John Wildhack and Pete Sala Press Conference | Wed 9:30 AM

[690West]

Syracuse metropolitan area population in 1980 was @643K, in 2020 it was @662K. I was surprised by that, since there’s actually slight growth. It makes me wonder what median income was compared to the national average in 1980 - it was probably close to the national average inn1980 while it’s well below now. It looks like it’s not so much lack of people driving the inability to fill a 50K Dome as much as the tickets aren’t affordable for the average family anymore.

Great facts. The only thing I’d add is I think apathy is a bigger culprit than affordability.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Great facts. The only thing I’d add is I think apathy is a bigger culprit than affordability.

Not so great facts. In 2022, the median income for the Syracuse area was $68,314 compared to the national average of $74,758. The Syracuse area is only 8% less than the national average. Hardly "well below" the national average. Try again.

 

[Ragman2000]

You should see the state of the guy that has to check the pee troughs.

I'm going to need two knee and two hip replacements after this one.

 

[Chip]

Perfect. It’s where capacity should have been in 1980.

I'd personally like to see us find a way to add 1,216 to the number.

I think 49k to 50k was fine last century, but this one, not so much.

 

[skeeter223]

He got hit by a car. Driven by Dan Mullen

Cruel, but funny.

 

[sufandu]

Syracuse metropolitan area population in 1980 was @643K, in 2020 it was @662K. I was surprised by that, since there’s actually slight growth. It makes me wonder what median income was compared to the national average in 1980 - it was probably close to the national average inn1980 while it’s well below now. It looks like it’s not so much lack of people driving the inability to fill a 50K Dome as much as the tickets aren’t affordable for the average family anymore.

That makes sense to me. A lot people that could move to find work did. A lot of people that couldn't are probably lower income.

 

[sufandu]

We lost a little over 8.5% in FB. So proportionally the BBall should be around 32750.

That makes sense and sounds close enough to the 33,000 they mentioned.

 

[upperdeck]

Great facts. The only thing I’d add is I think apathy is a bigger culprit than affordability.

I agree. People still go spend money just on other things now.

 

[upperdeck]

That makes sense and sounds close enough to the 33,000 they mentioned.

One thing not mentioned in the new seating.. When you sit for bball in the outer reaches you have to turn to see the court. Much harder to do when sitting in a chair vs a bench.

 

[BigNastyJon]

He got hit by a car. Driven by Dan Mullen

Toga was an unfortunate bystander in the passengers seat. Dan was nice enough to pick him up hitchhiking near the Amsterdam exit.

 

[GoSU96]

Syracuse metropolitan area population in 1980 was @643K, in 2020 it was @662K. I was surprised by that, since there’s actually slight growth. It makes me wonder what median income was compared to the national average in 1980 - it was probably close to the national average inn1980 while it’s well below now. It looks like it’s not so much lack of people driving the inability to fill a 50K Dome as much as the tickets aren’t affordable for the average family anymore.

The seats that aren’t selling are dirt cheap $250 and under for seasons. That’s not the problem.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

That makes sense to me. A lot people that could move to find work did. A lot of people that couldn't are probably lower income.

Not so great facts. In 2022, the median income for the Syracuse area was $68,314 compared to the national average of $74,758. The Syracuse area is only 8% less than the national average. Hardly "well below" the national average.

 

[Stevenson]

Lower body injury.

He’s day to day

 

[SmilinBob]

I think all games being on TV has hurt attendance more than anything. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't even think the 87 game vs WV was on TV. Schools are having a harder time having their cake and eating it too.

 

[orangetrain]

Look at the current demographics of the population in Syracuse and the surrounding areas. Apathy and plain disinterest is a huge part in why our attendance isn't where it should be. It should also be known that ticket sales is outsourced as well. They are employees of Legends, not SU.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I think all games being on TV has hurt attendance more than anything. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't even think the 87 game vs WV was on TV. Schools are having a harder time having their cake and eating it too.

Mountaineer Sports Network broadcast back to WV.

ESPN showed the last 2:00 of the game nationally (thinking that an upset was brewing).

 

[Cusefan95]

Not so great facts. In 2022, the median income for the Syracuse area was $68,314 compared to the national average of $74,758. The Syracuse area is only 8% less than the national average. Hardly "well below" the national average. Try again.

The data I found on neilsburg.com was as follows:

"The median household income in Syracuse was $43,766 in 2021, which marked an a decrease of 305 (0.69%) from $44,071 in 2020. This income is 58.66% of the U.S. median household income of $74,606 (all incomes in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars)."

The was for Syracuse and not the metropolitan area, but what Wikipedia had for the MSA was "The median household income in the MSA [in 2020] was $39,210, while the median family income was $47,862".

Where did you get the $68,314, and are you sure you're comparing apples to apples? Because an apples to apples comparison should show Syracuse is well below the national average.

 

[SmilinBob]

Mountaineer Sports Network broadcast back to WV.

ESPN showed the last 2:00 of the game nationally (thinking that an upset was brewing).

Thanks OX. You and CL are like Kathern Hepburn and her co-workers on Desk Set.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I think all games being on TV has hurt attendance more than anything. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't even think the 87 game vs WV was on TV. Schools are having a harder time having their cake and eating it too.

yes, but for not for the obvious reasons. I think the gameday experience has taken a huge hit because of the insanely long commercial interruptions. total killer, not to mention SU does a crap job of filling that dead time.

 

[Scooch]

I could see why it was bigger. Syracuse was around a top 50 DMA and no sign of a Carrier or Allied Chemical pull out in the cards.

Perhaps. What was the capacity of Archbold? I have 35K stuck in my head but that could be way off.

 

[Cusefan95]

The seats that aren’t selling are dirt cheap $250 and under for seasons. That’s not the problem.

I'm not sure low ticket prices matter - if families are struggling to pay for groceries and rent/mortgage, they aren't going to have disposable income to spend on football tickets.

There's always been people that needed to rake leaves and couldn't go to football games as a result - inability to attract crowds is probably a combination of a higher percentage of people that fall into that category (apathy) and a higher percentage of people that can't afford it. Its not either-or; its both-and.

The first can probably be fixed with winning - but reducing capacity makes the most sense if you realize there's enough people in the "can't afford" group that winning isn't going to spike attendance back up to consistently over 45K.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Perhaps. What was the capacity of Archbold? I have 35K stuck in my head but that could be way off.

Was t there a hazard that made it like 20k, which brought about the need for a new stadium?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Last Archbold game vs Navy had 26,500.

In the late 60's / early 70's before they removed a bunch of unsafe wooden bleachers around the track, PSU used to draw crowds over 41,000.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

The data I found on neilsburg.com was as follows:

"The median household income in Syracuse was $43,766 in 2021, which marked an a decrease of 305 (0.69%) from $44,071 in 2020. This income is 58.66% of the U.S. median household income of $74,606 (all incomes in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars)."

The was for Syracuse and not the metropolitan area, but what Wikipedia had for the MSA was "The median household income in the MSA [in 2020] was $39,210, while the median family income was $47,862".

Where did you get the $68,314, and are you sure you're comparing apples to apples? Because an apples to apples comparison should show Syracuse is well below the national average.

Census profile: Syracuse, NY Metro Area

Census data for Syracuse, NY Metro Area (pop. 655,189), including age, race, sex, income, poverty, marital status, education and more.

censusreporter.org

 

[AngryOtto]

Clearly where this thread is going Saturday can not get here soon enough.