Pluto Column

[Captain Kangaroo]

Column

Rhoades believes Akron can draw at least 20,000 in the new 27,000-seat stadium next season, assuming the Zips are competitive.

The column lists our attendance @ 16,000 for the past two seasons. If we have a brand-spanking new $60 million dollar stadium...have our home opener vs. Indiana, + home vs. K.e.n.t, both of which will be GUARANTEED 30,000 SRO...there's no way on God's green earth we should average 20,000!! Only 4k more than at the Rubber Bowl!!?? That's lower than the most low-aiming expectation I could have expected to see in my worst nightmare.I expect 25k. Anything less is unacceptable.

[3rd&twenty]

Column

Rhoades believes Akron can draw at least 20,000 in the new 27,000-seat stadium next season, assuming the Zips are competitive.

The column lists our attendance @ 16,000 for the past two seasons. If we have a brand-spanking new $60 million dollar stadium...have our home opener vs. Indiana, + home vs. K.e.n.t, both of which will be GUARANTEED 30,000 SRO...there's no way on God's green earth we should average 20,000!! Only 4k more than at the Rubber Bowl!!?? That's lower than the most low-aiming expectation I could have expected to see in my worst nightmare.I expect 25k. Anything less is unacceptable.

Yes, anything less is unacceptable. I give it 25k for at least the first 2 years because of the novelty of the new stadium. People who never, or hardly ever, will show up because it's new. After the thrill wears off, it's up to the U to put a winning product on the field.

[RACER]

i think the new stadium gets you people in the place for the first year.after that if the zips have a bad first year w-lthe second season will be just like the rubber bowl attendance.

[GP1]

Interesting article. It's funny that he brings up UofA losing to a good MAC school after beating a bad BCS school. It would be real original thinking if I didn't say the same thing last week after the Syracuse win on this very board. If Pluto is going to use my ideas, he could at least credit the great GP1 with the idea. In academic circles, they call it plagiarism.

[zen]

If Pluto is going to use my ideas, he could at least credit the great GP1 with the idea. In academic circles, they call it plagiarism.

Re-stating someone's words without giving them credit as the author is plagiarism.Stealing someone else's ideas is life (unless you have a patent, trademark, or trade secret on your "idea")

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

Column

Rhoades believes Akron can draw at least 20,000 in the new 27,000-seat stadium next season, assuming the Zips are competitive.

The column lists our attendance @ 16,000 for the past two seasons. If we have a brand-spanking new $60 million dollar stadium...have our home opener vs. Indiana, + home vs. K.e.n.t, both of which will be GUARANTEED 30,000 SRO...there's no way on God's green earth we should average 20,000!! Only 4k more than at the Rubber Bowl!!?? That's lower than the most low-aiming expectation I could have expected to see in my worst nightmare.I expect 25k. Anything less is unacceptable.

Regardless of first and second year attendance being driven by the newness of the facility, shouldn't Info always outdraw the Rubber Bowl? Even in down football years, given that the new digs will be on campus, where more students live every year, and near downtown, which should always bring in bodies, I'll be surprised if the crowds aren't larger and quite different. More students, many more people from the North and West sides, the ability to grab a nice meal before and/or after, entertainment venues, likely a lot less MUD on bad weather days. I'm not sure that many hard core fans of the Zips realize just how lowbrow most locals think the Rubber Bowl is. I know many around here who will definitely go downtown to watch the Zips play, given all of the tangibles and intangibles involved, who wouldn't be caught dead going to the Rubber Bowl to see a game. I also wonder what that 20K will look like. I've been at games where the announced attendance was ridiculously overstated. They may have sold that many tickets, but there sure as hell weren't that many bodies in the seats. The crowds at the Info should be large and actual. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

[johnnyzip84]

