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Attendance/Ticket Prices


GP1

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The debate continues on Rasor's blog. A new argument has sprung up and that is the supply and demand argument. Supply and demand would dictate that if they lower the price of the tickets, it will increase demand/people in the seats. This idea also assumes that cost is the only reason for purchasing a ticket (Do we really want these people as customers?) This idea also assumes a lower price can cover the cost of operatons and that there is a demand for Zips tickets when they play OU. A timely example is the current price of plywood and lumber. It is an easy example for me because I work in building materials sales and have worked for a company that manufactured these types of material. Can anyone guess which? Anyhow, earlier this year, plywood and lumber manufacturers were lowering their prices in order to create demand in a slow market. The demand never materialized because there was no money being spent. They all cut their prices to the point they could not cover the cost of manufacturing materials. Plants were closed in order to cut costs. Once costs could no longer be cut, price escalation was required even though there was no increase in demand or supply because they were still losing money. These companies are protecting their present and future right now by raising prices. If people are strapped for money, no price decrease is going to be enough to encourage them to buy a ticket to watch the Zips and the Zips will be cutting their own wrists.If anyone has ever sold anything, you know how hard it is to get a price increase. You had better have something that people REALLY want, and right now, MAC football ain't that. This is especially true in a commodity environment. UofA can not lower the ticket price to the point where they destroy their ability to operate the Athletic Department (Every single sports program needs InfoCision Stadium to make money). When the economy picks up, more people will be able to afford to go to a game and they will because after this season the Zips will be much better.Lower ticket prices will hamstring this Athletic Department for decades if they start lowering them now.

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I think there is some marketing and discounting being done with local non-profits and youth sports organisations. My sons youth football team is having an outing at the Can't game. I think they are getting $5 per ticket sold. They are charging face value for GA tickets, $20. This is a good way to discount, without diminishing the value of the product.
Woudn't a better idea be to sell the tickets, at face value, to a person who wants to donate the tickets to the non-profit for the tax benefit. There is always more than one way to skin a cat.No offense, but youth football, non-profits, band days, etc. spell minor league baseball. The Big Phone Booth was not built to make UofA have the appearance of a minor league event.Please tell the children at the Can't game to do the opposite of whatever Can't is doing on the field.Is there really a difference between taking a child to a Can't game or child abuse? :screwks:
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I think there is some marketing and discounting being done with local non-profits and youth sports organisations. My sons youth football team is having an outing at the Can't game. I think they are getting $5 per ticket sold. They are charging face value for GA tickets, $20. This is a good way to discount, without diminishing the value of the product.
Woudn't a better idea be to sell the tickets, at face value, to a person who wants to donate the tickets to the non-profit for the tax benefit. There is always more than one way to skin a cat.No offense, but youth football, non-profits, band days, etc. spell minor league baseball. The Big Phone Booth was not built to make UofA have the appearance of a minor league event.Please tell the children at the Can't game to do the opposite of whatever Can't is doing on the field.Is there really a difference between taking a child to a Can't game or child abuse? :screwks:
Its only child abuse if they are rooting for Can't! :rofl::screwks:
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The debate continues on Rasor's blog. A new argument has sprung up and that is the supply and demand argument. Supply and demand would dictate that if they lower the price of the tickets, it will increase demand/people in the seats. This idea also assumes that cost is the only reason for purchasing a ticket (Do we really want these people as customers?) This idea also assumes a lower price can cover the cost of operatons and that there is a demand for Zips tickets when they play OU. A timely example is the current price of plywood and lumber. It is an easy example for me because I work in building materials sales and have worked for a company that manufactured these types of material. Can anyone guess which? Anyhow, earlier this year, plywood and lumber manufacturers were lowering their prices in order to create demand in a slow market. The demand never materialized because there was no money being spent. They all cut their prices to the point they could not cover the cost of manufacturing materials. Plants were closed in order to cut costs. Once costs could no longer be cut, price escalation was required even though there was no increase in demand or supply because they were still losing money. These companies are protecting their present and future right now by raising prices. If people are strapped for money, no price decrease is going to be enough to encourage them to buy a ticket to watch the Zips and the Zips will be cutting their own wrists.If anyone has ever sold anything, you know how hard it is to get a price increase. You had better have something that people REALLY want, and right now, MAC football ain't that. This is especially true in a commodity environment. UofA can not lower the ticket price to the point where they destroy their ability to operate the Athletic Department (Every single sports program needs InfoCision Stadium to make money). When the economy picks up, more people will be able to afford to go to a game and they will because after this season the Zips will be much better.Lower ticket prices will hamstring this Athletic Department for decades if they start lowering them now.
