I got a peice of history today!

[Mackcat]

Around 11.00am today they were taking out the floor at Memorial (the original at that) and I secured myself a few squares of it. I mean its history, Rupp, Rillay, Issel, Pistol Pete. I'm happy with the score.

[hoosierhateruklover]

I too got a piece of history... I can't believe they just ripped it up and threw it in a dumpster like that. I am banged, cut, and scrapped, but I like my court.

[UKSam]

I too got a piece of history... I can't believe they just ripped it up and threw it in a dumpster like that. I am banged, cut, and scrapped, but I like my court.

I am jealous. I have a piece from the old Rupp. That is really cool.

[Backrate]

that is odd they are just throwing it out
a lot of history on that wood

[RaleighCat]

This is completey impossible to believe- that UK and Mitch Barnhart would un-cerimoniously throw away the Memorial floor. I'm shocked beyond words.
I lived in K-town when Mitch led the effort to sell the old Neyland Stadium Astroturf as a fund raiser for UT's scholly fund. They made a freakin' mint (and I have a small mounted piece somewhere in a box that was given to me by UT's current AD, Mike Hamilton).
Anyway, I can't believe Mitch "Money Maker" Barnhart let this opportunity pass. Someone in the department or University made a giant mistake here. Not only from a financial standpoint, but from an overall historical reverance standpoint. What a waste.

If you got a piece of history I salute you.

[crazzedcats22]

This is completey impossible to believe- that UK and Mitch Barnhart would un-cerimoniously throw away the Memorial floor. I'm shocked beyond words.
I lived in K-town when Mitch led the effort to sell the old Neyland Stadium Astroturf as a fund raiser for UT's scholly fund. They made a freakin' mint (and I have a small mounted piece somewhere in a box that was given to me by UT's current AD, Mike Hamilton).
Anyway, I can't believe Mitch "Money Maker" Barnhart let this opportunity pass. Someone in the department or University made a giant mistake here. Not only from a financial standpoint, but from an overall historical reverance standpoint. What a waste.

If you got a piece of history I salute you.

They tried to sell the floor in Rupp when they replaced it and it didn't go real well. They saved all of the important pieces from Memorial and the demand isn't there to sell it, so what should they do with it??

[RaleighCat]

They tried to sell the floor in Rupp when they replaced it and it didn't go real well. They saved all of the important pieces from Memorial and the demand isn't there to sell it, so what should they do with it??


I hadn't heard they tried to sell the Memorial Court, so that's news to me. I'm not plugged in, so I'm not doubting you.

I'll get ripped for this, but here goes:
Not being able to successfully market the historical significance of Memorial Coliseum's floor is the unfortunate result of the malaise that covered our previous coach's tenure like a wet horses' blanket. Zero excitement and enthusiasm over the program will cause that, unfortunately.

Had they waited a year and marketed the floor pieces again I have no doubt it would've been successful. How hard would it have been to store the floor in small sections? Can't UK afford a storage unit on Nicholasville Road?
Major blunder, IMHO.

[hoosierhateruklover]

This was a major mistake and I believe they realize it now. The dumpsters have been roped off with yellow tape now. Looks like greed and embarrasment have finally gotten to them once more.

[WildcatDan]

This was a major mistake and I believe they realize it now. The dumpsters have been roped off with yellow tape now. Looks like greed and embarrasment have finally gotten to them once more.

Well that is just TOO funny!

[blueheretic]

This was a major mistake and I believe they realize it now. The dumpsters have been roped off with yellow tape now. Looks like greed and embarrasment have finally gotten to them once more.

Jordan, you get me a good piece of that floor and...talk to Ricks boys. Tell me what you want. lol

[bleedbluelady]

Jordan, you get me a good piece of that floor and...talk to Ricks boys. Tell me what you want. lol

Get me one also, please. :icon_biggrin:

[Josh]

I would love to have a piece of Memorial.

[RP_McMurphy]

Will pay good money or trade for a piece of that history. Will add it right next to my piece of the Old Boston Garden.

[hoosierhateruklover]

Update: I went to the coliseum today and one of the dumpsters was empty and the other was going up on the dump truck and there seemed to be a sense of immediate hurry by the workers. People were scattering for pieces in a small trash can but it was mostly sawdust. Then the worker came out in a friendly manner and said he must take it. He then said that all the fans have been warned several times now. I don't suppose any more flooring will be left to the public.

[matt colvin]

I JUST GOT Back from the dumpster, and got an arm-full. They're still bringing it out. I got a bunch of pieces that are at least two feet long, and one piece with a section of striping on it. One man next to me got a piece with blue on it! Hurry if you're going to get some!

