If I had to put a number on it ( and I have just as much experience as Jeff Bourne building a new college basketball arena ) I think 6,500 seats is an optimal number. Maybe others like the 8500 number and the reduced home court advantage it will bring with it playing in a more cavernous facility with tarps over the upper deck. All the stats verify home court advantage is HUGE in college basketball.

But with 6500 seats you would have to put the stupid blank wall behind a baseline so end stage events like concerts and graduations lose hardly any seats to obstruction. Think more of a horseshoe shape like UVA’s jewel the JPJ. Most end stage events put 1500 fold out chairs on the floor which gets you to 8,000 max capacity on those events.
Harrisonburg is a tiny market and will rarely sell out hoops games or the 2nd tier events they will be able to book in the valley.

Regarding premium seating, JMU can’t miss the boat on the design. Premium seating revenue is approaching half of total revenue and continues to trend up. Many existing arenas have reduced capacity of John Q Public seats to increase space for more premium seat options.

“Fact: In 1990, premium seating in the United States was a minor topic, with only 3% of seats considered ‘premium’. Today, 28 years later, premium seating in a new build is generally around 20% of the seats and often above 40% of the ticket revenue.” SportsVenueBusiness

Gotta pay for that $88 million price tag and corporations will ante up for premium seating options as long as there is flex with secondary market resale options. Just a Duke Club room and courtside seating is not enough.