HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
Maybe if Barta offered premium seating to the blue-hairs that offered plastic they could put over their seats (like their furniture at home) they might consider moving up higher.
Iowa's worst player!
- Thread starter echo44
- Start date
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
Good point that I've brought up before. Before fans of the Davis era filled up Carver they were making Lute era basketball appointment TV when they were in middle and high school. No way did teens do that after the turn of the century the way the previous generation did.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
OK. What aisle’s would be retained and how would they be arranged? Also curious about what rules we have to follow for evacuation purposes. Of course, if seating was rearranged, rules would have to be honored if in fact that is an issue.
Do you really think a new arena, and passing CHA to the wrestling program would ever fly? Seems there would have to be additional usage planned beyond wrestling. Women’s BB? Concerts? I would guess remodeling CHA would be a more practical option.
Your Kinnick example is well documented.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
You are dead wrong about the composition of the crowd at CHA.
Fryowa
Administrator
Re: “evacuation”
1) Again, look at any other stadium on TV. None of them have the ridiculously huge aisles every 20’. Of your logic is correct, every single one of them must be in violation of some code. So CHA is the only arena in America that’s compliant with some sort of evacuation rules? What happens if I’m in the middle of section 218 at the top row of Kinnick and have to evacuate? That’s a hell of a lot more in the middle of a crowd than you could possibly get in CHA.
2) Hate to tell you, but with no concourse, you’re already fucked if you’re on a lower seat in CHA and had to evacuate. You ever tried to get out of that place from floor level after a full basketball game or wrestling dual? I have. It takes about a half hour even with a non emergency and even with those stupid wide aisles because you have to go from bottom all the way to the top with no concourse splitting things up.
Fryowa
Administrator
No he’s not. Sorry but if you can’t see that CHA crowds are older and just flat out anemic compared to the rest of the Big Ten then I don’t know what the hell to tell you. Just about every Hawkeye media person has said the same thing recently in either a podcast or article at some point as well. Liestikow, Harty, and Kakert are just three examples I can think of off the top of my head right now who’ve talked about it recently on podcasts and even Dolph was complaining about it the other night.
I get it, you spend money every year on seats and want to feel like you’re getting value for your money, so you’re biased. But you’re still wrong. CHA is a funeral home for basketball More often than not. Come watch the wrestling dual this Friday if you want to see what a rocking crowd is like.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
Yea, the bathrooms at Carver are really never that bad. I was just pointing out how it's so inviting just to chill at home and not fight a crowd I guess. As an individual with some mobility issues, I shy away from Carver do to it's location and layout. It just seems stuck in a weird location with the roads and kind of on a hill I think. It just seems really congested for some reason. Probably a vain point, but it's what I feel and enough to deter me from going sometimes.
I don't mind the arena once in there. I think there are definitely some remodel opportunities as I have seen some changes over the years. Construction guys can pretty much do anything but it would take some $$ and effort. But, the students could be positioned better with some work and as you point out, the university could offer some peaks.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
.............and don't forget the free John Deere garden tractor!
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
So it's really a culture issue as you point out. They layout of Carver is really a small problem. The university can do things to help that. Make the students the focal point and move them in a section close on a side. Let them get wild. It is their college experience for gawd's sake. Why the university battles this idea and continues to cave to the blue hairs is beyond me.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
I'm definitely not one to protest and usually do not support protestors in general, but, maybe the students should do a hold out entirely of going to games and demand they have a better student section that should be moved. That may be the only way the university does anything regarding that. Get the media to cover it.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
That would suck being down there being 55 yrs old with a prostate the size of a tennis ball. Sometimes one has mere minutes to make it to the head. Talk about sweating it out!!
sioux34
Well-Known Member
Excuse me, but doesn't this prove my point from the other thread? If Carver can be rocking for wrestling, it does not need major changes to the building to be the same for hoops. Again, we need to work on the product on the floor, and the people paying to watch the product.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
Well, it's both, a combination. I enjoy the product on the floor. I think they play quicker and are more athletic than in previous years. I enjoy watching this team and they are surpassing expectations.
Yes, the product CAN ALWAYS get better, but, the culture has to change and bringing about change might be improving the atmosphere by bringing changes to the configuration in Carver for basketball. So, it ends up being a synergistic effect.
HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
The wrestling crowd trusts the wrestling team to succeed. The basketball crowd, the average fan, does not.
The problem it twofold.
1. Results
2. Carver's design
Both need to be improved.
The problem it twofold.
1. Results
2. Carver's design
Both need to be improved.
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
It might Depend
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
Nice
Hillcrest1981
Well-Known Member
I sat in the student section in Ann Arbor for an Iowa game. They have the students sitting in the front rows on one side of the arena. They affect the game. You might want to leave a space between the students and season ticket holders. The students tend to stand the entire game and might piss off those behind them...
spliff45
Well-Known Member
A whole lot easier to drive from Ankeny/Des Moines to Ames than to IC. Especially for 8pm games. I tip my hat to Iowa fans that drive over from central Iowa to IC for those weeknight games
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
I think it is best for me to tap out on the CHA debate. It has been a fun debate, with more fiction than fact. But hey. This is a HN free for all Forum.
So, I will throw out a few conclusions that I have reached and will be happy to read, but likely not respond to retorts.’ (God. I just ended a sentence with a preposition.)
1. The majority of the BB crowd is not blessed with blue hair. Mostly they are a very wide range of age groups, including young families with kids. I have had season ticks through Alford, Lick, and Fran. So I have observed the crowd over many years and you can believe my conclusions or those of a bunch of posters who have likely not been to many games.
