STrib: Dropping college football attendance is not just a Gophers thing

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Megan:

Last season, Gophers football attendance at TCF Bank Stadium dropped to a 26-year low, as average attendance for all FBS programs plunged to the lowest mark in 22 years.

And that’s just counting the announced numbers of tickets sold, which often differ significantly from the actual tickets scanned. Last year, for example, the Gophers’ average announced attendance was 37,915, while their average number of tickets scanned was 22,656.

With the Gophers set to open a new season at home Thursday, combating declining attendance is paramount for the athletics department. But the Gophers aren’t alone in their concern.

Florida State experienced its smallest crowds since 1992 last season. Ohio State began offering flexible season-ticket packages for the first time, a sign that even Buckeyes fans want options. And Clemson failed to sell out any of its games — despite making an undefeated run to the national championship.

“It’s not just a Minnesota thing,” Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said. “It’s across the country.”

http://www.startribune.com/dropping...ndance-is-not-just-a-gophers-thing/558388532/

Go Gophers!!
 

Doesn't this just demonstrate the numerous alternatives to entertainment today? Netflix, Amazon, and the other internet options make it easy to have in-home entertainment. Plus with things like Beasttv you can access most any sporting event from the comfort of your home. Got to make it worthwhile to go to the stadium. Tailgating, party atmosphere is needed to draw in the crowds.
 

BleedGopher said:
And Clemson failed to sell out any of its games — despite making an undefeated run to the national championship.
Click to expand...

For the “just win baby” crowd that thinks all marketing efforts can be reduced to sitting on your hands and hoping for wins.

Winning helps. A lot. But it’s not the only variable effecting attendance and atmosphere.

You can find examples like the one above everywhere.
 

Goldmember said:
For the “just win baby” crowd that thinks all marketing efforts can be reduced to sitting on your hands and hoping for wins.

Winning helps. A lot. But it’s not the only variable effecting attendance and atmosphere.

You can find examples like the one above everywhere.
Click to expand...

I think many of us agree that winning won't solve it all, but it helps. Look at Twins, they're finally competitive and people are actually showing up. Yes, they've still needed to do 5 dollar ticket deals, and other things, but people are showing up
 

salzie said:
I think many of us agree that winning won't solve it all, but it helps. Look at Twins, they're finally competitive and people are actually showing up. Yes, they've still needed to do 5 dollar ticket deals, and other things, but people are showing up
Click to expand...

There is a bunch of support out there for Gopher football just waiting for the team to be relevant in the conference again (not just good but an actual division and conference title contender). If the team looks like a legit competitor the fan numbers will go up. Probably not to the sell out level but significantly better then they are right now.

But yeah the attendance thing is a major problem for sports across the pro and college ranks. Most sporting events have priced families out of the experience and the majority of those places aren't willing to do what they would need to do to bring those families back in. So you see big chunks of empty seats as people elect to stay home and watch the game from the comfort of home as opposed to dropping a huge chunk of change for a couple hours in a stadium.
 


MNVCGUY said:
There is a bunch of support out there for Gopher football just waiting for the team to be relevant in the conference again (not just good but an actual division and conference title contender). If the team looks like a legit competitor the fan numbers will go up. Probably not to the sell out level but significantly better then they are right now.

But yeah the attendance thing is a major problem for sports across the pro and college ranks. Most sporting events have priced families out of the experience and the majority of those places aren't willing to do what they would need to do to bring those families back in. So you see big chunks of empty seats as people elect to stay home and watch the game from the comfort of home as opposed to dropping a huge chunk of change for a couple hours in a stadium.
Click to expand...


Oh, I agree.

I've been season ticket holder since 2012 (took last year off, back this year). As much fun as I have, it is annoying my options are:
Stubbs
Sallys
Buffalo Wild Wings
Apple Bee's

About once a year I'll buy pass to goal line club tailgate.


I keep debating checking out river flats tailgate
 

Goldmember said:
For the “just win baby” crowd that thinks all marketing efforts can be reduced to sitting on your hands and hoping for wins.

Winning helps. A lot. But it’s not the only variable effecting attendance and atmosphere.

You can find examples like the one above everywhere.
Click to expand...

Big difference between a half sold stadium and a couple thousand unsold tickets allotted to the opponent.

“Our biggest factor tends to be the opponent and how many folks they bring,” said Clemson assistant athletic director for ticket operations Owen Godfrey, alluding to the tickets Clemson allots to opponents.The highest allotment figure is for South Carolina, biennially Clemson’s most attractive ticket. Last season, Clemson allotted 8,000 tickets to South Carolina. In accordance with a league-wide agreement, visiting Atlantic Coast Conference schools can request a maximum of 4,300 tickets.

