Infocision Sellout

[Blue & Gold]

1 minute ago, NWAkron said:

It doesn't.  The posting isn't to help.  It's to irritate.

Also, I read through it and it's just click bait garbage.  The only criticism of the stadium was that the football team was bad.

Yeah, it said nothing about the stadium but about the lack of atmosphere due to a lack of butts in the seats.  

[GP1]

11 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Yeah, it said nothing about the stadium but about the lack of atmosphere due to a lack of butts in the seats.  

Both are solvable problems. 

[a-zip]

8 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Both are solvable problems. 

By who?  The board and leadership at UA is incompetent and rudderless.  It's been 12 years since the iStadium was opened.

[Blue & Gold]

17 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Both are solvable problems. 

💯 Just Win, Baby 💪💪

[clarkwgriswold]

I go to Moneywise for all of my important sports analysis.  I get all of my financial advice from the Sporting News.

[GP1]

23 minutes ago, a-zip said:

By who?  The board and leadership at UA is incompetent and rudderless.

Hopefully a new athletic director makes a good hire. We've hired good and great coaches in the past in other sports. We can do it in football as well if we approach it from the right direction. 

[Z.I.P.]

2 hours ago, GP1 said:

Hopefully a new athletic director makes a good hire. We've hired good and great coaches in the past in other sports. We can do it in football as well if we approach it from the right direction. 

I wish Caleb Porter were available!  Might make a fine football coach (remember when Youngstown hired a football coach as President?).

[GP1]

18 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

(remember when Youngstown hired a football coach as President?).

Oh yes. He is producing the same declines as other state universities. 

[monrowe]

8 hours ago, Sergeant Zip said:

InfoCision 13th worst stadium according to MoneyWise.

Some new turf might help?

[GoZips86]

General question: What keeps the stadium from NOT being packed? (Besides winning, of course)

 

I know winning is the most obvious answer, I know, but is there anything else? All Akron homes games have started at 3:30 this year. I wasn't sure if that was a MAC decision for them to not compete against Ohio State being on TV. (Which, that has always annoyed me about Ohio and everyone being a Buckeyes fan for the sake of it, but that's another story)

 

I wonder if the Akron community would support the Zips in full if they had a better team? I mean, I assume so, but sometimes when I'm out I feel like I'm the only Zips fan lol. People are always surprised to hear I have season tickets. But yeah, winning would go a long way, but are there any other thoughts? I see this year any HS student in Stark, Summit, and Medina Counties get it for free with a student ID, but it doesn't seem to have brought much in. 

 

I don't know, just wanted to ask generally to get thoughts and opinions. 

 

(Also, that article that was posted in crap. The stadium is one of the best in the MAC. Not the stadiums fault the Zips haven't been good). 

[GP1]

22 minutes ago, GoZips86 said:

General question: What keeps the stadium from NOT being packed? (Besides winning, of course)

The not winning is difficult to overcome, but I'll try.

 

I don't know that packing the stadium each week is possible. Respectable crowds are possible. The high school student id program is interesting but the free tickets are going to the wrong people. Let's review. MAC athletic departments lose a lot of money.  Combined, MAC schools spend more money than the GDP of Somalia. Since the difference is made up by taxpayers, the taxpayers should get the free tickets, meaning adults. The adults go with the kids to the game. Specifically, four general admission tickets to two MAC sporting events per year. If my taxes go towards paying for state run roads, I want to use the roads. We should look at Ohio MAC schools athletic departments the same way. 

 

There are a million things they could do and don't. Too much to post. In the end, MAC schools must make themselves a draw to everyone around them. They are great institutions, with the exception of Kent, and they need to use athletics as part of that demonstration. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

Zips fans have walked out of InfoCision stadium a loser against every D1-A (FBS) opponent we've played for the past 4 calendar years (sadly, no fans attended the epic 2020 BG win). And, we've played some lousy opponents.

 

If Ohio State lost every single game they played at the Horseshoe, how many fans would be lining up for year #5 season tickets?

 

We've been outscored 1,351-640 the past 4 seasons. Our fans get giddy if we play a competitive half of football against bottom-dweller opponents. 

