fifth third renovation

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Football is guaranteed to pay dividends. They've already sold out every private suite. It's also the big money maker in general for college athletics. Renovating Nippert was essential to even be in consideration for moving to a better conference. To me, it makes a lot of sense to fix Nippert before FTA. Nippert was in far worse shape.

There are a lot of factors that go into why we don't have a new arena yet. One huge one is the lack of attendance since '06-ish. Even with the team improving, we've seen a nice climb in attendance, but it still needs to be a lot higher. I think at this point we're basically guaranteed to finish with a lower attendance than last year, which is unacceptable for how well we've played. Part of the problem is the bad opponents in our OOC schedule, but there's never an excuse for a program of ours to have only 5k there for multiple games. It's easy to simply fault the university, but there are just so many factors that go into it.

This years attendence will surpass last years numbers.

 

[UCBearcats]

This isn't a basketball versus football issue. Football has the ability to generate much more revenue. It is a economical decision. You could fill the Shoe up regualarily and it still can't out earn Football, even without winning a National title.

Absolutely correct. The reason why Nippert got done so quickly is because the university was able to add a new revenue stream with the addition of luxury boxes and suites. The university is still borrowing the money to fund the construction but the promise of the additional revenue that will be generated allows the university to absorb the financing cost of borrowing the money and generate additional revenue for the athletic program immediately.

That opportunity doesn't exist with basketball. A new stadium might give you the ability to increase ticket prices and raise luxury suite prices but you'll never get the ability to generate an entirely new stream of revenue like you did with football.

For that reason and that reason alone it will take longer to fund any new construction or renovation for a basketball arena. It is what it is at this point. Hopefully the university has a plan and a timeline that they'll introduce to fans at some point in the near future. Assuming the time frame for a new building is still 6-8 years away I'm hoping that in the short term we'll spend some money to update 5/3rd. New video screens, banner screens, updated lighting and an upgraded audio system could go a long way towards improving the fan experience.

The university should announce plans to have upgrades in place at 5/3rd starting next season and follow that with an announcement that an official fundraising campaign is being started to finance a new or renovated basketball facility. Put together a timeline and get to work! The new AD said this is a priority for him and I think that if this teams continues to have success like it's having right now that will be the catalyst to force the university's hand.

 

[#BearcatNation]

This years attendence will surpass last years numbers.

It's literally impossible to pass last year's attendance at this point. Last year, we averaged 9253 per game. As of right now, 16 home games in (excluding pre-season), we're sitting at 7703 per game. Even if we sell out our final 3 home games, which is unlikely, we'll final out at 8567 per game.

Those numbers are straight from GoBearcats.com

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

It's literally impossible to pass last year's attendance at this point. Last year, we averaged 9253 per game. As of right now, 16 home games in (excluding pre-season), we're sitting at 7703 per game. Even if we sell out our final 3 home games, which is unlikely, we'll final out at 8567 per game.

Those numbers are straight from GoBearcats.com

Thought I saw some numbers on another site that indicatd we would show a increase again this year. I'll try and dig it up and post it.

 

[JasonS]

I ask this seriously: does your 4 year old need glasses? I take my kids to almost all the games and they are right around that same age. Took them last year as well. Not only can they see but they absolutely love it. Game times have 100x more to do with not bringing kids than not being able to see.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I don't recall the Shoe having chair-backs with great sightlines in the upperdeck in the 90's but I sure do remember going to quite a few sell outs. Maybe the UC fanbase is aging and can no longer sit in bench seating??? And, why we're at it, let's take a look at some of those lower level seats that are actually very good seats. There were many games this year where those seats were empty. I probably don't need to explain why they were empty but it wasn't because they were bad seats or because 5/3 is outdated.

I've been taking my daughter to games since she was 18 months and the reality is that if you get a chair back seat in the upper deck, the view isn't bad at all. The problem is, if you live out of town like I do, you sometimes decide to go to a game last minute and your option is the last few rows of the upper deck. I am 5'9" and if I get a tall person in front of me, I can't even see the entire court. Imagine what it would be for a kid. And frankly, my daughter loves seeing Bearcat and that makes it really hard.

 

[L-T]

It's literally impossible to pass last year's attendance at this point. Last year, we averaged 9253 per game. As of right now, 16 home games in (excluding pre-season), we're sitting at 7703 per game. Even if we sell out our final 3 home games, which is unlikely, we'll final out at 8567 per game.

