Facilities and Arena discussion

[Where's the party?]

"Mason will never get go over the hump if they have to start over every year. The program needs continuity to get back to the NCAA and the fans need to pay to play."

What make us think Mason fans will pay? All we did after getting to a Final 4 was lose a coach, start a slow decline, move to a higher level conference, and languish in the middle. Attendance has declined since 2006, and keeps declining in spite of Tony's amazing effort to makes us a factor in the A10.

The real question is are we just throwing good money after bad? What if we raise prices and even fewer folks come? What happens 3-4 years from now if Mason finds itself in the same situation (still not enough money to buy a competitive team) and we have driven away the low end of the fan base? What happens when the Sugar Daddy who Mason has been searching for forever, never comes? What makes us think our ability to compete in the "New NCAA World" will be any better then than it is today?

Hate to be the one to say it, but I hope there is a plan B at Mason Athletics that includes things like: Keeping an eye out for a conference that may be a better fiscal fit, being an active participant in planning the inevitable split of the NCAA between the big NIL teams and the non-NIL teams, and having a team thinking about how to be the most competitive if/when that day comes, etc.

I may be wrong about this, and I'd happily admit to being so if we suddenly start winning the A10 regularly, and start getting 6,000 butts in seats for every game like we did in in 2007, when we were in the CAA. But having been a Mason fan for 40 years, and watched games back in the gym with 250 people, I just want us to be realistic, spend what is likely to continue to be scarce money wisely, and embrace the loyal community rather than focus on fickle high rollers.

 

[psyclone]

Go look at vcu and SLU. vcu will spend about 6.5 million up from 5 million last year and retained 59.2 percent of its scoring from a team that 28-8 and best blue blood. SLU spent 10 million and return almost the entire roster from a team that also went to the NCAA and won opening round game against s power conference team.


Meanwhile Mason got gutted once again losing its entire core and had rebuild from scratch. That puts the patriots a step behind both above teams.

vcu and SLU can build on last season success.because their players already know their respective systems while Mason's coaching staff once again have to teach entirely new team from scratch and figure out rotations.

Mason will never get go over the hump if they have to start over every year. The program needs continuity to get back to the NCAA and the fans need to pay to play.

Here's a summary of who SLU and vcu loses and retains. (ESPN.com did this for 85 teams; but only these 2 in the A10 https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...-transfers-recruits-freshmen-2026-2027#Others)

Saint Louis Billikens​

Departed or expected to depart: Robbie Avila (12.8 PPG), Dion Brown (11.3 PPG), Brady Dunlap (7.0 PPG), Paul Otieno (5.3 PPG), Kalu Anya (redshirt), Dylan Warlick (redshirt)
In limbo: None
Expected to return: Trey Green (10.7 PPG), Amari McCottry (10.5 PPG), Kellen Thames (9.7 PPG), Quentin Jones (9.1 PPG), Ishan Sharma (9.1 PPG), Jax Kerr (2.8 PPG), Cam Hutson (1.8 PPG), Luke Laczkowski, Badara Diakite
Incoming transfers: Elijah Strong (10.0 PPG at South Carolina), Alon Michaeli (7.1 PPG at Colorado), Sheek Pearson (redshirt at Marquette)
Incoming freshmen: Jermel Thomas (four-star), Jamison White (four-star), Yousaf Ahmad (NR)

vcu Rams​

Departed or expected to depart: Terrence Hill Jr. (15.0 PPG), Jadrian Tracey (9.6 PPG), Barry Evans (7.2 PPG), Keyshawn Mitchell (3.2 PPG), Jordann Dumont (0.9 PPG), Christian Fermin (0.8 PPG), Obinnaya Okafor
In limbo: None
Expected to return: Lazar Djokovic (13.2 PPG), Brandon Jennings (8.5 PPG), Nyk Lewis (8.7 PPG), Michael Belle (7.3 PPG), Tyrell Ward (5.7 PPG), Ahmad Nowell (4.5 PPG), Jordan Tillery (4.3 PPG)
Incoming transfers: Nyle Ralph-Beyer (14.2 PPG at Sacred Heart), Torey Alston (13.1 PPG at Middle Tennessee), Blake Harper (7.7 PPG at Creighton), Joshua Wyche (0.6 PPG at Lafayette)
Incoming freshmen: Sammy Jackson (No. 82 in SC Next 100), Collin Ross (four-star), Stefan Plisnic (NR)

 

[KAOriginal]

They are going to put all this great revenue generation in, hoping to boost athletic budgets. And what happens when there is no demand or not enough to meet the budgets? Mason expects people to show up and just hand money over cause you put a few different premium seats in?

