DePaul Attendance Hits 37 Year Low

[GoldenWarrior11]

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170303/BLOGS04/170309946/basketball-attendance-sinking-as-depaul-heads-downtown?AllowView=VDl3UXlKTzZDdmVCa0IvREEvSHlmMXlvaUV3WEN1OVVIUnc9#utm_medium=email&utm_source=ccb-on-sports&utm_campaign=ccb-on-sports-20170303

The once-great college basketball program that debuted at Allstate Arena with a roar 37 years ago is saying goodbye with a whimper. And the timing is bad for Illinois taxpayers.

Attendance at DePaul University men's basketball games this season is on track to finish at one of its lowest marks in nearly four decades playing at the Rosemont venue.

With tomorrow's finale against Xavier University still to be played (the school expects a strong turnout for that game), 14 Blue Demons home games this year have drawn an average of 1,824 people. That's down 24 percent from last season's final average and on pace to mark the first attendance dip for the program in three years.

This year saw more sparsely-attended games than normal, according to Allstate Arena ticket records obtained by Crain's. Seven DePaul games saw attendance of less than 1,000 people, including two games attended by fewer than 600 people.

Those are troubling statistics for a program that will finish at the bottom of the Big East Conference for the seventh time in nine years. But it's more concerning for the government agency that will count on DePaul as its anchor tenant in the $164 million, 10,000-seat arena it will open this fall.

The Blue Demons would have to draw more than five times their current average attendance at newly-named Wintrust Arena on the McCormick Place campus to meet the lofty attendance projections laid out for the building by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the agency known as McPier that operates the convention center.

A 2013 feasibility study prepared by Mineola, N.Y.-based hospitality consulting firm HVS and commissioned by McPier estimated that the venue would need to draw an average of 9,500 fans at 16 DePaul men's basketball games to achieve its goal of breaking even on operating costs. The report suggested that DePaul games would account for more than 40 percent of the expected annual attendance of 370,000 across all events, including concerts, shows and conventions.

But that calculation appeared to be based on ticket sales numbers—known as paid attendance—not the actual number of people that go to games.

Paid attendance has totaled 75,316 so far this year, or an average of 5,380 people per game. That figure includes free tickets given to charities and at least a couple thousand seats the school buys to block out space for students, regardless of whether they actually go.

But the actual number of people who walked through the Allstate Arena turnstiles was a third of that total, arena ticket records show.

DePaul Athletics spokesman Greg Greenwell said in a statement that season ticket renewals for the inaugural season at Wintrust Arena "have been trending in a positive manner" as the school has introduced its top customers to the new venue.

"As we anticipated leading up to our transition from Rosemont to McCormick Square, the location of Wintrust Arena is showing to be a plus as the interest from all of our constituents has surpassed previous seasons," he said.

Greenwell also noted that the school will be "rolling out opportunities for our alumni and new neighbors in the South Loop" before putting season tickets on sale publicly starting July 1.

WHY BUTTS IN SEATS MATTER

If those low attendance figures continue when DePaul moves to its new home next season, it would diminish the arena's operating revenue from things like concessions and undermine the venue's primary purpose of spurring an entertainment district on the Near South Side. The smaller the crowds, the harder it will be for McPier to lure new businesses into McCormick Square, the name it gave to the area around the convention center campus last year.

DePaul officials expect attendance to improve at the new arena because it is much closer to its Lincoln Park and downtown campuses than Allstate Arena and is easily reachable via CTA trains.

The school, which is splitting the arena's construction cost with McPier and last year signed a 50-year tenant agreement to play its men's and women's basketball games there, also aims to market itself to basketball fans on the South Side that will have an easier time getting to games.

Landing better players would help, too, particularly if they are Chicago natives that come with their own local fan base. The Blue Demons see the arena as a valuable recruitment tool.

But the climb ahead is steep for a program that used to pack the old Rosemont Horizon in the venue's early years with hometown stars like Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings leading the way.

