The sports management trip to the University of Maryland was to give us a view of the brand new Comcast Center. The purpose of the trip was for us to see the behind the scenes details of the arenas of a major Div. 1 college. I was very happy with how the trip when and the way we were shown this amazing arena. Getting to see one of the top 3 arenas in the country was something beyond belief. Chapter 13 talks about facility management, which is one of the reasons we went on the trip. The University of Maryland will be changed dramatically by the addition of this arena.
             The first Maryland site I will talk about is the Comcast Center. This 125 million-dollar arena was built to be the best in the country. The arena can hold almost 18,000 fans, an upgrade from the old arena Cole Field House. This arena will be used for Men and Women's basketball; the secondary gym will be used for volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastics. That gym has a 1,500 seating capacity and has all the facilities to be its own self-running gymnasium. The main basketball floor has an eight sided video board over center court. This will aid in getting the fans into the games and give instant replay and other capabilities to the arena. The wall of red will also be a clear advantage for the Terps. As most schools have behind one end of the court is part of the student section. The student section is the first 10 rows around the court and the wall of red. At a 32 degree banking this wall of seats will be filled with students going crazy for their team. Most of these seats are retractable so that a stage or other structure could be put in to bring more revenue to the school. Some of the new revenue added by the new arena is also the luxury suites. These seats give the fans a great view of the courts in their own little area. The new arena is also more fan friendly in the fact that Cole Field house only had 4 bathrooms available for use. Comcast Cen...