Drastic Idea-Work with me

[shoxlax]

Long and against my nature but here goes:

This involves a remodel of Koch for the following reasons:
1)College basketball attendance is down everywhere
2)The amount of good seats on Stubhub tells me the big donors are dumping their ticketts
3) I am convinced winning will only solve part of the lack of fans
4. The arena seems cavernous for women’s sports

Here is my plan and I need help with the engineering and data part:

Instead of fighting the status quo, use the top several rows for luxury skyboxes. Presell them to pay for a lot of the costs and leave one or two empty to rent out. Move all the ticket holders down, reduce the empties with fewer GA sales.
Hire the NIL collective to manage the skyboxes as a sub with the agreement they are to use a large % of their income to fund collectives. In other words we sell a skybox to Spirit for 250k for 5 years most goes to AD with a small percentage being designated to collective for proper use.

Why might this work:
1. Corporations trying to use tickets now to entertain or promote face cramped seats, difficult atmosphere for conversations and now, no entertainment in the product itself.
2. Long time season ticket holders would stand to gain by eliminating empties and letting them move down.
3. Women’s sports would play in a bit more intimate setting and it may increase attendance.

Skyboxes are not a new idea, you may say. However, shrinking capacity and improving the quality of experience is something that has not been seriously considered. I’m not talking getting a new PA system or cheaper hot dogs. With so many fans disgruntled about the state of college basketball, this gives them a reason to at least show up and have fun, and if a basketball game breaks out, that is a bonus. The Wind Surge has trouble selling seats but not boxes.

The numbers would have to be crunched using Marshall era proceeds to actually know how many boxes and at what price to sell them at.

What I’m thinking is a 6-7k arena plus boxes which if mostly packed, will be loud and racous and a separate place for corporate donors to play with themselves. I think those crowds are achievable.

Face it, something has to change besides the product on the court because most of the reasons why basketball sucks are not leaving.

[shoxlax]

Kung is on board.

[asiseeit]

How about we take all that $$$ and buy three or four 4* players instead and improve the product ? Has this idea revamped the baseball program??

[shoxlax]

How about we take all that $$$ and buy three or four 4* players instead and improve the product ? Has this idea revamped the baseball program??

Completely different scenario. Nothing was shrunk, it was added on. Most games there are as many or more fans in skyboxes and AA club than in the stands and way more revenue generated. Eck is way too big now. If there is ever a need for more room there is a f’iing outfield hill waiting to be taken back by the masses. Quantity is not what will drive proceeds in 2024 onward, it is convenience and comfort, at least in our specific environment.

[shoxlax]

One other thing. Saul is all about the above thinking. Just look at the small capacity and design of the W side of the new Cessna stadium. This is being built with the idea of corporate donors shelling out bucks for Women or Mens soccer.

[Stickboy46]

Baylor just built a brand new arena and it only seats 7k for similar reasons. They have gotten pretty good reviews on it. Not saying it's the right thing or the we should do it right now.. but it's definitely something to think about.

[pinstripers]

interesting concept

[Dan]

U of Houston has a nice new area and only 7,100 capacity. Has a nice feel and limited number of "boxes". You don't put the boxes at the top, you put them in the middle on the concourse level so the owners have easy access to concessions and restrooms.

[BostonWu]

1) A project like this ain't happening when we're still paying millions to multiple former coaches, and 2) I wouldn't put the NIL collective in charge of anything at the moment.

[asiseeit]

Completely different scenario. Nothing was shrunk, it was added on. Most games there are as many or more fans in skyboxes and AA club than in the stands and way more revenue generated. Eck is way too big now. If there is ever a need for more room there is a f’iing outfield hill waiting to be taken back by the masses. Quantity is not what will drive proceeds in 2024 onward, it is convenience and comfort, at least in our specific environment.

Waste of money until we can floor a decent team. Then what happens if/when we do and we can't accomodate a growing fan base?

[WuShock16]

I like this thinking of seat reduction because that is certainly the trend. I remember years ago when people were suggesting that CKA needed to be expanded. I was like “Oh, hell no.” I used Gallagher Iba down in Stillwater as my reasoning. It is way too big for what they need for basketball (although, I suppose I could listen to an argument that they fill the seats for wrestling).

