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Robin's Center experience

97spiderfan

Spider's Club
Feb 2, 2005
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I know a couple of these things were brought up in the game thread, but I know this is monitored by UR athletics, so thought it is own thread would bring a bit more attention to those issues.

1. Video scoreboards: Didn't work half the night, when they did the stats were wrong. This is an ongoing issue for as much as was paid for them, you would think they would work consistently and not be blank for significant sections of the game.
2: Sound: The sound was really bad/garbled from where I sat. You could barely hear the in game announcer, not sure if he needs to turn his mic up but he adds a significant element of excitement after made baskets and/or clarifications on fouls and what is going on during the game and you could barely hear him.
3. Timeout media personality: I know this has been discussed but you literally can not hear 75% of what she says and a number of folks commented around me that when she does talk the pitch is almost akin to fingernails on a chalk board. I don't know what can be done about this, maybe you close caption when she talks so the crowd can understand what she is saying, tune her mic differently. Or maybe get a new person. I'm sure she is great person but her job is literally to communicate to the crowd and if you can't understand her, well I would say that is a problem.

All in all, I left thinking that they literally turned the lights on a couple hours before game time and had not tested any of the technology/sound prior. Please fix this, it detracts significantly from the fan experience and frankly the crowd's ability to support the team.
 
I know a couple of these things were brought up in the game thread, but I know this is monitored by UR athletics, so thought it is own thread would bring a bit more attention to those issues.

1. Video scoreboards: Didn't work half the night, when they did the stats were wrong. This is an ongoing issue for as much as was paid for them, you would think they would work consistently and not be blank for significant sections of the game.
2: Sound: The sound was really bad/garbled from where I sat. You could barely hear the in game announcer, not sure if he needs to turn his mic up but he adds a significant element of excitement after made baskets and/or clarifications on fouls and what is going on during the game and you could barely hear him.
3. Timeout media personality: I know this has been discussed but you literally can not hear 75% of what she says and a number of folks commented around me that when she does talk the pitch is almost akin to fingernails on a chalk board. I don't know what can be done about this, maybe you close caption when she talks so the crowd can understand what she is saying, tune her mic differently. Or maybe get a new person. I'm sure she is great person but her job is literally to communicate to the crowd and if you can't understand her, well I would say that is a problem.

All in all, I left thinking that they literally turned the lights on a couple hours before game time and had not tested any of the technology/sound prior. Please fix this, it detracts significantly from the fan experience and frankly the crowd's ability to support the team.
Much needed thread .. last night Robins operations seemed to be amatuer hour compared to the President's talk I attended last Thursday night at the Queally admission center and the Spiders HoF inducttions both of which were incredibly well produced. Timeout media personality needs to be repositioned into another role unless the sound system is entirely to blame.

Scoreboard issues embarassing - I literally for most of the 1st half had to look at the ESPN app to figure out how many fouls players and the teams had.

Concession offerings remain subrate compared to away games I attended at Drake and UNI last year. The "menu" in most of them was last years's menu and half of the offerings weren't available.
 
Last night wasn't game ops finest moment. I didn't even know there was a timeout person until she popped up on the scoreboard late in the game when it was somewhat working. The band volume was all over the place last night too.
 
Agreed 97.

I'm not one who cares much about the entertainment/game experience stuff - I just want to watch basketball. But I understand that's not the case for everyone. And if we are going to do something it should be done right.

A couple things to add to your list (I think some have been mentioned in the game thread):

- ball shooter looked like it was out of juice

- something weird went on with the overhead lighting, I think this was at halftime

- pretty sure Nelson did not hear his name introduced for the starting lineup, might be related to the other sound issues

- pregame music and pep band were both so loud at times it was almost unbearable

I will add a positive - that national anthem was one of the best I can remember at a Spider game. Bring her back anytime.
 
Watching the game on MASN last night, the score was shown with about 8 minutes left and it said "halftime". Between the refs and the production, this was like amateur hour. Not a first class operation. I hope recruiting isn't adversely affected.
 
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Agreed 97.