For McPier, a return to such Blue Demon basketball glory days can't come soon enough.

[herodotus]

Don't assume this could never happen to your favorite school.

[admin]

This year saw more sparsely-attended games than normal, according to Allstate Arena ticket records obtained by Crain's. Seven DePaul games saw attendance of less than 1,000 people, including two games attended by fewer than 600 people

Wow. Just wow.

[jfan]

They will see a natural increase in attendance just because of the new location downtown and because people will be anxious to experience the new arena and the new amenities. After that wears off, they better get a winning team on the court!

[Jet915]

They will see a natural increase in attendance just because of the new location downtown and because people will be anxious to experience the new arena and the new amenities. After that wears off, they better get a winning team on the court!

Won't happen until they get a new AD who has a clue...

[gosports1]

just throwing this out there, what is attendance for SLU? rpi is close to DePaul.

back on topic.
I wonder if DePaul could arrange the Chicago equivalent of the Philly big 5. would have to draw teams from state and not just Chicago of course

[marquette]

just throwing this out there, what is attendance for SLU? rpi is close to DePaul.

5,593 this year per the A10 official website.

[CPJays]

And what percentage of those at the games were for opposing teams? I know it doesn't matter what shirt they wear if they are selling tickets, but that 1824 was probably closer to 1500 DePaul fans a game, maybe even less.

[HoopDreams]

The two main reasons for DePaul's attendance issue is the current location of Allstate Arena and the simple fact that they aren't winning games. The new arena is a 5 minute train ride from the downtown campus and 15 minutes from the Lincoln Park campus. The student body population is split pretty much evenly between these two campuses. The new location will have a huge impact not only on student attendance but also the general public, if they start winning. The United Center doesn't even have a train stop as close as the one to the new arena for DePaul. People working downtown will have a much easier commute going to and from games. The location is also closer for people from the South West side of the city to get to which is were the majority of good high school talent is in the city.

All programs go through difficult times. Providence, Seton Hall, and even Georgetown now have had very rough 5 year stretches. Attendance always suffers when you aren't winning. In terms of the long term success of the Big East having DePaul in the league is important. The Big East needs a team in Chicago not only for the market coverage but also for recruiting. The new arena will be a great venue to watch basketball. It's not huge (only 10K seats) and is designed specifically for basketball in that the seating will be right on top of the game. The arena will also have an open feel with lots of windows and natural light (somewhat similar to Hinkle). The AD is done at the end of her contract in June. If DePaul can make a good hire things will definitely improve.

[EMT]

The two main reasons for DePaul's attendance issue is the current location of Allstate Arena and the simple fact that they aren't winning games. The new arena is a 5 minute train ride from the downtown campus and 15 minutes from the Lincoln Park campus. The student body population is split pretty much evenly between these two campuses. The new location will have a huge impact not only on student attendance but also the general public, if they start winning. The United Center doesn't even have a train stop as close as the one to the new arena for DePaul. People working downtown will have a much easier commute going to and from games. The location is also closer for people from the South West side of the city to get to which is were the majority of good high school talent is in the city.

All programs go through difficult times. Providence, Seton Hall, and even Georgetown now have had very rough 5 year stretches. Attendance always suffers when you aren't winning. In terms of the long term success of the Big East having DePaul in the league is important. The Big East needs a team in Chicago not only for the market coverage but also for recruiting. The new arena will be a great venue to watch basketball. It's not huge (only 10K seats) and is designed specifically for basketball in that the seating will be right on top of the game. The arena will also have an open feel with lots of windows and natural light (somewhat similar to Hinkle). The AD is done at the end of her contract in June. If DePaul can make a good hire things will definitely improve.

You can toss PC out of this analogy. Even in the early 80's pre-Pitino when we were terrible, we averaged about 6,500 fans a game and would fill most of the building for the BE games. I hope the fans show up at the new place because the apathy for DePaul will be very difficult to fix.