[poodoo]

I too got a piece of history... I can't believe they just ripped it up and threw it in a dumpster like that. I am banged, cut, and scrapped, but I like my court.

I'm just glad that you got one. That brings a BIG SMILE to my face. Yes, it's a "piece of history," and, good for you!

[BigBlueLuke]

"They tried to sell the floor in Rupp when they replaced it and it didn't go real well. They saved all of the important pieces from Memorial and the demand isn't there to sell it, so what should they do with it??"

That's not true according to this article.

http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/59590.html

In 2001, after the men's basketball team had played in Rupp Arena for 25 years, that floor was cut into small pieces that were sold to fans.

Bill Owen, the center's president and CEO, said the scheme was "hugely successful."

"It generated enough money to purchase the new floor, and make a sizable contribution to the UK Basketball Museum and to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association," Owen said.

Im not trying to pick a fight, I just wanted to inform you that it did do well. Well enough to pay for the new floor, and then some. Im not sure if that link will work or not. Im still not use to these new boards.

[matt colvin]

Thanks for posting that link!

[ukwebfan]

It's simply incredible the depths which some of us will go to attack Tubby.

Not being able to successfully market the historical significance of Memorial Coliseum's floor is the unfortunate result of the malaise that covered our previous coach's tenure like a wet horses' blanket. Zero excitement and enthusiasm over the program will cause that, unfortunately.

[RaleighCat]

It's simply incredible the depths which some of us will go to attack Tubby.

Then explain to me how the University of Kentucky couldn't be able to successfully market the sale of Memorial Coliseum floor pieces, similar to what other colleges have done (UT and Neyland Stadium turf; UNC and Carmichael Gymnasium; etc.).

A basketball court is approx. 676,000 square inches- so knock off some for the sidelines and unusable sections and you have maybe 540,000 square inches to work with. The small section of Neyland turf I was given was about 5x3 inches (15 square inches) and it was the smallest piece UT marketed. Using that math UK could have as much as 36,000 pieces of Memorial Court to sell. But of course, some of the sections can be much larger and command a premium price, so let's say there are 25,000 sections available to sell. If the average sale is $50 per section you're looking at $1.25m in gross sales. Take out costs and the UKAA might be able to net around $800,000.

I don't know about you, but making $800,000 is worth the effort in my book. There are at least one million UK fans in the Commonwealth (a quarter of the population is a safe estimate). Don't you think UK should be able to sell 25,000 pieces to an audience of more than a million people? Or what about packaging sections of the Memorial floor with Rupp Arena season ticket renewals? Buy an upgrade for season tix and get a piece of history with your purchase?

My point is that all this sounds simple and lucrative, so if I can think of this in about 5 minutes from my desk in Raleigh, North Carolina, then someone at UKAA who gets paid to think of these ideas probably beat me to it. UK just swallowed a second straight early exit from the NCAA tourney. We didn't compete for an SEC championship for the 2nd year in a row. We had little momentum (if any) heading into the offseason. The Tubby situation clouded everything about Kentucky basketball. Maybe it affected how the Memorial floor was handled? You can't sell much of anything in a down market- and UK basketball was about as down as possible to many fans before Tubby left.

Like it or not, that's the truth. What happened before BCG arrived is going to affect the program in the nearterm, both positive and negative. Not everything about the past two years was a debacle. But not much went our way either. The Memorial floor scenario is a direct result. That, or someone in the UKAA missed a million-dollar-idea.

[crazzedcats22]

Then explain to me how the University of Kentucky couldn't be able to successfully market the sale of Memorial Coliseum floor pieces, similar to what other colleges have done (UT and Neyland Stadium turf; UNC and Carmichael Gymnasium; etc.).

A basketball court is approx. 676,000 square inches- so knock off some for the sidelines and unusable sections and you have maybe 540,000 square inches to work with. The small section of Neyland turf I was given was about 5x3 inches (15 square inches) and it was the smallest piece UT marketed. Using that math UK could have as much as 36,000 pieces of Memorial Court to sell. But of course, some of the sections can be much larger and command a premium price, so let's say there are 25,000 sections available to sell. If the average sale is $50 per section you're looking at $1.25m in gross sales. Take out costs and the UKAA might be able to net around $800,000.

I don't know about you, but making $800,000 is worth the effort in my book. There are at least one million UK fans in the Commonwealth (a quarter of the population is a safe estimate). Don't you think UK should be able to sell 25,000 pieces to an audience of more than a million people? Or what about packaging sections of the Memorial floor with Rupp Arena season ticket renewals? Buy an upgrade for season tix and get a piece of history with your purchase?

