Poll: Tonight's attendance

[mu_hilltopper]

What is your guess for the MU vs. UWM attendance 2008?

[MUBasketball]

I would sure hope its a 16 or 17K game.

MU is off to a good start, Top 25, playing a local team, on a Saturday night.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

15k. Won't be a ghost town, but without Crean to hate on, and a 35-point ass-whipping last year, the fire seems to have been taken out of the Shorewooders.

[Wareagle]

I would think at least 17,000 paid attendance, as far as how many people show up, who knows, but it's a good excuse to be out and about on a Saturday. 

36-0

[mu_hilltopper]

13,000 + 1,500 Saturday Night + 500 UWM fans = 15k.

[Gwaki]

I would say about 15k

[ChicosBailBonds]

I would say about 15k

15,168 announced.

[TallTitan34]

But I thought playing UWM was guaranteed to sell out the Bradley Center?

[BrewCity83]

What is UWM's enrollment?  30,000?  Their showing last night was pathetic.

[MarquetteDano]

15,168 announced.

For those of you who predicted a very good crowd the first year, and then a drop-off to around 15,000 or so thereafter, you have my respect... nice call.  For those who said we would have near sell-outs year after year... you were wrong.

Now I need to ask how much more is UWM pulling in versus a normal buy game?  I don't know the numbers.  Is T.V. included in this number?  Whatever the additional revenue we are getting is it worth what we lose every four years by playing next door?  Again, I don't know the numbers... just wondering.

[mu_hilltopper]

The UWM contract is roughly $60k per game for 3 years, followed by a "free" home and home.

So .. Is the UWM buy-game worth the ~$20-25k premium that we paid them, over some other scrub team?  If valued purely in terms of dollars .. maybe.  The incremental increase in attendance (about 5000 for game 1, 2000 for game 2)  .. with an avg upper bowl ticket price of $20, all you need to do is get 1000-1250 incremental people in the building to break even.

But above that .. it does make the ticket packages have a better (perceived) value.  While many will disagree, there is indeed a large chunk of ticket holders who would much much rather see us whomp UWM than South-Eastern Louisiana Tech. -- Even at zero incremental revenue, it is "worth" it for MU to assert its basketball supremacy every 12 months.

[MarquetteDano]

Thanks for the analysis.  Am I wrong: I didn't see where you factored in the fourth year where we play at their place?  Aren't we losing huge revenue that fourth year?  Or do we get that revenue that year?

The UWM contract is roughly $60k per game for 3 years, followed by a "free" home and home.

So .. Is the UWM buy-game worth the ~$20-25k premium that we paid them, over some other scrub team?  If valued purely in terms of dollars .. maybe.  The incremental increase in attendance (about 5000 for game 1, 2000 for game 2)  .. with an avg upper bowl ticket price of $20, all you need to do is get 1000-1250 incremental people in the building to break even.

But above that .. it does make the ticket packages have a better (perceived) value.  While many will disagree, there is indeed a large chunk of ticket holders who would much much rather see us whomp UWM than South-Eastern Louisiana Tech. -- Even at zero incremental revenue, it is "worth" it for MU to assert its basketball supremacy every 12 months.

[mu_hilltopper]

Years 4 and 5 are true home and homes, with no money changing hands.  Are we losing revenue in year 4 when it is played at the Cell?  Yeah, I suppose so.  But we get a "free" game in return in year 5.