The double-edged sword of playing in Fiserv......

[duanewade]

The Fiserv experience on one of the many sold-out weekend games is amazing!  Even the pyrotechnics and lasers associated with the player introductions is an adrenaline rush and worth the price of admission. 

It's unique that a mid-sized, private university is afforded the ability to co-anchor a world-class, luxury venue and able to regularly fill it as well.  This is true even with the high ticket prices we charge compared to other schools who have a larger alumni base and charge less for tickets.  For example I gave two Purdue friends of mine sticker shock when I told them how much the single seats would cost in the lower bowl.  However once they had experienced Fiserv all they could talk about on the way home was how amazing the arena was and all the cool nuances it had like going outside and seeing Milwaukee's skyline. 

Marquette ranked #9 last year in NCAA attendance averaging 15,611 per game and of course all the other teams in the top 10 are big state schools.  The one exception being Creighton which came in at #8 with an average attendance of 15,890 and is also an enigma.  No other Big East team finished in the top 25 for attendance. 

As I mentioned previously I think the Fiserv wow factor on a recruit's visit is one of the biggest reasons we were able to land so many highly touted recruits in the 2020 class.  I also think it will play a critical role in putting Karim Mane in a Marquette uniform next year as well.

However it seems to me that the experience in playing against Marquette in Fiserv with NBA references all over the locker room and the arena's rafters gets the other team juiced up even more.  Many of the players on the teams we play, including within the conference, weren't as highly recruited as most of Marquette's players as we typically sign top 100 recruits.  Playing against Marquette in such a venue, with so many people in the seats, creates a proverbial "field of dreams" for the teams we play.  It also manifests any hidden chips on opposing team's shoulders who want to show up the home team who didn't recruit them and steal their thunder. 

Having said the above I don't think it's a coincidence that we lost to St. John's, Creighton and Georgetown last year at home and were all teams we were favored to beat at the time.  I specifically remember watching the Georgetown players last year leave the floor like they just won their Super Bowl.  So far this year we lost to Providence at home and possibly got DePaul's best game of the season as well. 

Of course others will point out to me that several other BEast teams also co-anchor and/or occasionally play in NBA arenas to minimize my point.  This is true however playing at Georgetown you might get 8,000 to 10,000 announced fans sparsely filling out the lower bowl of Capital One Arena.  Most announced "fans" are attorneys or lobbyists who take clients, sit on their hands, and then leave at halftime.  The Georgetown students would rather be at home studying but they have a handful of "rebels" who show up and quietly cheer for the Hoyas and then race back back home to study so as to not jeopardize their K Street internship that requires a 3.5 GPA. 

Even the Villanova vs Creighton game in Wells Fargo arena on Saturday had an announced attendance of 15,105 but the arena has an overall seating capacity of 19,500.  Philadelphia is a much bigger city than Milwaukee and Villanova has two recent national titles and still can't draw or create an atmosphere comparable to Marquette and Fiserv. 

Bottom line is our players better start to realize that even though they might have become immune to regularly playing in front of 15,000+ people in Fiserv and view it as normal....it's not commonplace/normal to the teams we're playing.  Understand this and expect the other team's best game and meet their intensity.  We don't yet have the overall talent in the program to be able to regularly win even when we don't play our best games.     

[MUHoopsFan2]

I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS...


MARQUETTE SHOULD BE PLAYING AT US CELLULAR OR PANTHER ARENA AND MOVE UWM BACK ON CAMPUS.

I said this when they were at the Bradley Center. Arena's like Fiserv can be too big for college basketball. MU should not be in an NBA arena. Its nice and all but too verbose for college kids. Make them earn it.

To me a typical college basketball crowd should only be what they have at Duke or Kansas about 11,000 or no more than 13,000 students.

It's not so much the number of fans there as much as it is the college aged students energy and atmosphere. Not filled with alumni afraid to stand up and get into it!

The first 20 rows all around the lower bowl should go to STUDENTS ONLY SECTION, and the one side only for the band.

Older or alumni must sit rows 20 and up...TV camera angles should only get the lower bowl in view. 

They should go back to the Milwaukee Arena...more of a pit and more of a home court advantage there than Fiserv.

It keeps them humble and hard working...and great seats for everyone! Not to mention the nostalgic element that appeals to me with it.

[MUHoopsFan2]

Excellent article...but MU should either build an on campus arena or go back to the what is now Panther Arena.

UWM does not sell enough tickets to stay there. MU would sell out every game and the tickets might be cheaper for fans to go.

Surely the juice in the building would be there as MU could make that building their own just like in the 70's and much of the 80's.

Loved watching MU games there back then....ELECTRIC!

[Johnny B]

Kansas arena fits 16,300 and sells out every game. Kentucky is like 20k every game. Works fine for them. Fiserv is a very high quality modern arena. Why in the hell would we want to go the SIGNIFICANTLY lower quality and smaller panther arena? Lol.. we just sold out freaking DePaul. And damn right the beautiful fiserv helps with recruiting. There's no double edged sword. Playing is fiserv is almost exclusively beneficial

[WarriorFan]

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Ant it ain't broke.

