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Introduction
There is currently an arms race happening in the college sports world. Just as competitive
as their team in a respective sport, universities are competing with one another for the attention
of fans, students, media, recruits, coaching staff, and more. One main factor in this current arms
race is based on your facilities at the university. The success of an athletic program can
positively impact the university’s reputation and in turn lead to more publicity and more
undergraduate applications. Over the past twenty years championship teams in football and
basketball have led to increases in undergraduate admission applications for the years following
the championship (Toma and Cross, 1998). Additionally, winning teams bring notoriety and
media attention, which allows greater selectivity in admissions but also stimulates booster
donations to the athletic department and the university as a whole (Zimbalist, 1999). The easiest
way for a university to market itself is to excel in athletics. This explains why there is an arms
race between each college’s athletic programs.
This facility plan was designed around one key question: What investments will provide
the greatest return on investment on athletics at Eastern Illinois University? As previously
stated, facilities are a contributing factor to enrollment, recruiting, and an athletics team’s
success. Keeping return on investment in mind, it would be most logical to invest in a college
sport that would generate revenue for the university. According to an NCAA expense report
from 2004-2009, it was found that only two sports were reported by any university as being
profitable. These two sports were Football and Men’s Basketball. Also, it was found that three
areas generated income in each NCAA athletic department: Ticket Sales (17%), Alumni/Booster
donations (27%), and NCAA/Conference distribution (14%) (Fulks, 2010). Because these areas
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account for more than half of income brought in at universities, they must be considered with a
facility plan.
Looking at the facilities of Eastern Illinois University used by the two revenue generating
sports, O’Brien stadium and Lantz Arena, it is clear that the facility with the most issues and
biggest opportunities available to them is Lantz Arena. Built in 1967, Lantz Arena serves as the
home for EIU men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball. The venue seats 5,400
people and is also used for concerts, conventions and graduation ceremonies (Eiupanthers.com,
2015). There are many problems with the current facility that could be fixed and turned into
opportunities with this facility plan. The outdated arena currently creates multiple problems for
attendees ruining their game experience and possibly keeping them from returning. Some current
issues associated with Lantz Arena include: difficult access to amenities like bathrooms and
concessions, blocked sight lines and viewing angles, no technological advancements such as a
videoboard, a disorganized student section, accessibility, a ticketing system that can be
monitored, lack of comfortable/luxury seating options, and more.
With the budget of $15 million, these current facility issues can be fixed. The new facility
plan will provide a platform for EIU athletics to capitalize on an opportunity to generate more
revenue to fund athletic programs. The new facility would showcase basketball at a level not
seen at EIU before and create benefits and profits to the school through ticket sales and booster
donations, unanticipated income like merchandise sales and sponsorship agreements, increase
Figure 1: A look at the current features of Lantz Arena.
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enrollment and improve university’s reputation, improve fan experience as well as create an
identity for a basketball program that has seemed to be overshadowed by football throughout
history.
Overview of facility plan
The idea for the new basketball arena would be to use what we already have and build
something within our capabilities and identity of EIU. The stadium would be similar to
renovation projects similar to the CFSB Center facility built at Murray State in 1998 and the
current renovation project happening at Florida Gulf Coast University in 2015. Both of these
renovation projects were selected because they shared similar characteristics with the current
state of EIU. Both FGCU and Murray State have been rather unknown basketball programs until
recent years and the new facilities have only helped their program to improve and gain national
attention. The proposed facility would feature improvements such as a videoboard and improved
sound system, spirit store, additional concession stand and more bathrooms, increased seating
capacity, chair back and luxury seating options, modern ticketing system, and additional class
rooms and team rooms.
Location
The location of the current Lantz Arena is one of its strengths. The location is on campus,
easily accessible to students and the public, and visible from 4th
street. The goal would be to keep
this location and expand the arena east toward the parking lot. There are currently two tennis
courts and a basketball court right outside the arena that are rarely used. There are multiple
outdoor courts around campus and the city of Charleston, so the displacement of these three
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courts is easily sacrificed in order to create the new arena. This new space would allow the
basketball to expand outward, all while keeping most of the current structure that is Lantz Arena.
Figure 2: Proposed location of new arena.
Featured Amenities
One of the most important features of this facility plan is to have a videoboard and
improve the sound system. The business of sports is more complicated than one might think.
Many believe that a school or team sells the product on the floor, but contrary to popular belief,
many teams aim to sell a special experience. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks,
explains, “We are not in the business of selling basketball. We are in the business of selling fun.
