Why can't we consistently fill AZ Stadium?

HaCats · Post by **HaCats** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 10:51 am

But 7 wins isn't good enough for you! haha, sorry....had to. Yep, I remember the Wisconsin game in the Tropical Storm that we should've won too.

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:21 am

HaCats wrote:But 7 wins isn't good enough for you! haha, sorry....had to. Yep, I remember the Wisconsin game in the Tropical Storm that we should've won too.

huh? in stoops first year after the 2-10 crap stain of 2003?

i

HaCats · Post by **HaCats** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:11 pm

that was said totally in jest. Yes, 7 wins obviously in 2005 under the circumstances would've been huge.

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:17 pm

It was just massively deflating as a freshman/sophomore in 2004/2005 to be soooo close to maybe 11/12/13 wins compared to 6.

bowl games in 2004-2005 still almost meant something. there was still only about 25 games (instead of 40+) and you more or less had to go 7-4 or better still to get into one. 6-5 teams got left out.

UALoco · Post by **UALoco** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 11:09 am

Attendance for WSU game, 42,822. Sad.

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 12:37 pm

UALoco wrote:Attendance for WSU game, 42,822. Sad.

And that was PAID tickets, not actual attendance. We played a ranked team, we have a winning record, we have an exciting QB, and we still can't put butts in the stands. Its more than sad, its pathetic.

I think there are a whole host of reasons:

1) Tucson is a minimum wage town. Couple that with the last 8 years of sub 2% GDP, putrid growth & shrinking wages and the
natives have only so much left over for Football tickets

2) Generational issues: Specifically the younger crowd that has a 30-45 second attention span and can't sit still for 3-4 hours
without obsessing over their Facebook page.

3) 1/3rd of the US population is too fat.......they simply can't bring themselves to drag their fat asses down to a football game
where they will have to park their cars and actually walk 1/2 mile to get to their seats (which are too small to fit their large
lard filled asses into)

4) The vast majority of the games are on TV. Why spend money you don't have (see reason #1) and then drag your overweight
ass down to the stadium (See reason #3) when you can sit in front of the tube on your couch and drink beer and get fatter?

Unfortunately, I don't see these trends reversing themselves anytime soon. Our new AD is going to have his hands full trying
to generate revenue from the Football program.

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 12:47 pm

You sound angry. Chill out, have a beer, enjoy life.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 12:55 pm

Beer will help although your narrative made me LOL. When so many come to tailgate but then head too the bar instead of heading into the stadium well that tells you all you need to know

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:47 pm

It is crazy that 5000 less people went to this game than the UCLA game.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:55 pm

It's tough to compete against the halloween Saturday.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 3:21 pm

CalStateTempe wrote:It's tough to compete against the halloween Saturday.

True. All the UA Halloween parties were starting during the 2nd half.

UALoco · Post by **UALoco** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 3:57 pm

At least we can say it is not due to a lack of winning. I'd rather have a winning team with empty stands than a losing team with empty stands. Let's hope that the team closes out the year strong and with the higher expectations going into next seasons, folks will start baking the football games into their plans. The home games next year are much better than this year's. Just for the record, when I've asked folks why they can't make it, they have never, not once, said it was because RR entertained of USC offer.

wyo-cat · Post by **wyo-cat** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 4:20 pm

Tucson will be K Town for the next two and a half years. It's gonna get better.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 7:52 am

Hansen chimes in.

btfd16 · Post by **btfd16** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:11 am

Had no clue about those prices.... That's high.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:44 am

Price is not an issue. You can get two for one tickets in the upper deck with a receipt from Taco Bell for $20. I got good tickets in Section 25 a week before the game for $29.

Gilbertcat · Post by **Gilbertcat** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:49 am

Its always going to be the price point. If tickets had been $5 or less for good seats (not uppers), it would have been full. While WSU is good this year, they still have WSU in front of their jersey. If it was USC, Oregon or Tempe St, people would view the value of the ticket better. It will always be that way. There isn't a single team in the conference that is different. Look at Tempe the last few years when WSU was in town. With the size of the valley, you would expect more than half of their stadium to be full. I think it was 2 years ago for their "senior day", looked like 10k in the stands; and that was before the south championship game in Tucson.

