How much is it costing UC to move men's hoops to NKU's BB&T Arena this season?
Kate Murphy, kmurphy@enquirer.com Published 2:19 p.m. ET Sept. 25, 2017

The University of Cincinnati is paying about $650,000 to play at NKU's BB&T Arena this season.

The Bearcats will play 17 games at the Highland Heights arena, paying $19,750 plus 30 tickets for each one.

UC is also paying a $100,000 fee to the branding company Learfield Communications to be able to display UC signage throughout the arena in places such as chairs and railings. The goal is to make it feel like a true home court. The Bearcats will also have a permanent locker room for the season.

It also costs $2,000 each time UC converts NKU's floor into its own, which will happen for as many of the home games as possible. UC is still working with SMG, the company that manages BB&T Arena, on that exact number of games, according to UC Athletics CFO Nick Bowes. UC can only change the floor on days when NKU's men's and women's teams don't have a game or practice. Bowes said it takes about three to four hours convert the court, which includes lining it with UC's colors and logos.

UC will also pay for game-day services including the scoreboard operations, spotlights, audio and video. That could cost about $15,000 for the entire season, Bowes said.

UC is playing at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights while Fifth Third Arena is undergoing a $87 million renovation. The women are playing at St. Ursula Academy, a high school in East Walnut Hills.

The total cost for the men's team became more clear when UC released its basketball schedule earlier this month. The expenses were calculated using details from the contract between the universities and SMG, the company that manages BB&T arena.

The Bearcats are also paying a $1 fee for every ticket sold, except student and complimentary tickets. A report will come out after each game that tallies how many tickets were sold and UC will pay the fee accordingly. UC will pay for season ticket holders' parking spots at $3 per vehicle. Single-game ticket buyers will pay up to $5 per car at the event, which is about half of what they get charged at UC.

UC is also losing all revenue from food, beverage and parking sales. The Bearcats will still receive 100 percent of the income from merchandise sold at the games, though.

The two teams will play also play two home-and-home series sometime in the first six years after Fifth Third is renovated. UC expects the arena to be finished next fall so the Bearcats can return to campus for the start of the 2018-19 season.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/2...615923001/

Dang. If we went with NKU over USBank, how much was US Bank charging?

This deal seems kinda high. And we may not have our own floor at some games?

Another pointless Enquirer "investigation"

This is from the same writer that thought the women's team not playing at BB&T was a Title IX violation

(09-25-2017 06:27 PM)InspectorHound Wrote:  Another pointless Enquirer "investigation"

This is from the same writer that thought the women's team not playing at BB&T was a Title IX violation

This is simply reporting the contract details. Why would you be opposed to that?

I’m glad to see this information

Gotta spend all that soccer money on something.

Ok. I'm not really a fan of not having a branded arena for their practices. The only games that conflict on the same day is on November 10th. The Cincinnati game is at Noon. The NKU game is at 7 PM. There would be roughly 5 hours between the end of the Cincinnati game and the NKU game. It's a tight window to do a switch over. I checked both NKU Men's and Women's schedules.

Other then that, I don't see an issue with having Cincinnati Branding for the rest.

It's fine hearing the cost-- we'd likely be spending as much at Us Bank. We'd still have to pay Leerfield for the signage and we'd have to share revenue with the arena and the county. We'd also likely have to pay for some other modifications to make facilities and arena ready for a whole season.

It's kinda cool, 4 games with NKU over the first 6 years. One less Savannah State those years and a nice mini rivalry fans from both schools can attend home and away

My first thought was this is dirt cheap. Thank you to NKU for working with UC.

(09-25-2017 09:38 PM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  My first thought was this is dirt cheap. Thank you to NKU for working with UC.

That's what I thought. We're spending $87 million or so on the renovation.

That is about 3/4 of 1% ($650,000/$87,000,000).

At 17 games and 9,400 seat it is just over $4 a seat a game.

That is dirt cheap.

(09-25-2017 10:53 PM)doss2 Wrote:  That is about 3/4 of 1% ($650,000/$87,000,000).

At 17 games and 9,400 seat it is just over $4 a seat a game.

That is dirt cheap.

I agree, it's a great value under the circumstances. No one here would have been happy about paying those dollars to X and enriching their program. That white elephant on the riverfront would likely have cost much more for what is now a third rate facility.

I hear great comments about the NKU arena and can't wait to see it filled for the 'Cats.

It is cheap and the floor will be at all games. They just won't switch it for some practices.

Sent from my SM-G935V using CSNbbs mobile app

Seems like a very reasonable price.

I am surprised John McNay and/or Ron Jones haven't surfaced sooner in the Enquirer to talk how UC spends only on athletics.

(09-26-2017 07:55 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  I am surprised John McNay and/or Ron Jones haven't surfaced sooner in the Enquirer to talk how UC spends only on athletics.

I am fairly pleased with the deal. It does not seem that expensive and looks to be a win-win for both institutions. I can only imagine what US bank was trying to extort from UC for their outdated facility.

I wish the cyclones never left the gardens.

I haven't read it, but does UC get all the ticket revenue after the 650,000? If so, that is an absolute steal for the season.

(09-26-2017 08:32 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I haven't read it, but does UC get all the ticket revenue after the 650,000? If so, that is an absolute steal for the season.

NKU gets $1 per ticket sold, UC keeps the rest.

(09-25-2017 08:39 PM)Bearcat2012 Wrote:  It's kinda cool, 4 games with NKU over the first 6 years. One less Savannah State those years and a nice mini rivalry fans from both schools can attend home and away

This is actually almost as big of a cost to UC than the $650k.

Last year our buy games had averaged 6,600 attendance. Even if all were season ticket holders (doubtful), there's still considerable revenue from parking and concessions. If UC only got $30 per fan, that's about $200k per game.

Although I agree that this is a good thing - I'd rather pay less in rent and have more home-and-homes if NKU wanted it.

Any idea what it is costing the women's volleyball and basketball team to play at Saint Ursula Academy? I think it is great that the women's team are playing close to campus in a pretty decent facility and it is helping SUA out as well.