 

The Zips aren't just losing...they have been an embarrassment for several years. Until they sustain some level of football respectability, who in their right mind would forfeit a beautiful Saturday afternoon and pay $100 (family of four) to watch them? 

[RowdyZip]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Zips fans have walked out of InfoCision stadium a loser against every D1-A (FCS) opponent we've played for the past 4 calendar years (sadly, no fans attended the epic 2020 BG win). And, we've played some lousy opponents.

 

If Ohio State lost every single game they played at the Horseshoe, how many fans would be lining up for year #5 season tickets?

 

We've been outscored 1,351-640 the past 4 seasons. Our fans get giddy if we play a competitive half of football against bottom-dweller opponents. 

 

The Zips aren't just losing...they have been an embarrassment for several years. Until they sustain some level of football respectability, who in their right mind would forfeit a beautiful Saturday afternoon and pay $100 (family of four) to watch them? 

This is 100% it until someone proves otherwise.  Akron is my alma mater and my only college team, and I've been to a grand total of 2 games in the last 3 seasons.  I have not once stayed for the full game.  

 

It's just not fun to show up and spend $$ when you know your team is going to get blown out of the water and it's a wasted Saturday.  Let me set up my stream on the Ocho and then I can turn it off at halftime and get crap done around the house when we're down by 4 scores.  Hell, I'd show up even if we consistently kept games close, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

[GoZips86]

So...what you are all saying is, essentially, they need to win. Haha.

 

Well, I hope this next coaching hire starts the process upward. It's been a long, long road in recent years. Goodness. I'd love to see a good crowd at a game for once. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

1 minute ago, GoZips86 said:

Goodness. I'd love to see a good crowd at a game for once. 

I'm sure Kent will bring a lot of fans on the 20th.

[GoZips86]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I'm sure Kent will bring a lot of fans on the 20th.

 

True, true. We need more Zips fans though, but maybe that's asking too much considering the state of the program. lol.

[Zipmeister]

Attendance at Akron games could be significantly increased if a ticket not only got the holder into the game but also entered the holder into a cash lottery. The standard prize could be some nominal amount - say $5,000. But if the Zips win a game as an underdog the standard amount would be increased by a factor positively related to the point spread. (e.g., win as a 3 point dog - prize goes to $15,000; win as a 6 point dog - prize goes to $30,000). Of course, to win the ticket holder must be in attendance. Some of our most highly attended games could be when we are huge underdogs. And don't tell me this is illegal; haven't we given away scholarships to students in attendance in the past?

[GP1]

Winning is the key to high volume attendance whatever that means.

 

Akron needs to make the campus a center piece of activity in NE Ohio and the football team can be part of it. 

 

This is one of many examples I could make. On football Saturdays, organize math, engineering, debate club competitions, etc on campus for (insert grade K-12 here) kids. As part of participation, kids and their families get free GA tickets to the game that will be scheduled at a time close to the end of the kids competition. 

 

To me it's more than getting kids to show up for a game. It's about getting community activity at the University and a football game being part of the activity so they want to apply for admission. Professors, grad assistants and students could be judges for these events. There are many great professors, grad assistants and students who could humanize the school for a young kid. Wouldn't it be great if we invited a distinguished alumnus in something like engineering to judge an event?  So many possibilities. 

 

I'll get off of this by saying we could be doing more than we currently are to not just promote the football team, but the University in conjunction with the team. We can do much better. 

 

EDIT:. If we don't do things like I described above, we have abandoned the whole purpose of building a stadium on campus and could have just thrown one up in the grass lot by the Rubber Bowl. 

Edited November 9, 2021 by GP1

[kreed5120]

Winning certainly helps, but it alone won't pack Infocision. Akron basketball is a prime example of that. During our prime years under Dambrot we still averaged ~3500 fans in a 5500 seat arena while selling out maybe 3-4 games a year. Granted football is certainly bigger than basketball in northeast Ohio (well pretty much anywhere in US), but Infocision takes 5x the number of people to fill.

