Tim Casey/UAA Communications
As Florida began the demolition phase of the O’Connell Center renovation project last weekend, there’s hope that a new building interior will result in more fans passing through the turnstiles.
Simply put, Florida basketball wasn’t as hot a ticket in 2015-16. Average attendance dipped 8.4 percent to 9,686 fans this past season, UF’s lowest attendance figures since averaging 9,018 fans in 1998-99.
Florida associate athletic director Mike Hill said a number of factors contributed to the decline, including having three key home games — Florida State (Dec. 29), Georgia (Jan. 2) and Kentucky (March 1) at a time when students weren’t on campus.