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