Yahoo's Pat Forde: Even Good Teams Can't Fill Seats

[BleedGopher]

per Forde's 40 Yard Dash:

EVEN GOOD TEAMS CAN’T FILL SEATS

Empty seats are a modern college football reality, as teams compete with the enhanced home-viewing experience to keep fans coming to games. Five teams having great seasons but still trying everything they can to get butts in seats:

Oklahoma State (11). The record: 10-0. The attendance: zero sellouts to date in 60,218-seat Boone Pickens Stadium. Average attendance so far is 57,352 – and that’s after the school implemented a buy-one, get-one-free offer for marquee home games against TCU on Nov. 7 and Baylor on Saturday. And this wasn’t just an offer to fill the cheap seats in the corners – this was an offer to fill vacant seats in very good sideline sections, according to NewsOK.com. When a school with an undefeated team goes BOGO to pack the house against top-10 competition, that’s an eye opener.

Iowa (12). The record: 10-0, for the first time in school history. The attendance: one sellout in six games at 70,585-seat Kinnick Stadium, that one for the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry battle with Minnesota last Saturday. Average attendance to date is 63,179, or 90 percent of capacity. Part of that can be traced to a lackluster home schedule – Iowa State and Wisconsin were on the road, and the Big Ten East powers are not on the slate at all. But still, it’s not like Iowa is going undefeated with regularity. The home finale is Saturday against Purdue, and tickets are still available. Athletic director Gary Barta emailed Iowa fans Sunday urging them to buy tickets and show up for that game.

North Carolina (13). The record: 9-1. The attendance: no sellouts in seven home games at 63,000-seat Kenan Stadium, and only the last two home games came close – if you believe the athletic department figures. Carolina magically draws round-number crowds: 61,000 for Miami, 60,000 for Duke, 52,000 for Virginia, 50,500 for Wake Forest, 39,000 for Delaware, 41,000 for Illinois and 44,000 for North Carolina A&T. If the fans are saving their time and money for basketball season, they’ve missed a really good show.

Houston (14). The record: 10-0. The attendance: after pleading, cajoling and bullying from first-year coach Tom Herman, the fans finally packed 40,000-seat TDECU Stadium (and then some) last Saturday for Memphis. The Cougars drew an above-capacity crowd of 42,159, after only coming within 5,000 of capacity once in the previous five home games. “It was awesome,” Herman said. “It was finally a home-field advantage. I think Memphis had four false-start penalties. [The fans] were a direct factor in us winning the game.”

Florida (15). The record: 9-1. The attendance: The Gators have only failed to top their listed capacity of 88,548 once this year, when East Carolina visited early in the season. But that doesn’t mean the fans have been punctual – particularly the students, and particularly for noon ET kickoffs. Before Florida played Vanderbilt on Nov. 7, coach Jim McElwain lobbied the students to show up on time: "I’m going to challenge the crowd now. The Swamp has been electric, and it’s been awesome, but let’s make sure [they] stumble on into that stadium and be ready for when we’re hustling out of the tunnel. We need all the support we can get.” There were plenty of empty seats at the beginning of a game the Gators nearly slept through before pulling out a 9-7 victory. This week’s game against Florida Atlantic: noon ET kickoff.

Herman said it’s up to the schools to not only play well, but to provide a full game-day experience to attract fans.

“We’ve got to give them a really good product,” he said. “Game days have to be an event. The experience of going to a University of Houston game has to be far better than what you experience on the couch.”

The couch experience is pretty sweet these days. But if too many fans stay on the couch to watch their teams win on TV, they may not be watching them win. They may be watching losses, in part due to a lack of home-field advantage brought on by a raucous capacity crowd.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/forde-...true-separation-saturday-083715192-ncaaf.html

Go Gophers!!

 

[MNVCGUY]

Interesting to see that even some teams having great years are struggling to pack the house. I know before the year there were a lot of stories about Iowa really struggling to sell tickets.

This isn't a problem unique to college football. Pro and college sports are finding it harder and harder to fill stadiums because the average family has a really hard time being able to afford to go to a game anymore. By the time you add up the cost of the tickets, parking, and any food/drink you might buy the final price tag can be through the roof. All that gets weighed against the comfort of staying at home and viewing the game in HD on a big screen. I think most fans would prefer to see the game in person if possible but the unfortunate reality is that it just isn't realistic for a lot of families with limited dollars to spend on entertainment.

 

[LesBolstad]

A likely 2-6 conference record, AD scandal, and popular coach resignation do not bode well for next season's ticket price gouge. Really needs to be a serious discussion on suspending the huge increase. My per seat cost goes over $1,000.

