Ray Mears Room is no more at Food City Center

[Smokey7]

Boooooooooo

 

[Smokey7]

Wish the Stokley Center was still in existence

 

[cardvolfan]

Thanks for the photos. I do hope you challenged those 3 guys to a game of horse?

 

[cardvolfan]

Wish the Stokley Center was still in existence

That place on an SEC Saturday night was a smokin‘ place!

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

That place on an SEC Saturday night was a smokin‘ place!

Literally. Mostly from those cigar stink pickles.

 

[Volprofch05]

Thanks for the photos. I do hope you challenged those 3 guys to a game of horse?

My son beat Santi and Uros in a game of gotcha (where they were obviously goofing around). We’ll quit while we’re ahead.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Literally. Mostly from those cigar stink pickles.

I saw some students hit a bowl in there. Blew the smoke into their coats. I think it was a sneak-a-toke they were hitting. Not a true bowl

 

[cardvolfan]

My son beat Santi and Uros in a game of gotcha (where they were obviously goofing around). We’ll quit while we’re ahead.

Pretty cool experience for him!

 

[Volfan1000]

He sits directly opposite from where the UT coaches sit. With his wife. Sometimes Bill and his wife are there as well. Jimmy 3 rarely attends since running his pro sports franchises is his current job.

Until recently, James showed up for work every day. He still could at 93 (it’s his birthday TODAY), but Berkshire is transitioning to their own management.

Berkshire and Pilot were in some sort of entanglement recently per the KNS.

 

[Smokey7]

That place on an SEC Saturday night was a smokin‘ place!

You mean when they played there before TBA

 

[Smokey7]

Don't remember Stokley, but I love history. Would've loved to have went and walked around after it was closed

 

[The Dog]

I smoked a joint in TBA, up on the 3rd level, top row, next to a big concrete column between the Michigan St./Santa Clara game and the LSU/Ga. Tech game, during the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

[Vols All Day]

I am just mad as Heck at the way the “Food City” name is taking precedence and the full Thompson Boling Arena has been abbreviated and relegated to “TBA”. The promise was that the original name would be respected and Food City would be secondary. That is obviously not happening at least in the media stories I am hearing. We NEVER should have started down the corporate naming rights path. It is nauseating and disrespectful.

The interesting thing is Rupp has a similar naming situation. On the floor the logo states Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. From the research I've done it looks like the Central Bank Center also includes the convention center. I'm interested in what the differences are in the naming rights deals for both Rupp and TBA. In the articles they made it sound like Food City was going to put in a new scoreboard and facade, but the renderings made it look like they are only making changes to put Food City branding everywhere.

Central Bank Center and Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY - VisitLex

This newly renovated downtown complex features 100,000 square feet of contemporary exhibit space, 16 meeting rooms, and 50,000 square feet of multipurpose rooms. This building is LEED Silver certified. The Central Bank Center complex also encompasses iconic Rupp Arena, home to the University of...

www.visitlex.com

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Berkshire and Pilot were in some sort of entanglement recently per the KNS.

They are fighting over the accounting method being used by Berkshire to buy the remaining equity from the Haslams. The Haslams are arguing that they did not agree to an accounting interpretation that BH is using to determine a lower valuation (and a lower payment to the Haslams). It’s heading to court in Q1-2024 or Q2. Everybody is mad. Buffett said that he made a mistake by not wrapping up the deal in the first tranche of payments. Warren’s replacement isn’t a very nice guy either. I just hope that Pilot minus the Haslams continues to be generous to the Knoxville community.

 

[ArmchairQB]

Say what you want about taking a name off a room but it’s just not realistic to say Danny White cares only for money. The athletic department’s strategic plan (Rise Glorious) makes clear goals of being the top-ranked team in the SEC in the Learfield Director’s Cup, and finishing in the top 15 nationally 3 out of 5 years. You can only do that if you’re good at the non-revenue sports, too. Money’s a big part of the equation and I’m sure unpopular decisions will get made. But Danny White is here to win.

 

[bigdaddy]

Say what you want about taking a name off a room but it’s just not realistic to say Danny White cares only for money. The athletic department’s strategic plan (Rise Glorious) makes clear goals of being the top-ranked team in the SEC in the Learfield Director’s Cup, and finishing in the top 15 nationally 3 out of 5 years. You can only do that if you’re good at the non-revenue sports, too. Money’s a big part of the equation and I’m sure unpopular decisions will get made. But Danny White is here to win.

Name wasn’t taken off the room. This is all just a bunch of made up internet BS

 

[cardvolfan]

Name wasn’t taken off the room. This is all just a bunch of made up internet BSView attachment 602874

An actual VN reported that inaccuracy about a week or so ago.

 

[DuckInAPen]

Is naming the arena after a business itself really that much different than naming it directly for a benefactor? They both concern money. B. Ray Thompson didn't even want it named for him.

In my mind there's a world of difference between honoring a benefactor and converting a benefaction into advertising space.

 

[DuckInAPen]

I do hope you challenged those 3 guys to a game of horse?

@Volprofch05 would've schooled 'em.

 

[Volprofch05]

@Volprofch05 would've schooled 'em.

Only in the classroom