DePaul Announces Home Attendance Cap, Changes to "Fan Experience"New changes to state-level restrictions have allowed fans to attend indoor and outdoor sporting events. That's good news for the second half the Chicago Bears schedule. The same can be said for the Bulls, who will be tipping off their season shortly. The loss of revenue and home attendance has been costly for professional sports. It's also put a major burden on collegiate sports, especially the sports that are revenue drivers for their respective Athletic Departments.
That's true of DePaul's situation with their men's basketball program and Wintrust Arena. Opened at the beginning of the 2017-18 season, Wintrust Arena was a major investment by the University and the City of Chicago into a new community arena that was closer to the center of the city.
Previously, DePaul played their home games at Allstate Arena since it opened in 1980. Allstate Arena was in Rosemont, a suburb that's 15 miles northwest of DePaul's campus. Less than ideal for attendance, it was also a large arena that was difficult to fill and carried a large overhead cost.
Enter Wintrust. Announced in May of 2013, it opened in October of 2017 after a difficult construction process that racked up a $173 million dollar bill. $70 million came directly from the University while $100 million was sourced from public funds. It was controversial, especially for a city that faced major budget deficits.
The pandemic meant the arena was closed for well over a year. Now, it reopens and many are hoping that the past controversy can subside so the University and the arena can become profitable.
Since DePaul started playing games at Wintrust, they saw a noticeable uptick in attendance each year. Here are the reported attendance figures for the Blue Demons first three seasons at Wintrust:
2017-18: 5,765 per game in paid attendance, 2,615 per game in real attendance
2018-19: 3,901 per game in paid attendance, 1,274 per game in real attendance
2019-20: 4,409 per game in paid attendance, 2,105 per game in real attendance
The 2017-18 figure is inflated because of the team's opening game that season against Notre Dame. The Blue Demons' first home game at Wintrust saw attendance over 7,500 against the Irish. Disregarding that game, the per game figures are much lower.
Wintrust was billed as a smaller, more intimate arena in the heart of the city. It's blocks from Soldier Field, close to the South Loop and easy for many fans in the city to attend games. It's still 6 miles from DePaul's campus, but the University provides free transportation for students, alumni and employees to attend games in person.
That transportation will continue this year, but DePaul announced major changes to coincide with the announced attendance restrictions from the state of Illinois. Indoor facilities are limited to 50% attendance, meaning Wintrust Arena will top out at 5,000 tickets available for all events until January 1st of 2022.
It's expected attendance will open up more in 2022. DePaul is anticipating that and will announce changes to the fan experience when capacity restrictions are lifted. For now, DePaul will make 5,000 tickets available to each home game.
Since DePaul opens with numerous home games in the nonconference, they've announced that people with Season Tickets are given first access. Some fans and alumni have specific seats and those have been honored after a year away.
For those that have Season Tickets in premium or club-level seats, buying-in to the 2021-22 season gets you the 2022-23 season at a 25% discount. The University is looking to retain past season ticket holders and entice new people that would need to make a 3 or 5-year commitment to obtain premium or club-level seats.
Discounted packages and lower prices are meant to bring more people to games. Beyond that, DePaul's new Athletic Director DeWayne Peevy has announced that they are looking to change the student section.
Currently, students have access to the 'Demon deck' - a second level standing room concourse where students can congregate together and watch games. There is also additional second level seating for students. This has not been popular with students, with many opting to buy regular seats than stand at the 'Demon Deck.'
It's had an effect on the in-game experience. DePaul's students were used to seats on the baseline at Allstate Arena. This change has turned many students away, even with Wintrust being much closer to campus.
"We know it's something we need to change." said AD Peevy during comments made after the Big East Media Day. "Fans and students need to be closer to the action. While the Demon Deck offers a good sight line... it still separates them from the rest of the arena. I think we can integrate that concourse better and bring students closer to the floor."
While nothing has been announced, it's expected something could change when capacity restrictions are lifted. For now, DePaul enters into another season facing concerns over attendance, fan interest, and a lack of student engagement.