I'm not one who cares much about the entertainment/game experience stuff - I just want to watch basketball. But I understand that's not the case for everyone. And if we are going to do something it should be done right.

A couple things to add to your list (I think some have been mentioned in the game thread):

- ball shooter looked like it was out of juice

- something weird went on with the overhead lighting, I think this was at halftime

- pretty sure Nelson did not hear his name introduced for the starting lineup, might be related to the other sound issues

- pregame music and pep band were both so loud at times it was almost unbearable

I will add a positive - that national anthem was one of the best I can remember at a Spider game. Bring her back anytime.
I'm not there for the entertainment either but this used to be really strong point for us, making last night all the more disappointing in that regards. And yes, the ball shooter was out of compressed air. Looked like a 60 year old man trying to pretend he is still 20.
 
I got there at 5:37 last night expecting to get in as it opens 90 minutes before the opening tip. Knocked on the door to ask the RMC worker when we are allowed to come in. He cracks the door as if I'm about to charge in and says "oh, I don't know", and proceeds to shut the door. Walked around the corner to another door and walked right in. I know that isn't really UofR related, but RMC Event staff are absolutely terrible.

In game experience was obviously bad when you don't even know what the score is. Pre-game light show didn't work, they didn't even turn off the lights, and the volume was horrendous. Something needs to be done to keep the casual fan from wanting to come back. Overall, a pretty bad experience at the Robins Center last night. Had enough of those last year to not renew my season tickets for this season....

***Edit***

I was however a fan of the SpiderDad75 cam whenever the officials made a bad call 😂
 
Thanks to the OP for summarizing all of our comments in one place so the problems can be addressed.

To clarify my comments re the announcer and the sound system in general in the game thread, it wasn't that we couldn't hear them. It was that the sound was "off" somehow and everything was garbled. There was very little clear sound (except for the National Anthem singer, I agree with the previous comments about that being a very good performance).
 
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It’s a pain in the ass to keep the score, game and shot clock, and fouls in your head the whole game. Maybe they will test the system before Friday night.
 
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Something to note: The person doing the in game music and PA coordination has changed after 5+ years. Knowing the person who did that for those years, that's a huge loss. First game wasn't great, just barely getting by and playing songs that weren't great songs to pump up the crowd at times. Intrigued to know how that is throughout the season, hopefully that improves.

Was impressed with the students as well on a Monday. If the team keeps winning the RC might just be the choice over 2nd floor of the library.
 
Bring back the rowdy run! Best UR tradition that inexplicably went away. Such a great way to get the crowd involved and pumped up the last few minutes of the game.
Hah, it was. I believe the rowdy doing the run got a bit too rowdy at times, which contributed it to its demise.
 
Hah, it was. I believe the rowdy doing the run got a bit too rowdy at times, which contributed it to its demise.

What was the Rowdy Run? I’m not remembering anything like this. Must have been gone by my freshman year in 2012
 
Hah, it was. I believe the rowdy doing the run got a bit too rowdy at times, which contributed it to its demise.
If you get too rowdy in a speedo and motorcycle helmet, the crowd may find it amusing not sure the administration does...

I assume that guy sliding after the spelling of Richmond during the run was part of it?
 
What was the Rowdy Run? I’m not remembering anything like this. Must have been gone by my freshman year in 2012
During the final official timeout the pep band plays the rocky theme song while one of the students runs across the court to get the crowd on their feet as they run across court to the other side of the arena and up the stairs halfway and stand in the middle. Fan then spells out (with their arms) R-I-C-H-M-O-N-D RICHMOND! RICHMOND! RICHMOND! RICHMOND! then goes back down the stairs across the court and back to the rowdies. The crowd would get hype. It should be our "enter sandman" of college traditions but it went by the wayside, why I don't know.

I don't recall it being overly rowdy. One time a guy took his shirt off and did the worm, but that was the worst I remember. By the time I went off to college in 2005 I believe the tradition had stopped but there was no explanation as to why.

It should come back. Pep band, marketing, rowdies if you are reading this. Bring it back!
 