2. It makes no sense at all to compare the crowds at wrestling matches with basketball fans. But Fry loves wrestling, so ignore the failure of logical analysis.
3. I have failed miserably in my attempts to secure information about the aisles in CHA, which are the villains of the story of why CHA is a miserable venue. Start with a question: What Fire Marshall regulations apply to athletic venues? I don’t know. The only answer I have to my question is that all of the BT basketball venues are in violation of the law, maybe. Nice research.
4. For those of you who loved the old field house, which I did and do, a huge number of seats were labeled officially as “obstructed.” Good Grief! Think that would be tolerated in 2022? CHA does not have any really bad seats in the entire arena. NB: I had unobstructed seats as a grad student through Ralph Miller and Lute Olson, so there!
5. My bias. I love the concourse in CHA. Visiting teams look up into the stadium from a virtual snake pit down below. If that ain’t intimidatingly meaningful, what is better?
6. Back to the aisles for a minute. They are two way streets with hand rails for safety. If that is not “fan friendly” then you just don’t get it.
7. Want to seat the students closer to the action? Good idea. I would certainly support that change. I would only remind you that for half of the game, the visitors have to try to score and shoot free throws a few feet from the student section, with the pep band and spirit squad in front of them, and big signs in their faces.
8. Want to avoid parking issues and general access to games? Park in the gigantic Hancher Parking area, get on the bus, get dropped off at the Section K entry 20 feet from the bus. Pick up is post game at the same location. Might have to wait in line for a few minutes. Return to Hancher parking within 10 minutes, exit to Dubuque St. DUH. It is free, BTW.
9. My view: The crowd involvement at CHA is not what I would like, but not even close to the negative reviews I see on HN. News flash: Basketball is a game of runs. The crowd response follows those runs, good or bad. When Iowa goes on a run, or makes a couple of big plays in transition, the crowd explodes. When visitors go on a run, the crowd quiets down. For those of you who know little or nothing about basketball, or football for that matter, that happens in every venue in the BT.
10. So, here is my summary: Fan response is predictable. So is attendance. Response is based on “runs.” Consistent Thursday/Saturday games with earlier starts ensure better attendance. Sadly, in person attendance is in decline with competition for $$, home TV, and family priorities. Ice Cream lines, restroom accessibility, concession values, comparisons to wrestling, aisles, parking, student seating, are basically red herrings. Conference championships, NCAA invites and successful win streaks matter.
I would apologize for the long post, but texting is boring and brief responses to complex issues are failures. So, here you go.
So, I will throw out a few conclusions that I have reached and will be happy to read, but likely not respond to retorts.’ (God. I just ended a sentence with a preposition.)
1. The majority of the BB crowd is not blessed with blue hair. Mostly they are a very wide range of age groups, including young families with kids. I have had season ticks through Alford, Lick, and Fran. So I have observed the crowd over many years and you can believe my conclusions or those of a bunch of posters who have likely not been to many games.
2. It makes no sense at all to compare the crowds at wrestling matches with basketball fans. But Fry loves wrestling, so ignore the failure of logical analysis.
3. I have failed miserably in my attempts to secure information about the aisles in CHA, which are the villains of the story of why CHA is a miserable venue. Start with a question: What Fire Marshall regulations apply to athletic venues? I don’t know. The only answer I have to my question is that all of the BT basketball venues are in violation of the law, maybe. Nice research.
4. For those of you who loved the old field house, which I did and do, a huge number of seats were labeled officially as “obstructed.” Good Grief! Think that would be tolerated in 2022? CHA does not have any really bad seats in the entire arena. NB: I had unobstructed seats as a grad student through Ralph Miller and Lute Olson, so there!
5. My bias. I love the concourse in CHA. Visiting teams look up into the stadium from a virtual snake pit down below. If that ain’t intimidatingly meaningful, what is better?
6. Back to the aisles for a minute. They are two way streets with hand rails for safety. If that is not “fan friendly” then you just don’t get it.
7. Want to seat the students closer to the action? Good idea. I would certainly support that change. I would only remind you that for half of the game, the visitors have to try to score and shoot free throws a few feet from the student section, with the pep band and spirit squad in front of them, and big signs in their faces.
8. Want to avoid parking issues and general access to games? Park in the gigantic Hancher Parking area, get on the bus, get dropped off at the Section K entry 20 feet from the bus. Pick up is post game at the same location. Might have to wait in line for a few minutes. Return to Hancher parking within 10 minutes, exit to Dubuque St. DUH. It is free, BTW.
9. My view: The crowd involvement at CHA is not what I would like, but not even close to the negative reviews I see on HN. News flash: Basketball is a game of runs. The crowd response follows those runs, good or bad. When Iowa goes on a run, or makes a couple of big plays in transition, the crowd explodes. When visitors go on a run, the crowd quiets down. For those of you who know little or nothing about basketball, or football for that matter, that happens in every venue in the BT.
10. So, here is my summary: Fan response is predictable. So is attendance. Response is based on “runs.” Consistent Thursday/Saturday games with earlier starts ensure better attendance. Sadly, in person attendance is in decline with competition for $$, home TV, and family priorities. Ice Cream lines, restroom accessibility, concession values, comparisons to wrestling, aisles, parking, student seating, are basically red herrings. Conference championships, NCAA invites and successful win streaks matter.
I would apologize for the long post, but texting is boring and brief responses to complex issues are failures. So, here you go.
