43,101 LSU attendance

[K Otto XLIV]

Yeah, and I remember when the conventional wisdom in the late 1970s was that we could never draw even 27,000 to Archbold - why build a stadium holding more than maybe 30,000.

There are other answers to the observation.

First, I would rather have maybe 1,000 empty seats a few times per year rather than limit our crowds to 44,000 for the many big ACC and out of conference games that this program will attract as we get better and as the fans realize once again how much fun big time college football can be in the Dome. I agree with this. However history has shown it will be a lot more than maybe 1k empty seats. If SU had a Top 15 team this year we would not have sold out a 44k stadium for Rhode Island, Wake, or CMU. We didn't in 1998 when we had the perfect storm for attendance. Since then the changes to the environment make 1998 even harder to achieve. So you are talking more like 5-6k empty seats. That is a lot. And should we not be Top 15 you are looking at 10k empty seats.

We are now in the ACC - we have raised the level of play for the program and fans. Most fans don't care about Wake, NC St, Louisville, Pitt, and BC.

College football is more popular than it has ever been. Our competition continues to increase home capacity. Actually the opposite is true. Most programs have seen attendance decrease.

The Dome will continue to attract bigger name opponents. You can't have your capacity built around 1 OOC game.

The fans will come and will need more and more seats. We have never in the history of the Dome needed more seats. Why would we now? It also is a lot harder for SU to have a run like 1987-1998. So what happens when we are only an 8-4 team?

And, if we want to continue to attract bigger name opponents we will have to entice them with larger gates. Other schools really don't care about this.

And if we want to attract big time recruits, we need large crowds - that is what makes our BB program so appealing. Since FSU & Clemson have a lot more than 50k does that mean we are screwed? The recruits care about the atmosphere. That doesn't change with 44k vs 50k.

So, I think it's short sighted to hope for a reduction in capacity when an expansion of capacity is the better and more progressive approach. Again we didn't need 50k in 1998. We will never see a year like that where we have a Top 15 pre season team, HDTV not existing, not every game being televised, having Tennessee, VA Tech, and Miami all on the schedule, having a Heisman candidate, and having a larger population in CNY. Maybe we can have a great hoem schedule, Top 15 team, and Heisman candidate, but we cannot increase the population of CNY, limit the amount of games available on TV, or get rid of HDTV.

We should think as the Carrier Dome planners thought in 1978. They were wrong. They made the place too big.

 

[CanadianSU]

If there were 8k LSU fans there, then about 7k Syracuse have to explain why they wore purple.

Absolutely no chance there was 15k LSU fans there. Not as many as I thought there would be either. Even 7 might be a stretch IMO.

 

[SWC75]

I'd like to be able to accommodate crowds larger than 44,000. If we get good and have a top opponent, we could exceed that by a good number.

And we already have one of the smallest Power Five arenas. I'm concerned about our prestige level if we go even smaller.

 

[MartyCuse]

I had 3 friends who normally don't care about the football team text me during the game. Even with the loss they were still pretty upbeat over the team. Hopefully they're indicative of what's going on in CNY.

Pitt is also alumni weekend. If we can win these next two there might be some real buzz over the team.

I had the same happen to me... One was a friend who had tickets with me for a few years... He gave up, which many have but he said that this season may get hime back into the fold. I hope its true! Another guy who always gives me crap at work for going to the games... many of us wear the diehard badge as an honor... he texted me and said he was watching the game, and the fans that were there deserved this great game and a good season. Hoping to get him into the dome this year!

 

[Jake]

I thought there was about 5k LSU fans. Totally a guess. Not nearly as much as contingents I've seen from Penn St or Tenneesee.

 

[Stern]

Just win more and people will show up.

Nobody has faith in this program or head coach right now

 

[K Otto XLIV]

I'd like to be able to accommodate crowds larger than 44,000. If we get good and have a top opponent, we could exceed that by a good number.

And we already have one of the smallest Power Five arenas. I'm concerned about our prestige level if we go even smaller.

Why would you like to accommodate people who show up once a year? From a financial perspective SU is way better off at 44k than 50k. You have more control over ticket prices.

I rather be like Oregon. No one makes fun of them for only having 54k compared to other major programs having 100k. They can say they have sold out every game in the 2000s how many schools can say that? From a prestige concern there is no difference between 44k and 49250. Plus 44k has meaning.

 

[Bayside44]

We disagree.

I was around in the 1970s when the same observations were being made.

The fact is that the landscape has changed.

The college football fan base continues to grow - the play-offs will continue that growth.

And we have to be a part of that process.

As the product improves - as the popularity of the sport continues to increase - the Syracuse Football fan base will grow.

Reducing the number of tickets is not the answer in my opinion. That will send the wrong message to recruits and our competition.

The Yankees and Mets reduced their stadiums by 10K.

I don't mind if they reduce the seats to make the seats there a far better experience as far as amenities and general comfort.

 

[GoSU96]

I'd like to be able to accommodate crowds larger than 44,000. If we get good and have a top opponent, we could exceed that by a good number.

And we already have one of the smallest Power Five arenas. I'm concerned about our prestige level if we go even smaller.

Prestige level?

It's a tv studio. Is Duke less prestigious because Cameron is a tiny band box?

