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Regional Attendance
- Thread starter ticapnews
- Start date
mookie1995
there's a good buck in that racket.
Re: Regional Attendance
the friggin' church hasn't figured out how to keep this on the same sunday for thousands of years. you expect the ncaa to do so?
the friggin' church hasn't figured out how to keep this on the same sunday for thousands of years. you expect the ncaa to do so?
Get rid of conference tournaments. Add 4 games to regular season. You are asking fans of over half the field to attend a tournament that is meaningless to their team. This will add more to the regular season. Should lead to more fans attending regionals instead of deciding between the two weekends of travel.
Re: Regional Attendance
Yeah, I'm sure that (for example) TD Garden in Boston is going to give up two nights of between 13,000 and 17,000 fans, plus all the concessions revenue that goes with that.
Yeah, I'm sure that (for example) TD Garden in Boston is going to give up two nights of between 13,000 and 17,000 fans, plus all the concessions revenue that goes with that.
So then why is TV such a huge deal with these games? Allow syndication and start the games at reasonable times.
Re: Regional Attendance
Pgb-ohio, i didn't mean atmosphere at campus sites. I have seen quotes from cosches concerned about the atmosphere at these neutral sites. Not necessarily that they don't like neutral sites but that they want to see more of an effort to try and improve the atmosphere.
Pgb-ohio, i didn't mean atmosphere at campus sites. I have seen quotes from cosches concerned about the atmosphere at these neutral sites. Not necessarily that they don't like neutral sites but that they want to see more of an effort to try and improve the atmosphere.
Re: Regional Attendance
Tell me about it! One of my favorite hockey weekends of the year, which also included a Wild game against the Avs to practically determine who makes the playoffs, and I have to spend most of the weekend visiting and listening to people (relatives) and miss most of the games, thanks to the church scheduling Easter wrong. (My sister-in-law commented she thought it weird they would play on Easter weekend, and I pretty much responded similarly to the above, stating 'it was the churches fault for having Easter so early! We're talking NCAA Hockey here, the church should adjust.')
Tell me about it! One of my favorite hockey weekends of the year, which also included a Wild game against the Avs to practically determine who makes the playoffs, and I have to spend most of the weekend visiting and listening to people (relatives) and miss most of the games, thanks to the church scheduling Easter wrong. (My sister-in-law commented she thought it weird they would play on Easter weekend, and I pretty much responded similarly to the above, stating 'it was the churches fault for having Easter so early! We're talking NCAA Hockey here, the church should adjust.')
Re: Regional Attendance
At least in the West, the constraints put on aspiring hosts leave few viable options. Sure, there's the hypocrisy technique: Have a regional in Fargo and pretend it's not a UND home game. The atmosphere in Fargo was great, but... In general, the buildings of an appropriate size are either on campuses (ineligible) or in non-college hockey communities. (no local interest)
In the East, AHL buildings do offer some viable options for regionals. But having attended in Worcester, I'd describe it as minimally satisfactory, not a fan experience to write home about.
While I agree with you that the ticket price factor is important, by far the most important factor is holding games close to where the interested fans -- meaning those with a rooting interest -- live.
Consider this year's Cincinnati regional. In terms of participating teams, they hit the trifecta: The Michigan & Notre Dame fanbases were within reasonable driving distance. The best traveling fans in college hockey, North Dakota, joined the mix. On TV, the resulting crowd looked solid enough. But it sure wasn't a sellout. And make no mistake. Without those particular teams, you easily could have had the mausoleum atmosphere at that location.
Now, rewrite history and have that regional in Grand Forks. (home of the top seed.) The Ralph would have been jammed to the rafters and the building would have absolutely rocked.
I'm very aware that this scenario raises a variety of issues and concerns. Many valid. Over the years I've probably posted a small book on this subject; I'm not going to repeat all that stuff here. But there most certainly is a trade-off between a rocking campus arena and the crowds I saw on TV this weekend. And because of the staunch opposition of the coaches to campus sites, the option that would deliver the best fan experience is off the table.
Stick with this topic another season or two. You'll get discouraged soon enough.
At least in the West, the constraints put on aspiring hosts leave few viable options. Sure, there's the hypocrisy technique: Have a regional in Fargo and pretend it's not a UND home game. The atmosphere in Fargo was great, but... In general, the buildings of an appropriate size are either on campuses (ineligible) or in non-college hockey communities. (no local interest)
In the East, AHL buildings do offer some viable options for regionals. But having attended in Worcester, I'd describe it as minimally satisfactory, not a fan experience to write home about.
Couldn't agree more. And the only way to get there, at least in the Round of 16, is to have a home team. The higher seed gets its fans; the lower seed gets to play against the crowd. Beats playing against empty seats.
While I agree with you that the ticket price factor is important, by far the most important factor is holding games close to where the interested fans -- meaning those with a rooting interest -- live.
