New UT arena

[gwydion]

A new arena will bring people to one game, maybe two. After that the attendance will be the same. People aren't going to make the drive to Norman to watch basketball from OKC. Especially with the way traffic has escalated in the last several years. And try to make a 6 pm weeknight game when you work til 5. It's pretty hard to make it by tip off. And there aren't enough fans in Norman to fill the arena.

 

[WichitaSooner]

A new arena will bring people to one game, maybe two. After that the attendance will be the same. People aren't going to make the drive to Norman to watch basketball from OKC. Especially with the way traffic has escalated in the last several years. And try to make a 6 pm weeknight game when you work til 5. It's pretty hard to make it by tip off. And there aren't enough fans in Norman to fill the arena.

I'm not discounting what you say about traffic and early starts, but when the game is later, people then complain about getting home late on a weeknight. And KC to Lawrence is twice the distance as OKC to Norman, but thousands make that drive for every game. I don't think we play any 6:00 weeknight games in conference play this year, so that won't be an issue this season.

 

[Max Power]

I'm not discounting what you say about traffic and early starts, but when the game is later, people then complain about getting home late on a weeknight. And KC to Lawrence is twice the distance as OKC to Norman, but thousands make that drive for every game. I don't think we play any 6:00 weeknight games in conference play this year, so that won't be an issue this season.

But at the same time, you can have all day Saturday to make it to a football game and Kansas is only half full for those. The two fan bases care about different sports

 

[SoonerBred]

The UNP deal was a quid pro quo with the guy that owned the land. He has been holding up land the city needed over it. I live in Norman and was big time against that crook. Screw him and the horse he rode in on. If good teams can't draw fans then a new arena will not.

 

[eddie4osu]

So, what about moving the stands closer?

 

[BoulderSooner]

The UNP deal was a quid pro quo with the guy that owned the land. He has been holding up land the city needed over it. I live in Norman and was big time against that crook. Screw him and the horse he rode in on. If good teams can't draw fans then a new arena will not.

the ou foundation has owned the land for a long time

 

[BoulderSooner]

Something I guess I don't understand about LNC. Why can't you, in the off season, bull doze all of the risers and seats. Then you build new ones closer to the court. Moving everything closer to the court would give you more room at the top. You can then build luxury boxes there.

You would get a smaller arena with better site lines and luxury boxes. What am I missing here?

Also, why would Texas or OU for that matter have any money problems? You and Texas make more money from football than anyone else in the conference. Where's it all go?

they had prelim plans a long time ago to do this exact thing

 

[MsProudSooner]

Something I guess I don't understand about LNC. Why can't you, in the off season, bull doze all of the risers and seats. Then you build new ones closer to the court. Moving everything closer to the court would give you more room at the top. You can then build luxury boxes there.

You would get a smaller arena with better site lines and luxury boxes. What am I missing here?

Also, why would Texas or OU for that matter have any money problems? You and Texas make more money from football than anyone else in the conference. Where's it all go?

Football supports all of the sports at OU. The athletic department doesn't get any money from the state. Some years men's basketball is self-supporting, but not always.

In the past, there were some plans for renovating LNC that fell through because the water table is too high.

 

[eddie4osu]

Football supports all of the sports at OU. The athletic department doesn't get any money from the state. Some years men's basketball is self-supporting, but not always.

In the past, there were some plans for renovating LNC that fell through because the water table is too high.

But the water table would only come into play if they were to dig down, not move them forward. Seems like such a simple solution.

 

[tmeyer3307]

Buddy's Jr/SR years were both really well attended.. I thought we sold out most of those games in that two year span actually.. Now did the fans show up?? Maybe not all the time, but I believe OU had a bunch of sell-outs during those two years.

 

[AdaSooner]

Buddy's Jr/SR years were both really well attended.. I thought we sold out most of those games in that two year span actually.. Now did the fans show up?? Maybe not all the time, but I believe OU had a bunch of sell-outs during those two years.

These stats from SoonerStats during Buddy’s junior and senior seasons supports your claim that our attendance was good, especially for key conference games.

http://www.soonerstats.com/basketball/men/seasons/schedule.cfm?seasonid=2015

http://www.soonerstats.com/basketball/men/seasons/schedule.cfm?seasonid=2016