This was the first year in 10 years I didnt have season tickets. Granted my expectations had been low but I figured I could buy single game tickets vs waiting for the times to be announced and then either selling my tickets or planning to make the drive depending if it was in the sweet spot of 4-7 pm for me. So far I have been to 3 games this year. OSU is a late one so will pass on that one, expect attendance to look horrible for that one.

btfd16 · Post by **btfd16** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:58 am

How do we solve older people complaining about noise/hip hop/EDM when that's what the younger generation wants?

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:04 am

Who pays the bills?

I'm all for student section (even if they leave at the half). But the older folks have a point regarding noise/music and watching at home.

The lack of published start times I find incredibly annoying and difficult to plan around.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:05 am

I still haven't gotten over the students costing us a rose bowl title vs Oregon in 2009.

RazorsEdgeAZ · Post by **RazorsEdgeAZ** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:19 am

Assume attendance will increase a bit just because of the student fee kicking in. I assume UA will count a full zona zoo in the attendance numbers just like ASu has done with their student fee whether students there or not. ASU relocated parts of their student section. Who knows, maybe UA will split up after the stadium upgrades, new seating and decreased capacity.

UA will get paid now whether zona zoo there or not at games. Attendance will be on decrease for all of college football minus the very few brand schools. TV, cost and convenience will do that. Don't think selling alcohol long-term will impact significantly attendance numbers. Don't think it has in many with other schools. WV as an example. It has increased schools revenues however.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:37 am

CalStateTempe wrote:Who pays the bills?

I'm all for student section (even if they leave at the half). But the older folks have a point regarding noise/music and watching at home.

The lack of published start times I find incredibly annoying and difficult to plan around.

All you have to find start times is Google it like a week before game time...it's extraordinarily easy to find

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:42 am

ASUHATER! wrote:
CalStateTempe wrote:Who pays the bills?

I'm all for student section (even if they leave at the half). But the older folks have a point regarding noise/music and watching at home.

The lack of published start times I find incredibly annoying and difficult to plan around.
All you have to find start times is Google it like a week before game time...it's extraordinarily easy to find

Start times are very difficult to predict based on how the networks do their choosing for games to show.

For example, ESPN picked UA/ntOSU for a late start time, since they had priority over Fox Sports, who would have given the UA a 1pm afternoon slot.

So more people not watching on ESPN, than would be watching of FS1.

wyo-cat · Post by **wyo-cat** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:48 am

btfd16 wrote:How do we solve older people complaining about noise/hip hop/EDM when that's what the younger generation wants?

I like the music. We dance around after good plays. It's fun.

The problem is finding time between all of the activities of the kids, we only get to 1-2 games per season.

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:49 am

Merkin wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:
CalStateTempe wrote:Who pays the bills?

I'm all for student section (even if they leave at the half). But the older folks have a point regarding noise/music and watching at home.

The lack of published start times I find incredibly annoying and difficult to plan around.
All you have to find start times is Google it like a week before game time...it's extraordinarily easy to find

Start times are very difficult to predict based on how the networks do their choosing for games to show.

For example, ESPN picked UA/ntOSU for a late start time, since they had priority over Fox Sports, who would have given the UA a 1pm afternoon slot.

So more people not watching on ESPN, than would be watching of FS1.

Not easy to plan for sure, never know what the TV networks want week to week and what other conferences impact the PAC-12 that week.

I think CST was also talking about going to the games. Google searches don't help you plan when you actually show up for the games and the kickoffs are announced 12 or 6 days before. But with so many people so close to the Stadium it should be a lot more full than it is.

I said it in jest but the more I think about it the more I want Heeke to do it. Make Miller go out there with the basketball team for a few minutes before the band does their half time show. Will get more butts in the seats for sure.

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:50 am

i don't know a single person who would be more likely to go to a football game to see the basketball team wave at the crowd for 2 mins during half time. so utterly stupid.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:50 am

wyo-cat wrote:
btfd16 wrote:How do we solve older people complaining about noise/hip hop/EDM when that's what the younger generation wants?
I like the music. We dance around after good plays. It's fun.

The problem is finding time between all of the activities of the kids, we only get to 1-2 games per season.

I think this why a team's in season success doesn't drive ticket sales as much as preseason expectations. People generally make plans far enough in advance that you don't get a ton of late variation.

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:07 am

Regarding Miller and the basketball team

Maybe hand out tickets at the start of the game like U of A did with the Gronk bobble head and a few winners get to meet Miller and the team for a few minutes and get some autographs?

