Lazerus: Loyola’s new arena a shining example for VU

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Updated: February 21, 2012 8:31AM

First of all, let’s immediately dispense of the notion that Valparaiso cannot compete in the Horizon League without a sparkling new arena and a dedicated, state-of-the-art practice facility.

“Would we like to have a modern facility for our basketball program? Absolutely,” said VU director of athletics Mark LaBarbera. “Do I think it keeps us from being successful in the Horizon League? No. We’re already competitive in the Horizon League with the ARC.”

He’s right, of course. One bad year aside, the Crusaders essentially have been a top-half team in the Horizon for four of their five seasons in the conference, despite their dingy, aging gym — the one with the lousy lighting, the high school bleachers and the single concession stand, situated right behind a basket in full view of ESPN’s cameras.

Homer and Bryce Drew have proven you don’t need good facilities to produce a good program.

But, man, it sure wouldn’t hurt.

Tonight, the Crusaders will get their first look at the newly renamed Gentile Arena on Loyola’s campus. It’s the exact same building that just last year housed the Gentile Center — the only facility in the Horizon League that looked more like a high school gym than Valparaiso’s.

Now? Well, Loyola has created a mid-major paradise. As part of a $100 million campus-wide initiative, the old gym was gutted, spun 90 degrees and recreated as the perfect small arena. Loyola somehow managed to create a true arena setting with just 4,486 seats (about 700 fewer seats than the old gym and the ARC, making sellouts and a real home-court advantage more feasible).

“It’s unbelievable,” said Loyola freshman and Munster grad Joe Crisman. “For the DePaul game, we had an unbelievable feel. It’s not too big of an arena, the stands are right on top of the court, and it’s extremely loud. When they filled it up for the DePaul game, I made a basket and I felt the chills. They’re literally right on top of you.”

Throw in the adjacent Norville Center, a state-of-the-art facility for athletes that houses brand-new locker rooms, film rooms and academic rooms, and Loyola has everything a mid-major recruit could ever want.

Well, everything but a winning program. But the new facilities could go a long way toward addressing that.

“It’s huge,” said first-year coach Porter Moser. “Before, when you walked in, it truly felt like it was a high school, with the bleachers and the cement walls behind the backboards. Now, it’s a great atmosphere. And it gives you a huge recruiting tool to walk student-athletes through there.”

Don’t believe it makes a difference? You should. Moser already has signed four recruits for next year, including Muncie Central’s Nick Osborne, one of the top recruits in Indiana.

Crisman said the new facilities played a big role in his decision to choose Loyola — and all he saw was artists’ renderings, because the entire renovation took place over this past offseason.

“I’m a guy who likes to work hard, and with these resources, it’s a great opportunity,” he said. “It’s huge.”

So imagine the damage Valparaiso — a program with a winning pedigree and a big-name coach in Bryce Drew — could do on the recruiting trail with that kind of trump card to play?

LaBarbera cited “many” studies that have shown facilities are far down on a recruit’s priority list. And yes, the coaching staff, tradition, academics, proximity to home and other factors can outweigh a lousy gym. But let’s say a Horizon League-level recruit is truly torn between Valparaiso and another school. If it comes down to facilities (and remember, these kids are going to be spending half their waking hours in these places), Valparaiso likely would lose to every single school in the Horizon League.

Now that the Gentile high school gym has been converted into arguably the nicest facility in the league, nine Horizon League teams play in gyms that can be legitimately classified as “arenas.”

Then there’s Valparaiso.

LaBarbera acknowledged that the Gentile Arena is a fully realized vision of what nearly every mid-major — VU very much included — would love to have. An entirely new arena simply will not happen at VU, so a renovated ARC is the only feasible option, as far as the university is concerned.

And it could be done in the ARC’s limited space. Half-empty, oversized arenas such as Wright State’s Nutter Center and Milwaukee’s U.S. Cellular Arena (nice as they are), aren’t necessary, nor are they preferable to smaller, louder, more easily filled venues. LaBarbera pointed out that even Butler is thinking of scaling back the capacity of the 10,000-seat Hinkle Fieldhouse in its renovation plans to create a more intimate and intimidating setting.

Homer Drew often complained about the ARC, and what a recruiting disadvantage it was. But in his role as associate athletic director — a fundraising role — he has not been charged with raising money for a new arena, but for the university’s master plan, which does not include the basketball facilities.

So for now, Valparaiso will continue its bit-by-bit revamping of the ARC. The new floor last year was a nice addition. The video screens on the new scoreboard are a huge step in the right direction.

But there are no plans to gut the ARC and start from scratch in one whirlwind summer. There aren’t even any more baby steps on the docket — though a renovated men’s basketball locker room would be a welcomed change.

So for the forseeable future, Bryce Drew will have to work with what he has — arguably the least attractive facility in the Horizon League.

Yes, he and his father already have proven that it’s not an insurmountable obstacle. But it’s not an insignificant one, either.