By Amelia Kibbe
Editor-in-Chief
ST. BONAVENTURE—Tim Kenney, athletic director at St. Bonaventure, said new seating in the Reilly Center for basketball games was a positive solution to a difficult situation.
He said the decision stemmed from Atlantic 10 meetings, where officials told schools they needed better solutions for court control. The conference did not require any changes for the 2015-16 season, but St. Bonaventure officials felt they might be required in future years. In addition, the new seats could generate close to $50,000 annually for St. Bonaventure, Kenney estimated.
He said he and his staff expected alumni and student outcry after an official announcement of the seating changes last Friday. Kenney held an online discussion today to address some of those reactions.
Kenney, who took over the athletic director position in late April, said the new seats will be installed in two sections.
Sixteen chairs will be added to sections C and D in the gym, commonly known as the blues, he said. The chairs will be installed next month, he added. To do this, he said a section of the media tables will be removed and eight seats will be added on each side.
Kenney said the displaced media will be moved to across the court and will be set up inside the tunnel. He added further details will be decided as the season approaches.
In addition, between 46 and 48 removable courtside seats will be placed in front of the bleacher seats. These chairs will be placed on both sides of the tunnel, said Kenney. He added the exact number of chairs that will fit has yet to be determined but said the chairs will be right beside one another, leaving no space in between.
Half of the chairs will be in front of the current student section, he said. Kenney said the chairs will sit at the exact edge of the brown line that surrounds the court.
He added this will move the students back from the court one or two feet. According to Kenney, students will still be able to stand behinds the chairs, although security may require a one-foot aisle.
Kenney said talks of different solutions began a year ago at Atlantic 10 conference meetings, while Steve Watson was still the athletic director. When Kenney assumed the job in April, he said the conference schools continued to discuss ways to better control access to the court. Decisions on exactly how to do that were left to individual schools, he added.
Instead of placing a barrier or railing between the students and the players, which Kenney described as “caging the students in,” he and his staff wanted a solution that would also bring in revenue, he said.
Kenney said he did not want to move the student section. He recognized the “passion” St. Bonaventure students and fans have for basketball.
“I know it [being courtside] is part of the passion and excitement of being at the game,” he said. “…I appreciate them being wild,” he added about student behavior at games.
He said the seats would likely slow down possible court storming, but not stop it.
He described the discussion on court control as a “point of emphasis” in conference meetings and added the problem is “not unique to the A-10.”
Kenney said before he and his staff reached a final decision to add seats, the athletic department contacted several alumni who currently hold season tickets and asked them if they would be interested in purchasing courtside seats. He said many were interested.
Kenney did not provide specifics on how many alumni the department contacted.
He did not provide details when asked why the athletic department did not involve current students in the decision-making process, but said students were not on campus at the time, and he saw it as a matter of control, not an issue with students.
Kenney said he does not believe the addition of seats in front of the student section will have a negative impact on student attendance.
“I don’t see it [the courtside seating] as much of a change,” said Kenney, who added he hopes students will agree with him once they experience the changes.
Kenney said he and his staff have begun plans that will bring more students to games. He did not provide details.
The student section behind the basket will not be affected, he said.
The new seats in the blue section will cost $610 for season tickets, said Kenney, which means the university will make $9,760 if every seat is sold.
The university paid a one-time fee of $9,000 to purchase and install the seats in the blues.
The courtside seats, which cost St. Bonaventure a one-time price of $14,000, will cost $710 for season tickets. If the university fills 48 seats, it will receive $34,080.
Kenney said alumni have purchased more than 30 of the courtside seats currently.
He explained additional seats will enable the university to accommodate more season ticket holders. He did not give details as to how many of the newly purchased courtside seats belong to fans who had previously purchased season tickets elsewhere in the RC.
He added that there is a waiting list for season ticket holders, and seats that may appear empty during games may actually have been sold a company or individual who does not regularly attend games.
Kenney said the department would evaluate the decision during the season and after it.
“If it’s [the seating] is not a right decision, we can make a change,” he said.
Amelia Kibbe is the editor-in-chief of The Bona Venture. Her email is kibbeaa13@bonaventure.edu.
