Bowl attendance

[GMDGator]

From USA TODAY:
Bowl game attendance on decline but TV interest grows
Strong TV ratings and plentiful programming opportunities are leading to more college football bowl games each year.

http://usat.ly/1AOmyX9

This is a really interesting article about bowl attendance declining and where the money is really being generated... It makes me wonder, if most of their revenue now comes from tv, it would seem like the ticket prices would be dirt cheap to assure sell outs.... Also, it mentions tix sales have declined the last 6 years in a row.... Right in line with the economic meltdown of 08.. I would be interested to see how much prices have changed over that span... The average tix for bham bowl is $75 and I would bet 50% of the stadium will be empty... That is unused parking, concessions, hotels, restaurants, and the like all left out due to greed by ESPN...

 

[biggator6]

It's really obvious when watching on TV.. The stadiums are all half empty.

I wouldn't pay $75+ to sit in a half-condemned stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. Legion field is a dump in a sketchy area.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Isn't playing in Birmingham or Shreveport the same thing as playing in front of a studio audience?

 

[rogdochar]

Isn't playing in Birmingham or Shreveport the same thing as playing in front of a studio audience?

… or a stupido audience.

 

[Swamp Queen]

Isn't playing in Birmingham or Shreveport the same thing as playing in front of a studio audience?

I thought it was more like playing in front of a laugh track.

 

[gardnerwebbgator]

Look at the Orange Bowl tonight, empties galore. Nobody wants to pay $100, period. Cut the ticket prices in half, money can still be made, and put more butts in the seats.

 

[GMDGator]

My point exactly Gardner.... Lots of $$$ being left on the table due to overpriced tickets... But, I must be missing something

 

[biggator6]

Isn't playing in Birmingham or Shreveport the same thing as playing in front of a studio audience?

Only if your car is likely to get broken into outside the studio.

 

[TN G8tr]

Orange Bowl was terrible looking. I'm thinking that with the playoff and restructuring the bowl games and dates have to had made an impact here in addition to the $$$$ to attend a game. Prices are outrageous.

 

[BearCatGator]

Games are becoming so that only people with money can attend. I remember going to games growing up and paying $20 for a ticket. I could make a day trip with a couple friends and end up spending $60 for the entire trip. $75 for one ticket is a lot of money for a lot of people. By the time your eat, drive, and get tickets you are looking at $200 if you are lucky. I am lucky that I have a decent job but it really hurts a lot of the lower class people that were once able to attend games. I can sit back and watch my 60" tv, skip through the commercials, drink and eat for cheap, not have to stand in piss in the bathroom, not freeze or burn up, and sometimes Mrs. BearcatGator can give me some lovin during the game.

 

[TN G8tr]

Games are becoming so that only people with money can attend. I remember going to games growing up and paying $20 for a ticket. I could make a day trip with a couple friends and end up spending $60 for the entire trip. $75 for one ticket is a lot of money for a lot of people. By the time your eat, drive, and get tickets you are looking at $200 if you are lucky. I am lucky that I have a decent job but it really hurts a lot of the lower class people that were once able to attend games. I can sit back and watch my 60" tv, skip through the commercials, drink and eat for cheap, not have to stand in piss in the bathroom, not freeze or burn up, and sometimes Mrs. BearcatGator can give me some lovin during the game.

Yes sir,

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Games are becoming so that only people with money can attend. I remember going to games growing up and paying $20 for a ticket. I could make a day trip with a couple friends and end up spending $60 for the entire trip. $75 for one ticket is a lot of money for a lot of people. By the time your eat, drive, and get tickets you are looking at $200 if you are lucky. I am lucky that I have a decent job but it really hurts a lot of the lower class people that were once able to attend games. I can sit back and watch my 60" tv, skip through the commercials, drink and eat for cheap, not have to stand in piss in the bathroom, not freeze or burn up, and sometimes Mrs. BearcatGator can give me some lovin during the game.

I get your point, but it seems silly to quibble over ticket prices when you have a 60" TV.

 

[GMDGator]

Tm and Bearcat, that is the crux of my article link and posting... IMHO, football (like NASCAR a few years back) has passed the tipping point on pricing out the longtime fans... If the Tv money is so lucrative there is no reason the tix prices are so expensive... They should be cheap enough to guarantee a sellout at most bowls... This is the beginning, but 6 years of declining bowl attendance is a trend.
Football is built on a live audience, and when the crowd isn't there to generate enthusiasm, it loses something. The greed running cfb and the nfl both are ruining the game. This will only be excaserbated when they start paying players and more schools go the UAB route...
Just one old codgers opinion

 

[GMDGator]

I get your point, but it seems silly to quibble over ticket prices when you have a 60" TV.

What an absurd analogy

 

[gardnerwebbgator]

and sometimes Mrs. BearcatGator can give me some lovin during the game.

Easy to work in those 30 second sessions in those 2 minute commercial windows, isn't it?

 

[gatormandan]

Anyone watching Baylor? I would love to have their passing game....

 

[VulcanAlex]

I do wonder about this. Of course bowls in crappy locations are going to suffer, but I wonder why say Nashville does not have packages with hotel rooms at a decent price and the tickets very affordable. Not too many better cities or facilities for their bowl game. Memphis has a dump for a stadium but the city does have some appeal. The Sugar bowl was not a sell out either.

Now if I was UF and had tickets to eat, students would go for free, send them by bus. Sure it would cost a little more but would be worth it.

 

[QueenCityGator]

Easy to work in those 30 second sessions in those 2 minute commercial windows, isn't it?

Is this what Mrs Bearcatgator was doing while you were watching the game

 

[TN G8tr]

Anyone watching Baylor? I would love to have their passing game....

Yes, pretty impressive.

 

[gatormandan]

Yes, pretty impressive.

If they had a defense they would be scary.