Could TCF mark the start of a new era in college football?

Maximus you are missing a basic rule of economics supply and demand. If there is more than demand than supply prices will climb and the Athletics Department will make more money. Now if there less demand than supply the U wouldn't make much money at all. So the key to your model is that demand atleast equals supply. Now how do increase demand

1. WIN
2. Build loyality and a sense of family within the U population hopefully this transition to more young alumii buying season tickets after they graduate.
3. WIN
4. Great fan exprience
5. WIN
6. Good marketing.
7. WIN

It's really that simple


So please share with us how we ever make as much money off football as Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State? Oh...that's right. WE CAN'T!
 

Things change.....who said they way it is now is they way it will always be? Possibly, in the future, BT football will consist of one squad, an amalgate of all the BT schools and play the other Conf super squads.
 

Your right Maximus. Minnesota will never make as much money as Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State in football because they have either over 50000 or 20000 more seats than we do. But it doesn't matter how many seats you have if you don't have any demand for them. I'm not sure about Penn State or Ohio State but I know Michigan does NOT allow advertising in Michigan Stadium. I would assume if they did they would stand to make a ton of money really quickly. So it might be possible to make as much as Michigan in football if the athletic department charges enough for advertising.
 

Up to this year, Michigan makes more money per home game than we make per season. By moving to a smaller stadium, which I fully support, we will not be closing that huge gap soon if ever. Nothing done at TCF in anything like it's current format will come close to Michigan, etc.

The goal with TCF was, and is, to move out of the basement of the Big Ten and get up to an average Big Ten gameday, money, etc. Once we get to those big improvements we can figure out how to take the next step. We were three generations behind the big guys, now we will be two steps behind. Gooder.
 

So please share with us how we ever make as much money off football as Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State?

By expoliting the laws of supply and demand. The MN Wild have mastered this art.

It is important to not confuse stadium capacity with ticket demand. The two are related only because schools with more demand have generally continued to increase the capacity of their stadiums. But capacity alone does not = greater profit.

Michigan's huge stadium could easily become a problem if they start losing. If ticket-damand decreases to 80,000 (still very high by virtually all standards except their own), Michigan would have a catastrophy on it's hands. Suddenly, the value of the 80,000 tickets that are selling are diminished because there are 30,000 extra seats. This can only go on for so long before they would have to start cutting prices or, worse yet, giving tickets away.


It is not like this has never happened before ... Look here. Television and losing are both factors that could decrease ticket-demand for Michigan in the future. Just as pro-ball changed the way people watched football in the 60's, unlimited HD-television coverage (and eventually maybe even streaming HD coverege) will change things again.

If ticket-demand at TCF Bank Stadium legitimately grows to 80,000, the U would be in a position to name it's own price for virtually any game. 50,000 seats at $100 > than 110,000 seats at $45.

This scenario is obviously a long-shot. But it goes to show how the gap can be closed more easily by building a 50,000 seat stadium than a 110,000 seat stadium.
 


A full stadium creates an incredible atmosphere. A half-full stadium is a terrible atmosphere. Just look at the D-II games that have been played in the Metrodome. The number of people there are comparable to what you might have on the team's home field, but it's like a tomb in a stadium that is perhaps 2% full. Take that same crowd and fill a 2,000 seat stadium, and it is a good atmosphere.

Even if we could have gotten the funding for a 100,000+ seat stadium, we wouldn't be able to fill it, and it would be a tomb. There are only a handful of stadiums that size anyway.
 




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