How many seats are enough for Bradley?

by **pafan** » December 4th, 2014, 10:51 pm

A reports from the Peoria Journal Star says that Bradley is considering ending its lease at Carver Arena and moving its games to the on-campus Coliseum. The Coliseum currently seats about 1/3 of Carver Arena, but an expansion may also be on the table.

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20141204/ ... 701/SPORTS

Seems like any of the options discussed would make attendance go KABOOM!

**Sponsor**

by **MVCfans** » December 5th, 2014, 7:52 am

A decision to move back on campus full time might make sense now, but if the Braves get things turned around (and the program has been too good historically to think they won't) it seems shortsighted.

by **achrist70** » December 5th, 2014, 8:23 am

While 4,200 may not be quite enough, I think a smaller arena that is full is better than a big one with more fans than the smaller arena. I would say if they could get it in the 6-6.5K range that would be perfect for Bradley.

by **TheDrake** » December 5th, 2014, 8:57 am

This would be a really stupid move. Bradley has a great fan base that would come back if they could get back to even mediocre levels of play. Moving over to a Loyola sized arena after spending most of 30 years filling up Carver seems to me like throwing in the towel.

by **unipanther99** » December 5th, 2014, 9:12 am

Looks like the "we need Bradley to get back to how they were" ship has sailed. They might be good again someday, but the good ole days are long gone.

by **BradleyFan71** » December 5th, 2014, 9:26 am

unipanther99 wrote:Looks like the "we need Bradley to get back to how they were" ship has sailed. They might be good again someday, but the good ole days are long gone.

The "good ole days" have been long gone!

by **Mikovio** » December 5th, 2014, 10:33 am

I'd support doing this if we get capacity up to 6,500, which apparently we can. Here's how I see it.

Pros:
-Bradley gets to keep all of the revenue. At Carver, Bradley gets no revenue from parking or concessions and has to lease the building. Whereas with Renaissance, BU owns it and the adjacent parking deck.
-Bradley can control its dates and improve its schedule. Geno said BU had a big name opponent lined up to visit Peoria this year but Carver couldn't make the dates work. Increased flexibility will lead to better opponents and more regular games on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
-It will seem more full and draw more students. We can pack the arena and get it rocking even in a down year. It's on campus so it's an easy walk for students (hell, it's across the street from where I lived senior year.) It will present more of a home court advantage for the Braves.

Cons:
-Parking will be bad. The deck that was built wasn't meant to handle this many people, and a 6,500 capacity will force some people to make long walks in bad weather, and we have an aging fan base.
-Traffic bottleneck at Main and University. I'm a traffic commissioner for the city and when I voted to approve this project I thought that aside from move in day, it wouldn't be so bad. It has engendered quite the controversy, much of which I think is overblown after seeing traffic calm after initial spikes, but if we start playing 18 games a year at Renaissance it becomes a bigger hindrance.
-People will be turned away at the gate. Quite simply, the extra couple thousand bandwagon fans who liked to sip beer and watch from the cheap seats when Bradley puts good teams on the court won't get to any longer. This also includes young families with kids who might turn into the next generation of Bradley fans. Tickets will be expensive and the crowd exclusive. This is not how to grow a fan base. Although it might bring the students closer to the team, as a smaller school with most alumni moving out of the area, BU has traditionally relied on local non-alumni support.

But it will be mostly full and a good atmosphere. And IF Bradley ever gets back to its 1980s winning ways, or heck even its 2006-2008 winning ways, and people are hanging from the rafters and you get scalpers, it's not like Carver is going anywhere. You can go back. OR if the city does decide to tear it down, then Bradley can look to structurally expand Renaissance. (The reason they can't now is because the city wants to keep them at Carver, but if it's gone then so will be that incentive.)

by **TheAsianSensation** » December 5th, 2014, 11:03 am

This is a stupid idea. I don't care what renovations can be done, it won't make the arena and surrounding area large enough to properly handle it.

Also, don't underestimate the traffic. Whoever is responsible for the intersection at Main and University is one of the biggest morons in the history of morons.

by **Mikovio** » December 5th, 2014, 11:22 am

TheAsianSensation wrote:This is a stupid idea. I don't care what renovations can be done, it won't make the arena and surrounding area large enough to properly handle it.

Also, don't underestimate the traffic. Whoever is responsible for the intersection at Main and University is one of the biggest morons in the history of morons.

The area was large enough to properly handle crowds of over 7k when Robertson was being used, and that was before we put in a parking deck. Granted neighborhood parking is more strict now but that can change, especially if there's money to be made.

Nonsense. I know the city's chief traffic engineer. The time it takes to get through the intersection has only increased about 30% on average (after the initial spike). And it's much safer now for drivers and pedestrians and it looks fantastic. But yes if games start being played there regularly it will lead to some regular congestion and that's unfortunate.

by **Aargh** » December 5th, 2014, 11:29 am

Three things struck me from that article

1) If this is the last year of a 5-year contract, of course BU is considering moving. That's the only negotiating leverage they have.

2) BU had their students design the renovations to their arena? That doesn't sound like a very serious way to begin a move.

Then I hit this one:

3) Athletics are in the red $18 million in the last 3 years?

You've got to really hope someone is playing with numbers for negotiating leverage with that bombshell. Throw in that little tidbit and it makes sense to have students do the engineering work that puts 2,000 people into an upper deck.

In other cost-cutting measures, BU has found some pre-med students who will now being doing ACL repairs and other "routine" medical procedures for the athletic department. This paragraph was definitely not in the article.