Haven't posted this in awhile...

[the artist FKA zipp]

...mostly because it's not really news. But it's one visual that tells a vivid story esp. for old timers who remember points along the timeline.

...A point like the late 90s when the men's program was in turmoil during Crum's final few years. For those who lived through that, it now looks like a minor blip on the chart.

Also bear in mind this is almost 40 years of data...

 

[KerryRhodes]

What a crater in attendance ❗

I watched every game of Coach Crums last four years.
2 of 4 teams were NIT teams. They didnt always listen to Coach Crum , however they gave 100% effort.

They had CARDINALS PRIDE❗

 

[LouisvilleKid79]

I remember the last few years of Crum. Those years pale in comparison to what we are witnessing. The arena looks so empty.

For the fans that attend these games and stay for the full 40 minutes, I applaud you.

 

[glassmanJ]

they overbuilt yum so never thought it'd be at 100%, better chart would simply be overall attendance thru the years. do you have those numbers instead for comparison?

 

[glassmanJ]

and fyi fi you look at it in 2013 we were th number 1 team and won the national championship and we still never reached 100% capacity so just tells you numbers can make anyone's point but the reality is % capacity from freedom hall to yum is not apples to apples. simply, compare attendace numbers and i'll bet while % capacity was less yum actually drew larger crowds in 2013 than freedom hall ever did but yet freedom hall at 100% and yum at 90-95%. again, post the attendance figures Prince Zippers

 

[OldhamCard335]

Oh, that downward line is nowhere close to it’s ultimate nadir.

 

[the artist FKA zipp]

they overbuilt yum so never thought it'd be at 100%, better chart would simply be overall attendance thru the years. do you have those numbers instead for comparison?

Not sure why/how this chart is better, but here it is. The bump higher in 2010 was the move downtown.

You couldn't seat crowds of 20,000 when you "only" had 18,000+ seats to sell. It's why you had a waiting list at Freedom Hall.

The important part of the chart is the last five years, the rate of decline, and how far back you have to go to see attendance this low. That last observation can't be made on a chart that goes back to 1986.

Indeed, you have to go back to 1978 when we last averaged <13,000 fans. In 2021-22, we averaged 13,242...

 

[glassmanJ]

it does show that before 2013 the decline had started and even winning a title did nothing for attendance, it was on it's way down already then sucking threw it into overdrive. as i've said with the football stadium, just too many seats and they should put wider ones in and lessen capacity in both places. but neither will ever happen

 

[the artist FKA zipp]

it does show that before 2013 the decline had started and even winning a title did nothing for attendance, it was on it's way down already then sucking threw it into overdrive. as i've said with the football stadium, just too many seats and they should put wider ones in and lessen capacity in both places. but neither will ever happen

The rate of decline in the early/mid-2010s is nowhere close to what it is now. And IMO, those earlier declines had everything to do with the move downtown in 2010. I know that's when I dropped my season tickets after buying them every year for 25+ years including a decade when I lived three states away.

The issue was--and still is--that half of the arena contains seating that is unacceptable to view a basketball game. In essence, the arena no longer contained a seat I was willing to pay for. Too poor in quality or too expensive.

Attendance the year Padgett coached fell below where it was at Freedom Hall. And you can walk into any game the last few years and buy a lower arena ticket. You're conflating two completely different dynamics...

 

[glassmanJ]

The rate of decline in the early/mid-2010s is nowhere close to what it is now. And IMO, those earlier declines had everything to do with the move downtown in 2010. I know that's when I dropped my season tickets after buying them every year for 25+ years including a decade when I lived three states away.

The issue was--and still is--that half of the arena contains seating that is unacceptable to view a basketball game. In essence, the arena no longer contained a seat I was willing to pay for. Too poor in quality or too expensive.

Attendance the year Padgett coached fell below where it was at Freedom Hall. And you can walk into any game the last few years and buy a lower arena ticket. You're conflating two completely different dynamics...

but the graph shows, unless your lines are off, that attendance increased once we went downtown and even though freedom hall was at capacity the attendance increased. then started to dip even with chapionship year. then obviously after pitino firing all hell broke loose and no one came anymore but the chart does show that even though you didn't renew your seats enough others did for a couple of years then downhill. but from 20-10 to 2017 by the looks of the graph says we averages more than 20k per game. that's 3rd highest in the country. and was still at 21k in 2017. so in essence, before we fired pitino everything was fine, we were at 90% capacity which meant everyone could always get a ticket and on some great games they could not. that's probably perfect in terms of what yum expected. you get 21,000 average per night, even on week nights. that's money in the bank everywhere. but once we went below 20,000 average not fiscally viable. btu still think your grpah shows there's was really no drop off, maybe 1500 fans total over seven years until rp was fired.

 

[2330859]

I was one of those at the time who believed Freedom Hall should have been “gifted” to UL, rather than building a new downtown arena. That more central location, so close to the Belknap Campus, was as close to “an on-campus” facility that UL could ever hope for.

The YUM! Is a really nice facility, but the Luxury Suites and the upper level seating were short term plans that fail to offer sustainability.

Having said this, in hindsight, if UL could have avoided the subsequent NCAA issues following our 2013 NC, it is quite possible that UL Basketball could be experiencing an entirely more successful trajectory.

 

[the artist FKA zipp]

Absent the NCAA garbage and if Jurich was still here, I think we’d be seeing a steady erosion in upper arena attendance anyway. The reported figures might be in the range of 18-20,000 depending on the quality of schedule from year to year.

Jurich would have compensated by extracting more revenue from the lower arena patrons. No way was he simply losing revenue.

Contrast that to the group we have in charge now, discounting lower arena seats to stem the bleeding. It’s a disaster…