Intrust Bank Arena Tour and Impression

[SHOCKvalue]

I've spent some time wandering IBA, albeit not recently. I've thought it had a high potential of sucking from the first time I laid eyes on the plans. The interior architecture of the place just flat out blows. Has nothing to do with finish choices or construction quality (which are solid), it's all in the architecture work that was done before a single shanty was demolished in it's footprint.

-The ceiling is very low for a facility that size, and it's situated at a steep slope towards the south (the suite side). When you are standing inside looking from the east or west, the height difference between the two sides of the building is patently obvious. When you are seated in the upper half of the upper deck on the north side, you are looking downhill at the south side suite "wall".

-The rafters hang low from an already low ceiling, and on the north side they are actually kicked up so that the last 10 rows or so can have a sight-line to the floor. Looks like a last minute fix to an architectural "whoops".

-As has already been mentioned in other IBA discussions, the one-sided suite/loge box setup is ridiculous. It sort of gives the building a feel that it's a (really nice) high school football stadium, which just so happens to have a roof- a tilted/leaning/collapsing roof. It's a design choice that looks silly today, looked lame yesterday, and will still look inane tomorrow.

The bottom-line is that if you like arenas that have a symmetrical interior design (basically all of them, save for our red-headed stepchild), you will not be a fan of IBA. It's a certain upgrade from the bland, utilitarian Kansas Coliseum, and it's a positive step forward for our still-ghetto downtown, but overall it's a major letdown. Someone, somewhere in the design phase of IBA got the bright idea that they wanted to build something "different". That silly tangent somehow made it past a whole bunch of reasonable, rational people, and we the taxpayers get to reap the "reward" of their "vision". Group-think at it's worst.

My $.02.

[SHOCKvalue]

I think you are correct 1. The scoreboard seemed to be in 2 parts. Both top and bottom, video screens (certainly not high def).

It just looked small to me.....like KSC small or smaller.

I really did not intend to stir things up, and I am in no way a CAVETEER, in fact I would have paid twice what we did to do it right....something just tells me we didn't have to pay twice to get better.

Seems like some have paid LESS and gotten more...

BOK
Award winning design
18,000 seats for BB
$196 million

Apples and oranges...

If BOK and IBA were let out for bid, and constructed upon the same time-lines, BOK would be considerably more expensive.

The materials for IBA (notably the steel) were purchased at the height of the global construction bubble. If IBA happened to have been conceived two years later or earlier than it was, it would have either been a nicer/larger facility, or it would have been notably cheaper.

[SFL]

I guess if you could say my girlfriend is comparable to Jessica Biel, MAYBE.

http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/NewYorkIslanders/scoreboard.jpg

I may look a little more on google images to find one that looks like it.....this is basically the shape....although this is a lot bigger I think.

I hastily clicked on the link expecting a picture of Jessica Biel in some provocative pose. So needless to say, Monday starts out with a disappointment.

That's the only thing I enjoyed about the old ValleyTalk (RIP)... you could always count on some provocative photo's.
:D

[SHOCKvalue]

If anyone still was undecided as to the question of IBA hitting or missing the mark, consider the following:

Tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. By 3 p.m. when the box office closed, the arena had sold 6,400 of the 10,100 available tickets through all channels.

http://www.kansas.com/news/story/1056142.html

When using an end stage (vast majority of concerts that will be using the venue), it appears IBA seats somewhere close to, and perhaps even slightly less, than the Kansas Coliseum or even Koch. This is directly related to the choice of interior design that loads all loge boxes and suites on one entire side of the facility.

Look at the seating chart for yourself (the black is unusable seating):

http://images.tickets.com/images/privatelabel/intrust_paisley2_smap.gif

Lovely, isn't it?

The concert capacity of 17K needs a bolded asterisk by it, explaining that is only possible with a center stage. With an end stage it appears we have nothing more than a better located, more aesthetically pleasing Kansas Coliseum. To quote the dude from the Rusty Eck Ford commercials... "Get Excited!".

[wsushox1]

17k is for Center Stage...not many concerts use a Center Stage. The few that I know who used Center Stage setup were the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and I think Taylor Swifts upcoming concert will be Center Stage as well.

But yea having almost two thirds of the Arena not being usable for End Stage Concerts is REDICULOUS......

[vbird53]

I walked around the outside the other night. Is it just me, or are there very few doors (entrance/exit)? It seems to me that Koch has twice as many. I think I counted 12 doors, total. I'm expecting a nightmare at the Brad Paisley concert. If you want to be at your seats when the show begins, I'd arrive 2 hours early.

[ShockerFever]

Update inner pictures from Media Day..

http://www.kansas.com/921/gallery/1114849.html

[WuDrWu]

How's the scoreboard look to you 'Fever?

[ShockerFever]

How's the scoreboard look to you 'Fever?

After nearly two months of preparing for the buzzkill Doc, I'm hopeful that it won't be too bad. It definitely is smaller than what I would have liked and just looks like 4 black pieces of construction paper are hung from the ceiling.

With that said, maybe by the time they turn it all on, along with the ribbon boards, it won't look so bad. It seems like it's definitely a bit small to the patrons who are on the ends of the arena. If you're front and center, it's not all bad.

I do realize they probably had to make it smaller because the ceiling is not that tall. They definitely wanted a "tight" feeling and did not want a larger feeling of openness at bigger venues. We'll see about that when I attend on Saturday. The whole low ceiling subject is another debate on its own.

The amenities do seem nice though and of course the suites are well.. suites..

I'm just happy we get some inside pics for the first time in 4 months.. :roll:

[kawwsu77]

The scoreboard looks good to me but I will reserve final judgement till I see it in person.

I really like that WuShock is on the wall when people enter from the south.

The Eagle has a slideshow of the interior.

http://www.kansas.com/photos/gallery/1115057.html

I can't wait to see it in person on January 2.

[ShockerFever]

Video Tour:

http://videos.kansas.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=8579379

It's impressing me more and more, but like kaw said, I'll wait til I'm there to give my final judgment.

With everything lighted up, it definitely is looking better and better. :good:

[wsushox1]

Scoreboard is versatile....May not be as big or as fancy as we hoped but it is very versatile.

The place looks great, I hope to make it on Jan 2nd but I don't know yet If I will be able. I will say I am impressed the Ribbon board looks first class the South Lobby looks really nice with those giant Spirit Aerosystem's Banners hanging up. The mix of stainless steel and Brick is very nice too. With everything finished it looks nice.

PS: That WuShock is awesome on the first floor lobby!

Unfortunately the Eagle's Photographer took pictures with every thing not "lit up". He was probably there a couple of days before the media tour. The LED Boards are not lit up and some of the seats are not even in at that point.

[pogo]

After the video tour I was disappointed in the size of the overhead video/score board. I would assume this is something that can be replaced with something with more pop at a later date. Otherwise the concourses put the sprint center to shame. Very nice.