re: Concessions - LSU monitoring Texas and how there recent decision to lower price will go

It appears that Mark Ewing doesn't get profit through sales volume. That's ok he's only the Department's Chief Financial Officer.

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Im in the same boat as you this year. You described exactly my feelings for this year. I do not plan on going back to any games until a serious change is made in the athletic department. It starts with getting rid of Alleva.

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This has become the prevailing feeling among long time LSU die-hards that previously would think of missing a home game (Even against the Sisters of the Poor) as sacrilege. Damn shame.

What these guys don't understand is that people generally do not have a problem with paying as long as there is value in what they are paying for. Unfortunately the value of admission is not the same as the value of admission in 2007. In 2007 we were making a national championship run, the band was playing instead of piped in music, and our success was still relatively new. In 2018, there is no expectations of a 10 win season, game day experience to most has decreased, and our success has been sustained for close to 2 decades (though it has been declining).

For concessions, there has to be value in the product. When I last went everything was very expensive, the products were garbage, the line super long, and availability of the products were not guaranteed.

For game day experience, in 2007 real(adjusted) ticket prices were cheaper than today's, there was no parking fees, and tailgating was much more unregulated. Today, higher tickets, parking fees have been implemented, and lots have been allocated to corporate tailgates. All of this has decreased the size of crowds outside the stadium which lower the overall game day experience.

To put it bluntly, decisions by the administration to capitalize on LSU Football over the past 10 years has 1. increased the real(adjusted for inflation) cost of seeing LSU football games and 2. Lowered the value one receives from per dollar spent. Do not forget that they also decreased the number of on campus games with neutral site games. Do not forget that during the past 10 years that media rights revenue have gone through the roof from the SEC Channel. What the AD, TAF leadership, and President do not realize is that people recognize that they are paying more for less and more and more people are choosing to spend their money on other things. This rate of decreasing monetary support from fans will only increase after a bad year (assuming bad year due to insane schedule). THAT is why Alleva will be fired by the end of the season.

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“If you’re not going to pay it in the concession prices, it’s going to be in the ticket prices,” Ewing says. “The money’s going to be made, whether it’s called an admission fee or a concession.”
Is this quote real?

Holy shite and that is the ADs CFO

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I'm assuming he meant that the other schools that are doing this are probably jacking up prices elsewhere in order to make up for cheaper concession prices.

I mean... concessions lines are really fricking long at every game WITH the crazy prices. How exactly would volume increase revenues when they already physically are incapable of serving everyone in line?

The falcons cut all of their concession prices a crazy amount. $2 for a large coke with free refills


and they made more money by doing so

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Looking forward to watching every game on the back patio, BBQing whatever I want. Drinking top shelf liquor and smoking a cigar.

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Sounds nice. Obviously not as nice as going to a game in Tiger Stadium but I applaud your distant second.

It’s a fantastic idea to lower the concession prices from their standpoint... as long as they sell more volume to make it up. Their expenses aren’t going down anytime soon so it wouldn’t make sense to just drop the prices.

Need more/faster concession stands.

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“If you’re not going to pay it in the concession prices, it’s going to be in the ticket prices,” Ewing says. “The money’s going to be made, whether it’s called an admission fee or a concession.”

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I know Mark well enough to know that they quote does not come across how he meant it to. What I believe he means is that in order to keep funding the athletics operations, they are going to have to account for loss revenue in concession in other places.

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I mean... concessions lines are really fricking long at every game WITH the crazy prices. How exactly would volume increase revenues when they already physically are incapable of serving everyone in line?

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Well I think this goes back to the Vendor. The vendor that is in place is too tactical "How do I sale product to the fan" Instead of thinking strategically and asking questions like "How can I decrease the time it takes 1 person to order and receive their food?", "How can I improve logistics to keep the concessions stocked?", "How can I shorten the time someone stands in line?"

To me they need to switch to a vendor that has app ordering program. With that in place you can both lower the time someone stands in line as well as well as how long it takes someone to order and get food. Additionally, that would be able to smooth out shortages by sending customers to the closest concession stand with all the products. People are going to say that is unrealistic to implement, but it isn't. But more from a fundamental level I would hope that the AD Office leadership is thinking about these strategic questions instead of just how much revenue are they getting from concessions per game.

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Obviously not as nice as going to a game in Tiger Stadium

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Idk man, for a big game.. sure but for the majority of the time we’re playing some crap team like southeastern, can’t park anywhere without paying an arm and a leg, can’t get anything decent to eat and the game day experience just feels so corporate

and they wonder why people leave games early.