Terry, it pains me to say this since I watched it being built from my bedroom window and have seen every ORU season that's ever been played there, but the Mabee Center does not measure up anymore with modern arenas.
While the lower rows of the Gold section do put fans close to the action, the low-angle of the seating bowl puts anyone 20-rows back much further from the action than comparable seating in newer arenas. Not that it's mattered lately, but the Blue seats are ridiculously far from the court. Plus, the lack of any open concourses around the arena is very old-school. Not to mention the dirth of concession stands, the handicap-averse bathroom steps, the limited arena access/egress via just two antiquated escalators, the single vintage elevator for the entire arena, etc.
And remember, those opinions in the survey are coming from ORU opponents. Have you ever been inside the opponent's locker room at the Mabee Center? It's pretty dang sparse (though at least it's not pink, and as far as I know the air conditioning works, unlike what LSU recently accused Texas of doing).
I'm guessing that South Dakota's brand-new arena is nicer, pretty sure that Omaha plays in a newer arena than the Mabee Center as well. I think ranking the Mabee Center in the middle of the pack is pretty fair, and mainly because a couple of the schools play in some real dumps.
But, the home team locker rooms ARE really blingy, so there's that...