STrib: Gophers men's basketball on pace for lowest attendance in five decades; average tickets scanned is 3,313

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Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
You are not bright. Like not even just a little bit. You are flat out wrong in this case.
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I enjoyed the outdoors this weekend. So, I am not flat out wrong. Therefore, your assessment is the dull bulb in this scenario.
 






bga1 said:
How are we doing?
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Well we're playing 3 freshmen a lot, and we have better recruits on the way. So IMO our rebuild is on track. It's at least worth giving it a try.

And no, this woe-is-me! about destroying our future generations of fans is NOT true. They'll show up as soon as we start winning.
 

MennoSota said:
I enjoyed the outdoors this weekend. So, I am not flat out wrong. Therefore, your assessment is the dull bulb in this scenario.
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Please tell us all about this "increased ticket prices" phenomenon that is chasing everyone away, considering tickets haven't been this cheap in YEARS, because the product on the floor has been so shitty last year and this year?

A quick look at Ticketmaster for the home game against Indiana in a few weeks show tickets all over the place for $20. So tell us about these sky-high prices that keeping people away
 


Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Please tell us all about this "increased ticket prices" phenomenon that is chasing everyone away, considering tickets haven't been this cheap in YEARS, because the product on the floor has been so shitty last year and this year?

A quick look at Ticketmaster for the home game against Indiana in a few weeks show tickets all over the place for $20. So tell us about these sky-high prices that keeping people away
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Try the lower deck, center court.
It's the same with hockey tickets between the blue lines. Unless it's a special series, Mariucci is less than half full.

I also added that it's nice for me to turn on a TV, pop open a cold beer, and watch the game for much less than driving to Williams, paying for parking, buying some concessions and sitting in a seat where I cannot stop the action, rewind and review what just happened.
With the TV revenue the schools are getting, do they really care about actual attendance?
 



MennoSota said:
Try the lower deck, center court.
It's the same with hockey tickets between the blue lines. Unless it's a special series, Mariucci is less than half full.

I also added that it's nice for me to turn on a TV, pop open a cold beer, and watch the game for much less than driving to Williams, paying for parking, buying some concessions and sitting in a seat where I cannot stop the action, rewind and review what just happened.
With the TV revenue the schools are getting, do they really care about actual attendance?
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There are broad attendance issues for all sports and Gopher basketball issues. The combination leaves what we see now. They do need a new arena and improved game day experience. And the capacity of said arena should be 10K max.

One thing they can/should do immediately is make student tickets free. First come, first in.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Please tell us all about this "increased ticket prices" phenomenon that is chasing everyone away, considering tickets haven't been this cheap in YEARS, because the product on the floor has been so shitty last year and this year?

A quick look at Ticketmaster for the home game against Indiana in a few weeks show tickets all over the place for $20. So tell us about these sky-high prices that keeping people away
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Seems weird to use third party tickets to support your argument. All the price of third part tickets tells you is what people have to drop the price to get get rid of them.

If it's lower than what the U charges, then there's your issue.
 

I've posted this general sentiment before, and it's worth repeating occasionally, especially when the subject of attendance comes up. It's understood that, as I and others have noted, the world has changed, attendance is down everywhere, and people are generally less inclined to go out these days. It's also understood that the program has experienced a chronic, generational decline in interest and relevance in the community. For both of these reasons, past experience won't necessarily apply anymore.

That said, past experience does tell us that winning matters, and attendance has come back rapidly when the team has recovered from down years. Data on actual butts in the seats (as opposed to paid attendance) isn't easy to find, but you can glean some things from the official ticket sales. The most prominent example is the Gophers' success in the early 80's (conference title in '82) followed by the Madison scandal, Clem's teams' struggles in his first two years, and the rebound of Sweet Sixteen and Final 8 in his 3rd and 4th seasons respectively.

I came to the Twin Cities campus (from Morris) in 1986, Clem's first season. Actual attendance was way down. Haskins famously stood in the lobby of the Bierman building handing out free tickets to anyone who'd take them, trying to get butts in the seats and re-establish a home-court advantage. My roommate grabbed a couple, and we attended the Indiana game. There were only a few thousand people there (much like you see today, if not worse), and we schlepped our way well down the first level. A dark cloud remained over the program because of Madison, and I remember there being little energy in the building, although my recollection could be off. It was a low point, though.

