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Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

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FAU (and the Sun Belt in general) is looking to increase attendance. But is attendance being hampered by higher prices than people would pay to see FAU play Sun Belt teams at home?

Consider ticket prices for 2008 home games:

Sidelines: $25
Crunch zone (adult): $12
Crunch zone (youth/seniors): $10

Now, if they halved the prices… say $5/home game for seniors (while keeping in mind the increased marketing we're doing this season) would we predict them to nearly double the audience? Even at $12.50 to see for a bowl-winning team, how can you beat that price?

Or would we still expect about the same size audience and just end up losing all that revenue?
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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

owlcountry said

FAU (and the Sun Belt in general) is looking to increase attendance. But is attendance being hampered by higher prices than people would pay to see FAU play Sun Belt teams at home?

Consider ticket prices for 2008 home games:

Sidelines: $25
Crunch zone (adult): $12
Crunch zone (youth/seniors): $10

Now, if they halved the prices… say $5/home game for seniors (while keeping in mind the increased marketing we're doing this season) would we predict them to nearly double the audience? Even at $12.50 to see for a bowl-winning team, how can you beat that price?

Or would we still expect about the same size audience and just end up losing all that revenue?

I have absolutely no experience in finance, business, or economics, but I would expect larger crowds this year based solely on last years success.

Having family package deals for parking, tickets, and food can't hurt to draw more families to the game and possibly increase attendance.

I will be interested to see how well FAU draws this year.

GO OWLS!!!

2017 and 2019 Conference USA Champions
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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

Agree,

Before a measure like this should be taken (And it might need to be) lets see how we start attendance wise and go from there.

With all the exposure of winning our Bowl, and increased media attention, attendance SHOULD be up by about 1 -2 K this year for opening game IMHO. NOW if the team pulls of the Texas win or Michigan State win, attendacne WILl jump by about 3-4K for the rest, and as the team continues to win, and generate more intersst it COULD go even higher.

Nothing that S. Fla doesnt love more than a winner. Its up to the players to get that done. USF was a great example of what a "succesfull" football team brings in terms of attendance. I had people all around me who werent Owl fans or really USF fans for that matter. They were FOOTBALL fans who came out to see a high ranked team. FAU played them hard, damn near won, and I saw a few of those people back for a few more games.

In S Fla, PERFORMANCE drives attendance. There are just too many things to do here for the average fan to come out and see an average team. They will come to see a Great/Very Good team.

I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick @$$ and I'm out of bubble gum.

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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

owlcountry said

FAU (and the Sun Belt in general) is looking to increase attendance. But is attendance being hampered by higher prices than people would pay to see FAU play Sun Belt teams at home?

Consider ticket prices for 2008 home games:

Sidelines: $25
Crunch zone (adult): $12
Crunch zone (youth/seniors): $10

Now, if they halved the prices… say $5/home game for seniors (while keeping in mind the increased marketing we're doing this season) would we predict them to nearly double the audience? Even at $12.50 to see for a bowl-winning team, how can you beat that price?

Or would we still expect about the same size audience and just end up losing all that revenue?

FAU's attendance problems are not price related.  People aren't not going to games because the tickets are expensive.  They are not.  The problems FAU has had drawing fans, in my opinion, have more to do with 1. the games are played 15-30 minutes away from campus and 2. fan bases just take time to develop.

Up until the past decade, FAU has been a commuter school.  People would come to class, earn a degree, and move on.  Only now are we seeing the shift to become a more traditional college campus.  When the vast majority of the alumni base didn't have any reason to stay connected to the University, it is hard to get them back, especially when they have already formed allegances to other schools teams.  That is why it is so important for today's students to get out to games.  They will become accustomed to going to games and supporting THEIR team and they will become season ticket holders after they graduate.  Getting the stadium built on campus will only increase this experience.

So you can cut prices but I doubt it would have any significant effect on ticket sales.  Heck, if you recall a few years back in 2003 or 2004, we had a Publix promotion where people were allowed to come in for free, and even then the increase was only marginal.  Increasing attendance is very simple…Winning, build a stadium on campus, focus on getting students to the games, and time.
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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

owlfamily said

With all the exposure of winning our Bowl, and increased media attention, attendance SHOULD be up by about 1 -2 K this year for opening game IMHO. NOW if the team pulls of the Texas win or Michigan State win, attendacne WILl jump by about 3-4K for the rest, and as the team continues to win, and generate more intersst it COULD go even higher.

Yeah, I hope so. The atmosphere would be so much better at Lockhart if we could get even 15k actual people there.
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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

Florida Marlins make a playoff run = ticket sales increase
Florida Panthers make a playoff run = ticket sales increase
FAU made a playoff run in 2003 = ticket sale increase as the season went forward

prices have nothing to do with it. SoFla fans are fickle - they want winners and will pay to see them. It's been talked about for years by local media and some national media as well.

I'm a proud lifetime member of the FAU National Alumni Association. Are you a member? Join now at www.faualumni.org.
Tradition in the Making, One Alum at a Time…
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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

smittysahoot said

Florida Marlins make a playoff run = ticket sales increase
Florida Panthers make a playoff run = ticket sales increase
FAU made a playoff run in 2003 = ticket sale increase as the season went forward

prices have nothing to do with it. SoFla fans are fickle - they want winners and will pay to see them. It's been talked about for years by local media and some national media as well.

Aye this is in part due to there is no real attachment to the teams here. Most of the older people grew up out of state, and have allegiances to other teams, they passed on to thier kids when they moved here, and thus the cycle is born. My wife is a perfect example, although raised and born here, her father is from New England, and there is NO other possiblity of loyalty other then to those teams. Weve made him into a FAU fan because his daughter went there, and he never attended college so he had no collegiate loyalty. Ill bet if he went to a NE college he would never support FAU.

As more and more people are raised here, and grow up with these teams this will change. FAU is in its larval stage here. Everyone else bash's the attendance beacause they have no clue. They all went to schools that have had football for over 60 years in most cases. The performance of the team has easily outpaced the development of its fan base. Only consistent winning and exposure will speed up that process.

Good news is we seem to be on that path.  ;D



I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick @$$ and I'm out of bubble gum.

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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

owlfamily said

smittysahoot said

Florida Marlins make a playoff run = ticket sales increase
Florida Panthers make a playoff run = ticket sales increase
FAU made a playoff run in 2003 = ticket sale increase as the season went forward

prices have nothing to do with it. SoFla fans are fickle - they want winners and will pay to see them. It's been talked about for years by local media and some national media as well.

Aye this is in part due to there is no real attachment to the teams here.

Exactly.  That is what people don't take into account when they blindly bash South Florida as a poor sports market.  It's not so much a bad sports market, just a very young one.  The only team with a real history is the Fins and they draw well (OK, maybe not right now, but who can blame a fan base for falling off some given the decade of mismanagement we just experienced.  But the point is that they will draw fans back when they show they are heading in the right direction).  The Heat, Panthers, and Marlins all struggle with drawing fans in varying degrees and a big reason is that they haven't been around all that long and it takes generations to build a solid fan base.  Should they all do better, yes, but as long as you have a large portion of the population still alligning themselves with teams from other parts of the country, you'll struggle.  It takes time to convert people and it usually takes their children growing up with the home team and becoming fans to turn this around.
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Re: Question for the Finance/Business/Economics majors...

Someone should start up a new athletic reality series, highlighting FAU's football season:

"The Young and the Fickle"
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