Good post Georgia .. I wonder what our friend in the middle of the Pacific thinks?An objective of the Department & teams is to grow the fanbase. I know I'm fortunate in lots of ways in this world, not the least of which is having the means to have exactly the seats I want at the Info and JAR. But that aside, I don't think 3000 people showing up only when the tickets are $5 constitutes the fanbase. Zips fans were the ones who attended the Can't State game on Thanksgiving 4 years ago. There were lots of them. They're the ones who will continue to come out to the Info the next 3 games .. I predict more than 16K on average. Now growing the fanbase DOES mean to me that you need to get the kids (toddlers & grade school) to grow up knowing that in the Fall .. we go to Akron football games .. we see the Zips, and that's our team. In the winter we go to the JAR .. and watch the CAVS on TV. Zips Fest and the approachability of some of the players and coaches in dealing with small kids (see the hoops forum) help A LOT. It's not a tough sell at all for me to get everyone down to UA 2 hrs before kickoff.In some ways I'm proof of this. I didn't attend UA for any classes. But I grew up in the shadow of it .. and we went to games when we were younger. Not every game, certainly .. but Dad got us to lots of hoops games and the occasional FB game. I went away for school at two traditional MBB powers, and enjoyed those days immensely. But at the core, the Zips are my team, always have been .. and likely always will be. Especially in hoops. I've met and talked to a few other guys around my age at the Info about this same thing .. guys who went to Michigan or somewhere else .. and were away when KD & the boys got it done at the Q .. and since their parents / friends had gotten them to the JAR / Memorial / the Rubber Bowl .. etc, the Zips matter.I don't know if a 20% discount on GA's for under 10 helps grow the younger demographic or not. The lack of it now isn't a roadblock to us or anyone else I know who has kids and takes them to the games. Again, this is me and my circle of acquaintances .. however, the notion that some families can't afford to bring kids in at current prices isn't one that I'd dismiss out of hand. I feel like there's lots of kids at the Info like there were at the RB. Night games are more difficult.Things are being handled well, IMHO.
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A few thoughts...*-The new stadium effect has effectively worn off. I don't think there's much of a buzz at all. Goes to show you, it's the product on the field that matters most. *-There's been pretty good attendance so far, but how many will come out in mid and late November for the Temple and Eastern Michigan games, especially if the team continues losing? *-Whether or not people will admit it, it's hard to charge $20 for a general admission ticket to watch this team. Their only win came against a cupcake opponent, and they haven't been overly exciting to watch. Sure, the diehards will still go. What everyone misses on is that those people always come - they came to the Rubber Bowl, they're coming now. The "average Zip fan" or "average football fan" in the area is not going to drop $20 to see this team, especially with other options nearby (other MAC schools, other Ohio schools, OSU, high school football, etc.). The Athletic Department has two choices: 1) Keep tickets the same price, (most likely) draw sparse crowds in 2/3 of the remaining games, and struggle to sell tickets for 2010, or 2) Cut prices a bit to try to put some butts in seats. $10 general admission tickets would be more realistic, or there could always be "specials", like the Cleveland Indians threw out this year to try to offset the low quality of their on-field product. *-Think about a family of four. - Four $20 general admission tickets = $80 - Parking = $5 - Four hot dogs = $12 - Four soft drinks = $12Over $100 to go see the 1-4 Zips play...and that's without souvenirs or programs or anything. Does anyone really expect the average fan to drop this much to see our team?

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Over $100 to go see the 1-4 Zips play...and that's without souvenirs or programs or anything. Does anyone really expect the average fan to drop this much to see our team?