Pluto says regarding next year's home schedule " and a sixth contest possibly against a Football Bowl Subdivision school". Did he possibly mean to say Football Championship Subdivision? I mean, every other school Akron hosts next year is FBS, so why make the that sort of distinction for the 6th home opponent? It's unlikely that he would have meant BCS (as in BCS-conference) school, since we already have Indiana coming in. I realize that the revised naming convention, from D1-A to FBS and D1-AA to FCS has caused confusion, so I'm not surprised that a mistake like this could make its way into a column.BTW, anyone have any thoughts on who that 6th team might be. We discussed how it prabably can't be YSU (unless they agree to a one shot deal). I'd be very leary of brining in anyone from the MVC or Colonial, if they do bring in a FCS team.

[Quickzips]

Column

Rhoades believes Akron can draw at least 20,000 in the new 27,000-seat stadium next season, assuming the Zips are competitive.

The column lists our attendance @ 16,000 for the past two seasons. If we have a brand-spanking new $60 million dollar stadium...have our home opener vs. Indiana, + home vs. K.e.n.t, both of which will be GUARANTEED 30,000 SRO...there's no way on God's green earth we should average 20,000!! Only 4k more than at the Rubber Bowl!!?? That's lower than the most low-aiming expectation I could have expected to see in my worst nightmare.I expect 25k. Anything less is unacceptable.

Regardless of first and second year attendance being driven by the newness of the facility, shouldn't Info always outdraw the Rubber Bowl? Even in down football years, given that the new digs will be on campus, where more students live every year, and near downtown, which should always bring in bodies, I'll be surprised if the crowds aren't larger and quite different. More students, many more people from the North and West sides, the ability to grab a nice meal before and/or after, entertainment venues, likely a lot less MUD on bad weather days. I'm not sure that many hard core fans of the Zips realize just how lowbrow most locals think the Rubber Bowl is. I know many around here who will definitely go downtown to watch the Zips play, given all of the tangibles and intangibles involved, who wouldn't be caught dead going to the Rubber Bowl to see a game. I also wonder what that 20K will look like. I've been at games where the announced attendance was ridiculously overstated. They may have sold that many tickets, but there sure as hell weren't that many bodies in the seats. The crowds at the Info should be large and actual. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

I've said it before and I will say it again. People are overestimating the effect having the stadium on campus will have on student attendance. Yes we have more students living on campus every year, but the overwhelming majority of them go home on the weekends. If they aren't here, they aren't going to attend the games. Something is going to have to convince them to stay on campus for the weekends and I'm not at all convinced that the stadium and the team will be able to do that. I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt that it will happen. At least right away.

[RowdyZip]

Column

Rhoades believes Akron can draw at least 20,000 in the new 27,000-seat stadium next season, assuming the Zips are competitive.

The column lists our attendance @ 16,000 for the past two seasons. If we have a brand-spanking new $60 million dollar stadium...have our home opener vs. Indiana, + home vs. K.e.n.t, both of which will be GUARANTEED 30,000 SRO...there's no way on God's green earth we should average 20,000!! Only 4k more than at the Rubber Bowl!!?? That's lower than the most low-aiming expectation I could have expected to see in my worst nightmare.I expect 25k. Anything less is unacceptable.

Regardless of first and second year attendance being driven by the newness of the facility, shouldn't Info always outdraw the Rubber Bowl? Even in down football years, given that the new digs will be on campus, where more students live every year, and near downtown, which should always bring in bodies, I'll be surprised if the crowds aren't larger and quite different. More students, many more people from the North and West sides, the ability to grab a nice meal before and/or after, entertainment venues, likely a lot less MUD on bad weather days. I'm not sure that many hard core fans of the Zips realize just how lowbrow most locals think the Rubber Bowl is. I know many around here who will definitely go downtown to watch the Zips play, given all of the tangibles and intangibles involved, who wouldn't be caught dead going to the Rubber Bowl to see a game. I also wonder what that 20K will look like. I've been at games where the announced attendance was ridiculously overstated. They may have sold that many tickets, but there sure as hell weren't that many bodies in the seats. The crowds at the Info should be large and actual. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

I've said it before and I will say it again. People are overestimating the effect having the stadium on campus will have on student attendance. Yes we have more students living on campus every year, but the overwhelming majority of them go home on the weekends. If they aren't here, they aren't going to attend the games. Something is going to have to convince them to stay on campus for the weekends and I'm not at all convinced that the stadium and the team will be able to do that. I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt that it will happen. At least right away.