Three years later, the building was nearly full, the team was ranked in the top 25 on their way to a 6-seed in the NCAAs. That was before we bought season tickets, so I had nothing to compare it to, but we attended Senior Day (Michigan State), and I don't know if I ever experienced anything that loud in my life up to that point, and I'd been to rock concerts. Within a couple years after that, season tickets were all sold, and there was a waiting list.

Some of that was a matter of ticket holders coming back to games again after the scandal and the swoon of Clem's first couple years. But much of it was new ticket buyers, and it was because the winning and excitement had returned. The team and their style of play were exciting, and you knew they were going to have a chance to win in every home game, no matter the opponent. That's a saleable product.

It's amazing what winning will do to attendance. Not that there will ever be a waiting list again with how the world of sports has changed, but it will bounce back suddenly and steeply once the program is in better health, I guarantee it. People in this town are hungry for a winner, and college basketball is one of the best sports products in the world.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Some of that was a matter of ticket holders coming back to games again after the scandal and the swoon of Clem's first couple years. But much of it was new ticket buyers, and it was because the winning and excitement had returned. The team and their style of play were exciting, and you knew they were going to have a chance to win in every home game, no matter the opponent. That's a saleable product.
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Very, very well said!

This paragraph was what struck a chord with me in particular. Winning helps, no doubt, and it's arguable the most important thing. But to me there was a lot more to it when Clem ruled the Barn was beloved by the fan base. It WAS the style of play, how hard they played, the blue-collar work ethic. There was plenty of losing in the Clem years, but the Barn was still packed; they were OUR Gophers and Clem was OUR coach.

Sorry, I just don't believe that the Barn can't be filled again. Will it happen with this staff? So far we haven't seen a lot to be optimistic, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
 



How was the attendance last night? From the tv it looked terrible. Upper deck looked empty and the lower bowl maybe 50% full (hard to tell on tv).

I would’ve thought that this is a game where attendance would be high.
- high quality opponent
-good tip time (since it’s a national holiday)
- weather wasn’t that bad since it was warm enough for the roads to not be ice
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
How was the attendance last night? From the tv it looked terrible. Upper deck looked empty and the lower bowl maybe 50% full (hard to tell on tv).

I would’ve thought that this is a game where attendance would be high.
- high quality opponent
-good tip time (since it’s a national holiday)
- weather wasn’t that bad since it was warm enough for the roads to not be ice
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Guessing 6-7k in the building
 

MennoSota said:
I also added that it's nice for me to turn on a TV, pop open a cold beer, and watch the game for much less than driving to Williams, paying for parking, buying some concessions and sitting in a seat where I cannot stop the action, rewind and review what just happened.
With the TV revenue the schools are getting, do they really care about actual attendance?
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A beautiful blueprint for away games.
 



I saw that ISU is ranked number 5. Did that coach not want come to MN to coach?
 



Spaulding!No! said:
I saw that ISU is ranked number 5. Did that coach not want come to MN to coach?
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Iowa State is ranked #12. They just beat #5.

That coach was a former assistant at ISU under Hoiberg and that deal was in the works for awhile.

That said, as a second-year coach, he is getting it done and then some.
 





The otzelberger guy seems like someone a Midwest AD would be all over. This stuff doesn’t make any sense. Mark Few.2
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I don't think it's any one reason.

It's a combination of factors:
cost of tickets and 'seat donations'
perceived poor non-conference schedules
game times and dates changing (not like old days with more predictable scheduling)
the team's performance is certainly a factor
perceived issues with parking and getting to games on campus
fans staying at home to watch games on big-screen TV's

and this is a trend that has been developing over the last 8 years. it didn't start yesterday.

from the Strib article;

The last time the Gophers' average attendance topped 12,000 for a season was 2014-15. The next year, the Gophers went 8-22 under then-coach Richard Pitino, and their attendance hasn't recovered.

With fans allowed back last season, and Johnson in his first year as head coach, the Gophers created buzz with a 10-1 start, including 5-0 at home. Their average announced attendance for the season increased to 10,267 even though they unraveled and finished last in the Big Ten.
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It is almost like success, winning and a decent product directly correlates to fan attendance. :)
 


CentralGopher said:
No issue? This is 100% false. I know people that have had their cars broken into during games among other things.
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I don't know of a single person who has had their car broken into at any Gopher event. But I know people who have had their car broken into at church in the "safe" suburbs. In almost all of the cases, the vehicles were left unlocked and/or something of value was out in plain sight - the #1 reason it happens.
 

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