SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois basketball season ended Friday in the same wobbly way it began — with a loss away from home.
Paying the price in November: Springfield’s Prairie Capital Convention Center, which hosted one exhibition and the first four games of the regular season while State Farm Center was under repair.
The arena lost $200,296.80 in the deal after attendance figures failed to meet expectations, according to documents provided to The News-Gazette.
“Ultimately, the games didn’t sell the way we thought they would,” arena General Manager Brian Oaks said Friday.
The financial picture took longer than typical to clear up because the UI was without a permanent athletic director, he added.