Those numbers are straight from GoBearcats.com

lol....BN, you're treading on thin ice when you start posting facts on this site.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

I ask this seriously: does your 4 year old need glasses? I take my kids to almost all the games and they are right around that same age. Took them last year as well. Not only can they see but they absolutely love it. Game times have 100x more to do with not bringing kids than not being able to see.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I don't recall the Shoe having chair-backs with great sightlines in the upperdeck in the 90's but I sure do remember going to quite a few sell outs. Maybe the UC fanbase is aging and can no longer sit in bench seating??? And, why we're at it, let's take a look at some of those lower level seats that are actually very good seats. There were many games this year where those seats were empty. I probably don't need to explain why they were empty but it wasn't because they were bad seats or because 5/3 is outdated.

I sit in row six of the upper deck and my view is fantastic. The chairbacks run all the way up to row 15 I believe and I've sat in the last row of chairback seats before and those seats aren't bad. I think once you get up higher the sightlines get bad for stuff off the court. Comfortability and space really suck in the bench seats for sure.

 

[Scheids21]

lol....BN, you're treading on thin ice when you start posting facts on this site.

Come on LT...You don't post for weeks then contribute this? Be better than that my man.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

Folks, Jack has got this right. To me it's embarrassing that they haven't moved on this yet. To put it blunt 5th/3rd doesn't even stack up against the Arena's in the Atlantic Sun in Which NKU is a member. It's really quite amazing when you think of it what Mick has been able to accomplish. Can you imagine being on a recruiting trip that has you going to a game at Louisville in the Yum center and then coming to UC? What does Mick say to this Kid? Facilities are a huge huge draw for recruits and Mick sees this better than anybody. I'm telling you it's a major problem with Mick. This needs to get settled so the program can move forward. I believe the move downtown would be huge for all of the reasons listed above. On campus is overrated for basketball anyway IMO. For football I get it. I wonder if the powers that be (outside of Mick) really get it or not.

Recruits don't go to the upper deck nor to the concessions. I'll agree the Yum Center blows most everybody out of the water, but I don't think it's as big a factor as some make it out to be. As far as not being on campus I completely disagree. Our students are the only ones that know how to cheer and make noise and our players really respond to the students. Move downtown and you take that away for the average game. And the powers that be definitely get it. I think it's the fans that don't. Football drives the bus and has the ability to bring in money. Plus in our specific situation our fans support the football team and not so much the basketball team. UC does not have a deep wallet. They can only spend money for things they can raise. They raised the money for football. Basketball fans are still whining about Huggins, Zimpher, Cronin going to Louisville, no white players and the hundred reasons they won't go to games. Thus no money for basketball. If and when they do get the money for basketball, which they will partly from revenue generated in a new Nippert, I'm confident they'll spend it on campus and not helping renovate the dump that is the US Bank arena.

 

[Scheids21]

Recruits don't go to the upper deck nor to the concessions. I'll agree the Yum Center blows most everybody out of the water, but I don't think it's as big a factor as some make it out to be. As far as not being on campus I completely disagree. Our students are the only ones that know how to cheer and make noise and our players really respond to the students. Move downtown and you take that away for the average game. And the powers that be definitely get it. I think it's the fans that don't. Football drives the bus and has the ability to bring in money. Plus in our specific situation our fans support the football team and not so much the basketball team. UC does not have a deep wallet. They can only spend money for things they can raise. They raised the money for football. Basketball fans are still whining about Huggins, Zimpher, Cronin going to Louisville, no white players and the hundred reasons they won't go to games. Thus no money for basketball. If and when they do get the money for basketball, which they will partly from revenue generated in a new Nippert, I'm confident they'll spend it on campus and not helping renovate the dump that is the US Bank arena.

I wish we had the students on the side like some arenas do. Not close enough to punch the opposing bench like, but on the side. I can't stand the red sweaters that show up late then stand up less than a Catholic mass. I get that they paid the big bucks to get those seats, but it just makes us look weak.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

I agree but what really gets me mad is the university doesn't do small upgrades that they can control. Concessions/ dated box TV's in the concourse. Its insulating to fans who pay money that we can't even get above average food/experience.

I agree to this. Concessions is contracted out. Getting higher quality food is as easy as asking for it/demanding it. Upgrading TV's could probably be done for free if they let HHGregg or Best Buy put their names/ads around each TV. If not for free, there's what 12 TV's tops in the arena on the concourses? Chump change to upgrade them. Have someone camp out at Walmart on Black Friday if need be. Small things like this need to have been done already.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Things got derailed after Nancy and hopefully are shifting back.

