According to another site. Average attendance hovered around 67,000 the past two years. Well that's no fun.
Only 64% of season ticket holders expected to renew....
- Thread starter Aegon_Targaryen
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I believe the article in the DMR this morning actually stated that it was 64% of the season ticket holders who had responded to an e-mail sent by the athletic office.
I know that I responded because I felt it was an opportunity to voice my frustration about the value I feel I am getting for what I am paying. I suspect that people who are perfectly happy did not bother to respond.
Keep in mind, this survey was sent out just moments after Iowa got beat by either Nebraska or the bowl game..
Fans were pissed and likely just said they weren't renewing.
I fully expect a decline in season tickets, but it's not going to drop by 30-40%.
This post was edited on 2/16 1:41 PM by IaHawks03
Fans were pissed and likely just said they weren't renewing.
I fully expect a decline in season tickets, but it's not going to drop by 30-40%.
This post was edited on 2/16 1:41 PM by IaHawks03
ticket prices and the cost of parking not to mention concessions are/is what is causing the decline, and it's not just IA that is being affected.
Michigan just announced a price cut to the student ticket in spite of Harbaugh being hired. look at the stadiums around the country this is not a IA problem and has nothing to do with winning and losing let alone type of play.
Michigan just announced a price cut to the student ticket in spite of Harbaugh being hired. look at the stadiums around the country this is not a IA problem and has nothing to do with winning and losing let alone type of play.
If it was money related then attendance would have declined by now. It's the quality of product on the field. If they are winners Kinnick would be sold out easily!
Not to mention with surveys such as these you will get a higher percentage of the really pissed of people that will fill these out. Probably are going to get a lower percentage of the just disappointed fans that fill it out.
That is not to say this shouldn't be a concern. But like you I believe ST will be down but not like the chicken littles are predicting.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Truth is though, is that I'm usually looking for just that when I go. I care if they win, but I'm not all unhinged if they do. I just like how much more fun it is when they are winning. I'm all about the party really, it's not like I'm the one playing of the field. Those are the guys who winning ultimately really matters to.
Dropped my 4 tickets - I let them know my frustration with the product on the field, the price of concessions and that an "average" family can no longer afford to go to events. As most stadiums across the country are now experiencing, less attendance due to rising cost of a non-professional sport.
It costs less to go to a Kernels, Titans, Rough Riders game which are semi-pro and usually more entertaining.
It costs less to go to a Kernels, Titans, Rough Riders game which are semi-pro and usually more entertaining.
I'm not sure it's that bad is it? I got 4 tickets last year for less than $70 or something like that. I used StubHub and got them last minute, but still. From there, we just brought up our food, which we all put in on, split the costs of gas and the parking spot, and that was it. $100 for me and 4 more to enjoy the fun? Works for me.
Season tickets were a bit more than that... if we go from now on, it will be through stubhub or scalped due to cost. Can't exactly split the cost among my kids... so that doesn't fall into the equation. We did tailgate pre and post so that helps with the food, but if we get there late (due to work) it's easily 100.00 in food on top of parking (10-20 per trip) on top of...
We (my wife and I) weighed the ROI - we no longer have season tickets (and we had them for 20 years). To each their own, I am not stating right or wrong as it is up to each individual as to what they do.
The article also said the national average was 72% considering season tickets and 47% considering not getting season tickets. That's 119% mulling it over.
the chicken littles want you to believe its KF fault that ticket sales are down and ignore the fact Ticket sales are down all across the country,
as for Harbaugh Michigan is still cutting the student Ticket price in spite of his hire.
as for Harbaugh Michigan is still cutting the student Ticket price in spite of his hire.
The product on the field is under control of KF who is the "Head Coach". The product on the field hasn't been too appetizing to most as of late. There is a general consensus that watching Iowa football isn't nearly as fun as it used to be. There have been many on here who have stated as such.
I also recall many on saying they WOULD NOT renew their season tickets. Perhaps there is a bit of down turn due to economical reasons and higher prices.
I suspect though that the fun of the game has been lost, and people are no longer willing to spend lots of money to see something that is more frustrating than entertaining.
You're wrong, and that is that. Don't bother responding, I'll just tell you that you are wrong again. I'll also be right again.
This confuses me. Are you trying to imply that going to any one of those lightly-attended events should cost more than an Iowa game?
Really? But, I guess if you are going to claim that those games are more entertaining, I should just ignore your post entirely.
Most of the Rough Rider games are sold out - the product on the ice IS more entertaining to watch then the past few years of Iowa (yawn) football. "Lightly-attended" depends on the time of the game for the Kernel's, yes the daytime games are lightly attended - the evening\weekend games have numbers.
