This is really false. The unlocked portion of the level offers a crucial second path between the bases... one that ends up being less frequently used because it's longer, but it's essential to give the flagger some places to hide during standoffs. And the standoffs are really a large part of what JK CTF was about; you just can't expect it to behave like Halo CTF in that regard.
More importantly, though, the smaller version is critically unbalanced. Gold base has access to a conc rifle on its side of the map, whereas red doesn't. (Red does still have easy access to a rail det, but I've never found those quite as useful for guarding... especially if you guard in tube like I prefer to.)
Also, did the smaller version still include LL? I guess it couldn't have, which would mean that there's a much smaller supply of sequencer charges available as well. (Which may actually be the biggest disadvantage.)
As for getting a game going, I'd certainly be interested. Perhaps if we pick a night a couple days in advance, we could find enough people?