I admit, I moved out of area long ago so I have no idea what people are and want to spend on season tickets anymore. The board responses make say 50/50. I imagine a fair amount will just say...Ill buy good seats to the games I go to and forget the rest.

For years they treated Mason sports as a side item. So they never built a rabid fan base...ala vcu, Dayton, etc. Power 5s have already had a long built system demand to get money from their people.

I wish all the best to Skin and staff to create something here. I just don't think the constant churn of players is good for us and 70% of the programs out there. As someone said...we can all have the same NIL budget, but someone still is going to stink.

I just have no faith in Mason long term.

 

[Verdad]

What I could see happening if attendance and overall revenue actually decrease as a result of the price increases, would be walking back some of the price hikes and reducing number of the premium seats.

But I understand that the pricing is based on the market research done for them about demand and to me this indicates that they are betting on Skinn on the front end and on this season to be a success that gets more butts in the seats, building on the success of both programs over the last several seasons, and when people jump on the bandwagon, the price increases are already there.

Maybe it is a little cart before the horse, we will see.

 

[JimP]

"Mason will never get go over the hump if they have to start over every year. The program needs continuity to get back to the NCAA and the fans need to pay to play."

What make us think Mason fans will pay? All we did after getting to a Final 4 was lose a coach, start a slow decline, move to a higher level conference, and languish in the middle. Attendance has declined since 2006, and keeps declining in spite of Tony's amazing effort to makes us a factor in the A10.

The real question is are we just throwing good money after bad? What if we raise prices and even fewer folks come? What happens 3-4 years from now if Mason finds itself in the same situation (still not enough money to buy a competitive team) and we have driven away the low end of the fan base? What happens when the Sugar Daddy who Mason has been searching for forever, never comes? What makes us think our ability to compete in the "New NCAA World" will be any better then than it is today?

Hate to be the one to say it, but I hope there is a plan B at Mason Athletics that includes things like: Keeping an eye out for a conference that may be a better fiscal fit, being an active participant in planning the inevitable split of the NCAA between the big NIL teams and the non-NIL teams, and having a team thinking about how to be the most competitive if/when that day comes, etc.

I may be wrong about this, and I'd happily admit to being so if we suddenly start winning the A10 regularly, and start getting 6,000 butts in seats for every game like we did in in 2007, when we were in the CAA. But having been a Mason fan for 40 years, and watched games back in the gym with 250 people, I just want us to be realistic, spend what is likely to continue to be scarce money wisely, and embrace the loyal community rather than focus on fickle high rollers.

I thought attendance improved a bit last year. Nothing like 2007 of course.

 

[mkaufman1]

What I could see happening if attendance and overall revenue actually decrease as a result of the price increases, would be walking back some of the price hikes and reducing number of the premium seats.

But I understand that the pricing is based on the market research done for them about demand and to me this indicates that they are betting on Skinn on the front end and on this season to be a success that gets more butts in the seats, building on the success of both programs over the last several seasons, and when people jump on the bandwagon, the price increases are already there.

Maybe it is a little cart before the horse, we will see.

I admit I have stayed mostly quiet on this topic for several reasons but this is facutally correct. A lot of research went into demand, pricing, etc etc etc, to adjust to these price points.

Is it too high? Is this a small contingent that doesn't speak for the greater demand? Time will tell with butts in the seats.

I personally think the new experiences are good, I think the price points are too high (2500 for 2 for the new Patriot Lounge, independent of tickets), but I don't work in the field and have been told similiar things to what Verdad is hinting at.

 

[Pablo]

I thought attendance improved a bit last year. Nothing like 2007 of course.