This analogy is a good learning tool and helps to explain how hard it is to get a price increase in any business.If the logic is the team is bad mid year so drop the price of tickets, when is it ok to raise the price of tickets?In the off season? This logic tells us until the team wins, prices have to stay low just to fill seats (I thought the they needed to make money). There is no evidence the team wins until mid year when tickets are already sold. What if they win one year and lose the next? Will prices the next year be lowered mid year?Can we raise ticket prices mid year? If the team is good mid season, would it be OK to raise the price on GA seats? People would throw a fit if that happened.The current ticket prices are absolutely reasonable and quite frankly cheap. People are not going to pay to go watch bad football regardless of the ticket price. The Zips are bad and the MAC is bad, but the current prices are reasonable for a bad D-1A product.
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I agree that Akron's football tickets are priced where they should be and that the reason the stadium isn't seeing bigger crowds is the 1 - 4 record.I would suggest to anyone who can't afford an "American football" game and wants a great deal, go see the other "football team" on campus...the 1/1/1/1/1 Zips Mens Soccer team. Adults $8, Youth $4...what a great deal!

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A few thoughts...*-The new stadium effect has effectively worn off. I don't think there's much of a buzz at all. Goes to show you, it's the product on the field that matters most. *-There's been pretty good attendance so far, but how many will come out in mid and late November for the Temple and Eastern Michigan games, especially if the team continues losing? *-Whether or not people will admit it, it's hard to charge $20 for a general admission ticket to watch this team. Their only win came against a cupcake opponent, and they haven't been overly exciting to watch. Sure, the diehards will still go. What everyone misses on is that those people always come - they came to the Rubber Bowl, they're coming now. The "average Zip fan" or "average football fan" in the area is not going to drop $20 to see this team, especially with other options nearby (other MAC schools, other Ohio schools, OSU, high school football, etc.). The Athletic Department has two choices: 1) Keep tickets the same price, (most likely) draw sparse crowds in 2/3 of the remaining games, and struggle to sell tickets for 2010, or 2) Cut prices a bit to try to put some butts in seats. $10 general admission tickets would be more realistic, or there could always be "specials", like the Cleveland Indians threw out this year to try to offset the low quality of their on-field product. *-Think about a family of four. - Four $20 general admission tickets = $80 - Parking = $5 - Four hot dogs = $12 - Four soft drinks = $12Over $100 to go see the 1-4 Zips play...and that's without souvenirs or programs or anything. Does anyone really expect the average fan to drop this much to see our team?
I still think there's one important factor missing in some of these evaluations, and Zip ME87 tried to make the "we're having a losing season" point too. But, some of you are failing to remember that the attendance dropped dramatically BEFORE we lost to Indiana. Nice job by those presenting a financial picture. But my earlier post related directly to wanting to see more people in the stands, and creating a more exciting in-stadium atmosphere. That's why I have struggled for years weighing both the negatives and positives of offering incentive discounts. I just want to see more people in the stands. At the Indiana game, I think most of the entire East stands were occupied by visiting fans, our band, the high school bands, and our student section. That's sad, especially when you couldn't attribute it at all to having a "losing season" at that point. The novelty of the new stadium definitely wore off much sooner than I expected.GP1...I know your comment about youths attending the game may have strictly pertained to selling a discounted youth ticket. But, don't underestimate the value of having a lot of kids at the games. I'm sure there's many, many cases where a kid being taken to an Akron game by his parents resulted in a becoming a longtime fan. And some of those examples have been mentioned previously by people on this site.
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After the drubbing against CMU and Indiana is 16k really that bad when a few thousand was pretty standard at the rubber bowl. I'm not proud of our attendance but at the same time I can't say I'm surprised.
I'm not surprised either, but I had hoped the "stadium effect" would have lasted more than 1 game.Since this was a homecoming crowd, at 16k, and you brought up the Rubber Bowl, I decided to take a look at the last few homecoming crowds for comparison.2008 - BG - 17,119 (same time of year, and also the 3rd home game) 2007 - Temple - 14,017 (same time of year, also 3rd home game) 2006 - Miami - 17,721 (a little later in October, and 2nd home game) I don't know. It sure looks like this year was a "typical" homecoming crowd, new stadium or not. And those were all losing seasons too. I had sure hoped for a much larger crowd.
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After the drubbing against CMU and Indiana is 16k really that bad when a few thousand was pretty standard at the rubber bowl. I'm not proud of our attendance but at the same time I can't say I'm surprised.
