Siena
Traveling – A College Basketball Journey – Game 33
Home Team: Siena Saints
Away Team: Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
Final Score: Mount St. Mary’s def. Siena, 68-61
Venue: MVP Arena, Albany, NY
Date: February 4, 2024
Time: 2:00 P.M.
MVP Arena is the second home arena I have been to that has hosted NCAA tournament games somewhat recently. It shares some similarities with the first one I went to, Providence’s Amica Mutual Pavilion (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts Center). Both arenas are off campus and are not exclusive to the college basketball teams that play there. Amica Mutual Pavilion is also home to the AHL’s Providence Bruins while MVP Arena is home to the NLL’s Albany FireWolves. Similarly, each arena regularly is used for concerts and other events. I remember going to “The Dunk’” a few years ago with low expectations because of it being off campus. However, I was blown away by the environment, and to this day it is at least in my top five arena’s I have been to.
The trip to Siena reinforced the hesitancy I originally had when visiting Providence. I mean I get it, the programs and conferences are a lot different, and this definitely had a factor in the experiences. At the Providence game, they upset a ranked Big East rival in Seton Hall. Siena hosted a Mount St. Mary’s program that joined the MAAC two years ago. Still, there is something to be said about which programs can sustain an off campus arena. I definitely do not want to jump to conclusions, and I would love to go back when Siena is not 3-19, but as I sat in a very empty arena, I couldn’t help but wonder if a smaller on campus arena would be a better fit.
Nestled in downtown Albany, MVP Arena is a bit unassuming from the street. The building is square and grayish and is lacking in definition. To the right of the main entrance, a large video board sits above a few commercial units and was mainly advertising a WWE Raw event later in the year. The main entrance doors sit below the MVP logo, which is set on a sort of oval shaped section that juts out.
Once I entered through the main doors, I was expecting to be in the main concourse, but was instead in a lobby area that seemed more like a convention hall. The room is well lit from natural light. Along the back wall are a couple walkways leading to meeting rooms, while a large Siena basketball banner sits at the center of the room. To each side, stairs and escalators lead to the actual arena entrance, up a few levels. After a security check I was finally in the concourse.
The concourse wraps around all sides of the arena and is adjourned by a multitude of concession stands, including a Dunkin Donuts on each side of the arena. There is a lot of natural night in the concourse which does make it feel lively. However, the sun beating down directly actually made the concourse and arena very warm comparatively to normal inside temperatures. An ode to the area, a Capital Region Hall of Fame board sits above the stairs down to the bathrooms. High school jerseys are framed as well as a Siena, Albany, and an Albany Patroons jersey.
Both the upper and lower sections are accessible from the main concourse. However the upper section had curtains blocking them and were not available to sit in. Based on the attendance, this was the smart move. Through a little bit of research however, it does seem that when Siena is playing a lot better, they do open the upper section. Around the upper section are suites that are actually the worst seats available in the arena given the upper section is closed off.
Neutral colored blue seats circle the court on all sides. If there is a designated student section, there were not evidently any students at the game to indicate as such. The footprint of the arena floor is bigger than the actual court by quite a lot, providing some interesting extra space on the ends of the floor. On one end, this is combated by a special seating area with a server that brought food and drinks to the attendees. The specialized seating extends on the side of the court opposite the team benches.
Siena is thoughtful with their banners and keep them to a minimum, choosing to highlight special years, such as their back to back second round appearances in 2008 and 2009 under Fran McCaffery, and their third place NIT run in 1994. A few retired player numbers also hang from the rafters.
As stated, Siena is not having the best season, so the energy was low. I try to give the teams the benefit of the doubt when they aren’t performing well. While Siena ended up losing, there was a bit of a spark from the fans when a small comeback started, giving me hope that the arena has the potential to be a great environment when the team is rocking.
Team Conference and State Statistics
Siena is the eighth MAAC arena I have been to
Siena and Mount St. Mary’s are the ninth and tenth MAAC schools I have seen home or away. The only MAAC school I have not seen in Niagara
Siena is the eleventh arena I have been to in New York for active D1 programs.
Mount St. Mary’s is the second team I have seen home or away from Maryland
Next: Game 34 - LIU