Recap: Mackey Reseating Chat With Morgan Burke

The Boiling Point: Members of the Purdue Athletic Department, including athletic director Morgan Burke, answered fan questions about Mackey reseating for an hour tonight.

Athletic director Morgan Burke, along with some other athletic department employees, answered questions about Mackey reseating for one hour tonight online at Purduesports.com.

It’s just my opinion, but I thought Purdue came out looking even worse in regards to its reseating plan after the chat. Some of the things they said are the second tunnel needed to be added “for safety reasons, it’s best practice,” and it will make the walk from the visiting locker room much shorter. You can’t tell me a second tunnel makes Mackey that much safer, and am I the only one that WANTS the visiting team to have to walk farther?

Another topic people asked about was why the Paint Crew was being divided and placed behind both baskets. The answers hid behind the “that’s what the coaching staff wanted” answer way too much for my liking.

"West Lafayette: Mackey Arena and the Paint Crew finally reached the national level in exposure, attention, and praise for one of the best college basketball environments in America. Do you honestly believe that the same intensity will be reached in the future by splitting up the Paint Crew as well as reducing the amount of lower bowl seats given to the Paint Crew?Moderator: The fact that they are sitting behind both baskets was key to the basketball coaching staff. Intimidation on both ends."

What they fail to mention is in the second half, when games are on the line, the intimidation will only be half of what it was this year.

Another thing that I didn’t like was how many people feel like they’re getting screwed by not donating to the John Purdue Club. For example:

"Tony (Shelbyville): So if people at the 85th percentile are effectively shut out of the lower arena for life (if they are 45 or older) unless they give at the $10,000 level for at least 3-4 years, it’s quite possible that it might take at least $2,500 a year to EVEN GET a ticket. Have you considered that scnenario which essentially disenfranchising younger fans. Is this an intelligent long-term business decision?Moderator: We don’t think that is an accurate assessment. But please call the JPC office, and they will be happy to discuss with you."

That’s just a sampling of what the disgruntled people had to say. It seems most people feel like they have no shot of ever getting to lower level and that the “good seats” will always be taken up by older folks with big money, not exactly people known to be extremely into the game.

The last problem I had with this chat is they didn’t get to every question! I know they said they’d be answering questions for just one hour, but c’mon man! The people are unhappy and you’re going to limit the amount of time you’ll spend answering their questions? And most of the answers you had were “Call the JPC”? Weak sauce.

To read the full transcript, follow the jump.