attendance

[old65horn]

I don't know if it's the economy, but there are a ton of empty seats at all the sweet sixteen regional games. Looks like the Erwin Center during non conference.

 

[SL Xpress]

I don't know what the attendance figures are, but the games are being played in football arenas. There might be 40,000 people at these events and it would still seem empty.

 

[YeaTexasFight]

My guess is that the original poster is referring primarily to the West Regional in Glendale...

Two Regionals are being played in domes, two are played in true basketball arenas (this is usually how it is every year). Of the two being played in domes, I haven't paid attention to the seating arrangements and whether or not half the stadium has been 'curtained' off or not.

The two played in arenas have been sold out or very close to it (I don't know the capacity of FedEx Forum in Memphis or the arena in Boston but my guess is that the attendance figures below are very close to capacity)

The Midwest Regional in Indianapolis had solid attendance on Thursday (on par with the attendance in San Antonio the year UT made it to the Final Four) helped out by the fact that Michigan St., Louisville, and Kansas are all great basketball schools in relative close proximity to Indianapolis.

The West Regional, on the other hand, had a tough go of it. Only 20K or so for both the Thursday and Saturday sessions due in no small part to the fact that the nearest school playing in Glendale happened to be 1,400 miles away.

18,886 for the UCONN/Mizzou West Regional Final in Glendale.
20,101 for Thursday's West Regional Semi-Finals.

18,831 for Thursday's East Regional Semi-Finals in Boston
18,871for the Pitt/Nova East Regional Final in Boston

17,103 for Friday's South Regional Semi-Finals in Memphis (UNC/Gonzaga, OU/Syracuse)

33,780 for Friday's Midwest Regional Semi-Finals in Indianapolis (KU/MSU, Louisville/Zona)

 

[Hu_Fan]

The games should be staged in classic basketball arenas.

I have little patience for events that are put on with so little classic imagination. It's part of the mediocrity of American culture. We simply cannot go first class. We are too prone to the median and medium of everything.

Remember that bell curve thing in Psyc 101 and Statistics class? How did that go?... That 87 percent part of the curve... vs. the meaningful part??

American marketing and event planning is aimed at the 87 percent.

We live with two misconceptions in the US. One, we don't really believe in Liberty and the Constitution, don't trust it to be good for everybody. So we opt for a more powerful ruling central authority, government and the Fed to decide our money (see what you get with that).

Two, we don't trust that people really do love quality.

There.

 

[Fievel121]

^^^ Wow, someone has a case of the Mondays!!

That was an awesome rant

And your sig added an excellent touch.

 

[TheFied]

What is with the arrangement at the regional finals that KU/MSU played at? The bench was like 3 steps below the playing court. That just doesn't help the ambiance.

Play the games in basketball courts please.

 

[TheFied]

Economy or not, the NCAA needs to make smart picks for where they host the rounds. It makes little sense to have Boise, Idaho or Miami, FL host sites. I was listening to Fox Sports radio yesterday and one of the guys covered the Miami 1st 2 rounds last week and he said it was dead.

But no ****. There is little to no basketball tradition in south Florida.

 

[Ignatius]

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[Bevo's Buddy]

Ahhh, Detroit. I could not think of a better place to host this year's Final Four. Seriously? Talk about a hideous destination, regardless of the fact that the auto industry is in the tank.

Maybe all of the automaker execs had corporate suites and 20 center court tickets written into their bonuses as part of the bailout, and the rest of the union workers received 4 free tickets in the "distant view" seats behind the curtain.

According to ESPN, the projected attendance for the FF is said to be 75,000. If Michigan State loses on Saturday, Monday night's CCG at Ford Field will look emptier than the FEC on steroids when Texas plays Lenoir Rhyne.

 

[TheFied]

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[Ignatius]

While I doubt there will ever be a regional at the FEC like there was in 2005 again, hopefully the support we've given the tourney in the past when it's been here will at least be enough to keep us in rotation for an opening weekend site from time to time...although SXSW being the same week doesn't really help in that effort...

 

[TheFied]

Austin isn't a big basketball town other than HS Final Four.

I say just host it at the AA Center in Dallas. And I live in Austin but I think it would draw better in Dallas. More flights for people flying in too. Austin airport blows big time.