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ENGELSTAD ARENA RUMOR


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Don't worry. Drew Stafford's new bionic leg is equipped with an explosive detection sensor. Drew's leg led him to all the explosives planted in Engelstad Arena and they have been disarmed by the UND police department's top-secret bomb disposal unit headed by Oliver North.

Oh great, I suppose the Iranians have this technology as well... :D

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Several months ago, I spoke to someone in the UND administration in a position to know whether such rumors are true. (Believe me, there are people on both sides of the Fighting Sioux nickname issue who'd love to believe that they are.) I was told that when the New York Times sent a reporter to Grand Forks to do a story about the nickname controversy, he inquired about the rumors he'd heard about Engelstad Arena and what might happen to it if the name changed.

He was provided with copies of all the documents relating to the ownership and control of the arena (which are public record, by the way). None of them contain a single word about a change in the arena's status if the Fighting Sioux nickname is changed.

IF, and I'd say IF, UND changed name/logo/mascot/whatever, there would be a deal done to keep the hockey at the Ralph, regardless of what is in writing now, money talks and lawyers make the rules as the go along...

bigger question is when the river floods how many hockey fans will it take to sandbag the arena for safety? :D

W

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bigger question is when the river floods how many hockey fans will it take to sandbag the arena for safety?

The only real risk is the bus ramp.

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/reg-viii/jurnys23.pdf

Steel posts will be set into concrete on each side of the ramp. If there is a flood danger, double-thick plywood forms can be slipped down into the posts to shut off the ramp and prevent water from running down into the building.

So, according to FEMA, just one fan is needed, as long as their name isn't "Briggs".

(You need someone who knows how to "close the gate".)

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IF, and I'd say IF, UND changed name/logo/mascot/whatever, there would be a deal done to keep the hockey at the Ralph, regardless of what is in writing now, money talks and lawyers make the rules as the go along...

I'm sorry, but this makes no sense whatsoever. Why would there need to be "a deal done to keep the hockey at the Ralph" when hockey is already at the Ralph under the current deal?

The NCAA learned something last fall about pre-existing contracts. Maybe you should, too.

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I just wonder about funding for repairs when the facility begins to show age. A couple of the seats I had for the regional were coming apart and in dire need of repair. I suspect it will be rather expensive to replace leather seats (too bad PETA). Hope the seating over time doesn't regress to what they have at the Moorhead Sports Center!

By the way, the only implosion at the Ralph was the gophers (sorry again PETA)

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Say hi to Mike, and it's Schmitt, isn't it.

You're correct, not the current WCHA referee, but the one that retired a couple years ago. Always got those guys mixed up, although I thought they were always generally better than the rest of the crew.

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I just wonder about funding for repairs when the facility begins to show age. A couple of the seats I had for the regional were coming apart and in dire need of repair. I suspect it will be rather expensive to replace leather seats (too bad PETA). Hope the seating over time doesn't regress to what they have at the Moorhead Sports Center!

By the way, the only implosion at the Ralph was the gophers (sorry again PETA)

Here's a thought I had the other day. As seats begin to "go", remove seats from the student section and replace worn out seats with those. Replace seats in the student section with smaller seats and possibly even benches.

Now, before anyone gets upset that I'm screwing the students, bear with me. What I'm trying to do is finagle more students into their seating area.

Leather seats are nice and all, but you're at a hockey game to chear and have a blast, you don't need a leather seat for that. If I had to build a Ralph all over again, I doubt I'd have any of them, except maybe in suites or club seating.

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Darn right. If the Ralph's imploded, hockey fans will have to buy their over-priced beer somewhere else. :)

overpriced beer?? no way :D 6.00 for a 32 oz bomber is a hell of a deal compared to any other sporting events that sell these or even smaller beers for 10.50 :ohmy:

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overpriced beer?? no way :) 6.00 for a 32 oz bomber is a hell of a deal compared to any other sporting events that sell these or even smaller beers for 10.50 :D

You've got that right. I had to pay $6.25 for a 14oz draft at last nights Sens/Devils game.

Mind you that was in Canadian funds. :ohmy:

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The funny thing is if the named has to change I don't think there would be a big change at hockey games. People would probably still call the team the Sioux for a good while. (My grandpa still calls the wild the North Stars on occasion) The Ralph or the school could never afford to take the logos out of the arena and replace them. The Ralph still hasn't fixed the Sioux head light on the home side and what are we going to do with the Sitting Bull monument....guess we should put that statue of Ralph there....maybe the NCAA and BRIDGES would be willing to foot those bills...I don't know. But Bunny Rabbits, Bambi, and over political Psychology majors who oppose the name can live in harmony without hostile and abusive nicknames and frolic in the woods under rainbows.

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You've got that right. I had to pay $6.25 for a 14oz draft at last nights Sens/Devils game.

Mind you that was in Canadian funds. :ohmy:

At Avs games, it's $5.75 (US) for a 12oz bottle of domestic brew...gotta get the majority of your drinking done before you get to the game

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I'm sorry, but this makes no sense whatsoever. Why would there need to be "a deal done to keep the hockey at the Ralph" when hockey is already at the Ralph under the current deal?

The NCAA learned something last fall about pre-existing contracts. Maybe you should, too.

sure it makes sense, being that I'm NOT a lawyer tho, this is what I meant: if there WAS some stipulation about logo/neame/etc, there can always be an agreement with the parties involved to CHANGE the agreement, either by nulifying or modifying the agreements. This is in regards to the rumors I heard about the Sioux not being able to play there if there was change...

I just don't see ANY way that your team wouldn't be there...

W

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I know someone who works with the State of North Dakota and who happens to be a persons who has a good grasp of the laws and buildings on state ground and I had asked him if he had heard the rumor/urban legend about the ralph being destroyed if the name changed, he basically said that it was against the law to do what has been suggested by some. Apparently you can't just blow up a building like that.

I told him the rumor about the Dynamite being on the site when Charles K was thinking about changing the name and he said, that would also be ilegal. So I hardly very much doubt some of this crap that is out there.

This rumor I heard from a person that knew someone that was on the site as part of the construction crew.

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I think Ralph's intentions with the whole matter was preventing the university from changing the logo on their own, as in having the board of regents one night decide to change the name to the UND Fighting Fungi or something...

I'm speculating that the Ralph would remain standing and pretty much in total control of the university if the NCAA forced the removal of the logo/mascot and UND exhausted all of the appeals. I cant see REA, inc punishing UND and grand forks for the actions of the NCAA.

Ralph should have thought ahead and bought the NCAA a new headquarters or something :lol:

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I know someone who works with the State of North Dakota and who happens to be a persons who has a good grasp of the laws and buildings on state ground and I had asked him if he had heard the rumor/urban legend about the ralph being destroyed if the name changed, he basically said that it was against the law to do what has been suggested by some. Apparently you can't just blow up a building like that.

I told him the rumor about the Dynomite being on the site when Charles K was thinking about changing the name and he said, that would also be ilegal. So I hardly very much doubt some of this crap that is out there.

Correct me if I am wrong.....but old Ralphy never said he would blow the place up if the name was changed. When the dispute was going on, the arena was only half done. He said he would have no problem stopping construction and letting the place rot.

If the Engelstad's (who control the arena today), felt the same way...they could refuse to rent the facility to the university if they were contemplating changing the name/logo/etc.

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