Session 1: 45% full? Maybe 50?
I know is session 1… but the NCAA has really screwed this up.
I know is session 1… but the NCAA has really screwed this up.
Attendance
- Thread starter ping72
- Start date
Will never understand them running it at the same time as basketball.
Attendance is low because of location. You put it in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Philly, NYC and you will get better attendance. Hell even Dallas would’ve done much better
You put it in Iowa City or Des Moines and there will be 10'000 people who can't get tickets. Wells Fargo is perfect since it is connected to Hy Vee hall and wrestlefest is accessible without going outside. Add the skywalk to a ton of restaurants and it works great.
Seems like a lot of tickets go to companies and people with big bucks that skip the first few rounds and only show up on Friday and Saturday night.
Not enough tickets go to the die hard wrestling fans that love wrestling and are going to show up for every round.
Just the typical clueless penn state fan. Detroit was half empty last year until Sat. night.
NCAA will record three day attendance that can be compared year to year. Philadelphia in 2011 set a record at the time, I know it’s been broken at least once since then.
More details, 3 day attendance
2011 Philadelphia 104k, set record
2012 St Louis 110k, set record
2013 Des Moines
2014 ?
2015 St Louis 113k, set record
2016 Madison Square Garden 110k, second most at the time
2017 St Louis 113k, set record
2018 Cleveleland 113k+, set record
2020 Minneapolis supposed to hit 113k++ and set another attendance record instead the shit hit the fan
2021 not many
2022 Detroit 106k
2023 Tulsa 95k
2024 Kansas City (last time in 2003)
2025 Philadelphia (104k in 2011)
2026 Cleveland (current record 113k+ in 2018)
More details, 3 day attendance
2011 Philadelphia 104k, set record
2012 St Louis 110k, set record
2013 Des Moines
2014 ?
2015 St Louis 113k, set record
2016 Madison Square Garden 110k, second most at the time
2017 St Louis 113k, set record
2018 Cleveleland 113k+, set record
2020 Minneapolis supposed to hit 113k++ and set another attendance record instead the shit hit the fan
2021 not many
2022 Detroit 106k
2023 Tulsa 95k
2024 Kansas City (last time in 2003)
2025 Philadelphia (104k in 2011)
2026 Cleveland (current record 113k+ in 2018)
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Probably about $50 after fees. Lol
Detroit was bad last year, too.
NCAA giving less to teams & fans and only selling single session has killed attendance.
The professional resellers the NCAA funnels tickets to make more selling 10 tickets for $1000 than 30 at $300… so they eat the 20 that could have gone to fans.
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anon_0pi0cv8t1ggvb
Guest
Why in the fk were tickets so expensive when I checked a few months back then? I considered going, but between tickets, hotel, and gas chose to watch online. If tickets were reasonably priced, I'd have probably gone. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, but when I looked it was like $300-$500 for all sessions in the nosebleeds.
So it is agreed that they either need to have it the week before the NCAA BB tournament, or wait an extra week and have it during the second weekend of the NCAAT, yeah?
Second semester sport with finals in late April.
Air is outrageous everywhere. Up 300% from just 18 months ago or so. Now we have Jet Blue buying Spirit. Lol
It will be good for the consumer they say. Lmao
Attendance has absolutely nothing to do with the basketball tournament.
They’re always insanely high early on and then come down just before… if you’re looking at Ticketmaster or stubhub sites.
This. Hell, I couldn't even find all-session tickets a few months ago. Single-session tickets were outrageously high. NCAA/Ticketmaster has done something (I don't know what) with tickets post-covid. Similar b.s. with College World Series tickets last couple years.
They just announced attendance as 15,000 for both sessions, which is Bullshit.
Vegas baby. Bring the tournament to Vegas. Cheap direct flights almost anywhere in the country. That tournament would be epic.
Yeah but it's horrible for overall viewership and growing the sport with the common fan having it the same time as one of the most popular sporting events there is. It's just stupid to make people choose.
I would have watched most of it if it was last weekend. So far I have watched barely any of it just because it's this day which many consider to be a holiday. Guys schedule vasectomies so they can sit home and watch.
Doing it in Vegas on any other weekend than this one would be amazing.
Location has little to nothing to do with attendance. It's the NCAA ticket scam that is the problem.
Only reason Des Moines wasn't a record is because the dipshits in Polk County decided to build the smallest, shittiest American arena of the past quarter-century. NCAA rejected their bid for tourney at least once before finally giving in and awarding them 2013. Guessing there was a good bit of palm greasing involved.
They don't want wrestling fans in Vegas. When they do US Open its so far off strip it's not that fun and cost arm and leg for hotels near event. Chicago, St Louis, Kansas City. Rotate those 3 would be most cost effective for everyone. Each have enough hotel rooms, transit(air, major highways, and public transportation), and central location for distance from east and west coasts.
Yes as a spectator fan of wrestling, mens bball and womens bball, it is frustrating that the big tournament weekends all fall on the same weekend. Wrestling should just do it a week earlier. There is plenty of time in the schedules to make that happen.
Why do people want to take NCAA's to places that don't have college wrestling? Vegas? Nashville? No thanks.
Honestly why does it matter? The fans are going to come no matter what.
How many of these have D1 wrestling programs?
2011 Philadelphia 104k, set record
2012 St Louis 110k, set record
2013 Des Moines, not a record
2014 ?
2015 St Louis 113k, set record
2016 Madison Square Garden 110k, second most at the time
2017 St Louis 113k, set record
2018 Cleveleland 113k+, set record
2020 Minneapolis supposed to hit 113k++ and set another attendance record instead the shit hit the fan
2021 not many
2022 Detroit 106k
2023 Tulsa
Regular fans cannot get tickets. There are so many seats held out for boosters and sponsors that real wrestling fans cannot get tickets. These non fans do not show up until finals. The event is totally sold out. Finals selling for $900 per ticket.
Lots of Penn State, Lehigh, Penn, and general wrestling fans from Pennsylvania and New Jersey near Philadelphia.
Butts in seats>tickets sold. Iowa sold out Carver again this year…. I’d bet good money that butts in seats didn’t surpass 10-11k this year for any dual. Not gonna be able to giggle about Nebraska football much longer.
Attendance has been 15000 each session. The only problem is no shows because tickets are withheld from the wrestling fans.
Definitely more than 11k last 2 meets of the year. I agree closer to 10-11k for a couple of the others.
Too bad we’ll never know the true #…. Lots of empty seats for Okie St. I think I’ve become a pretty accurate judge of this over time. If it was over 11k it wasn’t by much.
