WKU’s average is 4,026. A difference of 129 per game. Bartow Arena has a seating capacity of 8,500. 4,155/8,500 X 100 = 48.9%. Diddle Arena has a capacity of 7,523. 4,026/7,523 X 100 = 53.5%. Not a significant difference, but it must be nice to average more than 50% of capacity. I’ve never been to E.A. Diddle Arena, but I’m sure it’s a great atmosphere. Andy Kennedy said as much last night.
BTW, UTEP led the way at 4,636. UTEP, UAB, and WKU were the only teams to average more than 4,000 in attendance this season.
We had several nice crowds at Bartow Arena this season, and it can really get loud in there. But I’ve always said the arena is just too big. I suspect most UAB fans disagree with me. The times we have filled the arena, hasn’t happened in quite some time, wasn’t because of UAB fans. It was because of the name and reputation of the opponent, and the vast number of fans they brought to the game.
I would love to see a major renovation to Bartow Arena, where suites were constructed and the overall capacity was reduced by a couple thousand. Just my humble opinion.
(If only I had the money to make it happen.)
I've thought that it needs to be reduced for a long time. 6500-7k capacity would be perfect.
It absolutely does. It’s just too big for the fan base and the direction college sports are headed these days. If we sell out for a full season and need more capacity, that’s a damn good problem to have and we can deal with it then.
Yep. It's better to sell out and have a waitlist for season tickets than a half empty arena.
We should copy what WKU did. They took out seats to add the suites end line to end line on each side. Most of the seats also are padded. It is s great place to watch a game.
(02-26-2023 11:10 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote: We should copy what WKU did. They took out seats to add the suites end line to end line on each side. Most of the seats also are padded. It is s great place to watch a game.
It was nice having a padded seat. Felt like I was at the movies.
(02-26-2023 11:10 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote: We should copy what WKU did. They took out seats to add the suites end line to end line on each side. Most of the seats also are padded. It is s great place to watch a game.
It was nice having a padded seat. Felt like I was at the movies.
Is there still plenty of elbow room to allow yourself to throw a decent size candy bar?
In 2002, a $32 million renovation was completed which reduced seating capacity to 7,381. The renovation also included: 16 luxury suites, all-new seating, two video boards, new concession and restroom areas, new playing floor, elevator access to all levels, new sound and lighting systems, two new auxiliary gyms totalling 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2), new training and weight rooms, air-conditioning, and new locker and office space complex facilities.
(02-26-2023 11:10 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote: We should copy what WKU did. They took out seats to add the suites end line to end line on each side. Most of the seats also are padded. It is s great place to watch a game.
It was nice having a padded seat. Felt like I was at the movies.
Is there still plenty of elbow room to allow yourself to throw a decent size candy bar?
I think I would have. I have heard stories about this but I’m too young to really get it - care to refresh my memory?
I sat behind the wku bench and next to an old lady who quietly talked trash to me at several points in the game. It was pretty funny.
(02-26-2023 11:10 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote: We should copy what WKU did. They took out seats to add the suites end line to end line on each side. Most of the seats also are padded. It is s great place to watch a game.
It was nice having a padded seat. Felt like I was at the movies.
Is there still plenty of elbow room to allow yourself to throw a decent size candy bar?
I think I would have. I have heard stories about this but I’m too young to really get it - care to refresh my memory?
I sat behind the wku bench and next to an old lady who quietly talked trash to me at several points in the game. It was pretty funny.
Remember EADA was a lot bigger than Bartow. Seated between 13-14K and has more total SF in the entire facility so they had more room to cut back and keep their capacity over 7,000. To do what they did on that scale might reduce capacity to UTSA numbers.
What I head is we may lose between 500-1,000 seats in a refit. Maybe that has changed IDK. A small section of luxury suites was mentioned. I would be more concerned with an overall upgrade and improving game day experience. This includes remodeling the concourse, concessions, and adding a basketball hall of fame by closing in the front entrance. Restroom upgrades, upgrade and expand the GG and Champion's club. Adding the ribbon message boards along the top. Installing NBA level lighting for lasers and adding effects on the floor such as a dragon etc. UAB basketball needs to become an event again and improving the overall fan experience should be paramount so the casual fan who came to see us play Memphis wants to come back and see us play FAU for example.
(This post was last modified: 02-27-2023 10:37 AM by ATTALLABLAZE.)
(02-27-2023 10:32 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: Remember EADA was a lot bigger than Bartow. Seated between 13-14K and has more total SF in the entire facility so they had more room to cut back and keep their capacity over 7,000. To do what they did on that scale might reduce capacity to UTSA numbers.
What I head is we may lose between 500-1,000 seats in a refit. Maybe that has changed IDK. A small section of luxury suites was mentioned. I would be more concerned with an overall upgrade and improving game day experience. This includes remodeling the concourse, concessions, and adding a basketball hall of fame by closing in the front entrance. Restroom upgrades, upgrade and expand the GG and Champion's club. Adding the ribbon message boards along the top. Installing NBA level lighting for lasers and adding effects on the floor such as a dragon etc. UAB basketball needs to become an event again and improving the overall fan experience should be paramount so the casual fan who came to see us play Memphis wants to come back and see us play FAU for example.
+1. Also, the basketball HOF at Old Dominion is really nice and would be a good model.
