I do apologize for another thread. But do we have worst home court advantage in the Big 10? Something needs to be done about it ASAP.
The state of Carver
- Thread starter ObeseMuffins
- Start date
Agree that something needs to be done, but blaming it all on the building is a weak argument. The place can get loud, just need something to encourage fans to show up.
It's a shame that no fans were allowed last year, I think attendence would have been pretty damn good with Garza. But Keegan is fun to watch and the team is good enough that more should be there for all B1G games.
The ole AD needs to be coming up with something.
It's a shame that no fans were allowed last year, I think attendence would have been pretty damn good with Garza. But Keegan is fun to watch and the team is good enough that more should be there for all B1G games.
The ole AD needs to be coming up with something.
When it's a full house and passionate fans there absolutely not, in fact top half of the BIG for best. But, that happens so rarely so overall, yes it's an embarrassment.
I’ve been in Carver when it’s REALLY loud, but I would say not having students ring 3/4 of the court probably pushes it into bottom half. Big Ten really only has Northwestern and Penn State as bad atmospheres, and several (Purdue, MSU, Illinois, Indiana, etc.) are truly great atmospheres.
8pm on a weeknight, everyone is a little spent after traveling for Christmas, New Year and bowl game, school on winter break. Not surprised it wasn't a great turnout.
I've been to Carver off and on since 1995. The loudest I've ever experienced was Dayton NIT game circa 2012ish when we finally made it to postseason play after the Lickliter nightmare.
Idea: wear throwback jerseys and play a game at the old Field House. How cool would that be?
Are you really complaining about Carver Arena or just asking people to visit your place of employment. Nice
Carver has a serious design flaw. About half the seating space near floor level is occupied by aisles. I don’t know who designed the place, but I wouldn’t want my name on it as the builder..
Some students in the corner would be nice but it isn’t enough. We have a nice venue and a good team that is incredibly exciting to watch and easy to root for…plus an all American caliber rim rattling star.
The excitement is there. I think Iowa fans just don’t care as much about basketball as they used to. Things have been going down the tubes from an interest standpoint for about 20 years.
Maybe that is partially because we haven’t had a sweet sixteen run for over 20 years. I feel like that would be the football equivalent of no New Year’s Day bowls for 20+ years. I think our lack of success especially as compared to football is a huge factor.
and yeah…small number of people live near the arena especially when the roads are bad which seems to be always…Covid…giant TVs…bad location…games are during the week at odd times…all that matters too.
we need a sweet sixteen run bad. And even here…I had to come over to the basketball forum to find basketball talk. Everything in the lounge is about our QB play and portals and early entries and next year. I’m not sure if many fans under 35 care about our basketball team at all because they don’t remember us ever having any meaningful success.
college football popularity has exploded and I understand…it’s extremely exciting. It’s on the weekend. It’s an all day affair. It’s on every channel all weekend. People invest in it, market it, and squeeze it for all its worth.
Iowa is investing heavily in football right now and it makes sense. To really light a fire in basketball interest probably isn’t as good of an investment as anything spent on football.
It’s like now you have to be a really hard core long term Iowa fan who grew up watching in the 70s, 80s, or 90s to give a crap. It’s dying slowly but surely. Not sure what the university can or is willing to do. Not sure if Fran can get us deep in the tourney but maybe. And again…the average Iowa fan just doesn’t really care that much anymore.
honestly…if we aren’t able to get people interested with the on the court performance then new facilities are the next button to press and yeah…that means downtown arena. Maybe it isn’t or shouldn’t be necessary but it is the one thing that would excite people. People love fancy stuff and convenience these days. Being a huge fan isn’t enough. If you can park in one location, eat, watch the game, and get a drink after all downtown at upscale and over the top nice places people would be into it.
it would be nice if something could be done about game dates and times as well. For football, you know it is on Saturday and you know you can make any time work. Basketball is made for TV…not for the fan. Predictable start times and days of the week are gone and people can’t keep up and often can’t make it work. I sorta wish we just played on Fridays at 7 and Sunday at 1 or something.
everything is stacked against the casual fan now though and unfortunately football has become the one true king.
The excitement is there. I think Iowa fans just don’t care as much about basketball as they used to. Things have been going down the tubes from an interest standpoint for about 20 years.
