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

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ruppertflywheel said:
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.
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I always look at wearers of Vikings gear as less sophisticated. Agree, Duck Dynasty or Honey BooBoo come to mind.
 


It has to be an all of the above strategy for it to work. Better marketing, larger budget. Kill and Ricco were on a bus tour around the state...did they hand out thousands of posters with autographs? Yard Signs? Calendars?

Did someone collect email addresses to stay in contact with the attendees post event with special offers and opportunities for those that attended? How may Facebook likes and twitter followers did the team pages pick up?

Marketing isn't complicated...you just do it. Pick 3-4 things and work them hard. Keep doing the things that work and swap out the ones that don't. In no time, you will have marketing that works and drives ticket sales, memorabilia sales and donations.

It has been my experience that most leaders and business owners fail to do marketing because they just don't understand how or didn't realize just how much work is required before you start seeing sustained results. Everyone loves advertising because it is instant return...but it is expensive and risky. Marketing is long term but is less risky and offers long term sustainable results. But only for those that want to do the work!
 

Why are there signs on every single city bus for the Vikings, Twins, Wild and not a SINGLE Gopher Sports/Gopher Football ad? Come on marketing get it together.
 

IF you think the Gophers can spend with the vikqueen, t-pukers, twinkies and the nhl club you are sadly mistaken. Which one of those pro teams should they try to compete with in advertising? They go head to head with virturally all of them. The mlb, nfl, nhl and nba virtually all have some sort of game time conflicts with the Gopher's Football Program...ESPECIALLY when and if the Gophers get invited to a bowl game.

That 1961 disaster that brought the twins and the vikqueen to Minnesota was a time I can't forget. It meant nothing was ever going to be quite the same again for my Golden Gopher Football Program.

So, it's going to be kind of hard to stomach when the vikqueen come into TCF BANK STADIUM...

The mlb, nba, nhl and nfl owners and franchises will out-advertise the Gophers both collectively and as individual money-machines. But, the Gophers have Game Day Saturday IF the administrators at the U ever get their heads on straight...Game Day Saturday can totally trump anything the pros can do for the few...the brave...the discriminating college football fans who would never miss a Golden Gopher Football Game.

I wouldn't walk across the street to watch the twinks...the vikqueen...the t-pukers or the "i'm not wild about the nhl puck-team.
Especially when I can watch Golden Gopher Football!
; 0 )
 


If only we could schedule Nebraska at home every year.....
 


1) win ALOT!
2) get the Vikings to leave.
 

Is there a mechanism in place for season ticket holders unable to attend a particular game to donate them to a veteran/active duty military or perhaps to some other worthy person? That would at least make sure there were butts in the seats that were already paid for, and hopefully these individuals would be good seat neighbors to the surrounding season ticket holders as opposed to some random person who bought them on Craigslist.
 



up north on game it is very hard to find a station that carries the game on the radio.
 

TexasAggie11 said:
Is there a mechanism in place for season ticket holders unable to attend a particular game to donate them to a veteran/active duty military or perhaps to some other worthy person? That would at least make sure there were butts in the seats that were already paid for, and hopefully these individuals would be good seat neighbors to the surrounding season ticket holders as opposed to some random person who bought them on Craigslist.
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This link is stickied in the Gopher Ticket Exchange forum. It's Tix For Tots, and I hope they get a lot of donations.

And after checking that link, I'll help you find a place to stay when you move up here as director of tailgating operations. I'll drive you up here, I get as close as Nacogdoches once or twice a year.
 

Unregistered User said:
This link is stickied in the Gopher Ticket Exchange forum. It's Tix For Tots, and I hope they get a lot of donations.

And after checking that link, I'll help you find a place to stay when you move up here as director of tailgating operations. I'll drive you up here, I get as close as Nacogdoches once or twice a year.
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Awkward - Run like h@ll from this guy Aggie!
 

Typical Gopher fan attitude - someone starts a thread looking for ideas about how to better ourselves, and the majority of thread consists of a bunch of babies whining about weakening/eliminating the competition (replete with the requisite misogyny!) rather than actually offering solutions to improve.
 