I for one think it will have a HUGE effect on student turnout. If you take a look at some big games at the Rubber Bowl such as K-ent and other decent weather days, the students can fill a solid 1 to 1.5 sections in the bowl. Student attendance will improve because of proximity. It's a lot easier to pound a bunch of beers at home/the dorm and walk 1/4 mile than it is to find a 10 minute ride to a dump 7 miles from campus.

[ZachTheZip]

Column

Rhoades believes Akron can draw at least 20,000 in the new 27,000-seat stadium next season, assuming the Zips are competitive.

The column lists our attendance @ 16,000 for the past two seasons. If we have a brand-spanking new $60 million dollar stadium...have our home opener vs. Indiana, + home vs. K.e.n.t, both of which will be GUARANTEED 30,000 SRO...there's no way on God's green earth we should average 20,000!! Only 4k more than at the Rubber Bowl!!?? That's lower than the most low-aiming expectation I could have expected to see in my worst nightmare.I expect 25k. Anything less is unacceptable.

Regardless of first and second year attendance being driven by the newness of the facility, shouldn't Info always outdraw the Rubber Bowl? Even in down football years, given that the new digs will be on campus, where more students live every year, and near downtown, which should always bring in bodies, I'll be surprised if the crowds aren't larger and quite different. More students, many more people from the North and West sides, the ability to grab a nice meal before and/or after, entertainment venues, likely a lot less MUD on bad weather days. I'm not sure that many hard core fans of the Zips realize just how lowbrow most locals think the Rubber Bowl is. I know many around here who will definitely go downtown to watch the Zips play, given all of the tangibles and intangibles involved, who wouldn't be caught dead going to the Rubber Bowl to see a game. I also wonder what that 20K will look like. I've been at games where the announced attendance was ridiculously overstated. They may have sold that many tickets, but there sure as hell weren't that many bodies in the seats. The crowds at the Info should be large and actual. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

I've said it before and I will say it again. People are overestimating the effect having the stadium on campus will have on student attendance. Yes we have more students living on campus every year, but the overwhelming majority of them go home on the weekends. If they aren't here, they aren't going to attend the games. Something is going to have to convince them to stay on campus for the weekends and I'm not at all convinced that the stadium and the team will be able to do that. I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt that it will happen. At least right away.

It will have an effect. The University currently buses many students from Campus to the Rubber Bowl for home games. I still don't see more than 1000 students attending too many games.Something you're not considering is that the stadium will affect the number of students staying the weekends both directly and indirectly. Directly because now there is something to do on campus on Saturdays (Tailgating will be a big reason), not to mention concerts and stuff. Indirectly because it should create additional businesses in the area like sports bars and restaurants that serve as incentives to stick around. The second part may not happen immediately, but it will happen.We'll be hosting plenty of HS football games on Fridays, too, which could help improve the perception of the school and our campus in the minds of people who still envision UA as the place it was 20 years ago.

