3k to 5k conservatively?

[Born2Shock]

What a moron...

http://creighton.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1008769

[vbird53]

In all honesty, I can't believe that Creighton hasn't capitalized on the fact that they are based in Omaha in the past.

I'd think it wouldn't take too much vision to see the possibilities.

However, 3-5000 "conservatively" won't continue to show up if they don't put together a better product on the field.

At WSU, there would not be the baseball facilities that we have if the commitment on the field was mediocre.

At Creighton, they're being offered a unique opportunity; I guess we'll see if the can take advantage of it.

[ShockCity]

Haaaaaaa!!!!! 3K to 5K conservatively? Haaaaaaaa!!!! Oh man, I needed a laugh this morning.

[Shocker85]

Another real gem by Matt Perrault.

3k-5k is going to be tough.

What they don't have going for them is a long tradition of baseball and a fan base that will commit long-term to season tickets. At WSU, when the permanent stadium was built, the broad fan base committed to long-term contracts (PSLs) for season tickets. Also, there are a ton of corporate tickets purchases every season. All this after coming off a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP and probably the best salesman for college baseball in America.

The taxpayers of Omaha are already paying for the stadium and asking donors to pony-up for PSLs when they're already footing the bill seems a bit greedy.

The article begs a few other questions:

. What will the atmosphere be like in a cavernous 24,000 seat stadium when there are 1,200 fans there? Answer: lousy.

. Wouldn't playing college baseball at an off-campus facility be inconvenient? Wouldn't it have a detrimental affect on student attendance, especially on weekdays, who couldn't just "drop-by" the ballpark.

. Newsflash: College baseball season runs from February through May. What is the average temperature in Omaha in February, March, and April? Maybe the sCUm fans are hardy souls.

. Do Matt Parrault and Bruce Rasmussen not know that the University of Texas does not play non-conference road games?

Don't get me wrong, an occasional game at a plush, municipal ballpark would be cool, but playing every game at that type of facility defies the spirit of college baseball. In the case of college baseball ballparks, BIGGER IS NOT BETTER. Hell, Eck Stadium is too big for 75% of Shocker games.

Maybe they will average 3,000-5,000. A couple "Dollar Nights" in May with 20,000+ folks in the park will offset most of the March and April dates when 412 folks show up.

--'85.

[DoubleJayAlum]

. Wouldn't playing college baseball at an off-campus facility be inconvenient? Wouldn't it have a detrimental affect on student attendance, especially on weekdays, who couldn't just "drop-by" the ballpark.

Might want to do a little research on the proximity of the park to campus before making such a statement.

While you are correct that it isn't technically "on campus", it's about as close as you can possibly get without being on campus.

[ShockerFever]

3,000-5,000? Bahhahahahaahahaahahaaa!!

Just another Matty P gem for yah.



The only reason their attendance ever gets a boost is when Nebraska comes to town and inflates the numbers by about 90%.

What a moron.

[WuDrWu]

Maybe they will average 3,000-5,000. A couple "Dollar Nights" in May with 20,000+ folks in the park will offset most of the March and April dates when 412 folks show up.

--'85.

Never underestimate the power of Nebraska football. Don't think for a minute that they won't get 20,000 corn stalk wearing yahoos to attend a couple of "Creighton home games" lol.

They will have lots of corporate tickets sold, I promise you. But unless the team gets really good, nobody is going to show up on a regular basis.

Listen, the minute CU basketball returns to it's rightful spot as 2 bit doormat to the MVC, those 15000 Husker fans will SPRINT, not walk, to the nearest BigRed Store to re-dye their overalls.

[ShockCity]

The part about getting great teams to come play there because it's the home of the CWS is hilarious!!!!!! Ya, I'm so sure that LSU, Miami, and the likes are gonna come to OMahahahahahahaha in Feb. or March just to play on that field. Give me a break. I'm glad I don't pay $10 a month for garbage like that. What a bunch of suckers.

[CharlieHog]

Maybe they can get some teams like Oregon State or Minnesota or Ohio State to come there, teams that don't have great home attendance and their own stellar park, but are certainly quality programs.

Nobody that makes money from home games is going to travel NORTH to play a college baseball game. That rules out Texas and most of the SEC. They could probably get Kentucky.

