Why is Alabama Forgoing a New Basketball Arena on The Joe Gaither Show

Let's crank up the Friday edition of "The Joe Gaither Show" by discussing Alabama athletics' latest capital project as it relates to the basketball program, two big wins for Rob Vaughn and the most important two recruits coming to campus this weekend for Alabama football. In addition the program welcomes Joey Van Zummeran to predict the Missouri Tigers football season and Justice Sandle to talk about the Miami Hurricanes spring football season.
The program opens up with basketball as Alabama basketball received approval for a new practice facility on Friday. The Crimson Tide will see a new $58 million facility constructed in the back of Coleman Coliseum. The project has excited those within the program as the athlete experience will be upgraded upon completion, however not everyone is excited. Fans online have questioned the status and priority of building a new basketball arena after seeing the financial commitment made to Coleman Coliseum.
The program dives into the reasons that a new practice facility was chosen instead of a new basketball arena despite excitement reaching a fever pitch for Alabama basketball.
We move on to highlight two Alabama baseball players who announced intentions to return to the program this week. Rob Vaughn's offseason is off to a good start by retaining two key members of this season's team.
Lastly, it's the second major recruiting weekend for Alabama football of the summer. We highlight two recruits in particular that will be priorities for Kalen DeBoer and his staff this weekend.
The program keeps things in the SEC by welcoming Joey Van Zummeren of MizzouCentral to go week-by-week through the Tigers 2024 schedule. How close is Missouri to competing for an SEC Championship?
We wrap up the weekend by stepping into the ACC and welcoming Justice Sandle of CanesCentral into the show to hear about Cam Ward, Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes' spring practice.
The show can be seen on the BamaCentral YouTube channel. Keep up with each show on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Shows can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

Joe Gaither oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral. He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt web sites.
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