Should NIU basketball have left the fieldhouse for the Convocation Center?

Andrea Bradley: Now that basketball season is over, I am thankful that I won’t have to see an empty Convocation Center on game nights.

Jon Levanich: What are you talking about? The Convo is a great building to house our basketball teams.

AB: Are you serious? The Convocation Center hasn’t served its purpose since its opening in 2002. Huskie basketball attendance hasn’t exceeded an average of 4,000 people, which is under half of what the Convo can hold.

JL: So attendance has been down. But when NIU pumps 35.8 million dollars into a multipurpose facility, it only makes sense to take advantage of it and bring as many sports teams as possible into it.

AB: Whether or not they take advantage of the Convo means nothing to the university’s sports reputation. Face it, our teams are losing, and we need fan support. The men’s basketball team couldn’t even average 2,000 fans last year. When basketball games are averaging numbers that low, they should pack the little fans they have into a smaller facility, where their presence actually exists.

JL: So you’re suggesting moving them to a smaller venue? All that will do is make it seem like more people are coming, when it’s still the same number of fans making the same noise. At least the Convo makes it easier for everyone – it is more spacious, easier to view with the jumbo screen, and still a fan-friendly environment.

AB: You’re right, it is a fan-friendly environment. The 10 fans who show up have gotten really close over the past few months. But yes, I do suggest we move them to the a smaller venue – back to the fieldhouse. The Jumbotron is nice, the space is great, but it still doesn’t make up for the lack of fans. The fieldhouse is easier for everyone. It’s close to campus, will create a bigger roar from the crowd, and may help our teams grab a winning season.

JL: OK. Say that we do have a winning season from one of the teams. And let’s say, for example, the men’s team makes the NIT and all of a sudden 6,000 people want to come watch a home tournament game. How’s the fieldhouse going to work out then? It’s not going to work moving back to a Cracker Jack box.

AB: Let’s be honest, the Huskies can make the NIT and we still wouldn’t get 6,000 fans. But if we are going to be optimistic, it wouldn’t be hard to move one game to the Convo. I am not saying the Convo doesn’t serve its entire purpose. It’s great for concerts and other big events, like the NIT would be. But as far as conference games, we need fan support to win before we can think any bigger.

JL: I think I smell a petition to whomever our next athletic director is.

AB: Really? Because I just smell all that empty space in the Convocation Center.

JL: I didn’t know that a 35.8 million dollar building could smell. I guess you learn something new every day.