What would a team get out of it except for playing in the home of the CWS (something Texas, LSU, Fullerton, etc will get to do anyway...when they are in the CWS)? Creighton can't pay anybody to come there. They are not going to be good for RPI.

Maybe if baseball added in some kind of RPI bonus for playing road games like they do in basketball, they could get somebody like ECU or UNC-Charlotte or another team looking for an RPI boost.

There are very few places that get 5,000 people a game. There are very few places that have 3,000 people in the seats at most of their games. You could probably count them on one hand.

[SB Shock]

Maybe the sCUm fans are hardy souls.
--'85.

Nope. At least not the last time WSU was in Omaha. WSU fans outnumbered CU fans.

[ShockCity]

To follow up on Charlie's post on how difficult it is to get this kind of support. There were 4 teams that averaged higher than 5K per game (LSU, Arkansas, Miss. St., Texas). Keep dreaming BJ's. Another 15 teams averaged between 3K and 5K. Of these 19 teams, only 2 (Wichita State and Nebraska) were northern climate schools. Once again, keep dreaming. The only time attendance will hit this mark will be when WSU or Nebraska come to down.

[Shocker85]

Might want to do a little research on the proximity of the park to campus before making such a statement.

While you are correct that it isn't technically "on campus", it's about as close as you can possibly get without being on campus.

Draw me a map. In 5 minutes of research I couldn't find an address for the ballpark so I gave up.

I'll retract that one.

I like Omaha. I just hate sCUm. Nothing personal, DJA, but it isn't a rivalry.

BTW, do you people claim Matt P. as one of your own?

--'85.

[ShockerFever]

BTW, do you people claim Matt P. as one of your own?

For DJA, Matty P. is like his brother/cousin/boytoy or something. He has that flake's back on everything.... literally it seems.



With all of the points Charlie, Shock City, 85 and others have made, it pretty much confirms Matty's place in the Ignorance/Moronic Hall of Fame.

[Shocker85]

Hell, I'm not done ... I missed this article from the OWH about the stadium. Some pertinent nuggets:

"The Bluejays drew an average of 792 fans for 20 home dates last season. The average was only 225 for 12 dates at the CU Sports Complex, but was 1,648 for eight games at Rosenblatt Stadium." The loyal sCUm baseball following surprised me. Obviously, 3k-5k is just s hop, skip and jump from that.

Rasmussen said he hopes the Bluejays will draw 3,000 to 5,000 per game. “That's a very realistic number to begin with,” he said. “If our product is good, we hope to grow and develop that. Some games are going to draw more.” Oops, sounds like old Brucie is setting the 3-5k as his baseline - onward and upward, baybeee. Had to throw in that big "IF" there, though, didn't you Bruce?

Rasmussen said national baseball powers such as Miami, Stanford, North Carolina, Louisiana State and Notre Dame have all expressed interest in playing in the new stadium if the timing is right on their schedules. Bruce, "...if the timing is right" is coach-speak for "Don't call us, we'll call you.

Dixon said Creighton would pay $10,000 per game. Let's see, $10,000 / 3,000 = $3.33. $10,000 / 5,000 = $2.00. So, ~$3 from every fan attending ... I'll bet MECA keeps concession revenue ... Bruce, it is fiscal genius.

BTW, the Omaha Royals decided to NOT pay rent at the new over-sized ballpark and are utilizing a smaller stadium down in Papillion. The new ballpark is essentially the home of the CWS and that's it - on the taxpayers.

Also, the Nebraska @ sCUm game played in Rosenblatt on 4/21/09 drew 4,071 fans. So you're going to AVERAGE around that? Bwahahahaha! sCUm's final home series last season drew 323, 1305, and 307 for an average of 778. Just a hair under 3,000-5,000.

It's not necessarily Matt P. here ... Bruce Rasmussen is delusional.

--'85.

[Veritas]

Let's hope the new stadium works as well for CU as it has for MSU.

While I agree that playing in a stadium where 23 out of 24 seats are vacant is not advantageous for their budget, I do believe that this stadium could give their program a boost. We can expect to see the MoVal tournament becoming a more frequent visitor to Omaha too.

Gene always seems to be ahead of the curve though. New turf, training facility, etc...