The allotment for all other visitors was stipulated in their respective contracts. However, outside of Carolina, few of Clemson's opponents guaranteed more than 1,000 tickets. Clemson recouped the unused tickets in late April, but it could not package them into a full season-ticket deal without the marquee Carolina game.

https://www.greenvilleonline.com/st...-football-2018-attendance-stadium/1298253001/
 

Otis said:
Tailgating, party atmosphere is needed to draw in the crowds.
Click to expand...

Not everyone wants to party. Families, especially with young kids, for example. But you hit on it exactly: the only way you're going to get people to switch from watching on TV to coming to the stadium is to offer a total experience that can't be obtained in the living room and is significantly better. And for a reasonable price!

Taking a wild guess, the Clemson situation was because ticket prices were too high and people just said "the heck with it!"
 

Goldmember said:
For the “just win baby” crowd that thinks all marketing efforts can be reduced to sitting on your hands and hoping for wins.

Winning helps. A lot. But it’s not the only variable effecting attendance and atmosphere.

You can find examples like the one above everywhere.
Click to expand...

According to a quick google Clemson's average is:

80,400 fans, filling Memorial Stadium to 98.7 percent of its capacity

There's a big gap between the Gophers and THAT.
 
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salzie said:
Oh, I agree.

I've been season ticket holder since 2012 (took last year off, back this year). As much fun as I have, it is annoying my options are:
Stubbs
Sallys
Buffalo Wild Wings
Apple Bee's

About once a year I'll buy pass to goal line club tailgate.


I keep debating checking out river flats tailgate
Click to expand...

You've got the Alum Center, Mariucci and Tea House right around stadium if you want something different. Seven Corners has Town Hall and Republic. Tailgate folks are usually very friendly and inviting.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
According to a quick google Clemson's average is:

80,400 fans, filling Memorial Stadium to 98.7 percent of its capacity

There's a big gap between the Gophers and THAT.
Click to expand...

To much fixation being put on Clemson in this thread, of course their situation is very different then ours. Our situation is very similar to the bulk of college football though where it is a real struggle to get butts in the seats.
 

I am very happy that we have a 50,000 seat stadium and not something bigger.
 




A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
According to a quick google:

80,400 fans, filling Memorial Stadium to 98.7 percent of its capacity

There's a big gap between the Gophers and THAT.
Click to expand...

Was I comparing the two? Obviously I wasn’t.

Clemson is in the middle of one of the greatest dynasties in the history of college football in a extremely captive sports market of 1.3M. They are located in the heart of college football passion (the southeast, a much larger region than the upper-Midwest). They have a stadium that is much smaller than their apparent peer group.

Obviously Clemson should have a waiting-list of thousands at this point if winning is ALL that matters (as has been often stated here thousands of times) .
 

Goldmember said:
Obviously Clemson should have a waiting-list of thousands at this point if winning is ALL that matters (as has been often stated here thousands of times) .
Click to expand...

If their sales are "only" 1.3% under capacity, I wonder if the unsold tickets are all higher priced seats.

Not a lot of Fortune 500 companies in South Carolina, to buy up those expensive seats. Plus there is also the U of South Carolina in the state's capital city. There is some population and old money on the state's coast, but neither USC or Clemson are near the coastal area. Clemson is actually in the far eastern part of the state, along the stretch between Atlanta and Charlotte.
 
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Goldmember said:
Was I comparing the two? Obviously I wasn’t.

Clemson is in the middle of one of the greatest dynasties in the history of college football in a extremely captive sports market of 1.3M. They are located in the heart of college football passion (the southeast, a much larger region than the upper-Midwest). They have a stadium that is much smaller than their apparent peer group.

Obviously Clemson should have a waiting-list of thousands at this point if winning is ALL that matters (as has been often stated here thousands of times) .
Click to expand...

Why is that the benchmark?

This seems to be a common pattern in discussions these days.

- Persona A says something is important.

- Person B who disagrees claims that Person A is wrong because .... then they insert some absurdly high bar that nobody has set.

What's the point of having these conversations if you don't want to / can't hear any other opinion than those you made up yourself?
 

If winning matters so little, then all you need is the right marketing, and you should be able to pack any stadium in the country with the right marketing. I don't think anyone is saying that winning is the only thing that matters, but it's probably the biggest factor. Yes, marketing matters, but it's a whole lot easier to market a winning team.
 

PMWinSTP said:
You've got the Alum Center, Mariucci and Tea House right around stadium if you want something different. Seven Corners has Town Hall and Republic. Tailgate folks are usually very friendly and inviting.
Click to expand...


