Harlem Globetrotters Malcolm Todd (music) Brandon Lake (music) Jeff Dunham (stand up comedy) A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (music) Monster Trucks Journey Weird Al Further, of those 8 events, 5 of those same acts are scheduled to go to Charlottesville. We would likely be directly competing with Charlottesville and would then be forced to go a tier lower. You would at least admit that it's not chicken little to think that Charlottesville geographically has an easier time selling tickets than Blacksburg would, correct? It would be interesting to understand how much profit those events bring for the facility. I don't think they can attract the type of events that are guaranteed sell outs like many arena events in major markets.

Pittsburgh is closer to State College than any major market is to Blacksburg. There are more major markets within 250mi of State College. There are more and closer mid-sized markets as well. And it is more centrally located in the state and to the population centers in PA, so it is better suited to hosting High School athletic events. Bryce-Jordan has maybe 1 or 2 non-athletic events a month. That's not really all kinds of concerts year round to keep restaurants or hotels busy. They're mostly 3rd tier market attractions, so they're not likely to be bringing in much of an audience from outside of the area. It's hard to say how profitable it is when you factor the debt service on the arena. But that's a sunk cost for athletics, so it certainly doesn't hurt. But to use it as a selling point for a new arena other than it would help somewhat service the debt, is probably a stretch.

be every bit as cost effective.

further. Not sure that spending 10s of millions to end up with an even smaller venue is wise .

** Edited by Archdale at 2/23/2026, 9:05:42 PM

be a substantial reduction. But that’s been several years ago and obviously those plans never came to fruition, and of course could be revised if revisited . I’m by no architect by any means but I just don’t think that building lends itself very well to a renovation. I remember the artist renderings and thinking I’m not sure that improves the arena that much. By the same token not sure the funds or land is there for a new facility so there’s that. It’s not a terrible facility and if we could ever get it rocking like it used to it could be quite imposing again. ** Edited by uber hokie at 2/23/2026, 9:44:17 PM

Agree!!!!!!!

Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DC, North Jersey, and Harrisburg are all about as close or closer to State College as Richmond is to Blacksburg. Harrisburg is twice the size of Roanoke. Penn state is 50% larger than Virginia tech.

All the basketball schools are in Philly or Pittsburgh.

VT and Penn State are both about 4 hours from DC. Pittsburgh is 3 hours away from State College. Philadelphia is 4 hours away. You actually have it backwards in that Roanoke is about twice as big as Harrisburg. Harrisburg is not some sprawling metropolis.

If you are extending out that far, VT also has Charlotte and the NC Research Triangle, plus east to Lynchburg, etc. The difference is there really are very few venues in and around VT other than Roanoke. Same with State College. If you bring in quality performers, you can make money from a new venue.

Fringe from population hubs all from the east and northeast. Clemson is distant, but is in between the major hubs of Charlotte and Atlanta.

Excuse me..... little people argument. PSU does have a larger student population

Harrisburg/Pittsburgh/Philly >Roanoke/Richmond. Bryce-Jordan was constructed starting in 1993 at a fraction at what it would cost today. And they probably wouldnt or couldnt build it today. A state of art 15k+ arena for a couple hundred million+ would be beyond insane. JPJ cost $130mm in 2006 with large donations. You wanna invest in bonds to support a JPJ in Blacksburg, bless ya, I'll hard pass. For that kind of investment money someone sure as hell can find better ways to create more then just a few new restaurant and hotel jobs. And by the way, IMO there isn't one basketball game in Virginia Tech history that they would have sold 15k tickets for- okay maybe giving the benefit of the doubt, maybe, but you could count them on one hand over a 100 years span. Not to mention in totality college basketball attendance in most places has dropped over the past couple of decades from peaks because of every game televised on large screens at home. ** Edited by Vippie1 at 2/23/2026, 4:13:05 PM ** Edited by Vippie1 at 2/23/2026, 4:18:46 PM ** Edited by Vippie1 at 2/23/2026, 4:21:04 PM

the comparison is pretty accurate. Pittsburgh is about 3 hours away from State College, and Philadelphia is about 4 hours away - with no traffic. Harrisburg is smaller than Roanoke and is much further away (nearly 2 hours). State College is more rural. Bryce-Jordan gets a lot of use. VT wouldn't need to build an event center as big as Bryce-Jordan, but it could be constructed to accommodate temporary seating to expand capacity for concerts and events.

State College and Blacksburg have completely different demographics, based on buying power within 100 mile radius. 1. State College has 27 counties within the radius. They make up all of PA 10 & 11, the majority (66%) of PA 9, 13, & 15, and a small part (10%) of PA 14. Assuming 600,000 population in each congressional district, the affected population is conservatively 2.45 M. 22% of the counties have poverty rates below 10%. 59% of the counties have poverty rates between 10% abd 15%, and 19% have poverty rates above 15%. The student population of PSU is 48,500. 2. Blacksburg has 26 counties and independent cities in VA and WV within the radius. NC was not included since similar facilities in the Triad are closer. They make up 50% of WV 1, the majority of VA 9 (60%), and a small part (20%) of VA 5 & 6. Assuming 600,000 population in each congressional district, the affected population is conservatively 0.9 M. 9% of the counties have poverty rates below 10%. 31% of the counties have poverty rates between 10% and 15%, and 62% have poverty rates above 15%. The student population of VT is approx. 38,000. 3 There is significantly more buying power around State College to support a Hot Wheels Monster Truck Show and concerts featuring Brandon Lake, Malcolm Todd, Journey, Weird Al, and A Boogie with Da Hoodie concerts planned in the next six months. Imagine what we could get with our buying power level. ** Edited by N2VT2 at 2/24/2026, 12:08:28 PM

The Harrisburg metro area population itself is bigger than Roanoke/Christiansburg/Blacksburg combined. It never ceases to amaze me about people will post easily verifiable false info with certainty - and then draw conclusions from it. ** Edited by marcbvtgm at 2/24/2026, 11:57:48 AM

Ancient history

Live events were a much bigger part of the campus experience. Live bands, basketball games, intramurals, etc.

And they had a LOT more student tickets back then that weren't being sold. But yeah the atmosphere was great them, but VT has never needed a bigger arena.

consistent top 20 team Cassell would be too small.

Those new folks werent coming from Montgomery County- the marginal increase was more folks planning fall weekends in Blacksburg from several hours away. The football model is totally different then the hoops model in Blacksburg. As they say in economics the demand for VT basketball is relatively inelastic. Winning of course helps but even if Dr. J decided to use his remaining college eligibility in Blacksburg it wouldnt make a 15k arena needed (or if so very infrequently). Almost no one more from NOVA or Tidewater etc is getting season tickets regardless .

the atmosphere. I think there was at one time a formal way sell or even give those tix away. I know they want to sell season tix but it’s disappointing to see lots of great seats empty when the game is a sell out. Back in the 70s Cassell was always packed for conference games and the atmosphere was great. ** Edited by uber hokie at 2/24/2026, 6:20:40 PM