A Sea Of Red

The seasons not over yet but I decided to look at how our attendance has grown over the last few years.
Average (# of games)
2017-18 2,044 (21)
2018-19 2,985 (18)
2019-20 4,092 (9*)

At the rate we're going we should be averaging close to a sellout in the new arena.

Playing in front of a sold out arena nearly every night will be a nice change of pace.

Will we have overflow seating in the Vines Center next year? We had 6,000 in attendance tonight, which means we would have TURNED AWAY 2,000 fans in the new Liberty Arena.

There were a lot more - scanners weren’t working early when students came in ( per twitter )

Why do people keep talking about turning away fans in a negative light? I see quite a bit of negativity about the seating capacity of the new arena from people on social media and I just don't get it. Having a smaller, more intimate arena is going to be great for this program and we will still have the option of using the Vines Center. It seems like such a no brainier to go this route to me and people are still upset about it. I'd rather have an arena for of 4,000 passionate fans than 8,000 in the Vines with half of them acting like they don't even want to be there.

Cider Jim wrote: ↑January 18th, 2020, 10:58 pm Will we have overflow seating in the Vines Center next year? We had 6,000 in attendance tonight, which means we would have TURNED AWAY 2,000 fans in the new Liberty Arena.

You would have been one of the 2000 turned away.

I PAID for my season ticket, Ballcoach. My ticket wasn't a handout.

thepostman wrote: ↑January 18th, 2020, 11:47 pm Why do people keep talking about turning away fans in a negative light? I see quite a bit of negativity about the seating capacity of the new arena from people on social media and I just don't get it. Having a smaller, more intimate arena is going to be great for this program and we will still have the option of using the Vines Center. It seems like such a no brainier to go this route to me and people are still upset about it. I'd rather have an arena for of 4,000 passionate fans than 8,000 in the Vines with half of them acting like they don't even want to be there.

Consider the source.

They are going for the cameron indoor atmosphere and ticket approach at our level. Im ok with it in theory. Duke could of course get way more 4500 or whatever it is cameron holds.

Personally i dont think the 4k is off much but its obvious thats the number they came up with that will sell out all but the christmas break non d1 types. As long as were winning of course.

jinxy wrote: ↑January 19th, 2020, 9:42 am They are going for the cameron indoor atmosphere and ticket approach at our level. Im ok with it in theory. Duke could of course get way more 4500 or whatever it is cameron holds.

Personally i dont think the 4k is off much but its obvious thats the number they came up with that will sell out all but the christmas break non d1 types. As long as were winning of course.

Cameron Indoor Stadium has a capacity of 9,314. For comparison, Vines Center is basically the same size with a basketball capacity of 9,457.

Cider Jim wrote: ↑January 18th, 2020, 10:58 pm Will we have overflow seating in the Vines Center next year? We had 6,000 in attendance tonight, which means we would have TURNED AWAY 2,000 fans in the new Liberty Arena.

I suspect overflow seating in the Vines will be provided for games next year when they expect it would be utilized. Do NOT expect any games to be moved there in the foreseeable future, regardless of demand.

I'm a bit disappointed at how much outraged there seems to be at the idea of "turning away" people to games, but I'm not surprised. It's something that hasn't happened at Liberty for at least 30 years, so it's going to take some getting used to. The places that have this "problem" have some of the best home game environments in the NCAA and with it some of the best home records.

Thx. Sorry had the numbers wrong but the point right ha. I meant to type 8500 but hit the wrong number. A little closer ha.

oldflame wrote: ↑January 19th, 2020, 10:21 am

Cider Jim wrote: ↑January 18th, 2020, 10:58 pm Will we have overflow seating in the Vines Center next year? We had 6,000 in attendance tonight, which means we would have TURNED AWAY 2,000 fans in the new Liberty Arena.

I suspect overflow seating in the Vines will be provided for games next year when they expect it would be utilized. Do NOT expect any games to be moved there in the foreseeable future, regardless of demand.

I'm a bit disappointed at how much outraged there seems to be at the idea of "turning away" people to games, but I'm not surprised. It's something that hasn't happened at Liberty for at least 30 years, so it's going to take some getting used to. The places that have this "problem" have some of the best home game environments in the NCAA and with it some of the best home records.

I’m not seeing much outrage. Scarcity of tickets plus increase in demand will help drive LU where it wants to be. Anyone who is dismayed by turning people away are still in the mindset that tickets should be give away. Which increases the perception that LU isn’t a “real” school. I mean you get what you pay for, right?
But what do I know.

There are plenty of people on Twitter questioning it anytime something is posted about. But yeah, the culture at liberty has always been to not turn people away and if you know the right people you get in for free. When those things are no longer the norm it ruffles some feathers.

With the mention of free tickets and freeloaders, is there a suggestion that there fans yesterday were mostly free? The beauty of a smaller venue is that I don't feel bad about sitting home watching. They should put student Tix out in a lottery and then jack up the price of the balance. Those who love this new smaller venue will be glad to pay more for their ticket.

We are one bad season away from a dead atmosphere. It's great we are building momentum and having 6,000+ but will they be there when we go into rebuilding mode next year?

I like the smaller arena. It gives us a real, loud atmosphere.

You were correct on the semantics Purple. "Dismayed" is more accurate than "outraged". Definately not at Greta Thunberg level.



Now THAT is what you call OUTRAGE.

Purple Haize wrote: ↑January 19th, 2020, 10:35 am
I’m not seeing much outrage.

If you ever make it to a game in person, you should sit wth that Old Men's Club. That's all we ever talk about.

All you guys talk about is the new arena? Sounds thrilling!

ballah09 wrote: ↑January 19th, 2020, 12:57 pm We are one bad season away from a dead atmosphere. It's great we are building momentum and having 6,000+ but will they be there when we go into rebuilding mode next year?

I like the smaller arena. It gives us a real, loud atmosphere.

I don't think we will be in a rebuilding mode next season.

ballah09, define bad season for me. I am honestly curious to here it because there will be varying opinions on what a bad season looks like.

Just keep in mind when it comes to attendance that the season after a good/bad year is when you'll notice a difference. Our great attendance this year is a product of our great season last year. If next year is a "down year" attendance shouldn't go down too much until the year after.
I think a down year in this conference is <25 wins

It will be interesting with season tickets for new arena. Does anyone know how many season tickets we sold for this season ?

ballcoach15 wrote: ↑January 19th, 2020, 11:26 pm

ballah09 wrote: ↑January 19th, 2020, 12:57 pm We are one bad season away from a dead atmosphere. It's great we are building momentum and having 6,000+ but will they be there when we go into rebuilding mode next year?

I like the smaller arena. It gives us a real, loud atmosphere.

I don't think we will be in a rebuilding mode next season.

Of course you don't

He didn't say we would have a bad year. Personally, I think we can win the ASUN with the roster we will have, but when you lose 4 of your top 6 players to graduation, you are rebuilding, no matter how good your Freshman class is. A lot of very inexperienced players are going to have to make major contributions next year. With Caleb healthy, even Rode and Robinson are now playing a reduced role, leaving only Cuffee and McGhee as returners who have been playing 20 plus minutes a game.

Attendance is more than just number of people there. I was there for the Lipscomb game (section 116). To be honest, I was a little disappointed in the atmosphere. I would love to see a designated area for students that is close to the court (ala Cameron Indoor, MSU and others). For 6-7k in the Vines Center, it was never what I would call loud.