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Seat licenses and overbuilding stadiums were the beginning of the end for college football
Posted on 11/14/21 at 7:56 am
Posted on 11/14/21 at 7:56 am
It’s not just LSU, it’s happening all over college football.
1-2 decades ago the AD’s thought the gravy train would never end, that it would only keep growing. Granted, there was a heightened appetite for the product. So they bought into the arms race. They wanted sexy suites and club levels, expanded stadium seating, etc. And hey, let’s charge a shite ton of money just for the right to buy season tickets like they do in the pros. And free parking on campus? Hell no, there is money to be made.
Except the gravy train stopped rolling for the most part. People started losing their appetite. LSU has a 100k seat stadium that it can’t fill up, and a traffic system which can’t accommodate 50k cars. People are weary from the expense associated with the Tradition Fund, ticket prices, and the general expense and hassle of spending a day on campus. Traffic has soured many. And watching on television is 100x better than it was even 20 years ago.
So evidently the answer is to double down. Pay $100 million for a sexy new coach who will bring the people back. Newsflash: He won’t.
1-2 decades ago the AD’s thought the gravy train would never end, that it would only keep growing. Granted, there was a heightened appetite for the product. So they bought into the arms race. They wanted sexy suites and club levels, expanded stadium seating, etc. And hey, let’s charge a shite ton of money just for the right to buy season tickets like they do in the pros. And free parking on campus? Hell no, there is money to be made.
Except the gravy train stopped rolling for the most part. People started losing their appetite. LSU has a 100k seat stadium that it can’t fill up, and a traffic system which can’t accommodate 50k cars. People are weary from the expense associated with the Tradition Fund, ticket prices, and the general expense and hassle of spending a day on campus. Traffic has soured many. And watching on television is 100x better than it was even 20 years ago.
So evidently the answer is to double down. Pay $100 million for a sexy new coach who will bring the people back. Newsflash: He won’t.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:05 am to Slippy
We'll prob get downvoted but I agree. I used to love tailgating and going to games... now I watch on TV. I quit going right around the time they started charging $40 to park.
Baseball season tickets are much more enjoyable for me.
Baseball season tickets are much more enjoyable for me.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:07 am to Slippy
I agree that they over-expanded. I’m not really mad about it since it makes it easier to get tickets but I do find it a little funny when people complain about empty seats in the nosebleeds during games with 90k+ in attendance.
The parking thing has really killed the atmosphere on the east side of campus, which is sad.
All of that being said, the single biggest factor affecting attendance right now is the team’s performance. People will still go for the experience when the team is good, but it sucks to invest all that time and energy just to be disappointed at the end.
The parking thing has really killed the atmosphere on the east side of campus, which is sad.
All of that being said, the single biggest factor affecting attendance right now is the team’s performance. People will still go for the experience when the team is good, but it sucks to invest all that time and energy just to be disappointed at the end.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:07 am to Slippy
Nah. the playoffs were.
Football is becoming like college basketball, one month is all people will care about in a few years.
NIL is just the nail in the coffin
Football is becoming like college basketball, one month is all people will care about in a few years.
NIL is just the nail in the coffin
This post was edited on 11/14/21 at 8:09 am
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:11 am to terd ferguson
100% correct. Tailgating is done. New generation don't want to put in the work/ hassle of organizing,set up, cooking all day event anymore. Anybody who disagrees is full of shite. I'm a 5:00am campus arrival. It's dead, and in a few years I'll be done too
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:14 am to Slippy
I remember being able to park almost anywhere for free and the tickets were $36 face value no matter the location
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:15 am to Slippy
quote:
So evidently the answer is to double down. Pay $100 million for a sexy new coach who will bring the people back. Newsflash: He won’t.
Did you forget there's TV money too?
This post was edited on 11/14/21 at 8:17 am
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:16 am to Slippy
Actually the beginning of the end was the BCS/playoffs.
Whether one likes or doesn’t like the system, not making the playoffs has made everything else irrelevant and most games meaningless.
