Ideas to increase football attendance

[Captain Sasquatch]

Let students unload their tickets. Dis-invent HDTV. Dis-invent air conditioning.

The only spaces that are empty each home game are the away seats, the Sunshine Seats, and parts of the student section. Figure out a way to fill those.

 

[Pablos Tunnel]

Dump the public ivy crap and admit students who actually like watching sports...american football in particular.

Right. UCF is number #1 state school in the nation anyway.

 

[rogdochar]

Miami added a sanctuary section.?

 

[NOLAGATOR]

Reduce Seating to allow:

• More Seat Backs
• Cheap Non-Seat Back Tickets
• Better WiFi
• Better Parking/Shuttles to Parking
• Some Shade over Orange /East Side
• Beer/Alcohol
• Bring Back the Orange and Brew...Maybe a Come & Go Gate

 

[DocZaius]

Strict dress code for coeds under 150 pounds: must wear tube tops or spaghetti straps, and short shorts or miniskirts.

 

[Mr2Bits]

4 Easy things.......I have had this solved for a long time.

1) As mentioned earlier, sell beer
2) Work with transportation companies in Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jax to provide more Gator bus there and back options
3) Add shade screens to the upper-decks, hate to say it but FSU has this solved
4) Reduce the student section allotment by 1/2 - 2/3rds and/or allow them to sell their tickets to Alumni and go back to the pre-2006ish days where a student ID wasn't required.

The latter is the biggest issue we face today!

 

[GR8 2B]

Strict dress code for coeds under 150 pounds: must wear tube tops or spaghetti straps, and short shorts or miniskirts.

You're nothing if not consistent, Doc - and I applaud you.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Strict dress code for coeds under 150 pounds: must wear tube tops or spaghetti straps, and short shorts or miniskirts.

what else do you think they're wearing on the 146° side of the stadium?

 

[aka]

Night games. Topless cheerleaders. Not necessarily in that order.

 

[GatorTruth133]

To be creative and avoid the obvious stuff like:

1. Win
2. Don't lose to UK and Mizzou
3. Don't just win, be exciting, ain't no one having fun during the Champ/Mac years when we had to wait until the end to beat the Vandy's of the world.
4. Lower your ****ing prices, you can make up the loss per ticket with greater volume sold, which also creates a better atmosphere, and shockingly a good atmosphere can cause people to want to return that would watch the same game and not be sure about returning with a so-so atmosphere. Games are an experience. How about letting the other band perform at halftime again to add to it maybe, it's college football bring back the pageantry.
5. Better food prices...granted the Cuban from Mi Apa just inside Gate 1 was for what you got.

Anyways, other than those obvious solutions...I really don't have much. We can talk about A/C like it didn't exist during our sellout streak, we can act like quality of picture is the sole reason why people stay home, we can pretend that most excuses (like internet, which I actually think is the most credible) didn't exist when Shane, Danny, Rex, Leak, and Tebow were out there, but truth is they were. Then we became a joke of a program, we jacked prices and gave the money to non-revenue sports, we lost at home a lot, we were boring and predictable, and would I like marquee games? Yes, but let's not pretend that the cupcake games were not sold out (and the stands more full than most current SEC games) when we were winning and had top offenses. Even in the Zook years.

 

[Gator-Don]

Miami added a sanctuary section.?

For white guys.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Then we became a joke of a program, we jacked prices and gave the money to non-revenue sports, we at home a lot, we were boring and predictable, and would I like marquee games? Yes, but let's not pretend that the cupcake games were not sold out (and the stands more full than most current SEC games) when we were winning and had top offenses. Even in the Zook years.

This needs more than just a like.

 

[BMF]

Despite being the first team to go 15-0 and win the national championship, Clemson did not sell out a single game last year:

Clemson did not sell out a single home game in 2018

Here is why Clemson football did not sell out a home game in 2018

In 2018, Clemson recorded the first 15-0 national championship season in the five-year history of the College Football Playoff. But the Tigers achieved that perfect record without perfect attendance.

Clemson did not sell out a single home game during the 2018 season, including the rivalry game against South Carolina. It was the first season in which Clemson did not notch at least one sellout since 2009, Dabo Swinney’s first full year as head coach.

Clemson reported an average crowd of 80,400 fans, filling Memorial Stadium to 98.7 percent of its capacity. The South Carolina crowd of 81,436 was Clemson’s largest of the year, but it was only the third time the rivalry has attracted fewer than 82,000 to Death Valley since 1982. The other instances were in 2010 and 2016.

Clemson ranked 12th in the Division I bowl subdivision in average stadium capacity. Merely five teams averaged a sellout— Oklahoma, Michigan, Nebraska, Georgia and Utah. Clemson also trailed its powerhouse peers Alabama, Ohio State and Penn State in that category. But also Central Florida, Kansas State and North Carolina State.

The odd mixture of schools at the top of the ledger reveals the inexact science behind ticket sales. The conventional culprits of expensive ticket costs, low demand and enhanced television viewing experiences are not the only reasons for the empty seats.

