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Old Ralph


WiSioux

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Too bad it can't be moved. It is still the 2nd best hockey arena in the state and we desperately need a quality facility in Fargo both for the Jets and the local high school teams.

... not to mention its nicer than about 40 other D-1 arenas (except for the rust and the roof that is)

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As soon as the new Ralph opened less than 5 years ago, the administration has pretty much been determined to tear down the old Ralph. Why did they wait this long? I am guessing it's one of, or a combination of, the following:

1) To give people time to "let go" of the old building. It may be old, rusty and obsolete, but a lot of people have fond memories of that place. And a lot of people didn't like leaving it in the first place. Time may not heal all wounds, but it sure helps people get over losing an old arena and embrace a new one.

2) To allow more deterioration of the old structure, which makes the case for demolition stronger. I think when the old Ralph closed in 2001 (after the farewell game against Manitoba), the cost of renovation and demolition was about the same. Now, it's tilted in favor of demolition. It looks like a no-brainer at this point, while back in 2001 it was a tougher case to make.

3) To give the administration more time to talk about how old and decayed the building is and how it cannot be used for anything again. Personally, I think all the talk about how bad of shape the old Ralph is in has been a little exaggerated. If you listen to some people, you would think it's not safe to walk inside of. Sure, the outside is rusted, the roof probably needs work and a lot of the inside is obsolete after years without any serious renovation. But I would have to guess that the overall structure of the building is still sound. I think there are some offices in part of the building right now. If it's falling apart, why would you be able to have offices in there? Enough said.

Personally, I always felt that the old Ralph should have been turned into a basketball facility. It would have given us more seating than the Betty and that is critical if we are going to move to Division I, which I think will happen during the next couple of years. Another possible use I have pondered is turning it into a College Hockey Hall of Fame. What better place for that then one of the best College arenas of all time?

If it's better for UND's future that the old Ralph meet it's demise, then I guess I can live with it. But I will miss that old building something awful. The noise. The comebacks. The atmosphere. We still haven't duplicated that in the new building and I don't know if we ever will.

Back to reality. :)

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Yes! I would shell out some bucks for seats and other stuff. Why let all of that stuff go to waste?

The problem with seats is that the whole row shares a bench for a seat with individual seatbacks. You would have to saw into the bench part to get an individual seat or a few seats together. You can see what I mean on the right side of the picture. It could be done somehow, those would be sweet to have in the basement or gameroom next to all the other Sioux gear.oldengelstad_interior.jpg

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sounds exactally like what they did with the old Memorial Stadium on the U campus. Left it to rot for a few years, so it was "unsafe" to use so they could tear it down w/o a fight....sadly, since it was in such "bad" shape, one had to go in the middle of the night to gather momentos....amazing what a few beers and a wrench can get you! When they took out the old Mariucci, the took all the old benches and tossed them in a dumpster...feeding frenzy for a while around that dumpster I tell ya....coulda made quite a few bucks off of that "garbage". My wife paid $60 on ebay for one seat "section" of a bench 3 years ago....Good luck to you all.

W

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Take these seats from the old Ralph and install them in the student seating sections in the Palace. That will allow for more students to access each game, and only the ones who want to be there will show up because it won't be a cushy seat to sit in.

In fact, heck, replace all those beautiful leather seats with these. :)

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sounds exactally like what they did with the old Memorial Stadium on the U campus. Left it to rot for a few years, so it was "unsafe" to use so they could tear it down w/o a fight....sadly, since it was in such "bad" shape, one had to go in the middle of the night to gather momentos....amazing what a few beers and a wrench can get you! When they took out the old Mariucci, the took all the old benches and tossed them in a dumpster...feeding frenzy for a while around that dumpster I tell ya....coulda made quite a few bucks off of that "garbage". My wife paid $60 on ebay for one seat "section" of a bench 3 years ago....Good luck to you all.

W

sawz-all and cordless drill would take no time at all.

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I have dibs on row 4, section B!!! Even though we had season tickets elsewhere, we always got to the arena early enough to get 'our' seats behind the goalie.

Seat backs fit nicely in a shadow frame. I have a seat back from Wrigely Field, signed by Dick Butkus (who actually played there before the move to Soldier's Field) in a nice frame. One friend asked me why I had a piece of quonset hanging on my wall. :)

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I'd take a whole row as well. I'm doing my basement and the Mrs. says I get a whole room that's "mine to decorate". Dogs playing poker velvet, a couple of signed sticks, a framed Sioux Jersey signed by the Parise brothers and a WHOLE ROW of Winter Sports Center (yes, I'm giving my age) seats. I'd even drive from St Louis and pick them up.

Don't worry: Wife's a huge Sioux fan as well. She'd appreciate the look. :)

PS: Anyone remember the last Vikings game at the old Met? I remember people walking away with rows of seats.....

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