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Post by shooting the J on Jan 29, 2013 6:51:02 GMT -6
Rob Demovsky's column today: Time is right for Green Bay men to move to the Kress CenterThis should bring a lot of discussion. I couldn't disagree more. Using the UWM-Green Bay game as an example of why its needed is a terrible example. That game always draws far in excess of what the Kress holds. The timing also couldn't be worse. Wisconsin and Virginia visit next year. Holding those games in the Kress would be awful. The Resch has a great atmosphere for big games. People loved the crowds for Butler, Wisconsin, Marquette and Milwaukee. Announcers at those games always commented on the great atmosphere. Moving to the Kress would kill season ticket sales, and lose donors, some who are business owners in the entertainment district the Phoenix play in now. Moving into a little gym would hurt recruiting. The move onto campus has been death to Milwaukee. They have not gained any home court advantage. It makes they program look small time. Also, everyone knows attendance increases after Packers season is over. If GB has a good road trip in Chicago, the remaining 4 home game will be over Kress Center capacity. There is no evidence what-so-ever of crowds remaining small as suggested. The Detroit game already has huge advance sales.
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Post by thetulsawarrior on Jan 29, 2013 7:55:29 GMT -6
Ironically the old Brown County Veterans memorial Arena had about the right capacity. Dick Bennett team's would have filled the Resch. Moving to the Kress now would kill any attendance momentum the Nix have heading into next season where they will have the best and deepest talent in school history. Being in the immediate neighborhood of Lambeau Field is a heck of a selling tool for recruits and connects with the business community better than playing on campus.
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Jan 29, 2013 8:50:02 GMT -6
Everything about the Kress for men's hoops screams small time. I would rather have the hope of winning games and filling a bigger arena than moving to the Kress.
Fans come out for winning. Fans come out for a good opponent. Fans come out for a good promotion (ie $1 hotdogs on a Saturday afternoon).
GB/PMI need to keep these things in mind as they move forward.
I think Rob D. is pretty far removed from the game as a fan. He gets to use the media room for leaving his coat, grabbing a drink or using the rest room. The paying customer should have the convenience the Resch provides. No lines in the bathroom. Plenty of concession stands. Stands that sell beer I might add. Room to spread out at the game or at least hang a coat on another seat. Not to mention the ability to go out before and make a night of it.
I also think more noise is a nice idea for GB games but they don't need that to win games. They are pretty hard to beat at home as is. Plus the noise issue is just as much a function of who is at the game not where the game is played. Many of the GB season ticket buyers could be described as grumpy/older. They aren't going to "raise the roof" anytime soon. By comparison UIC gets loud with bus loads of little kids screaming but the actual number of people watching isn't that many. The milwaukee game was loud at times but they have 6 times as many students as GB, they should get 500 at a game with no problem. How many kids live on campus at GB, 2500ish? Can they really get 20% of them to come to a hoops game to make noise night after night?
Also, I think Rob misses the mark in comparing to the GB vs uwm game. I have been to two other games this year at the klotsche and the atmosphere is mild at best. If he is going to cherry pick that game then the uwm vs GB at the Resch usually makes a good case for why not to play at the Kress.
The bottom line for me is the Kress is a nice idea but it shouldn't be home.
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Post by greenflyingmachine on Jan 29, 2013 12:44:29 GMT -6
What if GB hosted a conference tournament? Could happen in the near future. Hosting at an undersized venue would be a lost opportunity.
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Post by stillaphoenixphan on Jan 29, 2013 16:17:44 GMT -6
What if GB hosted a conference tournament? Could happen in the near future. Hosting at an undersized venue would be a lost opportunity. Also as far as opponents go we'll be lucky to get even a mid-major unless we pay through the nose up front. Our non conference home schedule will be teams we've never heard of! It will be a big step backwards for the program. I've been to 2 men's games there and the parking was horrible. At the Resch it's more spread out and like it was said season ticket sales will go down. Before the Marquette game The Bar West had 2 pregame parties. I'm sure that Stadiumview and Anduzzi's had some too. If you don't think these businesses don't have a blocks of tickets you're wrong. They are also very big boosters financially. I resemble that grumpy old man remark, but I do try to raise the roof lmao.
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Post by phearthephoenix on Jan 29, 2013 17:45:19 GMT -6
The only real reason I could see GB doing this would be for financial reasons. Positives of playing on campus: If the 'Nix moved to the Kress they wouldn't have to pay rent, would keep 100% of ticket sales, 100% of concessions, and 100% of parking fees. A minor plus would be they'd be closer to the students, and it would be a much more intimate environment. I think the positives end there, however. On the negative side: first, the Kress is literally surrounded by a nature preserve. There is nothing to do before / after the game, which is a huge plus at the Resch being by all the stadium bars, the restaurants, and hotels. Plus, with campus being on the outskirts of town on the far east side of GB, that could add almost an hour round trip of drive time for fans that come from the Fox Valley / Appleton area. The Resch has plentiful parking and easy access to 41 and 172. Also, as gbphoenix1 said there are only 2,200 kids that live on campus and a lot of them leave on the weekends anyway. Is it worth it to throw away a couple hundred season ticket holders just to gain a few more students that get in to the game for free anyway? What about the big games? Are they going to turn away 6,000 people each when Wisconsin and Virginia come to town? For big games we routinely draw 5,000+ and in Feb 2009 the UWM-GB game at the Resch was sold out. The fans will come back. A few years ago we averaged over 4,000+ fans per game. Stay at the Resch and make some improvements. Need a new video board. Maybe get an LED scorers table to make some money and display advertisements
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Post by markus31x on Jan 29, 2013 17:45:56 GMT -6
I agree with what seems to be the consensus on here. The Resch provides way too many pros to leave for the smaller and isolated Kress.
