Wrestling fans should be embarrassed by their poor showing this weekend. Way to make a case for keeping the tournament in Omaha. I wouldn't be surprised if the event is now moved back to Lincoln.

It was a bit dissapointing to see all the empty seats, even for friday night and saturday afternoon! Maybe the weather contributed some for friday night.

10,000 off last year's attendance and the lowest since 2000. Not good. Not good at all.

18,000+ in Colorado at the Pepsi Center for their finals. umm....Colorado!?

There were more seats available this year than last -- 1,500 or so added to the north top section.

There was also the weather issues on Friday that may have kept Friday night's numbers down.

I think there is also a certain level of apprehension still left over from the move, and once the NSAA decides the next two-year contract that should take care of a lot of that, IMO.

It was disappointing to see less of a turnout than last year, but then again, last year's numbers were well over even the best years at Devaney.

The attendance this year for the Qwest was lower than it was at the Devaney Center for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Think Lincoln might use that as a little ammunition?

The 20 below wind chill did not help.

I would say it had more to do with the weather. It is only about 45 more minutes to get to the Qwest Center and I can not believe that any wrestling fans would be scared to come to Omaha, NE when they follow NE FB to all those bowl games in truely big cities. seems that CWS fans are not scraed to come to Omaha either. The Qwest Center is much better that Devaney in my opinion.

Weather my A**, how many times did you walk to the BOB in cold crapy weather? Bowl games are typically in Warm climates (Boise would be the exception), CWS I think is in the summer? and NE football is not wrestling?
Could it have something to do with?
No atmosphere?
Over priced hotel rooms?
Over priced food? (at the Center)
Very few brothers, sisters, cousins, etc not at a major university?
Shopping malls being a long drive in more traffic?
Other events going on at the same time (volleyball)?
No tradition?

It does how ever have more mat space, concrete parking (you pay for no matter where you park), under utilized technology (video screens), basketball games scheduled right after, and Oh I almost forgot CUP HOLDERS!

I am talking about people getting there not being cold outside. I guess I just hope it is not because people think Omaha is not safe. I mean if people want it back at Devaney go for it wrestling fans get treated like crap down there too.

They are starting to see the same thing USA wrestling saw when they pushed aside the west in favor of the East . The loss of tradition and inability of B,C&D teams out West to compete with private schools with a unlimited population source has made tournament less interesting for those who went even if they did not have a wrestler .State week used to be on everyones calendar with as many people attending without wrestlers as with .

It also seemed to me that those from the Omaha area did not support the tournament in the numbers some thought might happen . I bet the numbers are down another 5 to 10 percent next year .

Regardless of the reason for the attendance drop; the undeniable truth is ... money talks. I would have to think a return to Devaney will be considered. A 10,000 drop in attendance is a problem.

I hate to acknowledge it but without the big name high-visibility players or matchups of the last two years the interest in the high school phase of the sport probably peaked last year for some time. Indeed, that fact is very evidenced in the level and intensity of the posts on this site, or more specifically, in the lack thereof. Decreasing attendance at state is a symptom not of the Qwest's deficiencies but of a sport's cyclical downturn. If high prices for amenities is the problem, you could'nt prove that by attendance at the D1 womens volleyball tourney at the Qwest or by attendance at Rosenblatt for the CWS. In fact, I wager that the attendance at the women's volleyball tourney taking place at the same time and place as our wrestling was comparable to our tourney, at least per capita.

Can you compare the fan bases here? The girls' volleyball tourney was an "elite" team tourney whose parents paid some bucks to allow them to play. The college world series is just that. College. A different fan base there, too. I am not sure why there was a decline in attendance, but I am sure that it will be money that will get the tournament back to Devaney if the Devaney people truly want it...

The temps were actually colder last year. That wasn't the reason.We had an intimate setting at Devaney,though with some issues. The Omaha facility is too sterile and gaudy to have that feeling Bob's house had.It is a tradeoff.The days of the hair standing on your neck during the parade of champions is over,....by popular demand.

They (the fans) should not be embarresed for doing what they must to try and right this wrong. I agree with HB's sarcasim "way to make a case for keeping in Omaha". The fans have spoken through their attendance. The "magic" of this event has been lost. No need to go into details of all the problems with the Qwest again. It's all been hashed before. Lets hope when the next venue contract is awarded the NSAA directors have the entegrity to do what the majority of schools outside the metropoloton area desire and not cave to mighty dollar.

Let's be real honest. The Qwest vs. Devaney argument is really code for urban vs. rural animosity in this state. Lincoln is still seen as an "out-state" setting and Qwest is clearly urban. The fight is 150 years old and still not dead. Money is not the problem.

quote:

Originally posted by hawk:
Weather my A**, how many times did you walk to the BOB in cold crapy weather? Bowl games are typically in Warm climates (Boise would be the exception), CWS I think is in the summer? and NE football is not wrestling?
Could it have something to do with?
No atmosphere?
Over priced hotel rooms?
Over priced food? (at the Center)
Very few brothers, sisters, cousins, etc not at a major university?
Shopping malls being a long drive in more traffic?
Other events going on at the same time (volleyball)?
No tradition?

It does how ever have more mat space, concrete parking (you pay for no matter where you park), under utilized technology (video screens), basketball games scheduled right after, and Oh I almost forgot CUP HOLDERS!

I don't think you know how much of an impact this one has on attendance. UNL students would flock to Devany to support their old high school classmates, and fellow friends and family. That alone could cost close to 5,000 in attendance throughout the whole event.

I don't know what the reason for the attendance drop but i got to tell you all i had much better seats then i ever had at the devaney center i felt like i was on top of the mats and could see with out feeling like i needed binos just to see what was going on and if i was going to record a match i would not have to worry about the wrestlers going out of view due to some obstuction adn yes the cup holders were nice

AZ Huskers, I agree. State wrestling is a huge party at UNL. Everyone goes down to see their old friends and the college kids go to see some wrestling.

Another issue I think that has been a problem, as well as the 'atmosphere' problem at qwest, is that it's already been decided. No excitement.
Skutt and MS will reign for a long time. As long as its already won(before the season starts as AuntDD said), not too many people, other than coaches and wrestlers really care.