 

[GVBadger]

The TV money is far more important now to the conferences than the stadium revenue, for most of the schools. It is the same in most professional sports. 5000-10000 empty seats, especially bad seats in larger stadiums are a drop in the bucket revenue wise. The revenue is made in suites, premium tickets and yearly license fees.

If the TV rights bubble ever bursts, that is when the real problem will develop.

 

[Gophers09]

The TV money is far more important now to the conferences than the stadium revenue, for most of the schools. It is the same in most professional sports. 5000-10000 empty seats, especially bad seats in larger stadiums are a drop in the bucket revenue wise. The revenue is made in suites, premium tickets and yearly license fees.

If the TV rights bubble ever bursts, that is when the real problem will develop.

You're right that the TV revenue is what's become important. Given that, I wonder if the time is nearing that teams start to curtail the increases on ticket prices in an effort to keep attendance up (given that TV is the primary revenue driver anyway).

 

[The Lorax]

You're right that the TV revenue is what's become important. Given that, I wonder if the time is nearing that teams start to curtail the increases on ticket prices in an effort to keep attendance up (given that TV is the primary revenue driver anyway).

I've been wondering this as well. The marginal gains from increasing single game ticket prices seem negligible to suites, season tickets, and TV money. Not to mention dropping prices (if marketed well) would go a loooong way with the fanbase.

 

[vinko bogataj]

A likely 2-6 conference record, AD scandal, and popular coach resignation do not bode well for next season's ticket price gouge. Really needs to be a serious discussion on suspending the huge increase. My per seat cost goes over $1,000.

Will be interesting to see what happens. I suspect there will be no roll backs so the real question is does attendance suffer? My cost of attendance will jump pretty good.

In 2014:

Seats: $330.00 x 4 = $1320.00
Parking Pass: $165.00
Req'd Donation for parking: $1000.00
Total: $2485.00 or $355.00 per game.
Seat per game avg: $88.75

In 2017 for same seats:

Seats: $330.00 x 4 = $1320.00
Req'd Seat Donation: $500.00 x 4 = $2000.00
Parking Pass: $165.00
No parking donation req'd with transfer to seat donations.
Total: $3485.00 or $497.00 per game.
Seat per game avg: $125.00

Compared with the rest of the B1G, for the same seat location (I am in Sect 137), only Nebraska (by a lot) and Michigan (by a little) will have a higher price. Price on par with tOSU and higher than the rest including Iowa ($395 per ticket plus a $50 donation per seat) and Wisconsin ($336 per ticket plus a $100 donation per seat). Parking was similar or slightly higher elsewhere in the B1G. I will be renewing, but I realize that I am paying way more than I should for my seats in comparison to rival programs and based on the on field results.

 

[dpodoll68]

Will be interesting to see what happens. I suspect there will be no roll backs so the real question is does attendance suffer? My cost of attendance will jump pretty good.

In 2014:

Seats: $330.00 x 4 = $1320.00
Parking Pass: $165.00
Req'd Donation for parking: $1000.00
Total: $2485.00 or $355.00 per game.
Seat per game avg: $88.75

In 2017 for same seats:

Seats: $330.00 x 4 = $1320.00
Req'd Seat Donation: $500.00 x 4 = $2000.00
Parking Pass: $165.00
No parking donation req'd with transfer to seat donations.
Total: $3485.00 or $497.00 per game.
Seat per game avg: $125.00

Compared with the rest of the B1G, for the same seat location (I am in Sect 137), only Nebraska (by a lot) and Michigan (by a little) will have a higher price. Price on par with tOSU and higher than the rest including Iowa ($395 per ticket plus a $50 donation per seat) and Wisconsin ($336 per ticket plus a $100 donation per seat). Parking was similar or slightly higher elsewhere in the B1G. I will be renewing, but I realize that I am paying way more than I should for my seats in comparison to rival programs and based on the on field results.

You're not paying that much for your seats - you're paying way too much for parking. Did you know that you can park in the East River Flats for $10/game? That's much cheaper than than the hundreds of dollars you're paying now.

 

[Ski U Mah 55]

You're not paying that much for your seats - you're paying way too much for parking. Did you know that you can park in the East River Flats for $10/game? That's much cheaper than than the hundreds of dollars you're paying now.

Since the donation is attached to the seats next year, he will only be paying $95 more for parking than if he was at the River Flats (Parking pass at $165 - 7 games at Flats $70). Comes out to roughly $13.60 more per game for the parking pass and I'm guessing he's a lot closer to the stadium.

