TUCSON, Ariz. — 14,644 fans were in attendance for the WNIT final on Saturday, but some were waiting in line well before opening tipoff.
Louis Schaum was the first in line, arriving at the arena a full four hours before the game began, "You can see its a madhouse here," Schaum said. "Seeing it up and close it's kind of personal, it's just been a great experience."
With the added excitement of the tournament final, the athletic department decided to sell general admission tickets, and to keep everyone under control, more resources were needed.
"We needed to go fully staffed, fully operational, every gate, police, security, medical services to support the size of this venue," said Suzy Mason Sr. Athletic Director for events.
On top of more than 50 security and police officers added to the venue, crowd satisfactions was just as important. Leading to the opening of additional restrooms and concession on every level.
"The women's game we have usually have one of the five concession stands open, on Saturday we had all 5," Mason explained.
And for those fans in the upper deck, curtains were raised for the best view possible.
"They were able to see the video board, see the court and have obstructiveness sight to everything they need to have," Mason said.
While the McKale Center might only have 80 events planned throughout the year, they're operational 365, just in-case another Wildcat team has another historic run they'll be ready.
