Board Administrator Email To The Athletic Department

[GoCuse44]

I know we all have issues with the poor attendance at the football games which is due in large part to the pricing structure of tickets, marketing, etc. I think it would be great if the board administrators compiled a list of ideas from all the fans on this site on how to better market the football team/sell tickets and send the list to AD Gross and Marc Donabella (AD for Marketing).

Instead of complaining about the Met Life game, lack of advertisements, ticket prices, etc. let's have the die hard football fans from Syracusefan.Com provide them with some creative ideas that have been used successfully by other college and professional teams.

 

[Townie72]

I know we all have issues with the poor attendance at the football games which is due in large part to the pricing structure of tickets, marketing, etc. I think it would be great if the board administrators compiled a list of ideas from all the fans on this site on how to better market the football team/sell tickets and send the list to AD Gross and Marc Donabella (AD for Marketing).

Instead of complaining about the Met Life game, lack of advertisements, ticket prices, etc. let's have the die hard football fans from Syracusefan.Com provide them with some creative ideas that have been used successfully by other college and professional teams.

You wrote, "which is due in large part to the pricing structure of tickets, marketing, etc. ".

And you know this how?

 

[Crusty]

What are some ideas? (Not being a smart ass, serious question.)

 

[upperdeck]

I started drafting an email this weekend. about 10-15 pts. In the past the school has at least listened to comments and responded. I'm sure they have better things than listen to random fan chatter, but the stuff they are doing is lacking and maybe 1-2 things get changed. the worst thing that can happen is that they ignore it.

I have no idea it pricing is the big issue for the casual fan, but they should if they are doing any kind of job at gathering data ..

 

[GoCuse44]

You wrote, "which is due in large part to the pricing structure of tickets, marketing, etc. ".

And you know this how?

Why does every post have to turn into an argument about persons source or how they know something??? It is my "opinion" that single game tickets between the 30's costing nearly $100 a piece is a major problem in a blue collar town like Syracuse. With regards to marketing 90% of the people I talked to did not even know they were retiring Donovan McNabb's jersey this weekend. That is a major marketing problem.

 

[orange79]

Why does every post have to turn into an argument about persons source or how they know something??? It is my "opinion" that single game tickets between the 30's costing nearly $100 a piece is a major problem in a blue collar town like Syracuse. With regards to marketing 90% of the people I talked to did not even know they were retiring Donovan McNabb's jersey this weekend. That is a major marketing problem.

I don't think he was trying to turn this into a p!ssing match, just questioning your assumption that the attendance problem is due 'in large part to the pricing structure of tickets, marketing, etc.'. You stated it as fact. If you had said 'IMO', you probably wouldn't have elicited Townie's response.

 

[SUfanNC]

I know we all have issues with the poor attendance at the football games which is due in large part to the pricing structure of tickets, marketing, etc. I think it would be great if the board administrators compiled a list of ideas from all the fans on this site on how to better market the football team/sell tickets and send the list to AD Gross and Marc Donabella (AD for Marketing).

Instead of complaining about the Met Life game, lack of advertisements, ticket prices, etc. let's have the die hard football fans from Syracusefan.Com provide them with some creative ideas that have been used successfully by other college and professional teams.

There is a whole thread on ideas from earlier this season. I understand product is part of it but I really can't see why there seems to be a disconnect on ways to bump attendance

 

[xc84]

I think maybe the mistake is to link "doing things better" with those things increasing attendance. I think there are many things that can be done to improve the pre-game and game experiences. These will only pay dividends in attendance when SU starts to consistently win. If the team performs like the did v. Clemson, it does not matter what you do off the field. I know this is very anecdotal (like most of this thread) but I don't know of anyone who won't go due to a perception that ticket prices are too high. The biggest gripe I hear is "why waste my time watching an awful team?" And these gripes come from people who used to go in the 90s.

With that said, I still think there are things they can do for the fans now to improve game-day experiences and when the program is consistently winning, they will help improve the loyalty of fans overall.

