A vocal portion of the University of Utah men’s basketball fanbase is getting its wish next week.
Citing an “increased demand in tickets” for the Runnin’ Utes final two home games of the 2022-23 season, Utah’s athletics department announced Monday that the curtains blocking off the upper bowl at the Huntsman Center will be raised for the games against No. 4 UCLA on Feb. 23 and USC on Feb. 25.
Fans will be able to purchase $5 general admission tickets in the upper bowl, beginning immediately. They can visit the Utah Ticket Office in person, call 801-581-UTIX (8849) or purchase seats online at this website.
The Utes have not come close to filling the 8,500-seat lower bowl all season, but apparently there has been an uptick in demand for the lower-priced tickets above the concourse. Announced attendance for last Saturday’s 73-62 win over Colorado was 6,133. But hundreds, if not thousands, of empty seats remained in the lower bowl.
Average home attendance for Utah’s 14 games at the Huntsman Center this season is 5,925.
On Jan. 17, Matt Thomas, Utah’s assistant athletics director for marketing and fan experience told reporters that the curtains would be raised when people filled the 8,500 seats in the lower bowl “on a consistent basis.”
Around that time, an email went out to approximately 5,100 Utah men’s basketball season ticket holders urging patrons to sell or give away their tickets if they were not using them. Thomas said between 20% to 30% of season ticket holders have not been using their tickets, accounting for all the empty red seats at games.
With the exception of the Nov. 27, 2021, game vs. BYU — which drew 11,443 fans — the curtains have covered the upper bowl since the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
Scott Kull, then-deputy athletics director, told the Deseret News on April 17, 2020, that the curtains would “help the Utes’ competitive advantage and improve the fan experience” by providing a more intimate setting at the 55-year-old arena that also houses Utah’s women’s gymnastics team, Utah’s women’s basketball team, and Utah’s women’s volleyball team.
Utah (17-9 overall, 10-5 in league play) is currently in third place in the Pac-12, a surprise considering the Utes were picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll and won just four conference games last year. The Utes play at No. 8 Arizona (22-4, 11-4) on Thursday at 8 p.m. MST and at Arizona State on Saturday.
Arizona is in second place in the Pac-12, while No. 4 UCLA is atop the league standings. The top four teams earn first-round byes in the Pac-12 tournament next month in Las Vegas.
After the Utes downed Colorado last Saturday, sixth-year guard Marco Anthony publicly thanked the fans who did attend and said they gave the home team a big lift against the visiting Buffaloes.