Unregistered User said:
I'll help you find a place to stay when you move up here as director of tailgating operations. I'll drive you up here, I get as close as Nacogdoches once or twice a year.
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Unfortunately, I'm busy most Saturdays in the fall. ;)
 

dpodoll68 said:
Typical Gopher fan attitude - someone starts a thread looking for ideas about how to better ourselves, and the majority of thread consists of a bunch of babies whining about weakening/eliminating the competition (replete with the requisite misogyny!) rather than actually offering solutions to improve.
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+1
 

we've had this discussion/argument before about the Vikes vs. the Gophers. Call me naive, but I think there's room for the two teams to coexist. I really don't think there's that much overlap between the two fan bases. The Vikes fans tend to skew a little younger and rowdier. I think there's an opportunity to attract fans who want to watch the game without dealing with drunks all around. As others have said, a good marketing campaign should be able to generate more interest in the Gophers - but the Gophs have to back it up with on-the-field performance.

Bottom line - people want to have a good time and support a winning team. If the Gophs can figure out a way to improve the game-day atmosphere, and win some games, there's no reason why they can't fill a 50,000 seat stadium, especially for conference games. I would like to see the U really go after the family market - stress the generational aspect - grampa and dad passing down the Gopher tradition to the kids - and a more family-friendly atmosphere - (hey, come to a Gopher game and you don't have to worry about a dunken idiot puking on you in the 3rd quarter.....)
 

I grew up less than two miles from TCF (in Prospect Park) and now live in Iowa and have ISU Cyclones season tickets. We drive an hour each way to football games and tailgate every time. I know MSP and Iowa are two different markets but in terms of "competition" there are two D1 teams in Iowa and only 1 in MN. In that regard there is the same competition for corporate sponsors and ticket sales in Iowa among two teams and the two football teams in MN. Something that always annoyed me about tailgating in MN was the setup. I have included an aerial comparison of the area where you can drink legally at Jack Trice stadium and the same area superimposed (how fancy can you get in Paint?) near TCF. The areas in yellow are completely filled up with people, too. One estimate I heard was in addition to the 56k in the stadium there are another 30k tailgating during the game. That speaks volumes to me about what the decision-makers value on game days. The easier you make it for fans to have fun the more will show up.

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Look at the direction of the Gophers and Cyclones on a national level. ISU is finally going up and it tooks decades to get there. But a local coach, buy-in from the community, and a few more Ws on the board get it going. ISU expects sellouts in it's first four home games (FCS, Iowa, Tula, Texas) and I know would sell out TCF every game if they played there. It's such a waste of a beautiful facility.
 

cyclones13 said:
I grew up less than two miles from TCF (in Prospect Park) and now live in Iowa and have ISU Cyclones season tickets. We drive an hour each way to football games and tailgate every time. I know MSP and Iowa are two different markets but in terms of "competition" there are two D1 teams in Iowa and only 1 in MN. In that regard there is the same competition for corporate sponsors and ticket sales in Iowa among two teams and the two football teams in MN. Something that always annoyed me about tailgating in MN was the setup. I have included an aerial comparison of the area where you can drink legally at Jack Trice stadium and the same area superimposed (how fancy can you get in Paint?) near TCF. The areas in yellow are completely filled up with people, too. One estimate I heard was in addition to the 56k in the stadium there are another 30k tailgating during the game. That speaks volumes to me about what the decision-makers value on game days. The easier you make it for fans to have fun the more will show up.

Look at the direction of the Gophers and Cyclones on a national level. ISU is finally going up and it tooks decades to get there. But a local coach, buy-in from the community, and a few more Ws on the board get it going. ISU expects sellouts in it's first four home games (FCS, Iowa, Tula, Texas) and I know would sell out TCF every game if they played there. It's such a waste of a beautiful facility.
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Look at the land use in those photos. Much less available space for large open tailgating lots at TCF since we have to actually have buildings here.
 

Ski U Master said:
Look at the land use in those photos. Much less available space for large open tailgating lots at TCF since we have to actually have buildings here.
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That picture and your response should be posted every time we have a tailgating thread. At least we'd have a good starting point.
 

cyclones13 said:
I grew up less than two miles from TCF (in Prospect Park) and now live in Iowa and have ISU Cyclones season tickets. We drive an hour each way to football games and tailgate every time. I know MSP and Iowa are two different markets but in terms of "competition" there are two D1 teams in Iowa and only 1 in MN. In that regard there is the same competition for corporate sponsors and ticket sales in Iowa among two teams and the two football teams in MN. Something that always annoyed me about tailgating in MN was the setup. I have included an aerial comparison of the area where you can drink legally at Jack Trice stadium and the same area superimposed (how fancy can you get in Paint?) near TCF. The areas in yellow are completely filled up with people, too. One estimate I heard was in addition to the 56k in the stadium there are another 30k tailgating during the game. That speaks volumes to me about what the decision-makers value on game days. The easier you make it for fans to have fun the more will show up.