 

Really only men's soccer achieved that sustained sell out status and that required a stadium that seats what maybe 1200? While also being a national powerhouse. 

[ZippyRulz]

I would argue that parking should be free. If you're buying tickets and showing up for the game it's annoying to have to pay for parking also. It adds very little cost for the U. - if you must, just add a $1-2 surcharge to the ticket (or incorporate it into the face price) for the little bit of security, attendants, cleanup, etc. required.

[LZIp]

16 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

I would argue that parking should be free. If you're buying tickets and showing up for the game it's annoying to have to pay for parking also. It adds very little cost for the U. - if you must, just add a $1-2 surcharge to the ticket (or incorporate it into the face price) for the little bit of security, attendants, cleanup, etc. required.

It’s also very easy to find free parking though within a 5-10 minute walk…

[GP1]

24 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

I would argue that parking should be free. If you're buying tickets and showing up for the game it's annoying to have to pay for parking also. 

Premium parking should have a cost associated. Non premium parking should be free. 

[Spin]

9 hours ago, GoZips86 said:

I wonder if the Akron community would support the Zips in full if they had a better team? I mean, I assume so, but sometimes when I'm out I feel like I'm the only Zips fan lol. People are always surprised to hear I have season tickets. But yeah, winning would go a long way, but are there any other thoughts? I see this year any HS student in Stark, Summit, and Medina Counties get it for free with a student ID, but it doesn't seem to have brought much in.

 

There are high school football teams a few miles from The Dialer that draw better than the Zips. IIRC there were college football games at the HoF that drew 30k.

 

I saw the Cleveland Force draw bigger numbers for exhibition outdoor soccer games, trying to get into an outdoor league, and a lot more people than were there Saturday night. What held him back from moving outdoors was the artificial turf. The Force had quite a few home sell outs (18,000+) for human pinball (indoor soccer) (in Summit County). 

 

It's gotta be entertaining, competitive, and have a solid marketing effort. All of which costs money (I'm not holding my breath).

[akzipper]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

Winning certainly helps, but it alone won't pack Infocision. Akron basketball is a prime example of that. During our prime years under Dambrot we still averaged ~3500 fans in a 5500 seat arena while selling out maybe 3-4 games a year. Granted football is certainly bigger than basketball in northeast Ohio (well pretty much anywhere in US), but Infocision takes 5x the number of people to fill.

 

Really only men's soccer achieved that sustained sell out status and that required a stadium that seats what maybe 1200? While also being a national powerhouse. 

 

Football will always be king in Ohio, but so will Ohio State. People in Akron, average fans and unfortunately a good percentage of students and alumni would rather sit at home and watch OSU instead of watching the Zips live. Even if the Zips football team were a consistent contender in the MAC, people will only go to games if there's nothing better to do on a sunny Saturday.

 

I'm from PA so I've never understood the obsession with OSU. There's a lot of Penn State fans here, but it's nowhere near the same. Most fans I know either went to school in State College, PA or attended a branch campus. We have a freaking Canadian Jr Hockey team that at times can draw more fans than Zips football and basketball. People don't plan their Saturday around PSU. 

[LZIp]

7 minutes ago, akzipper said:

 

Football will always be king in Ohio, but so will Ohio State. People in Akron, average fans and unfortunately a good percentage of students and alumni would rather sit at home and watch OSU instead of watching the Zips live. Even if the Zips football team were a consistent contender in the MAC, people will only go to games if there's nothing better to do on a sunny Saturday.

 

I'm from PA so I've never understood the obsession with OSU. There's a lot of Penn State fans here, but it's nowhere near the same. Most fans I know either went to school in State College, PA or attended a branch campus. We have a freaking Canadian Jr Hockey team that at times can draw more fans than Zips football and basketball. People don't plan their Saturday around PSU. 

My experience is anecdotal,  but I agree that CFB seems to be an afterthought in PA compared to watching the yinzers on Sunday. I grew up an OSU fan, but watching them to me isn’t that fun. You’re expected to win 10/12ish games by 4 scores and if you don’t it’s a disappointment. What’s the fun in easy, predictable games?