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SALT LAKE CITY — If you’ve been to a Utah gymnastics meet, you know that the team hosts the biggest party in town. If you haven’t made a trip inside the Huntsman Center during the gymnastics season, you’re missing out.
The fan-created chaos inside the Huntsman Center for each two-hour meet is unforgettable. From the moment the team is introduced with fireworks to post-meet awards, the gymnasts are showered with overwhelming support.
“Man, it’s crazy. It’s so surreal,” Kari Lee said of the deafening crowd.
Record-breaking crowds
The scene is nearly indescribable. To help put it in perspective, the Red Rocks sold more than 9,200 season tickets for the 2018 season — a new school and NCAA gymnastics record — filling more than 60 percent of the arena. The program’s season ticket renewal rate is around 85 percent.
Throughout their 40-plus year existence, the Red Rocks have won seven all-women’s sports attendance titles (2010-2017, except for 2012) and 33 gymnastics attendance crowns. The team has averaged more than 14,000 fans per meet for the past nine seasons and more than 12,000 fans a meet for 25 years. The empire keeps growing, and it’s not stopping anytime soon.
In just its first three home meets this season, an average of 15,093 fans have come to support the Red Rocks. Their meet against Washington last week included a full-capacity, roaring audience of 15,558.
"You don’t feel nervous. You want to go out there and show them we’ve got this; we’ve worked really hard,” MyKayla Skinner said.
“I definitely think it’d be intimidating being the other team,” MaKenna Merrell-Giles added.
The Huntsman Center seats 15,000 but has hosted one crowd of more than 16,000. In 2015, 16,019 fans came to see a highly contested meet between then ranked No. 4 Utah and No. 5 Michigan. Once standing room was full, fans were eventually turned away and given general admission tickets to the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championship that Utah hosted a couple of weeks later.
It’s one of those problems the team loves to have, although it hates to see people drive to the university, find a place to park and get all the way to the door to be turned away, then co-head coach Greg Marsden said. At the time, he hoped those people would “try to come back and give it another try.”
Two years later, there’s still a long line at the door. Among the NCAA gymnastics single-meet attendance record of 16,019, the Red Rocks have also brought in 22 crowds of 15,000 and 46 crowds of 14,000 or more.
“It’s cool having 15,000 people cheering for you and your team,” Merrell-Giles said.
“It gets us pumped,” Skinner added.
Fan experience
Fans are so devoted to the team that they’ll begin a U-T-A-H chant between rotations without any cue from the jumbotron. They'll also travel when the Red Rocks are on the road, always ensuring a crimson-dressed group is in the stands. The team appreciates the constant support as it “amps up” its energy.
“I look forward to that feeling all week,” Merrell-Giles said.
The Dart family is one of the many dedicated Utah gymnastics fans that have traveled for the team. They’ve been season ticket holders for a decade and make a point to support Utah in opponents’ territory. The Darts always make it to in-state rivalry meets but have also traveled to Arizona State, California, Nebraska, Washington and UCLA. They attended this year’s Elevate the Stage quad meet in Reno, Nevada, and have been to Pac-12 championships, regional competitions and national championships.
“We try to find a meet most years we can go to,” Jeff Dart said.
As they’ve enjoyed many meets throughout the country, the Darts have noticed a difference in how Utah gymnastics conducts its meets.
“One of the biggest things about a meet at Utah compared to other places we've visited is how well run they are and how great (they are) at keeping the action moving,” Dart said. “Other places haven't figured that out.”
The program has worked on amplifying fan experience for years. As Marsden developed the program, he wanted a fast-moving event that kept the audience aware of the score, which displays on several screens throughout the arena, and entertained. While gymnasts are warming up before each event, the crowd’s attention draws to cheerleaders, contests and attention-grabbing videos. The fan-favorite Simba Cam, an ode to Disney’s "The Lion King," encourages parents to raise the team’s youngest fans aloft for the arena to gawk at on the jumbotron.
Introductions are more impressive than ever with multiple videos to excite the audience. One of this year’s pre-meet videos includes a stunning visual of the team at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The goal: getting the crowd roaring before a single gymnast steps on the floor.
“This season’s new introduction video creates incredible energy before (the meet) starts,” Dart said. “Utah encourages fans to be loud while they are competing. (It’s) not normal in gymnastics, but normal in the sports world.”
The Darts are among many fans who agree Utah’s gymnastics meets are so successful because “they feel like other mainstream sports.”
"Best fans ever"
The support is “special” to the team, especially for Skinner, who is no stranger to performing in front of large crowds. She competed in the 2016 Olympic trials with the nation’s eyes watching her every flip either in person or on live TV.
“It’s more special because they’re here for you and supporting you whether it’s a bad meet or a good meet,” Skinner said of the difference between the Olympic trials and Utah’s home crowds. “They believe in you every time."
“We have the best fans ever,” Lee said.
