On March 15, 8,000 people gathered at Scotiabank Place to watch the Carleton Ravens win their sixth national championship in seven years. Normally, 8,000 people huddled in one place to watch a college basketball game would be boisterous and impressive, but the giant arena’s three levels dwarfed the crowd and crushed its energy.
So, with students and members of the community trekking out to Kanata, burning gas on the highway or spending hours on the bus to see our boys play, it begs the question: Is Scotiabank Place really the best place to hold nationals?
The commute makes it hard for students and the Ravens fans to get out and support their team. And those who do make the journey to Kanata lose energy as fans are spread out throughout the first and second levels of Scotiabank Place, and the sparse end zones are a sore sight on TV.
Finally, because Scotiabank Place is such an expensive venue to rent, tickets are pricey for students. To see the final double headers, cheap seats in the lower bowl were a steep $25, forcing students on a budget to settle for second-level seating and ripping intensity away from courtside.
So, why not bring Nationals to Carleton and the University of Ottawa’s own backyard by hosting them at the Civic Centre? It seats 10,000, which is more than enough room, but would leave the venue feeling full, which would bring more energy and feed more life into pumped-up university crowds. The Civic Centre would be more affordable to rent which would drop ticket prices. And the location is way more convenient.
Screw Scotiabank, really bring nationals home for 2010