No they shouldn't cost more than an Iowa game, I was making the point that there are other things to do in the area (that cost less) and give as much if not more excitement.
If you consider the past 4years of Iowa football "entertaining" then I should just ignore your post...
Oh brother. Feel free to continue with your "Titans football is more exciting than Iowa football" garbage. Clearly you need it to wake up in the morning.
I'm pleased to hear that the RoughRiders are selling out, good for them, at 2,584 per game. They should play in Kinnick, I'll bet they'd hit 70k easily.
I'm pleased to hear that the RoughRiders are selling out, good for them, at 2,584 per game. They should play in Kinnick, I'll bet they'd hit 70k easily.
One thing to remember about juniors and minor league is the majority of the fans attending care only about if the team wins the game they are at. You got diehards that care about every game but they are far from the majority.
With baseball winning is secondary to developing players at the minor league level.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
With baseball winning is secondary to developing players at the minor league level.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Ticket sales are kind of a luxury for most people. The product on the field isn't very inspiring. There doesn't really seem to be much source of optimism for the players on the roster or that the e coaching is going to suddenly change.
The game experience is poor. Too much security. Food in the stadium sucks and grossly overpriced. Far too few men's rooms.
If you're selling a luxury you've got a tough sell with Hawkeye football right now.
The game experience is poor. Too much security. Food in the stadium sucks and grossly overpriced. Far too few men's rooms.
If you're selling a luxury you've got a tough sell with Hawkeye football right now.
There are several things to turn college football around and several things specific to IA.
1. Start selling beer. It makes a profit, you can control sales, and somehow the rest of humanity manages to consume alcohol at sporting events and the apocalypse doesn't happen. You can decide to stop selling to a drunk at the stadium where he can just continue to drink at the tailgate. I think it would actually be better than what we have now.
2. Put in some wifi. Actually use your electronics to update games on the big screen. I can't even check scores on ESPN.
3. Put in some decent food. Every been to a pro park. You can get BBQ, Mexican, hot dogs, burgers, chicken, etc.
4. Do some new crap with the marching band. My kids don't know "hey jude" or want to listen to more thriller.
5. Close down the RV lot next to Kinnick (or at least half of it) and build a food court and activity center. That is where you should have put the IA sports hall of fame. Move those big donors somewhere else and provide a campus police escorted shuttle buses so they can feel special.
6. Fix the ridiculous per seat donation prices. They're great when you're 10-2 and top 8 three years in a row. Not so much now.
7. Develop a real kids area. Not that crap excuse at the south side. When I take my kids to a Sporting Game in KC, they can play soccer with other kids, kick toward goalies, meet army recruiters and sit in jeeps, visit with the fire dept. There is a multitude of stuff to do.
8. Find a way to advertise during games on TV without interrupting games live. It should be at the edge of the screen kind of like web based adds. Stop interrupting the game. I paid a premium ticket to sit at the event. I also own cable so I am paying for the TV rights. Don't hose me twice buy screwing up the live experience that I paid for.
9. Stop advertising in the stadium. I don't care about the Case IH redzone. Save that stuff for radio and TV.
10. Stop scheduling meaningless patsies in the preseason.
11.....Oh and winning helps.!
1. Start selling beer. It makes a profit, you can control sales, and somehow the rest of humanity manages to consume alcohol at sporting events and the apocalypse doesn't happen. You can decide to stop selling to a drunk at the stadium where he can just continue to drink at the tailgate. I think it would actually be better than what we have now.
2. Put in some wifi. Actually use your electronics to update games on the big screen. I can't even check scores on ESPN.
3. Put in some decent food. Every been to a pro park. You can get BBQ, Mexican, hot dogs, burgers, chicken, etc.
4. Do some new crap with the marching band. My kids don't know "hey jude" or want to listen to more thriller.
5. Close down the RV lot next to Kinnick (or at least half of it) and build a food court and activity center. That is where you should have put the IA sports hall of fame. Move those big donors somewhere else and provide a campus police escorted shuttle buses so they can feel special.
6. Fix the ridiculous per seat donation prices. They're great when you're 10-2 and top 8 three years in a row. Not so much now.
7. Develop a real kids area. Not that crap excuse at the south side. When I take my kids to a Sporting Game in KC, they can play soccer with other kids, kick toward goalies, meet army recruiters and sit in jeeps, visit with the fire dept. There is a multitude of stuff to do.
