In response to an uptick in demands for tickets, Arizona State University has removed a wall to expand the seating capacity of Wells Fargo Arena.
Since 2010, some of the highest rows of seating at Wells Fargo Arena have been covered by a wall. The wall, which effectively lowered the number of seats available for games to 10,734, was put into place by ASU to make the venue more intimate.
However, ASU recently decided to remove the wall. That change to Wells Fargo Arena will boost its capacity by about 4,000 seats, and allow ASU to accommodate the increase in ticket demand that it has seen this season. More from The Arizona Republic:
ASU’s strong start caused all this. Expected to fight for an NCAA Tournament bid this season, coach Bobby Hurley instead has led the Sun Devils into the national rankings. ASU finished a strong non-conference season as college basketball’s final unbeaten team, climbing as high as No. 3 in the AP Top 25. After recent losses to Arizona and Colorado, the Sun Devils (13-2 and 1-2 in the Pac-12) are No. 11 this week.
To help create a more intimate atmosphere, ASU in 2010 erected the wall, which features photos of the school’s athletic standouts, including James Harden. It lowered the arena’s capacity to 10,734. Even so, the team usually sold out only one game, the annual clash with rival Arizona.
That hasn’t been the case this season.
On Dec. 17, a week after defeating No. 2 Kansas, ASU sold out Wells Fargo Arena for a non-conference game against Vanderbilt. The Sun Devils then drew 9,308 for a home game against Longwood and 10,646 against Pacific.
The wall is not expected to be put back into place during this season.