Maybe that is partially because we haven’t had a sweet sixteen run for over 20 years. I feel like that would be the football equivalent of no New Year’s Day bowls for 20+ years. I think our lack of success especially as compared to football is a huge factor.
and yeah…small number of people live near the arena especially when the roads are bad which seems to be always…Covid…giant TVs…bad location…games are during the week at odd times…all that matters too.
we need a sweet sixteen run bad. And even here…I had to come over to the basketball forum to find basketball talk. Everything in the lounge is about our QB play and portals and early entries and next year. I’m not sure if many fans under 35 care about our basketball team at all because they don’t remember us ever having any meaningful success.
college football popularity has exploded and I understand…it’s extremely exciting. It’s on the weekend. It’s an all day affair. It’s on every channel all weekend. People invest in it, market it, and squeeze it for all its worth.
Iowa is investing heavily in football right now and it makes sense. To really light a fire in basketball interest probably isn’t as good of an investment as anything spent on football.
It’s like now you have to be a really hard core long term Iowa fan who grew up watching in the 70s, 80s, or 90s to give a crap. It’s dying slowly but surely. Not sure what the university can or is willing to do. Not sure if Fran can get us deep in the tourney but maybe. And again…the average Iowa fan just doesn’t really care that much anymore.
honestly…if we aren’t able to get people interested with the on the court performance then new facilities are the next button to press and yeah…that means downtown arena. Maybe it isn’t or shouldn’t be necessary but it is the one thing that would excite people. People love fancy stuff and convenience these days. Being a huge fan isn’t enough. If you can park in one location, eat, watch the game, and get a drink after all downtown at upscale and over the top nice places people would be into it.
it would be nice if something could be done about game dates and times as well. For football, you know it is on Saturday and you know you can make any time work. Basketball is made for TV…not for the fan. Predictable start times and days of the week are gone and people can’t keep up and often can’t make it work. I sorta wish we just played on Fridays at 7 and Sunday at 1 or something.
everything is stacked against the casual fan now though and unfortunately football has become the one true king.
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After Carver was built, the Fieldhouse underwent a massive remodel that included removing all of the seating.
The key concept of Carver from the time of design, was that the big donors get the close seats. That's how it was paid for.
Personally, I think it would be interesting to play a game or two at Xtreme Arena, sort of like what's done at the Sioux Falls Pentagon. Put students on the TV side, and general admission fans on the other. Any Carver donors wanting to attend would be seated with the GA fans.
(FWIW, I'd also like to see baseball play a weekend Big Ten series at Vets in CR, especially since improvements at Banks Field seem to be stalled).
As to throwback uniforms, I'd be fine with the Lester-era "Hawks" in script, home whites as shown in the pic in the Ronnie Lester thread.
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I was at that game, it was an entirely different atmosphere. The best game I’ve ever been at in Carver in terms of crowd.
Crap. I wanted to see old people yelling at the view obstructing pillars to sit down. All game.
Looks like it was designed by the Fire Marshall.
I went to a lot of games 1995-2003 and it was crazy loud and hostile when people show up.
we absolutely need to figure out a way to get students behind the bench’s in the first 15 rows. This would be huge.
we absolutely need to figure out a way to get students behind the bench’s in the first 15 rows. This would be huge.
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anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
Guest
Well, Carvers design isn’t great….but I myself fall into the category of a fan who just stopped caring. Used to follow Iowa basketball religiously. But it’s become apparent that we’re not a contender, and have a coach who plays his own kid irrationally. I gave up at the end of last season, and haven’t even watched a game this year.
You better believe I’m not going to spend the money to go down to Carver at 8 pm on a weeknight
You better believe I’m not going to spend the money to go down to Carver at 8 pm on a weeknight
Iowa has the biggest HCA of any team in the conference by a decent margin. The refs are atrociously bad at Carver in favor of the home team. KenPom measures it.
People seem to be happy with Fran lead teams that aren't going anywhere. That is part of the problem.
Late game on a Monday with the pandemic raging. It’s understandable why carver had so many empty seats last night.
Keep the old donor side out of TV view. Put students a general admission student section behind visiting team bench. Also have a general admission section making up all the rest of the best seats to encourage the most rabid fans to be closer to the floor and around each other. Instead of ‘cheerleaders’ actually hire a cheer leader like they do many MLS teams. Make being at the games a giant party.
