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| If you can't read it, the letters on the front of the building say "Lynah Skating Rink." |
Here is what Wikipedia says about Lynah Rink:
Lynah Rink (pronounced LIE-nuh) is a 4,267-seat hockey arena at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, that opened in 1957. Named afterJames Lynah, Class of 1905, who was the director of Cornell athletics from 1935-1943, it is home to the Big Red men's and women's ice hockey teams. Lynah has been home to hockey greats such as Ken Dryden, Joe Nieuwendyk and Olympic Gold Medalist Dana Antal.
The building is a quonset shaped structure covered with multi-colored (orange, tan, black and brown) brick wall cladding set in a common bond pattern. Projecting from the facade of the structure is a one story rectangular wing flanked on either side by two vertical appendages, which have multi-paned colored glass windows. The one story wing has a strip of casement windows. The stairway is situated on the west side of the building. A white concrete block structure with wall buttresses connects Lynah Rink to Bartels Hall. It was constructed for $500,000 with a donation from Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. whose gift came with the stipulation that he did not want his name on the building. The facility was designed by Van Storch, Evans, and Burkavage of Waverly, PA and constructed by Streeter Associates of Elmira, NY.
The rink opened on March 21, 1957 with a match between the New York Rangers (NHL) and the Rochester Americans (AHL) in front of 4200 spectators. It was subsequently dedicated on April 6, 1957 and named the James Lynah Skating Hall.
In March, 2006 Cornell University broke ground on a major renovation project designed to add 19,500 square feet (1,810 m2) to the rink. The additions and renovations included 464 new seats, upgraded locker rooms for both the men's and women's squads and their opponents, trainers' rooms, coaches' offices and a study area for players. New scoreboards were added, including one at center ice, as well as preferred seating and a tunnel for the players.
You can learn more about the arena on the Cornell Athletics Website.
Here's my evaluation:
Atmosphere:
This is what makes Lynah Rink, so famous. The atmosphere at Lynah Rink is by far the best in the ECAC. No one else comes close. The "Lynah Faithful" are extremely loud, organized, creative, and anything else you would want out of college hockey fans. They make Lynah the most hostile environment in the league, and history proves that the other league teams have trouble winning there. When the Big Red scores, the place gets so loud that it's almost deafening. They also have no problem picking on the opposing fan section. The cheers and other timeless chants will never get old to me. If you've never been to Lynah, I highly recommend you do. Also, here is a website dedicated to the "Lynah Faithful" cheers. Also, check out these videos showing what it's like there:
Tradition:
Personally, the chants and cheers performed by the "Lynah Faithful" are the greatest form of tradition at Lynah. Besides that, Cornell does a good job honoring their past. There are a ton of banners hanging from the rafters celebrating Cornell's ECAC championships, NCAA Tournament periods, etc. It sort of reminded me of the school where Mighty Ducks 3 takes place. There are also two jersey-banners hanging at center ice for all-time Cornell greats Ken Dryden and Joe Nieuwendyk. On the concourse where the student section is, there are pictures of every Cornell hockey team and other Cornell greats. The concourses are also painted red, which I like.
Functionality and Amenities:
I really didn't find the rink as a structure to be impressive at all. The concourses and other walkways are tight, but not the tightest in the league. It might seem a little tighter than usual because the place is always a sellout. The place is tough to walk around in, but not terrible. Also, I only recall one food stand within the rink. The other concession stands were outside the rink in the athletic center, which looks awesome by the way. It looks really new and is very cavernous. The seating at Lynah is completely benches, which isn't a big deal since pretty much everyone stands for the entire game. But, the top two rows of the rink are seating with seat backs, which is probably some sort of special seating. Also, the press box was two-tiered and at center ice, but I didn't like how the first row was very, very tight (it was impossible to navigate).
Other Thoughts:
I didn't like how the main scoreboard was behind the visitors net. There was no scoreboard at center ice. Instead there were speakers, and the Dryden and Nieuwendyk jersey-banners. It wouldn't be possible for there to be a center ice scoreboard since the ceiling is too low. Lynah isn't the only rink in the league without a center ice scoreboard. Also, since I talk about arena roofs/ceilings often, I must mention that the one at Lynah is very unimpressive.
