The stadium is quiet and the court is empty while the lights flicker on to usher in a new day at Charles Koch Arena.

As fans enter the arena, eager to watch Wichita State Athletics, most do not consider the time and effort the Athletics staff puts in to keep the lights on and keep the arena in tip-top shape.

While the WSU Athletics marketing department seems to run the show with promotions, social media and control of the jumbotron, Koch Arena facilities staff are behind the scenes making sure everything is correct.

“Our charge is to maintain the entire facility so we have several entities that work with us,” facilities director Brad Pittman said.

Even though a custodial crew keeps Koch Arena clean and functional, the facilities staff shines once athletics gets involved.

On a typical day, facilities crews set up the arena for a practice or a game, and will transition between the two depending on the team’s needs.

Between maintenance of the floors, clocks, baskets and video boards, the facilities staff is not limited to working with just Wichita State Athletics since many teams rent the arena for post-season tournaments.

“If you have a high-school team and they have the ability to play at a college venue, that’s a unique experience for a kid,” Pittman said.

While the facilities staff has to make sure the outside team’s schedule works with WSU’s schedule, letting intramural championships play on the court contributes to the impression WSU leaves on the Wichita community.

“We want to be a partner for both the community and the campus,” Pittman said. “That’s what we’re here for, and that’s what we want to do.”

However, now that basketball season is here, it may be a little more challenging to play on Devlin Court as thousands of fans arrive on game day.

“Basketball is just a different animal in terms of the volume of people you have to deal with in terms of your preparation and your planning,” Pittman said.

In the last few weeks, Pittman has explored what his team has done in the past, what works, what does not and future issues that lie ahead of the facilities staff.

One issue the staff will have to work out is game day parking with the addition of Shocker Hall.

Shocker Hall residents who have been parking their cars near Koch Arena over the weekends will have to find new spots on game days. See page 8B for parking details during basketball games.

“My focus this whole week has been basketball,” Pittman said, “getting ready for the game and making sure we have everything in a row. Ultimately, game day is my job start to finish.”

While Pittman cannot do everything, extensive planning and the division of job roles goes into the production of game day, especially with Koch Arena becoming more consumer-friendly when it comes to technology.

Koch Arena’s jumbotron, which was installed just before the fall semester last year, has become an essential asset in audience experience.

“When dealing with technology, you have to understand that it’s going to fail,” Pittman said. “There are going to be occasions where you can’t get it working. You just hope to minimize the damage as much as you can.”

Although fans have been pleased with the function of the jumbotron and other technologies, the facilities staff and the Athletic Department are working to enhance the Roundhouse experience with the addition of wireless Internet.

Pittman, who has worked for Koch Arena for 10 years, has witnessed the demand for technological change now that the basketball program is a national force.

“We are always looking for ways to improve, and we have a bunch of things on the table that we’re checking into,” he said.

Despite Pittman looking for ways to improve the arena, he said the game day atmosphere and experience makes Koch Arena special for fans and that is what his team strives to produce every day.