Consider this year's Cincinnati regional. In terms of participating teams, they hit the trifecta: The Michigan & Notre Dame fanbases were within reasonable driving distance. The best traveling fans in college hockey, North Dakota, joined the mix. On TV, the resulting crowd looked solid enough. But it sure wasn't a sellout. And make no mistake. Without those particular teams, you easily could have had the mausoleum atmosphere at that location.
Now, rewrite history and have that regional in Grand Forks. (home of the top seed.) The Ralph would have been jammed to the rafters and the building would have absolutely rocked.
I'm very aware that this scenario raises a variety of issues and concerns. Many valid. Over the years I've probably posted a small book on this subject; I'm not going to repeat all that stuff here. But there most certainly is a trade-off between a rocking campus arena and the crowds I saw on TV this weekend. And because of the staunch opposition of the coaches to campus sites, the option that would deliver the best fan experience is off the table.
Re: Regional Attendance
Have a regional there each year instead. The whole weekend generates less that half of the revenue of one Bruins game. And some of the other conferences lose money. What about the 2 weekends of conference tournaments before this which are attended horribly.
Have a regional there each year instead. The whole weekend generates less that half of the revenue of one Bruins game. And some of the other conferences lose money. What about the 2 weekends of conference tournaments before this which are attended horribly.
It wasn't my Easter. You move this away from Western Easter, then you bump it up against Orthodox Easter. And Passover. Not everyone that follows college hockey celebrates Western Easter. The Frozen Four has been on both Western Easter and Easter Orthodox Easter. Never been an issue. If Easter was the same time every year and it was scheduled during Easter it would be one thing. But it changes every year.
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Re: Regional Attendance
But to me, it's just a variation on the same issue. It's a question of what your priorities are. As per my reply to MarkEagleUSA, it really is a trade-off.
Yes, there definitely are some East/West differences on this. Maybe in the East it really is possible to make some meaningful improvements, yet keep sites that are truly neutral. Maybe. But in the West, I've come to believe that it's a mission impossible for the foreseeable future. All the Western hosts are doing is crossing their fingers and hoping to get crazy lucky with the assigned teams. This year in Cincinnati, the Easter miracle came through. In St. Paul, not so much. Especially on Sunday.
Fair enough, appreciate the reply.
But to me, it's just a variation on the same issue. It's a question of what your priorities are. As per my reply to MarkEagleUSA, it really is a trade-off.
Yes, there definitely are some East/West differences on this. Maybe in the East it really is possible to make some meaningful improvements, yet keep sites that are truly neutral. Maybe. But in the West, I've come to believe that it's a mission impossible for the foreseeable future. All the Western hosts are doing is crossing their fingers and hoping to get crazy lucky with the assigned teams. This year in Cincinnati, the Easter miracle came through. In St. Paul, not so much. Especially on Sunday.
Re: Regional Attendance
Message to NCAA: Do not schedule regionals on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the vernal equinox. That should be simplistic enough for them as they certainly appear to know a lot about full moons.
The NCAA has tiered prices for the Frozen 4 which is much more likely to sell out than a regional. Should be a common sense decision to do the same for regionals.
If they only expect about 5 to 7 thousand then why not put these in 8000 seat arenas to give better atmosphere. A full 8000 seat arena is far better than a half full 16000 seat one.
As far as prices are concerned a lot of NCAA hockey fans are NCAA fans because of ticket prices at the local arenas. The pros prices are out of reach for many and they don't ever even consider attending a pro event in any sport. Those of you that go and question why cost is an issue do not understand that for many attending becomes a choice of putting off a repair or paying off less on a credit card in order to attend at regional prices.
Message to NCAA: Do not schedule regionals on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the vernal equinox. That should be simplistic enough for them as they certainly appear to know a lot about full moons.
The NCAA has tiered prices for the Frozen 4 which is much more likely to sell out than a regional. Should be a common sense decision to do the same for regionals.
If they only expect about 5 to 7 thousand then why not put these in 8000 seat arenas to give better atmosphere. A full 8000 seat arena is far better than a half full 16000 seat one.
As far as prices are concerned a lot of NCAA hockey fans are NCAA fans because of ticket prices at the local arenas. The pros prices are out of reach for many and they don't ever even consider attending a pro event in any sport. Those of you that go and question why cost is an issue do not understand that for many attending becomes a choice of putting off a repair or paying off less on a credit card in order to attend at regional prices.
St. Clown
Ideas Posted are Likely Not My Own
Re: Regional Attendance
People aren't paying for the tickets over the course of year, they're paying for them at the time of purchase, or up to a month or so later. That $80 per seat, for however many family members may be in attendance, after (repeating the salient points others have made here) possibly having purchased conference tournament tickets the week prior, and the excitement that you might have a reason to rush out to purchase Frozen Four tickets shortly after the regionals, it all adds up. And, to again repeat others' point, the casual fan will still see it as a possibly few hundred dollars outlay for a family of four. It's not a small amount of money, in the neighborhood of a nice car payment.
