Jay Wright "New Arena or Complete Renovation"

[NovaBall]

Why doesn't Nova play at Wells Fargo full time?

Because the basketball games are supposed to be part of the student body experience.

7:00 PM game on a Tuesday. Which is more convenient for the students: (A) walk a thousand yards from your dorm to the Pavilion, or (B) get to the parking lot for 6:00 pm, take a bus downtown, watch the game, and then take a bus home and get back to campus around 10:00 pm?

Some students can definitely make option B happen (and upper classmen can usually drive themselves), and there is the occasional weeknight game to make an event out of. But a lot of students are still 18-20 years old, have to deal with classes, are adjusting to the college schedule and time management. Option A is much more convenient and accessible to the students, especially the underclassmen. Option A helps to build the community feeling of the games among the student body.

Also, if you have too many games downtown it starts to lose its feel as an event and becomes more of the same old. Realistically if Nova were to play too many of its games at the NBA arena the attendance number would be diluted and we would be looking at about 12K for those games as opposed to 15K+. Now 12K is still a good number, and almost double from what the Pavilion holds, but it is not always just about increasing revenue if you lose some of the event feel from the games at the NBA arena.

Nova has done a very good job balancing the NBA arena and the on campus games. They have enough NBA arena games that people can tailgate at and really turn into a big event, but they have enough on campus games to keep some of the lesser drawing games more accessible and allow the students easy access to attend and continue to bond with the team.

[stever20]

Yes and no. The problem this year is Nova can use the NBA arena only 3 times to be able to still play in Philly for the NCAA tourney. That's why Nova is only playing Nebraska in the Gavitt games.

Villanova plays 5 games per year at the NBA arena. In years where the NBA arena is the host of the tourney, they reduce it to 3.

From 2000 through 2019, the only years where this has mattered have been 2006, 2009, and 2016. So in 19 years Villanova has lost the increased revenue from a grand total of 6 games. (and in 2006 and 2009, they did get to play 4 more of games downtown in the tourney, and although they don't get that revenue they make up for it plenty in the alumni events)

And stever has somehow categorized this as a "PROBLEM"? Stever is off the hook crazy and has absolutely no grasp of the big picture of things.

And the Nebraska game on campus is great for the season ticket holders. One of the gripes about the new big east is that there aren't as many attractive on campus games as the old big east had (I am not really in that camp). UCLA played on campus in 2002. Oklahoma played on campus in 2006 when both teams were in the top 5. There have been games against fellow big east teams like Pitt and BC and WVU when those teams were in the top 10 or top 15 that were played on campus in years where they sort of flew under the radar and ended up being better than expected. ESPN hosted college gameday from campus a few years back.

With respect to the games I references (Pitt, BC, WVU) that were against ranked teams on campus, this is actually a sore spot for some Nova fans. They think we are missing out on some of those opportunities in the new big east as there are not as many teams, and all the good games are pegged for the NBA arena while in the old big east you were more likely to have a weeknight game that could be on campus. My counter-argument to the naysayers is that in the years when Pitt or BC or WVU played on campus, they were not supposed to be as good as they were, and that's why the games were scheduled on campus. In time, we will see years when a team like Creighton or Marquette or Seton Hall or whomever exceeds pre-season expectations and comes to campus ranked. Of course I think the round robin does decrease this possibility a bit (but I love the round robin, so it is a fair trade in my eyes).

In the years like this though, it's an issue. Jay Wright himself said that it's a problem :"We actually take a revenue hit doing it."

Also this is the 4th time in 11 years that Philly has had the NCAA tourney.
2001- NCAA East Regional
2006- NCAA 1st/2nd rounds
2009- NCAA 1st/2nd rounds
2013- NCAA 1st/2nd rounds
2016- NCAA East Regional

So in the 19 years that you are talking about- you are talking about 10 games of lost revenue- but with 8 games of lost revenue now in 11 years. That's a problem.

[GumbyDamnit!]

I agree with Stever on this one. It is a problem. The Pavillion is OK but does not match the pedigree of the program. If you have a 10 year waiting list for season tickets, it's a problem. Had we played Butler late in the season last year (instead of the first game) and the BE reg season championship was on the line, I'd much prefer a 10k arena with students courtside, instead of 6.5k with students squeezed into one end and 60/70 year alums politely clapping at mid court. And then there is the lack of suites and concessions.

Not a great venue for a national program like Nova IMO.

[NovaBall]

I forgot about 2013. Whoops, add two more games. 8 games since 2001 (when we weren't even a tourney team anyway) through the end of the decade.

No, that's not a problem.

Oh, I forgot, this is stever who lives in a bubble world. "Meryl Streep wasn't nominated for an academy award, that means less people will watch, that's really going to be a big problem for the network that bid for the academy award show this year..."

Just another example of stever being stever.


Also, as stever doesn't know anything about the situation, it should be noted that Villanova needs to draw somewhere around 10-12K to make the revenue differential between a WFC game and a Pavilion game. So considering the games that are trimmed to keep Nova eligible to play there in March are usually the ones that would only draw 13-15K type games, the revenue hit for those games is only a couple thousand fans.

So yes, the team takes a small revenue hit when the tourney is in Philly to keep the eligibility for the venue. But in no way is it a problem. I bet any school in the country would trade that for that type of "PROBLEM."