Here are some other pictures that I took:
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| Mural in the athletic center |
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| There's a window in the concourse attached to the athletic center where you can see the rink |
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| The main scoreboard |
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| Center ice logo |
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| Cornell's 1967 National Championship team |
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| Former Cornell players in the NHL |
I will confess that I have been waiting for your Rink Review of Lynah for a while now. I enjoy reading your comments and coverage of the few rinks in the ECAC that I have not had the opportunity to visit. I am a Cornell alumnus and a devoted member of the Lynah Faithful (I am sure that you know that is the only variety in which we come). I figured that I would provide that forewarning. I am glad that you enjoyed the environment. I have heard that it is second to none. The only friends I know who attended college hockey schools who even claim that their alma maters are on the same level are those who attended Michigan.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the center ice scoreboard. I do not think that Lynah could or should have a gargantuan monstrosity with monitors at center ice, but a scoreboard in accord with the size and form of the one at the center of Hobey Baker Rink, I think would be appropriate, possible, and (even though many Faithful disagree with me) desirable. I think that the placement of the scoreboard at only one end of the rink is a shortcoming of Lynah. So, I agree with your assessment of that.
I do disagree with a certain air of criticism of the aesthetic of Lynah that is in your post. Our rafters are largely the original rafters that were intact when Lynah first opened in 1957. The culture of Cornell hockey is one in which one can ask any member of the Faithful the last time that Cornell won the ECAC Championship and have that member answer correctly (2010). Similarly, most Faithful know without a second's thought that Cornell is the only program in NCAA history to have completed a season undefeated and untied (1970). They observe and remember fondly (even though it ended long before many of their births) the historic BU-Cornell rivalry in the ECAC that began with Ken Dryden between the pipes. Most recognize that Ned Harkness amassed a large portion of his historic coaching career, for which he still holds the NCAA's best record as a win percentage (0.729), behind the bench at Lynah. The Faithful value that it is where the Cornell-Harvard rivalry began in earnest in 1973 with the Lynah Faithful throwing fish on the ice at the Crimson as reciprocity for Harvard throwing a chicken at goaltender Dave Elenbaas in Cambridge earlier that season. It is where the renaissance of an arguably dormant program began in 1996 with the arrival of Mike Schafer who coached the team to an improbable ECAC Championship in his first year, the first that Cornell had won in a decade, and the beginning of Cornell dominance in the Cornell-Harvard rivalry. The structure and aesthetic of Lynah are a connection to the past and a celebration of the history and traditions of Cornell hockey. Why would anyone want to alter appreciably a venue in which so much history and achievement has occurred? I concede that it is not the most aesthetically pleasing venue and externally it pales in comparison to most of Cornell's campus that is exemplary with its collegiate Gothic architecture, but the preservation of Lynah in its historical form is a celebration of what is great about Cornell hockey: its traditions. I believe that my best friend from Michigan said it well when discussing Yost, "it may be ugly, it might look like a bunker, but it is our ugly bunker, and so much history has occurred there."
I liked your post. I like the blog, but I felt that I needed to offer a slight defense of Cornell's choice to embrace its historic and beloved barn rather than building an entirely different arena, as BU did. Cornell debated building a new rink prior to recent renovations, but chose against it. Who would want to abandon a venue with such history?
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment and reading the blog. I'm glad you find my Rink Review posts to be interesting.
I understand what you're saying that the aesthetics of the rink "are a connection to the past and a celebration of the history and traditions of Cornell hockey." But, when I talk about the aesthetics of the rink, I'm strictly talking about the building itself. That's why I have another "Tradition" criteria. I noted how the rink does a great job honoring the past. Obviously, all of the great traditions happened at the rink, but I find the rink as a building itself, to be the least of Cornell's great hockey traditions. The great traditions are the one's that happened on the ice and what takes place in the crowd, as you noted. Sure Lynah's structure is a "connection" to the past, but I personally felt that it's more than that.
The comment I threw in about the roof at Lynah, was just something I usually say about most rinks. I've commented how the roofs at Brown, Yale, and Union are so great. While the rafters at Lynah are "historic," so are the roofs at Brown and Yale, which were both built within a few years of Lynah. I just didn't like the way the whole rafters thing looked. That's all. It was not a knock on the tradition of Lynah and Cornell hockey.
I must also vehemently say that I never said that Lynah should be altered or an entirely new arena should be built. I'd approve "improvements" to the arena at best, but Lynah should never be majorly altered or be torn down. If that were to happen, it would be one of the greatest mistakes in Cornell's history. That would be like tearing down one of my favorite baseball stadiums, Fenway Park. The place is crammed and not the most aesthetically pleasing ballparks in the country, but it's really cool and the atmosphere is second to none. I also get what your Michigan friend is saying. I am a life long Mets fan and grew up watching games at Shea Stadium. When the place was torn down I was really said, and it definitely wasn't because the place was beautiful. Shea Stadium might have been the biggest dump in MLB history, but that's where my team played and had their greatest moments.
One of the great things about the ECAC is the different "barns" the teams play in. They might not be the palaces that teams in other conferences play in, but we love them either way. The history in some of our league's rinks are unmatched. That's why I love going to all these places.
Once again, thanks for the comment and your defense of Lynah. Thanks for being polite and expressing your well. Good luck to you and the Big Red in the playoffs.
- Dan