as originally built, Haas was a good basketball stadium, but over the years they took the heart and soul out of the palace by:

- cutting the student sideline benches into thirds - for not one but two doors to the pointless room

- pushed the student sideline benches back from the court and greatly reduced the rows of benches - watch at 21:50 for the glory it was

- putting two courtside seats - one row was questionable, but two rows were insane

- pushing both baseline seats backwards and off the court - see how close the Cal football team was to the backboard. The offensive line were sitting with their feet on the court!

- pushing the premium seats (behind the player benches) back and up from the court

- taking out the Cal store from front lobby, and replacing it with an empty/sterile room that is underused

- moving the Cal gear sales stand to an empty space that many people don't even know about (can't they at least have a sign pointing to its location?

- eliminating the Cal trophy case - now instead of walking in and seeing the Cal store and trophy case you see a blank wall

Coach Madsen should make everyone in the Athletic Dept sit down and watch this video to see how these horrible decisions directly impact the energy and fun atmosphere in Haas, especially for students.

This also directly impacts game results as Cal players don't get the same energy and motivation from the fans, and opponents are no longer intimidated by the deafening noise and hostile environment.

Great post. The student section needs to be end line to end line extend down to the court and be opposite the TV cameras and big donor seats.

calumnus said:

---

Great post. The student section needs to be end line to end line extend down to the court and be opposite the TV cameras and big donor seats.

---

What a bleak period it has been. Bring back joy

HoopDreams said:

---

as originally built, Haas was a good basketball stadium, but over the years they took the heart and soul out of the palace by:

- cutting the student sideline benches into thirds - for not one but two doors to the pointless room

- pushed the student sideline benches back from the court and greatly reduced the rows of benches - watch at 21:50 for the glory it was

- putting two courtside seats - one row was questionable, but two rows were insane

- pushing both baseline seats backwards and off the court - see how close the Cal football team was to the backboard. The offensive line were sitting with their feet on the court!

- pushing the premium seats (behind the player benches) back and up from the court

- taking out the Cal store from front lobby, and replacing it with an empty/sterile room that is underused

- moving the Cal gear sales stand to an empty space that many people don't even know about (can't they at least have a sign pointing to its location?

- eliminating the Cal trophy case - now instead of walking in and seeing the Cal store and trophy case you see a blank wall

Coach Madsen should make everyone in the Athletic Dept sit down and watch this video to see how these horrible decisions directly impact the energy and fun atmosphere in Haas, especially for students.

This also directly impacts game results as Cal players don't get the same energy and motivation from the fans, and opponents are no longer intimidated by the deafening noise and hostile environment.

---

100% agree - I have reached out to the Athletic dept via multiple people and Coach Madsen is totally on board to have a continuous student sideline benches. Please send this post to the dept via Beth, Jay and Jim.

I say deconstruct and bring back Harmon! I took many a Final on those floors.

Yes, Harmon is THE Model.

sonofabear51 said:

---

Yes, Harmon is THE Model.

---

I recall when the gym would get hot and steamy. The small windows at the top of seats would slowly crank open and people would MOVE UP the aisles to get some fresh air. Solves the crowded chairback problem better than the Fox method.

Can not support your post more. We were very long term chair back holders. Closing off the ends drove us and our neighbors out of our seats. I was so mad I stopped contributing to basketball. Now hopefully I can return as a supporter.

oskidunker said:

---

The conference required Cal to allow more space between students and the floor. That aint changing unless of course the conference is DOA

---

Is this true? I could imagine it, as the students and Straw Hat Band were insanely close to the floor in Harmon (insanely in a good way, of course). Whatever the minimum space is, we should be right at that line.

Agree 100% with this thread! As Madsen played in Harmon and seems to be much more of a promoter-of-the-program than the last guy, I'm hopeful that we will be on top of this!

I'm sorry, but I would get rid of the row of courtside seats. This isn't the NBA. I know, some people with $$$ like to be big shots and sit courtside (and they probably donate), but I would find some other excellent seats for them and bring the students as close as possible to the action.

Haas was only superficially like Harmon. Only slightly intimidating, even when full.

Marie Kondo says you have to focus on your AD first because he doesn't spark joy.

oskidunker said:

---

Big C said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

The conference required Cal to allow more space between students and the floor. That aint changing unless of course the conference is DOA

---

Is this true? I could imagine it, as the students and Straw Hat Band were insanely close to the floor in Harmon (insanely in a good way, of course). Whatever the minimum space is, we should be right at that line.

Agree 100% with this thread! As Madsen played in Harmon and seems to be much more of a promoter-of-the-program than the last guy, I'm hopeful that we will be on top of this!

I'm sorry, but I would get rid of the row of courtside seats. This isn't the NBA. I know, some people with $$$ like to be big shots and sit courtside (and they probably donate), but I would find some other excellent seats for them and bring the students as close as possible to the action.