 

[Rocco]

1. Don't shut the beer taps off until the game is over.
2. Get more craft beer options/locations.
3. Open a Chipotle or 2 inside the Dome. Remove the one off of Marshall.
4. Paint the seats/bleachers Orange - this will make the place look more full even with 35,000.
5. Move the Dome, so we're not tailgating on the side of a hill.
6. Maintain an open invite to the Fine Mess Tailgate. Highlight the quality, spread and comraderie of that incredible gathering.
7. Multiple "Bring your leaves to the Dome Day". Huge, Billy... youuuuge.
8. Hire 3 syracusefan.com members to the SUAD marketing staff.
9. Give 1,000 tickets to Ft Drum families to every game for 1 season. Might just garner a few more season tix fans. ?


Just a start, but I'm pretty that's bullet proof.

 

[RandygoCuse]

1. Don't shut the beer taps off until the game is over.
2. Get more craft beer options/locations.
3. Open a Chipotle or 2 inside the Dome. Remove the one off of Marshall.
4. Paint the seats/bleachers Orange - this will make the place look more full even with 35,000.
5. Move the Dome, so we're not tailgating on the side of a hill.
6. Maintain an open invite to the Fine Mess Tailgate. Highlight the quality, spread and comraderie of that incredible gathering.
7. Multiple "Bring your leaves to the Dome Day". Huge, Billy... youuuuge.
8. Hire 3 syracusefan.com members to the SUAD marketing staff.
9. Give 1,000 tickets to Ft Drum families to every game for 1 season. Might just garner a few more season tix fans. ?


Just a start, but I'm pretty that's bullet proof.

I like the Orange idea and the one for craft beers. They could even feature a different beer each game. What is Bring your leaves to the Dome Day? I confess I haven't been to a game at the Dome in a long time, so I'm not sure what this entails.

 

[Rocco]

I like the Orange idea and the one for craft beers. They could even feature a different beer each game. What is Bring your leaves to the Dome Day? I confess I haven't been to a game at the Dome in a long time, so I'm not sure what this entails.

People can't make time to come to the Dome because they have to rake their leaves.

 

[sutomcat]

1. Don't shut the beer taps off until the game is over.
2. Get more craft beer options/locations.
3. Open a Chipotle or 2 inside the Dome. Remove the one off of Marshall.
4. Paint the seats/bleachers Orange - this will make the place look more full even with 35,000.
5. Move the Dome, so we're not tailgating on the side of a hill.
6. Maintain an open invite to the Fine Mess Tailgate. Highlight the quality, spread and comraderie of that incredible gathering.
7. Multiple "Bring your leaves to the Dome Day". Huge, Billy... youuuuge.
8. Hire 3 syracusefan.com members to the SUAD marketing staff.
9. Give 1,000 tickets to Ft Drum families to every game for 1 season. Might just garner a few more season tix fans. ?


Just a start, but I'm pretty that's bullet proof.

Nice suggestions.

I will go off the beaten path and compliment SU for doing a much better job this season of showing instant replays of close plays on the scoreboards. They don't do it all the time but they are doing a much better job on this front. Was really disappointed over the past couple of years after we got the new boards and they were just left blank or showed an ad right after a controversial play.

SU needs to understand that the biggest competitor they are up against trying to get fannies in the seats for home football and basketball games is television. Just about everyone these days has a great HDTV and an excellent setup for watching games at home. A significant number of people I know that follow SU football and don't go to the games tell me that the experience is better at home. They can see everything from there, see the replays done properly, get info on out of town scores, get food and beer much cheaper, etc. And they don't have to pay for a ticket.

So things like making sure the out of town scores are updated regularly, religiously diplaying replays of interesting plays, making sure fans have access to good quality food and drink are important. I love the idea of getting craft beers, especially locally brewed ones. Sell some Finger Lakes based local wines. Open up the concouse on the west side of the Dome on the 1st and 2nd levels, move Club 44 into the expanded area and do it right, with things like bathrooms in place. Have food courts and seating areas. Bring in local restaurants and feature regional specialities like chicken and riggies, salt potatoes, Utica Greens, spiedies, Dino BBQ, etc. These things all give the fans a reason to come to the Dome instead of watch the game on TV.

Of course, dropping the cost of the tickets would help a lot too. I am a proponent of the viewpoint that it is far better to sell 50K of tickets at an average cost of $20 each than to sell 25K of tickets at an average cost of $40 (I know those numbers aren't accurate; that isn't my point).

