How to improve attendance at TCF and get Minnesota more behind their Golden Gophers

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johnson

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We haven't talked much about the lagging attendance problem with the Gophers over the last couple seasons so I thought I'd start a thread and get the ball rolling. Finally construction's finishing up so hopefully that will bring in a lot more fans... once the light rail opens up too hopefully that will bring in more people.
 

johnson said:
We haven't talked much about the lagging attendance problem with the Gophers over the last couple seasons so I thought I'd start a thread and get the ball rolling. Finally construction's finishing up so hopefully that will bring in a lot more fans... once the light rail opens up too hopefully that will bring in more people.
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Whether or not any of these are feasible:

1. Win
2. More alcohol (sad, but true)
3. Block off more streets, etc. Cater to the partier in all of us
4. Win
5. Win

I suspect anything else would just see temporary, short-term spikes...
 

Agreed. In response to #3, I'm surprised the athletics department hasn't worked more with public transportation in the area to cut down on traffic congestion and vehicle crowding...The stadium's right next to a decent amount of bus routes and with the green line opening up next year, I'd suspect more than just temporary, short-term spikes in attendance with more emphasis on transportation to the game...
 

johnson said:
We haven't talked much about the lagging attendance problem with the Gophers over the last couple seasons so I thought I'd start a thread and get the ball rolling. Finally construction's finishing up so hopefully that will bring in a lot more fans... once the light rail opens up too hopefully that will bring in more people.
Click to expand...

IALTO...
 

TCF is smack dab in the middle of a large urban area. Congestion is the norm. Sure the powers to be may be able to tweek things a bit, but it is what it is.

Folks need to learn how to deal with the traffic. We park in an area that is a easy in/out yet just a 10-15 minute walk to TCF. Folks need to consider arriving early and/or staying a bit later if traffic is an issue for them.

We will consider the light rail depending on the schedule.

Congestion is the same in Lincoln, Evanston, Iowa City and Madison. Its all a part of the gameday experience.
 



dohkay, I think theres a recent thread with a couple 13, 14 pages on this very topic.
 

I'm just going to put socks on my hands, use a sharpie to put in eyes and a mouth, and have them bitch at each other over "just win", need tailgating, band marching on University, booze, students, team hasn't won the conference since 1967, city of Minneapolis restrictions, old people, how they do it in some other place one of my sock puppets has been to a game, high def TV's, etc. etc. and then come back to this thread a week from now to see how I did.

I will also save these socks and their sharpie faces for the next 18-35 times this comes up.
 






1. Win
2. More creative to get the students out ( tailgate will help)
3. Start beating Becky and the Chicken Hawks more than once in a decade ( You notice I said BOTH!)
4. Marketing. You need to sped money to make money. Our sales/marketing staff has the mideset
of doing it on a junior prom budget
5. Make " outstate " Minnesota more of a priority in recruiting new fans. ( I like the caravans ) They can afford " Gopher ticket prices " With the new Viking Stadium going in prices will rise on the season ticket holders.
6. Woody needs to work the newspapers to get equal share of coverage. 7 pages of Vikings and 1 on the Gophers is ridiculous. ( Yes, winning helps, still, Vikings arn't exactly lighting it up)
7. Don't wait until August to start single game ticket promotions ( sales and marketing)
8. Produce a 30 second spot on Gopher Football that can be seen on the local channels, not just the BTN and FSN ( sales and marketing )
9. Bring back the " yard signs " Damn I loved those! The year they had them I grabbed 25-30 and
placed them in the Brainerd/Nisswa area. " Gopher Football. A gathering storm" or something like that.
10. When is the last time you saw on a bar/saloon reader board that said: " Your home for Gopher Football" ? You see it all over for Viking football. Where there is a will there is a way.
Summary: Deep down, this State is dying to become a " Gopher State " In Ely last week at one of the local bait shops I was getting minnows and a couples of guys came in with Gopher hats on heading in to the Boundry Waters. I asked them if they were excited for the football season and the one guy said: " I'd like to be, but so much disappointment makes it hard" The other guy was buckets fan and loved the hire of Pitino. He said the last Gopher Football game he went too was the Michigan meltdown game on " Black Friday". He hadn't been to a game since ( go figure )
He said he liked Kill, but the team needs to show me they can win at a high level before I attend a game at TCF. I said: "What if they beat both Iowa and Wisconsin this year"? He said it would peak his interest in attending. BYW, both were Viking fans, but neither had season tickets because of the
expense. I would say they were in their late 30's or early 40's. Baby steps. At least they had Gopher hats on!
7.

6.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
5. Make " outstate " Minnesota more of a priority in recruiting new fans. ( I like the caravans ) They can afford " Gopher ticket prices " With the new Viking Stadium going in prices will rise on the season ticket holders.
Click to expand...

^This^

I don't get around as much as I used to but I can't even remember the last time I went to a convenience store, grocery store or liquor store and saw a Gopher poster, schedule or pocket size schedule. They're all there for the Vikings. It's like the Gophers don't exist.
 