That foul out sequence on Eddie Collins was BS. Winning a conference tournament as a 3 seed looks like a lot of fun! We would not have made the tournament that year otherwise.
(02-27-2023 09:57 AM)58-56 Wrote: Here's another Diddle memory. So many departed: Ogg, Rembert, Charles.
What a time to be alive. Without knocking the talents of the current era, I am glad to have experienced 1980s college basketball before the portal, one-and-done, realignment, cartelification of the game. There was never anything better in college sports than the March Madness period of 1979-89.
(02-27-2023 10:32 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: Remember EADA was a lot bigger than Bartow. Seated between 13-14K and has more total SF in the entire facility so they had more room to cut back and keep their capacity over 7,000. To do what they did on that scale might reduce capacity to UTSA numbers.
What I head is we may lose between 500-1,000 seats in a refit. Maybe that has changed IDK. A small section of luxury suites was mentioned. I would be more concerned with an overall upgrade and improving game day experience. This includes remodeling the concourse, concessions, and adding a basketball hall of fame by closing in the front entrance. Restroom upgrades, upgrade and expand the GG and Champion's club. Adding the ribbon message boards along the top. Installing NBA level lighting for lasers and adding effects on the floor such as a dragon etc. UAB basketball needs to become an event again and improving the overall fan experience should be paramount so the casual fan who came to see us play Memphis wants to come back and see us play FAU for example.
The first school I can recall doing this to the level you mention is UNLV back in the day. Makes sense back in the day, being they were in Vegas and the only show in town then, but their games were like rock concerts in the Tark Era.
(02-27-2023 12:21 PM)FNblazer Wrote: Happy Birthday Answer! We are the same age and attended UAB simultaneously. Which makes me understand your cynicism fully.
Thanks! What a coincidence ...
I just hold UAB, particularly basketball, to a very high standard, bc of when I was a student and seeing the basketball I got to see first hand. It's only decreased in quality since I was an undergrad, until recently. I also very much appreciate our basketball history even though I wasn't there to see it first hand. I was also a student for close to 10 years so I had the chance to watch A LOT of basketball lol and get very attached over the years. Believe it or not, Mike Davis was actually a pretty good coach, and assembled some real talent at UAB - he just choked every time he had the chance and thought he was better than UAB.
And I am admittedly overly negative, pessimistic, and hard on myself about things I care about. Weird, I know. Maybe it's a defense mechanism who knows...
(This post was last modified: 02-27-2023 01:04 PM by The Answer UAB.)
I get it. The Anderson era produced incredibly exciting and successful basketball. The other nice thing to have was a very deep league with 7+ bids.
But times have changed and now it's a tougher path to the tournament. AK has gotten some of it figured out, but needs to reflect on recruiting and roster management. The Brewer bros have been such a joy to watch this year, but they won't hit the floor next year. Now what?
And as I've said way too much, OOC scheduling needs to take some type of positive step. Padding the schedule for 20+ wins don't mean much unless you like stringing together NIT appearances.
I think AK is gravely serious about returning to the Bartow Standard™, which means more to him personally than arguably all of us on here. In only three years, we're closer than any time since our good old undergrad days.
I was at UAB during the Anderson years as well, and was still around enough to attend plenty of games during Mike Davis' early tenure. Those were exciting times, even when Davis was coach. Like Answer said, Davis was a good coach he just choked at the worst times. Plenty of regular season games, aside from Memphis, still felt like a big deal while he was there. I remember packed houses for games against UTEP. That's not something that happens anymore but I really hope AK continues to build on the success we had last year and gets us back in the tournament this year. As as has already been stated, better OOC schedules, more wins against top 25 teams, consecutive tourney appearances, big times players (like Jelly), and hopefully some top 25 appearances ourselves..that's what will get fans in the arena and keep coming back.
(02-27-2023 01:31 PM)FNblazer Wrote: I get it. The Anderson era produced incredibly exciting and successful basketball. The other nice thing to have was a very deep league with 7+ bids.
But times have changed and now it's a tougher path to the tournament. AK has gotten some of it figured out, but needs to reflect on recruiting and roster management. The Brewer bros have been such a joy to watch this year, but they won't hit the floor next year. Now what?
And as I've said way too much, OOC scheduling needs to take some type of positive step. Padding the schedule for 20+ wins don't mean much unless you like stringing together NIT appearances.
I think AK is gravely serious about returning to the Bartow Standard™, which means more to him personally than arguably all of us on here. In only three years, we're closer than any time since our good old undergrad days.
After Kermit got fired, I looked up AK's records at Ole Miss. He only made the tournament twice and the first time was an auto bid. He made the NIT multiple times and twice being 1st in the West division. But it seems like if he had that record now he would get an at large since the SEC is supposably receiving up to 7 bids this season.
CUSA years ago was a multi-bid conference, but now AAC sometimes struggles being a 2 bid team.
Did the SEC somehow become a basketball powerhouse with more parity since Kentucky hasn't been the dominant team in recent years, or has the power conference bias increased over the past 5-10 years.
I see that West Virginia is projected to be an 11 seed in some brackets, but they are 16-13 and 5-11 in the Big12. I know the Big12 is a tough conference this year, but no team that goes under .500 in conference play OR barely has above .500 overall record should even sniff an at large bid.
I personally believe you should have at least 18-20 wins to be on the bubble and at large potential.
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