5.16.16 Written by Brad Trust and Nick McGowan
Syracuse, New York and Springfield, Massachusetts
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| Ring of Honor Picture of Michael Joran |
Today begins the eight-day trek
through New England with 15 other students and Professors Veley and Ryan to
meet and learn from some of the most prominent sports organizations and minds.
Today was the maiden voyage from Syracuse at 7:30 am. The weather was cloudy,
windy, and chilly but there was some heat to keep us warm on the bus. Following
a stop in Albany, New York, it was ninety-minutes of non-stop driving to the “Heart”
of basketball: Springfield, Massachusetts.
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| Syracuse University's and Jim Boeheim's Locker |
We arrived at the Naismith Memorial
Basketball Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was founded in 1959 and was named after
Dr. James Naismith. Dr. Naismith invented the game while as a grad
student/teacher at the YMCA School in Springfield, Massachusetts, which is now
known as Springfield College. He created the sport out of necessity for
Superintendent Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick to create a game to keep young boys in
a gym class well behaved and remain physically active. Dr. Naismith ultimately created
a 9 versus 9 indoor game that combined components of other sports to create the
game now known as “basketball”. It is safe to say that the game was a hit and now
is a global phenomenon.
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| ESPN Microphone used during a basketball broadcast |
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| Statue of Dr. James Naismith, Creator of "Basketball" |
Later, we met with Paul Lambert, Vice President of Enshrinement
Services and Community Engagement, and John Doleva, President and CEO of the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The conversation went on for about
an hour, but the knowledge and the takeaways were worthwhile. One takeaway for
me was just how little they rely on commissions. As a museum, it seems obvious
that most of the funds and revenue made is through commissions. In actuality, most
of their funds/revenue comes from events such as high school tournaments or
charity golf tournaments that they hold or help to run. One piece of
information from this discussion was the concept of continued technological
advancements. As Mr. Doleva noted, the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame is
looking into producing holographic images of iconic players and coaches. More
specifically Mr. Doleva discussed the idea of having a holographic version of
Dr. James Naismith to explain his rules and his thought process behind creating
the game. Another example of continued technological advancement includes augmented
reality/entertainment. This would allow for the user to be fully immersed in a
simulation as it is happening at a real-time sporting event. The example that
was given during the conversation was someone wearing a Lakers jersey and
entering the Lakers locker room after a historic win. As someone who has some
knowledge in holographic technology and as someone who wants to work in
broadcasting, the ability and versatility that holographic technology can
provide will allow for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame to broadcast their
content to people in a whole new light in order to better interact with them
and tell the story of basketball in a more effective and fun manner.
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| Wilt Chamberlain's 25,000th Career Point Commerative Basketball |
At the
conclusion of our meeting, we had an opportunity to explore the museum, take
pictures, and delve into our own personal story of basketball; as well as
figuring out the relationship between Syracuse, New York and this hall of fame.
In the mid afternoon after exiting the Hall of Fame, we exited the hall of fame
and began our journey to Marlborough, Massachusetts to the New England Sports
Center. Overall, the experience at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame was just
“legendary”.
After our stop at the Basketball of Fame we set our sights on the New England Sports Center. Featuring six full size ice rinks and one miniature rink, the complex is set to expand in the near future with the addition of three more sheets of ice, two of which will be full size. The complex itself is much more than just a few sheets of ice, it is an all purpose facility featuring two restaurants, an arcade and a gym for ice hockey players that come through the doors. The routine when you walk is second nature to these players. Walk in, look at the television displaying your teams schedule and then off too one of 40 locker rooms inside. Thirty of those are dedicated to the vast majority of teams that play at the complex on a consistent basis. Whether for the Junior Bruins, the Minuteman Flames or one of the local colleges, the impact on the surrounding community cannot be underestimated.
The facility partners with locals hotel, bringing in such a large audience that a local Five Guys once had to shut its doors on Saturday because they ran out of burgers the night before.
During our time there we were able to tour the entire facility, taking a look at the locker rooms, restaurants and even got to see NHL player Bobby Butler give a private lesson. The focus of which was shooting, a few dozens pucks fired into the upper and lower corners of the net. Our group on the other hand was given a lesson on Zambonis. One of our biggest takeaways was that a brand new one could cost around $120,000 dollars. In terms of finances, we also broached the subject of the cost of ice time per hour to the budgets of local high schools.
A point of discussion involved the use or lack thereof of sponsorships. Walk into any ice rink or simply watch a game on TV and you will a wide range of sponsors lining the sideboards with their logos and slogans. Yet you walk you in here, and all you see is white, a tribute to the older days of hockey.
We ended our time there talking with facility’s general manager, Wes Tuttle. Tuttle stressed the importance always volunteering to help and that we needed to be in charge of our own destiny’s. As he stated, “when everyone is going home from work, you are going to work.” Hockey is primarily a winter sport, what defines a great manager is to some degree the ability to see your product no matter the time of year. As Tuttle pointed out, anyone can sell from September to March, what makes the difference is the ability to sell hockey from April to August.
Every now and again the complex plays home to Chinese women's national team and the German men's national team.
Before going to hotel we stopped for diner at the Italian style restaurant, Bertucci’s. We took in dishes ranging from barbeque chicken pizza and spicy pasta, to your basic homestyle chicken parmesan. Our day ended with a great meal and a ride to our hotel.
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