As someone who follows the teams very closely, here's what I see as problems--including reasons why I don't go more often (in no particular order)
1. As mentioned, 8PM games blow. I'm in the CR area, but that still means I'm not getting in to bed until 11:00 at least, and work the next day, it's stings.
2. I know if you look at a map, it doesn't look like it, but parking has always seemed to be a pain in the butt, and a haul to get to your car. This could just be me, or slightly imagined, but feels like park-and-hike.
3. The students simply don't give a shit. This has been obvious for years now as we've all noted. I don't know if putting them down around the court would fix it, or free tix, or food incentives, or what it would take, but other than a handful of hard-cores, they simply don't show up.
4. The race to the parking lot at the 5-minute mark.
5. It's just easier to stay home and watch on TV, and while not egregious, certainly cheaper.
The place can absolutely get loud--very loud--and create a great atmosphere. But when it's dead, it's dead. Last night looked horrible on TV, but as has been pointed out by others, 8PM, Christmas break, cold, holiday hangover, Monday night, etc. all added into why it looked 1/3 full. I honestly don't think the Kung Flu is that much a factor anymore--I think most people are frankly beyond it at this point. I don't know what the magic elixir is, and would guess it would be a combination of things to get butts back in the seats. This is an entertaining team (yes, maddening at times), so I don't think the product is the problem, other than for the folks who are tired of Fran and how things are done.
1. As mentioned, 8PM games blow. I'm in the CR area, but that still means I'm not getting in to bed until 11:00 at least, and work the next day, it's stings.
2. I know if you look at a map, it doesn't look like it, but parking has always seemed to be a pain in the butt, and a haul to get to your car. This could just be me, or slightly imagined, but feels like park-and-hike.
3. The students simply don't give a shit. This has been obvious for years now as we've all noted. I don't know if putting them down around the court would fix it, or free tix, or food incentives, or what it would take, but other than a handful of hard-cores, they simply don't show up.
4. The race to the parking lot at the 5-minute mark.
5. It's just easier to stay home and watch on TV, and while not egregious, certainly cheaper.
The place can absolutely get loud--very loud--and create a great atmosphere. But when it's dead, it's dead. Last night looked horrible on TV, but as has been pointed out by others, 8PM, Christmas break, cold, holiday hangover, Monday night, etc. all added into why it looked 1/3 full. I honestly don't think the Kung Flu is that much a factor anymore--I think most people are frankly beyond it at this point. I don't know what the magic elixir is, and would guess it would be a combination of things to get butts back in the seats. This is an entertaining team (yes, maddening at times), so I don't think the product is the problem, other than for the folks who are tired of Fran and how things are done.
I think it'd be easy to throw some bleachers in. If we can host Obama at the Field House, we can organize a basketball game. It would be a hoot though some games at the Xtreme Areana would be good too. It's just so sad that it's significantly more fun to watch an Iowa game in...South Dakota.
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anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
Guest
I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of Xtream Arena hosting a few games a year. I think the environment would probably be much better. Plus a fun area of town and easy access to park, etc.
The building is not the best, but it's not the problem.
The location is a big part of the problem. A downtown arena would be awesome, but extremely expensive. I see a few are being built right now and the cost is about $12,000 per seat. Texas is building a 10,000 seat arena for an incredible $338 million, which must be opulent as hell. Just a guess, but I think a 10,000 seat stadium in downtown IC would cost $150 million. Unless the City really wanted a downtown convention center I don't see it happening.
The students at Iowa seem to be all in for football - weather, tailgating, Saturday games - it's just more fun. There are schools that get great student attendance at both football and basketball, but most I think settle for one or the other - or neither.
Carver is now the equivalent of a big Mall, and we know what is happening to them. Not really the Mall's fault, but the shopping habits of customers has shifted and many are shutting down.
Of course, if the Hawks could put together a serious B1G championship team for a few years in a row it would help as well. But I don't see that happening.
The location is a big part of the problem. A downtown arena would be awesome, but extremely expensive. I see a few are being built right now and the cost is about $12,000 per seat. Texas is building a 10,000 seat arena for an incredible $338 million, which must be opulent as hell. Just a guess, but I think a 10,000 seat stadium in downtown IC would cost $150 million. Unless the City really wanted a downtown convention center I don't see it happening.
The students at Iowa seem to be all in for football - weather, tailgating, Saturday games - it's just more fun. There are schools that get great student attendance at both football and basketball, but most I think settle for one or the other - or neither.
