A Basketball Thought

I'm taking the day off from football. Sue me.

Just a thought about basketball games. I'm wondering if Pitt will elect to play any games at the new arena downtown when it's completed.

I remember going to some games at the Mellon/Civic Arena in the past, which were kind of empty (with the exception of the NCAA tournament games there a few years ago). But now that Pitt is actually good, I'd imagine they could sell out or come close to it for a few games a year.

I'd welcome the opportunity to go to a few games down there, but I'd actually like them to keep the city game at each team's respective venue. If you were at the game at Duquesne two years ago, you know how electric it was. Mix in the fact that it was a close game (a five-point win for Pitt if I remember correctly), and it was an unbelievable atmosphere. The feeling of being in a small gym for a relatively big-time game to the city was great and I'll definitely be at Duquesne again this year.

If any game is being looked at to play in the new arena, it might be that one. But I think it'd be a shame to put that in a bigger venue. I've been to that game at Pitt and it's not nearly as much fun.

Similarly, I don't know if I want the big games (i.e. UCONN) to be played there as well. I think Pitt would definitely lose a bit of its home-court advantage playing in a somewhat foreign arena. Maybe schedule 2-3 of the middle-tier Big East games there. That would also connect more fans in the area with the team as more people would be able to go. Even though tickets to non-conference games can regularly be found on sites like eBay for face value, I think there's a bit of a disconnect with some fans who think the tickets are impossible to get.