Look at the direction of the Gophers and Cyclones on a national level. ISU is finally going up and it tooks decades to get there. But a local coach, buy-in from the community, and a few more Ws on the board get it going. ISU expects sellouts in it's first four home games (FCS, Iowa, Tula, Texas) and I know would sell out TCF every game if they played there. It's such a waste of a beautiful facility.
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LOL Troll....you can't even compare the areas around the two stadiums. ISU sell out TCF.....Just totally asinine!
 

cyclones13 said:
Look at the direction of the Gophers and Cyclones on a national level. ISU is finally going up and it tooks decades to get there.
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No matter how many times Iowa State fans say this it doesn't make it any more true. 3-6 in the Big 12 is "there"? Even Gophers fans have higher expectations. Seriously, you are 6-7 in the last two seasons? I realize the depths of *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# that you're coming from, but how can anyone come to another board and brag about that?

But a local coach, buy-in from the community, and a few more Ws on the board get it going. ISU expects sellouts in it's first four home games (FCS, Iowa, Tula, Texas) and I know would sell out TCF every game if they played there.
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It doesn't hurt having nothing else to do.
 

Gopherprof said:
No matter how many times Iowa State fans say this it doesn't make it any more true. 3-6 in the Big 12 is "there"? Even Gophers fans have higher expectations. Seriously, you are 6-7 in the last two seasons? I realize the depths of *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# that you're coming from, but how can anyone come to another board and brag about that?


It doesn't hurt having nothing else to do.
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I think you guys must misinterpreted what I meant. The Gophers are my second favorite teams; I want them to win and succeed. I became a Cyclones fan because of geographic proximity to where I am now. I spent 25 years in MSP following the Gophers and wish them nothing but the best. It wasn't about which school or team is better, simply a comparison of each program since A) I know both programs fairly well, and B) ISU is the closest D1 school to the Gophers. The area around Jack Trice stadium is in a flood plain, that's why no structures have been built there. I think it happened by accident - but the result is a huge, huge advantage for tailgating at ISU. I've been to 13 D1 stadiums and can say without a doubt Jack Trice takes the cake for "community" and "openness" and general tailgating attitude. Until you've been down there you shouldn't criticize it.

And I don't really agree that the Vikes need to compete with the Gophers. They are two different teams in two different environments. You say Iowa can support two teams because there is nothing else to do - but on Saturday game days 4.2% of the entire state is watching football at the same time. The Vikes and Gophers don't even play on the same days so it's sad (and remember I'm a fan) when they can't sell out their stadium. And yes, I was serious that ISU would sell it out every game - ISU averages more fans per game than seats in TCF, so the simple math would tell us it would sell out. (ISU 55k/game TCF 50k seats)
 

Cyclones13 isn't BS'ing about the tailgating scene at ISU. I have partied there several times in the late 90's and their tailgate is legit, a huge party around the stadium. It was so much fun I didn't care at all about going into the game.
 

cyclones13 said:
I think you guys must misinterpreted what I meant. The Gophers are my second favorite teams; I want them to win and succeed. I became a Cyclones fan because of geographic proximity to where I am now. I spent 25 years in MSP following the Gophers and wish them nothing but the best. It wasn't about which school or team is better, simply a comparison of each program since A) I know both programs fairly well, and B) ISU is the closest D1 school to the Gophers. The area around Jack Trice stadium is in a flood plain, that's why no structures have been built there. I think it happened by accident - but the result is a huge, huge advantage for tailgating at ISU. I've been to 13 D1 stadiums and can say without a doubt Jack Trice takes the cake for "community" and "openness" and general tailgating attitude. Until you've been down there you shouldn't criticize it.

