Sid Hartman: Can U get football fans back?, Coyle says people have been renewing tix

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A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
That's what you say, but you also could have seats without a donation... but you don't.

Talk is cheap and everyone is quick to say the solution is to save them money.
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See what schnauzer said. Basically what I was going to say.

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I have season tickets in a non-donation section. We really like our seats because they are in the first row of the upper deck so we have great sight lines and legroom. Plus we have a fun group of people around us. However, there have been multiple times when I've moved to other sections for part of the game either for weather (to be in the sun) , to be closer to friends or just for a change of scenery. We've never been asked to show our tickets to prove we were in the seats we paid for and nobody's ever complained. If they did, I would politely apologize and move on. No big deal.

To anybody that dropped season tickets and says they did so because a donation was added, I say buy the cheapest season ticket that will get you in the stadium. Once in and the game has started, pick an empty seat or seats wherever you want. If it isn't a game against Wisconsin, Nebraska or Iowa, you can probably sit in essentially the same seats you gave up. If somebody kick's you out, big deal. Move somewhere else or go back to your original seats. If enough people did this, the atmosphere would improve everybody wins.

Plus, if the non-donation seats were pretty much all sold and large numbers of donation seats remained unsold, maybe the U would think about removing or lowering donations. As it is now, they (and many on this forum) can just point to the fact that there are lots of non-donation seats currently available. So it can't be the donation that is keeping people away.
 

The unanswered question is whether the U of MN - whether it's Coyle or someone else - actually has a plan to increase Gopher attendance.

winning more games will help with some fans, but long-term, it has to also include ticket prices, seat donations, and game-day experience.

There is no magic bullet - no single solution or move that will suddenly have thousands of people clamoring for the chance to buy Gopher FB tickets.

it's more like the right combination of moves. but what is that winning combination? I don't know - and I suspect the big shots at MN don't know. My gut tells me they are still in the "throw something against the wall and see if it sticks" phase.
 

Schnauzer said:
People always point to the fact there are available seats without donations as if they are equal in every way except for the donation. They aren't. There is a reason why donantions were never slapped on them. They are the worst seats in the stadium. And that brings in one of the other core problems of why its getting harder to get fans to stadiums all over the place: High definition TV's and the game in general being changed to best accomodate a TV audience, over the ticket paying audience.

If I was still watching gopher football on a 19" tube TV those donation-free seats might seem okay. But for me personally if I am going to go through the trouble of going through security, waiting for the red hat man to start play, pull up my hood when it rains, etc. etc. - I am going to want to sit in decent seats. I suspect there are others like me.

Season ticket holders weren't just lost in the second deck corners, they were lost all over the stadium and the biggest reason they parted ways was because of the donations required to remain in their same seats. I'm sure some migrated to donation-less seats but I personally haven't talked to a single person who took that "opportunity." Everyone I know that dropped their seats are now watching on their flat screens.
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Just not true. I am in section 217 (corner). Excellent seats with great sight-lines right by an concourse exit and amenities. Donation stops at row eight. Straight up from stadium entrance B. Same with Sections 230-236 in the SE corner.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
The unanswered question is whether the U of MN - whether it's Coyle or someone else - actually has a plan to increase Gopher attendance.

winning more games will help with some fans, but long-term, it has to also include ticket prices, seat donations, and game-day experience.

There is no magic bullet - no single solution or move that will suddenly have thousands of people clamoring for the chance to buy Gopher FB tickets.

it's more like the right combination of moves. but what is that winning combination? I don't know - and I suspect the big shots at MN don't know. My gut tells me they are still in the "throw something against the wall and see if it sticks" phase.
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Exactly. Win's will definitely help, but thats a fairly passive way to increase attendance/revenue since its almost completely out of the Athletic Departments hands/Entirely in PJ's hands. I feel like some simple data collection and number crunching would suffice really. Contact every ST who dropped seats and hasn't com back since the price increases, ask them 2 questions: 1. What were the reasons you dropped tickets and 2. What would get you back in the stadium. With those answers, bucket the answers to Q2 into feasible (short term and long term) and infeasible. Come up with some proposals about the feasible options and start implementing. If this is all actually happening they need to communicate wayyyy better about it.
 


PMWinSTP said:
Just not true. I am in section 217 (corner). Excellent seats with great sight-lines right by an concourse exit and amenities. Donation stops at row eight. Straight up from stadium entrance B. Same with Sections 230-236 in the SE corner.
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Sight lines are fine. I am not a fan of bleachers (even with an added chair back), which is why I was in 208. And yes I have sat in those kinds of seats. A friend of mine has those and I usually go once a year with him.