Oh, I'm aware. You could add dinkytown, but all are bit of walk.

I enjoy stubbs, but experience is still a bit lacking. With that said, I'm out there living it up
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
then they insert some absurdly high bar that nobody has set.
Click to expand...

You're saying that Clemson not being at 100% capacity for sold tickets, doesn't help to prove the point that "Dropping college football attendance is not just a Gophers thing" ??
 

salzie said:
Oh, I agree.

I've been season ticket holder since 2012 (took last year off, back this year). As much fun as I have, it is annoying my options are:
Stubbs
Sallys
Buffalo Wild Wings
Apple Bee's

About once a year I'll buy pass to goal line club tailgate.

I keep debating checking out river flats tailgate
Click to expand...

You should check out East River Flats, especially if you have a decent sized group.

The Corner Bar is always fun and run a pre and post game shuttle to the stadium.

Surly is right around the corner.

Etc etc, there are plenty of good pregame options.
 

We've been through this before. It may be a nation-wide problem, but Coyle and the Gophs are struggling more relative to that trend. There was a good analysis in the other thread showing we had one of the worst declines in the Big 10.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
You should check out East River Flats, especially if you have a decent sized group.

The Corner Bar is always fun and run a pre and post game shuttle to the stadium.

Surly is right around the corner.

Etc etc, there are plenty of good pregame options.
Click to expand...

It's amazing how many people think there aren't options on/around campus. Salzie listed 4 options and you listed another 3. How many home games are there?
 

bottlebass said:
It's amazing how many people think there aren't options on/around campus. Salzie listed 4 options and you listed another 3. How many home games are there?
Click to expand...

I'm aware of all those options (been to most), I'm generally looking at a mile from stadium

I've also traveled to Iowa, Sconi, Nebraska and seen much different scene

There are certainly more options than I listed, but I narrowed criteria a bit. I could in theory pre game in 7 corners and hoof it over, but that's about 25-30 minute walk....doable..but
 

salzie said:
I'm aware of all those options (been to most), I'm generally looking at a mile from stadium

I've also traveled to Iowa, Sconi, Nebraska and seen much different scene

There are certainly more options than I listed, but I narrowed criteria a bit. I could in theory pre game in 7 corners and hoof it over, but that's about 25-30 minute walk....doable..but
Click to expand...

Or ride a shuttle, or uber it. It sounds like you aren't really annoyed with the options or maybe I just misunderstand what you mean.
 

Gophers_4life said:
If their sales are "only" 1.3% under capacity, I wonder if the unsold tickets are all higher priced seats.

Not a lot of Fortune 500 companies in South Carolina, to buy up those expensive seats. Plus there is also the U of South Carolina in the state's capital city. There is some population and old money on the state's coast, but neither USC or Clemson are near the coastal area. Clemson is actually in the far eastern part of the state, along the stretch between Atlanta and Charlotte.
Click to expand...

See post #7.
 

Probably doesn't help that our games are occasionally brutal to watch.
 

bottlebass said:
Or ride a shuttle, or uber it. It sounds like you aren't really annoyed with the options or maybe I just misunderstand what you mean.
Click to expand...

It seems his point is that there are more options, and more convenient options, at other Big Ten West schools.

Not, that the U has zero options.
 

salzie said:
I'm aware of all those options (been to most), I'm generally looking at a mile from stadium

I've also traveled to Iowa, Sconi, Nebraska and seen much different scene

There are certainly more options than I listed, but I narrowed criteria a bit. I could in theory pre game in 7 corners and hoof it over, but that's about 25-30 minute walk....doable..but
Click to expand...

Light rail ride to Seven corners is a couple minutes. As for Wisconsin, it has changed considerably in the last 3-5 years with development. Before that, it really was a handful of places (maybe five) to go to close to the stadium. Nebraska last year was nice, but it's a 10 minute walk to Haymarket area from the stadium, and a 15 minute walk from the main tailgating lots to the stadium.
 

Gophers_4life said:
It seems his point is that there are more options, and more convenient options, at other Big Ten West schools.

Not, that the U has zero options.
Click to expand...

I've been to other B1G stadiums. There is better tailgating, but few offer the options around the stadium that we do.
 

bottlebass said:
Or ride a shuttle, or uber it. It sounds like you aren't really annoyed with the options or maybe I just misunderstand what you mean.
Click to expand...

Travel to other B1G schools and check out their pregame scene and compare to ours and rank them honestly.

I make the most out of it and I have a great time, just think we're a little behind competition.
 

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