Two key Board of Regents approvals for Michigan hoops

Michigan Basketball
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https://twitter.com/umhoops/status/1715112144029544575

Davidson Player Development Center Renovations

The Board of Regents also approved a locker room renovation in the William Davidson Player Development Center, which houses practice and game-day facilities for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

The Board approved renovating approximately 11,500 gross square feet to create an expanded locker room and make improvements to the locker, shower, team and support areas. In addition, gender-inclusive locker facilities for student-athletes and staff will be built.

The project includes necessary architectural, electrical and mechanical work. The estimated cost is $10 million; funding will be provided by Athletic Department gifts.

Architectural firm Integrated Architecture will handle the design work.

While there will be a temporary loss of some adjacent parking spaces during construction, the project will have no permanent impact on parking. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2024. The Davidson Player Development Center was constructed in 2011.

Alcohol Sales at Campus Events

The University of Michigan is moving forward with plans to apply for liquor licenses that could potentially allow the sale of alcohol at Crisler Center, Michigan Stadium and Yost Ice Arena. as early as Jan. 1, 2024.

The Board of Regents voted Oct. 19 to authorize asking the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to issue liquor licenses at the three athletic venues. The board also voted to implement licenses for Crisler and Yost as soon as possible for the current seasons.

Implementation for Michigan Stadium will be voted on at a later date, and after careful consideration and review of data and the experiences at the other two venues.

If approved by the state, alcohol would be available for purchase at U-M intercollegiate sporting events at the three venues, as well as during a small number of non-athletic events each calendar year.

Additionally, the athletic department would be responsible for developing procedures to ensure compliance with state of Michigan laws, Liquor Control Commission rules and regulations, and that all U-M policies related to alcohol are observed.

These policies and procedures include measures to ensure alcohol is not served to anyone under the legal drinking age and that only qualified servers will be used to dispense alcohol.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill in July lifting Michigan’s ban on alcohol sales at public university stadiums and sports arenas. The bill, which took effect immediately, allows universities to individually determine if they wish to sell alcohol at home sporting events.

University officials are still considering the various ways to use revenue from the sale of alcohol, if the licenses are approved by the state.

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Sigh. It’s the old man in me but I was really hoping they’d pass on alcohol. No chance when there’s extra revenue involved I suppose!

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Great development here, looks like every player is going to be Kobe Bufkin!

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Reminds me of the MLS twitter account that always points out how ridiculous the player renderings are on new stadium renders :rofl:

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Can we skip the new locker room and just funnel the $10millon into an NIL fund for next season :rofl:

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My mom and her friends have had football season Tix forever and loathe the alcohol idea and think it is the worst thing ever. My son is a sophomore at Illinois and they sell it there…and it isnt a big deal?

Either people are getting sloshed in the parking lot and smuggling in a flask…or you can sell them a $12 can of Coors Light. Plenty to be annoyed by…this doesn’t bother me. Heck, maybe this livens up the Crisler crowd!

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Worst thing ever is a strong take. Id say I find it mildly annoying- it simply makes people get up more often than they would otherwise which is annoying to me. We’ll see if it makes the crowd better, I’m skeptical anything could get Michigan fans to truly care about basketball.

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At Illinois the alcohol is in a separate “grab and go” line. Pretty quick relative to food since it is all cans.

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There’s no tailgating so alcohol for basketball might lead to a minuscule uptick in attendance without having over drinking problems.

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I don’t really see much of an issue at all for basketball unless the concern is that people will drink too much and drive home under the influence causing a public safety issue. I suppose that has some merit to it, which is likely at least somewhat mitigated by cutting off sales with a certain amount of time left - like they have been doing for MLB and NFL games for decades.

Think about who is going to actually consume these beers…

  • Underage students can’t buy them unless they have a good fake ID
  • The old codgers in the rich seats likely aren’t leaving their seats to buy a can of Coors light
  • The parents who brought their kids will buy a beer or two
  • So you might get the kinds of genuine fans represented in this forum in their 30s-50s just there to support the team who might buy more beers during the game and get a little lit?

This isn’t a slow-paced MLB game where you can drink yourself silly and it isn’t a 4-hour football game with a lot of breaks in the action. I think it will be a whole lot of nothing while making the game moderately more fun for some while generating a little extra revenue.

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The irony of you saying Kobe instead of the actual #2 on the current roster is not lost :wink:

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You’re lucky to get two beers in at a baseball game these days. Thanks, pitch clock!

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Could be some Livers, Poole, and Lester Abrams-types too!