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PMWinSTP said:
Just not true. I am in section 217 (corner). Excellent seats with great sight-lines right by an concourse exit and amenities. Donation stops at row eight. Straight up from stadium entrance B. Same with Sections 230-236 in the SE corner.
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I typed three paragraphs. You quoted me and said "Just not true". What exactly are you referring to? Are you saying second deck corner seats are equal in every way to 50 yard line seats? Are you saying my personal opinion of what is a good seat is "not true"? Something else?

Everyone has a different definition of what makes for a good seat and what makes for a less desirable seat. Most would agree second deck corners are less desirable. And, it is also a sliding scale. I go to one away game per year and when I do I always buy through the Gopher ticket office and sit in the area designated for visitors - which most (again) would agree are the worst in the house. But, it is a road trip and a chance to see opponent stadiums so it is totally worth it for me.

But, when purchasing season tickets, most prefer to be on the sides. In the most simple terms I can say... a lot factors in to wanting to go to a game... Is it a big game? Interesting opponent? Great seats? Is it also on TV? Is that TV big screen high def? Does it bother to deal with parking, security, the red hat, and constant advertising?

I'd rather see a game in person because all of the detracting items are not yet enough to make me stay home. I'm willing to fork over a donation, ticket prices, parking prices, get frisked, stand in line, and wait for the red hat to retreat back to the sideline to sit in the seats I am in. If the donation level on my seats went up AGAIN, I can tell you what I would do. I would cancel my tickets regardless of how many seats are available in the upper deck corner and how much you like them. That is exactly what people did in great numbers the last two times those donations were created and raised.
 





short ornery norwegian said:
The unanswered question is whether the U of MN - whether it's Coyle or someone else - actually has a plan to increase Gopher attendance.

winning more games will help with some fans, but long-term, it has to also include ticket prices, seat donations, and game-day experience.

There is no magic bullet - no single solution or move that will suddenly have thousands of people clamoring for the chance to buy Gopher FB tickets.

it's more like the right combination of moves. but what is that winning combination? I don't know - and I suspect the big shots at MN don't know. My gut tells me they are still in the "throw something against the wall and see if it sticks" phase.
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Agreed, SON. A variety of bold and creative moves are required to attain the goal of a packed stadium for home games. So far, we haven't seen many. The only things I have seen suspending the donation increases, forming a Fan Relations Board, and the slow and underwhelming rollout of the Gopher Loyalty Program.
I would be excited to see BIG changes to ticket pricing, game-day experience, and seat donations. Whatever they are currently doing isn't cutting it.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
How many still remain in the Twin Cities?
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Has to be a fairly large number of people. Even if it was only half it would be a decent number

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jonnyganas said:
Agreed, SON. A variety of bold and creative moves are required to attain the goal of a packed stadium for home games. So far, we haven't seen many. The only things I have seen suspending the donation increases, forming a Fan Relations Board, and the slow and underwhelming rollout of the Gopher Loyalty Program.
I would be excited to see BIG changes to ticket pricing, game-day experience, and seat donations. Whatever they are currently doing isn't cutting it.
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Always amazed at how Minneapolis can roll out the red carpet for a Superbowl, Final Four, All Star baseball game, and in general celebrate every vikings game, but somehow the general feel I get is that gopher games are something to be managed so as to cause as little disturbance as possible and any crowds or excitement should be kept to a minimum and dear god do not create any traffic problems 7 to 8 days a year. For example Final Four, suspend open container rules across Nicollet Mall, Gopher game - Can't get from the Alumni center across the street to the game without dumping your beer.
 

Word said:
Has to be a fairly large number of people. Even if it was only half it would be a decent number

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Half of what though?

Half of the handful of students who go to games?
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
How many still remain in the Twin Cities?
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considering there are 20,000 undergrad students on campus there are enough that will stick around. The prices were very reasonable when I was there in just a few years back. If i remember it was 110 for football and basketball combined.
 

LakerFan said:
Always amazed at how Minneapolis can roll out the red carpet for a Superbowl, Final Four, All Star baseball game, and in general celebrate every vikings game, but somehow the general feel I get is that gopher games are something to be managed so as to cause as little disturbance as possible and any crowds or excitement should be kept to a minimum and dear god do not create any traffic problems 7 to 8 days a year. For example Final Four, suspend open container rules across Nicollet Mall, Gopher game - Can't get from the Alumni center across the street to the game without dumping your beer.
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You nailed it.
 

gopherall said:
considering there are 20,000 undergrad students on campus there are enough that will stick around. The prices were very reasonable when I was there in just a few years back. If i remember it was 110 for football and basketball combined.
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20k aren't showing up at the games even for free.

I get the idea that folks seem them as future possible ticket holders but man they're not showing up as it is, and they're not showing up for free either I don't think. I think the perspective pool of remotely realistic future ticket holders is in fact quite small.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
20k aren't showing up at the games even for free.