 

[MNGoldenGophers1]

If we consistently win big, we’ll probably do okay selling tickets. However if we plateau at 8-wins intermixed with six/seven win seasons, there will most likely be a lot of empty seats. God forbid but if 5 to 7-win seasons become the norm, TCF will be a ghost town on most Saturdays.

I quit paying on two of four seats this season and plan to drop the other two after the 2017 season. Unless I have a change of heart, I’ll start scalping tickets in 2018. In addition to saving a lot of money, I’ll attend preferred games based on the opponent, game time, weather, conflicting activities, etc.

I’m not sure how good of an option TV will be for me in the future? I plan to drop cable next year and rely on something like sling or apple tv for what little tv I currently watch. Unless ESPN and the B1G networks become more accessible somehow, I suspect I won’t see a lot of games.

Regarding TV revenues for college football, I’m convinced the bubble is already starting to lose air (ESPN layoffs will gut the network’s production staff: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...yoffs-will-gut-the-networks-production-staff/). There are a lot of people like me who are dropping CONCAST and other expensive tv/internet/phone service providers. ESPN and B1G networks survive mainly because of those who bundle and subsidize these expensive networks.

Even if higher ticket prices with less fans brings in more revenues in the short term, the long term consequences of shrinking fan bases will catch up with most programs. This will be even more damaging if there is a reduction in tv viewership and resulting reductions in revenues for football programs. I think higher ticket prices and costly tv sport networks will prove to be a deadly combination in killing off college football fan bases.

 

[LesBolstad]

If we consistently win big, we’ll probably do okay selling tickets. However if we plateau at 8-wins intermixed with six/seven win seasons, there will most likely be a lot of empty seats. God forbid but if 5 to 7-win seasons become the norm, TCF will be a ghost town on most Saturdays.

I quit paying on two of four seats this season and plan to drop the other two after the 2017 season. Unless I have a change of heart, I’ll start scalping tickets in 2018. In addition to saving a lot of money, I’ll attend preferred games based on the opponent, game time, weather, conflicting activities, etc.

I’m not sure how good of an option TV will be for me in the future? I plan to drop cable next year and rely on something like sling or apple tv for what little tv I currently watch. Unless ESPN and the B1G networks become more accessible somehow, I suspect I won’t see a lot of games.

Regarding TV revenues for college football, I’m convinced the bubble is already starting to lose air (ESPN layoffs will gut the network’s production staff: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...yoffs-will-gut-the-networks-production-staff/). There are a lot of people like me who are dropping CONCAST and other expensive tv/internet/phone service providers. ESPN and B1G networks survive mainly because of those who bundle and subsidize these expensive networks.

Even if higher ticket prices with less fans brings in more revenues in the short term, the long term consequences of shrinking fan bases will catch up with most programs. This will be even more damaging if there is a reduction in tv viewership and resulting reductions in revenues for football programs. I think higher ticket prices and costly tv sport networks will prove to be a deadly combination in killing off college football fan bases.

Well said. Agree 100%. And you'll see an even greater in the disparity between the "haves" and "have nots".

 

[JZsportswhiz]

I think it is a reasonable problem. I love standing in the student section, I go to every game, tix are affordable and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. That being said, I don't think I will be attending games regularly next season after I graduate. Some of that has to do where I live, but I'd rather go to away games and check out new stadiums. The atmosphere outside of the student section isn't as exciting and I don't see myself wanting to pay significantly more in a section that is less fun.

Now I guess I'll still have my Ucard and all that stuff, so the student section may remain in play, but I understand why attendance is becoming an issue. Especially at these stadiums with 80,000+. This is just going to keep being an issue though, especially for football due ot the large stadiums and cost. The NFL is concerned about it too. You can sit at home, watch a few different games, eat cheaper (& better) food, and cheaper beer at home in a more comfortable environment.

 

[everybody knows my name]

I think it is a reasonable problem. I love standing in the student section, I go to every game, tix are affordable and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. That being said, I don't think I will be attending games regularly next season after I graduate. Some of that has to do where I live, but I'd rather go to away games and check out new stadiums. The atmosphere outside of the student section isn't as exciting and I don't see myself wanting to pay significantly more in a section that is less fun.

Now I guess I'll still have my Ucard and all that stuff, so the student section may remain in play, but I understand why attendance is becoming an issue. Especially at these stadiums with 80,000+. This is just going to keep being an issue though, especially for football due ot the large stadiums and cost. The NFL is concerned about it too. You can sit at home, watch a few different games, eat cheaper (& better) food, and cheaper beer at home in a more comfortable environment.

Mostly true, except that I can't get Jax Cafe swedish meatballs at home. So the food at home is cheaper but not better.