February 6, 2016
Robins Center (Capacity: 7,201)
Richmond, VA
Richmond Spiders vs Massachusetts Minutemen
Final Score: 69 – 53
.
My second venture into Richmond was for some college basketball as I spent the weekend checking out the Division I programs in the city. The last game of the day was at the University of Richmond, a small private school that began in 1830 and features a highly regarded Liberal Arts program. As for the city, it is the state capital and with a population of 217,000, it is Virginia’s fourth largest. Located along the James River in the Piedmont (the central part between the Blue Ridge and the Coastal Plain), RVA is steeped in history, especially from both the Colonial and Civil War era. The Richmond basketball team is a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference and have earned the reputation of a giant killer. Since making their first appearance in the 1983 NCAA Tournament, the Spiders have gone on to become the only team to win as a 12, 13, 14 and 15 seed. With eight wins in nine appearances, Richmond does much more than just make the Tournament. Their trip in 2011 featured a visit to the Sweet 16. The Spiders play in the Robins Center, an arena built in 1972, but significantly redone in 2013. This renovation turned Richmond’s arena into a terrific venue and the interior design is an ideal set up for basketball.
Prestige Ranking: 4 out of 5
Location
Richmond has several places to check out, including Monument Ave, Maymont Park, the State Capitol and the Museum of the Confederacy. More for the history buffs, which I enjoy and was able to visit these on a couple trips to the area. The city is made up of many different and unique neighborhoods which are also worth a look at it. Technically, the University is in the city of Richmond, but in reality, the far West End of Richmond is much more suburban in nature. This hilly, leafy area feels more like the nearby town of Tuckahoe. The up-class area has spread out housing developments as Richmond’s primary attractions are about 10-15 minutes away. The affluent area fits the private University as Richmond’s campus is quite beautiful with lots of green space and great architecture. The area around Westhampton Lake is particularly pleasant. There is a little strip about a mile off campus on Grove Ave that offers hangouts and trendy, hipster restaurants like Blue Goat, The Continental and Jack Brown’s Burger and Beer Joint.
Location Ranking: 6.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Richmond has very good highway access, however it requires some navigation to reach UR. From I-64, it takes about 10 minutes and the roads closer to campus become winding with name changes and different forks. Even with a GPS, it is easy to incorrectly veer onto another road (it may be better to follow the posted signs). The arena is on the north side of campus and there is plenty of parking throughout, though the closest lots are reserved for season seat holders. If you arrive early (and the game is on the weekend), a spot in the athletic section is doable and it is nice that signs are posted to denote basketball parking lots. If these are full, then attendees need to park in the southern lots, where there is a shuttle that goes back and forth from the Robins Center. Post-game, the one-lane campus roads make left-hand turns difficult. Past each entrance, police direct traffic to help the flow, but you may not be allowed to go out the way you came in. Check the website for well-designed flow maps.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Exterior
The Robins Center is designed with a consistency to match the rest of campus as it features a brick layout with beige trim. False archways filled in with brick attempt to give the arena a more distinguished look. At the hardly-used front of the building, a small “The Robins Center” lettering can be seen on the façade. The square facility was built on a hill, so the north entrance’s ground level sidewalk turns into a mid-level walkway on the west side.
Exterior Ranking: 6 out of 10
Concourse
Surrounding the outside of the arena entrances is everything you want in a concourse…space that is wide, clean, bright and well-signed. I also liked the blue and red paint job that was subtle, yet noticeable and the Spider logos work well too. For the kids, there is a section called the Fun Zone and even though this can be a tricky walk-through, it is a great area for families and the children to get out some energy. The only thing is missing is an interior walkway, or a spot to watch the game while navigating.
Concourse Ranking: 4 out of 5
Food
Several food stands are located throughout the concourse, but they all offer the same thing…Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Pizza and BBQ Sandwiches. None of these include French Fries. It’s a weak lineup that is at least improved by a few portable carts that offer various subs, wraps and sandwiches. There are snacks available too, along with Vegetable items, Yogurt, Kettle Corn and Ice Cream.