I get the idea that folks seem them as future possible ticket holders but man they're not showing up as it is, and they're not showing up for free either I don't think. I think the perspective pool of remotely realistic future ticket holders is in fact quite small.
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What is your solution?

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Word said:
What is your solution?

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Cheaper/better parking. Tailgate tailgate tailgate we are lacking filling up lots because of the prices. Cost of drinks and food is way to much. You need to create value otherwise people will say whats the point in going when i can watch on TV if i don't find the value. Simple solution cut the prices so you can create demand then after you have positive demand you can increases prices until you hit the economic equilibrium
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
20k aren't showing up at the games even for free.

I get the idea that folks seem them as future possible ticket holders but man they're not showing up as it is, and they're not showing up for free either I don't think. I think the perspective pool of remotely realistic future ticket holders is in fact quite small.
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Don't they hand out free tickets for the first game of the season? Seems to always be the biggest student crowd of the season.
 

Word said:
At what level? What if we win 9 games and attendance still doesn't go up?

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Win more. I think we've all had conversations about what wins mean more than others and so on...
 

GophersInIowa said:
Don't they hand out free tickets for the first game of the season? Seems to always be the biggest student crowd of the season.
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I belive the freshmen who participate in an orientation type thing are directed to the game. Thus that attendance.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I belive the freshmen who participate in an orientation type thing are directed to the game. Thus that attendance.
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What I hear you saying is we should do orientation every single home game weekend?
 

For all of the reasons given that keep people away from Gopher football, none of it seems to apply to the Vikings. If Gopher football can win, and I mean really win, the entire state will get behind them.

As I stated earlier, I think Gopher Football ticket pricing will be evaluated after the upcoming season. You can't change pricing after thousands of STH have already renewed.
 

Word said:
Sight lines are fine. I am not a fan of bleachers (even with an added chair back), which is why I was in 208. And yes I have sat in those kinds of seats. A friend of mine has those and I usually go once a year with him.

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I prefer the added padded chair backs to the permanent chair backs. Having said that, there are permanent chair back ST options in Zone 5 corners for $430 which includes the donation, or $61.50 a game. To me that is pretty reasonable for a permanent seat back in the first 8 rows of the upper deck. I don't disagree that rolling back some seat sections with donations would help, it would, but there are a lot of great seats currently available without the donation.

I normally get in the stadium early and always stay to the end, bitter or glorious. I picked those seats because of the sight lines and proximity to concourse, student section and stadium access. On the rare occasion when I am running late (or tailgate too long), it still is under a minute to be in my seats from when they scan my ticket.
 

Schnauzer said:
People always point to the fact there are available seats without donations as if they are equal in every way except for the donation. They aren't. There is a reason why donantions were never slapped on them. They are the worst seats in the stadium. And that brings in one of the other core problems of why its getting harder to get fans to stadiums all over the place: High definition TV's and the game in general being changed to best accomodate a TV audience, over the ticket paying audience.

If I was still watching gopher football on a 19" tube TV those donation-free seats might seem okay. But for me personally if I am going to go through the trouble of going through security, waiting for the red hat man to start play, pull up my hood when it rains, etc. etc. - I am going to want to sit in decent seats. I suspect there are others like me.

Season ticket holders weren't just lost in the second deck corners, they were lost all over the stadium and the biggest reason they parted ways was because of the donations required to remain in their same seats. I'm sure some migrated to donation-less seats but I personally haven't talked to a single person who took that "opportunity." Everyone I know that dropped their seats are now watching on their flat screens.
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This x100. I love the Gophers but probably go to only 2 games per year. I watch every game, but most on TV. I l love the game atmosphere but it is expensive and takes a LOT of time. If Im going to go through that effort, I too want a decent seat. I also need a seat back. I’m not that old, but a bench for that long is hard on my back. If there were more seatbacks, I might consider a worse seat. And now you can’t bring your own clamp-on seats (unless that has changed). To me, that is ridiculous. Am I going to blow up the stadium with my portable seat?


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PMWinSTP said:
Just not true. I am in section 217 (corner). Excellent seats with great sight-lines right by an concourse exit and amenities. Donation stops at row eight. Straight up from stadium entrance B. Same with Sections 230-236 in the SE corner.
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Are there seatbacks in your section? My back can’t handle a bench for long.


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Word said:
At what level? What if we win 9 games and attendance still doesn't go up?

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Elevated, consistent year after year winning in the 8-10 range for the regular season will. That means averaging 5-7 conference wins every year. That means Gophs are beating Wisc, Iowa, Nebby with regularity. That means competing for consistently, and occasionally winning the West. That means occasional trips to the B1G championship game. That means top tier bowls with an occasional NYD bowl appearance. That means more butts in seats.

Just win.
 

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