For me, late March is a very special time of the year. I love to see the emergence of Spring from its long hibernation. Mother Nature shows its rebirth through the sights of colors bursting out from winter’s dead, the sounds of birds chirping in the sky, and the smells of flowery fragrances lingering in the wind. Drafting on Spring’s rear bumper (pretty good NASCAR metaphor) are several other gems on the calendar: March Madness, baseball fields re-populating, short sleeves, and…
THE STATE TOURNAMENT!
This year marked my 20th pilgrimage to Columbus. I can remember my first trip as a young teacher in 1995 arriving at St. John Arena for a sold-out semi-final match-up between Zanesville and Westerville North. I was without a ticket, and thus at the mercy of the scalpers. The few tickets available were going for at least $20, except for one guy who only asked $10. Being the economical guy that I am (a.k.a. tight wad) , I jumped all over that deal and got in line. As I just about to go through the turnstiles, I noticed that I had a ticket for the wrong game! But they tore my ticket anyways (no scanners back then), and I haven’t looked back.
For many years after, I would join my college buds for the weekend. I spent a few nights sleeping on the floor, and more than a few nights sleeping in hotels that fell well short of earning any endorsements from this Travelocity employee…
Let’s just stay that the buddy that served as ‘travel agent’ weighed the price well before he looked at any star ratings. We did get a free breakfast, though! As we got older, we started bringing our kids down. The trip is a now a yearly highlight for my two boys and me.
One thing that I have noticed over the past decade of so is the drop in attendance. A recent Columbus Dispatch article by Bob Hunter documents this decline. The record attendance for the tournament was 2003, which averaged 16,577. I wonder why so many people went that year?
I heard that guy didn’t amount to anything as a college player, though.
#2 in attendance was Lebron’s junior year, so he obviously helps sells tickets. But #3 was 2004, the year after LBJ. The average that year was 14,830. And as recent at 2007, the average was 14,617. This year’s average, though, was 9,339. The Division IV final was the first championship game to have an attendance under 10,000 since the games were moved to Value City Arena in 1999.
So what has happened? There are many variables that can be factored in, many of which deal with the fact that is that there is increased competition for our attention and dollars. But my amateur analysis points to that last strong attendance year of 2007. If you don’t remember well, the following year was when the big economic crisis hit. And that led to people, and school districts, tightening their financial belts. For years, most school districts would buy multiple ticket books for their coaching staffs. After that financial pinch, many schools dropped that practice. I haven’t conducted any thorough investigations to get exact numbers, but it is evident in the lack of tickets being scalped, especially for the lesser attended games. In the golden years, tons of tickets would be available on the sidewalks for those games at dirt cheap prices. For the last few years, though, that ticket sales market has shrunk dramatically since no one is buying those extra tickets to sell. Now, you just go up to the ticket booth to get the games you want.
So, aside from crossing their fingers and waiting 5 years for Lebron James, Jr. to reach high school, is there anything else that the OHSAA can do to change this attendance tide? Here are a few proposals:
MAKE SEMI-FINAL GAMES DOUBLE HEADER SESSIONS:
Longtime Dover hoops coach Bob VonKaenel mentioned this idea to me. Have each division play its semi-final for one ticket, with a 30-minute break in-between. Many high school regional semi-finals are done this way, so it is nothing new to the OHSAA.
PROS: increased crowds for games, better atmosphere for participants and fans, more affordable for fans to attend, doubleheader more appealing to attract fans.
CONS: much less money for OHSAA. While you would attract a few more fans, the full tournament would be only 8 sessions instead of 12. I am guessing the OHSAA still sells a bunch of all-session books of tickets, and cutting four sessions would mean big $$$ lost on those sales.
PREDICTED ATTENDANCE BUMP: 20% per session, but -20% for overall attendance.
CHANCE OF HAPPENING: 3%. Too much money to lose for what there is to gain.
BOBBY V. HALFTIME SHOW!!!
Anyone that is an annual state tourney attender probably knows that Coach Von Kaenel often appears during halftime to hand out awards on behalf of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association. That has to boost attendance by at least 7%. I say we tap into this underused natural resource. Let’s give Bob the entire halftime for song and dance. I envision it as part Elvis, part Kenny Rogers, and part Bruno Mars!
PROS: too many to list. Think about what this performer did for the Super Bowl. Then multiply it by 100.
CONS: The Schott is a bit small for Bob’s talent, as well has his appearance fee. We might have to move the games to the Horseshoe to make it financially feasible. Plus, he hopefully will have coaching duties that day.
PREDICTED ATTENDANCE BUMP: 86%. (I think would be the right number, figuring he would likely sell out 12 straight sessions). He is already pretty entertaining to watch on the sideline. Just imagine how he would be with a mic, tap dance shoes, and Sharks as background dancers! Plus, he is a native of Stras-Vegas, so entertainment must be in his blood!
CHANCE OF HAPPENING: 8% Coach VK is a grandparent now, so we can only hope he is looking for some extra income.
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