2023 OHSAA State Boys Basketball Tournament Attendance Numbers...Down From 2022

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

If it was one ticket sold at the game for all games I would go.

[jose]

Cost is a big issue. Used to be that fan who loved to watch Basketball, went to lots of different games-but the prices for 1 game is outrageous now. Now, I only go if a local team is playing

[bbjunky81]

I hope the games stay in Dayton. The arena is so much better to watch game in than the Schott. The parking is also a ton better. Driving to eat wasn’t a big deal for us, we found places to eat anytime we wanted to go an eat.

If they were in Columbus, I might go to a couple games. Living in eastern ohio I’m not driving 3+ hours to watch many blowouts. OSU is too uppity up to want HS basketball on their truf. And they obviously don’t care about men’s basketball. It’s all football for a school that won 2 n a half national championships since 1970. Bring the people back for the boys n girls state championships, where it should be !!!

Unfortunately it all comes down to cost. I LOVED the State Tournament at the Schott personally. I loved the local places to go to and how easy it was to get around town.

However, OSU is asking for a number that OHSAA simply cannot pay. The OHSAA has to manage cost + expenses to determine profit on their end and with attendance plummeting (this has happened for many years, including in Columbus), there's no way they could be profitable at the Schott anymore.

I understand your frustration and I, too, want the tournament back in Columbus. But at the end of the day OSU isn't going to go into a net loss of several hundred thousand dollars just to host a tournament that they're not even technically affiliated with.

[formerfcfan]

I hope the games stay in Dayton. The arena is so much better to watch game in than the Schott. The parking is also a ton better. Driving to eat wasn’t a big deal for us, we found places to eat anytime we wanted to go an eat.

If they were in Columbus, I might go to a couple games. Living in eastern ohio I’m not driving 3+ hours to watch many blowouts. OSU is too uppity up to want HS basketball on their truf. And they obviously don’t care about men’s basketball. It’s all football for a school that won 2 n a half national championships since 1970. Bring the people back for the boys n girls state championships, where it should be !!!

Did you see where Columbus had the highest paid attendance across this year’s first weekend in the NCAA men’s tournament? Over 58K tickets. The women did turned out fair attendance for their games ~10 minutes away the same weekend.

It’s a no-brainer what tOSU, Columbus and other commerce parties are going to “pick” if they can only choose one.

[jose]

I hope the games stay in Dayton. The arena is so much better to watch game in than the Schott. The parking is also a ton better. Driving to eat wasn’t a big deal for us, we found places to eat anytime we wanted to go an eat.

If they were in Columbus, I might go to a couple games. Living in eastern ohio I’m not driving 3+ hours to watch many blowouts. OSU is too uppity up to want HS basketball on their truf. And they obviously don’t care about men’s basketball. It’s all football for a school that won 2 n a half national championships since 1970. Bring the people back for the boys n girls state championships, where it should be !!!

Did you see where Columbus had the highest paid attendance across this year’s first weekend in the NCAA men’s tournament? Over 58K tickets. The women did turned out fair attendance for their games ~10 minutes away the same weekend.

It’s a no-brainer what tOSU, Columbus and other commerce parties are going to “pick” if they can only choose one.

But (college's) each team is bringing in fans from their fanbase across the country- a lot more than a HS fanbase - so it's not necessarily a no brainer

[trojandave]

I really enjoyed watching the boys semifinals and finals, and as for me I want to see the best teams playing, regardless of who they are or how they acquired their team. The competition for good basketball players among schools goes on around the state, including the SE district. Schools like Akron Hoban, Akron Buchtel, Lutheran East, Richmond Heights, and Africentric are all in competition with league, neighboring or district schools for basketball players. I want to see good basketball, and the SE district is a step behind in the caliber of play compared to other districts. In fact, the OHSAA does the SE district a favor in most years in arranging the regionals so that a SE team makes the regional final by pitting 2 SE teams against each other in the regional semifinal. So that remaining SE team only has to win 1 game outside the district to make the state.

Attendance is down for sure, but for someone like me I didn't go because of a limited budget and the fact that I can watch the games on Spectrum. I went for almost 35 years but honestly don't miss going anymore. The best atmosphere I ever experienced at the state tournament was at St.John Arena.

I will go if Portsmouth makes it again.

[E High]

I hope the games stay in Dayton. The arena is so much better to watch game in than the Schott. The parking is also a ton better. Driving to eat wasn’t a big deal for us, we found places to eat anytime we wanted to go an eat.

If they were in Columbus, I might go to a couple games. Living in eastern ohio I’m not driving 3+ hours to watch many blowouts. OSU is too uppity up to want HS basketball on their truf. And they obviously don’t care about men’s basketball. It’s all football for a school that won 2 n a half national championships since 1970. Bring the people back for the boys n girls state championships, where it should be !!!

Did you see where Columbus had the highest paid attendance across this year’s first weekend in the NCAA men’s tournament? Over 58K tickets. The women did turned out fair attendance for their games ~10 minutes away the same weekend.

It’s a no-brainer what tOSU, Columbus and other commerce parties are going to “pick” if they can only choose one.

. I understand that and making money is the number 1 priority. Having said that , HS basketball and basketball in general is not a high priority at OSU in many ways. 1 national championship in the schools history tells you it’s All football at the school.

[noreply66]

If they were in Columbus, I might go to a couple games. Living in eastern ohio I’m not driving 3+ hours to watch many blowouts. OSU is too uppity up to want HS basketball on their truf. And they obviously don’t care about men’s basketball. It’s all football for a school that won 2 n a half national championships since 1970. Bring the people back for the boys n girls state championships, where it should be !!!

Did you see where Columbus had the highest paid attendance across this year’s first weekend in the NCAA men’s tournament? Over 58K tickets. The women did turned out fair attendance for their games ~10 minutes away the same weekend.

It’s a no-brainer what tOSU, Columbus and other commerce parties are going to “pick” if they can only choose one.

. I understand that and making money is the number 1 priority. Having said that , HS basketball and basketball in general is not a high priority at OSU in many ways. 1 national championship in the schools history tells you it’s All football at the school.

[pfloyd]

... just a thought to add that may or may not be a reason for lower attendance - I talk to a lot of people in the stands at the Convo - district/regional play ... one of the issues that came up over and over again among the high school basketball fans in MY age range ... die hard high school fans , in their upper 60's and above have issues with "getting tickets online" - I know it is not a big issue to folks who use computers daily, or as part of their daily lives ... but many of the older generation of basketball fans don't go to the games due to the fear/struggle for them in using the computer to purchase tickets ... just my two cents worth coming from the older generation/non-computer savvy high school basketball fans ... these are the diehards who just want to see good basketball, want to be able to buy a ticket at the gate guys ... they would go to see good basketball even if they didn't have a "horse in the race" ... but that option isn't there anymore - OHSAA might want to think about THIS group of basketball fans - retired, money to spend, die hard fans BUT won't go/buy tickets due to the perceived inconvenience/fear in using the online system ...