Carver is now the equivalent of a big Mall, and we know what is happening to them. Not really the Mall's fault, but the shopping habits of customers has shifted and many are shutting down.
Of course, if the Hawks could put together a serious B1G championship team for a few years in a row it would help as well. But I don't see that happening.
As I'm now a old-timer now I think I would throw my little influence on the side of the students getting to first few rows, especially being the visitors bench. If I was sitting up higher the spectacle of a rabid student section below would be entertaining as all heck.
I wonder if people realize that the students have 7 sections of front row seating? Sadly they simply do not show up. The fact is Iowa basketball is not supported by most people anymore. I don't understand it. Keegan Murray is worth the price of admission. Rarely have we had that kind of talent. And last year Garza was a beast! Until the U of I hires an outside consultant to improve their sports marketing, things will not change. The people in charge of this now are doing a poor job and have for years. I think we have all seen the delta dental smile cam a few too many times.
Does fire code need all those aisles at the bottom? Doesn't Carver have some seating at the bottom that can be pushed back like bleachers. If so, maybe those could have less aisles.
Carver should be reconfigured and at the very least student positioning should be given some thought.
However there are ~600k people within 50 miles of Carver, ~1.3m within 75 miles, and 2m within 100 miles. There’s no reason for the arena to be so empty as it was last night. I was out of town for Western Illinois but the announced attendance was 15k versus the 10k last night. Why? There are likely several reasons but one of the biggest was probably the lack of easily accessible TV for Western Illinois. In other words plenty more people have the ability to make it to Carver but they choose not to.
If you are regularly in Carver, bitch about it all you want. If you aren’t but you could you be, get there first then bitch.
However there are ~600k people within 50 miles of Carver, ~1.3m within 75 miles, and 2m within 100 miles. There’s no reason for the arena to be so empty as it was last night. I was out of town for Western Illinois but the announced attendance was 15k versus the 10k last night. Why? There are likely several reasons but one of the biggest was probably the lack of easily accessible TV for Western Illinois. In other words plenty more people have the ability to make it to Carver but they choose not to.
If you are regularly in Carver, bitch about it all you want. If you aren’t but you could you be, get there first then bitch.
I'm an old timer as well. I had student tix at both the Fieldhouse and CHA. I knew one of the old ticket managers for the U and asked him one time why they never put students around the bottom of CHA. His reply was there are too many donors who don't want to stand the whole game and they felt that placing students at the bottom created an "unfair atmosphere" for the visiting teams. His words, not mine and they came from the U admin, not the AD.
You'll never see students anywhere near the visiting bench (even though they sort of are). But if you've been to a game you know that our student section is pretty docile, when they show up.
I have an idea; eliminate donor status for tickets at Carver other than the very few that give big $. Have had bigger, better crowds for meaningless NIT games than some B1G games lately
This is a great idea, especially for games when students are on break over the holidays, from mid-December to mid-January. Those games would NOT be part of the season ticket packages. All tickets for those games should be general admission. First ones in the building get the best seats. And the ticket prices should be family friendly so people who can't afford season tix CAN attend several games during that four-week span. Build the fan base. Give the Hawkeyes a loud home court advantage. Showcase the new Xtreme Arena. I can't think of a single reason NOT to do it. Row55, you have a marvelous suggestion. The only problem is Gary Barta is the AD, and that's a really big problem.
If I had unlimited monies I'd move it downtown or river area.
Carver is not even convenient for the locals to get to. Location fvcking sucks.
Maybe grow Iowa City a little bit, they won't let the town grow. All the surrounding suburbs are reaping the benefits. Its already become a metro area with or without Iowa Cities help.
Carver is not even convenient for the locals to get to. Location fvcking sucks.
Maybe grow Iowa City a little bit, they won't let the town grow. All the surrounding suburbs are reaping the benefits. Its already become a metro area with or without Iowa Cities help.
We should not spend another dime on carver.
sunk-cost fallacy: the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.
I vote to have all holiday break games played in Sioux Falls until Carver sells out. Much easier to make the 15 minute drive than the 6 hour variety.
I agree 1000% I've gone to a few games each year since then..its not even close. The reason why for the game is 2 fold. Fan base wanted exercise the lickliter demon and it was first come first serve on tickets. Rich @$$€$ didn't get to sit in the look at me seats
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