Attendance at Women Basketball Regional Sites

[Franisdaman]

Not good. Not good at all. The drapes covering the seats above the lower bowl is never a good look.

Hell, Colin Cole made the game at least.

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

 

[Run&Blade]

They should charge $5 or $10 a ticket.

Fill it up.

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

Which is why we see campus sites for the first two rounds.

 

[Franisdaman]

They should charge $5 or $10 a ticket.

Fill it up.

cheaper than drapes

 

[QChawks]

They should charge $5 or $10 a ticket.

Fill it up.

He’ll give em away and make it up in concession sales.

 

[Run&Blade]

He’ll give em away and make it up in concession sales.

Agreed.

 

[Hawkfan_08]

Host it in Iowa City. That wouldn't happen here. Pathetic showing by the NC State faithful.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

cheaper than drapes

The whole upper deck above the exits is " draped " and it still looks empty...

 

[hawkeye_1997]

How did North Carolina State fans not turn out?

 

[HeHateHeels]

First of all Greensboro Coliseum holds 23,000 people. The black tarp was always gonna be used.

As for State fans, I suspect most expected the outcome we saw was inevitable. The team is simply not the same team it was in January. They’ve lost three starters to season ending injuries. The fact this team still managed to limp into the Sweet-16 is a miracle. But they got worked by your girl down low.

Congrats to Iowa. Very good team with a super star. Hope they can keep it going.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

Hard to believe how many women tear ACLs in sports. Their knees aren't as strong as men and often injury prone. I'd hate to say how many Iowa women have had the ACLs over the years. Davis had 2 I think...

 

[intrepodor]

Hard to believe how many women tear ACLs in sports. Their knees aren't as strong as men and often injury prone. I'd hate to say how many Iowa women have had the ACLs over the years. Davis had 2 I think...

It's not that their knees being weaker. Women's knees are V shaped where the cartilage goes through and this makes the cartilage gear quicker. My daughter tore hers and the surgeon was the former surgeon for the Toronto Argonauts so I tend to believe him.

 

[UNIowaHawk]

This is why schools can’t pay student athletes. Outside of football and men’s basketball (at some schools) the sports don’t make money.

 

[Franisdaman]

This is why schools can’t pay student athletes. Outside of football and men’s basketball (at some schools) the sports don’t make money.

You start paying the men you are going to have to cut both men's and women's sports to afford it.

 

[jockos]

There is talk about having a single site for the sweet 16 and elite 8 such as Las Vegas due to the attendance issues.

 

[Franisdaman]

First of all Greensboro Coliseum holds 23,000 people. The black tarp was always gonna be used.

As for State fans, I suspect most expected the outcome we saw was inevitable. The team is simply not the same team it was in January. They’ve lost three starters to season ending injuries. The fact this team still managed to limp into the Sweet-16 is a miracle. But they got worked by your girl down low.

Congrats to Iowa. Very good team with a super star. Hope they can keep it going.

So, in summary:

* They had to curtain off the entire upper deck, leaving just the lower bowl
* Behind both baskets in the lower bowl the seats were practically empty

Like I said in the orig post, not good. Not good at all.

 

[Franisdaman]

In comparison:

 

[Franisdaman]

These #s are not good, either (well, they are good for Iowa, but NOT good for D1 women's basketball):

 

[Franisdaman]

Look at these #s:

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

 

[GhostAppendage]

Which is why we see campus sites for the first two rounds.

They should expand honestly. Keep cost down and actually look like people are there....bc they will be. The higher seeds tend to win anyway.

 

[hawk263344]

Think how good our attendance numbers would have been if the games wouldn't have been conflicting with the men playing! I went on Sunday but not Friday because of the game time. If it had been a 6pm or 7pm tip on Friday I would have gone to that game as well.

 

[DodgerHawki]

So, in summary:

* They had to curtain off the entire upper deck, leaving just the lower bowl
* Behind both baskets in the lower bowl the seats were practically empty

Like I said in the orig post, not good. Not good at all.

it is what it is. For overall growth and fairness of the women's game, it would be good if no team was playing at home in the NCAA tournament. Yes, it wasn't great that Iowa men played Cincy 100 miles away in Columbus. But it's very likely the outcome of the Iowa-Cincy game is much different if played at Cincinnati's actual home court. The higher seeds dominate in the women's game, partly because they are just plain better but also because they are playing at home. The men's side saw a lot more chalk results this year too, which is neither good/bad, just makes for a less compelling tournament for neutral observers. But the women won't go away from the high seeds hosting first two rounds any time soon. They need the attendance numbers to help offset the cost of the tournament.

I do think it's good for the women's game that no one is playing on their home court for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games, even if the attendance isn't great.

 

[HaydenHawk8]

Men’s didn’t look much better. There were open seats at a lot of the games. I know eventually they filled in, but the Zags/FSU looked like no one was interested at the start.

 

[StormHawk42]

They should follow the D2 model. Have 8 8-team regional pods with a single host and then a single site for the Elite 8 thru Championship.

