The 2006 version of the Comcast Battle in Seattle set a new attendance record this past December. Northwest Sports & Entertainment, Inc. Director John A. Hines announced record attendance of 15,110, with KeyArena capacity of 17,700, for the University of Gonzaga contest vs. the University of Nevada on December 30th 2006. The previous record for a regular-season crowd in Washington state history was 14,252 at the Seattle Center Coliseum for a Feb. 12, 1967 game between Seattle University and Texas Western the year after the Miners won the NCAA title.
The pro-Gonzaga crowd made up more than two-thirds of the attendance however, an estimated 4000 fans made the trek from Reno to cheer on what was probably the best Nevada team in the history of the University. The competing crowd made the atmosphere terrific for an intense and exciting game that came down to the final minute.
2006 also marked the fourth consecutive year the event was televised for a national audience. ESPN 2 covered this year’s game, while previous broadcasts included CSTV and twice the CBS game of the week.
The game did not come together until April 2006, as finding quality opponents for Gonzaga still are hard to come by. Many frustrating phone calls were made to find an opponent for the Zags, but it was Nevada Head Coach Mark Fox whom ultimately agreed the game was not only good for Nevada but for west coast basketball as it pitted two of premier teams on the left coast
In order to achieve the attendance results, Northwest Sports developed a dedicated six month advertising campaign that began with the official announcement at the June 2006 Hoopfest event. BIS Marketing at Hoopfest, the largest 3on3 basketball tournament in the world, included the commemorative game poster giveaway while current Gonzaga players signed autographs for the two day event.
Title sponsor Comcast along with media partners KHQ-Television Spokane, The Spokesman review, Seattle Times, and Reno-Gazette Journal also made significant contributions. The advertising assistance was highlighted by the more than 4000 commercial spots Comcast and KHQ ran over a three month period in Washington’s two largest markets (Seattle & Spokane). While each of the three media print partners included the Comcast Battle in Seattle in their regular sports marketing cycles from June through December.
NWS, again, teamed up with Papa Murphy’s Pizza in Spokane for a promotional campaign that included a coupon insert detailing the Comcast Battle in Seattle in every carryout pizza. Comcast produced more than 1 million advertisements that were included in the November billing statements of Washington area customers.
In 2007, Northwest Sports will promote two Seattle events in hopes of breaking the record again. Washington State University (pre-season 5th ranked team) and Gonzaga (pre-season 11th ranked team) will both be back at the KeyArena for neutral site contests. Date and Opponent announcements are set for June.
Originally founded in Seattle in 1994, Northwest Sports has organized, promoted, and participated in more than 500 unique events and tournaments. NWS is one of the few companies in the country that works with all levels of sports, including youth with AAU and high schools, major universities, NBA players, and professional teams, including the Phoenix Suns.
Next promotion for NWS is the 2007 Dan Dickau Celebrity Poker tournament followed by the NBA approved Spokane All-American’s Charity Classic in late August.