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Attendance

I'll add one more factor into the "perfect storm" that is harming attendance -- the great dip in circulation of the Peoria Journal Star, and its drastically reduced coverage and commentary about Bradley basketball. In years gone by, that was a lot of free publicity generating interest and it went directly into a great many homes. It's a different era, with so many information and entertainment choices, but it wasn't too long ago when the daily paper was a big unifying force in a region and had a lot of influence. You may not have always agreed, but you wanted to know what Dick Lien or Phil Theobald had to say about Bradley hoops -- and they had a lot to say!
 
Millennials, amiright!

Just kidding, so don't freak out on me. I know you millennials are more sensitive! :p
 
Unpopular opinion---at this point I think BU should try to find a way to make Renaissance their home. Make tickets tough to get, make it a tough place for opponents to play, make it easier for students to get there. Loud, Concentrated, Raucous. There are parking issues they need to address, but if they can do that I think they need to scale back and try to re-assess reality.
 
They would need to add some seats, more parking, and solve traffic problems at university and main. Some of the best memories were getting to Bradley early, walking to Avanti's on the corner to eat, and then back to the field house for the games.
 
There's not much to add to what has already been said. Great conversation guys. In my opinion all that Bradley Basketball needs is consistency. The "if you build it, they will come" mentality. You can certainly use last year's success as a building block but you can't expect 8-10 years of futility be forgotten in 2 years of success. I think the crowds will come if lasting success is built. The Ren-Col ideas have been whispered for years. I think if that was the direction that Bradley wanted to go with their men's program it would have happened already. I do not think that it is even considered, anymore, to move men's games from the Civic Center. It is quite discouraging to see the sparse crowds at Carver as well as the lack of cheering, but the lack of cheering was there when 9,000 people attended games.That discussion was quite prevalent on this board 10 years ago.

This is just me, but I do not like that they have went away from the "put your hands up in the air" intro before tip off. That song, the beat, and everyone standing and clapping was electric and got the place rocking right away. It set the tone, in my opinion. It's small, but I think that should return. LOL!!!! GO BRAVES!!!
 
Did anyone who emailed or contacted Bradley and expressed dissatisfaction with the 6 pm start times get any kind of response?
I contacted them days ago, and never heard back from anyone. As a season ticket buyer, and as a fan who has attended almost every home game for through good and bad, I am very disappointed. I get the impression that nobody there gives a damn about the fans anymore. Not many years ago, when we season ticket people had a problem about anything we'd get callbacks from multiple people wanting to help. Now I get the impression nobody there cares and they think we should be grateful we're allowed to buy tickets.
 
I don't know if anyone else noticed but there seemed to be a lot of students at this past game and the student section seemed to be full. I saw that quite a few were sitting behind the student section in the lower bowl. IMO we need to get rid of the "red zone" or whatever it is and bring back student sections on both sides of the band. Keep winning and I think we will have a lot more people show up to games.
 
I saw that and was impressed by the much better turnout. Maybe Friday is a good night to draw the students? Whatever the reason, I hope they had fun and keep coming!
 
The end zone areas are a joke. Have been from the beginning. You could still have those areas but behind bleacher seating. Whoever is the PA announcer during timeouts here's a little advice. 1st, please sound like you know what you're talking about. 2nd, SPEAK UP! You sound like you're in a library. 3rd, Would it hurt you to get just a little bit excited and show some enthusiasm? You don't have to sound like you're reading off an index card. As for the attendance there's no more blame on fallout. We've won 20 for 2 straight seasons, made the Big Dance last season. These kids deserve to play in front of bigger crowds. Let's go Peoria. Get off your butts and go.
 
Dubl R 1 said:
Also, do we know the numbers on all those seats that were eliminated for the new Brave’s Club area?

How many season ticket holders were there in that area, and how many renewed after having there seats taken away?

Regardless of wether or not that hurt attendance I absolutely do not like the Braves club area where it is. It looks awful on tv. By late in the second half it looks like a daycare facility, with small kids doing cartwheels, running around. Combined with the mingling area next to the band, it looks like amateur hour to me.

These areas so close to the court should have people and seats in them in my opinion.
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Great post Double R1.....personally I hate the new Braves Club area....agree that it looks like a juco gym or high school gym. Put the seats back to resemble the big arena that it is! :idea: ;-)
 
Thought the guy doing the in game announcements was better last game. Music much louder etc. I agree the braves club end sucks and looks terrible. Put the seats back in!!!!!
 
Quick question, haven't been to a game at Bradley in a minute, although we will be covering one live soon....but the "Braves Club," can someone explain the point of it? Like what exactly it is, who can use it, the draw of it?
 
BUfan17 said:
I don't know if anyone else noticed but there seemed to be a lot of students at this past game and the student section seemed to be full. I saw that quite a few were sitting behind the student section in the lower bowl. IMO we need to get rid of the "red zone" or whatever it is and bring back student sections on both sides of the band. Keep winning and I think we will have a lot more people show up to games.
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Without hard evidence to support it, it appears that the size of the band is significantly larger than years past, and they do a great job. And yes, there are somewhat more non-band students there so far this year too sitting nearby. The only way to truly solve crowd size issues is to keep winning. So I’ll be there in loud vocal support of our team helping them do that as best I can.
 
I just received the following e-mail response from Brad Mitchell, Deputy Director of Athletics, explaining the rationale for the 6pm start times:


First and foremost, I want to thank you for your long-time commitment to and support of Bradley Basketball. As you know, Bradley Basketball is woven into the fabric of the central Illinois region and we are always exploring ways to enhance the family experience of our events. There are national trends in both professional sports and college athletics offering earlier weeknight start times, designed to be more attractive to families with young children. As we look to grow our fan base for the future and appeal to young families, we have introduced a 6 p.m. start time for men’s basketball week night games this season. As is the case every year, when the season is complete, we will evaluate all of the elements we control in the scheduling process and make every effort to provide the most appealing experience possible for all of our fans, knowing that target will be different for each of the thousands of fans who love Bradley Basketball.

Go Braves!

Brad Mitchell
 
On a recent radio interview Coach Wardle said Bradley went to the 6 pm start time so families with young kids could get home at a decent time and multiple members of the team had 8 am classes. I prefer the 7 pm start times but support Bradley's efforts to try to find ways to grow the young fan base and most importantly help the student athletics.
 
I got the same email from Deputy Director of Athletics Brad Mitchell. I appreciate that they are getting back to fans with concerns. I guess we'll have to wait to see if they continue with the 6 pm games.
 
brocks said:
Watching this game on ESPN+, I can only hope nobody else was watching this pathetic excuse for a home court "advantage" or fan interest. What an absolute disgrace. I live in Tampa, Florida, so I have an excuse. You people in central Illinois should be ashamed of yourselves. Those empty seats all over the lower bowl--for a team that won a CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP--holy good night. PATHETIC.
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I'm a STH who can't make it inside the arena until 6:45 due to work.
 
I have read the entire string and agree. I have to say that my wife and I had season tickets for 32 years and dropped them 2 years ago. We have returned this year and are looking forward to a great year. We are both graduates of and love the university. We are happy to be back and hope the program grows from where it is. GO BU
 
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