Iowa moving students closer to the floor at Carver
- Thread starter Beattheohiostate
- Start date
The student section was full capacity many times from 2013 to TC's freshman year. I think you could look around the country and see similar ebbs and flows.
Well...it seems like it's a question for the all the people finding better things to do than go to the games.
There’s a long list of why attendance has declined. Team performance isn’t really one of those.
And yet….who is it that continues to donate money and attend games regularly, year after year? Yep, the so-called “blue hairs” that fans (most of whom are not season ticket holders and…maybe…attend a couple of games a year) like to dump on.
I had a season BB ticket only 1 year, Fran’s first. I sat next to a woman in her 80s who had the same seats since Carver opened. She was as knowledgeable about basketball as anyone on this board, and she would stand and cheer louder than most of the “1-2 games per year” younger fans. And boy, could she get on the refs!
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Name some items from the "long list" that are unique to Iowa. In other words, don't say "the economy" "big screen TVs" "the weather" etc. because those factors are the same for B1G schools that sell out consistently.
Where did I say anything that was unique to Iowa? Especially since I have mostly no idea about the factors that are at play elsewhere
Not a comprehensive list, and in no particular order:
Geography - Iowa is limited, especially on weeknights, by who lives within an hour of Iowa city for games. I live in DSM, so that’s a major factor in why I rarely attend games during the week.
Stadium design - carver is a bit unique in this regard with the only concourse being at the top going down. That’s a long walk up the stairs for refreshments, exiting, etc.
fan experience - just my impression, but it sometimes seems like the university has relied on the product on the court to make the games fun to attend. That works when the product is elite like the women’s team has bee, not so much if it’s merely above average to good. Also need to have better variety at concessions stands imo.
Student section - I’m sure there are some, but Iowa seems unusual at least for where the students are placed. It’s also not the easiest place to get to on-campus, especially for students on the east side of town, at times when the cambus hours are reduced from the 9-5 shifts during weekdays.
Probably a whole host of other things goetz and co are looking at that I’m not even aware of, and some of these are admittedly smaller potatoes, but it adds up, especially when fans now get to choose between men’s basketball and women’s hoops - who are operating at historically great levels for the program - not to mention being cheaper.
Meh...not a real compelling argument.
Have a great product and athletes worth paying attention to and people will want to be part of the experience. The women prove it.
Generational talents don’t grow on trees. Pleasantly surprised to see them sell out this year, but there’s zero guarantee that is sustainable.
Do you think the university should do nothing regarding attendance at carver for the men’s program? It’s historically and currently an above average to good product on the court. I don’t expect sellouts for them, but we should expect above half-capacity imo.
You don't need "generational talent". You need a few all-americans/NBA players sprinkled through the program every few years. Have that, and you'll have fan interest, and more importantly, teams that can actually make it to the second weekend.
It's been so long that we don't really remember but a sweet sixteen really ramps up the excitement level and media buzz around the program.
We’ve had all-Americans/nba talent the last few years…
Which schools do you consider to sell out consistently?
There are 4 schools that average 95% or above against capacity in the league.
Iowa still snuck in at #24 overall.
Hopefully BG can inject some energy into the place.
Wieskamp, Garza, the Murray’s, Jok was drafted I believe.
Again, the product on the floor has been good enough to warrant better attendance than what we saw last year.
Do you believe no other changes are needed at carver?
What kind of changes?
Luxury boxes? They'd be mostly empty.
Hawks Nest closer to the floor? I don't see how that enhances the experience for anyone but the few Hawks Nest students who show up.
Not selling thousands of tickets to Illinois fans? Yeah. That would for sure help for those specific games, I guess.
P.S. The only all Americans in that period have been Garza and Keegan. Jok was not drafted. Weiskamp plays in Australia.
Outside of Garza and Keegan (who was an absolute silver platter gift), we've been pretty sleepy when it comes to exciting talent.
Face it. It's a sleepy program, headed by a 65 year old dude with one foot out the door. It's really no surprise that the fan base is a little sleepy too.
Pay a hot shot real money to come in and compete for championships and I guarantee you the fan base will wake up quick.
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Guess we’ll have to see what changes Beth cooks up.
Personally, I think there’s lots of little things that could be done to liven up carver more for fans, we won’t know until it’s tried whether improved seats for students will coax more to come to the game.
I don’t think this is a sleepy program.
It's a program that hasn't won a big ten title in 45 years, and hasn't been to a sweet sixteen in 25 years. "Sleepy" is a euphemism.
Agree to disagree then.
the program is good enough that attendance shouldn’t be at the level it was last year.
Dude, read my previous posts. I think there’s a lot of factors at play here.
Lost to the mighty Richmond Spiders in the first round in '22 and lost to Auburn (in an 8/9 matchup) in the first round in '23.....again...
.....sleepy.
1st round loss, 1st round loss, miss tourney altogether....What about that do you think should hype fans up to buy tickets?
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It's not hard to full Carver up. Sorry if I feel that way, but giving the students an activity card that allows them to go to Football & Basketball games without buying tickets, providing bus service to the various dorms or wherever students live in and around Iowa City, free pizza's. There's enough people that live in and around Iowa City to fill Carver every home game and that was proven last winter with the women's team. Weather and Carver the building is not an issue except to the few that hate Fran.
The money that the students have to fork over is not going to break Iowa financially if Iowa fore goes stops charging those fees.
The money that the students have to fork over is not going to break Iowa financially if Iowa fore goes stops charging those fees.
The fear is that may not be enough. For every 3 men’s games attended you get a women’s game ticket?
I really think the way the recent teams failed to translate regular season (and B1G tournament) success into NCAA tournament success has been the biggest factor in attendance.
Consistently ending with and NCAA tournament THUD really sets up terribly for the next seasons excitement. So many fans are apathetic, as we've seen how the story ends in tournament time.
Certainly improvements can be made at Carver, but win in March to get the ball rolling then next season.
Winning is certainly the single biggest driver, I’m just trying to argue that it’s not the sole factor.
Schedules, marketing, venue etc. have roles as well.
I think ticket cost is a main reason the women's team has/had more bodies in the stands. (Of course Caitlyn helps) I haven't looked but seem to remember women's tickets were under $15 and kids under 10?? I think men's tics are like $25. Gets expensive for a family of 4 or 5.
If the women continue to do well and they keep selling out carver, I fully expect that to change unfortunately.
That’s part of what I’ve tried to refer to in my previous comments. What people are willing to pay for a good product with avg fan amenities and with moderately high prices for the tix is a lot lower than if it’s for a great product with significantly lower ticket prices.
Anyone know how much costs are at other b10 arenas? I’m thinking about getting tix for the game in moline, those start at $35.
Yes, and it should be mentioned that attendance around the country has been in decline in general.
By all accounts, last year it sounded like we shouldn’t be taking those announced numbers solely on faith tho - that talks about tickets sold I believe (could be wrong), and there were several games where if carver was half full I’d have been wondering where they were hiding.
Getting the students moved closer to the court seemingly takes an act of congress or something from the unnatural realm to occur. Hoping that those working in Gaza will lend their efforts to our situation soon.