“Our biggest factor tends to be the opponent and how many folks they bring,” said Clemson assistant athletic director for ticket operations Owen Godfrey, alluding to the tickets Clemson allots to opponents.

The highest allotment figure is for South Carolina, biennially Clemson’s most attractive ticket. Last season, Clemson allotted 8,000 tickets to South Carolina. In accordance with a league-wide agreement, visiting Atlantic Coast Conference schools can request a maximum of 4,300 tickets.

The allotment for all other visitors was stipulated in their respective contracts. However, outside of Carolina, few of Clemson's opponents guaranteed more than 1,000 tickets. Clemson recouped the unused tickets in late April, but it could not package them into a full season-ticket deal without the marquee Carolina game.

“We sold as many season tickets down to that guaranteed number at 8,000,” Godfrey said. “When we do that, we turn away some folks that want to buy full season tickets, because, when the schedule doesn't include South Carolina, or if we did it this year and it didn't include Texas A&M, it's a challenge.”

Clemson advertises remaining season ticket package deals each June. In July, Clemson posts the unused tickets for single-game sales. According to Godfrey, fans searching for single-game seats are conditioned to shop the secondary marketplaces, like StubHub and SeatGeek, so they often bypass the Clemson ticket office.

“Our toughest chore here is just building awareness that we actually have those tickets,” Godfrey said. “If you hear that we're sold out of season tickets, you don't know you can order directly from Clemson.”

The demand for smaller packages and single-game tickets was low last season. The season opener against Furman attracted more fans (80,048) than the matchup with ACC foe Louisville (78,741).

During its previous undefeated regular season, in 2015, Clemson hosted marquee matchups against Notre Dame and Florida State. Clemson had an easier time selling three, four and five-game packages that included Appalachian State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.

Clemson sold out every game that season. Its only sellouts since then were dates with Louisville, North Carolina State and South Carolina in 2016 and Auburn in 2017.

The highest allotment for the 2019 season, 5,000 tickets, is for Texas A&M, the anchor of the schedule. Traditional season ticket packages are renewable. Although Clemson has 3,000 more seats to sell this season than last year, it cannot exceed the South Carolina allotment for 2020.

Clemson and South Carolina agreed to decrease that allotment to 7,000. According to Godfrey, Clemson has sold 400 of those additional 1,000 season tickets.

 

[gatormandan]

Allow heroin dealers to sell in the stadium. It might really boost attendance but the majority will probably be asleep by the 2nd qtr.

 

[Double Gator Dad]

To fire up the crowd with enthusiasm as Mr.Two Bits: Mike White

Now that’s funny.

 

[Double Gator Dad]

A bottle of Aquafina in the Swamp costs $4 for God's sake. They need to do a way better job with food vendors and obviously lower the price of water and Gatorade. That's not going to boost attendance that much. Better food at the stadium wouldn't hurt though.

Would it make it worse if I told you that they pay approximately 30 cents for that bottle of Aquafina?
Not kidding, that’s what ARAMARK (stadium vendor) pays for the water they sell for $4. Nothing like a 1300% markup

 

[stephenPE]

Would it make it worse if I told you that they pay approximately 30 cents for that bottle of Aquafina?
Not kidding, that’s what ARAMARK (stadium vendor) pays for the water they sell for $4. Nothing like a 1300% markup

they have free cold water up in the SW corner with small cups. But they have some food up there that will gag a buzzard. Horrible sht........I took it back. Like some philly beef andpeppers. I think it was boiled.

 

[Double Gator Dad]

Greed and stupidity.

There were times when i sold or traded my tix to other students who had family coming in for the game or just alums who contacted law school student bar asking for tix. SSometimes we had papers or projects due and I just couldnt go to the game. Or needed the money so I watched on tv. (Someone paid me a bunch for Tinerc tix, and I was a starving student.)

This is just more Fooley greed, trying to milk every penny out of the alums.

At some point the crowd is going to have enough of his shyt and show up at his house w torches and pitchforks.

Has the date for this been announced?

That’s a good idea for increasing attendance. Each game a few lucky fans can go on to the field and take a few shots at our AD Emeritus or whatever the he!! they’re calling him

 

[RiverRat]

Early season Night games-check, beer sales-check, a team thats exciting to watch-check (fingers crossed), guess I'll be there.

 

[cover2]

they have free cold water up in the SW corner with small cups. But they have some food up there that will gag a buzzard. Horrible sht........I took it back. Like some philly beef andpeppers. I think it was boiled.

This reminded me to gripe about the stadium food. I remember taking c2 Jr. when he was elementary school age and stopping by concessions. He was hungry and was intrigued by the turkey legs. Unfortunately it was scalding hot and the little case that the legs hung in was filled with flies crawling about, defecating and laying eggs, etc. Still, there were many buying them. I guess the proxemity of Shands assuaged any fears. It doesn't necessarily have to be gourmet, but it should at least be sanitary. At least beer would make washing that crap down some easier.