Winning prizes that include floor seats at a game at McKale instead of a 32" tv?

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:18 am

Just let the band play. Hate the piped in music in AZ stadium or McKale. I want a college atmosphere.

cats101 · Post by **cats101** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:54 am

I'm not sure what the fix is, however, I can guarantee the overly loud music isn't going away. I do prefer the more traditional band style, but that's the new generation we're in.

Also, I will say, it is hard to find people who want to go to the game. Even the WSU game was tough. They all would rather watch at home. Everyone is aware of Tate, but no one wanted to go. I don't get it. I gave up season tickets after 2014 partially due to start times. If you think its not an issue it is. Not how late or early, just when the game will start. Extremely frustrating trying to predict the times and plan the rest (if possible) Saturday <1 week in advance. Now we have the occasional Friday game. So, I pick single game tickets and go from there. With this years schedule, the picking was slim.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:57 am

Well is the whole stadium was chairbacks it would help but for sure the start time has to be the #1 issue. The Oregon st game will not kickoff until 8:15. At the half it will be past 10PM. Game won't end until midnight, that is crazy

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:59 am

I'm sure next year will be better. But the trends out there aren't going to change all that much with any football program.

2017:
NAU
Houston
Utah
UCLA
Washington St
Oregon St

2018:
BYU
Southern Utah
Colorado
UCLA
Cal
Oregon
ASU

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 12:09 pm

scumdevils86 wrote: 2018:
BYU
Southern Utah

Outside of the Mo's from Mesa and Utah, not much of a national interest in either game.

UALoco · Post by **UALoco** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 12:37 pm

I'm happy this topic is finally getting play in the media and is a topic of conversation in general. Putting major investments into the stadium is really tough given attendance is such a wildcard. The structural improvements(i.e. seat backs, reducing capacity) needed are capital-intensive, long-term projects and who knows how good the team will be in a couple years when KT jumps to the NFL and the AD will be left holding the check. Also, there is a general drop in the interest in football, the NFL is seeing it as well. Less people are playing so there are not as many hard-core football fans out there. Fans tend to be more casual and fickle these days.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:44 pm

azcat49 wrote:Well is the whole stadium was chairbacks it would help but for sure the start time has to be the #1 issue. The Oregon st game will not kickoff until 8:15. At the half it will be past 10PM. Game won't end until midnight, that is crazy

Live sports are all experiencing issues right now. The market for live sports, NFL, CFB, MLB, is not strong right now. I actually think the NBA is doing ok, but the reality is the traditional setup of live sporting events is declining in popularity.

jimson · Post by **jimson** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 5:44 pm

btfd16 wrote:How do we solve older people complaining about noise/hip hop/EDM when that's what the younger generation wants?

Screw the younger generation. They only stay half the game at best.

Need to restore the game day shuttle at any cost. I'll guarantee we lost a lot of older fans because who don't like to drive at night and for sure don't want to walk from the 6th St garage and they are the one's with disposable income.

I'll say it again, bring back the outdoor smoking sections. Give people fewer reasons to prefer staying at home.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:35 pm

jimson wrote:
btfd16 wrote:How do we solve older people complaining about noise/hip hop/EDM when that's what the younger generation wants?
Screw the younger generation. They only stay half the game at best.

Need to restore the game day shuttle at any cost. I'll guarantee we lost a lot of older fans because who don't like to drive at night and for sure don't want to walk from the 6th St garage and they are the one's with disposable income.

I'll say it again, bring back the outdoor smoking sections. Give people fewer reasons to prefer staying at home.

One of the worst posts in a while. Smoking sections? Have you ever been to a game? The old people bail at halftime just as much as anyone else does. So out of touch in the post. Smoking sections????? Good Lord.

jimson · Post by **jimson** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:09 pm

Yes I've been to a game a-hole. Lot's of them. Just a couple of years ago they allowed smoking not IN THE STADIUM but outside it.
Those areas were always packed at halftime. Just another reason some people have to stay home.

Most of the older people I know are loyal fans. A lot more likely to stay the game than Zona Zoo.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:14 pm

jimson wrote:Yes I've been to a game a-hole. Lot's of them. Just a couple of years ago they allowed smoking not IN THE STADIUM but outside it.
Those areas were always packed at halftime. Just another reason some people have to stay home.

Most of the older people I know are loyal fans. A lot more likely to stay the game than Zona Zoo.

