I think you have good ideas on mind. Now it is important to put the site as soon as possible. Google will update soon on the very beginning of April. Don’t miss the update. Put your site online and keep developing it.
The idea about banners may be good. A clean site is always good, I like it, but I do realise that some banners can attract players. Throgh some banners you can give exposure for some program you want at some time, and if you only have a few, conversions will be better.