UH sports beatwriter Michael Murphy buried the following in his column last week:
Hofheinz Pavilion will be even cozier this season.
Seating has been reduced from the near-9,000 it usually accommodates down to around 5,800. The difference is the end-line seats will all be covered, leaving only sideline seating.
Some longtime season-ticket holders will be displaced, but UH officials promise they will work with everyone when it comes to seating issues.
In addition to being a little silly (and even unprecedented), having to resort to covering end-line seats with tarps must be a huge disappointment to UH athletics director Dave Maggard and new head coach Tom Penders.
They surely had to expect fan interest to pick up after the Penders hiring. This seems to be a sad admission that fans are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. That’s really the case in this sports town — fans will support teams that give a good effort and win some games, but they won’t put up with a perennial loser. Unfortunately, the two major men’s sports at UH — football and basketball — have suffered from too many losing seasons for too many years, and attendance has been correspondingly abysmal. If Art Briles (head coach of football) and Tom Penders (head coach of basketball) don’t get it turned around, one suspects tarps may be covering I-A athletics in general at UH.
As usual, the CoogFans message board is actively discussing the Hofheinz news, including the arena’s new floor.