With the increased TV dollars, it shouldn't be as important to maximize dollars taken from the gate. But lowering the prices would increase demand greatly, I am sure of it. It would make a major impact on how the SU program is perceived, especially by recruits making on campus visits. And down the road, if you can get demand high enough by slashing prices and hopefully improving the product on the field, you can raise the prices somewhat.

We all know SU is regularly playing games with discounted and give away tickets to get attendance to average in the 40K range. But everytime you do this, you give the people that are paying the high prices another punch in the mouth that we are stupid to pay full price when we absolutely don't have to.

I am glad SU understands the prices are too high to get the casual fan to attend. But acknowledge the people that are supporting the program through thick and thin and at least close the gap somewhat between what the season ticket holders are paying and what the casual fans pay to go to games. At some point, you have to treat your fan base with some respect and consideration.

When I try to get my friends to get season tickets, they roll their eyes and ask me 'why would I ever do that?. I can get in most games for free or for $10. And I can sit wherever I want.'

The way things stand today, I have no answer for them.

 

[bnoro]

1. Don't shut the beer taps off until the game is over.
2. Get more craft beer options/locations.
3. Open a Chipotle or 2 inside the Dome. Remove the one off of Marshall.
4. Paint the seats/bleachers Orange - this will make the place look more full even with 35,000.
5. Move the Dome, so we're not tailgating on the side of a hill.
6. Maintain an open invite to the Fine Mess Tailgate. Highlight the quality, spread and comraderie of that incredible gathering.
7. Multiple "Bring your leaves to the Dome Day". Huge, Billy... youuuuge.
8. Hire 3 syracusefan.com members to the SUAD marketing staff.
9. Give 1,000 tickets to Ft Drum families to every game for 1 season. Might just garner a few more season tix fans. ?


Just a start, but I'm pretty that's bullet proof.

They would never do this, would make them liable for numerous drunk drivers after the game.

 

[AlbCuse]

I was embarrassed for the marching band (who didn't march) this week and that lackluster halftime show...

I think they are starting to do a better job with social media as well using the ribbon board around the dome. Saw myself on it after I checked into the Carrier Dome on foursquare. Like seeing the real-time tweets up there as well.

 

[Rocco]

They would never do this, would make them liable for numerous drunk drivers after the game.

Clearly tongue-in-cheek. Surprised you didn't get my sarcasm throughout that entire list. Was trying to lay it on pretty thick.

 

[All4SU]

While I have never, EVER had difficulty parking for a game at the dome, I do think that is because I have become an "educated" fan over many many years. I know where I will be able to park, and where I won't. I haven't had a parking pass for football since 1981.

I do however think that parking and accessibility keeps some fans away...enough to be significant.

I have no answers for that. I love the Dome where it is, and believe college football should be played on campus. In a perfect scenario, there would be a shuttle train/monorail from Destiny to campus and back. Maybe from Armory as well. But things happen S L O W L Y in Syracuse, and it probably won't happen in my lifetime. The really unfortunate part is, the tracks/infrastructure are essentially there. All that remains is for someone to demonstrate a financial incentive to invest and develop.

 

[Scooch]

Nice suggestions.

SU needs to understand that the biggest competitor they are up against trying to get fannies in the seats for home football and basketball games is television. Just about everyone these days has a great HDTV and an excellent setup for watching games at home. A significant number of people I know that follow SU football and don't go to the games tell me that the experience is better at home. They can see everything from there, see the replays done properly, get info on out of town scores, get food and beer much cheaper, etc. And they don't have to pay for a ticket.

So things like making sure the out of town scores are updated regularly, religiously diplaying replays of interesting plays, making sure fans have access to good quality food and drink are important. I love the idea of getting craft beers, especially locally brewed ones. Sell some Finger Lakes based local wines. Open up the concouse on the west side of the Dome on the 1st and 2nd levels, move Club 44 into the expanded area and do it right, with things like bathrooms in place. Have food courts and seating areas. Bring in local restaurants and feature regional specialities like chicken and riggies, salt potatoes, Utica Greens, spiedies, Dino BBQ, etc. These things all give the fans a reason to come to the Dome instead of watch the game on TV.

Tom, you make a critical point. Your solution, though, is the subject of some fairly intense debate in my field of employment.