I'm not surprised either, but I had hoped the "stadium effect" would have lasted more than 1 game.Since this was a homecoming crowd, at 16k, and you brought up the Rubber Bowl, I decided to take a look at the last few homecoming crowds for comparison.2008 - BG - 17,119 (same time of year, and also the 3rd home game) 2007 - Temple - 14,017 (same time of year, also 3rd home game) 2006 - Miami - 17,721 (a little later in October, and 2nd home game) I don't know. It sure looks like this year was a "typical" homecoming crowd, new stadium or not. And those were all losing seasons too. I had sure hoped for a much larger crowd.
What were the records going into those games?I know for BG it was 3-4.
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After the drubbing against CMU and Indiana is 16k really that bad when a few thousand was pretty standard at the rubber bowl. I'm not proud of our attendance but at the same time I can't say I'm surprised.
I'm not surprised either, but I had hoped the "stadium effect" would have lasted more than 1 game.Since this was a homecoming crowd, at 16k, and you brought up the Rubber Bowl, I decided to take a look at the last few homecoming crowds for comparison.2008 - BG - 17,119 (same time of year, and also the 3rd home game) 2007 - Temple - 14,017 (same time of year, also 3rd home game) 2006 - Miami - 17,721 (a little later in October, and 2nd home game) I don't know. It sure looks like this year was a "typical" homecoming crowd, new stadium or not. And those were all losing seasons too. I had sure hoped for a much larger crowd.
What were the records going into those games?I know for BG it was 3-4.
Without looking everything up again, I know we at least had the road loss @ Wisconsin, and the 2 home losses to Ball State and Cincinnati before homecoming in 08.In 06, I know we had 4 losses, just like this year, because it was that dissapointing year right after the title where we played good in a loss at Penn State, and upset NC State, only to lose 3 more @ Central, @ Can't, and @ Cincy prior to the homecoming game.
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After the drubbing against CMU and Indiana is 16k really that bad when a few thousand was pretty standard at the rubber bowl. I'm not proud of our attendance but at the same time I can't say I'm surprised.
I'm not surprised either, but I had hoped the "stadium effect" would have lasted more than 1 game.Since this was a homecoming crowd, at 16k, and you brought up the Rubber Bowl, I decided to take a look at the last few homecoming crowds for comparison.2008 - BG - 17,119 (same time of year, and also the 3rd home game) 2007 - Temple - 14,017 (same time of year, also 3rd home game) 2006 - Miami - 17,721 (a little later in October, and 2nd home game) I don't know. It sure looks like this year was a "typical" homecoming crowd, new stadium or not. And those were all losing seasons too. I had sure hoped for a much larger crowd.
What were the records going into those games?I know for BG it was 3-4.
Without looking everything up again, I know we at least had the road loss @ Wisconsin, and the 2 home losses to Ball State and Cincinnati before homecoming in 08.In 06, I know we had 4 losses, just like this year, because it was that dissapointing year right after the title where we played good in a loss at Penn State, and upset NC State, only to lose 3 more @ Central, @ Can't, and @ Cincy prior to the homecoming game.
2008: 3-42007: 3-32006: 2-4
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After the drubbing against CMU and Indiana is 16k really that bad when a few thousand was pretty standard at the rubber bowl. I'm not proud of our attendance but at the same time I can't say I'm surprised.
I'm not surprised either, but I had hoped the "stadium effect" would have lasted more than 1 game.Since this was a homecoming crowd, at 16k, and you brought up the Rubber Bowl, I decided to take a look at the last few homecoming crowds for comparison.2008 - BG - 17,119 (same time of year, and also the 3rd home game) 2007 - Temple - 14,017 (same time of year, also 3rd home game) 2006 - Miami - 17,721 (a little later in October, and 2nd home game) I don't know. It sure looks like this year was a "typical" homecoming crowd, new stadium or not. And those were all losing seasons too. I had sure hoped for a much larger crowd.
What were the records going into those games?I know for BG it was 3-4.
Without looking everything up again, I know we at least had the road loss @ Wisconsin, and the 2 home losses to Ball State and Cincinnati before homecoming in 08.In 06, I know we had 4 losses, just like this year, because it was that dissapointing year right after the title where we played good in a loss at Penn State, and upset NC State, only to lose 3 more @ Central, @ Can't, and @ Cincy prior to the homecoming game.
