The arena has literally nothing to do with getting NCAA Tournament games. It's all about how well the host committee and city can drive revenue to the NCAA. If it were about arenas, they would only play in NBA buildings and not Des Moines, Wichita, Boise, Greenville, SC, etc.
Why didn't the Big 4 Classic work?
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
- Start date
The arena has literally nothing to do with getting NCAA Tournament games. It's all about how well the host committee and city can drive revenue to the NCAA. If it were about arenas, they would only play in NBA buildings and not Des Moines, Wichita, Boise, Greenville, SC, etc.
For me, this is it 100%. I’m not going to pay a ton for tickets when it’s a game against drake and the other game I don’t have interest in. Sitting in WFA for 5 hours would be brutal.
I disagree with that poster as well in that I think DSM is a great college sports town and an emerging college hoops town.
I don't think much of WFA, the locker rooms are average at best and I have been in them all. The media facilities are awful and the event center wireless is worse than being at Jack Trice and awful is being kind.
That said, WFA is in a great location, the skywalk and hotels are awesome, the seating does not suck except that it should have better floor seating beind the basket similar to Sprint Center. The basketball floor sitting in a hockey cutout of an arena with no seating is such a 1980's thing. Spend some money and add some slow rising seats that integrate with the lower bowl.
It is what it is tho- there are worse facilities hosting for sure
I’m pretty sure it didn’t sell out in preorders this year or in record time. The first time it did.
The atmosphere at the tournament games was completely different. We had fans from 8 out of state teams plus us locals. Support is great for the NCAA's due to out-of-town guests. But the venue itself is not a great place to watch basketball, physically speaking.
I’ve managed to have fun at this, mainly because we get a group of friends together and make a day out of it at the game/downtown. (Kind of a “might as well make the most out of it” deal).
That being said, I’m not going to miss it. Not great sight lines everywhere, expensive for the good seats, sitting next to Hawk fans cheering against you, sanitized atmosphere. Will be interested to see how we approach these in state games going forward
That being said, I’m not going to miss it. Not great sight lines everywhere, expensive for the good seats, sitting next to Hawk fans cheering against you, sanitized atmosphere. Will be interested to see how we approach these in state games going forward
All the NCAA cares about if $$$$$$, we could hold it at JTS if we could sell the puppy out. The tourney sells out thanks to ISU and it not being there as often. There are some tavern hawks that believe Iowa will land there also, so there is that.
That doesn't make sense, you can make that argument for like 8-9 game per year. Kansas could say that about 95% of their games. Does that mean they shouldn't play them?
I'd be fine bringing back the home/home series. I know I'm in the minority there as many fans think we are "above" playing @UNI or @Drake for some reason. Villanova plays home/home with Penn and Temple. UNC played @ UNI a couple years ago. But we are too big of a program to do that? Give me a break. I don't like avoiding playing those schools out of the fear of losing. That's a loser mentality if I've ever seen it. I would much rather play UNI or Drake than teams like Southern. At least fans might show up for those games instead of the 1/2 full Hilton we get for most of the non-conference games. I get that a lot of fans want to set up the schedule that gives us the best chance to make the NCAA tournament, but I like to actually enjoy the games along the way and not just look forward to the 1 or 2 games we might play in the NCAAs.
We get it. After 4 posts saying the same thing.
Just because the NCAA chose Des Moines doesn't make the Well a great basketball venue. That's more about the city and amenities. And yes, the Well does work for that tournament. I just don't think it worked for the Big 4 Classic.
Drake gets what 2-3K fans to games? UNI has a 5-6K arena that Ive been to for bracketbuster games and it was far from full then. Iowa is a morgue. So this tourney relies on ISU to sell tickets. When we don't care about the other game, it doesn't work.
Because we are. Very few teams are giving an ongoing home and home setup to a midmajor like UNI\Drake. Certainly not to two of them. This has been covered multiple times.
Well's Fargo Arena is a pretty lousy basketball setup. The entire arena was designed around hockey so the seats on the end are way off of the court and have pretty bad views. Sprint Center did the exact opposite, they designed the arena geared towards hoops but installed retractable seating on the ends that could be pushed back to accommodate hockey and other events. The end seats have a steeper pitch compared to the Well so the upper deck seats don't feel as far off the court either. I went to all of the NCAA games a few years ago and didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. That was the first time I sat behind the baskets in the Well and the view was terrible.
I think the initial success of the Wells Fargo games was at a time when at least 3 of the teams were doing pretty well (ISU, UNI, EIU). And there was lots of energy from the fan bases to earn some "state title" bragging rights. But that seems to have disappeared.
They have made improvements to the in-game atmosphere, but the first few years were really bad (crummy video board, couldn't get the stats right). I came away from some of the best games being disappointed with these aspects of the venue.
We have proven that we are the only fan base that really wants to travel and pay to see its team play. If EIU can't sell out Carver for a game with us, I doubt if there is enough market to sustain an annual double-priced game in WFA. Yes, let's blame EIU.
Lastly, no one ever gives me any grief for wearing my "Not a Hawkeye" I-State shirt. The DM fans who buy tickets for this game only seem to not bring the passion to sustain it as a true rivalry game.
They have made improvements to the in-game atmosphere, but the first few years were really bad (crummy video board, couldn't get the stats right). I came away from some of the best games being disappointed with these aspects of the venue.
We have proven that we are the only fan base that really wants to travel and pay to see its team play. If EIU can't sell out Carver for a game with us, I doubt if there is enough market to sustain an annual double-priced game in WFA. Yes, let's blame EIU.
Lastly, no one ever gives me any grief for wearing my "Not a Hawkeye" I-State shirt. The DM fans who buy tickets for this game only seem to not bring the passion to sustain it as a true rivalry game.
I went the first two years, boycotted ever since. Why?
1) I think the well is a bad place to watch basketball
2) regardless of the cost, I have no desire to be around that many Hawkeye fans. Do not need them cheering against us, plus UNI fans cheering against us when we play drake.
3) minority opinion, I think the reason given for creating it was bogus. To allow eiu and State more freedom to schedule better quality non conference opponents. I call BS, has not happened. The real reason is a fear of losing to UNI and Drake, especially on the road. When I was in college the biggest bb rivalry was isu vs drake. Now the minority opinion - I think we should play UNI and Drake every year. Heck, make it 3-1 home and away. At a minimum, play them in Ames in alternating years.
Last edited:
The fix is simple -- Just have a craft beer discount, offer exotic grilled cheese sandwiches and watch the east village hipsters roll in.
UNC played at UNI because one of the players was from Iowa, and Ol' Roy likes to showcase players with a "see how good local boy is doing with us?" game. It's a recruiting tactic, and he has poached some of the best of Iowa HS players using it.
I'm not paying $50 to watch Iowa State play Drake or UNI from the rafters of WFA. Not interested in paying to watch Iowa play UNI/Drake.
Iowa State and Drake had one of the oldest consecutive rivalries west of the Mississippi (104 straight), and Iowa State agreed to toss it for this garbage. Just go back to home/home or 2-for-1. The basketball team needs more exposure to playing on the road in the non-con rather than playing 300-level teams at home.
Iowa State and Drake had one of the oldest consecutive rivalries west of the Mississippi (104 straight), and Iowa State agreed to toss it for this garbage. Just go back to home/home or 2-for-1. The basketball team needs more exposure to playing on the road in the non-con rather than playing 300-level teams at home.