My point is that all this sounds simple and lucrative, so if I can think of this in about 5 minutes from my desk in Raleigh, North Carolina, then someone at UKAA who gets paid to think of these ideas probably beat me to it. UK just swallowed a second straight early exit from the NCAA tourney. We didn't compete for an SEC championship for the 2nd year in a row. We had little momentum (if any) heading into the offseason. The Tubby situation clouded everything about Kentucky basketball. Maybe it affected how the Memorial floor was handled? You can't sell much of anything in a down market- and UK basketball was about as down as possible to many fans before Tubby left.

Like it or not, that's the truth. What happened before BCG arrived is going to affect the program in the nearterm, both positive and negative. Not everything about the past two years was a debacle. But not much went our way either. The Memorial floor scenario is a direct result. That, or someone in the UKAA missed a million-dollar-idea.

it has nothing to do with Tubby or anyone else. Back in 2000??, when they replaced the Rupp Arena floor, they tried to sell pieces of it and there was hardly any demand for it and it didn't work. That is why they didn't put the time and effort into marekting it and trying it again just a few years later. The fans showed once that they weren't interested in buying the old floor in Rupp, so why would they buy the floor from Memorial??

[crazzedcats22]

"They tried to sell the floor in Rupp when they replaced it and it didn't go real well. They saved all of the important pieces from Memorial and the demand isn't there to sell it, so what should they do with it??"

That's not true according to this article.

http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/59590.html

In 2001, after the men's basketball team had played in Rupp Arena for 25 years, that floor was cut into small pieces that were sold to fans.

Bill Owen, the center's president and CEO, said the scheme was "hugely successful."

"It generated enough money to purchase the new floor, and make a sizable contribution to the UK Basketball Museum and to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association," Owen said.

Im not trying to pick a fight, I just wanted to inform you that it did do well. Well enough to pay for the new floor, and then some. Im not sure if that link will work or not. Im still not use to these new boards.

That comes from the UK Bball museum CEO, everything I have heard and read from UK says it wasn't nearly the success they were hoping for.

[RaleighCat]

If there's one thing I know about Mitch Barnhart- [and I have had dinner with him, sat next to him at some UT basketball games, knew him from a distance in the early '90s]- it's that Mitch understands how to raise money.

So you're telling me that what happened 7 years ago (?) closed the book on UK earning any income on the Memorial floor?

Maybe my theory is completey wrong? Maybe I'm just taking an easy shot at Tubby Smith? That's not my intention. I heard this news and was flat-out shocked, honestly. It's still not clear- even with my Tubby theory- why UKAA didn't plan this better. Why not house the floor for future use? Maybe they did and we're just hearing about the truly useless pieces?

Something doesn't add up to me knowing how these campaigns have worked elsewhere.

[crazzedcats22]

If there's one thing I know about Mitch Barnhart- [and I have had dinner with him, sat next to him at some UT basketball games, knew him from a distance in the early '90s]- it's that Mitch understands how to raise money.

So you're telling me that what happened 7 years ago (?) closed the book on UK earning any income on the Memorial floor?

Maybe my theory is completey wrong? Maybe I'm just taking an easy shot at Tubby Smith? That's not my intention. I heard this news and was flat-out shocked, honestly. It's still not clear- even with my Tubby theory- why UKAA didn't plan this better. Why not house the floor for future use? Maybe they did and we're just hearing about the truly useless pieces?

Something doesn't add up to me knowing how these campaigns have worked elsewhere.

"Because the old northern maple floor was nailed in place, and wouldn't come up without a fight, officials decided it couldn't be recycled or turned into mementos," Pear said.

"If we wanted to spend half again as much on the project, there might have been a way to do it, but it wasn't cost efficient," he said.

But, he said, there was an important difference between the floors at Rupp and Memorial Coliseum. The Rupp floor was portable, so it could easily be taken up and shipped to a company that turned it into small, sellable pieces.
The nailed coliseum floor "comes up in splinters" and "is not really salvageable," he said.

[RaleighCat]

"Because the old northern maple floor was nailed in place, and wouldn't come up without a fight, officials decided it couldn't be recycled or turned into mementos," Pear said.

"If we wanted to spend half again as much on the project, there might have been a way to do it, but it wasn't cost efficient," he said.

But, he said, there was an important difference between the floors at Rupp and Memorial Coliseum. The Rupp floor was portable, so it could easily be taken up and shipped to a company that turned it into small, sellable pieces.
The nailed coliseum floor "comes up in splinters" and "is not really salvageable," he said.

End of story. Thanks for finding this, as I haven't seen it yet. My position is changed obviously. I appreciate you setting me straight.