Was Walton Arena Overbuilt? It?s Not a Shocking Question (Opinion)

I was talking to my good friend Chris Bahn a while back when he said something that shocked me.

We were discussing the state of Arkansas Razorbacks basketball – before John Pelphrey was dismissed and Mike Anderson hired to replace him – and the conversation turned to the lackluster atmosphere at Bud Walton Arena.

“It’s because they overbuilt it,” Bahn said.

It should be pointed out Bahn isn’t just a good friend. He’s also one of the best sportswriters in the state, covering sports and the business of sports for Arkansas Business Publishing Group.

One of Bahn’s best traits is that he refuses to fall into the same trap that snares so many other media types in our state. His viewpoint is anything but myopic.

That’s part of the reason his statement shocked me. I wondered if he’d been caught up in all of the drama surrounding Arkansas’ program.

My initial reaction went something like this: “What about the 10-plus years of sellouts after they opened the thing? What about the fact there was still a waiting list for tickets when it opened? What about the fact they still make more money than most teams in the country?”

It was the last question, perhaps, that best illuminates the real rub. Is an arena overbuilt if the program still turns a handsome profit, or is it overbuilt if it loses its reputation as a hostile place to play?

I wondered more about that after Anderson was hired. I wondered how long it might take for Hog fans to fill Walton Arena like they used to, or if that will ever happen again on a consistent basis?

Those thoughts in mind, I called Bahn to re-open the subject. Nothing, after all, beats a friendly debate. He conceded a couple of things right off the bat.

“I don’t think anybody probably thought it might have been overbuilt until the last few years, when they were announcing crowds of five or six thousand that actually looked like three or four thousand,” Bahn said. “In fact, the more I talk about this, the more ridiculous it sounds.”

If rumors of some UA administrators wondering the same thing are true, however, it’s anything but ridiculous. There’s also the fact I’ve been to tee ball games that were more spirited than some of the games played inside Walton Arena in recent years.It wasn’t always that way, of course. Bahn recounted the time he skipped class and work to drive from Jonesboro to Fayetteville in 1997, just to watch Arkansas play Southeastern Louisiana.

“There were about 15,000 people there, and I think it was a Wednesday night,” Bahn said.

For the most part, those days are gone. And that led Bahn to one point on which he is unwavering.

“Having the largest, or one of the largest, arenas or venues is overrated,” he said, citing Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium as an example of a place where limited seating has helped keep interest and demand high.

Winning has helped Duke’s cause, too. It’s undeniable, though, the harder a ticket is to get, the more people tend to want one.

That was the case in 1987, when Arkansas hosted Arkansas State in an NIT game. Bahn was there, too.

“It still sticks out to me as one of the most hostile places I’ve been as far as basketball arenas,” he said.

That game was played at Barnhill Arena, which held maybe half the number that can fit inside Walton Arena. That game also generally is regarded as the start of former coach Nolan Richardson’s remarkable run with the Razorbacks.

Richardson’s teams grew so popular that building a new arena was a no-brainer. Hence, Walton Arena.

And that brings us back to the question of whether it was overbuilt. The atmosphere in recent years supports that idea.

Bahn said he’s visited the upper deck at Walton Arena on occasion to gauge the atmosphere. He said it more closely resembled a children’s indoor playground than a basketball arena.

“It was a free-for-all … and there was room to play up there,” he said.

Still, as of the 2008-2009 season, Arkansas had the 10th-most profitable basketball program in the country. That’s according to a CNNMoney.com study that reported Arkansas’ profits for that season at $7.76 million. Arkansas will need to make more money now that it’s forking out $2.2 million annually to Anderson. Part of the pressure that comes with that salary will be filling Walton Arena and thus dispelling the notion it was overbuilt.

Bahn, for one, is inclined to bet on Anderson, even though that would blow up his “overbuilt” argument.

“Talk to me in three years,” he said, “and I’ll probably think, ‘That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever told anybody.'”