I went to the Devaney Center this afternoon to watch the Huskers dismantle Hawaii. It was a great atmosphere to be a part of, and I'm proud to say I was one of the 13,396 fans to break the NCAA regular season volleyball attendance record. Woohoo!
While there, I noticed two things that I really like about the Devaney Center. First, the concession stands, though inadequate in number, are intelligently positioned so that the lines go away from walking areas. Contrast that with the situation at Qwest Center Omaha. The designer of that facility should have his body hairs plucked one-by-one as penance for being stupid enough to think that the same space can act as both a walkway and a place for lines to form.
Second, despite the facility being at near-capacity, we made it from the second-to-last row to the front door in mere minutes. No frustrating waiting in my seat or on the stairs means I leave happier -- and thus more likely to return.
I also liked my comfy bench. I had plenty of butt room and plenty of leg room, and moving people through the rows was relatively easy. Try saying that about the seating in a modern arena. Unfortunately, I know any new arena in Lincoln will have crappy plastic seats that pinch your butt and offer zero legroom. That makes me think of a great way to sell advertising in the new arena. Forget naming rights, typically one of the easiest ways to raise cash for a facility. Instead, sell the rights to this phrase:
The four inches of extra legroom in Lincoln's Arena are brought to you by [some company].
I would patronize the heck out of that company.
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Devaney is definitely one of very few arenas that I’ve been in that has the concessions away from walking areas. I wonder why that is?
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I’d take the Devaney over about any basketball arena in the Big XII for fan conveinence. It seems to lack some of the “intimidation” quality that is found in Phog Allen or Gallager Iba, but I sure enjoy attending games there.
You are brilliant Mr. Wilson! The extra leg room would be nice and talk about a great marketing schtick.
I like Devaney too, but I would like it a lot more if they had better parking accommodations.
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