No need for personal attacks. And yes, old people flee the stadium just as much as anyone, that's not even debatable. Smoking sections are needed about as much as a section for rotary phones and for horse carriage pickups. Completely unnecessary and not needed anywhere public

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:17 pm

Well if people are bailing or not going because they lose their buzz I can see where smokers need an area so it makes sense.

So much has been taken away that now the game day experience is a drag. The AD knows this and I think we will see major changes coming soon

jimson · Post by **jimson** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:38 pm

ASUHATER! wrote: No need for personal attacks.

No need to post in a jerk, condescending manner either. If you think smokers are as rare as dial phones then you haven't been to a casino lately, and the only time they are willing to go 4 hours without a smoke is when they are sleeping.

The days of indoor public smoking are gone but outdoors is another matter IMO.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:46 pm

jimson wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote: No need for personal attacks.
No need to post in a jerk, condescending manner either. If you think smokers are as rare as dial phones then you haven't been to a casino lately, and the only time they are willing to go 4 hours without a smoke is when they are sleeping.

The days of indoor public smoking are gone but outdoors is another matter IMO.

The old smoker casino gambling addict crowd isn't as big or influential or important to cater to as you think it is.

jimson · Post by **jimson** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:31 am

Using the national average, out of 50,000 that's 10,000 seats filled by smokers, not counting their non smoking kids, wives etc. A conservative estimate of $300 spent on tickets, parking and overpriced concessions, 3 million bucks over the course of a season.

Rather than give them one more tipping point reason to stay home, it might be worth it to shoulder the huge burden of allowing them to walk out onto the ramp to have a halftime smoke.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:36 am

Give it a rest. There's no reason to cater to smokers in 2017. None

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:09 am

Gotta agree with 'Hater here. My employer (Cal Poly SLO) has made the smoking areas smaller and smaller each successive year, and finally this year banned smoking from every place on campus.

However, they did finally allow alcohol sales in the stadium!

There are large regional differences in smoking rates, with Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Mississippi topping the list, and Idaho, California and Utah at significantly lower rates

“The percentage of U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes declined from 20.9 percent in 2005 to 16.8 percent in 2014. Cigarette smoking was significantly lower in 2014 (16.8 percent) than in 2013 (17.8 percent).”

btfd16 · Post by **btfd16** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:17 am

Honest question. Even disregarding Arizona Stadium, why do you think people didn't show up to the Pac12 championship or even the Fiesta Bowl?

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:20 am

I honestly think all the promotion and entertainment is done to the detriment of the overall product. I can't stand to go to Chase Field for a game solely because of the atmosphere. Part of the attraction of being at a baseball game is pace, the conversation in the seats, and the strategy on the field. Nowadays, it's all about music and video entertainment between pitches. It's awful. Having been to more than a 100 major league games, I no longer go. The last pure place was Wrigley Field. But even they caved to a huge video board and have diminished the atmosphere in an attempt to "improve the atmosphere." Going to chase is like going to the food court at the mall where a baseball game also happens to be taking place.

The same can be said for football. The attraction of college football is the mix in the crowd of a huge student section and supportive alumni and community. Mix in the marching band and that's all the ingredients you want or need for a festive atmosphere. We don't need to be entertained between every whistle. Everything doesn't need to be choreographed and blasted on video boards and loudspeakers. Give me a solid product on the field, eliminate the long TV timeouts, and start the games at a decent hour. That's all I ask. I don't need a public address announcer yelling at me how to cheer and when to stand. I don't think I'm alone in this way of thinking.

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:22 am

ASUHATER! wrote:Give it a rest. There's no reason to cater to smokers in 2017. None

Instead of just shooting down ideas that are thought out and given facts, why don't you give some ideas? Why don't you go to more games and what could be done to get you to more?

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:28 am

btfd16 wrote:Honest question. Even disregarding Arizona Stadium, why do you think people didn't show up to the Pac12 championship or even the Fiesta Bowl?

Only had a week to plan to go to the PAC12 game and was a Friday night and was planning on going to the bowl game, that is why I didn't go to that game. I would assume many were in the same boat as me.

Fiesta bowl I can only think was either

A) people had New Years plans
B) the Phoenix hate/envy
C) we really are that bad of fans

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:32 am

Lol at machina thinking people wouldn't go to a bowl game since they're envious of Phoenix. Truly a shit post sir, I commend you.

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