And I don't really agree that the Vikes need to compete with the Gophers. They are two different teams in two different environments. You say Iowa can support two teams because there is nothing else to do - but on Saturday game days 4.2% of the entire state is watching football at the same time. The Vikes and Gophers don't even play on the same days so it's sad (and remember I'm a fan) when they can't sell out their stadium. And yes, I was serious that ISU would sell it out every game - ISU averages more fans per game than seats in TCF, so the simple math would tell us it would sell out. (ISU 55k/game TCF 50k seats)
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The Vikings and Gophers compete(in the same state/city) for butts in the stands, media and fan attention, merchandise sales etc...100% fact. If people want to debate how much they compete, fine. To say they don't compete would be blindly illogical.
 

station19 said:
The Vikings and Gophers compete(in the same state/city) for butts in the stands, media and fan attention, merchandise sales etc...100% fact. If people want to debate how much they compete, fine. To say they don't compete would be blindly illogical.
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There are 3.5 million people within a hour's drive of downtown MPLS. When I lived there I would rarely go to Vikings games because the atmosphere sucked compared to college football. I'm not the only one that preferred one or the other. Are you telling me the state of MN can't manage to bring 110,000 people downtown on a game day weekend (two days) yet Iowa, with less than half the population, can manage to fill up both stadiums on the same day? I really, honestly, believe that if you put a winning team together that sorts itself out. Someone said there isn't anything to do in Iowa and that's why the Cyclones fill up their stadium. Hate to tell you but 10 years ago there were 15k less people at every game. For some reason those 15k people came out of the woodwork (were doing something else) but suddenly showed up when the team started winning. And yes, 6-7 isn't winning, but it's much better than 95% of our history.
 

cyclones13 said:
I have included an aerial comparison of the area where you can drink legally at Jack Trice stadium and the same area superimposed (how fancy can you get in Paint?) near TCF.
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I don't know that it's fair to make that sort of direct comparison when 75% of the space you have outlined is used for vehicle storage or is not suitable for actual tailgates. As I suggested in the tailgate thread here, the presence of vehicles is the antithesis of a vibrant gameday scene. For comparison purposes, see the Grove at Ole Miss, where the site is 10 acres, but hosts 25,000 people.

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I know that Iowa State has a great tradition of tailgating, but it is not correct to assume that every acre of the site highlighted above is used for that purpose. For comparison, I have included Texas A&M and Alabama with the areas (to the best of my knowledge and recollection) that there are actual RVs, trailers, or proper tailgate tents set up as compared to the Iowa State "permitted tailgate zone." I could have included much larger areas had I included parking spaces where people either leave their cars or have a small grill and two lawn chairs, but I only did "real" tailgates.

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From this image, it appears that the grassy area immediately to the west of the stadium is some sort of a slope, and would not really be a great place to set up a tent. You also see wide swaths of the parking lot with cars, but no real tailgates going.

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I believe the answer is not to have an expansive area for tailgating, but rather a small, presigious tailgate destination free of vehicles like the Grove (Ole Miss), the Quad (Bama), or Spence Park (Texas A&M). Not to mention that Minnesota has about five distinct bar/nightlife areas immediately adjacent to their campus (stadium village, dinkytown, seven corners, etc.) where you can pregame (not to mention the campus itself, including dorms and Coffman). The area you highlighted includes Stub & Herbs and probably a dozen other bars. Jack Trice is a hike from the main part of campus and downtown, making tailgating the only real option for pregame food/drinks.
 

Here's one more tailgate map that the Gophers might appreciate... Texas Tech:

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Eight month payment plan for a $129 ticket. Surprised there's no layaway option.
 

I know our tickets are only $350 but that does not include the required donation. Does that $129 include the athletic dept donation? Maybe it's $5,000 plus the $129. But if not, wow!
 

cyclones13 said:
I know our tickets are only $350 but that does not include the required donation. Does that $129 include the athletic dept donation? Maybe it's $5,000 plus the $129. But if not, wow!
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$129 total out the door, tax, title, and license price. Although, on their ticket purchase system I only see the $149 (total) option, so perhaps they already sold out the $129 section.

The $149 tickets are ~40 yard line seats with a pretty decent view of the field. Of course, look at their home schedule above (no offense, Iowa State), and you'll see why.

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I think giving businesses free Gopher banners to hang and free window decorations would be a great investment. It wouldn't cost the U too much, and bars that took advantage of it would be able to draw in Gopher fans. A Gopher banner on a bar would send me a message that this is a place where it's not going to be a bother to get them to put the Gophers game on.

I also think that distributing schedules to interested businesses would be a good investment. Put the little box right next to the Twins and Vikings schedules.
 

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