It's not debatable that the in-home sports-viewing experience is now utterly fabulous. And fans consistently state these days that they prefer home viewing to the in-stadium experience. So the question is: do you try and make the in-stadium experience more like home, or do you accentuate the unique difference of it?

At the moment my opinion is falling towards the latter, although I'd reconsider that with more data to evaluate. Case in point is the out-of-town scoreboard -- what games are the CNY fan following exactly? -- this isn't the NFL where people are obsessed with fantasy and gambling. 90% of the crowd has a smartphone in their pocket anyway, so just make sure there is high-quality WiFi available.

Good food and beverages are fine, but to me what people really want are cheap food and beverages. I've never heard of someone not going to a game because the hot dogs are mediocre, but I hear a LOT of people bitch and moan about the high cost of a beer.

I'm just not sure it's worth trying to match the in-home experience, because I'm not sure that's possible. Instead focus on the uniqueness of the in-stadium experience. There's a reason why despite 30 years of being able to watch movies in your home that people still go to see releases in a theater. Why despite having access to the entirety of the world's pop music output on a device the size of a deck of cards that people still go see concerts. There's value in the live, communal experience.

But mostly, win. That's really it. We're talking about solutions at the margin ultimately. If SU fixed their stupid pricing structure and made improvements to the gameday experience, you might see a couple thousand more people show up. Might. Win games regularly against good opponents and we'll get back to 90s-era attendance.

 

[sutomcat]

Tom, you make a critical point. Your solution, though, is the subject of some fairly intense debate in field of employment.

It's not debatable that the in-home sports-viewing experience is now utterly fabulous. And fans consistently state these days that they prefer home viewing to the in-stadium experience. So the question is: do you try and make the in-stadium experience more like home, or do you accentuate the unique difference of it?

At the moment my opinion is falling towards the latter, although I'd reconsider that with more data to evaluate. Case in point is the out-of-town scoreboard -- what games are the CNY fan following exactly? -- this isn't the NFL where people are obsessed with fantasy and gambling. 90% of the crowd has a smartphone in their pocket anyway, so just make sure there is high-quality WiFi available.

Good food and beverages are fine, but to me what people really want are cheap food and beverages. I've never heard of someone not going to a game because the hot dogs are mediocre, but I hear a LOT of people bitch and moan about the high cost of a beer.

I'm just not sure it's worth trying to match the in-home experience, because I'm not sure that's possible. Instead focus on the uniqueness of the in-stadium experience. There's a reason why despite 30 years of being able to watch movies in your home that people still go to see releases in a theater. Why despite having access to the entirety of the world's pop music output on a device the size of a deck of cards that people still go see concerts. There's value in the live, communal experience.

But mostly, win. That's really it. We're talking about solutions at the margin ultimately. If SU fixed their stupid pricing structure and made improvements to the gameday experience, you might see a couple thousand more people show up. Might. Win games regularly against good opponents and we'll get back to 90s-era attendance.

I agree. Food, drink, scores, that stuff is pretty minor.

Cost and the quality of the experience (this has something to do with the quality of opponents but is skewed far more towards having consistent winning teams)...these are the factors that will most impact future attendance.

 

[RandygoCuse]

Nice suggestions.

.

Of course, dropping the cost of the tickets would help a lot too. I am a proponent of the viewpoint that it is far better to sell 50K of tickets at an average cost of $20 each than to sell 25K of tickets at an average cost of $40 (I know those numbers aren't accurate; that isn't my point).

.

If you get more people in the door, you can sell more beer, snacks etc. as well...So it may be worth the sacrifice in ticket revenue.

 

[Millhouse]

Tom, you make a critical point. Your solution, though, is the subject of some fairly intense debate in field of employment.

It's not debatable that the in-home sports-viewing experience is now utterly fabulous. And fans consistently state these days that they prefer home viewing to the in-stadium experience. So the question is: do you try and make the in-stadium experience more like home, or do you accentuate the unique difference of it?

At the moment my opinion is falling towards the latter, although I'd reconsider that with more data to evaluate. Case in point is the out-of-town scoreboard -- what games are the CNY fan following exactly? -- this isn't the NFL where people are obsessed with fantasy and gambling. 90% of the crowd has a smartphone in their pocket anyway, so just make sure there is high-quality WiFi available.