2008: 3-42007: 3-32006: 2-4
That's why this is always such an interesting topic. Could we possibly conclude that a Miami homecoming at the Rubber Bowl drew more than a OU homecoming at Infocision because the team was 2-4 instead of 1-3? Personally, I find that quite unlikely. Most of the people I know who are sports fans, but are outside our die-hard loop of UA fans, don't even pay too much attention to Akron's record. They may know, in general, if Akron is having a good season, or a bad season. But that's about it...if that. The lack of attendance just ticks me off, and has for a long time. But especially after I walked into the Indiana game, and the crowd was dissappointing. I knew the new-stadium-honeymoon was over. It brought me back to the same conclusion I've had for years...not enough people care about Akron or MAC-level football in general. We don't compete for any big prize in the minds of area football fans. Until we can win something....something BIG....the same old attitude will continue.
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That's why this is always such an interesting topic. Could we possibly conclude that a Miami homecoming at the Rubber Bowl drew more than a OU homecoming at Infocision because the team was 2-4 instead of 1-3? Personally, I find that quite unlikely. Most of the people I know who are sports fans, but are outside our die-hard loop of UA fans, don't even pay too much attention to Akron's record. They may know, in general, if Akron is having a good season, or a bad season. But that's about it...if that.
No but we could attribute it to the fact that we had unprecedented season ticket sales following our first ever MAC Championship and D-1 Bowl appearance.What we would really need to see is what the 2004 homecoming attendance was (1-4 start) and compare those numbers. We had 27 thousand for Morgan state17,881 for Indiana. Of those missing 10,000 at least 4500 were students. The other 5500 were casual fans, who had the option of paying 20 bucks to see us or 30 to go see OSU play in Cleveland, which do you think they would pick in general?Then we had 16 thousand for homecoming as we had just gotten publicly spanked two weeks in a row. What do you really expect?Ask Can't how 10 dollar tickets are working out for them (our worst attendance was still better than their best attendance) and they have a couple of wins.The bottom line is this, you lose, the faithful show up, you win (consistantly) and everyone else shows up, and they won't care much about the ticket price.Get those 4500 students back and homecoming breaks 20 thousand. Student attendance has zippo to do with ticket price. It has to do with campus organizations and a sense of school pride. (pride comes from winning)
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Not expecting anything. And good point about the MAC title possibly giving a little boost to tickets sales the following year, but a MAC title was already looking bleak by that game after the Can't loss. And, winning MAC games is only gonna take you so far. Big things will need to happen to change the mindset significantly. I think you give a little bit too much credit to local sports fans suddenly getting interested in Akron football because we are beating the likes of Can't, OU, Temple, etc. It just stinks. I've been around this program a long, long time, and I expected the new stadium to have much more affect than it did coming out of the gate. Although I always was quite skeptical of the predictions of "a season of sellouts", I was still hopeful that it would at least last a few games into the season. I'm glad someone still has some things to share on this topic. Nice talking to you g-mann.

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Not expecting anything. And good point about the MAC title possibly giving a little boost to tickets sales the following year, but a MAC title was already looking bleak by that game after the Can't loss. And, winning MAC games is only gonna take you so far. Big things will need to happen to change the mindset significantly. I think you give a little bit too much credit to local sports fans suddenly getting interested in Akron football because we are beating the likes of Can't, OU, Temple, etc. It just stinks. I've been around this program a long, long time, and I expected the new stadium to have much more affect than it did coming out of the gate. Although I always was quite skeptical of the predictions of "a season of sellouts", I was still hopeful that it would at least last a few games into the season. I'm glad someone still has some things to share on this topic. Nice talking to you g-mann.
Nice talking to you.I will probably lure that lurker equins out; but, it's not who you beat, it's that you win. When YSU wins they sell out, and they play much less recognized opponents then we do. I honestly say it's about winning. Right now. If we were even .500 right now (impossible with 5 games being played I know) we would have attendance above 20,000. The outlook of the team is so bleak to casual fans and students that no they aren't going to come out and spend time, I don't care how great the facility is, or great the tailgaiting and pre-game are. To put things in perspective, they (the athletic department) gave a low ball estimate on attendance for this season being just over 18 thousand27,881; 17,882; 16,230 averages out to be 20664. If they want to hit that goal though, they had better show that they can win some games. (Can't will still probably be over 17, but we will see).
