBallz, time to trademark.

[RF1]

……..parking fees?……anyone?……..anyone?……..my point for going down this road was to stimulate discussion on the concept……..my issue is that the revenue options to get us off the porch are very limited, no?……more state funding? Doubtful……..deep pocket donor? Doubtful………alcohol sales? Likely………sear licenses?……….doubtful……….increase individual donors?…….sure, show me wins first, coupled with major donor campaigns……….so fill in the blanks, where else can the needed funds come from?……….increase in student activity fees?……….doubtful……..Maybe I am already paying for parking fees in my minimum donor level with near by parking to the RC with pass and gate keeper to get into that lot………I get what you all are saying about no parking fees and why………but when we dip into our pockets for parking fees elsewhere we probably pay it, mentally complain, the move into the venue……….hey, I never thought I would be paying for parking at local beaches, but here we are………we all wanna have the resources to annually compete at high levels in our league, but where is the funding to so gonna come from for ole State U?………I/ll bet in revenue brain storming meetings in the Athletic Department and the Foundation parking fees are on the table……..tell me where I am off the track here…….

I heard the massive donation to WBB during the day of giving came from a providence strip club owner. take it with a grain of salt, but I heard it. lets just say that is true for a moment. you're telling me with the amount of MBB alum, some of these guys can't kick back a bit? or a bit more? I put this one on the athletic dept and alumi dept. maybe time to work those phones a bit harder. or some personal calls from the AD and current coach to solicit. maybe Thor and DC are already doing that, I don't know but I doubt either have reached out to the big Cat, lamar, or wheeler. I'm not saying these guys should fork over their bank account or they should be the sole focus of funds but they're certainly the most recent notables to don the Keaney Blue. notable alum can certainly be the straw that stirs the drink and influence others.

beyond that, it's a fact, when football does well, everyone does well. that's every school. see where I'm going?? Football literally carries athletic departments and its non revenue programs all over the country. I truthfully don't think we have that. sure we have some deep pocket donors from that program but they're investing in their program. and I applaud that. they should. just like MBB alum should invest in their program. I don't think they do.

The donation came from Charlie Tapalian, not sure if they're the same person as H. Charles Tapalian who owned and operated Cheaters

H Charles Tapalian contributed quite a bit of money to upgrade the URI soccer facilities. He funded the bleachers.

https://gorhody.com/sports/2020/6/9/inf ... mplex.aspx

[steviep123]

I went to the Harvard game. Huge parking lot on the arena grounds. $10 to park. Non P5. I paid.

Ditto. And wifi. And replays.

Harvard is in the city of Boston. Parking fees everywhere plus parking garages. People expect to pay to park.
Kingston RI is farm country. Nobody pays to park, not even at the Kingston Train Station.
Would have been a good question for Our AD on the recent Podcast.

Harvard is in Cambridge, a separate city though it's unclear if the stadium area is in Cambridge or in Allston, which is in Boston - it's pretty close to the border and I don't feel like looking it up. That said, I'd expect to pay at some facilities, like fenway, the garden, etc. Harvard, maybe/maybe not.

BU's Agannis Arena you have to pay to park in their lot. However, Emmanuel you don't (or at least I didn't a few years ago when my niece played softball for them), I am not sure about other venues. I did see URI at Northeastern years ago and I don't recall paying for parking.

[STC]

Imagine what Pitino could have done at URI with a donor like Tapalian in his corner.

[section(105)]

Imagine what Pitino could have done at URI with a donor like Tapalian in his corner.

…….well played……..

[URIGONZO]

Parking Fees??? C'mon!!!!!!!!

[spookydog]

Imagine what Pitino could have done at URI with a donor like Tapalian in his corner.

That would have only lasted a few seconds.

[ramster]

Ditto. And wifi. And replays.

Harvard is in the city of Boston. Parking fees everywhere plus parking garages. People expect to pay to park.
Kingston RI is farm country. Nobody pays to park, not even at the Kingston Train Station.
Would have been a good question for Our AD on the recent Podcast.

Harvard is in Cambridge, a separate city though it's unclear if the stadium area is in Cambridge or in Allston, which is in Boston - it's pretty close to the border and I don't feel like looking it up. That said, I'd expect to pay at some facilities, like fenway, the garden, etc. Harvard, maybe/maybe not.

BU's Agannis Arena you have to pay to park in their lot. However, Emmanuel you don't (or at least I didn't a few years ago when my niece played softball for them), I am not sure about other venues. I did see URI at Northeastern years ago and I don't recall paying for parking.

I took the Red Line to Harvard then walked to the Basketball Arena. The parking all along the walk was limited and paid. It’s a city environment nothing at all like our sleepy, farming community where no parking charges are in place anywhere but at beaches in the summer.

[ramster]

And I believe he’s a lifelong Rhody supporter so like what’s the problem? He operated a legal business.

There is no problem other than a new URI poster of 6 weeks is trying to make it one. Same poster who came in the Football Board critiquing the URI Football Program wanting to shut it down to give the money to basketball even though Football had its best season in decades, invested $4 million in turf/lights and continues to recruit better each year.

[ramster]

I'm not taking an issue with it.

You already made fun of a URI donor for no constructive reason - only destructive. He has donated to WBB and to the Soccer Stadium and to other URI needs.

[KeaneyBluBallz]

Where did I make that an issue? I have no problem with the wbb donor or his donation.

[ramster]

Where did I make that an issue? I have no problem with the wbb donor or his donation.

Read your own posts. I’m not the only one who noticed.

Every school needs and wants donors and should treat them with appreciation and respect.

[RhowdyRam02]

Imagine what Pitino could have done at URI with a donor like Tapalian in his corner.

Hookers and blow for all recruits until we got the death penalty? We know the deal with Pitino, we don't need to imagine it

[NYGFan_Section208]

And I believe he’s a lifelong Rhody supporter so like what’s the problem? He operated a legal business.

There is no problem other than a new URI poster of 6 weeks is trying to make it one. Same poster who came in the Football Board critiquing the URI Football Program wanting to shut it down to give the money to basketball even though Football had its best season in decades, invested $4 million in turf/lights and continues to recruit better each year.

Let's get some concerts going under them lights, c'mon now!