Peoria's 'March Madness' Losing Fans

March means basketball tournaments. We refer to it as "March Madness." It may be the NCAA Tournament or it may be one of hundreds (maybe thousands?) of local high school venues where teams fight for the right to go to their states finals. So it is with Peoria, Ill., my home city where March Madness has been proudly going on for years. However, there is a fly in the ointment.

Gary Childs has written an article in the Peoria Journal Star titled "Is Illinois still mad about Madness." It is a good and insightful article that advises us about the truth: Attendance at Peoria's finals, at Peoria's March Madness has gone down, way down.

In 2009, the drop-off of fans buying tickets was around 71,000. In 2010, the attendance dropped another 51,000, roughly. It would be a mystery if there hadn't been a major change in 2008.

In 2008, the IHSA categorized the schools into more classes. The smaller schools became "1A and 2A" and the larger ones "3A and 4A." So, why are there fewer fans?

Apparently what has happened is that you don't get the mix or the competition as was evident before the "watering down" took place. No doubt the intent was honorable, "More closely align the teams" - but the fans obviously don't care for it. Some divisions bring fewer fans than others.

All of this has a major impact on the Peoria economy. Stores, hotels, restaurants and any other retail business you care to name, relies on this influx over from four to six days every March. However the change in division of class has become the Jaws' Amity Island's shark, great white even.

To make matters worse, if I am studying this information correctly, Peoria is paying the IHSA $200,000 for the privilege of hosting this fine event.

You know it doesn't take a wizard to see the cause and effect. As Jack White sings, "Can't take the effect and make it the cause..." In other words to fix this problem it's reasonably simple. Put things back the way they were. Obviously things were working.

I recently wrote an article about how many people were out with leaf blowers cleaning our fair city. If we're going to go to that expense we should at least have some fans.

References:

Peoria Journal Star, Gary Childs, "Is Illinois still mad about Madness?"

Associated Content from Yahoo, Gary Davis, "Peoria, Illinois, is Cleaning Up for March Madness-Perhaps a Little Too Much?"

You Tube Website, "The White Stripes-Effect and Cause"