[NovaBall]

I agree with Stever on this one. It is a problem. The Pavillion is OK but does not match the pedigree of the program. If you have a 10 year waiting list for season tickets, it's a problem. Had we played Butler late in the season last year (instead of the first game) and the BE reg season championship was on the line, I'd much prefer a 10k arena with students courtside, instead of 6.5k with students squeezed into one end and 60/70 year alums politely clapping at mid court. And then there is the lack of suites and concessions.

Not a great venue for a national program like Nova IMO.

I think you misread stever's view of what the problem is.

I don't think anyone disagrees that the current pavilion is a problem. The current pavilion definitely needs an upgrade (unfortunately we are pumping too much money into football so that is still a ways off)

What stever is claiming is the problem is that every few years Nova has to trim the WFC games from 5 to 3 to keep eligibility for the WFC in the tourney. Those two games every few years is not a problem at all.

[NovaBall]

By the way, there is a very small but vocal sect at Villanova who think that basketball is over funded and that more money needs to be spent on football (and the 1,000 fans that actually care about Villanova football). Currently Villanova basketball has $10 mill revenue, but an operating budget of only $6 mill. Why? Because Villanova football runs in the red to the tune of $4-5 mill per year, and the basketball team is subsidizing it.

If there is a problem at Villanova, that is it.

[gosports1]

Plenty of space. But capacity will not increase. The local community will not allow it.

Hopefully you guys can convince them otherwise, but I understand that is a difficult task. With a 10 year waiting list for season tickets it's clear that Nova has the demand.

We seem to be in a facilities upgrading period as a whole in the BE. MU just upgraded our practice facility, new arena incoming, new athletic performance research center on the way. Nova, as I understand it, is building some new training facilities (although it might be a football only facility? Either way, I think Nova recently put a basketball only facility). Xavier is renovating the Cintas Center. Creighton just finished a practice facility. Georgetown is finishing up their John Thompson athletic center. DePaul has a new arena on the way. Butler recently upgraded Hinkle. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but it's an exciting time either way.

since 2012 every athletic facility at PC has either been upgraded/renovated, newly built or will be in the next 2 years

[xsteve1]

X generates revenue from it's corporate suites. Does Nova have suites in the Pavillion or can they look at adding some in a renovation?

[stever20]

I forgot about 2013. Whoops, add two more games. 8 games since 2001 (when we weren't even a tourney team anyway) through the end of the decade.

No, that's not a problem.

Oh, I forgot, this is stever who lives in a bubble world. "Meryl Streep wasn't nominated for an academy award, that means less people will watch, that's really going to be a big problem for the network that bid for the academy award show this year..."

Just another example of stever being stever.


Also, as stever doesn't know anything about the situation, it should be noted that Villanova needs to draw somewhere around 10-12K to make the revenue differential between a WFC game and a Pavilion game. So considering the games that are trimmed to keep Nova eligible to play there in March are usually the ones that would only draw 13-15K type games, the revenue hit for those games is only a couple thousand fans.

So yes, the team takes a small revenue hit when the tourney is in Philly to keep the eligibility for the venue. But in no way is it a problem. I bet any school in the country would trade that for that type of "PROBLEM."

And even 4000 fans(2k times 2)- average seat say 50 dollars, then all the extra stuff- you're looking at a good 200k shortfall bare minimum. And frankly probably more than that. WFC would have been certainly used for the Gavitt game. Imagine Michigan @ Villanova. That would have been a near sell out. So if they need 10k per game at Wells Fargo- and would have gotten 20k for the Gavitt game, and 15k for the other BE game- that's a loss of 15k fans. at 50 dollars per seat- that'd be 750k. Then add in everything else- and you'd be looking at a loss of 900k- give or take a bit. Sorry- but that's real money. To have that 4 times in 11 years- it's a hit.

[mpwalsh8]

That would be great for them . I can't imagine a 10,000 seat arena would have a much bigger footprint than the current 6,500 one. For those familiar with the area, is the Pavillion wedged in there or is there some room to grow? Where do you think you would play your home games during construction?

This one to Xavier fans; How long did it take to build the Cintas Center?

My guess is VU would work out a deal to play at the Palestra if/when this comes to pass (and it really needs to happen).

Prior to the Pavillion opening VU played a few games on campus in what is now the Jake Nevin Field House, a handful of games at the Spectrum (same south Philly location as the WFC) and a bunch of games at the Palestra. As a student (I was at VU from '82-'86 prior to the Pavillion opening) getting a ticket to a Field House game was hard. Getting tickets to Palestra games was fairly easy but not a slam dunk. Games at the Spectrum were easy to get a ticket to but a good ticket was expensive. I don't recall any sort of student season ticket package being available.

The Palestra was (and I suspect it still is) fairly easy to get to from VU by train. Getting to the Spectrum was a giant PITA. I think VU has student buses to the WFC now but when I was a student you were on your own to get there.

Setting up shop at the Palestra for a couple years, if Penn would allow it, would be much better than playing to 5k-10k crowds at Wells Fargo.

This map gives you an idea how far it is from VU to Wells Fargo. It isn't just down the road. It is 20-25 miles from campus depending on the route. Factor in week night rush hour traffic and that trip can be well over an hour.

Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/AzWCMiPz1Qv