SAN DIEGO — As the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats tipped off against Wright State on Friday evening, Viejas Arena was all but empty.
Thousands of Wildcats fans were still waiting to enter the arena, part of a logistical nightmare that involved a cleaning crew, metal detectors and COVID-19 vaccine cards.
Friday’s first session ran late, and the arena wasn’t cleared out and cleaned until a few minutes after 4 p.m. The Arizona-Wight State game tipped off at 4:27 p.m.
According to several UA fans, crowds were funneled to two main entrances located on opposite ends of the arena. Every fan had to pass through metal detectors and show a COVID-19 vaccine card before they could enter.
All of these issues combined turned into a “very frustrating experience,” said UA fan and alum Stephen Jewell, 27.
Jewell had tickets to Friday’s Session I (Texas Tech-Montana, Notre Dame-Alabama) and Session II (Arizona-Wright State, TCU-Seton Hall). Jewell exited the arena at roughly 3:20 p.m following Notre Dame’s win to find there were already hundreds of Arizona fans waiting outside. Jewell returned to the line around 4 p.m. to find that the line had only gotten longer. It stretched all the way to San Diego State’s student union — nearly a quarter mile from the arena’s entrance.
Fans were told by security that the gates couldn’t be opened until they were given the all-clear by the arena cleanup crew.
“We were just stuck there and couldn’t do anything,” Jewell said. “We were still in line when the game started and had to stream most of the first half on our phones.”
Arizona fans Casey and Chad Williard split into different lines to see which one went faster. They arrived inside at the same time — several minutes after the game had tipped off.
Though he was unaware of the issues causing the holdup, UA guard Dalen Terry noticed how empty the arena was as the game was starting.
“It was weird at the beginning of the game when nobody was there,” Terry said. “It was odd.”
It wasn’t until midway through the first half that Jewell and many others reached their seats, unhappy that they’d missed so much of the game.
The good news in all of this? Fans in San Diego won’t have to go through the painful experience again Sunday for the round of 32 game against TCU. The Texas Tech-Notre Dame and Arizona-TCU matchups are packaged as one session meaning staff won’t have to clear out the arena in between games.
Jersey sales ‘dream come true’ for UA players
Arizona men’s and women’s basketball jerseys are on sale in the UA Campus Bookstore and online.
The jerseys, featuring names and numbers of Kerr Kriisa, Dalen Terry, Azuolas Tubelis, Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko and made by Retro Brand, are available for purchase for $100. Women’s stars Lauren Ware, Sam Thomas and Cate Reese also have their jerseys for sale.
“It’s a dream come true,” Terry said. “ I’ve been thinking about this ever since I was younger. Just having somebody else wear my jersey… it’s like a milestone.”
Win or go home
Tubelis delivered one of the better moments from Saturday’s media availability session when asked about being a part of March Madness. Tubelis, a Lithuanian native, said he didn’t closely follow the NCAA Tournament as a kid.
“When I was young I saw a couple games when (Domantas) Sabonis played at Gonzaga,” Tubelis said. “That’s how I knew about it, but I didn’t follow it.”
Tubelis’ plan for his first true March Madness experience?
“I just know that you lose and you go home,” he said. “So I’m going to win every game here.”