We are in the business of letting you escape. We are in the business of giving you a chance to
create shared experiences” (Cuban, 2011). If a fan enjoys their experience at an EIU Panthers
basketball game, they are more likely to return to another game. Fans will choose a team to
identify with and root for over time, creating loyalty to a specific brand/team. With the addition
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of improved sound and video inside of Lantz Arena, the atmosphere and fan experience will be
greatly improved. “Video and music are two simple components of what we do. We are
developing games that our fans can participate in at the arena that hopefully engage them with
what is happening on the court. We are coming up with ways to … [add] energy to the arena. We
are looking for ways to enhance the emotional attachments created at our game” (Cuban, 2011).
FGCU is looking to add a videoboard under their current renovation project. A new video
scoreboard would offer replays, statistics, advertising and more items that have become
increasingly routine and almost expected in many sports venues. In FGCU’s case, “the timetable
to get those items – at a cost of $500,000 to $1 million – is only one year, meaning this could be
the final season for FGCU's old, glitchy, feature-less scoreboard” (Soffian, 2014). The addition
of sound and video will improve the game experience, engage fans, and also create opportunities
to generate revenue through sponsors and advertisements.
Another amenity that would be added under this facility plan would be a spirit store.
The current spirit store is not in the vicinity of Lantz Arena, not open during games, and difficult
to access for the general public. This is another opportunity that will provide more unanticipated
Figure 3: A videoboard would improve fan experience and allow sponsorship opportunities.
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income to EIU athletics. “These products satisfy fans looking for ways to commemorate their
attendance at various sporting events and to show their affiliation with a specific athlete, team,
league, or sport. Spectators and participants alike appreciate the opportunity to purchase related
merchandise. Event organizers can benefit financially from this revenue stream by offering a
range of licensed products and merchandise to interested consumers. For example, in 2011 the
Big Ten Conference partnered with MainGate to produce and sell the conference’s merchandise
at the football championship game. Fans attending the event made an estimated $1 million in
purchases (Greenwell, Danzey-Bussell, and Shonk, 2014). Obviously, the Big Ten football
championship game is a much larger event than EIU could host, but it proves the point that fans
want to purchase merchandise and souvenirs to remember the experience of a certain sporting
event.
Other additional amenities include adding an additional concession stand and more
accessible bathrooms. The current setup of the arena doesn’t allow for attendees on the floor
Figure 4: A Spirit store would allow fans to purchase EIU merchandise while attending the game.
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level to access the bathroom and concessions as easy as those on the 2nd
level. More and more
stadiums are noticing problems like these and fixing them to eliminate the issue. “Larger
concourses have made a big difference…you need room to get to and from concessions and
restrooms, which need to be of sufficient size and, above all, clean. The concessions…need to be
large enough to provide a sufficient variety of products with adequate points-of-sale, so that lines
do not get too long” (Lamberth, 2005, p.3).
The next focus would be to add additional seating with different options including luxury,
chair backed seating, and a more accessible section for the students. When Murray State built the
CFSB Center, they increased their seating capacity from 5,500 to 8,600 creating 3,100 new
seating options to earn more revenue (Goracers.com, 2015a). The idea would be to create
Figure 5: A look at the variety of seating options at the proposed arena. Each option has a different price point.
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different options to accommodate different experiences. The bleacher seating option would be
ideal for the student section. Chair backed seating would cater toward alumni, residents of
Charleston, and the older crowd. Third, a premium luxury seating option would be offered
similar to the EIU’s current Panther Patio and Ike Kennard Club Room open to members of the
Panther Club and those willing to spend extra for the V.I.P. experience.
Finally, and improved ticketing system would be implemented. This would ensure that
everyone at the game is either an EIU student or a paying customer. With technological
advancements in recent years, this would be a rather inexpensive feature which would create
increased security, accountability, ability to look at important analytical information. Ideally, a
low-cost ticketing system like Roboticket would be used. Roboticket is a new ticketing platform
designed as a scalable system that conducts event tickets sale at major sports venues. Roboticket
is designed to minimize costs while maximizing profits. It features a web application, it does not
require any installation on the client side, and has an open architecture that can be adjusted to
meet certain objectives of a client (Roboticket.com, 2015).
Budget
Videoboard and improved sound system $1,500,000
Demolition and Construction costs $8,500,000
Spirit Store $500,000
Added concessions stand and improved bathrooms $1,000,000
Upgraded seating and luxury seating options $1,500,000
Construction of additional classrooms and team rooms $1,000,000
Unexpected costs $1,000,000
Total $15 million
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Revenue generating features of new arena
The goal with this specific facility plan is to capitalize on the sport of Men’s basketball.
