AMEN! That's the worst impediment to enjoying a game for out of town Gator fans without season tickets.
Sent from my iPhone On Jun 24, 2016, at 1:57 PM, Charles Simpson <[email protected]> wrote: Sounds great. Now please tell me I won't have to walk down to the 1st level to use the bathroom when I'm sitting way up in the cheap seats. Charlie > On 6/24/2016 9:35 AM, Shane Ford wrote: > O'Dome renovation designer has passion for basketball > > > O'Connell Center re-design architect Neil Davis was the manager of his high > school basketball team and has a passion for sports. "The passion for sports > carries through everything,” Davis said. “We've done a number of sports > projects. I guess I appreciate the athleticism and the whole concept of > college athletes." > Submitted photo > By Kevin Brockway > Gainesville SUN Staff writer > Published: Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 6:43 p.m. > Last Modified: Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 6:43 p.m. > Here’s something to know about the man whose vision is behind the O’Connell > Center renovation project. > > Before Neil Davis became a successful architect, he was the manager of his > high school basketball team. At 6-foot-3, Davis played high school football > and had the size to play high school basketball. > > “I was a tall person, but never the most coordinated,” Davis said. > > But passion for basketball and college sports has remained for Davis, who as > president of Birmingham, Ala.,-based Davis Architects Inc. has overseen the > design of the $64.5 million interior renovation that’s due to be completed in > mid-December. > > The Davis firm has been involved in a number of prior projects at SEC venues, > including recent renovations at Stegeman Coliseum in Georgia and Coleman > Coliseum in Alabama. In addition, the firm was the associate architect of the > recently-constructed Auburn Arena, which was built in 2009. > > “The passion for sports carries through everything,” Davis said. “We’ve done > a number of sports projects. I guess I appreciate the athleticism and the > whole concept of college athletes. That’s a factor and I think just the whole > being a part of creating a space that’s is going to be used by thousands of > people and try to make their experience greater, more meaningful and > satisfying, it’s a wonderful charge to have.” > > What excites Davis most about the project is the new grand entrance between > Gates 1 and Gate 4 and 360-degree concourse that will add close to 13,000 > square feet of additional space. > > “It’s going to be a whole different experience,” Davis said. “For the fans > especially, the whole sense of entry, before it was separated into four gate > areas and never really had that feeling … > > “For merchandising and concessions, it’s a real open space. It can be well > lit for concerts and events. It’s multi-purpose for all of the different > events you can have.” > > Davis said the renovation remains on schedule and the big next step for June > is to start the precast seating bowl. > > “The steel is going in smoothly,” Davis said. “And it’s interesting because > now, with the seats demolished, it’s the most open than it’s ever been in its > existence.” > > Of course, Florida fans are interested whether the combination of new seating > and acoustics will result in the same loud, raucous atmosphere that makes the > O’Dome one of the toughest basketball venues in the country for visiting > teams. > > “It’s going to be very successful in that respect,” Davis said. “Right now, > in the past, most of the seating has been on movable platforms, retractable > seating and it will now be, most of it will be fixed seating so it will be > more comfortable, easier to navigate and then I think in terms of the game > atmosphere, the sight lines you are able to get, the intimacy of the bowl, > it’s going to be wonderful. > > “The students are going to be right there, part of the action. We design > these things where the students will be opposite the TV cameras, because that > gives them, enlivens the video broadcast. And I think it’s going to be a > great place to watch a basketball game, or gymnastics meet, or whatever. It’s > going to be intimate, loud, I think the homecourt advantage will be > maintained.” > > Davis comes from a lineage of architects. His father, Charles F. Davis Jr., > became a partner in the firm in 1946. His two siblings also are architects. > The Davis firm recently celebrated its 100th birthday in 2012. > > Growing up in a family of architects provided a constant source of > inspiration. > > “There’s a sense of heritage and history, not just being his son and being a > part of an organization that’s over 100 years old, you look at projects > differently,” Davis said. “We’re not building disposable buildings. We’re > building things that are going to be around longer than we are, so I think we > take our work very seriously in that respect but also realize architecture > can be fun. Nothing is more exciting to walk into a building and see it > utilized as you envisioned and see people enjoy it.” > > Contact Kevin Brockway at 352-374-5054 or [email protected]. Also > check out Brockway's blog at Gatorsports.com. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent From Shane's iPhone > Go Gators! & Skål Vikes! > ALPCA #8756 > Europlate #1045 > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
