The mantra “If you build it, they will come” just doesn’t hold true for the NIU Convocation Center.

The $36 million dollar arena has been open for two years now, and the only act on the lineup this semester is “Adoration: The Tour,” a Christian rock concert. Somehow, this kickoff concert fails to incite the kind of buzz that previous acts – such as the inaugural Bill Cosby performance or the Counting Crows concert – generated.

Of course, the Convo Center will add more acts as the year progresses, but the question remains: Will they be acts students want to pay to see?

If NIU truly wants students to support the arena as officials claim, those officials need to give students a reason to support it. Monster truck rallies just don’t cut it.

The problem lies in the performers NIU solicits for shows. For a center that was built with student fees, the acts the state-of-the-art facility attract aren’t very student-friendly. Sure, the arena has brought a few good ones – Dave Chappelle, Ludacris and Brooks & Dunn come to mind. A couple of those shows even sold out. But two solid shows a year aren’t enough to justify the expense of building and maintaining the arena.

The simple solution? Lure big-name acts students actually want to see.

With more than 25,000 students, NIU should have no trouble booking a popular act. Dave Matthews Band will make stops at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and Iowa State University later this fall. Iowa State boasts a student population of about 27,000 and Wright State, just 15,000. If these schools can bring Dave Matthews to campus, there is no reason why NIU can’t attract a comparable act.

It’s understandable that money, as always, is a factor in bookings. But the fact is, students do not expect to pay $5 for Convo Center entertainment. They’d be willing to put up the same amount of money they pay for shows at the Tweeter Center if it meant seeing popular artists with the added bonus of staying close to home. Big-name performers also would mean drawing an audience from far beyond DeKalb – which means more out-of-town dollars spent at NIU.

As Convo Center marketing personnel sit down to find new acts, they should consider a new twist on a tired theme for their mantra. Somehow “If you book it, we will pay” seems more appropriate.