SH 61-54
Are buy games worth it anymore?
Increasing revenue and slashing costs has to be paramount for our Athletic Department. Which got me thinking about the financials involved with playing NJIT.
Seton Hall has to pay full cost for use of the Prudential Center which will be about 70-75% empty. Plus they pay NJIT a sizable "buy" fee for playing the game (estimate $70k)
SH could save the cost of the Prudential by playing at Walsh but its just too small to make any money on ticket sales and you still have to pay NJIT the buy money.
So...............Why not play this as a NJIT home game in their 3,500-capacity Wellness Center? Give Seton Hall 3,000 tickets and NJIT 500 (their average home attendance last season was 437) and split the gate receipts 50-50.
Seton Hall would save 6 figures in cost by not having to pay the Pru or NJIT. Hall gets a Road Game but the crowd will be 85% Seton Hall.
NJIT loses the buy fee but get a Big East opponent to play in their sold-out Home arena and they take in half the gate.
The fans get a nice experience in a packed 3,500-seat gym a few blocks down the street from Prudential instead of a cavernous, empty arena.