Basketball seating...is it done yet?
- Thread starter charcat
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No. I'm Thursday morning and I have a fairly large amount of points, so I would assume there is at least another week after me?
FWIW, I just got my seats this morning, and my rep told me there was a waiting list of about thirty names just to get season tickets.
Sure sounds like there will no room for the average Chicago area BB fan, who NU is supposedly tryin to attract, (i.e.) "Chicago's Big Ten Team". Also making it nearly impossible for NU fans who can only attend one or two games a year. Guess that's what a brand new 7.000 gets you.
There are several 3-seat groupings in prime locations that are still available, but you can't choose 2 seats that will leave a single. I can't imagine there are a lot of people looking for a 3-seat grouping. Any idea on what the ticket office plans to do with those seats?
Luckily I am one of those looking for 3 seats, although we might add a 4th as my boys are getting older and it would be nice to have a ticket for one of them for each game. As for you Willy you're nuts.
You're absolutely right about brokers, but you're wrong about the seats. 6,800 of NU fans is far better than a 60/40 split in a 10,000 seat monstrosity. This place will rock and it's going to be great.
I'm tellin' ya, Willy, you're gonna love the place. You can try not to, but it won't work. Just you wait.
Oh, it will look nice . Sorry, just not a Big Ten quality arena. Also you and others are dreaming if you think it will be filled with 7,000 NU fans, ever.I'm tellin' ya, Willy, you're gonna love the place. You can try not to, but it won't work. Just you wait.
Then why should NU have built a larger arena? So more visiting fans could attend??
I like Fitz's logic here, Willy . . . and assuming YOUR assumption is correct, you've got to admit he poses a good question. But even assuming you are correct and we don't have 7000 wearing purple, we can definitely get, say, 6000 'Cats fans in there. Given a full house, that's an 85-15 ratio, which I think you'll agree is much more like a real Big Ten home game than the usual 60-40 split to which we've become so dishearteningly accustomed. The pro-NU atmosphere will be more pronounced than it's ever been over there. Even if you don't like the scarcity of seats (and your point there is well taken), the energy provided by an 80-20 or 90-10 NU crowd will help the team immeasurably . . . which will, in turn, amp up our enjoyment in watching them. I'd give it a chance, sir. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Not trolling pal, just stating facts. How many Big Ten or for that matter Power 5 programs seat less then 7,000? Nu because it sits next to a huge world class city should be able to mostly fill a 10,000 seat arena with their fans. They have done so before. So what if a thousand or so visiting team fans are present, it's certainly better then shutting out the Chicago area fans that they are supposedly trying to attract. You know the ones who can only attend a couple of games a year but now won't be able to do so. That's to bad.
I think you actually know what the fundamental flaws of your premise are, but just don't want to admit them.
Also, "pal." Quality stuff.
Your points are well taken but I still doubt that you will see an 85-15 ratio very often. I also don't feel that a one sided crowd really helps a team as much as you indicate. As a young guy I played in gyms with very hostile crows and came away with quite a few wins. remember as shown in "Hoosiers" that court is the same size and the baskets the same height no matter where you play. I will likely give it a try and we will see how it turns out.I like Fitz's logic here, Willy . . . and assuming YOUR assumption is correct, you've got to admit he poses a good question. But even assuming you are correct and we don't have 7000 wearing purple, we can definitely get, say, 6000 'Cats fans in there. Given a full house, that's an 85-15 ratio, which I think you'll agree is much more like a real Big Ten home game than the usual 60-40 split to which we've become so dishearteningly accustomed. The pro-NU atmosphere will be more pronounced than it's ever been over there. Even if you don't like the scarcity of seats (and your point there is well taken), the energy provided by an 80-20 or 90-10 NU crowd will help the team immeasurably . . . which will, in turn, amp up our enjoyment in watching them. I'd give it a chance, sir. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Honestly, Willy, I don't think anyone has an issue with a thousand or so visiting fans; that's kind of par for the course at most games anywhere. It's when our place is overrun with 3000-4000 people wearing the wrong colors, essentially turning home games into neutral-site games. In an ultracompetitive conference, that edge can make a difference of a game or two in a given season. Many years, that can make all the difference in the world. So while this downsizing strategy certainly has its drawbacks and doesn't please everybody (and what strategy can really do THAT?), it does at least make it a bit more difficult for visiting fans to take over the place, as has happened WAAAY too often often over the years. There's value in that, from the perspective of the NU fan experience.
I'll give you one: Villanova's Pavilion seats 6,500.
Villanova is currently ranked #3 in the country. Not bad, despite the small gym.
They are doing a $60 Million renovation of the Pavilion, and despite their success are not increasing capacity. They probably envy NU's ability to spend money, not to mention better paring capacity at NU:
"The capacity of the Finneran Pavilion will not increase. The decision to maintain the existing capacity is based on a number of factors, including:
- The Pavilion is in need of a complete overhaul now. After 31 years, the Pavilion’s infrastructure has experienced significant wear and tear, and in order to provide an improved game-day experience for all fans this renovation cannot wait.
- Making any adjustments outside the current footprint would require relief from zoning ordinances including building height and setback restrictions. The process to pursue zoning relief would have delayed the project for several years, which is not feasible given the Pavilion’s current state.
- As with all projects on campus, cost is a significant consideration. Increasing seating capacity was considered, but a full teardown and rebuild to add seating would cost well over $125 million. With all of the other University projects currently being undertaken, borrowing for this project is not feasible. Therefore, the project needs to be funded entirely by donor support. While we have made significant progress toward our $60 million goal, we are still actively fundraising for the project.
