I See A Chiles Center and I want to Paint it Black...

Yes yes... not only is Paint It Black my favorite Stones song, but it's also what happened to interior of the Chiles Center last week. I can't believe I forgot to post this earlier... I poked my head in the gym on Saturday night and I saw that the walls behind the hoops have been painted black. In a word, it looks AWESOME.

The floor and bleachers really pop out, and I heard that a camera crew who was there at the volleyball game on Saturday (Kellen Clemens was there to watch his sisters play, so the TV showed up) said that the black will really look good on TV.

It's nice to see my beloved Chiles Center getting a face lift... I think all of the interior walls will be getting a bit of a spruce job, including getting new signs all over with the new logo. Still not sure when the dome itself will be painted... thought that was going ot happen in September, but now that the rain has set in... maybe won't happen this year. Bummer. I can't wait to see a white dome with a big P on it!

I saw the news report with Clemens... a GREAT interview of him wearing a Pilots hat.

They showed some quick highlights of the volleyball match and the black walls looked AWESOME, mostly because they didnt stand out. It is a HUGE improvement! Glad to see the overall upgrades!

the color purple?

Yeah... I think they didn't want to go too overboard on the Purple. I think the black looks awesome - it gives it a much more intimate feel and it doesn't look as dingy as the old cream colored walls did.

And BOY do I like the painting on the inside walls!!! Seriously, I love it. The purple and gold stripes have a retro kind of feel to them but also a classic look, and I really like the athlete silhouttes (sp?). The updated photo board things are cool too, and I even like the wall where all the sports and other words are painted in black. I didn't realize how overdue the Chiles Center was for a face lift until I saw it. Seriously - I think it looks GREAT and I can't wait until the dome is painted too. My only question - what happened to the other trophy case? I guess it's not necessary to have every trophy the school has ever won on display, but I do like honoring the athletic past too. I'm totally spitballing here, but someday it would be cool to have a little sports museum that people could check out.

Anyway, speaking of the dome... I heard that it's now more likely to happen in the spring (the weather is no good for the winter) and that it will definitely be a "whitish" color with a big P on it facing Merlo!!! Yes!!!

Again, kudos to the UP athletic department for taking on this project. From someone who has been going to games in the Chiles Center since, oh, about 1988 or so, my first reaction to all the new paint was "Wow! This looks awesome!"