06-26-2026, 01:16 PM
Just my take on things. UNO athletics should move back to the Arena where they were prior to Katrina. The building that once housed athletics on Franklin is now leased to UNO as a charter school and apparently there is a good revenue stream to UNO from that otherwise that would be my first choice for the department.
I am not sure where the offices will be located at the arena but I think the closer proximity to the existing sports offerings would make sense.
I think they should reclaim that space for the offices as it is the most logical place for it to go unless the university wants to build a new building for the athletic administration. There are other needs before that but it should be part of a master plan for university growth.
Personally I think they should build a new building for the baseball team's locker room first. The current one is not the best and a major upgrade is needed.
So the question why did they move out? I don't have all the answers but I was on the PAF board at the time. The arena was damaged and needed significant repairs. I helped demo part of it with my son's fraternity as part of a service project. They removed a good portion of the damaged sheetrock and flooring. I am not sure who did the rest of it.
One of the suggestions was to create another meeting / event space so they existing athletic offices were renovated into what is now Spotlights. It has served the arena well since it was converted from the offices.
The Privateer Room is not as nice but with some upgrades it could handle the functions that Spotlights had and it is larger which could accommodate more people. Just my opinion.
I am not sure where the offices will be located at the arena but I think the closer proximity to the existing sports offerings would make sense.
I think they should reclaim that space for the offices as it is the most logical place for it to go unless the university wants to build a new building for the athletic administration. There are other needs before that but it should be part of a master plan for university growth.
Personally I think they should build a new building for the baseball team's locker room first. The current one is not the best and a major upgrade is needed.
So the question why did they move out? I don't have all the answers but I was on the PAF board at the time. The arena was damaged and needed significant repairs. I helped demo part of it with my son's fraternity as part of a service project. They removed a good portion of the damaged sheetrock and flooring. I am not sure who did the rest of it.
One of the suggestions was to create another meeting / event space so they existing athletic offices were renovated into what is now Spotlights. It has served the arena well since it was converted from the offices.
The Privateer Room is not as nice but with some upgrades it could handle the functions that Spotlights had and it is larger which could accommodate more people. Just my opinion.
GO PRIVATEERS!!!