attendance at Drake game

[afan]

3700+ is an embarrassment. Opening game for the season?????????? Why do they bother??

[saluki762]

Maybe it was the opponent.

[Da Coach]

If you check previous seasons, I believe you will find that Drake's attendance for home games against Bradley is usually well above their season average. I have been to almost every game Bradley has played in the Knapp Center, and I recall several sellouts or near sellouts.

The crowd was nowhere near the announced total, so that must have included season tickets sold, too. And in addition to being a very quiet crowd, did you see the mass exodus with a couple minutes to go when Bradley's lead surged to double digits?
I think they are a little discouraged from their poor record at home this season, coupled with the desire to beat the crowd out of the area.

[DUBulldog]

If you check previous seasons, I believe you will find that Drake's attendance for home games against Bradley is usually well above their season average. I have been to almost every game Bradley has played in the Knapp Center, and I recall several sellouts or near sellouts.

The crowd was nowhere near the announced total, so that must have included season tickets sold, too. And in addition to being a very quiet crowd, did you see the mass exodus with a couple minutes to go when Bradley's lead surged to double digits?
I think they are a little discouraged from their poor record at home this season, coupled with the desire to beat the crowd out of the area.

Good observations.....I'd just add that a lot of the fans are more than a little discouraged.

[SaintLouBrave22]

Good observations.....I'd just add that a lot of the fans are more than a little discouraged.

I was told last year during the tournament by some really cordial Drake fans that Phelps is not well liked around there and is has been trying to change certain things that many liked about their program...


That and all of the Drake fans I know that have been so lucky to have met him consider him a pompous a-hole.

Maybe you can comment?

[AZ BU Fan]

Another demonstration of success driving attendance more than on campus/off campus game venue...

[afan]

You are kidding, right

Maybe it was the opponent.

What does it matter who the other teams is? Where is the support???????

[saluki762]

What does it matter who the other teams is? Where is the support???????

I was making a joke. This is typical Drake, why are you surprised with attendance?

[AZ BU Fan]

I was making a joke. This is typical Drake, why are you surprised with attendance?

Really sad. When I followed Drake in the late 60's and the 70's, they played downtown Des Moines in an 11,000 seat stadium and had good attendance. Of course they were pretty good back then, and the MVC was a power conference.

The on campus multipurpose 'gym' where Drake plays today is unimpressive, has few ammenities, has little/no parking, is in a less than desirable area of town, and has few nice places to go before or after the game in the area for fans.

Unless the team is doing unbelievably well, it would be hard to decide to go to a DU game as part of a fun night out.

[Da Coach]

Great point AZ- this should serve as an example to some who felt Bradley should have tried to build a bigger arena on campus and play their men's home games there. The best Bradley could have ended up with is a cross between what Drake has had for the last 15 years, and what Northern Iowa just built.
The Drake Knapp Center suffers from being located on the fringe of the Drake campus where there is almost no available parking, and the area is run down and keeps some fans away. The stark facility and lack of amenities in the arena, and the inadequate restroom facilities surely hurt their ability to draw fans from the community. They may get a few more students at their games, but the Des Moines area fans seem to be staying away. Even in their championship season, and last year when you'd think they would have drawn better, the attendance was disappointing.
The new UNI arena does have more parking because it's located next to their football stadium, but most parking is a long, uphill walk to get to the arena, and with snow and ice-covered streets and walks, it is downright dangerous for older fans. The location on campus surely deters some fans from the community from attending games. Considering the success their team has had in recent years, their attendance has also been very disappointing. Also, both of these arenas cannot serve alcohol, which has it's advantages and disadvantages, but it does negatively affect attendance. And neither of these arenas have any restaurants, bars, or gathering places anywhere near them.

I think if Bradley had built an on-campus arena we would have a lot of these same problems. I know a lot of older, longtime fans who would not venture up to that area at night to attend games, but they have no issue with games at the Civic Center. I think BU made the right choice to play at Carver.

