February 6, 2016
Siegel Center (Capacity: 7,637)
Richmond, VA
VCU Rams vs George Washington Colonials
Final Score: 69 – 72
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My second venture into Richmond was for some college basketball as I spent the weekend checking out the Division I programs in the city. The first game was at Virginia Commonwealth University, a school that was created by the merger of two colleges in 1968. VCU is a large public school, renowned for its research and medical presence in Richmond. As for the city, it is the state capital and with a population of 217,000, making it Virginia’s fourth largest city. Located along the James River in the Piedmont (the central part between the Blue Ridge and the Coastal Plain), RVA is steeped in history, especially from both the Colonial and Civil War era. Many different and unique neighborhoods make up the city and there are several cool sites to check out, including an avenue of monuments. As for VCU Rams basketball, they have been remarkably successful with a lifetime winning percentage of nearly .650. Their last losing season occurred in 1999 and the Rams have won 12 games in their 14 NCAA Tournament appearances. The best years have been their most recent as a particular stint with former coach Shaka Smart produced 5 straight NCAAs and of course their terrific run in 2011 that led to a Final Four appearance. After years of playing in the Richmond Coliseum, VCU opened the on-campus Siegel Center in 1999. The arena is intimate and though it’s not an ideal design, the atmosphere and fans inside are incredible. I was blown away by the event and this is a top college basketball experience.
Prestige Ranking: 5 out of 5
Location
VCU’s primary Monroe Park campus is in an urban district of Richmond called The Fan. This historical section of the city is near the transition from downtown to residential neighborhoods and there are plenty of places to eat. Fans and students have great options along Grace Street like the Village Café, The Black Sheep and Edo’s Squid. The heart of the city is close by and though it can be walked, it’s better to make the two-minute drive. I spent the morning before the game at the State Capitol grounds, which was terrific. Other attractions to check out include the Museum of the Confederacy and the Observation Deck on top of old City Hall.
Location Ranking: 8 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
The Siegel Center is on the north side of campus along Broad Street. While there are some nearby parking lots and garages, they are reserved for athletic donors only. The city setting doesn’t help and parking can be a pain, so it is best to play it safe and pre-purchase a single game pass at the Laurel Street Garage (about a 7 minute walk away). There are some street spots if one wants to search and further downtown has plenty of garages, which was my choice and I wasn’t too keen on the walk I made. Getting to VCU isn’t bad as both I-95 and I-64 run into the city. The easiest access is from the west as Exit 76B on the shared interstates leads right into campus. It is a little bit more work if you are driving in from the east.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5 out of 8
Exterior
There is not much that makes the Siegel Center stand out and it hardly looks like an arena from the outside. The low-rise building features dark brick and is quite long as it stretches down Broad Street. At least the brick fits in with other structures in the area. There are some windows to see into the concourse. In front of the main entrance provides the only character as the top has VCU logos and a very simple video screen. “Stuart C. Siegel Center” is also spelled out in small silver letters on the exterior.
Exterior Ranking: 4 out of 10
Concourse
Off to the side entrance on the right is a student lounge type area, otherwise the main concourse is a hall that extends the length of the south end. This section has a nice appearance with yellow walls, school logos and an overall attractive appearance (aided by the windows to the outside). Really helping to space out foot traffic is the wide walkway that rounds the top of the seating bowl inside the arena. Both sections have concession stands and there are several points of sale.
Concourse Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Food
There is a nice mix of offerings ranging from deli sandwiches, burgers, pizza, chicken tenders and BBQ pork. Nothing too crazy, except for maybe the variation of hot dogs, but that is now the norm. Beer was not sold in the arena.
Food Ranking: 5 out of 8
Interior
The intimate arena setting features four sides of seating, however the stands fold in and pull out, thus giving the place more of a gym feel. There is also a shallow grade to each row, which leads to some seats where heads are in the way of the action and the top rows being further from the court than one would expect. Other less desirable seats include the far ends of the sideline sections, as these extend out a good distance beyond the baseline. While there are some bleacher-style sections, the majority of the Siegel Center features black chairs, with some in yellow as the sidelines spell out “VCU” and “Rams” in a very cool fashion. Recent renovations over the last few years have included the addition of premium seating. The first addition was in 2011, when a club and suite level was craftfully created under the ceiling above the south side. The other change led to a couple of the open corners in the seating bowl being filled in with a set of suites. These positive aspects however aren’t enough to make this a great arena for basketball as the design features many poor aspects.