I know it can be a tricky area, especially with college sports, but why not bring back the beer special nights? They stopped doing these a few years back and I'm not sure why. These nights always provided their best attendance numbers, except of course for the Butler/Wisconsin type games. It's not like people get out of hand like at Packer games. The Gamblers still do these and they always pack the house.
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Post by titanreggie on Jan 29, 2013 18:12:13 GMT -6
As a fan from a visiting school, I would hope you stay at the Resch. I have come to every GB v. Detroit game since you joined the league and I love the convenience of staying at one of the hotels and having access to the bars and eateries around the RC. I have been to the Kress Center for the women's games and its a great facility, but not for your men's team. Too small and isolated, no place to get ready to rock [except the Settlement]. Stay where you are at the RC. I'm coming to party with you in 2 weeks and enjoy another great game between the Titans and the Phoenix.
PS Iliked it at Brown County too. Its more about the energy of the people attending. You all are always into the games w/Detroit, always a fun environment. I look forward to it each and every time I visit.
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Post by fansincebuss on Jan 29, 2013 20:29:26 GMT -6
As a grumpy old man who drives up from Appleton for every men's game and a few of the women's. I agree with many of the points made. I likely would only attend weekend games if it were at the Kress. (My seats at the Resch are much better than I get at the Kress)
One additional point I would like to make is that the coverage in the Appleton Post Crescent is terrible, often only picking up the AP coverage and almost never picking up articles like the Kefer Sykes story from the other day. With two recruits from the valley next year it is an opportunity to renew interest in the valley.
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Post by gbbrl97 on Jan 29, 2013 20:51:25 GMT -6
It was convenient that Rob D wrote this article after the rivalry game versus UWM. I'm sure that will be the only time the Klotche Center will be a capacity this season. That athletic program has taken a nosedive since Bud Haidet retired. They once had a strong basketball program and should have been one of the teams to fill the void after Butler's exit from the HL; They also had a strong soccer program too.....But now they are teetering on becoming a Chicago St.-type program. What the #$@*& is Andy Geiger doing there??
But I digress....I typically like Rob's articles, but like with Shooting the J, I also disagree with this one. I also used to be for a stronger on-campus presence for the men's basketball program. I'm an alum of GB (like many of us on this board), and UWGB, like UWM is primarily, a commuter campus but at almost 1/5 the size of UWM (6700 vs. 30,000+). If you drive by the UWGB on the weekends, there are a fraction of the cars on campus versus during the week. If GB moved all of their games to the Kress, those marquee weekend home games would have zero buzz between what few students are left on campus, and the fact that the campus is practically in New Franken on the edge of the GB metro area. No sports bars, no residual entertainment buzz by being on the Lambeau Field-Oneida St.-Holmgren Way entertainment corridor. The Kress Center would not be able to sell alcohol or even have the amount of concessions that the Resch/PMI can provide. GB pays very little rent at the Resch, while PMI makes their money by concessions; a good deal for both sides....A lot of the non-UWGB student and casual fan crowds would disappear if they moved all of their games at the Kress. Where would you have any pre-game festivities?? It's not like UWGB has a Greek Row, or a State Street (like at UW) where you can party before the game.....All the UWGB campus has to offer is the Univ. Union, someone's dorm room, The Settlement, and maybe Victoria's. It's not the same as Anduzzi's, The Bar, Curly's Pub, Brett Favre Steakhouse, and Stadium View which are all within walking distance of the Resch. For UWGB basketball to make money and bring back some buzz, they will need the participation of the GB community at-large, and not just the student population; it's not large enough to sustain ticket sales and general buzz by themselves (Remember, it is a commuter campus of 6700 students, maybe 2000+ live on campus).
However, as the attendance is much lower in the early part of the season (during Packer season), I wouldn't be opposed to having some of the weekday home games in November and December at the Kress (unless we're hosting UW, MU, or another BCS/high major conference team). Keep those Nov-Dec home games on Saturday at the Resch until January. At that point, all home games continue to be at the Resch.....With some additional student interest generated from those early season games at the Kress, you may get some additional student support to come to the Resch......
......with all of that being said, simply winning more games will bring more students and those local people out to UWGB men's basketball games more often. Winning more games on the road (which has been the major hurdle in this program even since the TK days) will help that cause.
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Post by shooting the J on Jan 30, 2013 7:06:09 GMT -6
I'd say Rob's column was a success, as it sure has gotten people talking.
What this program needs is a conference championship, not a smaller venue.
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Post by FunDmentals on Jan 30, 2013 15:33:07 GMT -6
Another problem with the change is that it would hurt the university's relationship with the city of Green Bay. I was on the Student Government when the Kress was being built, and I repeatedly brought up that they should make it a bigger venue and play both men's and women's games on campus. The Athletic Department said they had to beg to get the Resch built, and if they backed out it would wreck their relationship with the city. Even though it's 10 years out, I still think the same idea applies.
Plus all of the great points everyone else has made (location, surrounding, size, etc.). I don't see any way they move the men back on campus unless a new/bigger venue is built, and that wouldn't take place for another 10 years.
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