You are correct. Average home attendance in the 2006-07 season increased by 2,301 fans per game (50.8%). The average home attendance of 6.834 per game is the school record.

Attendance in the 2025-26 season increased by 828 fans per game (25.7%). The average home attendance of 4,056 per game ranks as the 17th highest since the opening of EagleBank Arena (Patriot Center).

 

[Stoolguy]

View: https://youtu.be/tfdYw2RH_hc?si=AEfEiKzVwqk_WfsC


Ryan Hammers video of vcu and their facilities (it is after the interviews). Quite the stark contrast, vcu MBB has a private team chef along with many things we don't have, which sucks to say. Comparing resources, GMU is doing a great job, we could be competing at a much higher level with the resources they have.

 

[jessej]

I admit I have stayed mostly quiet on this topic for several reasons but this is facutally correct. A lot of research went into demand, pricing, etc etc etc, to adjust to these price points.

Is it too high? Is this a small contingent that doesn't speak for the greater demand? Time will tell with butts in the seats.

I personally think the new experiences are good, I think the price points are too high (2500 for 2 for the new Patriot Lounge, independent of tickets), but I don't work in the field and have been told similiar things to what Verdad is hinting at.

no mention of the quality of the out of conference home schedule
large members are not flocking to see D2 and D3 teams in buy games nor KenPom 300+ teams

 

[Old Man]

large members are not flocking to see D2 and D3 teams in buy games nor KenPom 300+ teams

I'll bet if you offer them free donuts they'll show!

Seriously, CTS is working on that, but how can you force another team to play us?

 

[GunstonsGhost]

I would challenge anyone to look around anywhere in the economy and say, yeah I'm cool with these prices. Luxury items such as entertainment are usually the first cut, so it's a bold move but certainly not surprising.

 

[jessej]

I would challenge anyone to look around anywhere in the economy and say, yeah I'm cool with these prices. Luxury items such as entertainment are usually the first cut, so it's a bold move but certainly not surprising.

i see price increases in literally everything,
as someone who is retired and living on a pension check and social security i am forced to make choices as to how much I will spend and what i will spend on
but there is a wrong assumption of suppliers that most people will continue to pay as price increases

for "normal" goods if the price increases 10% and the demand drops 10% you still have the same amount of revenue, but at a loss of scale effects
so realistically if prices increase by 10% then demand needs to fall by less than 10% to keep the same revenue.
in addition, the cost structure must also be reduced as to account for the loss of scale effects. For an athletic department this usually means staffing layoffs.

This standard model is not what athletic programs need to follow
1) revenue from empty seats can never be gotten once the game is over
2) less fans in the stands watching a game is bad in multiple dimensions
a) less potential customers for concessions - and they probably have also had a rent increase
b) less fans in the stands for televised games
leading to a decline is quality/value of the game perception;
leading to less TV contract value;
leading to less total team revenues

I hope that the GMU staff has worked thru all of this and has a plan so that it doesn't happen to them.
I am glad that this current athletic department administration has begun to address some of the problems of the past. I just hope they can continue to address these issues as well as the needed NIL issues.

In my opinion, what GMU really needs is 10 $1M per year basketball donors.

 

[GunstonsGhost]

In my opinion, what GMU really needs is 10 $1M per year basketball donors.

I agree. Hopefully some of these hospitality changes work towards getting more corporate sponsors. The only corporate sponsor I ever recognize is CGI and I don't see any of their branding around the stadium. If you walk into the Engineering building you'll see two dozen corporate partners plastered on the wall by the elevators. They need to find a way to get those companies involved in basketball.

 

[GMUgemini]

Part of the problem I see in this complaining is people are complaining about the increased costs of the VIP experiences, not necessarily the overall costs for going to a game (which if I’m on a budget I can get semi-crappy upper corner seats for like 7.50 a game—assuming 125 for the season at 17 home games).

It seems to me that Mason has increased the VIP costs while adding more budget friendly options if those are too expensive.