All efforts should be focused on the students. If 10,000 loud students show up to every game and stand the whole way, People will go just to be in the same stadium with them, the team, and the band.

My suggestions for getting the students:
1. Let them walk around with open containers or dring in parking lots before the games.
2. Get high performance wireless and get an integrated experience in stadium for the students.
 

johnson said:
We haven't talked much about the lagging attendance problem with the Gophers over the last couple seasons
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What?!? That's like every other thread.

Edit: Looks like someone beat me there.
 

gopherguy05 said:
The best part....I think he was dead serious....where do these people go for months at a time?
Click to expand...

Gee, maybe spending time with their families, going to sporting events/concerts, enjoying the spring weather, hanging out with friends, going up north, playing golf, bbq's, etc. You know, not spending ever waking second on a freakin' message board. In other words, they have a life.
 

Thank you DMB! I specifically wanted to discuss the light rail opening up and the opportunities (hopefully) TCF will reap from it.
 

johnson said:
Thank you DMB! I specifically wanted to discuss the light rail opening up and the opportunities (hopefully) TCF will reap from it.
Click to expand...

I just think it's funny when posters like you get called out for not knowing every thread that's been started on this board over the past 3 months, simply because you (and most normal sane people) don't spend 5 hours a day here. Instead of not clicking on the thread they feel the need to write a post hammering you for not knowing that this topic was brought up last Tuesday.
 

DMB123 said:
I just think it's funny when posters like you get called out for not knowing every thread that's been started on this board over the past 3 months, simply because you (and most normal sane people) don't spend 5 hours a day here. Instead of not clicking on the thread they feel the need to write a post hammering you for not knowing that this topic was brought up last Tuesday.
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Calm down.

When you start a thread with "we haven't done x in a while...." that implies that you think you know what's been going on in a while.

It would be as if I walked into a NASA meeting and said "what's up guys? We haven't talked about space in a while. What's up with the moon?" I don't think anyone was "hammering" him (really?) it's just such a factually wrong statement that it made me laugh.
 

True...Thank god you caught me Gopherprof. I was about to start a new thread about the Defensive Line this upcoming year and how they're lookin' since we haven't really discussed that either :horse:
 

johnson said:
True...Thank god you caught me Gopherprof. I was about to start a new thread about the Defensive Line this upcoming year and how they're lookin' since we haven't really discussed that either :horse:
Click to expand...
Funny you say that, because I don't see anything about that. There is WAY more discussion about things ancillary to the game than the actual game itself on the boards. That seems to be the case even during the season, where you wouldn't expect it as much.
 

Well, if anything brings fans to the stadium that's not ancillary, lets hope it comes from our strong starting D line!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

station19 said:
^This^

I don't get around as much as I used to but I can't even remember the last time I went to a convenience store, grocery store or liquor store and saw a Gopher poster, schedule or pocket size schedule. They're all there for the Vikings. It's like the Gophers don't exist.
Click to expand...

The lights are coming on.

Another example: look at the sports apparel sections of Target and similar retailers. 24 feet of Vikings shelf space, one foot for the Gophers. Gopher football is, what, the fifth? sixth? most popular sport in the state? I think we do pretty well with attendance given the hurdles.

Oh, and complaints about the Midwest's weather do not resonate. We solved that over 30 years ago but gave the solution away.

Here's one suggestion for improving outstate fan interest -- more applicable to basketball than football, but still meaningful: continue the campaign to recruit talent from outstate Minnesota high schools. We outstaters would like to see wider Minnesota participation in our teams. We're provincial.
 

Does your admissions department / alumni association / other similar campus department offer free packages with Gopher-related materials to your public school system? Many schools will do a thing where each classroom is decorated as a different university to get students thinking about going to college. Or, a Gopher alum teacher may just choose to put up some Gopher swag in the classroom.

Some universities have pre-made packages they will send out to teachers on request which contain posters, brochures, pocket schedules, and promotional items like pencils or koozies. You're making both a short- and a long-term investment. The kids may get excited about Gopher football because it's what they know best, and ask their parents to take them to a game. It's akin to taking the "buckle up" lesson the the schools instead of the parents. Kids told their parents to put on their seatbelts.

You're also making fans for the longer term, especially among the demographic that doesn't have the Gopher game on television normally.
 

station19 said:
^This^

I don't get around as much as I used to but I can't even remember the last time I went to a convenience store, grocery store or liquor store and saw a Gopher poster, schedule or pocket size schedule. They're all there for the Vikings. It's like the Gophers don't exist.
Click to expand...

FanSinceTheFifties said:
The lights are coming on.

Another example: look at the sports apparel sections of Target and similar retailers. 24 feet of Vikings shelf space, one foot for the Gophers. Gopher football is, what, the fifth? sixth? most popular sport in the state? I think we do pretty well with attendance given the hurdles.

Oh, and complaints about the Midwest's weather do not resonate. We solved that over 30 years ago but gave the solution away.

Here's one suggestion for improving outstate fan interest -- more applicable to basketball than football, but still meaningful: continue the campaign to recruit talent from outstate Minnesota high schools. We outstaters would like to see wider Minnesota participation in our teams. We're provincial.
Click to expand...

