[tps_title]Sellout a concern for Nevada[/tps_title]
[tps_header]UA might play in front of less than 30,000 for first time in 26 years[/tps_header]
Much like Las Vegas, Reno is a town built for tourism, not for a solid fanbase that will ever rival the top 100 — heck 150 — of the best in the nation.
On top of a ranked Arizona team coming to town, Nevada is hoping its white-out promotion will captivate fans enough to forget about the casinos or a half-hour drive to Lake Tahoe.
The Wildcats, ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 poll, are only the 10th ranked team to visit Mackay Stadium. Nevada holds a 4-5 record in those games.
Nevada has only sold out when Boise State, UNLV and Cal have come to town over the last 15 years. They have seven sellouts against those teams in that span. You’ll notice that the sellouts happened against a Boise State team that travels extremely well, in-state rival UNLV, and Cal, which is only about 200 miles from Reno.
“The fact that we have a name ranked opponent here at home, that’s something that people reference a lot with me,” Nevada coach Brian Polian told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I’m talking about fans, the general public, when they talk about scheduling and things like that.
“We’re not going to be in the habit of trying to get LSU and Alabama to try and come to Mackay. That’s just not going to happen. … (But) this is a great opportunity. It’s one that our fans express they want more of. Here it is, so I’m hopeful we’ll sell it out and it will be rocking and rolling.”
Mackay Stadium holds only 30,000 fans. Nevada sold only 21,483 tickets for the season opener last Thursday against UC Davis.
The last time Arizona played a road game with less than 30,000 in attendance was way back in 1989 when 29,000 people saw California edge Arizona 29-28.
