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COMPLETE: Dunkin' Donuts Center renovations


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The electronic sign out front said it was 109 degrees this morning.  :lol: For the record, it's really 68. It's been having these outlandishly broiling temperature readings for weeks.

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Thanks for giving me my biggest laugh of the day. Can you get a photo to post of any of these temps? That'd be great...

- Garris

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137,000 sq.ft. Rhode Island Convention Center

205,000 sq.ft. Connecticut Convention Center

I can't find a size for the Dunk.

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I found this on the riconvention.com website. If accurate, it would beat the CT Convention Center:

"The Rhode Island Convention Center (RICC) hosted the 11th Annual Boat Show in early January 2004, breaking prior attendance and sales records. By teaming up with the Dunkin' Donuts Center this year, the RICC was able to expand the show to over 240,000 square feet of display space - creating New England's premiere boat show."

- Garris

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I found this on the riconvention.com website.  If accurate, it would beat the CT Convention Center:

"The Rhode Island Convention Center (RICC) hosted the 11th Annual Boat Show in early January 2004, breaking prior attendance and sales records. By teaming up with the Dunkin' Donuts Center this year, the RICC was able to expand the show to over 240,000 square feet of display space - creating New England's premiere boat show."

- Garris

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Awesome! Thanks Cotuit & Garris! :thumbsup:

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Todays Sports section has two great articles about what the Dunk was, and what it will become. Also has a great artist redering on the cover of what it will look like in 3 years.

Here are the links( i cant get the picture)

http://www.projo.com/sports/billreynolds/p...ol.20bca70.html

http://www.projo.com/sports/content/projo_...nk.20bcc28.html

Ive said it before, with the projects in this area of th city underway and proposed, this corridor is really going to be something. (The Power Block, The Dunk/Convention Center, The Fogerty Bld, Gtech, The Masonic Temple, Capital Cnds, LaSalle Square, Emmit Square, and please forgive me if Im leaving anything out, AS220, The federal Hill Cnds, I mean damn, This section of the city will be the what all outsiders of this area see as the rebirth of Providence)

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Todays Sports section has two great articles about what the Dunk was, and what it will become. Also has a great artist redering on the cover of what it will look like in 3 years.

Here are the links( i cant get the picture)

http://www.projo.com/sports/billreynolds/p...ol.20bca70.html

http://www.projo.com/sports/content/projo_...nk.20bcc28.html

Ive said it before, with the projects in this area of th city underway and proposed, this corridor is really going to be something. (The Power Block, The Dunk/Convention Center, The Fogerty Bld, Gtech, The Masonic Temple, Capital Cnds, LaSalle Square, Emmit Square, and please forgive me if Im leaving anything out, AS220, The federal Hill Cnds, I mean damn, This section of the city will be the what all outsiders of this area see as the rebirth of Providence)

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DunkRemodeled.jpg

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You beat me to it, here's a bit bigger scan from Projo:

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Your's is definatly better! I don't get the the paper PROJO and didn't see that one on the web. I bow to your greatness! :)

A question... once the state ownes it, can we PLEASE get rid of the nasty Dunkin Donuts logo on it? I mean hell we won't be needing the corporate subsidy anymore. So can't we change the name from the "Dunkin Donuts Center" (sounds like Homer Simpson Heaven!), to the Rhode Island Civic Center?

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I don't usually get the paper either, I ran next door and bought one. :)

We'll still need the money from the naming rights. It's also a 10 year deal with DD so the state might actually have to pay them to get out of it, if we wanted to. At least it's not the Textron or GTECH Center.

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I was curious how much Dunkin Donuts paid for the naming rights and found "NamingRightsOnLine.Com" (is there anything that ISN'T out there on the internet?. :huh:

Anyway, here's the LINK that lists the DD Center at $8.65 Million. (We are into year 4 of the 10 year deal with DD)

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any way we can get a picture of the dunk right now, in that same view and post it next the the new rendering ??? ?:)

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If anyone can into the Fogarty Building before they tear it down.

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I'm embarrassed to say I've never yet been to the Dunk, just driven by. What are the big changes in this rendering compared to what is there now? Can someone chart the exterior changes?

I also agree that this will be a great Corridor to live in. Those Waterplace Condos will really be in the center of the action.