But 6,000 permanent seats plus skybox capacities would seem appropriate. I mean, other than WSU men’s basketball, when has that arena really needed 10,000 seats in recent history (and obviously men’s basketball hasn’t even needed this kind of capacity as of late)? The only thing I thought of was that WSU hosts graduation for 259 and other larger area school districts. If a larger venue is truly needed for an event, the event could be put downtown at Intrust.

[WuShock16]

Waste of money until we can floor a decent team. Then what happens if/when we do and we can't accomodate a growing fan base?

Demand isn’t a bad thing. If it was, Duke would have expanded Cameron a long time ago.

Your first point is valid though.

[WuDrWu]

Just to touch on baseball, I expect the outfield to be a big improvement this spring, and even better next season. I'm hearing rumblings about relaxed admission accessories. At least it's a start. Hopefully it will bring some people, fans in previous years, if not decades, back to the yard.

And shoxlax is right. It's way too big. It's not a fault, it's just changing times. The outfield GA bleachers need to be removed or replaced with a party deck or bar (like Clearwater) or just standing walkway areas. The right field needs to be redesigned as perhaps a tiered berm type area. ANYTHING other than a hill that doesn't look over the fence unless you're 7'4". It's not out of line to think about adjusting the fences. Maybe the walls need to move out, and the fence height lowered. That's not a crazy idea.

I don't know how many water leaks have happened on level 3 and 4 the last few years, but it's been more than a few. Every sky box needs to be gutted and re-done (seriously, even the coaches private box is borderline embarrassing) or completely torn down and rebuilt. The AA Club needs a bigtime remodel. From stem to stern. Furniture, bathrooms, a better flow pattern and better use of the window seats. Most of the room is wasted. Sit on any of the couches and you might as well be home listening to Mike. Again, SO much opportunity.

A large number of seats are broken and need to be replaced. Just the chairs. And some of the better lower seats need to be redesigned to private box seats. I know it's expensive, but SO much could be done to make it a destination, and if we get good, then that's a bonus.

[ShockBand]

Just to touch on baseball, I expect the outfield to be a big improvement this spring, and even better next season. I'm hearing rumblings about relaxed admission accessories. At least it's a start. Hopefully it will bring some people, fans in previous years, if not decades, back to the yard.

And shoxlax is right. It's way too big. It's not a fault, it's just changing times. The outfield GA bleachers need to be removed or replaced with a party deck or bar (like Clearwater) or just standing walkway areas. The right field needs to be redesigned as perhaps a tiered berm type area. ANYTHING other than a hill that doesn't look over the fence unless you're 7'4". It's not out of line to think about adjusting the fences. Maybe the walls need to move out, and the fence height lowered. That's not a crazy idea.

I don't know how many water leaks have happened on level 3 and 4 the last few years, but it's been more than a few. Every sky box needs to be gutted and re-done (seriously, even the coaches private box is borderline embarrassing) or completely torn down and rebuilt. The AA Club needs a bigtime remodel. From stem to stern. Furniture, bathrooms, a better flow pattern and better use of the window seats. Most of the room is wasted. Sit on any of the couches and you might as well be home listening to Mike. Again, SO much opportunity.

A large number of seats are broken and need to be replaced. Just the chairs. And some of the better lower seats need to be redesigned to private box seats. I know it's expensive, but SO much could be done to make it a destination, and if we get good, then that's a bonus.

Switch the left field bleachers to a party deck with a hot tub! Maybe Ultra Modern would sponsor the "splash zone". And if the outfield fence were pushed out a little and lowered, the heckling from the outfield would be better. Or is that just something I did back in my college days out on the hill? Some opposing players we really drove nuts, and others totally played along. I would also keep the metal bleachers above first base closed except maybe for big games or see if it could be refit into decking with tables and seats, and then make the yellow and green seats a bit lower in price, like $6 and $8 or so. Empty seats generate no revenue.

[RoyalShock]

Waste of money until we can floor a decent team. Then what happens if/when we do and we can't accomodate a growing fan base?

If Jim Schaus had thought like that, the renovation plans and fundraising wouldn't have started until . . . ? It's hard to say how much those plans factored in to Turgeon's ability to recruit.

I do really like this idea, but would like to see capacity be closer to 8000-8500. I think a top-3 AAC team would still draw that consistently. It would be really nice if leg room could be increased about an inch or two per row, but not sure that's possible without completely redoing the concrete.