February 21, 2009
Sojka Pavilion (Capacity: 4,000)
Lewisburg, PA
Bucknell Bison vs Delaware Blue Hens
Final Score: 68 – 81
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Lewisburg, Pennsylvania is a quiet, charming town of 5,600 in the rolling hills of North-Central PA along the west branch of the Susquehanna River. After grabbing lunch in the pleasant downtown, we headed to nearby Bucknell University, a private school best known for its liberal arts and highly regarded academics. In 2005, the Bison basketball team made national headlines as they upset Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. They followed that up with an undefeated Patriot League season the next year and another first round win. During our visit, the team was rebuilding as they took on Delaware in a late-season BracketBusters game. After playing in tiny Davis Gym for decades, Bucknell moved into the Sojka Pavilion in 2003, quickly giving them one of the finer facilities in the Patriot League.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Location
Lewisburg is a quaint, charming borough of only 5,660 that sits along the West branch of the Susquehanna River. While the small town will of course lack in tourist attractions, many will find centralized Market Street as a wonderful road to stroll and grab a bite to eat, like at the Lewisburg Hotel. Campus is not far away and you could even take a long walk there from downtown. The arena is located on the South end of a hill that splits the campus.
Location Ranking: 6 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
From points north, it is very easy to get to as Rt. 15 South is only about seven miles from I-80. Anyone arriving from the Mid-Atlantic will find a longer ride as they need to get off the Interstate well before hand as they snake along the river-following route. Parking is a big issue at Sojka. Only a tiny gravel lot is used for the arena and it is somewhat hidden near the entrance. The building was only half full and we were 45 minutes early, yet there were hardly any spots as we were lucky to snag one in the gravel lot. The other option, is parking along Moore Ave, where there are single, diagonal spaces along the side. Additionally, signs were absent, as were any personnel directing where people should go.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 3 out of 8
Exterior
Sojka is one of three buildings that make up the Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center. A Fitness Center and Natatorium are attached to the left side of the main arena and they are all connected. As for the main arena, it is the largest and made up of red brick. Square brick columns line the front face of the facility, while the main entrance is at a corner on the south side. That corner entrance features glass doors and windows almost reaching the top. Overall, it’s fine to look at, just a little boring. It could also use the name out front.
Exterior Ranking: 6 out of 10
Concourse and Food
The opening corner leads to a very small entranceway that acts as a box office with a couple temporary will call tables. It is here where “Sojka Pavilion” is written on the wall and that goes along nicely with a Bison montage behind the box office. After walking up a set of stairs, the concourse circles most of the arena, the exception being the west end. Several open areas allow for court views and overall it is a roomy space if the crowd isn’t too big. The concourse is unique in that you can take in another sport if you please. On the south side, the corridor has windows to the left for a look into the natatorium, where I saw a Swim Meet going on. If swimming is not your thing, there are plenty of displays to admire throughout the concourse. They also had coat racks interspersed in the area…what a great little touch. Concession stands and men’s bathrooms were limited, with only two each. For food, no more than standard stadium fare was offered.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food Ranking: 3 out of 8
Interior
Sojka has a really simple set-up with all 4,000 seats very close to the court. One level of about 15-20 rows surrounds the arena in a nearly unbroken shape (the exception is a sliver of open space in two of the corners). Part of the seating retracts, allowing for more practice court space. Seats are blue, with many featuring backs and while they were generally comfortable, a problem was that they were not set high enough above the next row. My seat about halfway up featured a slightly taller than normal person often blocking my view of the court. At the ends, the majority of the seats are bleachers and those are where the students sit or stand. Above one of the sides, are suite-like boxes, but I wasn’t quite sure if this was actually luxury seating. An area that certainly is, is a box above the east end seating, which juts out into the concourse. This was used for a pre-game function to entertain alumni.
Interior Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
Just below the ceiling at center court is the main scoreboard, which is small and black. Basic game info can be found here, along with another board on a wall in the corner. This corner display features a grainy video board that is flanked by player stats. Video featured live game footage, I just wish the quality was better.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
Before walking inside, start towards the beginning of the Langone Center complex as out front is a Bison statue that provides a good photo op. Heading through the concourse of Sojka, Bucknell’s displays are impressive. Along with the many team logos on the walls, there are several displays to check out, with the case for the 2004-2006 teams being the most interesting. Huge team pictures of past NCAA teams grace the walls, as do four retired basketball jerseys (split with two each from the men and women). For more, check out the school’s athletic hall of fame, inside the corridor of the first building in the Langone Center. Banners grace the interior shell of Sojka, where a white wall frames the facility interior and concourse. Bucknell’s excellent displays on these upper walls show Men’s and Women’s conference basketball titles, NCAA appearances and All-Sport titles in the Patriot League. Really a terrific set of displays that a big school should be jealous of.
Displays Ranking: 5 out of 6
Cost
It was an expectedly cheap game with my ticket running only $8 for a seat on the sideline. Parking was free.
Cost Ranking: 8 out of 8
Fan Support and Atmosphere
The atmosphere was OK, especially for a team that was 6-21. Fans were into the game and applauding after each bucket, but they never were too enthusiastic. Student support was weak as there were about 10-20 people in the student section. Hard to fault them for not getting into it, given that this was a late-season, non-conference game with both teams below .500. This is a difficult one to judge, but I’ll be kind on the ranking given the game situation. Plus, just a few years ago, I saw some televised games where this place was loud and rocking. The rally for the team is “Ray, Bucknell”, which I didn’t get to hear during this game. After a few years averaging 90% capacity, attendance has dropped to around 2,500 per game, which is still tops in the Patriot League. Our game had a paid crowd of 2,248 that was well below that in terms of actual people in seats.
Fan Support Ranking: 4 out of 8
Atmosphere Ranking: 6.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
Dr. Gary Allan Sojka is a former president at Bucknell and also the honoree in the building’s name…..There are windows inside Sojka Pavilion and that allows for a different feel for a day game vs night game.
Game
This was an interesting game. It was well-played with a good flow and both teams shot near 50% in the first half. Through the second half, Bucknell opened up a lead midway through, that eventually was pushed to 12. The bottom then fell out as turnovers and missed shots lead to a remarkable 25-0 run by the Blue Hens to end and win the game. Patrick Behan had 23 points for the Bison and Jawan Carter had 26 for Delaware.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
