Good national publicity for the Flyers:
Dayton's UD Arena getting major upgrades to improve experience for Flyers, NCAA Tournament – Mike DeCourcy, The Sporting News – May 11, 2017
UD Arena has been home to more NCAA Tournament games than any building, ever.
On the video promoting the upgrade, the voice of ESPN’s Jay Bilas can be heard calling UD Arena "one of the true gems of college basketball."
Kentucky’s 1978 NCAA championship team went through there, beating Magic Johnson’s freshman-year Michigan State squad in the regional final. In 1981, the stunning Saint Joseph’s upset of Mark Aquirre and No. 1 DePaul happened there. On the way to beating Georgetown in the 1985 "Perfect Game," Villanova won a close regional final at UD Arena over a talented Michigan team.
In the regular season, UD Arena has been a lure that’s made Flyers men’s basketball one of the most loyally followed teams in Division I. How do you know? From 1992-93 through 1994-95, the Flyers won 17 games. Total. But attendance never dropped below 10,800 per game. Those loyal fans now can expect to be better accommodated.
Dayton Announces Plans for $72 Million Renovation of Arena – ESPN/AP – May 12, 2017
Interestingly,
Fox Sports got it wrong – by
$100 million:
University of Dayton Plans $172 Million in Arena Renovations – Fox Sports/AP – May 12, 2017
University of Dayton Plans $172 Million in Arena Renovations – Fox19 Cincinnati – May 12, 2017
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2016-17 Average Home AttendanceCreighton – 17,413 Marquette – 13,716Xavier – 10,282Villanova – 10,048Big East Average – 9793
Georgetown - 8497 Providence - 8493 Butler - 8358 St. John's - 8147Seton Hall -7954DePaul – 4923Dayton - 13,018 UConn - 8505 Richmond - 6317Saint Louis - 5593--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 19-20, 2019 - Men's Basketball First Four - University of Dayton Arena
March 17-18, 2020 - Men's Basketball First Four - University of Dayton Arena
March 16-17, 2021 - Men's Basketball First Four - University of Dayton Arena
March 15-16, 2022 - Men's Basketball First Four - University of Dayton Arena
Dayton has the NCAA Tournament’s
First Four locked up through 2022, and with a
$72 million renovation in the pipeline, you have to like the chances of the
First Four remaining in Dayton beyond 2022.
Transform UD Arena – University of Dayton