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Good post Georgia .. I wonder what our friend in the middle of the Pacific thinks?
Hey! :wave: I'm glad that I could liven things up a bit over here, via my post to Razor (which makes me wonder -- why the heck don't we ever see him on this site anymore?). I didn't see this thread till just now -- somehow I had forgotten that UA still has an American football team. ;) I will skip the Akron to the Missouri Valley Conference gig for now, but won't promise not to raise it later. And I haven't looked at Razor since I posted my soap box rant there. I know at the University of Hawai'i, you have to pay about double what the University of Akron charges -- and they're offering a walk-on, never-played-a-down-of-college-football QB for my money too (at least the Zips QB is on scholarship!). I just might go to the Navy game after Thanksgiving, but stopped my regular patronage when prices went from what Akron's are today to about 50% higher in the middle of June Jones' tenure. But even then the argument goes against the "prices are too high" argument, as attendances have stayed mostly in the 30-40k range at their games.One thing that has been barely touched on here is quite simply this: Akron is a crummy, crummy place to do business, no matter what you're selling. Can anyone argue otherwise? And I suspect most of the people who are arguing that they should cut prices are those with long histories in the city/area. This might seem illiberal, and out of line from me, but it's a fact that over time, a sense of entitlement has grown regarding the university and its products. People expect a decent product at a very cheap price, certainly below market price, because that's the way they've always been treated. Of course that product has always been an inferior one (athletically speaking at least). But that is the legacy that Dr Proenza and those who care are trying to reverse. They're working to create a higher class of student at the UA -- something I cringe at (having earned my open admission entrance to the university thirty + years ago the hard way -- by basically not caring about high school or college), but which is absolutely necessary if Akron is to ever become something beyond the CCOA. Getting more out-of-towners is just the first step in this effort, but before it there was no AK Rowdies or anything like it. That's a demographic marketing program that takes years, if not decades. One thing that the University of Hawai'i has is youth groups (booster clubs for kids) with give-aways and parties for kids before games in most every sport -- I bet no one at Akron has ever thought about that. It's another method of building support over years -- you have to start that process as soon as you can with potential customers, no matter how long it takes.Now about those attendance figures. :rolleyes: Everyone I've heard and read -- off this board at least -- has said that the actual attendance at the Indiana game was significantly less than the 18k (was that the announced?) we read. On TV the cameras showed the upper deck less than half-full. I think Steve French last Saturday (thanks to MD Zip for the link!) mentioned to the effect that a large part of the 16,000 homecoming crowd came dressed as empty seats. I hope those no-shows don't simply allow the admin to "earn" their predicted pre-season attendance figure. Parking and concessions make up a large part of profits in the entertainment industry, and having phony #s doesn't sell popcorn or whatever new gourmet delicacies are for sale at the Info (No Roo Brew in GA, we know that). Bottom line is, Akron football prices are not out of line for the product offered (well, this season is a fluke, we can hope!), nor for the economy. There are still 80-90% of people in the area who are still able to afford what they could afford before the recession.Here my suggestion to Wistercill (it will take time to be sure of the spelling, so I apologize for probably misspelling it). Next season, when a new football staff comes in, make believe that 2009 never took place! Have a NEW Grand Opening of Infocision Stadium. This time, hopefully the guy whose company name is on the place can attend in person (best wishes to you, sir) You can hire some people from the Sociology Dept or somewhere to figure out what makes Acme Zip games and Morgan State games such a magnet for people who really don't care about college football, and find out how to get them back at least once a year. Why do some people only come to basketball games on Credit Union Night? Go figure - and repeat it as often as possible.Or, hire Caleb Porter to coach every team on campus. :bow::rolleyes:
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One thing that has been barely touched on here is quite simply this: Akron is a crummy, crummy place to do business, no matter what you're selling. Can anyone argue otherwise? And I suspect most of the people who are arguing that they should cut prices are those with long histories in the city/area. This might seem illiberal, and out of line from me, but it's a fact that over time, a sense of entitlement has grown regarding the university and its products.
