Should Basketball Use the Ralph?

[forksandspoons]

How long does it take for them to tear down the basketball setup and get it ready for a hockey game? 

[nodak651]

Is there pictures or video anywhere of that Kansas game?  I've been looking for a long time and haven't seen anything.

[Wildfan]

I didn't find anything in my quick search for the Kansas game, but did find vs NDSU

 

 

[bincitysioux]

I can see playing the NDSU game in the REA, and it would be even better if they could arrange it as a double header with the women's game.  Previous NDSU games at REA drew between 7,000-9,000.

Beyond that though, I think you need to be careful about putting too many basketball games in that venue.  It's just too big.  UND played all their NCC games there back in 2004 or 2005, and played the USD game there in 2010.  Attendance was usually between 3,500-4,500.  I've been to plenty of basketball games at REA, and it's generally just not a good environment IMO.  2,500-3,000 in the Sioux Center offers a much better fan and player experience as far as I am concerned.

I wonder if some creative scheduling could be arranged though to showcase the building and entice a "name" school to come to Grand Forks.  For instance, would a program like Minnesota (or any other regional Power 5 school) come to Grand Forks for a game in the REA if we signed a 2-for-1 deal with them and offered them half of the gate revenue from a game in the REA?  I have no idea if something like this would be entertained by any other school, or even UND for that matter, but it could be a way to get a decent non-conference game at home every few years.  With the move to the Summit, DI non-conference games are going to be even harder to get than they were before.

 

 

[geaux_sioux]

1 hour ago, forksandspoons said:

How long does it take for them to tear down the basketball setup and get it ready for a hockey game? 

A couple of hours when it's a crew of football players working with the Ralph crew.  But that's just to get the wood floor out.

[geaux_sioux]

1 hour ago, bincitysioux said:

I can see playing the NDSU game in the REA, and it would be even better if they could arrange it as a double header with the women's game.  Previous NDSU games at REA drew between 7,000-9,000.

Beyond that though, I think you need to be careful about putting too many basketball games in that venue.  It's just too big.  UND played all their NCC games there back in 2004 or 2005, and played the USD game there in 2010.  Attendance was usually between 3,500-4,500.  I've been to plenty of basketball games at REA, and it's generally just not a good environment IMO.  2,500-3,000 in the Sioux Center offers a much better fan and player experience as far as I am concerned.

I wonder if some creative scheduling could be arranged though to showcase the building and entice a "name" school to come to Grand Forks.  For instance, would a program like Minnesota (or any other regional Power 5 school) come to Grand Forks for a game in the REA if we signed a 2-for-1 deal with them and offered them half of the gate revenue from a game in the REA?  I have no idea if something like this would be entertained by any other school, or even UND for that matter, but it could be a way to get a decent non-conference game at home every few years.  With the move to the Summit, DI non-conference games are going to be even harder to get than they were before.

 

 

What about a showcase tournament with four teams? 

[SIOUXFAN97]

9 hours ago, Nodak78 said:

I think the Ralph would be a great for marketing a preseason tournament.  Bring in a P5 and a couple other teams plus.  set it up so UND would play the final game against the P5.

i always said that when we  were tthe "Fighiting Sioux" we should have had a four team bball tourney in Ralph....and 100% of the revenue goes towards schollies from the four tribes...Florida State, Utah, Western Michigan, and UND

[northernraider]

I think a game against Air Force would bring a decent crowd. 

[FSSD]

I don't see why you wouldn't.  Denver and Omaha do it.  Sioux Falls has done it with the SL Conf Tournament and NDSU did it with Scheels arena.  We need to get true travel partners and go back to hosting mens and womens games on the same night.  Go OLD schools NCC.  But, make home game weekends events.  The Summit League game environments would make a huge jump - maximize revenue and minimize costs.

[UND-FB-FAN]

4 hours ago, bincitysioux said:

I can see playing the NDSU game in the REA, and it would be even better if they could arrange it as a double header with the women's game.  Previous NDSU games at REA drew between 7,000-9,000.

Beyond that though, I think you need to be careful about putting too many basketball games in that venue.  It's just too big.  UND played all their NCC games there back in 2004 or 2005, and played the USD game there in 2010.  Attendance was usually between 3,500-4,500.  I've been to plenty of basketball games at REA, and it's generally just not a good environment IMO.  2,500-3,000 in the Sioux Center offers a much better fan and player experience as far as I am concerned.

