How many seats are enough for Bradley?

[Drakey]

Wichita is a completely different situation than Creighton, Bradley and Drake. I don't think WSU has ever had attendance problems, even when they were terrible. I think it is a different kind of city and a different kind of school. I think Bradley is much more similar to Drake and Creighton than it is to WSU. Obviously I did not make any claim that no school with an on campus facility can draw fans. Nearly every State school in the country has an on campus facility. I'm talking about small private schools in medium sized Midwestern cities. These schools do not come with built in fan bases. The number of alumni is limited and the alumni they do have probably consists of fewer sports fans than most state schools.

It has been my observation that in order to build a fan base at one of these schools you have to be part of the city. Drake at one time had done that. Creighton did that. Bradley traditionally was able to do that before going many years with mediocre teams. I just think it would be a huge mistake to withdraw from the community to a campus facility because based on my experience, that will cause another reduction in fan interest.

[rlh04d]

Wichita is a completely different situation than Creighton, Bradley and Drake. I don't think WSU has ever had attendance problems, even when they were terrible. I think it is a different kind of city and a different kind of school. I think Bradley is much more similar to Drake and Creighton than it is to WSU. Obviously I did not make any claim that no school with an on campus facility can draw fans. Nearly every State school in the country has an on campus facility. I'm talking about small private schools in medium sized Midwestern cities. These schools do not come with built in fan bases. The number of alumni is limited and the alumni they do have probably consists of fewer sports fans than most state schools.

It has been my observation that in order to build a fan base at one of these schools you have to be part of the city. Drake at one time had done that. Creighton did that. Bradley traditionally was able to do that before going many years with mediocre teams. I just think it would be a huge mistake to withdraw from the community to a campus facility because based on my experience, that will cause another reduction in fan interest.

True, I wasn't looking in terms of student body. You might be right.

[Kyle]

Is Bradley struggling financially?

This is the only real reason why they would be considering this move IMO.

Does anyone know when Drake stopped holding their games at VMA and moved into the Knapp Center?

[ptownbraves]

Is Bradley struggling financially?

This is the only real reason why they would be considering this move IMO.

Bradley spends about $10 million/year on athletics with revenues of around $4 million. The school itself is also highly leveraged. So yes, there is pressure to cut costs.

[BCPanther]

Does anyone know when Drake stopped holding their games at VMA and moved into the Knapp Center?

1995ish..........

[rlh04d]

Is Bradley struggling financially?

This is the only real reason why they would be considering this move IMO.

Does anyone know when Drake stopped holding their games at VMA and moved into the Knapp Center?

Pretty much every non-WSU Valley team is struggling financially.

[Drakey]

Is Bradley struggling financially?
This is the only real reason why they would be considering this move IMO.

Does anyone know when Drake stopped holding their games at VMA and moved into the Knapp Center?

Drake moved in 1992. Curt Smiths only year at Drake. Could have had some bigger crowds if he would have stuck around. Drake could have drawn 10,000 for most of the conference games in 07-08 if they had the capacity. That is the problem with a 7000 seat facility. It's OK if your team is terrible, but it kills your attendance if you ever get good. I have no doubt Drake would average 9000 per game if they were finishing top 3 in the Valley every year. I think the same is true of Bradley.

[carrcar]

Will they still sell beer?

[Wufan]

I think the most important thing about seating capacity for a game is to maximize the number of seats at a level where the demand for tickets is above the number available in good years, but the arena stays 1/2 to 3/4 full in lean years. Maintaining demand by not having an overabundance of tickets in important.