Excellent point.Maybe the answer to why people don't go to games is simple. There isn't a demand for 27,000 tickets (insert 5,500 for MBB games) to go watch a Tier 3 league. I think we need a big stadium because at least once a year it should get filled. Other than that, on a good night, 15,000 is a reasonable expectation for a Zips game.I'll say it again. People like what they like and the more they are exposed to something the more they know whether or not they like it. Some may disagree, but the MAC gets much more exposure now than it ever has. I'm convinced it just isn't an Akron thing. People around the mid-west have seen enough MAC games to know they don't really like it. Look at the empty stadiums on MAC ESPN games. Heck, look at the empty stadium from last night's game with LA Monroe and whatever team they played. There is no difference between that league and the MAC. Both are Tier 3 leagues.Z.I.P. is right. The MAC is a I-AA league. Maybe excitment can be generated from a playoff type team. I doubt that though. Right now, watching the MAC lose to BCS level teams, teams starting out their seasons 1-3 (someone look into how many MAC teams started the season 1-3 or worse....while your at it, what is the MAC ooc record right now), poor play, half empty stadiums, etc. is not generating excitement.
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Not expecting anything. And good point about the MAC title possibly giving a little boost to tickets sales the following year, but a MAC title was already looking bleak by that game after the Can't loss. And, winning MAC games is only gonna take you so far. Big things will need to happen to change the mindset significantly. I think you give a little bit too much credit to local sports fans suddenly getting interested in Akron football because we are beating the likes of Can't, OU, Temple, etc. It just stinks. I've been around this program a long, long time, and I expected the new stadium to have much more affect than it did coming out of the gate. Although I always was quite skeptical of the predictions of "a season of sellouts", I was still hopeful that it would at least last a few games into the season. I'm glad someone still has some things to share on this topic. Nice talking to you g-mann.
Nice talking to you.I will probably lure that lurker equins out; but, it's not who you beat, it's that you win. When YSU wins they sell out, and they play much less recognized opponents then we do. I honestly say it's about winning. Right now. If we were even .500 right now (impossible with 5 games being played I know) we would have attendance above 20,000. The outlook of the team is so bleak to casual fans and students that no they aren't going to come out and spend time, I don't care how great the facility is, or great the tailgaiting and pre-game are. To put things in perspective, they (the athletic department) gave a low ball estimate on attendance for this season being just over 18 thousand27,881; 17,882; 16,230 averages out to be 20664. If they want to hit that goal though, they had better show that they can win some games. (Can't will still probably be over 17, but we will see).
Having the Can't game later in the season, instead of the opener, should indeed help our attendance average. equins loves when we talk about YSU, doesn't he?Hey...you seem convinced that another win here or there has a noticable effect on attendance, and I disagree. And I'm sure you have your reasons. I still think you put way too much weight on the local football fans noticing if Akron is 3-3 instead of 2-4. I never have, and don't believe now, that it makes thousands more area citizens suddenly say, "hey...we have to get down to an Akron game". Much, much bigger things need to happen for a significant number of people to change their mindset about Akron and MAC-level football.Although I was many, many years out of school at Akron, I was still going to all of the games in 1992 when we went 7-3-1, playing in the MAC for the first time. It's the best season Akron has ever had as a D-1A. And although the Acme/Zip game was still a big hit, I don't think there was any significant difference in the number of people who showed up for games 2 thru 6 than you would find in any other season we've been 1-A. And remember one very, very dramatic difference when comparing Akron to YSU. Youngstown plays for NATIONAL championships, and Akron does not.
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One thing that has been barely touched on here is quite simply this: Akron is a crummy, crummy place to do business, no matter what you're selling. Can anyone argue otherwise? And I suspect most of the people who are arguing that they should cut prices are those with long histories in the city/area. This might seem illiberal, and out of line from me, but it's a fact that over time, a sense of entitlement has grown regarding the university and its products.
Excellent point.Maybe the answer to why people don't go to games is simple. There isn't a demand for 27,000 tickets (insert 5,500 for MBB games) to go watch a Tier 3 league. I think we need a big stadium because at least once a year it should get filled. Other than that, on a good night, 15,000 is a reasonable expectation for a Zips game.I'll say it again. People like what they like and the more they are exposed to something the more they know whether or not they like it. Some may disagree, but the MAC gets much more exposure now than it ever has. I'm convinced it just isn't an Akron thing. People around the mid-west have seen enough MAC games to know they don't really like it. Look at the empty stadiums on MAC ESPN games. Heck, look at the empty stadium from last night's game with LA Monroe and whatever team they played. There is no difference between that league and the MAC. Both are Tier 3 leagues.Z.I.P. is right. The MAC is a I-AA league. Maybe excitment can be generated from a playoff type team. I doubt that though. Right now, watching the MAC lose to BCS level teams, teams starting out their seasons 1-3 (someone look into how many MAC teams started the season 1-3 or worse....while your at it, what is the MAC ooc record right now), poor play, half empty stadiums, etc. is not generating excitement.
