Change is one of those things that happen if you like it or not. We are instructed at work that change is good and that we need to be able to adapt to it for the good of the company. Change in our own life is inevitable. No matter how much I would like to deny it, I have gotten thinner on top and thinker everywhere else in the last 20 years. Ted Kissell is one of those people that not only is very comfortable with change, but one that welcomes it.

Kissell was very aware of the change that was going all around him. When the University of Dayton Arena opened in 1969, it was a palace. Built specifically for basketball, it quickly became the centerpiece for the University of Dayton. The only problem is that this wondrous building was no longer a centerpiece. In the last decade we have seen several nearby basketball programs build new buildings. Wright State opened the Nutter Center in 1990, Ohio State moved into the Schottenstein Center in 1998 and Xavier began playing in the Cintas Center in 2000. We had quickly fallen behind our nearest rivals.

It was obvious that something needed to be done. The question was what. Certainly there was no need or ability to build a new building. Despite its age, the Arena is still a first class building that could not be replaced for ten times the original price tag of $2.5 million. The first step in the process of modernizing the Arena came in the form of the Donoher Center. After a generous gift of $1.25 million from John McHale to get the ball rolling, it didn’t take long for others to fall in line with the rest of the money needed for the completion of this $4.3 addition. Built to house state-of-the-art locker rooms, multi media facilities and team meeting rooms, this was only the beginning of change to the Arena.

After years of study, hundreds of meetings and thousands of questions, the new University of Dayton Arena has been unveiled. The University of Dayton has always been a first class operation and it was their goal to make every visitor to the Arena feel as if they were a guest at a first class event no matter what it was. The changes are striking. We will no longer have to take a back seat to any of the new buildings that have sprung up on nearby college campuses. Gary McCans, Director of Premium Seating, said it best, “This is going to bring the UD Arena into the modern era of college basketball facilities.”

Although there will be sweeping changes to the inside of the Arena it is not as though the building is completely without character. McCans remembered one of his early conversations with the Architectural firm hired to transform the Arena, “When the head architect took his first look at the Arena he said that it was a great facility. He related that it had great bones (overall structure) and that all they would have to do was to buy it a new suit.” With that in mind, the administration went to work to create a new building without tearing down the old.

The construction that is going to happen during the next year will completely change our view of the Arena. Although it has been a well-known landmark in the city, it has always meant something special to the UD fans. McCans talks to season ticket holders virtually every day and over the years has been able to gauge their feelings, “Our fans have always been extremely proud of the Arena and this will give them even more reason to call the Arena their own.”

The following changes will take place before the beginning of the 2002-2003 season:

– 2 elevators will be added, 1 on each the north and south sides.

– There will be 40 percent more restrooms for men and women.

– 2 family restrooms will be added, 1 in each wing.

– 12 seating areas at the top of the 200 section will be created for handicapped patrons (48 seats and 48 companion seats). As a result of this, UD will be eliminating 300 seats in the 200 section.

– Concession points of purchase will increase from 20 to 52.

– A new sports lounge will be built with seating for 300.

– 96 loge seats will be added on the north side. 48 seats will be cantilevered with 48 more seats directly behind them.

– The Boesch Lounge will be completely renovated with seating for 175. The current capacity is 250.

– 8 suites will be built on the south side:

– 6 suites with 14 guests (10 chair-back seats, 4 table-viewing seats)

– 1 suite with 19 guests (12 chair-back seats, 7 table-viewing seats)

– 1 suite with 23 guests (16 chair-back seats, 7 table-viewing seats)

– A marquee near the entrance to the parking lot that will feature a 3-sided structure as high as 65 feet. The base facing Edwin Moses would be 20 feet wide, becoming 14 ½ feet as you move up the structure. The matrix board would have an 80×104 inch message center.

– A new façade will be in place externally to create the illusion that the entire structure is new.

Changes to the interior will be extensive and will make the Arena seem like a new building. Changes to the exterior will not be as broad. There was some thought given to more radical changes to the exterior but after discussions with the architects, those plans were nixed. As McCans relates, “The architects did not want to make major changes to the exterior. It was their feeling that the external structure was perfect for a team called the Flyers because it gives the impression of wings in flight.”

This was not an overnight decision. Changes like this have to be well thought out and the thoughts and ideas of many was incorporated into this major undertaking. In addition, these changes do not come cheaply. Over $1 million was spent on restroom changes alone. The final price tag of $12.1 million will not come from the cost of tickets or seat licenses. The new suites, loge seating and additional income from concessions will generate $10.1 million. The University will be contributing the remaining $2 million from internal funds.