Interior Ranking: 5.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
For much of the Siegel Center’s life, the primary scoreboards were on each end wall and the center above the court was empty. That changed a few years ago with the addition of a $1 million, four-sided video board. The video is high quality and it takes up nearly the whole panel as only a small piece of the bottom is reserved for score and time. The black base features the arena name at the top and gray Ram logos on the corner panels. It is a nice looking addition and a vast improvement over the end boards, however these black displays still serve purpose with player stats and other school-related advertisements.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3.5 out of 4
Displays
Aside from the few dedication plaques both outside and inside the arena, the main displays can be found on the walls down the main concourse hallway. A nice assortment of VCU achievements grace the area and it is highlighted by a pictorial display of their 2011 Final Four run. I also liked the framed newspapers from around the country about VCU. To go along with their athletic hall of fame is the Wall of Distinction. Each member gets a very nice plaque that includes an action shot and all of the achievements and accolades by the athlete. I love banners and there are plenty of them inside the Siegel Center to make for a colorful display. Each NCAA appearance gets a black flag with a logo and their Final Four year has the biggest banner of all. They also mark years with the NIT and CBI (boo) separately. Conference championships each get a yellow banner, while other sports that play in the arena have their achievements recognized too. There are 8 retired jerseys in total and five of them come from the Men’s side. Recent honorees include Eric Maynor and Bradford Burgess.
Displays Ranking: 4.5 out of 6
Cost
Tickets are simple as every seat costs the same amount, whether it is at a prime center court spot or a displaced corner. In 2016, the price was either $25 or $45 as the higher priced ticket was used five times for the biggest games. While these are above normal for the A-10, it is not too bad given the quality of the program of late and the demand for tickets. A cheaper option for less desired seats however, would be nice. Other cost factors include a parking charge that averages around $7, which is annoying, but standard for the city. Food prices are average with a cheeseburger costing $6.50, a sandwich basket running $7.50 and a regular soda going for $3.50. Programs were free.
Cost Ranking: 6 out of 8
Fan Support
VCU was in the middle of a long sellout streak when I attended as it reached 79 straight during this game. There was nothing special about the contest, it was a Saturday Noon tip-off against a good, but unranked George Washington squad. Not on ESPN or anything. Yet, it was a complete sellout with not a single unfilled seat to be found. Very rare in this day and age. All the more impressive is that even early-season contests against lesser-named foes feature true sellouts as well with a jam-packed arena. Support for VCU basketball was always solid, but not at this level. In the past ten years, the Siegel Center has become a place where College Basketball is at its best as fans are fervent about their Rams.
Fan Support Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
Wow. Wow. Wow. This may have been the most frenzied atmosphere I have seen in my 167 visits so far. Fans hung on every moment of the game and they turned the Siegel Center into a crazy loud building. They constantly cheered, chanted and roared, often times rising to their feet as the moment called for it. Probably the loudest it got was when Mo Alie-Cox threw down a thunderous alley-oop. The Siegel Center once hit 110 decibels a few years ago and this could not have been that far off. What happened a minute later really speaks to the crowd as they settled down after the dunk, only to get back on their feet to cheer on the defensive possession. The Student Section is known as The Rowdy Rams and they are loud and full of great support. They work in cohesion with The VCU Peppas, who are in my opinion the best pep band in the country. It all starts during the hour pre-game, as their jams loudly fill the arena and make for an entertaining time before the game even starts. Both their skill and diversity of songs run deep. During the game, the War Song makes for one of the more intimidating fight songs out there as students/fans chime in with “You don’t want to go to Warrrrr….with the Rams”. My other favorite is their variation on “Rock and Roll Part 2” as the fans replace “Hey” with “V” – “C” – “U”…”Let’s Go VCU”.
Atmosphere Ranking: 14 out of 14
Other Stuff
The word “Havoc” is evident throughout the game and this originated from Shaka Smart and his teams that instituted a high-pressure defense. It’s pretty cool to see this culture around the word as both the team and fans have played it up, including The Peppas band with “Its Havoc You Fear”…..VCU has two chief rivals: Richmond and Old Dominion. Their matchup with city mates Richmond pit two classic opposites: city vs suburb, public vs private, large vs small. A universal hatred is the case for Old Dominion, a similar university in Norfolk. The games are heated, as is the passion between the fan bases…..The full arena name is “Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center”. Interestingly, this was a rare instance where the sponsor name was nowhere to be found as I don’t recall ever seeing a Verizon Wireless Arena sign. Siegel Center is certainly the more used name…..There’s many variations on the original Kiss Cam out there, but VCU had a new one that elicited many “awwww!!!”’s from the crowd: The Simba Cam. Parents held their little one up like Simba to the delight of their baby-loving peers…..The Rams have a superfan as Chris Crowley, better known as Pav, is hard to miss with Ram horns on at each game. Not only that, but he also sings the National Anthem and the guy whose nickname is short for “Pavarotti” does a mighty fine job at it.
Game
College Basketball has become so disjointed with whistles, reviews and timeouts lately, that it was surprisingly refreshing to enjoy such a free-flowing game like this one. The execution by both teams was excellent, particularly the poise by George Washington in a hostile environment. A couple of 3-pointers early in the second half by JeQuan Lewis and Korey Billbury gave the Rams a 42-33 lead, but the Colonials fought back and a long distance three by Joe McDonald with a minute left gave GW the lead. They had the chance to put the game away in the final seconds, but a blown lay-up gave the Rams a shot. With 4 seconds left, they took a contested three and then Billbury just missed the offensive put-back. GW got the rebound and was fouled with 0.5 seconds left as they took the game 72-69, ending VCU’s 12 game winning streak in the process. Patricio Garino had a career-high 27 points for the Colonials, while Melvin Johnson had 12 for the Rams.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