---

Those seats were put there as a barrier between students and the players. Also requested by the conference.

---

The conference is struggling to stay alive. What are they going to do if we don't comply, kick us out?

Civil Bear said:

---

Big C said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

Big C said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

The conference required Cal to allow more space between students and the floor. That aint changing unless of course the conference is DOA

---

Is this true? I could imagine it, as the students and Straw Hat Band were insanely close to the floor in Harmon (insanely in a good way, of course). Whatever the minimum space is, we should be right at that line.

Agree 100% with this thread! As Madsen played in Harmon and seems to be much more of a promoter-of-the-program than the last guy, I'm hopeful that we will be on top of this!

I'm sorry, but I would get rid of the row of courtside seats. This isn't the NBA. I know, some people with $$$ like to be big shots and sit courtside (and they probably donate), but I would find some other excellent seats for them and bring the students as close as possible to the action.

---

Those seats were put there as a barrier between students and the players. Also requested by the conference.

---

The conference hates fun!

---

I'm not sure if the courtside seats were the conference's idea, but I do recall them requiring the students get pushed back a bit when Haas was first built.

---

when Harmon was renovated to Haas the students were pushed back farther from the court (sad, but I get it), but what I'm complaining about is the student seats being pushed back farther when they put the row of seats in. I think they were pushed back again with the second row of seats (not sure)

If we are going to have a row of courtside seats for what ever reason, we should eliminate the second row. That makes more space for the student seats and they aren't great seats anyway (I've sat there for a couple women's basketball games)

southseasbear said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

Big C said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

The conference required Cal to allow more space between students and the floor. That aint changing unless of course the conference is DOA

---

Is this true? I could imagine it, as the students and Straw Hat Band were insanely close to the floor in Harmon (insanely in a good way, of course). Whatever the minimum space is, we should be right at that line.

Agree 100% with this thread! As Madsen played in Harmon and seems to be much more of a promoter-of-the-program than the last guy, I'm hopeful that we will be on top of this!

I'm sorry, but I would get rid of the row of courtside seats. This isn't the NBA. I know, some people with $$$ like to be big shots and sit courtside (and they probably donate), but I would find some other excellent seats for them and bring the students as close as possible to the action.

---

Those seats were put there as a barrier between students and the players. Also requested by the conference.

---

The conference is struggling to stay alive. What are they going to do if we don't comply, kick us out?

---

No kidding! Plus, a request is not a mandate.

4thGenCal said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

as originally built, Haas was a good basketball stadium, but over the years they took the heart and soul out of the palace by:

- cutting the student sideline benches into thirds - for not one but two doors to the pointless room

- pushed the student sideline benches back from the court and greatly reduced the rows of benches - watch at 21:50 for the glory it was

- putting two courtside seats - one row was questionable, but two rows were insane

- pushing both baseline seats backwards and off the court - see how close the Cal football team was to the backboard. The offensive line were sitting with their feet on the court!

- pushing the premium seats (behind the player benches) back and up from the court

- taking out the Cal store from front lobby, and replacing it with an empty/sterile room that is underused

- moving the Cal gear sales stand to an empty space that many people don't even know about (can't they at least have a sign pointing to its location?

- eliminating the Cal trophy case - now instead of walking in and seeing the Cal store and trophy case you see a blank wall

Coach Madsen should make everyone in the Athletic Dept sit down and watch this video to see how these horrible decisions directly impact the energy and fun atmosphere in Haas, especially for students.

This also directly impacts game results as Cal players don't get the same energy and motivation from the fans, and opponents are no longer intimidated by the deafening noise and hostile environment.

---

100% agree - I have reached out to the Athletic dept via multiple people and Coach Madsen is totally on board to have a continuous student sideline benches. Please send this post to the dept via Beth, Jay and Jim.

---

4thGen,
Thanks for carrying the banner to the Athletic Dept. As suggested I emailed Beth, Jay and Jim with the above photo and video. Beth replied right away ... here's the key point...

We appreciate your feedback! A group of us are already looking into the suggestion surrounding the student section and thank you for sharing the video.

Collectively we can make a difference!

BearHunter said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

BearHunter said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

MinotStateBeav said:

---

Remove the air conditioners, Bring back the Harmon Gym sweats!!! My favorite game of all time in Harmon was Cal vs Illinois in a 3OT thriller. I think it was Ed Gray who hit the game winning free throws.

---

There is no air conditioning in Haas,

---

There are no windows so there needs to be air conditioning or some type of mechanical ventilation system per building code.

---

It blows air, no AC. No heat.

---

So it was just unconditioned outdoor air this entire time...had no idea.

---

The outside air in the Bay Area during winter, especially at night, rarely needs to be cooled further.