(07-27-2020 09:29 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: (07-26-2020 07:04 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote: (07-23-2020 09:37 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: The days of getting a good deal are probably gone. Old Key was desperate for dates. New Key will have an NHL team plus the concert/event boost of a new/renovated arena. Every Saturday will be taken up by something more lucrative.
I doubt it. Look at the Staples Center in LA. In a normal year, they have the Lakers, Clippers and Kings playing in the arena, as well as concerts and other events, covering about 250 events per year. The Kraken will be good for 41 home dates in hockey, plus a few preseason games. The Redhawks should be able to play 15 home games per season at the Climate Pledge Arena, along with Roller Derby and the WNBA.
The arena is only about three miles from the campus. The Redhawks need to play in a bigger arena to grow their basketball program. There is no NBA basketball in Seattle and only one other D1 school. They city produces a lot of high school basketball talent. The Redhawks have been able to schedule quality opponents over the years at that arena. They were getting home games at the Key Arena that no other WAC school could get. The Redhawks have huge upside and need to play in that arena.
The difference being Lakers/Clippers/Kings games are all lucrative events for the Staples Center. An SU game with a couple thousand attendees doesn't bring enough revenue to the arena manager -- and that bar for arena management to breakeven on an event will be higher after renovations. The trickle down is they'll be charging SU more to use it, when SU (a) can't draw enough gameday revenue to justify the cost and (b) is looking to cut costs in the current climate.
It's easier to get a sweetheart deal when an older, non-NHL/NBA arena needs dates. You have the leverage because the arena doesn't want to sit empty. The leverage flips when it's shiny with an NHL team and events are racing to book the new hot thing.
Well, Seattle U. missed an opportunity to build its brand when it returned to D1. Either Cameron Dollar was a bad hire or Seattle U did not give him the resources to jump start the program. The use and cost of the KeyArena became an albatross as fan interest waned.
Season..... Record... Attendance... Coach... Games Played in KeyArena
2009-10..... 17-14..... 3,548... Cameron Dollar... 13 games
2010-11..... 11-20..... 4,614... Cameron Dollar... 13 games
2011-12..... 12-15..... 2,944... Cameron Dollar... 16 games
2012-13..... 8-22..... 2,726... Cameron Dollar... 17 games
2013-14..... 13-17..... 2,193... Cameron Dollar... 14 games
2014-15..... 18-16..... 2,059... Cameron Dollar... 15 games
2015-16..... 15-17..... 1,675... Cameron Dollar... 15 games
2016-17..... 13-17..... 1,405... Cameron Dollar... 10 games
2017-18..... 20-14..... 1,384..... Jim Hayford..... 9 games
2018-19..... 18-15..... 985..... Jim Hayford..... 0 games
2019-20..... 14-15..... 834..... Jim Hayford..... 0 games
After Seattle University's initial start back into D1, attendance started sliding after the second season. Dollar produced only two winning seasons in his eight years. Also, the number of games played in the KeyArena started to reduce as attendance slowly to dropped year by year. Starting in 2016, games that were normally being played at KeyArena prior were now being played in the smaller confines of the Redhawk Center. The next two years will be very important in Jim Hayford's career. After his initial big splash on the program by winning 20 games, his program has slowly sliding backwards. Hayford needs to reverse that trend this season. And, If Seattle U gets the usage of the new Climate Pledge Arena for 2021-22, Hayford must use the buzz of this state of the art arena to infuse a new excitement into the program; with increased fan interest and a jumpstart on his local Seattle inner-city recruiting. Otherwise, if the new arena cost is too high, Seattle U. needs to find a more permanent remedy for the smallish size of the RedHawk Center.