Food Ranking: 4 out of 8
Interior
The Robins Center is a terrific facility on the inside and the recent renovation that added premium seating only enhanced the overall design. This is an arena that has the seating close to the court and the rounded rectangular set-up features curved corners so that all seats are aimed towards the action. Rows are steeply separated which allow for excellent sightlines and only towards the lowest 10 rows do they start fanning out, becoming less pitched. Openings to the concourse are in the middle, otherwise it is all individual seats from the floor to the roof. In fact, those blue seats are quite cushy and comfortable and the only bleachers are the two end sections for students. Blue is a prominent color throughout the inside (including the painted roof) and that goes well with the several Spider logos and University wordmarks. The added premium seating reduced capacity by 2,000 and it is a nice enhancement as each upper corner now has a terrace club section. Just the absence of upper-deck seating and uneven lighting can be considered minor flaws. It’s kind of dark at the top of the arena and occasionally, lower sections have a bright light beaming from above. Those are small quibbles though as overall, the Robins Center is exactly what I look for in an arena and the recent renovation should keep this venue that was built in the 1970s going for a long time.
Interior Ranking: 12.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
Under each of the four corner suites is a brick face to the box (consistent with the exterior and rest of campus), on which a large video screen is centered. This is an excellent video board and live action is streamed during the game as it is also used for replays and other various videos. The exterior and bottom portion of each screen is cut for game information. Great board on a great background. The only reason this missed a perfect score is because of the absence of a center scoreboard led to an odd and semi-distracting set of speakers beneath a pointless circular dot-matrix display.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3.5 out of 4
Displays
I appreciate the character of the building as the splashes of red and blue go a long way. There are many Spider logos too and while a lot can be done with this nickname, it’s probably a good idea not to go too far. Around the concourse, large pictures in Richmond basketball history are a nice touch and there are a few cool moments captured beautifully. Other displays are somewhat lacking as the only other thing is the interior banners. I found these strange as they looked cut-off by an overhang, when in actuality, they are just short. All NCAA appearances and conference achievements are displayed, while above one end are pictorial banners for honored players and coaches. Also included is E. Claiborne Robins, whom the arena is named after.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
Richmond basketball is very reasonable as parking and programs are free. A game ticket has two prices: $22 for most of the seats and $12 for the higher sections and the ends. That is decent and so are the food prices as a cheeseburger is $5, hot dogs cost $3 and a medium drink is also $3.
Cost Ranking: 8 out of 8
Fan Support
With Richmond sitting at .500, an average February conference game only had single seats available to the public a few weeks prior to this game, which is really good. This one was announced as a sellout, however only about 75% of the seats were filled. Surprisingly, the students were almost completely absent as the few spotted behind the basket did not resemble any sort of student section. Richmond is not the most popular team in RVA (that would be VCU), but I believe they do have sound support as the team annually ranks fourth or fifth in the conference. Crowds are generally decent for Richmond games with the usual peaks and valleys. The anomaly is the rivalry game against the Rams, which leads to a raucous, jam-packed Robins Center.
Fan Support Ranking: 6 out of 8
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is decent, just not amazing. It’s what you would expect reaction-wise and while here or there, I could hear a “Go Spiders Go” chant or some elevated applause, any real rise in volume was reserved for the “Noise-Meter” after each basket. I wish the students would get more into it for all the games. The pep band does play and they are good (though I might not have been the best judge at the moment since I just came from hearing the incredible VCU Peppas).
Atmosphere Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
The Spider nickname is a curious one and it dates back over a century. Legend has it that a newspaper reporter nicknamed a pitcher on the baseball team “Spider” and it apparently stuck and evolved to become the school’s nickname. The scoreboard features video of “Tarrant”, the school’s “mascot” and there are a couple of funny videos that go with the nickname……During halftime, there was a promotion called “Crawl for College”. The floor was filled with babies trying to crawl to their parent at the other end and the first one to do so would win $1000 towards college. Very cute.
Game
UMass jumped out to a 15-7 lead, but their obsession with the three-pointer failed them and as the shots stopped falling, Richmond was able to take control of the game. Their six-point lead at the half seemed bigger than that and the Spiders had no problem pulling away in the 2nd half as they won by a convincing score. UMass finished an atrocious 17 for 56 from the field. T.J. Cline had 24 points for the Spiders and Terry Allen was a beast on the boards as he finished with 16. Man, can he jump.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