 

[#BearcatNation]

I wish we had the students on the side like some arenas do. Not close enough to punch the opposing bench like, but on the side. I can't stand the red sweaters that show up late then stand up less than a Catholic mass. I get that they paid the big bucks to get those seats, but it just makes us look weak.

Agreed. I love how Michigan and Pitt for example do it. But it also takes a lot of high-quality ticket sales away, something we really couldn't afford to do. A courtside ticket is far more valuable than behind the hoop.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

I wish we had the students on the side like some arenas do. Not close enough to punch the opposing bench like, but on the side. I can't stand the red sweaters that show up late then stand up less than a Catholic mass. I get that they paid the big bucks to get those seats, but it just makes us look weak.

I agree about the red sweaters, but they are the ones that bring in probably 90% of the money to the program if not more, not counting TV money. As a donor I like to think I have the rights to the best seats since I give to the program.

With that said, I wish I didn't have to sell out my retirement plans to get to sit in the lower deck. I live below my means since I have no kids and my wife and I both work and make decent money. We're not rich by any stretch of the imagination but we're smart with money and have no debt and again, no kids. If I wanted to I could afford the $5000 donation for the best seats, but the way I look at it is if I buy tickets for the next 20 years (which I hope to do), that's $100,000 out of my retirement and in reality more since that money will be invested. Probably could be a quarter of a million dollars that I could use towards retirement just to sit in better seats. With that outlook, I'm happy with my seats as is. I don't want to work until I'm 80. Should I run into some better income or my bank account somehow just starts looking crazy I will upgrade my seats, until then I'll be smart with my money.

 

[BCM]

As far as not being on campus I completely disagree. Our students are the only ones that know how to cheer and make noise and our players really respond to the students. Move downtown and you take that away for the average game.

As a student (off campus, don't forget about us! We're a HUGE commuter school!) as long as my tickets are still free I'd prefer to go downtown for the games. More culture to hit while I'm down there, and I can invite other people who don't care as much about basketball to make a thing of it. Cross the river to Newport and make it a night! Pop back a couple hefeweizens and celebrate my cats' win the proper way

 

[the_one_32]

As a student (off campus, don't forget about us! We're a HUGE commuter school!) as long as my tickets are still free I'd prefer to go downtown for the games. More culture to hit while I'm down there, and I can invite other people who don't care as much about basketball to make a thing of it. Cross the river to Newport and make it a night! Pop back a couple hefeweizens and celebrate my cats' win the proper way

Would u wanna sell those tickets to me for the UofL game? Lol

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

I disagree with you guys, I like the student sections behind the basket.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

As a student (off campus, don't forget about us! We're a HUGE commuter school!) as long as my tickets are still free I'd prefer to go downtown for the games. More culture to hit while I'm down there, and I can invite other people who don't care as much about basketball to make a thing of it. Cross the river to Newport and make it a night! Pop back a couple hefeweizens and celebrate my cats' win the proper way

I was a commuter as well. I'm sure some students will still go down, but I just don't see student turnout being anywhere near the same. There's games on campus where the student turnout leaves something to be desired. For me personally, they would have to do a hell of a renovation to convince me they would better off downtown. And since they want us to foot part of the bill for said renovations I simply don't see it happening. If we're going to renovate something it needs to be our on-campus arena. The areas around UC have improved dramatically with restaraunts and bars. The Banks is nice but in five years it will be considered old and might not be a draw. Half our games are weeknight games and we are a city of families with kids not to mention how hard it is to get anywhere on a weeknight for gametime as it is, much less 2 hours ahead of time to do dinner and drinkks beforehand. I don't know in reality that fans will be that much more enticed to go downtown on a Tuesday night than they are to Clifton. I think sometimes we forget that the main reason to go to a game is to watch the team play. Its great that once or twice a year people can make an event out of going to a game and don't get me wrong I'm all for it, but what UC needs is season ticket holders and donors. Those people are coming to games because they want to watch/support the team for 20 games a year, not one or two.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Thought I saw some numbers on another site that indicatd we would show a increase again this year. I'll try and dig it up and post it.

BN sorry for the confusion. I thought I saw something showing a increase on Lance McAlister's blog. I can't find it so I'll trust your info. Thanks.

 

[BCM]

Would u wanna sell those tickets to me for the UofL game? Lol

Good luck finding anybody still doing that...!