I wonder if some creative scheduling could be arranged though to showcase the building and entice a "name" school to come to Grand Forks.  For instance, would a program like Minnesota (or any other regional Power 5 school) come to Grand Forks for a game in the REA if we signed a 2-for-1 deal with them and offered them half of the gate revenue from a game in the REA?  I have no idea if something like this would be entertained by any other school, or even UND for that matter, but it could be a way to get a decent non-conference game at home every few years.  With the move to the Summit, DI non-conference games are going to be even harder to get than they were before.

 

 

 The factor to consider though is the increase in attendance. Yes the arena will not be filled up but in terms of absolute numbers the attendance will be better than it would be in the Betty. That has to be appealing. And UND can always grow into the Ralph in terms of progression as a program. 

[geaux_sioux]

A Dakota Tournament? SUs and Us? Could be fun. Split the arena into sections like a regional. 

[Siouxperfan7]

2 hours ago, FSSD said:

I don't see why you wouldn't.  Denver and Omaha do it.  Sioux Falls has done it with the SL Conf Tournament and NDSU did it with Scheels arena.  We need to get true travel partners and go back to hosting mens and womens games on the same night.  Go OLD schools NCC.  But, make home game weekends events.  The Summit League game environments would make a huge jump - maximize revenue and minimize costs.

Summit works the same as the Big Sky. Whoever the men's team is playing at home, the women's team is playing on the road, and vice versa. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

5 hours ago, Wildfan said:

I didn't find anything in my quick search for the Kansas game, but did find vs NDSU

 

 

"That was amazing. It felt like the bigger schools." 

This is why the Ralph needs to be used more for basketball. It would make an impact in both recruiting and fan support. 

[FSSD]

1 hour ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Summit works the same as the Big Sky. Whoever the men's team is playing at home, the women's team is playing on the road, and vice versa. 

I know..   I am saying don't do the mirror schedules.  Roll them together - have the games on Thursday/Saturday double headers mens/womens - pack the arenas - make them events.

[darell1976]

4 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

i always said that when we  were tthe "Fighiting Sioux" we should have had a four team bball tourney in Ralph....and 100% of the revenue goes towards schollies from the four tribes...Florida State, Utah, Western Michigan, and UND

You mean Central Michigan. 

[Rebel_Sioux]

5 hours ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

"That was amazing. It felt like the bigger schools." 

This is why the Ralph needs to be used more for basketball. It would make an impact in both recruiting and fan support. 

Here's the thing though, that game was huge. It was the first time we played NDSU in Grand Forks since they went D1. I don't recall if we played them in Fargo before that or if we played them in other sports, but the school amped this game up a ton. It was the one of maybe two basketball games they asked to have a ROTC honor guard present the colors for while I was there (I think they had us do one when Gene Roebuck retired from WBB but I'm not 100% sure).

So yes, it can be done but it needs to be done for the right games (rivalries, good Power 5 teams etc). If we played every B-Ball game there it would look pathetic simply due to the empty seats. Like when the Twins had to section off parts of the Metrodome with banners to cover up the empty upper deck seats.

[Siouxfan69]

Back in the old NCC days the Sioux/Bison game was a true weekend series.  The Friday game counted in the NCC standings and the Saturday night game did not.  It had a hockey series feel to it, very intense and fun.

[UND-FB-FAN]

6 hours ago, Rebel_Sioux said:

Here's the thing though, that game was huge. It was the first time we played NDSU in Grand Forks since they went D1. I don't recall if we played them in Fargo before that or if we played them in other sports, but the school amped this game up a ton. It was the one of maybe two basketball games they asked to have a ROTC honor guard present the colors for while I was there (I think they had us do one when Gene Roebuck retired from WBB but I'm not 100% sure).

So yes, it can be done but it needs to be done for the right games (rivalries, good Power 5 teams etc). If we played every B-Ball game there it would look pathetic simply due to the empty seats. Like when the Twins had to section off parts of the Metrodome with banners to cover up the empty upper deck seats.

The aesthetics of the arena should take a backseat to the absolute increase in attendance that would result. That is, for example, 3500 people in the Ralph is still better than 2100 in the Betty. 

EDIT: Obviously one would like the attendance to be greater than 3500, and given the right opponent, it would be. 

