The college's have to decide -

Rog

Active member
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
1,017
Reaction score
1
Points
38
Do they want attendance up (full Stadiums ) or do they want TV money? It sure appears that is the case. (Nebr possible an exception and that may end)
 

In a few years, most schools will offer free or nominal fee tickets just to get some people in the seats. With all games available on HD TV at home; no worries about parking, overpriced food/liquor, 4 hour games, getting a DUI after a few beers, "donation" fees, and mostly mediocre football; pluses of staying home outweigh going to the games.

Of course, the traditional powers and schools in areas where there's no alternative entertainment (IA, NE, etc.) will still get folks to attend games.
 

In a few years, most schools will offer free or nominal fee tickets just to get some people in the seats. With all games available on HD TV at home; no worries about parking, overpriced food/liquor, 4 hour games, getting a DUI after a few beers, "donation" fees, and mostly mediocre football; pluses of staying home outweigh going to the games.

Of course, the traditional powers and schools in areas where there's no alternative entertainment (IA, NE, etc.) will still get folks to attend games.
The last few years at the dome, the Twins General Admissions were still 5 bucks. That changed when they went to Target field, and there are like 80 home games. But still I attended way more twins games because the tickets were cheaper than a movie.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
 

The last few years at the dome, the Twins General Admissions were still 5 bucks. That changed when they went to Target field, and there are like 80 home games. But still I attended way more twins games because the tickets were cheaper than a movie.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

I recall in mid 90's when Twins were horrible, they had a $97 GA season ticket. Probably attended 40 games one year; you could sit anywhere with all the empty seats.
 

In a few years, most schools will offer free or nominal fee tickets just to get some people in the seats. With all games available on HD TV at home; no worries about parking, overpriced food/liquor, 4 hour games, getting a DUI after a few beers, "donation" fees, and mostly mediocre football; pluses of staying home outweigh going to the games.

Of course, the traditional powers and schools in areas where there's no alternative entertainment (IA, NE, etc.) will still get folks to attend games.

Do the traditional powers and schools where there’s no alternative entertainment (IA, NE, etc.) not have HD TVs, parking issues, overpriced food/liquor, long games, or DUI enforcement?

Why do the pluses of staying home not outweigh going to games for them?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


Baseball avoided too many TV games way back in the day thinking it would hurt attendance.... they found you got more fans by letting people watch your team, not by hiding.

Hiding from technology seems like a good way to tank your business.
 

In 1984, the Twins offered lower deck outfield tickets for $5 and upper outfield for $3. I would literally gather up my change and run from the U where I was a student, watch the game and run home. They turned out to be a contender till they tanked at the end. Start of the Puckett, Hrbek, etc... group.
 

In 1984, the Twins offered lower deck outfield tickets for $5 and upper outfield for $3. I would literally gather up my change and run from the U where I was a student, watch the game and run home. They turned out to be a contender till they tanked at the end. Start of the Puckett, Hrbek, etc... group.

I remember that....we had an awful series in Cleveland toward the end of the year in their old stadium that knocked us out of contention. I think they lost about a 10 run lead in one game. I can still hear that damn drum beating....
 

I recall in mid 90's when Twins were horrible, they had a $97 GA season ticket. Probably attended 40 games one year; you could sit anywhere with all the empty seats.
In 91, the North Stars weren't filling up the Met. I could get a good seat for $10. I went to about 30 games. Then they went to the Stanley Cup finals and I watched at home as rich folk bought up the tickets.
 



the problem is right now, a lot of colleges like the U of MN are in no-man's land. They are losing attendance because of high ticket prices and/or mandatory donations/seat licenses, and the "stay at home and watch on the 60" 4K TV" crowd - but they have resisted the idea of dropping their prices.

As far as the question posed in the OP, TV money is really separate from attendance. At some point in the future, when traditional cable TV has died, there will have to be adjustments as the TV industry re-adjusts to the era of streaming video. Rest assured, they will find or create revenue streams - but they may not match the current level.

But, attendance is largely a factor of price and performance. The traditional powers, or schools that are isolated geographically, will still draw. It's the schools like MN that are really facing the challenge - lots of competition for the entertainment dollar, and limited success on the field.