- Garris

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All good points, Cotuit. I'm sure that this is just the first of many renderings. Speaking of which, how did the RI Convention Center Authority hire an architect and get this rendering only 1 day after the state approved the sale, which hasen't even gone through yet? :wacko:

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Speaking of which, how did the RI Convention Center Authority hire an architect and get this rendering only 1 day after the state approved the sale, which hasen't even gone through yet?  :wacko:

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I must admit I didn't read the article on today's ProJo yet. I'm asssuming this was something the city had put together recently as part of the efforts to sell the Dunk.

I'm a bit worried about the urban character of this as the state will own it. The city seems to understand what's good for the city as far as urban streetfronts, but the state... I wonder how much control Providence Planning will have over how this ends up looking.

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Expansion facts, figures

SEATING EXPANSION

Current/Renovated

Hockey 11,905/12,419

Concerts 13,969/14,765

Basketball 12,993/13,327

PRIORITY SEATING

Luxury Suites: 20

Party Suites: 4

Ledge Seating: Unknown

MAJOR IMPROVEMENT COSTS

Luxury Suites, Ledge seats, Concessions: $13.4 million

New Seating, Restrooms, Lobby, Link to Convention Center: $9.5 million

Upgrade locker rooms, weight room, concert dressing rooms: $3.7 million

Repair ice floor, lighting, signage, exterior concrete: $9.7 million

Physical plant, mechanical, electrical, fire safety: $22 million

Projected costs: $62 million.

SOURCE: Convention Center Authority feasibility study.

Dunk renovation at a glance

COST: $62 million

MAJOR CHANGES: 20 luxury suites, wider concourses, cushioned seats with cup holders, new sound system and video scoreboard, and upgraded team facilities

TIME LINE: 3 years, beginning this fall

GOAL: Increase annual revenue by $1.35 million

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COST: $62 million

GOAL: Increase annual revenue by $1.35 million

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Now, I'm not trained in business or anything, but does that imply it'll take 46 years of increased revenue to have paid for these renovations to remain competitive? Talk about a "loss leader" for the City, but there are synergies no doubt...

Thanks for the rundown of the improvements. It's certainly supposed to reflect the overall style of the convention center from the street side. I agree that it's not the most "urban friendly" design I've ever seen. Why do arena owners never seem to want to put in street level retail? You'd think they'd want the revenue... I think it's an ego thing... The sports bar is a great idea. Bring it on...

The current Dunk is just terrible looking... I still don't fully understand what happened to architecture during the 50's to 70's... Amazing... Who thought that design was appealing?

- Garris

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You beat me to it, here's a bit bigger scan from Projo:

Dunk.jpg

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That huge flat roof would be perfect for a green roof --- Providence has to comply with new stormwater regulations under the federal Clean Water Act, and if we want density, we have to find other ways to cope with the runoff from hard, impervious surfaces. We already have two models of green roof right in our city --- the Gordon Avenue building developed by the South Providence Development Corporation, and the new Save the Bay facility at Fields Point. Providence is small enough yet urban enough to really lead the way in applying the best environmental practices! Unfortunately, the city itself doesn't have an environmental agency to coordinate all this. The DPW thinks its job is to pick up trash and fix potholes, and the planning department is to worry about zoning. We need a department whose job it is to think about the environment! The cleaned up rivers and bay shouldn't just be the state's issue, we should OWN it in Providence!

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That's a lot of money to spend for a net gain of less than 1,000 seats. I believe the Worcester Centrum and the Hartford Civic Center, whom we compete with, have 15,000 seats.

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Now, I'm not trained in business or anything, but does that imply it'll take 46 years of increased revenue to have paid for these renovations to remain competitive?  Talk about a "loss leader" for the City, but there are synergies no doubt...

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We shouldn't be looking at this so much as what we're going to gain for our $100 million investment. The reality is that the Dunk is about to fall down. The people who operate it say it is only a matter of time before something breaks that can't be fixed and the facility needs to be shuttered. What we are getting is not so much an expanded arena, but a completely renovated, almost like new arena, without having to shut down the existing one and lose revenue.

For slightly more money we could build an entirely new facility. But then we would lose the benefit of having it attached to the Conv. Ctr. as there is no other place adjacent to the Conv. Ctr. to build.

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That huge flat roof would be perfect for a green roof --- Providence has to comply with new stormwater regulations under the federal Clean Water Act, and if we want density, we have to find other ways to cope with the runoff from hard, impervious surfaces.

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The roof is not quite flat, it's a bit beveled, and I doubt that it is engineered to carry the load of a green roof. But there are certainly other things that could be done in the renovated Dunk to save energy and reduce waste.

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