With all of the features associated with this specific plan, there are multiple opportunities for the
university to make profits. Other additional features may be added to the arena in the future once
this project is complete, with the additional revenue generated from the new arena features. The
income brought in each year would help the athletic department’s budgetary concerns and help to
fund some of the other sports at EIU. This plan features multiple options and opportunities for
EIU to turn a profit. This facility features a variety of possibilities to make money such as
improved video and sounds elements that could be highly utilized by sponsors and businesses
that have a relationship with EIU athletics. Another outlet would be the addition of the spirit
store. This is a chance for fans to spend more money at the arena knowing that their dollars are
supporting a good cause, while they can wear a souvenir to remember and tell others about the
experience. The different seating options offer a change from the standard bleacher seating we
currently see at Lantz Arena. It would allow for more revenue to be generated by ticket sales and
create an exclusive opportunity to those in the premium and luxury seating areas. As well as a
system that would be able to be monitored and studied based on analytics. An additional
concession stand that is easier to access would also help to increase revenue. Easier access leads
to shorter lines and would suggest more sales via concession stands.
Finally, an additional option to create more revenue for athletics would be to offer
naming right of the court or the arena itself. Murray State accepted $3.3 million to award the
name of the CFSB Center (Goracers.com, 2015b). While the die-hard panther fans might be
opposed to changing the name of the historic Lantz Arena, they would indirectly benefit from a
naming rights deal. “Additional dollars brought in from corporate naming rights allows athletic
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departments to meet more of their
budget concerns and often helps in
funding pursuits aimed at increasing
on-field competitiveness. In many
cases, stadium naming rights deals
in college athletics have enabled
athletic departments to complete
facility building projects and
renovations, which typically include
improved fan amenities” (EXSS
Impact 2015). Other universities like
the University of Illinois are seeing
big profits from stadium naming
deals. Illinois landed a substantial
deal with State Farm Insurance in an
agreement for $2 million per year to rename the former Assembly Hall to the State Farm Center
(EXSS Impact 2015). Obviously, each arena and naming rights agreement is different. Some of
the agreements extend for the entire life of the stadium or arena, while other details and
agreements aren’t disclosed because the university is private. One source estimated an average
annual value of naming rights for a basketball arena to be $988,508 (Dosh, 2014). This is an
automatic revenue generating opportunity for any university each and every year.
Figure 6: An outside look at the proposed arena. Plenty of opportunity for a naming rights
agreement.
Figure 7: If the "Lantz Arena" wanted to be kept. Another option would be to allow naming
rights to the court itself.
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Conclusion
Based on the information presented, a new basketball arena provides the biggest
opportunity with a facility plan in order to maximize return on investment. Basketball is one of
the two sports that consistently generates revenue for universities. This specific facility plan
provides the blueprint for Eastern Illinois University to capitalize on an opportunity that is right
in front of them. The EIU vs Murray State game that took place on January 22nd
, 2015 is a prime
example that proves people will attend basketball games. With the ideas proposed and mentioned
in this facility plan, it would allow EIU athletics to generate more income to support 19 sport
programs offered. The new facility features elements like a spirit shop, videoboard, ticketing
system, luxury and premium seating, and concessions that would help contribute income that
otherwise would not have been generated. It is clear that this is the best opportunity for EIU to
create a new facility, see a sizeable return on investment, and improve and enhance the athletic
programs and game experience at Eastern Illinois University.
Figure 8: A photo of the crowd from the Murray State vs. EIU game on January, 22nd, 2015.
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References
Cuban, M. (2011). The fan experience at sporting events – We don’t need no stinking
smartphones! Blog Maverick. The Mark Cuban Blog.
Dosh, K. (2014). How much are college athletic facility naming rights worth? Business of
College Sport. Retrieved from http://businessofcollegesports.com/2014/06/25/how-much-
are-college-athletic-facility-naming-rights-worth/
Eiupanthers.com (2015). Lantz arena complex. Retrieved from
http://www.eiupanthers.com/sports/2007/6/25/Lantz%20Arena%20Complex.aspx?id=23
EXSS Impact (2015). Predicting the value of naming rights for college sport stadia. Exercising
Science Solutions for Public Impact. Retrieved from
https://uncexss.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/predicting-the-value-of-naming-rights-for-
college-sport-stadia/
Fulks, D.L. (2010). Revenues and expenses. NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics programs
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Goracers.com (2015a) Racer Arena. Retrieved from
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Goracers.com (2015b) CFSB Center. Retrieved from http://www.murraystate.edu/cfsbcenter/
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Soffian, S. (2014). FGCU pitching $6 million Alico renovation plans. News-press.com.
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Toma, J. D. and Cross, M.E. (1998). Intercollegiate athletics and student college choice:
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