NCAA Basketball Tournament Attendance

H8IAST8

H8IAST8

Well-Known Member
I havent been able to find attendance figures for all games, but here are a few.
This is why it pisses me off that Des Moines still can't get an opening round site.

TUCSON
SDSU N. Colorado 10,101
Utah St. KState 10,293
Mizzou Cincy 17,706

DENVER
Gonzaga St. Johns 19,216
Richmond Vandy 18,499

TAMPA
Princeton UK 14,835
MSU UCLA 15,504

DC
UNC Ashville Pitt 17,587
 
It's hard to fly into des moines. Plus, I don't think fans from other teams really want take off work, shell out the money for tickets, pay travel costs, ect... to come to Des Moines in March. Unless the locals can turn out 17,000 strong there is no way. The cities you mentioned are way more of "destination cities" than Des Moines.
 
drew003 said:
It's hard to fly into des moines. Plus, I don't think fans from other teams really want take off work, shell out the money for tickets, pay travel costs, ect... to come to Des Moines in March. Unless the locals can turn out 17,000 strong there is no way. The cities you mentioned are way more of "destination cities" than Des Moines.
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But Dayton is a premiere destination?
 
Hey, Omaha got it last year, and they are certainly not a destination spot, especially in March. Could Des Moines have trouble with the Hotel requirements? What does the arena hold?

Just curious ...
 
Tucson, Boise, Birmingham, Little Rock, Omaha, Providence, Tulsa, Albuquerque, Dayton, Lexington, Greensboro, Spokane, Jacksonville, etc etc are all cities that have gotten the first 2 rounds. Its not about destination with the tournament, especially the opening rounds.
 
drew003 said:
It's hard to fly into des moines. Plus, I don't think fans from other teams really want take off work, shell out the money for tickets, pay travel costs, ect... to come to Des Moines in March. Unless the locals can turn out 17,000 strong there is no way. The cities you mentioned are way more of "destination cities" than Des Moines.
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Tucson is a **** hole. The only people that consider it a destination city are illegals from Mexico.
 
H8IAST8 said:
Tucson, Boise, Birmingham, Little Rock, Omaha, Providence, Tulsa, Albuquerque, Dayton, Lexington, Greensboro, Spokane, Jacksonville, etc etc are all cities that have gotten the first 2 rounds. Its not about destination with the tournament, especially the opening rounds.
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Most of those cities have at least 300,000 people on Des Moines. Those look like a lot of cities with 800,000 to 1,100,000 million or so. I think Des Moines is at 550,000 or so. So while maybe not destinations they are larger and have better air traffic. Only Boise and Spokane appear to have similar populations and also similarly isolated from greater population. That region of the country is also a more popular travel destination that Des Moines.
 
Wells Fargo Arena holds up to 17000

You would not need to pull in 17k in local support. You have to give tickets the the NCAA and also hold so many for the schools involved. I would guess you would need to pull in about 6-8k of local fans for each game and I think that is completely doable.

Now the reasons the selection committee have given in the past. To small of an arena and not enough accommodations downtown.

If they are only pulling in 10k at some locations then our venue is big enough for early rounds.

It takes about 20 min at most in rush hour traffic to make it from WDM or surrounding areas.

There is plenty to do around the arena. Court Ave., East Village... Have you been to the arena in Chicago...you wouldn't even want to walk around that area.

We hold one of the biggest track events every year so we are fully capable at organizing it.

DeMo does have a gripe, but what else are you going to do? I am sure the local commerce groups are working hard at getting a bid. Maybe they are not trying hard enough. Maybe they need a better marketing firm to spruce up the appeal of DeMo?
 
drew003 said:
Most of those cities have at least 300,000 people on Des Moines. Those look like a lot of cities with 800,000 to 1,100,000 million or so. I think Des Moines is at 550,000 or so. So while maybe not destinations they are larger and have better air traffic. Only Boise and Spokane appear to have similar populations and also similarly isolated from greater population. That region of the country is also a more popular travel destination that Des Moines.
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Des Moines is about 205,000. Des Moines metro is about 560,000. Just sayin'...
 