I highlighted this item because this sums up my conclusions over the years as well, and represents our biggest challenge. I was sitting in a bar recently, and some guy in a Suckeyes shirt yelled out, "Ohhhh...come on....turn the channel....who gives a s$2t about MAC football?" And that, unfortunately, mirrors the thoughts of so many sports fans in our area. Until we beat someone of some significance, it's not going to change.
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Until we beat someone of some significance, it's not going to change.
Beating someone of significance is almost worthless. It is a nice notch in the belt, but winning championships is what counts.JD is steaming towards his 4th consecutive losing season. That is why there are no butts in the stands. It is as simple as that.Watch the basketball team this season. Now that they've actually won a championship, they will begin filling the JAR with regularity. Humpty made the "million dollar shot." If he missed, the Zips are back to the same old 3k attendance. Now there's NCAA expectations, Zeke, 20-wins, a cake-walk schedule to ensure a fast start...it all comes together this season.Look at the soccer team. Selling out matches?! Why? Because they are winning, and winning consistently over an extended time period. People want to be a part of it.Look at the Cleveland Indians - They sell out when things are rolling...and dodge the tumbleweeds blowing through Progressive Desert when they stink.Look at the Browns -- Sure they technically "sell out." But when you see them on TV at season's end, half the "attendees" are disguised as empty seats? And the other half are rooting for the opposing team.
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"Ohhhh...come on....turn the channel....who gives a s$2t about MAC football?" And that, unfortunately, mirrors the thoughts of so many sports fans in our area.
I'm a Zips fan .. and I don't give a load about MAC football. It's not good football.
Until we beat someone of some significance, it's not going to change.
Beating someone of significance is almost worthless. It is a nice notch in the belt, but winning championships is what counts.JD is steaming towards his 4th consecutive losing season. That is why there are no butts in the stands. It is as simple as that.Watch the basketball team this season. Now that they've actually won a championship, they will begin filling the JAR with regularity. Humpty made the "million dollar shot." If he missed, the Zips are back to the same old 3k attendance. Now there's NCAA expectations, Zeke, 20-wins, a cake-walk schedule to ensure a fast start...it all comes together this season.Look at the soccer team. Selling out matches?! Why? Because they are winning, and winning consistently over an extended time period. People want to be a part of it.Look at the Cleveland Indians - They sell out when things are rolling...and dodge the tumbleweeds blowing through Progressive Desert when they stink.Look at the Browns -- Sure they technically "sell out." But when you see them on TV at season's end, half the "attendees" are disguised as empty seats? And the other half are rooting for the opposing team.
I'm in full agreement w/ CK here.
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Look at the Browns -- Sure they technically "sell out." But when you see them on TV at season's end, half the "attendees" are disguised as empty seats? And the other half are rooting for the opposing team.
Totally agree. I turned down FREE club seats to the Browns/Cincy game because I didn't want to miss watching good games on TV. I had the game on the "second" tv and took specific notice to the club seats. They were half empty all game long. Who in their right mind wants to watch that product?How do you even try to tell your friends to come to a Zips game? I have to say "hey would you like to tailgate this Saturday at a new beautiful college football stadium...under my breath....then we have to watch the Zips play football" I have friends now that know I'm an Akron fan that are asking me about the soccer team, they want to go to games and are interested...why...because they WIN!!! Do you know how tired I am of answering the question "What happen to Akron's QB, I heard he got suspended?" It's embarrassing.
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.....Do you know how tired I am of answering the question "What happen to Akron's QB, I heard he got suspended?" It's embarrassing.
At least they are willing to ask, unlike the old guy and his fat wife that sit behind me, ugh are they annoying.Matt Rodger's fumbles into the endzone..."What did I miss?" "I think he got 'picked off'" really?, really? watch the freaking game you loud mouth morons.
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