[Dr Z]

Using the proper reply button

[Quickzips]

You guys are making a large assumption that I don't think we can yet make. You're assuming that students are going to be interested enough in the atmosphere around the stadium/team/etc. that they will want to stay on the weekend and that interest will be widespread. Having lived on campus for 4 years (2003/04-2006/07) I can't say I've ever seen any indication that something like that is possible from the current crop of students. I think it's going to take a few years and a few more freshman classes who are used to that stadium and that atmosphere being right there. The students that are here right now, in general, still don't care enough. On top of that, all of the "additional business" you talk about isn't going to just pop up over night. For the most part the University/Downtown bar/restaurant scene is going to look the same next year at this time as it does now. Ask yourself. With all of the success our basketball program has, how many students do you see at your typical weekend basketball game? Granted, football and basketball are different animals, but I can also argue that basketball season presents worse traveling weather, and students in general still choose to brave the weather and go home as opposed to staying and walking over the JAR to see quality mens DI basketball. I just can't see the results being drastically different for football. I don't think you will see much more in terms of student turnout than what you typically see for maybe a decent Can't State game. It's going to take time to develop a larger student fanbase than that. The stadium by itself overnight. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I'd love nothing more than to see a couple thousand students at each and every home game. I just think that expecting an instant and lasting turnaround in student attendance is unreasonable based on what I've observed.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I just think that expecting an instant and lasting turnaround in student attendance is unreasonable based on what I've observed.

I expect "instant." Unless the University does something so profoundly stupid that it defies logic...like outlawing tailgating w/alcohol and arresting those customers who aren't eating University supplied cookies and milk...the new stadium will be a monster hit in year #1. The University has one chance to make a 1st impression with the Akron public and students in 2009. DON'T BLOW IT!!"Lasting?" That will take effort. At least to consistently be at 20k+. A real, butts-in-the-seats 20k too, not the fabricated numbers we see in the paper all the time.If we have sub-.500 teams, attendance will struggle after about 2 seasons. That's not unique to Akron, that's a universal constant. It is imperative we are competitive if we want to pay off those stadium bonds.

[zipsbandman]

I do not think we are overstating student turnout with this new facility. Akron is becoming more of a residential campus. You put more students on and around campus and suddenly there is more to do. You get more activity in the downtown bars, aeros games, house parties, etc. Also, don't forget private developers building student housing downtown. So while the population of students increases due to more dorms, there is a huge amount of students living in houses and apartments around campus already. Most of the students I talk to live in housing around campus and I have heard several say they would more likely catch a game or two if the zips played on campus. Lets face it. The bowl is an embarrassment. It's not the best place to watch a game especially when it is empty and you can say the same about the JAR. If we put a product on the field and schedule opponents like Indiana, the students will be well represented at games. Heck, I cannot even recall ever seeing a student section at the Bowl my Freshman year. It has come around.

[GP1]

If Pluto is going to use my ideas, he could at least credit the great GP1 with the idea. In academic circles, they call it plagiarism.

Re-stating someone's words without giving them credit as the author is plagiarism.Stealing someone else's ideas is life (unless you have a patent, trademark, or trade secret on your "idea")

Your probably right. I just wish he would have said somthing like..... "With my Can't State education, I am completely unable to formulate an original thought. Because of that, I am going to us an idea from a person of superior intellect from naturally The University of Akron, the great GP1." At this point, he could start his note. I'd love to know if Pluto reads this board.Back to the student attendance. I fully expect large student attendance at the new stadium. There is very little to do on a Saturday in the afternoon around the school and going to a game is perfect entertainment.

[ziptrumpet87]

Would we quit playing weeknight games once the stadium opens? I would think we could draw better playing only on Saturday (assuming we're not playing Directional State Technical College).

[johnnyzip84]

Would we quit playing weeknight games once the stadium opens? I would think we could draw better playing only on Saturday (assuming we're not playing Directional State Technical College).

Not unless Lord Disney/ABC/ESPN says we can!

[ZachTheZip]

Would we quit playing weeknight games once the stadium opens? I would think we could draw better playing only on Saturday (assuming we're not playing Directional State Technical College).

The MAC forces us to play weeknight games because they think it somehow gives us a national audience (in truth, we have greater competition on weeknights with all the prime-time shows like American Idol and Lost, ect. running in the same time slots). All our non-conference games are on Saturdays. Just another reason we need to get out of this backwards-thinking conference.