Whether one likes or doesn’t like the system, not making the playoffs has made everything else irrelevant and most games meaningless.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:17 am to terd ferguson
quote:
We'll prob get downvoted but I agree. I used to love tailgating and going to games... now I watch on TV. I quit going right around the time they started charging $40 to park.
Baseball season tickets are much more enjoyable for me.
All of this
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:26 am to Slippy
I agree with you and I’m the same boat. I used to attend every game, tailgate from daylight until game time, but now just don’t feel like dealing with it every weekend.
BUT
When I do attend a good college football game between two good teams in Tiger stadium it is far better experience than watching on TV!
I just have other hobbies now and just don’t want to spend every weekend in the fall but I still go to a few games a year. Without the big tailgate party we used to have it just isn’t quite the same but I still love being in Tiger Stadium.
BUT
When I do attend a good college football game between two good teams in Tiger stadium it is far better experience than watching on TV!
I just have other hobbies now and just don’t want to spend every weekend in the fall but I still go to a few games a year. Without the big tailgate party we used to have it just isn’t quite the same but I still love being in Tiger Stadium.
This post was edited on 11/14/21 at 9:42 am
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:31 am to Slippy
When you mention watching on tv, well, there's your answer - tv. When the big bucks started coming from tv, all else took a back seat. Now, the athletic departments don't care about butts in the seats. They have a new sugar daddy and you're playing your part.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:38 am to tiggerthetooth
quote:
Did you forget there's TV money too?
Nope. In that respect, the gravy train is rolling faster than ever. But that’s part of my point. TV is where most people are choosing to watch the games. The stadium crowd will continue to decline.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:44 am to chackbay
quote:
Tailgating is done. New generation don't want to put in the work/ hassle of organizing,set up, cooking all day event anymore
Disagree. The main factor is everybody not being able to park even remotely close to their tailgate without paying a fortune. Nobody wants to walk 1/2 mile just to make it to their tailgate.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 8:46 am to Slippy
Stub hub is huge.
Prior to stub hub, if you didn’t have season tickets you either had to know someone or go hold up fingers and hope for the best. People would hold on to season tickets, literally past death, so the family could go to games.
Now, no season tickets, no problem- if you’ve got the cash. Also, if you want to bring 5-10 people and sit close together, couldn’t happen for most of us, now not so difficult, especially for the off games.
Prior to stub hub, if you didn’t have season tickets you either had to know someone or go hold up fingers and hope for the best. People would hold on to season tickets, literally past death, so the family could go to games.
Now, no season tickets, no problem- if you’ve got the cash. Also, if you want to bring 5-10 people and sit close together, couldn’t happen for most of us, now not so difficult, especially for the off games.
This post was edited on 11/14/21 at 8:47 am
Posted on 11/14/21 at 9:27 am to terd ferguson
Now the players run everything
Not happy transfer
Lose a game opt out
Killing their own product
No loyalty to team you gonna lose fanbase quick
Not happy transfer
Lose a game opt out
Killing their own product
No loyalty to team you gonna lose fanbase quick
Posted on 11/14/21 at 9:32 am to Slippy
I bet there is not one person in this board who can explain why this has happened. Not one.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 9:33 am to Slippy
Those were factors, but definitely not the main factor, which was a pioneering, rugged population turning into a bunch of Eurofags.
Posted on 11/14/21 at 9:39 am to Slippy
Basketball is about to be a hell of a lot more of a value than football. Heck, it already is. $100 season ticket to watch tGeneral?!?!
Posted on 11/14/21 at 9:43 am to Slippy
Like with so much in this country, the financial element plays a big part.
Even with all the issues like parking etc. . . there are still a lot of people (this is true for all the big southern programs) who would use those tickets for lesser games/ games after the playoffs are out of reach if they could afford them.
It's a problem that every "expansion and improvement" just increases the price tag when the buying power of many hardcore fans wages are continually diminishing.
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