How well does the Wolstein Center do in securing things like concerts, rodeos, Disney on Ice, etc.? I would think removing an entire upper deck essentially kills those efforts.
The Q being down the street is really what kills those efforts. At roughly the size of our own Convo, the Wolstein Center is too big for acts that want a theater setting. Those choose from more than 10 smaller venues within a few miles of CSU. The bigger acts want the Q for its size, amenities and location next to hotels, transportation and restaurants. Wolstein is the exact wrong size and place for most acts.
Honestly, the Wolstein Center would be fine if CSU could draw. They can't. It's been years since they've had the whole arena open (they use a Millett-style curtain), and even when Butler was in the Horizon and the Vikings had a great team competing for a championship, they didn't sell out a crucial late-season game against Butler. That was a team with Norris Cole, and that was failing to sell out a curtained arena on a Saturday against a team that made the Final Four. It's too bad because the team is usually pretty good, the arena is nice, the tickets are cheap, the beer (yes, beer) is cold, and the games are fun.