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Mizzou Arena Attendance

Commentary Exclusive to Mizzou OSR
by Todd Donoho

Columbia, Mo. - Attendance at Mizzou Arena for men's basketball games this season has been disappointing.  Not the last two games.  A sellout for Kansas and 13-thousand-plus for Texas were great crowds.  The atmosphere was terrific.

But, for the rest of the games, the non-conference part of the schedule, the crowds have been small.  Between five-and-six thousand fans per game is disappointing.  Let's examine what's been going on with attendance, and what can be done to boost attendance at Mizzou Arena.

As you may know, most of the seats at Mizzou Arena have been purchased.  Often times though, especially for non-conference weeknight games, people who have tickets don't show up.  That includes season ticket holders and students.  Perhaps it's too cold for students to walk to the game.  Perhaps the road conditions are too slick for someone to drive from Kansas City or St. Louis to Columbia.  Perhaps Coppin State isn't a big enough draw for someone to drive four hours roundtrip for a Tiger basketball game.  Perhaps, since all the games are on TV, some folks choose to stay home.  These are the reasons folks who have tickets don't show up to games.  There is only one thing that will change this: winning!

I have heard the argument that when the games were moved to Mizzou Arena that ticket prices went up and a lot of locals from Columbia stopped going to the games.  I believe the athletic department has addressed this issue.  For most, if not all, of the non-conference games, fans can purchase tickets for as little as 10-dollars.  It has now become a custom at Mizzou non-conference games that after the first eight minutes, fans in the upper deck can move to the lower section.  That's a great deal for local fans.  You buy a 10-dollar ticket and eventually sit in a seat of a donor who pays sometimes thousands of dollars a year for a season ticket.

Next is parking.  I hear there have been complaints from people who don't have reserved parking that they walk past the reserved lots and there are many empty spots.  As this season progressed, fans who did not have parking passes were allowed to park in reserved lots for games when the athletic department knew there would be a small crowd.  Obviously, when the crowds are big, the reserved parking spaces go to the donors and season ticket holders.  Those who aren't donors and season ticket holders will have to walk a little farther.

Next is traffic.  I have heard complaints that it takes a while to get traffic into the parking lots when the crowds are big.  I would assume the athletic department and University Police would do what is reasonable to move traffic efficiently.  However, don't you expect a certain amount of traffic tie-ups for athletic events with big crowds? Allow time and plan accordingly.  I lived in Los Angeles for 20 years.  They had plenty of time to figure out traffic patterns around Dodger Stadium, the Forum, Staples Center, etc.  Traffic was always a nightmare.  It's not like you're pulling up to a Quickie Mart and running in for a pack of gum.  Plan accordingly.

Finally, is the arena atmosphere.  I have heard people complain about the Mizzou Arena atmosphere not being as good as Hearnes.  Mizzou Arena has a terrific atmosphere when the crowds are big.  Mizzou Arena rocked for Gonzaga in December 2004, Kansas in March 2005, Kansas in January 2006, and Texas and Kansas in January of this year.

People look back at the Hearnes Era with nostalgia, just as when folks in the early to mid 1970's looked back at Brewer Field House.  During my years as a student at Mizzou from 1973-77, I was amazed at the small crowds at the brand new Hearnes Center.  The Tigers would draw 3-thousand for a non-conference game, 6-thousand for a Big 8 game, and 9-or-10-thousand for Kansas.  There were a lot of empty seats at Hearnes in the early years.  And, the Tiger teams were pretty good then.  They won the Big 8 Conference in 1976 and were one win away from going to the Final Four.  Still, there were Tiger fans who longed for Brewer over the new Hearnes Center.

So give Mizzou Arena a little time.  The memorable moments will come.  Winning cures all attendance problems.

I know there will be a nice crowd and a standing ovation tonight at Mizzou arena.

They're honoring the football team at halftime of tonight's Nebraska game.