During the final official timeout the pep band plays the rocky theme song while one of the students runs across the court to get the crowd on their feet as they run across court to the other side of the arena and up the stairs halfway and stand in the middle. Fan then spells out (with their arms) R-I-C-H-M-O-N-D RICHMOND! RICHMOND! RICHMOND! RICHMOND! then goes back down the stairs across the court and back to the rowdies. The crowd would get hype. It should be our "enter sandman" of college traditions but it went by the wayside, why I don't know.

I don't recall it being overly rowdy. One time a guy took his shirt off and did the worm, but that was the worst I remember. By the time I went off to college in 2005 I believe the tradition had stopped but there was no explanation as to why.

It should come back. Pep band, marketing, rowdies if you are reading this. Bring it back!
By “a guy” do you really mean it was you??
 
During the final official timeout the pep band plays the rocky theme song while one of the students runs across the court to get the crowd on their feet as they run across court to the other side of the arena and up the stairs halfway and stand in the middle. Fan then spells out (with their arms) R-I-C-H-M-O-N-D RICHMOND! RICHMOND! RICHMOND! RICHMOND! then goes back down the stairs across the court and back to the rowdies. The crowd would get hype. It should be our "enter sandman" of college traditions but it went by the wayside, why I don't know.

I don't recall it being overly rowdy. One time a guy took his shirt off and did the worm, but that was the worst I remember. By the time I went off to college in 2005 I believe the tradition had stopped but there was no explanation as to why.

It should come back. Pep band, marketing, rowdies if you are reading this. Bring it back!
Do you remember the guy I mentioned?
 
It should be our "enter sandman" of college traditions
Thank you. It was that good. Electric. The crowd knew what was coming, looked forward to it with anticipation, and went absolutely nuts when executed.

Spids don't have anything close to it in any sporting events anymore, regrettably.
 
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Bring back the Rowdy Run…and make better popcorn/popcorn containers.

And oh, coca cola products please.
 
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Small improvement tonight, but still pretty bad. Stats on scoreboard not working for most of the night, sound still terrible (top level of speakers non functional), ball blaster with performance issues again.
 
The intro was better at least. The ball cannon was a joke. The stats on the scoreboard being missing is unsatisfactory. I also went to get my season ticket holder garden flag and they had one guy trying to handle that as well as kid’s club check-ins. The shuttle service was below par as well. I think they only had one bus running. I also did not see any cops assisting cars out onto River Rd either. Of course, I left much later than usual due to the shuttle situation. Seems like the operations budget is way down.
 
Right, I've literally never seen a stat line that just had one number next to "free throws." What was that? We never used to do that before, why start now?
Along the same lines as this when they showed scores from other games rather than showing what half it was in and how much time remained there would just be a number 1 or 2 indicating only the half!
 
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Anybody else noticed the sound issues at the Robins Center have persisted?. At the Drake game the other day music came on randomly during live action at least a few times. And the girl that announces the trivia games, etc. was eardrum piercing.

Not sure why we can't seem to get this straight, but I just wanted to bring attention to the fact that it's still going on.
 
Anybody else noticed the sound issues at the Robins Center have persisted?. At the Drake game the other day music came on randomly during live action at least a few times. And the girl that announces the trivia games, etc. was eardrum piercing.

Not sure why we can't seem to get this straight, but I just wanted to bring attention to the fact that it's still going on.
not to mention the national anthem losing audio to the PA system halfway through
 
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Anybody else noticed the sound issues at the Robins Center have persisted?. At the Drake game the other day music came on randomly during live action at least a few times. And the girl that announces the trivia games, etc. was eardrum piercing.

Not sure why we can't seem to get this straight, but I just wanted to bring attention to the fact that it's still going on.

When the young woman goes into her fast talking too loud non understandable as you correctly said "eardrum piercing" spiel I insert ear plugs and it reduces the volume enough that I can live to hear another day...................
 
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Score board was down again for the beginning of the Drake game. Guess that’s because we are mainly a Bachelor of Arts school. 😊
 
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This is all crazy bullshit. It's incompetence to continue to has the same problems year after year (and this time I'm not talking about the coach)
 
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