[Siouxperfan7]

Having the Bison games at the Ralph starting in 2018-2019 would be a great start.  sure the previous games at the Ralph were big games, but conference games that actually mean something are going to add even more hype to the game.  I say start out with the Bison games and then go from there.  Maybe the USD and SDSU games will eventually be played there as well.  Heck, If we have continued success and increased crowds, who's to say we can't have all games in the Ralph and have 7000+ at every game!!  No one ever thought that there would be 11,000+ for hockey games and look what happened there?!!  A couple more conference Championships and trips to the Big Dance, and basketball may be the hot ticket in town!!  Why not?!!  

 

[UND-FB-FAN]

1 minute ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Having the Bison games at the Ralph starting in 2018-2019 would be a great start.  sure the previous games at the Ralph were big games, but conference games that actually mean something are going to add even more hype to the game.  I say start out with the Bison games and then go from there.  Maybe the USD and SDSU games will eventually be played there as well.  Heck, If we have continued success and increased crowds, who's to say we can't have all games in the Ralph and have 7000+ at every game!!  No one ever thought that there would be 11,000+ for hockey games and look what happened there?!!  A couple more conference Championships and trips to the Big Dance, and basketball may be the hot ticket in town!!  Why not?!!  

 

I'm on board. Think about it, UND. 

[Big Green]

I'd like to know the cost and time to switch the Ralph between Basketball and Hockey.  Is it possible to have a 1pm Basketball game and an 8pm Hockey game on the same day?  I would either play all games at the REA or Betty, don't like the idea of only some games at the Ralph.  Need to decide which arena is our home court and play all games there.  I think we lose a little home court advantage switching back and forth.

I hate the Betty for Men's Basketball.  The Betty was a step down from the Hyslop IMO.  I remember being excited to go there for the first time and being very disappointed.  I thought it would be similar to the Ralph.  Boy, was I wrong, it is closer to a HS gym.   If we are going to make the next step in Men’s basketball we need a better arena then the Betty.

[UND-FB-FAN]

1 hour ago, Big Green said:

If we are going to make the next step in Men’s basketball we need a better arena then the Betty.

I think the $100 M REA is the answer. Just have to work out the rather complicated logistics. 

[Dustin]

Baby steps, baby steps.  Prove that the team needs more than a 3,300 seat arena and go from there.  when tickets to basketball games at the Betty are hard to come by, then I know it's time to move up.  Even in a season with a Big Sky championship, the average attendance was 2,139, with a high of 2,870.  Lots of room to grow the program and still use the Betty.

[Rebel_Sioux]

5 hours ago, Big Green said:

I'd like to know the cost and time to switch the Ralph between Basketball and Hockey.  Is it possible to have a 1pm Basketball game and an 8pm Hockey game on the same day?  I would either play all games at the REA or Betty, don't like the idea of only some games at the Ralph.  Need to decide which arena is our home court and play all games there.  I think we lose a little home court advantage switching back and forth.

I hate the Betty for Men's Basketball.  The Betty was a step down from the Hyslop IMO.  I remember being excited to go there for the first time and being very disappointed.  I thought it would be similar to the Ralph.  Boy, was I wrong, it is closer to a HS gym.   If we are going to make the next step in Men’s basketball we need a better arena then the Betty.

I agree with the first part if the team(s) can prove that they can fill the lower bowl on a regular occurance. 

But are you serious about the second part? The Hyslop is easily the second worst gym I've ever seen. The worst is the UND Armory...The Betty on the other hand is far better than most, if not all, high school gyms I've seen. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

20 hours ago, Dustin said:

Baby steps, baby steps.  Prove that the team needs more than a 3,300 seat arena and go from there.  when tickets to basketball games at the Betty are hard to come by, then I know it's time to move up.  Even in a season with a Big Sky championship, the average attendance was 2,139, with a high of 2,870.  Lots of room to grow the program and still use the Betty.

My point all along has been that attendance will be instantly higher than it is now in the Betty (greater than 3,300). That's the effect of the REA. The real question is the potential degree of attendance increase. 

The attendance numbers you cite are partially due to the Betty itself - not the most revolutionary basketball arena by any means. The Ralph, on the other hand, draws a large crowd not only due to the product on the ice or court, BUT ALSO DUE TO the building itself (two bars with seating, 360 degree lower and upper bowl seating, atmosphere, etc.).