Nate Oats Weighs In On Coleman Coliseum After Contract Extension
Alabama Basketball Coach Nate Oats says most hoops facilities are top notch and that Coleman Coliseum upgrade will be primarily for fans
247sports.com
Suppose there was a line outside of the Mal Moore Athletic Facility, 200 prominent Alabama supporters waiting to see Crimson Tide Athletics Director Greg Byrne. And each one of them was delivering a check for $1 million, payable to The University of Alabama with “New basketball arena” on the “For” line.
Then we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
There is a perception that Alabama basketball is at a competitive disadvantage because it plays in a building that is over 50 years old. Now, it’s not the same building it was when it opened in 1968. It had cost $4.2 million to build (which would be about $30 million in today’s dollars), but it has had numerous additions and upgrades, including one completed in 2005 at a cost of $24 million.
The building also has undergone one name change. Opened as Memorial Coliseum, in 1988 the name was changed to Coleman Coliseum in honor of Jeff Coleman, longtime administrator in athletics (he was secretary to Wallace Wade in the 1920s) and director of alumni affairs who had served as chairman of the building committee for the coliseum.
At completion, it was the largest basketball arena in the Southeastern Conference. Today it is the fifth-largest, but while some larger ones have been built, some schools have downsized, building smaller arenas in hopes of having a more intimidating home-court advantage.
Meanwhile, since Alabama completed its coliseum – which houses gymnastics and women’s basketball as well as men’s basketball – the athletics department has added and/or upgraded facilities in baseball, softball, tennis, golf, swimming & diving, track & field, volleyball, soccer, and rowing, not to mention Bryant-Denny Stadium and other football-related facilities, and the Bill Battle Academics Center.
Big news in Alabama basketball this week is that second-year Coach Nate Oats has been signed to an extended contract, through the 2027 season at an increase in pay to $3.225 million per year.
Predictably, that brought on questions about The University’s further commitment to the sport, i.e. a new playing arena.
Oats made it clear Friday that it is not top priority.
That may be a good thing right now. In a wide-ranging interview with AD Byrne recently, BOL’s Charlie Potter brought up the subject of “the plan for Coleman Coliseum.” Previously, the discussion has not involved a new facility, but rather an upgrade of the current facility.
Byrne told Potter, “What we’ve tried to do is create a 10-year plan for Alabama athletics through the Crimson Standard. We said we have to do Phase 1 to give us a chance to do Phase 2. We have done almost all of Phase 1, and now, we’re moving forward to what Phase 2 looks like. There are obviously some financial realities that, when I say this, I say it very respectfully. Understandably, people want to see us move forward with it. I want us to move forward with it. But we’ve got to make sure we have a long-range plan that works for us for our basketball programs and our gymnastics program, that works for us financially and we also have some financial realities this year -- we had a $75 million shortfall.
“What I want to say to everybody is this is priority. We need to find solutions. But we need to be very smart in that process to make sure it’s the right thing for us from the long-term health of our programs and our departments.”
In discussions of facilities, no one has ever alleged – much less authenticated – that Alabama ever lost a basketball prospect because Coleman Coliseum was outdated.
On Friday, Oats said, “People have brought that up a lot. Greg (Byrne) has a plan. Obviously, COVID has put a little damper in the Coleman plan.
“Give me an updated Coleman, that will be great for the fans.”
The fans?
“A little bit for us,” Oats said.
“But what we spend 80 percent of our time in, I think, the best in the country, right at the top, upper echelon. Our practice gym, our weight room, player lounge, video room, our offices, all that stuff. The new sports science center.
“I’ve been in tons of high major places. This is as good as any setup anywhere.
“Now, when we go to play the games, would it be nicer to have the fans right on top? Would it be nicer for the fans to have better amenities? Would it be great to have the student section right down on the floor? Yeah. And hopefully, that gets done soon.
“But really, when we’re recruiting, which is the lifeblood of your program, you’re playing a game and there are 15,000 people in this arena and it gets very loud.
“Everything else is top-notch.
“It’s what we need. I don’t think there are any facilities that are holding us back from winning at the level we want to win.”
Here are the Southeastern Conference basketball facilities:
Alabama, Coleman Coliseum (15,483)
Arkansas, Bud Walton Arena (19,200)
Auburn, Auburn Arena (9,121)
Florida, Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151)
Georgia, Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Kentucky, Rupp Arena (20,500)
LSU, Maravich Assembly Center (13,215)
Ole Miss, The Pavillion (9,500)
Mississippi State, Humphrey Coliseum (10,575)
Missouri, Mizzou Arena (15,061)
South Carolina, Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Tennessee, Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
Texas A&M, Reed Arena (12,989)
Vanderbilt, Memorial Gymnasium (14,316)
