UGA's Stegeman Coliseum tabbed No. 21 in arena rankings

ATHENS — Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum was listed at No. 21 in the 2020 arena rankings of NCAA Division I basketball venues by Stadium Journey. The website reviewed 334 of 353 NCAA Division I arenas and then compiled its rankings utilizing a “fanfare” system, which took into account a facility’s food, atmosphere, neighborhood, fans, access, value and more.
 
“This is easily the largest rankings list ever undertaken here at Stadium Journey, and we would wager anyplace else,” the website wrote. “It’s a different way of looking at venues, and produces some variability in our lists that you don’t see elsewhere.”
 
Stegeman has been increasingly crowded over the past two seasons. The Bulldogs broke their total attendance record by more than 9,000 fans during the 2018-19 season, head coach Tom Crean’s first campaign in Athens. Georgia shattered that mark by more than 15,000 fans this season and also produced the second-best average attendance mark in program history of 9,651 fans per game.
 
“The University of Georgia has made a serious commitment to its basketball program through upgrades totaling more than $20 million for Stegeman Coliseum,” the website wrote. “The Bulldogs’ home since 1964 has been brought into the 21st century with renovated concourses, a state-of-the-art scoreboard, improved lighting and new seating.”
 
The arenas ranked from No. 18-31 all received average scores of 4.14. Those venues included Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium, Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center, Grand Canyon’s Grand Canyon University Arena, LSU’s Maravich Assembly Center, Maryland’s Xfinity Center, Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena, Richmond’s Robins Center, San Diego State’s Viejas Arena, Southern Illinois’ SIU Arena, UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, UTC’s McKenzie Arena, Western Kentucky’s E.A. Diddle Arena and Xavier’s Cintas Center.
 
“Where two or more venues remained tied, an internal discussion of Stadium Journey experts was held to break the tie,” the site said.
 
In 1-5 rankings for each category, Stegeman received a “5” for atmosphere, neighborhood and “extras”; a “4” for fans and return on investment; and a “3” for access and food & beverage. The complete review of Stegeman can be found here.