for making the arena so large since an ice rink is a lot wider than a basketball court. From what I have gathered Ohio State seems to have a decent and faithful following for its ice hockey programs, so the arena may be the right size for hockey games. If a school is going to use an arena for both basketball and ice hockey, then does it make better business sense for the number of seats be tailored to the demand in basketball and risk having a shortage/excess of seats for in ice hockey or tailored to the demand in ice hockey and risk having a shortage/excess of seats in basketball?

In Ohio State's case, I think basketball and ice hockey have similar attendance numbers. Some years ice hockey might even outdraw basketball. So if Ohio State had build a 15K basketball arena, then Ohio State would have lost a couple hundred to a couple thousand tickets for ice hockey during the conversion of the floor space. Also, it would mean some of the basketball bleachers/seats could be positioned right on top of the ice and I am not sure the ice could handle all that weight over the course of a season even if something was placed down to protect the ice.

I guess what got me thinking is the possibility of VT one day deciding to sponsor ice hockey and the possibility of the games being played on campus instead of in Roanoke. Specifically the white wall at the one end of the basketball court is kinda shaped like the end of an ice hockey rink. Also, the entrance to the court seems large enough for a zamboni or at least the space has the shape where people could envision a zamboni entering/leaving the ice.