The ODU-NSU basketball series should play on, just not at Scope

NORFOLK, Virginia -- When it was announced last year that Old Dominion and Norfolk State would renew their basketball rivalry this season at Scope, it sounded like a terrific idea.

The downtown arena is located between both campuses and is the spot where ODU and NSU carried on a spirited rivalry decades ago.

If you weren't there last Friday, you missed an entertaining, if not artfully played, game. Both teams shot poorly, yet played hard, with ODU pulling away late to win, 61-50.

But the reality is that playing at Scope was a one-game experiment that surely won't be repeated – and, in hindsight, shouldn't be.

Even given the bad timing of the game (three days before Christmas), attendance was disappointing. Officials said 6,711 tickets were sold, including more than 2,000 ODU season-ticket holders. Only 4,267 fans actually showed up.

ODU could have generated a lot more revenue, and likely would have drawn a bigger crowd, at ODU's Constant Center. The Monarchs keep money from concessions at the Ted, and generate additional income from 16 luxury suites and thousands of club seats.



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