 

[GunstonsGhost]

Part of the problem I see in this complaining is people are complaining about the increased costs of the VIP experiences, not necessarily the overall costs for going to a game (which if I’m on a budget I can get semi-crappy upper corner seats for like 7.50 a game—assuming 125 for the season at 17 home games).

It seems to me that Mason has increased the VIP costs while adding more budget friendly options if those are too expensive.

This was my exact point. I don't pay for the hospitality, so I already swallowed the price increase on the seats last year.

 

[Ben Chwarmer]

Part of the problem I see in this complaining is people are complaining about the increased costs of the VIP experiences, not necessarily the overall costs for going to a game (which if I’m on a budget I can get semi-crappy upper corner seats for like 7.50 a game—assuming 125 for the season at 17 home games).

It seems to me that Mason has increased the VIP costs while adding more budget friendly options if those are too expensive.

It feels like the middle is disappearing across so many industries. Instead of offering a solid mid-tier option, companies are pushing people toward either the budget choice or the premium experience. You see it with restaurants, where people skip the classic sit-down chains for either fast food or genuinely nice places, and the same thing is happening with airlines, hotels, entertainment, and retail. It feels like the venture capital model of maximizing revenue by polarizing the market, so it makes sense that Mason would lean into cheaper options on one end and more expensive VIP experiences on the other. It makes me sad because that middle-ground experience used to offer the best value, and this kind of thinking is slowly sucking the soul out of everything.

 

[Old Man]

It feels like the middle is disappearing across so many industries. Instead of offering a solid mid-tier option, companies are pushing people toward either the budget choice or the premium experience. You see it with restaurants, where people skip the classic sit-down chains for either fast food or genuinely nice places, and the same thing is happening with airlines, hotels, entertainment, and retail. It feels like the venture capital model of maximizing revenue by polarizing the market, so it makes sense that Mason would lean into cheaper options on one end and more expensive VIP experiences on the other. It makes me sad because that middle-ground experience used to offer the best value, and this kind of thinking is slowly sucking the soul out of everything.

I agree with this, BUT how many times did people complain the Gold Room was overcrowded? I only went in to the Green Room a couple of times and it seemed very crowded as well. People on here said to raise prices to thin the crowd in the Gold Room. So let it be written; so let it be done.

And now people are complaining about the costs going up? You can't eat your cake and have it, too. I think they've hit the 'mid-tier' market with the social area where the GR was ... assuming of course it works as briefly described in the promo materials/email. People have to decide where they're going to spend their money and Mason needs to decide what they believe their products are worth. That's the real game in America, and we'll see how it works out.

 

[2011WinOverVillanova]

I agree. Hopefully some of these hospitality changes work towards getting more corporate sponsors. The only corporate sponsor I ever recognize is CGI and I don't see any of their branding around the stadium. If you walk into the Engineering building you'll see two dozen corporate partners plastered on the wall by the elevators. They need to find a way to get those companies involved in basketball.

A few years back: I made a post congratulating a recent major gift the university got and encouraging athletics to recognize them at both a men’s and women’s bb game. Sadly, some on here chose to make middle schooler jokes based on the last name of the donor. ‍♂️. Are we going to be adults this time?

 

[2011WinOverVillanova]

https://northernvirginiamag.com/fam...chool-of-computing-after-20-million-donation/. That’s $20 million dollars. As far as I know? They weren’t honored at half time. That’s a missed opportunity and short sighted thinking by athletics. A relationship needs to be at least attempted. If they choose to only donate for computing? Fine. But at least TRY to ask for something for men’s and women’s basketball.

 

[jessej]

A few years back: I made a post congratulating a recent major gift the university got and encouraging athletics to recognize them at both a men’s and women’s bb game. Sadly, some on here chose to make middle schooler jokes based on the last name of the donor. ‍♂️. Are we going to be adults this time?

IMO
as a general policy - all $1 Million donors to the university in any area - should get good family seats to a Men's BBall game (and Women's if they want them), halftime recognition, including photos with the AD and President, and a key faculty member in their donation area, and the current Gold Room equivalent passand a signed thank you basketball, and Captain of the Game status.

then the AD can begin the subtle press for a donation, understanding that kit may not be immediate