If it was up to me, I'd rather have a full, or nearly-full house, even if a majority of the fans are paying $5 or $10 a game. Empty seats do not cheer, buy concessions or team merchandise. Empty seats do not grow up to become life-long fans of a program.

In the end, schools have a choice - lower the cost of tickets, or build future stadiums with much smaller capacity. When TCF was built, some people said it was too small. In the long run, it may prove to be too big.
 

the problem is right now, a lot of colleges like the U of MN are in no-man's land. They are losing attendance because of high ticket prices and/or mandatory donations/seat licenses, and the "stay at home and watch on the 60" 4K TV" crowd - but they have resisted the idea of dropping their prices.

As far as the question posed in the OP, TV money is really separate from attendance. At some point in the future, when traditional cable TV has died, there will have to be adjustments as the TV industry re-adjusts to the era of streaming video. Rest assured, they will find or create revenue streams - but they may not match the current level.

But, attendance is largely a factor of price and performance. The traditional powers, or schools that are isolated geographically, will still draw. It's the schools like MN that are really facing the challenge - lots of competition for the entertainment dollar, and limited success on the field.

If it was up to me, I'd rather have a full, or nearly-full house, even if a majority of the fans are paying $5 or $10 a game. Empty seats do not cheer, buy concessions or team merchandise. Empty seats do not grow up to become life-long fans of a program.

In the end, schools have a choice - lower the cost of tickets, or build future stadiums with much smaller capacity. When TCF was built, some people said it was too small. In the long run, it may prove to be too big.

It comes down to what the strategy is. While the U, per usual, appears not to have one (make money is not a strategy) they have defaulted to the short term - make as much as you can from those who are willing to pay. The long term strategy is to fill the stadium. More butts in seats = more noise, more concession sales (even if it's minimally more), more souvenir revenue. Once you fill the stadium, you can increase pricing slowly over time. PSLs may never go away completely, but improving the game day environment would go a long way to helping the program improve. I've been to more than one Gopher game where a large vocal fan base at the end of the game could have influenced the outcome of the game.
 

It comes down to what the strategy is. While the U, per usual, appears not to have one (make money is not a strategy) they have defaulted to the short term - make as much as you can from those who are willing to pay. The long term strategy is to fill the stadium. More butts in seats = more noise, more concession sales (even if it's minimally more), more souvenir revenue. Once you fill the stadium, you can increase pricing slowly over time. PSLs may never go away completely, but improving the game day environment would go a long way to helping the program improve. I've been to more than one Gopher game where a large vocal fan base at the end of the game could have influenced the outcome of the game.

Agreed. This isn't rocket science folks. If we can figure this out why can't the marketing crew at the U of M???
 

I remember that....we had an awful series in Cleveland toward the end of the year in their old stadium that knocked us out of contention. I think they lost about a 10 run lead in one game. I can still hear that damn drum beating....

The night of that Cleveland game (we were up 10-0 and lost), I met some buddies at a kegger . They started talking about how the Twins had kicked the Indians’ butts. I had to break it to them that we lost!
 
Last edited:



It is really a problem of all sports. The model has changed from living off of gate revenue to living off of TV revenue. They can’t fill the stadiums at current prices, but they just don’t realize it yet.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Do the traditional powers and schools where there’s no alternative entertainment (IA, NE, etc.) not have HD TVs, parking issues, overpriced food/liquor, long games, or DUI enforcement?

Why do the pluses of staying home not outweigh going to games for them?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Because a home game is one of only 6-7 opportunities to leave the house with a purpose all year long. LOL
 

It comes down to what the strategy is. While the U, per usual, appears not to have one (make money is not a strategy) they have defaulted to the short term - make as much as you can from those who are willing to pay. The long term strategy is to fill the stadium. More butts in seats = more noise, more concession sales (even if it's minimally more), more souvenir revenue. Once you fill the stadium, you can increase pricing slowly over time. PSLs may never go away completely, but improving the game day environment would go a long way to helping the program improve. I've been to more than one Gopher game where a large vocal fan base at the end of the game could have influenced the outcome of the game.

Ha really? At the end of the day the U has to make money to survive, how can that not be a strategy? It's the #1 thing that matters.
 

Ha really? At the end of the day the U has to make money to survive, how can that not be a strategy? It's the #1 thing that matters.