Good food and beverages are fine, but to me what people really want are cheap food and beverages. I've never heard of someone not going to a game because the hot dogs are mediocre, but I hear a LOT of people bitch and moan about the high cost of a beer.

I'm just not sure it's worth trying to match the in-home experience, because I'm not sure that's possible. Instead focus on the uniqueness of the in-stadium experience. There's a reason why despite 30 years of being able to watch movies in your home that people still go to see releases in a theater. Why despite having access to the entirety of the world's pop music output on a device the size of a deck of cards that people still go see concerts. There's value in the live, communal experience.

But mostly, win. That's really it. We're talking about solutions at the margin ultimately. If SU fixed their stupid pricing structure and made improvements to the gameday experience, you might see a couple thousand more people show up. Might. Win games regularly against good opponents and we'll get back to 90s-era attendance.

they need to stop sucking at home.

they're 8 and 13 at home since 09 against BCS teams

my own tally of good vs bad games is also 8 and 13. There have been some fun losses and boring wins. Evened out.

We average 22 points per game. Our median points per game is 16. I think the median applies more here.

That's just since 09.

at this point i think they should almost give away seats. not quite, need to charge a little to keep out bums. just fill the place with stupid kids who don't know any better. hope that people continue to be charitable with whatever they would've spent to sit in the "good" seats

 

[IthacaMatt]

I know we all have issues with the poor attendance at the football games which is due in large part to the pricing structure of tickets, marketing, etc. I think it would be great if the board administrators compiled a list of ideas from all the fans on this site on how to better market the football team/sell tickets and send the list to AD Gross and Marc Donabella (AD for Marketing).

Instead of complaining about the Met Life game, lack of advertisements, ticket prices, etc. let's have the die hard football fans from Syracusefan.Com provide them with some creative ideas that have been used successfully by other college and professional teams.

Didn't you complete the survey that the AD's office just sent out?

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think maybe the mistake is to link "doing things better" with those things increasing attendance. I think there are many things that can be done to improve the pre-game and game experiences. These will only pay dividends in attendance when SU starts to consistently win. If the team performs like the did v. Clemson, it does not matter what you do off the field. I know this is very anecdotal (like most of this thread) but I don't know of anyone who won't go due to a perception that ticket prices are too high. The biggest gripe I hear is "why waste my time watching an awful team?" And these gripes come from people who used to go in the 90s.

With that said, I still think there are things they can do for the fans now to improve game-day experiences and when the program is consistently winning, they will help improve the loyalty of fans overall.

Getting good single game tickets for a group of 4 or more does give you some sticker shock compared to buying season tickets. Season tickets are a SO much better deal than individual game tickets.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I like the Orange idea and the one for craft beers. They could even feature a different beer each game. What is Bring your leaves to the Dome Day? I confess I haven't been to a game at the Dome in a long time, so I'm not sure what this entails.

That's a joke about the excuses of CNYers for not going to games - "But I've got to rake the leaves in my yard ..."

 

[IthacaMatt]

Nice suggestions.

I will go off the beaten path and compliment SU for doing a much better job this season of showing instant replays of close plays on the scoreboards. They don't do it all the time but they are doing a much better job on this front. Was really disappointed over the past couple of years after we got the new boards and they were just left blank or showed an ad right after a controversial play.

The way things stand today, I have no answer for them.

I think that referees (at least in basketball) object to having replays shown of controversial calls.

 

[IthacaMatt]

While I have never, EVER had difficulty parking for a game at the dome, I do think that is because I have become an "educated" fan over many many years. I know where I will be able to park, and where I won't. I haven't had a parking pass for football since 1981.

I do however think that parking and accessibility keeps some fans away...enough to be significant.

I have no answers for that. I love the Dome where it is, and believe college football should be played on campus. In a perfect scenario, there would be a shuttle train/monorail from Destiny to campus and back. Maybe from Armory as well. But things happen S L O W L Y in Syracuse, and it probably won't happen in my lifetime. The really unfortunate part is, the tracks/infrastructure are essentially there. All that remains is for someone to demonstrate a financial incentive to invest and develop.

I think the answer to parking is the Oakwood Cemetery property. Is it still being used? If they could obtain a few acres closest to campus and turn that into a parking lot, that would do the trick. (No uphill walk, either!)