- Increasing capacity would also necessitate creating additional parking but with campus space at a premium, adding parking is simply not an option.
I dare to be Willy's brutha in this argument.
I would have been interested to see the cost of a 10,000-seat arena. There is a cost/benefit ratio to this whole equation. Once they decided to keep the basic skeleton of the old arena, there was no chance at 10,000 seats.
I think it's a chicken-shit decision to not build because of a weird paranoia of losing home-court advantage. Manage the final 3000 seats closely and use them as needed. Put a tarp on them ... Give the seats away to local groups ... Sell them for $5 outside the normal sales process. These would be my investment seats to get kids and families to the game to build a future fan base.
Last year, NU reports it AVERAGED 7008 per game. Do we agree most games had a strong home court?
NU has left itself absolutely no room to grow if this program improves at all. What if this become a program that makes a tournament once every three years (a reasonably minor goal)? They should be able to draw 8-10,000 without thinking twice.
I'd hate to think the home court advantage was the main reason. Falling attendance nationwide? A tip of the cap to the NU community who dislikes the emphasis on sports? Fitting in the cost between football rebuilds? I could begin to see those reasons.
But I think NU short-changed itself as it has historically for sports investments. And it shouldnt be so evident before construction is complete that NU left some money on the table. So be it.
I would have been interested to see the cost of a 10,000-seat arena. There is a cost/benefit ratio to this whole equation. Once they decided to keep the basic skeleton of the old arena, there was no chance at 10,000 seats.
I think it's a chicken-shit decision to not build because of a weird paranoia of losing home-court advantage. Manage the final 3000 seats closely and use them as needed. Put a tarp on them ... Give the seats away to local groups ... Sell them for $5 outside the normal sales process. These would be my investment seats to get kids and families to the game to build a future fan base.
Last year, NU reports it AVERAGED 7008 per game. Do we agree most games had a strong home court?
NU has left itself absolutely no room to grow if this program improves at all. What if this become a program that makes a tournament once every three years (a reasonably minor goal)? They should be able to draw 8-10,000 without thinking twice.
I'd hate to think the home court advantage was the main reason. Falling attendance nationwide? A tip of the cap to the NU community who dislikes the emphasis on sports? Fitting in the cost between football rebuilds? I could begin to see those reasons.
But I think NU short-changed itself as it has historically for sports investments. And it shouldnt be so evident before construction is complete that NU left some money on the table. So be it.
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All quite true but it didn't seem to hurt NU last season when many games were attended by lots of visiting fans
Should they, though? 2017 was the most historic year for the program in any of our lifetimes and, as you say, they averaged about 7000 fans. Of course, if we turn into Duke and make regular Final Four runs and compete for Big Ten titles, we can attract 10K+, but why do you think a middling team that makes the tournament every once in a while is going to draw that many fans? A 10-8 B1G record and an 8-seed isn’t going to be a massive draw in the future now that we’ve climbed the mountain.
Also, the idea of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a brand new arena and then immediately tarping off 3000 seats is... not a good look.
We visited 10,000-seat Wintrust Arena a few weeks ago and it really seems like a great venue. It was a high school game so the lower bowl was maybe 1/3 to half full. But I really liked the feel of the place. Maybe NU will play up it's Chicago's B1G Team theme and play a few games at Wintrust once we outgrow the new WR. We could have a Big Shoulders Series like ND's Shamrock Series.
That's no way to talk about DePaul!
Went to our game at Wintrust and I agree -- the place was quite nice. All that did, though, was make me even more psyched to see our new place.
I was there, too, and agree that Wintrust is certainly an upgrade for them after the Rosemont Mausoleum. It seemed to have a high proportion of seats behind-the-basket vs. courtside, though. The open, airy feel was a plus, as were the concessions. To me it seemed larger by a third than what NU could realistically fill with its own fans. You're right about making me more psyched than ever about the new Welsh.
I can’t agree with this for NU. I absolutely HATE going to home games sitting in the center of a big opposition crowd. It makes us look like a D2 team invaded by the big boys. We should expect to have 80% of the support for every game in OUR building. There are plenty of ways to get tickets for home games. This board community comes immediately to mind. ST’s rarely can make every game and floating a message that you are looking for tickets can often get you seats at face value. IMO, increasing capacity is just increasing visitor presence. Hate the idea. Another thing you can consider Willy, is splitting tickets, will allow access without the full financial commitment.
BTW, Duke has been relevant for about 30 years now. I think their capacity is around 9300. Is there a better basketball environment that Cameron Indoor?
Ok then doesn't it also look D2 when you have one of the smallest arenas in Div. I? Right but Cameron will have over 2,000 more seats the W-R, in a city about a tenth of the size of Chicago.
The same developers or whatever. A slimmed down version of the Wintrust. Our arena is quite simply going to be the most phenomenal arena in the nation. Open concourses, solid facilities, and small arena. The seats behind the basket in the 200 section are awesome as they come out towards the floor instead of the wintrust where they are farther away. Those seats are almost right on top of the basket.
It's gonna be fun.
Willycat, Did you not get any seats? I may want a partner to split my 2 seats behind the cat bench in row 3 if you are interested (Section 107). Every odd or every even game.
Yea, those comments would last about as long as these will.
Anyhow, good discussions. Lots of good discussions today.
Actually, Duke has been relevant for longer than that. Coach K goes back over 35 years. Bill Foster had them in the finals 40 years ago. They were consistently a top 20 team in the AP in the 50's and 60's. Duke has a tradition of excellence that goes well beyond the current head coach! Yet they haven't had to increase their arena capacity.....why, willy, why???
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