I didn’t say they didn’t need to make money. I did say “make money” is not a strategy.

I’m not surprised you don’t understand the difference between a goal (maximize revenue, or make money) and a strategy (what you need to do to build a sustainable revenue stream - get butts in seats, improve the game day experience, look beyond tickets as revenue opportunities, etc). Most people don’t understand that difference.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

It's similar with rock concerts as well. The paradigm shifted with the advent of the digital age. Bands used to make most of their money off album (remember them?) sales and would use tours to promote the latest album. Now with all the changes in music merchandising due largely to downloading, bands make most of their money off touring, which has forced ticket prices into the stratosphere. Worst seat in the house for a big-time band will probably cost you about $100.
 

I didn’t say they didn’t need to make money. I did say “make money” is not a strategy.

I’m not surprised you don’t understand the difference between a goal (maximize revenue, or make money) and a strategy (what you need to do to build a sustainable revenue stream - get butts in seats, improve the game day experience, look beyond tickets as revenue opportunities, etc). Most people don’t understand that difference.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Including you. They do currently have a sustainable revenue stream.
 

It comes down to what the strategy is. While the U, per usual, appears not to have one (make money is not a strategy) they have defaulted to the short term - make as much as you can from those who are willing to pay. The long term strategy is to fill the stadium. More butts in seats = more noise, more concession sales (even if it's minimally more), more souvenir revenue. Once you fill the stadium, you can increase pricing slowly over time. PSLs may never go away completely, but improving the game day environment would go a long way to helping the program improve. I've been to more than one Gopher game where a large vocal fan base at the end of the game could have influenced the outcome of the game.

It sounds like you are also confused about goals vs strategy. The goal is your target and the strategy is your roadmap to your goal. The AD has several goals and each program/team has several goals and each goal would have strategies. And of course, those goals change as you accomplish or reevaluate your targets.

PJ could have goals like win the B1G West, improve academics, etc. and that could be accomplished by strategies like recruit more defensive linemen, improve class attendance, tutors, etc...

Attendance is a blend of game day experience and pricing vs demand. The U has enough brilliant business minds/professors that could easily develop a series of pricing models and fan experience plans (game day, customer service, seat licenses, fees, perks, etc...). Ask the school of business to set up projects for the students to develop these plans in there classes.

The U claims to have one of the best business schools in the country... use them. The students and professors would really love to work on real plans that help their university. Imagine the resume builder to say you actually developed plans for the U to optimize attendance and revenue, or improved game day experience, etc... And the U can recruit students by saying you can work on actual business plans instead of HBR case studies...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Look - none of us, as far as I know, has real inside information on the goals and strategy of the U of MN athletic department. All we can go on is what we see from the outside.

And what we see is a fairly sharp decline in the number of people attending games - which certainly appears to be connected to the increase in mandatory seat donations. (and/or the success or lack thereof by the teams).

For all we know, the U of MN may be just fine with this. Because of the TV revenue, they may be able to meet their budget at the current level of ticket sales. So, in this scenario, they do not perceive a need to offer financial incentives to get people back into the stadium.

On the other hand, if the U is concerned about football attendance, and they want to change the situation, then it's fair to ask, what is their goal, and what strategy do they have to meet that goal.

From the outside looking in, it's hard to perceive that there is a strategy. And if they have a strategy, the U is doing a bleep-poor job of communicating that strategy to the ticket-buying public.
 

Including you. They do currently have a sustainable revenue stream.

For ticket revenue, which is what this thread has been about?

Or, per usual, are you pivoting to expand or reframe the topic when someone points out your off in one of your comments?

The athletic department has a good revenue stream from Broadcast rights, if that’s what you meant, but each element of the department is a cost center or should be.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

In other college towns, like IA, WI, NE, there is nothing else to do.
If they don't go to the football game, they literally do nothing.
They probably don't vacation much other than the bowl games.

It's hard to get someone to feed your pigs and milk your cows for a week.

Also, in these areas, to climb the social status ladder, in conversations you need to say "I was at the _____ game" on Saturday. (This applies for Packer fans too).

Sometimes they will say "I traveled to a road game to watch the ____ play. Their fans simply aren't true fans like at our home ____ games. They had bigger video boards, music between plays / during timeouts, etc."
 




Top Bottom