CU basketball can improve the gameday experience for fans in a number of ways. After taking a trip to watch college basketball games in Iowa City (Iowa vs. Purdue), Ann Arbor (Michigan vs. Oregon) and South Bend (Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech) last week, here are some thoughts on how to improve the gameday experience at the CU Events Center and how to make the venue formerly known as the Foam Dome a better place to watch a game.
There’s been talk of renovating the CU Events Center to create a better atmosphere for the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the women’s volleyball team for a long time. While the NIL House settlement and resulting fallout may postpone renovations for a period of time, it wouldn’t surprise many if CU begins a renovation program at the CU Events Center in the next 2-3 years. The suggestions contained herein are made in anticipation of such a renovation program.
Without further ado, let’s jump in:
Carver-Hawkeye Arena (University of Iowa)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena (University of Iowa)
The walk-up to Carver-Hawkeye Arena is unassuming. Fans park (maybe after tipping a parking attendant $20 to park in the donor lot) and walk past the Dan Gable statute and the Iowa wrestling facility before reaching Carver-Hawkeye Arena. From the outside, the 1-story tall building looks like it may house an academic center or an art gallery or engineering classrooms. Upon entry, however, the arena opens up below them with a bowl of chair-back seats in the ground below. It’s a surprise — the smallish building houses a seating bowl that can seat 14,998 souls wearing Caitlin Clark jerseys and ANF t-shirts.
Inside the arena, I was surprised at how many ANF (America Needs Farmers) t-shirts I saw. At the Raygun Store in Iowa City — a cheeky t-shirt shop that fits my sensibilities, and which shop was recently re-christened as “Forever 22” in honor of Caitlin Clark — I stumbled upon a shirt that says American Needs Lesbian Farmers. It takes all types, I guess.
Iowa does a great job with graphics and banners throughout the arena. Even though the arena was built in the 1980s, it conveys a sense of tradition and history because there were tributes to Iowa greats and banners celebrating past accomplishments (including Caitlin Clark’s #22, which was retired in a women’s hoops games that was 2 days before the game that we attended) everywhere.
At the CU Events Center, on the other hand, CU’s banners are hung from the outer corner of the concourse. This makes it difficult to see the program’s past accomplishments from the seating bowl because all of the building’s infrastructure blooks their view. Colorado needs more murals, banners and artwork celebrating Colorado’s basketball past — and it needs to put the banners above the seating bowl, as opposed to above the concourse where they’re not easily viewable. The newly announced Wall of Honor is a good start, but more of this is needed.
Back to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. There is an open concourse that runs along the top of the seating bowl. Fans can walk around the open concourse and not miss a second of game action. Imagine the CU Events Center without the gross concrete structures in the corners of the concourse, or baseball parks like the Rockies’ Coors Field. Also, just like in Iowa, egalitarianism rules the day — there are no material premium boxes or club seating at the arena. That’s only for the “city folk.”
The students filled two sections of the bowl, behind one of the baskets. This is similar to the location of Colorado’s students. One student hit a half-court shot for a $100 gift certificate at Pork Chop Peggy’s or Connie’s Sweet Corn or Maeve’s Midwest Mitten Emporium (or something).
At the game, I bought a soda for $5, which came out to $5.50 with tax. The attendant asked if I’d like to round that up to $6, with the extra $.50 going to the university’s NIL fund. I said yes, just so I could brag to my Iowa friends that whenever Iowa has any athletic success it’s because of my NIL donation. Colorado should start doing this, yesterday. This is an easy way for fans to “buy in” to the need for additional NIL dollars.
Also, Dan Gable beer exists. Why not a Deion Sanders Sour? Or Tad Boyle Brown Ale? Or JR Payne Pilsner?
What can CU learn from Carver-Hawkeye?
Start a “round up for NIL” campaign yesterday. If half the folks in Folsom that buy a soda or beer round up the bill for NIL, that could be an extra $20k-25k each football game for NIL. Not nothing.
If Coors Event Center is renovated, go with an open concourse.
Last, move the banners from the area above the concourse to the area above the seating bowl. Also, more graphics. More banners. Sell the tradition. What makes CU hoops unique? Highest altitude in a power conference? Celebrate it with banners/murals!
Crisler Center (University of Michigan)
Crisler Center is the home of the Michigan basketball team. “The House that Cazzie Built” was not, actually, built by Cazzie Russell (the Michigan star that led the Wolverines to 3 straight Big 10 Conference titles from 1964-66) but rather blue collar Michiganders. The Crisler Center was built in 1967 and has been updated regularly over the next 60 years. Today, with loud music and light shows and in-game presentation, games at Michigan almost feel like a game at an NBA arena — with a couple of key differences.
First, at Michigan men’s basketball games, the bleacher seats alongside one side of the court (behind both benches) are home to the Maize Rage student section. There are maybe 10 or 12 rows of bleachers that are courtside, and so the student section is very close to the floor. The location of the Maize Rage helps bring an immediacy to the home court advantage. It has the added benefit of making the arena seem like it is jumping even if the arena is only half full, because the TV cameras only pick up the Maize Rage alongside the court when televising the game. The Maize Rage section behind the benches is not large enough to fit all the students, so there are a couple of sections behind one basket that also houses students (similar to where CU students sit behind one baseline at the CU Events Center). CU should create a Maize Rage like bleacher section for students along one side of the arena as it would help the atmosphere tremendously. See the photo on the bottom left for the Maize Rage court-side student section — the game was a pink-out for breast cancer awareness.