Changes to the Arena are just part of a multi-step process of developing the area around the Arena. Working in conjunction with the city of Dayton, UD will develop an outdoor sports complex on the land adjacent to the Arena. There will be a grass football practice field, baseball and softball stadiums, an outdoor practice track and a boathouse for the rowing teams.

Despite the excitement that will follow this announcement, Ted Kissell has a problem and that is perception. Despite the fact that UD has made it abundantly clear that the changes to the Arena are self-funded, questions will be asked. Those questions will probably be coming from basketball season ticket holders. Over the last several years, the lower arena ticket prices have certainly increased. The cost of the top priced lower arena ticket in 1995 was $17.50 while in 2001 that same ticket costs $20.50. In addition, most of the seats in the lower arena carry with them a seat license fee. This year is the last of a five-year commitment that each of those seat licenses carried with them. Although there has been no official announcement that there will be increases, that is almost a foregone conclusion. In addition, there is a high probability that most lower arena tickets will require a seat license.

These price increases have not been limited to the lower arena, but one can still probably say that the cost of admission is still one of the best bargains in town. It is still possible to buy a ticket in the upper arena for as little as $6.00. This is the same price that has been in place for 15 years. An adult can purchase a ticket for a child for half that and as a result a parent can bring their child to a game for under $10. There are also several promotions that make bringing a family a very affordable proposition. For instance, joining the Future Flyer Kids Club gets the member a t-shirt, a newsletter, 4 tickets to future men’s basketball games in addition to free admission to just about every other sport on campus. It has always been the philosophy of the University to allow the casual fan an opportunity to view a game for less that attending a movie.

Because of the timing, it is very likely that those in the lower arena will begin to cry uncle and wonder where the money is going and if the changes to the Arena are really self funded. In trying to answer that and other questions, the Athletic Department created a rather lengthy question and answer brochure. In it, they lay out the reasons for potential future increases and why they are not needed for the physical changes to the Arena.

With that in mind, there is far more to the money situation at UD than meets the eye. Because it is a private university, it is extremely important that the Athletic Department is completely self-sustaining. Unlike the Ohio States and Michigans of the world that pull in over $5,000,000 for each home football game, UD must use men’s basketball as its cash cow. There are currently 17 funded athletic teams on campus. This runs the gamut from the men’s and women’s basketball programs to baseball and women’s track. Of these, football is the closest to breaking even followed by men’s and women’s soccer. Before Ted Kissell arrived at UD, we basically had a Division I basketball program and were Division III in everything else.

One of the reasons that UD was dropped from the Great Midwest Conference was because we just couldn’t compete. Not only were we the laughing stock on the basketball court, we couldn’t win at much of anything. To be able to protect ourselves should there be another wave of conference hopping, we needed to improve not only basketball but all of the other sports as well. A decision was made to upgrade all of the sports with special attention given to basketball, volleyball and soccer.

All one has to do is look at the results to see that they have been successful. The men’s basketball program has been to the NIT twice and the NCAA tournament once during the last four years. The women went to the WNIT two years ago and won more games last year than they had in a decade. The women’s soccer team has won 19 consecutive league games and will once again make an NCAA Tournament appearance. The men finished second during the regular season after winning the regular season title last season. This last weekend the volleyball team won the regular season championship with a 14-2 conference record.

Ted Kissell did not wave a magic wand to get these results. He did it through hard work and he did it because of the basketball program. This isn’t a movie and the good guy doesn’t always finish first. Hard work and money are required for success. As Jaci Clark stated when I spoke to her, “The administration has really put forth the opportunity for us. We are not limited…who we play. We have all of the tools needed: budget, good education, and facilities. We continue to establish ourselves as a very good choice for recruits.” Money generated through man’s basketball is the lifeblood of the other sports. What we have is a Catch-22: the other sports need the basketball program to keep them competitive and the men’s basketball program needs the other sports to keep them as a viable option for big time conferences should changes occur.

If a poll were taken after we found out that we were in the NCAA Tournament two years ago, I doubt that many season ticket holders would have complained about how much their tickets cost. There is little that brings joy like winning and that is what we have come to expect from the University of Dayton. What they have done with the changes to the Arena is to keep us in the upper tier and I am sure that is where we all want to stay. If I may borrow one of the most famous lines in all of sport moviedom, “Build it and they will come.”