This year the annual Capital Hoops Classic saw a drop in attendance of 1,500 people. With an official attendance of 8,579, this is the lowest attendance the game has had since 2014. If Carleton and the University of Ottawa (U of O) hope to keep Capital Hoops relevant, they need to reconsider the Canadian Tire Centre as the host of the event.
The Canadian Tire Centre is over a 30 minute drive (with no traffic) from Carleton’s campus, and even farther from the U of O, meaning that for students, the travel time alone to Capital Hoops could exceed two hours. Add on the fact that the night features two games, a student would have to spend nearly six hours to get there and back and watch both games.
For many students, this just isn’t feasible and the main reason why the Canadian Tire Centre, which has a capacity of 17,000, it is never close to full.
Both schools should consider TD Place as the new venue for the game. Already trusted with hosting the Panda Game and the Colonel By Classic, the TD Place Arena can hold up to 10,585 people with temporary seating. This would accommodate the attendance number of last year’s game, and a sold-out game would make for a much more exciting event.
Carleton and the U of O have also joined together to win the bid for the U Sports men’s and women’s basketball finals, to be hosted at the TD Place Arena in 2020. The Panda Game boasted a massive crowd of over 24,000 people this year, almost three times more than Capital Hoops. Moving the game closer to students would go a long way towards increasing attendance.