Wouldn't matter if DSM filled up its arena or not...sure it looks nice on TV if you do, but as far as the money goes....matters not a wit....not an iota....TV drives it.
 
It's all about politics. Dayton hosting games every year is a joke. I've seen games & concerts in the arena. It can't compare to any Big Ten arena. It is 14 years older than Carver & seats just under 13,500.

Des Moines would be a much better site than Dayton. Des Moines has a lot more to offer than Dayton.

Dayton is a dump. The only thing Dayton has to offer over Des Moines is that Cincinnati is only about forty miles away and Columbus is just under sixty miles away.
 
imported_blkngldFRO said:
Wells Fargo Arena holds up to 17000

You would not need to pull in 17k in local support. You have to give tickets the the NCAA and also hold so many for the schools involved. I would guess you would need to pull in about 6-8k of local fans for each game and I think that is completely doable.

Now the reasons the selection committee have given in the past. To small of an arena and not enough accommodations downtown.

If they are only pulling in 10k at some locations then our venue is big enough for early rounds.

It takes about 20 min at most in rush hour traffic to make it from WDM or surrounding areas.

There is plenty to do around the arena. Court Ave., East Village... Have you been to the arena in Chicago...you wouldn't even want to walk around that area.

We hold one of the biggest track events every year so we are fully capable at organizing it.

DeMo does have a gripe, but what else are you going to do? I am sure the local commerce groups are working hard at getting a bid. Maybe they are not trying hard enough. Maybe they need a better marketing firm to spruce up the appeal of DeMo?
Click to expand...

I believe we met the size and hotel criteria in 2009, however we were not chosen. I think we get it in 2014 or 2015. They have the sites picked for 2012 and 2013 already.
 
I don't buy the pitch Des Moines is not a destination city (meaning, I don't think fans will "stay away" because their team is coming to DSM). Fans will follow their teams. For those saying DSM is not big enough, etc., it did secure the women's tournament games and a future wrestling championship.

DSM is a sports city. The ICubs, Barnstormers and Energy draw nice crowds. Overall, I think DSM is very much a sports-loving community. I think fans would turn our to show their support ... I think it will happen. Leaders are doing a great job of bringing events to DSM. Hosting the men's tourney will happen ... Just a matter of time ...
 
Dont forget about the Drake Relays and NCAA Track and Field Championships. Everyone knows DSM will get the tourney, its just a matter of when. Will it be in 3-5 years or 6-10? There is also 3 brand new hotels going up in the next year or two downtown, and the Hyatt Place downtown just opened. Now if The hotel Fort Des Moines could ever secure financing for their $40 million dollar renovation and Hilton Branding, it would jump to front of the pack of places to stay in Des Moines.
 
Des Moines can definitely handle an opening round for NCAA tourney. We have the facilities & plenty of amenities for visiting fans.
Get Jerry Crawford to run with this idea & I'd lay money we'd get selected. He be da man to pull this off.
 
drew003 said:
Most of those cities have at least 300,000 people on Des Moines. Those look like a lot of cities with 800,000 to 1,100,000 million or so. I think Des Moines is at 550,000 or so. So while maybe not destinations they are larger and have better air traffic. Only Boise and Spokane appear to have similar populations and also similarly isolated from greater population. That region of the country is also a more popular travel destination that Des Moines.
Click to expand...

There is no doubt the first 2 rounds would sell out, and sell out fast (similar to Omaha)

DSM Metro is larger than Lexington and Spokane.
50k under Boise, Birmingham, Dayton,
120-150k under Little Rock, Greensboro-Highpoint,
300k under Dayton, Omaha & Albuqurque
400k under Tulsa, Tucson
 
It would make sense if the NCAA put a pod in DM. You would think many locals would go just for the experience. As another poster mentioned, even if ticket sales were low, TV ratings are the important factor.
 
if Des Moines were to host a first round... I would be there and I am 100 miles away! Just the experience to be there, no matter who is playing would be worth the price!
 
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