You want prestige right size it and make it look like it does for a big hoops game. It's an indoor stadium, nobody cares if it's 50, 45 or 40.

Decibels and energy are the distinguishing factors with the Dome when it's happening, not head count.

 

[SUbear]

You can probably count on one hand the amount of games we could have gotten 50k SU fans in the Dome's history. I rather have a sell out streak at 44k than have a 50k stadium that actually needs 50k once a decade.

You are simply wrong, we were drawing many near sell outs, and actual sell outs prior too the Gerg fiasco. The average season tickets sales was much higher then. I remember because I have had seasons since 1975, the attendance at Archbold had dropped to only about 25K die hards before the dome was built.

We are not only fighting our poor on field performance in the recent past. but relatively poor economic conditions for the last 8 years that continues today. Reducing capacity would be a huge mistake because it would not allow for future growth of either the team performance or a better economy.

 

[rrlbees]

You are simply wrong, we were drawing many near sell outs, and actual sell outs prior too the Gerg fiasco. The average season tickets sales was much higher then. I remember because I have had seasons since 1975, the attendance at Archbold had dropped to only about 25K die hards before the dome was built. We are not only fighting our poor on field performance in the recent past. but relatively poor economic conditions for the last 8 years that continues today. Reducing capacity would be a huge mistake because it would not allow for future growth of either the team performance or a better economy.

It was years prior to Robinson that we were getting near and actual sell outs.

 

[SUbear]

It was years prior to Robinson that we were getting near and actual sell outs.

That is what I said.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

But CFB attendance is declining not growing.
College football attendance: Home crowds drop to lowest in 14 years

The stats in those articles show regardless of program, if you aren't winning your attendance will decrease and if you are losing consistently they will continue to go down

 

[CusefanATL]

If there were 8k LSU fans there, then about 7k Syracuse have to explain why they wore purple.

There were not 15k purple fans there

 

[Millhouse]

The stats in those articles show regardless of program, if you aren't winning your attendance will decrease and if you are losing consistently they will continue to go down

i am still shocked that there were a good number of empty seats at the night game at Auburn 13 years ago. that's when I got wondering about it

 

[Macky44]

If there were 8k LSU fans there, then about 7k Syracuse have to explain why they wore purple.

So you are trying to say LSU had 15k in the stands? Why do you troll so much on here?

 

[orange_in_VA]

I'd like to be able to accommodate crowds larger than 44,000. If we get good and have a top opponent, we could exceed that by a good number.

And we already have one of the smallest Power Five arenas. I'm concerned about our prestige level if we go even smaller.

TCU (Decreased seats through renovations) and Baylor (Brand new stadium) seat 45k. Being top 10 for the last 5 years not prestigious enough for ya? I guess Texas doesn't care as much about football as NY?

1. Private school peers that we can only dream of comparing to in the modern era, especially when they are in a recruiting paradise.
2. It's a different landscape today, a lot of people prefer to watch at home on their expensive TVs and 100+ dollar a month cable packages.


Getting 44k Orange and Blue individual seats will look much better on TV, and also get rid of one of the excuses folks have for not going, which is how uncomfortable the metal bleachers are.

 

[SWC75]

So you are trying to say LSU had 15k in the stands? Why do you troll so much on here?

There was a family of LSU fans in the row below me and some others as well. Normally it's all 'Cuse in my section so we know what happened there.

There might have been 8,000 in the visitor's corner of the stadium and 7,000 scattered among the rest of the crowd thanks to Stubhub or E-Bay and some of our generous fans.

 

[KaiserUEO]

So you are trying to say LSU had 15k in the stands? Why do you troll so much on here?

they had a lot of shots of the crowd, and purple was everywhere.

not just the corner.

 

[orange_in_VA]

There was a family of LSU fans in the row below me and some others as well. Normally it's all 'Cuse in my section so we know what happened there.

There might have been 8,000 in the visitor's corner of the stadium and 7,000 scattered among the rest of the crowd thanks to Stubhub or E-Bay and some of our generous fans.

Looked like a lot of purple on TV, and they were loud at times when our offense was driving. I really it hope it wasnt that many. I'm already disapointed enough with our fans thinking LSU only had 8k.

 

[Macky44]

There was a family of LSU fans in the row below me and some others as well. Normally it's all 'Cuse in my section so we know what happened there.

There might have been 8,000 in the visitor's corner of the stadium and 7,000 scattered among the rest of the crowd thanks to Stubhub or E-Bay and some of our generous fans.

I was there as i always am. There was NOT more than 8k LSU fans. They represented well, don't get me wrong...but they did NOT have anything close to even 10k.

 

[HeaterCuse22]

21,000 LSU fans today. Amazing...according to herbie

NFW

 

[OttoMets]

Good vantage point from the last row of 331. We estimated there were 1,000 LSU fans up top in the northeast corner, 4,000 in the northwest corner (both levels), and 1,500 or so scattered throughout the building.

It paled in comparison to what Tennessee brought in 1998, when the whole west end zone was creamsicle.

 

[shandeezy7]

Anyone who thinks there were 15,000 LSU fans there is :crazy:

 

[HeaterCuse22]

Ran into coyle in the 2nd quarter. He was very upbeat. LOL