8. Find a way to advertise during games on TV without interrupting games live. It should be at the edge of the screen kind of like web based adds. Stop interrupting the game. I paid a premium ticket to sit at the event. I also own cable so I am paying for the TV rights. Don't hose me twice buy screwing up the live experience that I paid for.
9. Stop advertising in the stadium. I don't care about the Case IH redzone. Save that stuff for radio and TV.
10. Stop scheduling meaningless patsies in the preseason.
11.....Oh and winning helps.!
12. Take a serious look into getting new uniforms. The programs needs to refresh and that is a good place to start.
13. Change the entrance around, it was cool 10 years ago, it comes off as old and stale now.
14. Add some sort of unique fireworks display, triggered when they score. Lots of other stadiums do it, and it makes a difference. I think we have something going in that regard, but I'd like to see something with a bit more razzle dazzle.
15. Get a new announcer, with a better voice and more personality.
Some good points. I think with sale of beer like with Minnesota some state issues/laws go into that but not for sure the loopholes for being able to do that. As for the big donor stuff/RVs since they bring in the $ I don't forsee them doing anything to move or anything else, $ talks.
I wish and I know I was in the minority 10yrs or so when they do all the upgrades with Kinnick I was hoping they would build new one West of Hall of Fame. Kinnick is at a disadvantage being that its surrounded by neighborhood/hospital like Wrigley Field in Chicago. Limits parking and adding any extra ammenities like kid zone just spreads things out. For marketing changes we've seen how the U of I does stuff and these are the same people who brought us the red white and barely any blue pom poms.
You're points are dead on. Especially the pathetic entrance mish-mash. It is comical that the UI is so terrified of trying 'new' things. Whether it be uni's, entrance, exterior venue enhancements and *gasp* the actual type of play on the field! Only one thing is more predictable than the Kinnick experience these days - cornfield intro's by ESPN! The slow attendance decline has begun among the general population preceded by abandonment by the students. VERY difficult to get younger fans back after disengagement.
Some good points are made here. I am specifically leaving out the additional points another poster added, as I don't think they are good.
Specific criticisms:
1. I really have no preference on the sale of beer, at least with the idea of beer sales itself. I drink without it, won't change my habit, certainly would for some people I often attend with. Kinnick isn't real conducive towards more concessions/more people at the concessions, but I'm sure it could work.
2. I must not have enough experience with the "wifi" use at big events, do people actually "login" to use this? Not asking if that is how it is done, but whether people actually take the time to do so. I guess if this just means improved signal/reliability among carriers, of course, no brainer.
3. I really don't think the food matters that much. Sure, could improve the quality of what is currently provided (not a fan of the new hot dogs), but having, say, bbq nachos like at Kauffman simply won't work and I wouldn't want it to. The seats are crowded, by necessity, there is hardly room for eating the minimal nachos they offer now. We've "gotten by" without this for a very long time, and IF the team wins, I think everyone agrees it won't be needed to pull people in (unlike a small market baseball team for example).
5. Activity Center/Kids area: I am ambivalent about an "activity center" both in that it won't improve anything and I don't think that many will take advantage. How many go to the "tailgate" on the baseball practice field? As for kids, I don't think the answer to lowered attendance is to make it more "family friendly" and "kid conducive". I've long held (and I have children), that Iowa football is not a place for young children. Sure, I get the idea of indoctrinating the young, but that will occur anyway...presuming those parents are attending the games. Simply put, we do not need more young children at these games, especially not as an offset to adults.
6. I never get the complaints about the "donation". This isn't difficult: It is the price of the ticket. In fact you should be happy it is a donation, because at least you get to write off some of it, where you wouldn't with a price hike. It also makes it easier to say what the "season ticket price" is across the board.
Maybe you are saying lower the ticket prices, fine, I can understand that. But getting rid of the "donation" isn't going to do that, because it is part of the ticket price. You want to get rid of the donation, the ticket prices will go up to compensate.
8./9. Advertising: I am mostly on board with this, but that money is obviously necessary (at least in the department's mind). We've long gone past this sort of complaint, in my opinion. Yes, I pay for "cable" and it still comes with commercials, it is sht and counterintuitive, but it is now the standard practice. Much like the donation complaint above, if you take away Case IH, the money needs to be compensated somewhere else (see: us). They could certainly improve the timing, the quality, and the nature of the advertising. I don't have a problem with the Case IH Redzone, it is a quick comment once they get there, but some of the other ones get annoying. This could certainly be an area of improvement. Showing other games scores and even highlights would be great.