Crisler Center also does a good job with large open spaces inside the arena. While it’s nice to have one large open concourse like is seen at Carver-Hawkeye, it is also nice to have tall open spaces that can help relieve the claustrophobia common in old basketball barns. Crisler Center has several big open areas, including the entrance concourse. If CU does modify the CU Events Center, it’d be great if they could include a couple wide open, large spaces for people to gather.
Michigan also has several premium seating options, including a premium club that has inside the seating box / outside the seating box premium seating and enhanced food options. There are other things that make Michigan unique —- including the fact that the Michigan band plays “Hail to the Victors” 4,732 times during a game.
What can CU learn from Crisler Center?
Put students along one whole side of the arena, behind both benches. This will make the Coors Event Center look like it’s rocking and rolling, even if it’s only half full. More important, it will bring even more of a home court advantage. It may relocate some long-time season ticket holders, but the improved atmosphere will improve the overall experience for all fans, including long-time season ticket holders.
If Colorado does renovate the CU Events Center, include at least one tall, open space to give a sense of openness to the arena.
Joyce Arena (Notre Dame)
The Joyce Center is a strange building. It contains 2 separate domes/pavillions as there is a basketball pavillion and then the former hockey pavillion, both within the same faciility (Notre Dame hockey has subsequently moved into its own beautiful faciilty). One walks into the Joyce Center via a cramped foyer (see photo in the bottom right) and then proceeds to walk around a dark concourse that runs around the outsidse of the seating bowl (see photo on the bottom left). The arena concourse is dark, cramped and confusing as there are multiple classrooms and gym facilities that jut off of the concourse.
The basketball arena sits just nearly 10,000 fans, but it felt materially smaller than the CU Events Center.
The students sit behind one basket. Shockingly, there were maybe 50 or 60 students at the game (!) This was an ACC game against Virginia Tech that tipped off on Saturday at 1 pm and I was surprised by the lack of student turnout. The arena’s energy was just okay because of the lack of students. Also, strangely, there were 12 male cheerleaders at the game. I’m not one to shame male cheerleaders (…….) but when the number of male cheerleaders at a game approximates the number of male student fans at the game, you may have an issue.
Notre Dame does a good job with banners and signage throughout the inner bowl. CU, take note. Also, while each seat is a chairback seat, there isn’t a lot of luxury / box seating — just 4 or 5 logia seating areas at the top of one side of the bowl.
The best part of the game was watching Notre Dame’s leprechaun. The leprechaun channeled ACDC’s Angus Young and strutted back and forth from one basket to the other basket whenever possession moved from one end of the court to the other —- over and over and over, for the entire game. He played air guitar, danced, and strutted for 2 and a half hours like he was playing the guitar solo to “Shook Me All Night Long” or “Highway to Hell” the entire time. It almost — almost — made me a fan of the dumb leprechaun. Until I remembered Lou Holtz telling his Notre Dame players that Colorado was “living a lie” in 1989, and then I wanted to kick him in his family jewels (or are those located at the end of the rainbow? Hmnmmm…….)
So what should CU learn from Joyce Arena?
Improve graphics and the sense of history at the CU Events Center. CU is trying to do this with the newly announced Wall of Honor, which recognizes CU alumni that played at least 5 years in the NBA or that played in the Olympics. More of this is needed, for both the men’s program and the women’s program (in addition to the volleyball team!) Put up more banners, put up more black and gold around the stadium, and hit fans over the head with CU tradition — and put them above the seating bowl, so they can be easily viewed during the game and not blocked by buillding infrastructure.
Final Thoughts
If CU redoes the Coors Event Center, make all the seats chairback seats — except the 5 or 6 bleacher rows on one side of the court behind the beches that should be reserved for the CUnit, much like Michigan does for the Maize Rage. This is a primary takeaway from the roadtrip —- by putting the students along one entire side of the court, the arena will have a palpable energy even when the arena isn’t sold out, and it will look great on TV. They will help the team have more success at home. CU should copy Michigan on this front and make the CU Events Center one of the best home court advantages in the Big 12.
Start a “round up for NIL” campaign similar to Iowa’s campaign. By my back of the envelope math, with 7 homes games for football plus basketball and volleyball games, this could generate $200k+ of NIL dollars for players annually.
More banners and tradition are needed in the arena, and these banners and flags and retired jerseys should be placed above the bowl versus above the concourses.
I’m a Michigan fan and thank you for doing this. The thing I didn’t know was the Hawkeyes arena was built in the 80’s I knew the Msu Spartans opened in 1989 but didn’t know about the Hawkeye arena.
You have a flair for this, young man. I’m especially fond of the Maize Rage. And I always like a round up when it comes to money.
I’m just hoping they add a water bottle filler. Pretty embarrassing about the water fountains.
Sounds like a great road trip. Some classic university locations to use as comparison. I think all of your ideas would be upgrades to the current status of CU basketball games.
Show this to Rick George!
Show this to Rick George!
You have good observations, deductions, creativity and judgment(all Gaddis traits).
Show to Rick G, Tad and any CU movers and shakers you or friends know.