So how do YOU fell about being at the KC.

[MU/Panther]

Now that the Panthers are halfway through the home season what do you think? Good or bad things.

-I think some of the good things are is the snack area moved out of the hallway. That move has made it easy in the hallway for fans to use the bathrooms.

-Parking. The structure is pretty easy to park. If you go down a level it's fast to get out after the game is over. When it's cold out you get out of your car and walk into the gym. Now, that my free parking passes are gone, I use the side street, not to hard to find a spot to park. About a 5 minute walk.

-Scoreboard is better then the old one. I not sure they use the videoboard the correct way.

-The seat are good in term of leg room. It's hard to see over the person seating in front of you. The seats are not steap enough.


Thoughts- only in terms of yourself.

[Jimmy Lemke]

All right, I'll hop in on this.

Pros:

- As far as watching the actual game of basketball is concerned, I feel like most seats in the Klotsche Center are far superior to those in the Cell. The viewing angle is outstanding, the closeness is obvious.

- Atmosphere for really good games is amazing. The end of the Davidson game was particularly great, as was the stretch against UIC in the tournament where we opened a can of whoop-ass on them. I feel like it's easier for people to get into the game when they're so close to it and they're boxed in by everyone around them.

- Concessions, parking and merchandise are better for the university and the fans. The merch stand is prominently placed and well-stocked, the concessions are within view of the game, and parking is done easily inside or with a short walk outside.

- It is on campus, somewhere you can accomplish things better than you can do downtown - fundraising has to be better when donors can be shown what it is they're donating into, no matter what school or college is raising the cash.

Cons:

- From a media stance, this is pretty much awful. You have to walk twice as far to the media room, which is about half the size of the Cell's, they have bad camera angles for TV, there is no real space for them to produce the television or set up, the internet connection gives us problems, there is no cellular reception in the media room...basically, nothing a normal fan would notice, but it really hurts the media. You want media to WANT to be there, and I'm not talking about me.

- Fan comfort isn't there. Chairback seats are uncomfortable and plastic, the new temporary backs get broken by the handful every game, and bleachers should be for students and students alone.

- Amenities aren't there. The best part about the Cell was across the street - without Goolsby's, there is no place where fans congregate. If I were raising money for the program, I'd want the hour pregame and three hours postgame to hang out with alumni and donors and tell them the Milwaukee story.

- It's a joke. I didn't fully understand this until we actually played here all season - as a D-I facility with no new one in sight, the KC was a bad decision. People laugh at us, the players don't feel like they're playing in a real home, and recruits only need to go to MU to find better women's basketball facilities.

The more I think about it, the more "Milwaukee's College Team" needs to play in Milwaukee's downtown. We need to buy it, for the grand total of $1, and see what we can do to help the WCD keep at least part of the tax they'd be giving up by selling us the Cell.

[MayorCK]

Moving to the Klotsche has already begun to destroy this program. Besides the fact that we were SECOND in the HL in attendance at roughly 4,400/game, and the fact we set a school record with 1,600 season tickets sold last season, it has affected the effort of the players.

Everyone on this roster chose to play for the Milwaukee Panthers that played their home games at The Cell, not a glorified high school gym. And anyone who thinks that the Klotsche isn't hurting recruiting now and in the future is delusional.

If Geiger still had it, (and quite frankly I don't think he does) he'd get a deal done to get us back in the Cell A.S.A.P. That doesn't by any means mean taking a wooden nickel. I still believe we have plenty of leverage to get a fair deal with a path to ownership.

I also feel that Coach Jeter should break from the company line when it comes to the Klotsche. He knows what it's doing to the program better than anyone, and should be vocal about it.

[Jimmy Lemke]

I also think Coach should open up about it. What's the worst that can happen? They fire him? Sure, fire me, but you better be ready to slap $2 million in my hand as I walk out the door.

Best case scenario, he talks and it brings a genuine, public discourse about the state of the program - not just about the team's putrid season, but about why we were forced into the Klotsche and what owning the Cell would mean to the university. It would regain Jeter some respect from the fans who are jumping ship, since he would align himself with the people who didn't want to leave the Cell in the first place.

Is it respectful? Not entirely. But Rob Jeter cares heavily about this program.

[MU/Panther]

All right, I'll hop in on this.



There really is nothing to talk about when it comes to the team itself. So, why not this.

[Jimmy Lemke]

There really is nothing to talk about when it comes to the team itself. So, why not this.

I know, I think it's a great idea to talk about.

[MU/Panther]

It's funny that you bring up the chairback seats. Are you talking about the black seats or the funny yellow seats in the corner of section A & E? The black seats I sit in Jimmy, have alot of leg room. It's hard to see over the people that sit in the next row. The rows are not steap enough.

I think the biggest problem is not the KC, it's the team losing game.

It will fun to see where the Panthers will be playing in the 2013-14 season.

[CoachC]

GOOD POST/TOPIC

Pros - There really isn't a bad seat at the KC. It's on campus, the preferred location for any campus home game. Parking is easier and cheaper, especially if you're running late (had to pay $20 to pull in quickly to the nearest lot at the Cell if you already missed tip-off). Finally, it removes the excuse for students not to attend.............but that's about it and a few of those were a stretch.

Cons - 1. Horrible gym for a D1 team. No matter what, I can't get over that. For anyone to take us seriously, we have to take ourselves seriously. 2. If you were a 100 section season ticket holder at the Cell (as I was), no way in h*ll you pay the same price for what the were offering at the KC. Your ticket isn't any better than a GA ticket. If you had GA at the Cell than it;s a good deal for you but for everyone else..... 3. It's a high school gym AND A HIGH SCHOOL CONCESSION STAND. I feel like I'm paying for a summer camp fundraiser when I buy food at the KC. What I wouldn't give for a cold beer and an overpriced freshly grilled Italian sausage or brat now. 4. The atomsphere although quiet at times, was way better at the Cell. It's a big game atomsphere everytime you were under the bright lights at the Cell, # of fans be damned. I just don't feel that big game vibe at the KC.......at least not yet, and the current mismatch squad has something to do with that. 5. Jimmy you're right, not being able to hang out at Goolsby before/after the game or any of the surrounding places is huge. A Saturday home game was usually a fun event that fans looked forward too, but not at the KC. It's much harder to get a group together to catch a game at the KC then dinner, drinks, & game downtown. So you have to go the KC purely and only for the basketball which is a routinely lazy effort this season. I would prefer to roadtrip a game as opposed to catching them at the KC now.

I know we needed to take a step back and save some money. But so is buying an engagement ring at a pawn shop. Short term help, long term damage. I wonder if anyone employed by the university thinks we're going backwards and are in a crises mode now.

[MU/Panther]

How many levels does the parking lot go down?

[OregonWiAlum]

Since we're talking personal pros and cons: Being a season ticket holder from Madison, one con is that it takes longer to get to the games. Being at the Cell you just jump off the freeway and you're there. I didn't think the move would make that much difference in time, but it adds twenty minutes to get home. Those weeknight games can make for a long day.
I can't think of much to say that is positive about the Klotsche, the hot dogs and brats are usually cold, so I stopped buying them. The sightlines are good, but the seats are not that comfortable. Everything just seems so shoehorned in. I think I was willing to give Klotsche a try, but its not working. After witnessing the first men's basketball game played there in the 70's, I'm hoping I witness the last one there as well.