3/7/2016

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DePaulia

The

Pinnacle award winner, No. 1 College Weekly Newspaper

Volume #100 | Issue #18 | March 7, 2016 | depauliaonline.com

HOME OLIVIA JEPSON | THE DEPAULIA

ALONE

JOSH LEFF | THE DEPAULIA

Left: Fans at McGrath-Phillips Arena for the first men’s basketball game of the season on Nov. 14. Right: Fans at Allstate Arena for the second to last home game against St. John’s on Feb. 25. DePaul averaged 2,445 fans at Allstate Arena this season, an 11 percent increase from last year. The number remains far below the projected value for the new arena.

Attendance challenges remain as DePaul gears for move By Matthew Paras Editor-in-Chief

It’s senior day. On a Saturday morning, five DePaul seniors are introduced before tip-off in the last regular season game of the season. From those who were there, the seniors receive a round of applause while they are honored at center court. But surrounding that applause is a sea of empty seats. Like most DePaul games, Allstate Arena remains barren. Attendance — those who actually Photo courtesy of DEPAUL ATHLETICS show up to the games — for DePaul DePaul’s new arena is scheduled to open in Fall 2017. men’s basketball saw a slight increase for the second year in a row, but the paid attendance, or the number DePaul announces, fell for a third straight year in a row. Both figures are far off from a projected study that said attendance at DePaul’s new arena will average 9,500 people, a projection that factored into the affordability of the arena. “I appreciate that everyone wants to talk about what our current attendance is, but candidly, that’s why we’re making the move,” DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto said. “As we continue to grow the program, we think that the ease of being able to get to the location of where the facility is will be a big draw.” DePaul, per public records, averaged 2,445 fans for home games at Allstate game as the number was unavailable as of Paid attendance is a different story. Arena this season, a 11 percent increase deadline). Attendance is counted as the This season, the university reported an from the previous year. (That number, bodies that pass through the turnstiles of average of 5,514 for home games, DePaul’s however, does not include Saturday’s the arena. lowest mark since 2002. The figure marks

BREAK A SWEAT

Get active with these DePaul fitness classes — Focus page 14

a three-year skid where DePaul has reported a declining attendance. The disparity in the two figures has to do with a multitude of factors. Like many colleges and professional sports, DePaul routinely gives away tickets, such as to charities or students, and marks that as paid attendance. Lenti Ponsetto also said it has to deal with those who choose not to go to games. DePaul has one year left at Allstate before moving into the $200 million arena being constructed in the South Loop. DePaul will be on the hook for $82.5 million of that amount. Before the project was announced in 2013, consulting firm HVS concluded that the arena would generate an average of 9,500 attendees per game.The arena will be able to host up to 10,000. “(The consulting firm) looked at 20 years worth of data, and having looked at really good years and really not some good years, and looking at DePaul’s attendance through that time period,” Lenti Ponsetto said. “Anytime you move into a new building, there’s always an uptick in attendance. People want to see what the shiny new and bright thing is. “They felt very confident.” That study, however, was funded by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (McPier), raising into question the objectivity of the research. On Friday, the Chicago Tribune published reports

See ATTENDANCE, page 27

100 Days of Drawings

DePaul student Bethani Randolph is drawing 100 portraits in 100 days — Arts & Life page 16


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