[NorthernDancerColt]

Kansas arena fits 16,300 and sells out every game. Kentucky is like 20k every game. Works fine for them. Fiserv is a very high quality modern arena. Why in the hell would we want to go the SIGNIFICANTLY lower quality and smaller panther arena? Lol.. we just sold out freaking DePaul. And damn right the beautiful fiserv helps with recruiting. There's no double edged sword. Playing is fiserv is almost exclusively beneficial

Well-said.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Excellent article...but MU should either build an on campus arena or go back to the what is now Panther Arena.

UWM does not sell enough tickets to stay there. MU would sell out every game and the tickets might be cheaper for fans to go.

Surely the juice in the building would be there as MU could make that building their own just like in the 70's and much of the 80's.

Loved watching MU games there back then....ELECTRIC!

Lol. No.

Let’s move from a state of the art, brand new arena to one in built in the 1950s. Great idea.

It's not 1977 anymore.

[🏀]

This is satire, right?

[Bocephys]

This is satire, right?

This topic, or Scoop in general? 

[jsglow]

Marquette is incredibly blessed in this regard. Since the early 1950s, we have played in a state of the art arena within walking distance of campus. I don't think many (if any) other schools can say that. It has been one of our secret weapons forever.  And, until just recently,  we didn't even pay market rent to do so.

[🏀]

This topic, or Scoop in general? 

Fair.

[warriorchick]

   

[cheebs09]

I attended the Bucks game at Panther Arena a few years ago. It was very cool. I also would never want MU to play there regularly. You take for granted all the amenities of a modern NBA stadium. The bathroom and concession lines were incredibly long.

We are pretty spoiled playing in Fiserv. If only we could get the concession stands on the second level open more consistently.

[MUfan12]

We are pretty spoiled playing in Fiserv. If only we could get the concession stands on the second level open more consistently.

They had some closed downstairs as well. It was sold out in advance! Lines upstairs were insane.

I like Fiserv a lot, but for what MU is paying in rent, they need to raise a stink about this.

[Mr. Nielsen]

They had some closed downstairs as well. It was sold out in advance! Lines upstairs were insane.

I like Fiserv a lot, but for what MU is paying in rent, they need to raise a stink about this.

I would say a nice email to MU about what you see might help. Zero reason IMO, why a sold out crowd would have anything closed.

[TallTitan34]

I assume the Bucks are leaving money on the table by having so many of the concession stands closed.  I just don't get it.

[🏀]

I assume the Bucks are leaving money on the table by having so many of the concession stands closed.  I just don't get it.

It's ridiculous.

[cheebs09]

It's ridiculous.

Is that a Bucks or individual stand owner decision?

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Why would anyone want a single edged sword?

[UWW2MU]

I would say a nice email to MU about what you see might help. Zero reason IMO, why a sold out crowd would have anything closed.

Anyone know who the most effective person/office to contact about this would be?   This has been an issue time and time again and I'd definitely like to make my voice heard. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

Why would anyone want a single edged sword?

I use a triple edged razor.  The Mecca is a dump.

[Warrior of Law]

I attend, along with a few dozen others, UWM games at the Arena.  The place sucks.  If more people attended, then it would suck even more. UWM should move full-time to the Klotsche because it would be an upgrade.

A non-conference Tuesday night buy game at the Fiserv is still better than playing at the Arena.

[Silkk the Shaka]

I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS...


MARQUETTE SHOULD BE PLAYING AT US CELLULAR OR PANTHER ARENA AND MOVE UWM BACK ON CAMPUS.

I said this when they were at the Bradley Center. Arena's like Fiserv can be too big for college basketball. MU should not be in an NBA arena. Its nice and all but too verbose for college kids. Make them earn it.

To me a typical college basketball crowd should only be what they have at Duke or Kansas about 11,000 or no more than 13,000 students.

It's not so much the number of fans there as much as it is the college aged students energy and atmosphere. Not filled with alumni afraid to stand up and get into it!

The first 20 rows all around the lower bowl should go to STUDENTS ONLY SECTION, and the one side only for the band.

Older or alumni must sit rows 20 and up...TV camera angles should only get the lower bowl in view. 

They should go back to the Milwaukee Arena...more of a pit and more of a home court advantage there than Fiserv.

It keeps them humble and hard working...and great seats for everyone! Not to mention the nostalgic element that appeals to me with it.

I literally could not disagree more strongly. The Fiserv is amazing and we are blessed to have it

[TallTitan34]

Going to go out on a limb and assume its easier to sell a recruit with the Fiserv than the MECCA.

[warriorchick]

Going to go out on a limb and assume its easier to sell a recruit with the Fiserv than the MECCA.

Personally, I don't think a recruit would want to play in the same building or dunk on the same rims as Giannis.  Too intimidating.