10. Patsies: Get rid of FCS outside of UNI (I have no problem playing UNI over some small southern school) and schedule some "fun" opponents. North Texas, imo, is a good one as it brings back Mac. No more Tennessee Tech. I don't think the scheduling is anywhere near as bad as some claim it is. Playing Pitt is a good matchup, Illinois State is not, should be a MAC-level team. I thought Iowa had a fun, intriguing schedule last year, but it leads in to the final point:
11. Winning: This is, imo, all about winning. 10-4 this year? Fans ecstatic about next year. 12-2 this year? Sold out and screaming for more. It is about wins, plain and simple. Winning gets rid of the (now annoying incessant) "product on the field" stuff around here. We are all (well most of us) hoping for more next year.
Not necessarily disagreeing with this, but I think it ignores one important thing: We don't know if we have lost the "younger fans", we do know we have lost the current students. But students leave and new ones take their place. This batch of students has suffered lean years, The outgoing seniors (iirc) started with a 7-6 and then wallowed in a 4-win and have disappeared since. A new group is coming in, hopefully with renewed excitement of their own, and a strong season from Iowa could bring them back altogether.
Right now it isn't the "thing to do" among students and I think that starts at the top, with the seniors. Get rid of them and the juniors who both were present for 4-8, and hopefully it improves.
Well, the titans were 20-8 the past two seasons (two of the losses came in the United Conference Championship - when was Iowa last in the conf championship?...). If you haven't been to a Titan game then you need to go, there are ex-college players (some hawks) that are playing to get to the pros as well, so yep it's entertaining. If you think sitting in Kinnick and watching Iowa barely beat D1AA and MAC schools or losing leads to inferior teams is entertaining, so be it - enjoy.
Lordy, the lengths people will go to convince themselves of things. You can be upset about Iowa football without pretending that Titans games are more exciting.
Maybe you missed my earlier question: Why don't they play at Kinnick? They'd sell out, right?
You apparently go to great lengths yourself if you are trying to convince anyone that what Iowa has done the past 3-4 years is "exciting". If what I mentioned above is your idea of "exciting" then enjoy it. It isn't to me.
To your question "Why don't they play in Kinnick" - they don't have rights to, noone does. Would they sell out? That's just a silly question, of course not - but hey how did Kinnick do in 2013\2014 (A streak of 30 consecutive sellouts at Kinnick Stadium ended on Nov. 23, 2012, when an announced crowd of 69,805 watched the Hawkeyes' 13-7 loss to Nebraska). As has been stated on these boards before what "sold out" means doesn't equate to butts in the seats either. '
The 10-10 (home record) record also wishes Iowa could've done better. A look at the Kinnick losses since 2012 includes consecutive losses to rivals Iowa State (2012 and this season) and Wisconsin (2012 and '14). There was that nasty 32-31 loss to Central Michigan of the Powerful Mid-American Conference in 2012. The Hawkeyes went into last season's game against Michigan State with a 4-1 record and fell 26-14 to a comparable program that went on to win the Rose Bowl.
Response in italics.
I'm all for discussion about "upgrading the gameday experience", but much of what gets spewed on this website is nonsensical, nonfeasible, or just downright stupid, of course imo.
I've asked this many times: If there hadn't been a "tailgating crackdown", but we had the same W/L, would we be in the same attendance situation? I say yes, unequivocally. Posters would just complain about other things.
Even with the "tailgating crackdown", if Iowa hadn't lost 8 games in a season and won 9+ each year since, would the fans be in the seats? Ab. so. fcking. lutely.
Even the students would be there, but they still have me concerned.
You get excited (look back at your posts as you kept saying "exciting" in them) about the status quo - good for you - enjoy. There are some games of Iowa's that are exciting, but the ROI to me isn't worth it, it is to you - again enjoy. You don't think that high scoring, fast paced games are exciting - I get that.
You asked the question about "why don't they play in Kinnick" if you don't like the answer, oh well.
Speaking of hyperbole - look at some of your own statements...
Later.
Straw men and moving goalposts. You fit in well around here.
You keep telling yourself that Titans games are more "exciting" than Iowa football games. That is the term you used.
Glad you finally post something with sense and back off your original hyperbole. bolded. That is a statement that would likely go unchallenged on here, but that wasn't enough for you, you believed you had to take it 84 steps further to try and make a point.
With how large tv's are getting it's so much easier to watch the game on a 70"+ screen with your friends/family.
No drive/parking, no weather issues, obviously a lot cheaper, etc.
Are you missing the game day Kinnick experience? Definitely! But how the Hawks have been playing I'd rather sit at home.
No drive/parking, no weather issues, obviously a lot cheaper, etc.
Are you missing the game day Kinnick experience? Definitely! But how the Hawks have been playing I'd rather sit at home.