People aren't paying for the tickets over the course of year, they're paying for them at the time of purchase, or up to a month or so later. That $80 per seat, for however many family members may be in attendance, after (repeating the salient points others have made here) possibly having purchased conference tournament tickets the week prior, and the excitement that you might have a reason to rush out to purchase Frozen Four tickets shortly after the regionals, it all adds up. And, to again repeat others' point, the casual fan will still see it as a possibly few hundred dollars outlay for a family of four. It's not a small amount of money, in the neighborhood of a nice car payment.
Fred.Davenport
New member
Re: Regional Attendance
My Two cents,
The top four seeds should host:
They have earned the right after playing 35+ games
All high seeds sites would sell-out (more revenue & much better game atmosphere)
Nothing is better for atmosphere than a sell-out whether it be 100,000 or 3,000 fans
Only three teams would travel ( less expenses)
All other major sports the high seed hosts (MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, NCAA MLAX, NCAA WHOK, 1st Round NCAA WBBall and many, many others)
Let's admit to the fact that the sports world is all crazed by the basketball brackets and have no interest in going to civic arenas for $50-$75, when they can stay home and watch hockey and basketball for free, while drinking their fav adult beverage
Take a look at the USCHO report on 15-16 attendance:
http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2015-2016/
and you will easily see that there would of been 10,000 more fans at the highest seeds than the very, very embarassing 2000+ fans at some of the regional finals.
Let's start doing what the administrators, parents, alumni and fans want and NOT what the coaches want (neutral sites)
Best of Luck to all (athletes, coaches, fans and media) in Tampa
My Two cents,
The top four seeds should host:
They have earned the right after playing 35+ games
All high seeds sites would sell-out (more revenue & much better game atmosphere)
Nothing is better for atmosphere than a sell-out whether it be 100,000 or 3,000 fans
Only three teams would travel ( less expenses)
All other major sports the high seed hosts (MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, NCAA MLAX, NCAA WHOK, 1st Round NCAA WBBall and many, many others)
Let's admit to the fact that the sports world is all crazed by the basketball brackets and have no interest in going to civic arenas for $50-$75, when they can stay home and watch hockey and basketball for free, while drinking their fav adult beverage
Take a look at the USCHO report on 15-16 attendance:
http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2015-2016/
and you will easily see that there would of been 10,000 more fans at the highest seeds than the very, very embarassing 2000+ fans at some of the regional finals.
Let's start doing what the administrators, parents, alumni and fans want and NOT what the coaches want (neutral sites)
Best of Luck to all (athletes, coaches, fans and media) in Tampa
Re: Regional Attendance
Those are harder to find than you might think. You could put the Midwest Regional in Toledo (Huntington Center capacity 8200) and the East Regional in Reading (Santander Arena capacity 7160) but then you wouldn't get the 5-7 thousand attendance and the arenas would still be half full.
Powers &8^]
Those are harder to find than you might think. You could put the Midwest Regional in Toledo (Huntington Center capacity 8200) and the East Regional in Reading (Santander Arena capacity 7160) but then you wouldn't get the 5-7 thousand attendance and the arenas would still be half full.
Powers &8^]
Speed Kills
Registered User
Re: Regional Attendance
That is exactly right, but the problem is that fans of each school have less than a week to make travel plans once the regional matchups are announced. That factor limits the number of fans able to make the trip to those games, which leaves the NCAA in a position where to boost attendance they are going to have to depend on those casual walk-up type fans who are local to the host cities. The only way I see them gaining those kind of fans is by lowering the ticket prices. Even if they want to start with the current price structure, I would say if the event isn't sold out within 24 hours before the first game they should at that point offer greatly reduced tickets just to get a few butts in the seats and hopefully make up some additional revenue on concessions.
That is exactly right, but the problem is that fans of each school have less than a week to make travel plans once the regional matchups are announced. That factor limits the number of fans able to make the trip to those games, which leaves the NCAA in a position where to boost attendance they are going to have to depend on those casual walk-up type fans who are local to the host cities. The only way I see them gaining those kind of fans is by lowering the ticket prices. Even if they want to start with the current price structure, I would say if the event isn't sold out within 24 hours before the first game they should at that point offer greatly reduced tickets just to get a few butts in the seats and hopefully make up some additional revenue on concessions.
Re: Regional Attendance
Now I know this list is not accurate but enough of it is. There appear to be a lot more choices than first thought: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_indoor_arenas_in_the_United_States
Now I know this list is not accurate but enough of it is. There appear to be a lot more choices than first thought: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_indoor_arenas_in_the_United_States
Re: Regional Attendance
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
(of course you're right, but get real...not gonna happen - remember the Tears for Fears song, "Everybody Want to Rule the World?" nobody in power will ever give it up willingly)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
(of course you're right, but get real...not gonna happen - remember the Tears for Fears song, "Everybody Want to Rule the World?" nobody in power will ever give it up willingly)