Re: SCSU @ UNO Fri/Sat Jan 31st/Feb 1st: We Wanna Fight, Where's Matt White?!?
True true true and true. Meanwhile there are the dingbats out there screaming that our new arena will be too small. I presented one of those coupons and 101 was sold out so they gave me a seat in another section. Did not know about the sell out promo that redcows mentioned because once again the UNO marketing dept is a big joke.
I am one of those people that thinks the new arena is too small and I'll argue that point to my dying breath.
But, I agree that the "UNO Marketing Department" is an absolute utter joke (if it even really exists).
You don't build an arena that seats 7,399 (what it is now being said is the final capacity number) when you have
averaged more fans than that per game in 9 out of 16 years of the program's existence. And, in many of those seasons, the team stunk to the high heaven. This is simple "Business 101" type logic. Plus, as you said, the team is poorly promoted. That's an understatement, in my book. Imagine what might be possible if the team was well promoted and was a consistent performer.
Building an arena this small in the middle of a major metropolitan area that has a 3 decades long history of outstanding support for hockey in general is going to a be an albatross around the neck of this program from the day it opens unless they build it so that it can be expanded, much the same way they did the Qwest (now CenturyLink) Center.
For those that don't know, UNO, in it's 16 season existence, has played to well over 150 nights where there were
more than 7,399 people in the building, to give you some perspective. This program has played to numerous nights (more than a dozen) where there was more than 10,000 people in the building. They have played to crowds larger than 12,000 on at least 5 occasions and crowds over 15,000 on a couple of those.
The Omaha Storm Chasers built their own baseball stadium here in Omaha three seasons ago right here in Papillion, where I live. Their argument was that the Rosenblatt Stadium capacity was too large and this somehow hurt attendance (a specious argument of the worst kind). They moved into their new, much smaller digs when built and promptly won their first AAA Championship since 1990, and,
attendance went down from the season before!. In a new stadium with a championship team!
In the FWIW department, there should more than 7,399 in the building both nights this weekend. Quite a bit more, maybe, on Friday night (although I will temper this by saying the weather is looking a little dicey this weekend, now).
At a minimum, UNO needs a building that seats around 10,000 people. I'd live with that. If it were up to me, I'd make it 12,000. 7,399 is ridiculous. UNO has a proven track record that they can put fannies in those seats. I also think attendance would be further helped by where the new arena is going to be (smack dab in the middle of the city's population center) as opposed to downtown, which is an enormous jaunt (by Omaha standards) back downtown for anybody living out west on a Friday night. This is the reason the reason UNO always has bigger crowds for Saturday night games than Friday night games. Better still, since the new arena is now on-campus, the student attendance (which is now poor) should be affected pretty dramatically.
I, for one, am very unhappy with the what is purported to be the new arena size and I have let the athletic department know it, too. And, I am FAR from alone on this topic.