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

They should follow the D2 model. Have 8 8-team regional pods with a single host and then a single site for the Elite 8 thru Championship.

Those suck because it’s regional based and in theory you could have the top teams all in the same pod.

 

[StormHawk42]

Those suck because it’s regional based and in theory you could have the top teams all in the same pod.

Good point. The NCAA really should put the regionals in smaller arenas though. No reason to put them in arenas larger than 12k or so. Just not that many casual fans will show up just to show up.

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

Men’s didn’t look much better. There were open seats at a lot of the games. I know eventually they filled in, but the Zags/FSU looked like no one was interested at the start.

4pm tip in Anaheim on a week day will do that

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

Good point. The NCAA really should put the regionals in smaller arenas though. No reason to put them in arenas larger than 12k or so. Just not that many casual fans will show up just to show up.

Tyson Events Center in Sioux City
Taxslayer Centering Moline
Baxter Arena In Omaha

 

[El Simbolo]

Good point. The NCAA really should put the regionals in smaller arenas though. No reason to put them in arenas larger than 12k or so. Just not that many casual fans will show up just to show up.

Was thinking the same thing. How full was Wintrust Arena in Chicago yesterday? Assuuming it was less than the captacity of newly renovated Welsh Ryan, they should have played there. Or Iowa’s game could have been in a packed Valvano court at NCSt (where the men played NIT) - obviously, couldn’t have Wolfpack in that region tho

 

[Run&Blade]

Men’s didn’t look much better. There were open seats at a lot of the games. I know eventually they filled in, but the Zags/FSU looked like no one was interested at the start.

I assume they are all sellouts.

Last weekend in Des Moines the scalpers were very proud of their tickets.

The ticket pickup at StubHub was very busy and they sold almost all their tickets.

I am surprised that fans have no interest in the games in their session that are not featuring their team.

 

[Franisdaman]

If I were Mississippi State, as a #1 seed I would not be happy to be playing #2 seed Oregon in Portland.

The Moda Center in Portland (a modern arena, home of the Portland Trail Blazers) was only 59% full for the Regional Championship game. However, those 11,538 fans were loud and pro Oregon.

Moda Center's Capacity: 19,441
Attendance: 11,538

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

If I were Mississippi State, as a #1 seed I would not be happy to be playing #2 seed Oregon in Portland.

The Moda Center in Portland was 59% full for the Regional Championship game.

Capacity: 19,441
Attendance: 11,538

I'd protest and get them to declare the game a mistrial and have Mississippi State advance as the winner by default courtesy of being the highest seed.

 

[ichawk24]

Good point. The NCAA really should put the regionals in smaller arenas though. No reason to put them in arenas larger than 12k or so. Just not that many casual fans will show up just to show up.

Agreed. Putting a regional in a 23k facility is just dumb. There are a lot of good 10k to 12k arenas that would be much more appropriate.

 

[wneff]

I am skeptical that many people would attend without a local team, but has Des Moines tried to become one of these hosts? (my apologies if they already did one and I missed it)

 

[BGHAWK]

Host it in Iowa City. That wouldn't happen here. Pathetic showing by the NC State faithful.

Even in DesMoines, think of the crowd they would get. I was surprised watching the NC State crowd so small. It says to me without looking it up that they don't draw many for their home games.

 

[BGHAWK]

There is talk about having a single site for the sweet 16 and elite 8 such as Las Vegas due to the attendance issues.

That might be a good idea as long as they rotate it around the country each year. If they do that, I'm betting they start somewhere in the East, maybe Connecticut.

 

[fivec61]

NCAA should float a trial balloon for women's NCAA tournament games and stop this one ticket for a session of multiple games.

Have one game one ticket. many fans do not want to pay to watch a team they have no interest in, so they stay away, come early to watch their team and leave, or come late and just watch their team.

The men could trial this at conference tournaments also.

 

[StormHawk42]

I am skeptical that many people would attend without a local team, but has Des Moines tried to become one of these hosts? (my apologies if they already did one and I missed it)

Des Moines hosted a few years ago. I wasn’t living here at the time so unsure about the reviews. I would think it would’ve drawn better than Greensboro did.

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

Smaller arenas in smaller towns. Consider making Cedar Rapids and Moline-type arenas (seating 7,000 to 10,000) permanent sites. Look at the College World Series in Omaha. The games go on for about 10 days, two games a day, and almost every game draws 20,000 to 30,000 fans. It's in Omaha every year, and the community has made it a huge success. Many games are sold out a year in advance.

And yes, had it not been for the conflicts with the Iowa men, Iowa City would have sold out both women's sessions: 15,500 per. No doubt about it.

The NCAA needs to find the other Iowa City-like sites and make them permanent sites for the women's tourney so those sites can make the women's tourney a highlight of every season in their area. It gets lost in major metro areas, so take it where it's popular and the biggest thing going.

 

[Bum Leer]

Carver only seats 15,000 now.