Some differences in our posts:

I can't blame Target and the other stores, the demand is for the Vikings fare not the Gophers.

It's the free(to store) promotional issues that the U is responsible for I am talking about. It's been lacking IMO.

We didn't solve the weather isssue:

It's nice if we have players from MN but you get the best players no matter where they are from.....same with the coach - I still don't believe Flip was ever offered the job.
 

WINNING will bring the fans in and fill the student section. Imagine what it would be like if it looked like we had a chance at the Rose Bowl. Syracuse\Gopher crazy type fan games every Saturday.
 

To improve attendance at TCF and to get Minnesota more behind our Golden Gophers...

Parski1 said:
WINNING will bring the fans in and fill the student section. Imagine what it would be like if it looked like we had a chance at the Rose Bowl. Syracuse\Gopher crazy type fan games every Saturday.
Click to expand...


our very own prexy K brought in his very own athletic director. That's right, prexy k's new norwood is ultimately responsible for doing what ever it will take to sell the stadium out, improve attendance in the student section and insure that the program has every element in place to be more competitive in B1G Play, to win bowl invitations, to win some bowl games and to run a completely honest, NCAA compliant football program that will graduate ever increasing numbers of football playing student athletes AND sell out every home football game as well as the complete allotment of tickets for any bowl game the Gophers may be invited to . The new norwood has accepted the challenge and now we have to sit back and watch to see how well he does with the task at hand.... Good luck to our new norwood....Just watch the attendance numbers. It really doesn't matter as much about the head-count in the stands just as long as all the tickets are bought and paid for. Seeing will be believing... Of course, it is the actual head count in the stands that either creates a home field advantage or does not create a home field advantage for our Golden Gopher Football Program! The buck stops, can never be passed and ends on the desk of our new norwood...
: 0 )
 

Purple looks like crap. Anybody that wears it has absolutely no sense of color coordination or fashion. Plus, it makes people look fat. I would equate to the fashion of people on Duck Dynasty.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
1. Win
2. More creative to get the students out ( tailgate will help)
3. Start beating Becky and the Chicken Hawks more than once in a decade ( You notice I said BOTH!)
4. Marketing. You need to sped money to make money. Our sales/marketing staff has the mideset
of doing it on a junior prom budget
5. Make " outstate " Minnesota more of a priority in recruiting new fans. ( I like the caravans ) They can afford " Gopher ticket prices " With the new Viking Stadium going in prices will rise on the season ticket holders.
6. Woody needs to work the newspapers to get equal share of coverage. 7 pages of Vikings and 1 on the Gophers is ridiculous. ( Yes, winning helps, still, Vikings arn't exactly lighting it up)
7. Don't wait until August to start single game ticket promotions ( sales and marketing)
8. Produce a 30 second spot on Gopher Football that can be seen on the local channels, not just the BTN and FSN ( sales and marketing )
9. Bring back the " yard signs " Damn I loved those! The year they had them I grabbed 25-30 and
placed them in the Brainerd/Nisswa area. " Gopher Football. A gathering storm" or something like that.
10. When is the last time you saw on a bar/saloon reader board that said: " Your home for Gopher Football" ? You see it all over for Viking football. Where there is a will there is a way.
Summary: Deep down, this State is dying to become a " Gopher State " In Ely last week at one of the local bait shops I was getting minnows and a couples of guys came in with Gopher hats on heading in to the Boundry Waters. I asked them if they were excited for the football season and the one guy said: " I'd like to be, but so much disappointment makes it hard" The other guy was buckets fan and loved the hire of Pitino. He said the last Gopher Football game he went too was the Michigan meltdown game on " Black Friday". He hadn't been to a game since ( go figure )
He said he liked Kill, but the team needs to show me they can win at a high level before I attend a game at TCF. I said: "What if they beat both Iowa and Wisconsin this year"? He said it would peak his interest in attending. BYW, both were Viking fans, but neither had season tickets because of the
expense. I would say they were in their late 30's or early 40's. Baby steps. At least they had Gopher hats on!
7.

6.
Click to expand...

The two bold parts I love ruppert. I live out in West Central MN, and there is a lot of passion for Gopher atheltics out here that goes unnoticed. I really think there is a lot of opportunity for getting people excited about Gopher Athletics, as the passion is there, it just needs to be noticed.

Personally, I LOVE the yard signs idea. I would get as many of those as possible and plant them all over the area! I hate to say it, but, being in this area, there is a decent contingent of NDSU fans in this area and they do simple marketing things like planting yard signs (or giving them to fans) to plant throughout the area. Would be great to see our beloved Gophers start doing the same thing. It is suprising what some simple marketing gimmicks can do. Just my opinion.
 

Parski1 said:
WINNING will bring the fans in and fill the student section. Imagine what it would be like if it looked like we had a chance at the Rose Bowl. Syracuse\Gopher crazy type fan games every Saturday.
Click to expand...

I'm not really sure if winning will get the U of M student body to care?

10-3 every year = yes.

8-5 very year = not so sure.
 

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