[tornado]

Great point AZ- this should serve as an example to some who felt Bradley should have tried to build a bigger arena on campus and play their men's home games there....

many such ideas over the years that have come from the "peanut gallery" and from the press are now seen as ideas that would have been horrible...but for some reason, they just don't die.....
Just this week someone said to me that Bradley should have tried harder to push through the idea of building an on-campus arena for men's basketball,

[DUBulldog]

I was told last year during the tournament by some really cordial Drake fans that Phelps is not well liked around there and is has been trying to change certain things that many liked about their program...


That and all of the Drake fans I know that have been so lucky to have met him consider him a pompous a-hole.

Maybe you can comment?

The few times that I've talked to him, he's been extremely pleasant and personable. He's done a good job recruiting, but his bench coaching thus far has left a lot to be desired. I'm not a big fan of his offensive schemes, his defensive schemes, or his use of personnel.

To be completely fair, it might look a lot better when he's got his own guys in the system for more than a year.

[DUBulldog]

The Drake Knapp Center suffers from being located on the fringe of the Drake campus where there is almost no available parking, and the area is run down and keeps some fans away.

While it is true that the Knapp Center is close to a sketchy area, I've never heard of anybody having any problems on game night. Funny how the parking issue doesn't stop Drake Stadium from filling up with 15,000 fans every year for the Drake Relays.

Neither of these "issues" ("bad" neighborhood" and lack of parking) is real. They are just excuses that people give for not attending games. True, there are not a lot of parking lots for the general public (season ticket holders all have reserved parking in one of the lots), but there is more than adequate street parking within 3-4 blocks of the facility. On those rare occasions that the Knapp Center is sold out, people seem to find somewhere to park.

And neither of these arenas have any restaurants, bars, or gathering places anywhere near them.

Not true at all. There are at least 4 bars and probably a dozen restaurants within a 2-3 block walk of the Knapp Center (being a Chicago guy, when I say block, I'm talking about 1/8 of a mile). None of them are real fancy, but some of them are very good.

[SFP]

many such ideas over the years that have come from the "peanut gallery" and from the press are now seen as ideas that would have been horrible...but for some reason, they just don't die.....
Just this week someone said to me that Bradley should have tried harder to push through the idea of building an on-campus arena for men's basketball,

There would be nothing wrong with an arena on top of the Hilltop! It's not like downtown Peoria is a goldmine of activity. If they built something closer to campus I'm sure restaurants would follow, better roads and parking areas created. The question is how would that translate into recruiting and a better team? That to me would tell us how the arena would be packed. The on-campus idea should die, IMO. The sale of adult beverages does make a difference.

Imagine a 10K arena with luxury suites and padded seats for the fat cats and older fans. Also, seats where the students can make a difference with zero excuses of why they do not attend games. With our own arena there would be no more excuses in our ability to schedule anyone at anytime.

[thefish7]

Agree SFP-- though in my own fantasies for such a thing, we're talking more like 15K attendance-- that we can then fill because of the recent success we will have been having in the pervious years. Carver is a decent enough place for us to play some basketball, and seeing a game at the Knapp Center showed me just how different it can be... There was just a huge difference to the atmosphere in the place. Knapp Center was fun to watch from because it's small and you're much closer to the floor, but in every other way it just highlighted the huge differences-- from services, to presentation, to the crowd.

Anyway, Carver being a decent place for a basketball game doesn't mean you take your eyes off of what you want down the road. I want a purpose-built basketball facility with enough seating that we can host NCAA regionals (and a program successful enough to justify that level of seating). If possible, I think it's better if such a facility is closer to campus rather than farther. I think it's best if it's just off campus, personally, because of the beer factor. I see no long-term reason that the hilltop is an impossible location for such a facility given time to develop the area. No reason why parking is an issue, no reason why space is an issue. Campustown (showing it's age these days, btw) was built on top of a slum, and there are plenty other slums around Bradley on which you could build a stadium and a parking deck. Doesn't have to be next week, doesn't have to be in the next 5-10 years, but if you keep your sights on the prize, there's no reason why you can't work towards what would be a better solution, ultimately.