UM AD on Mich vs Uconn at Rent

[Rondogg]

I agree but, where would they play? Meadowlands would be way too far for regular season fans who don't like to go thru NYC. Same with Yankee Stadium. Is there a place in Fairfield County?

 

[Dann]

we dont need to play fball games in fairfield county, we need to get fairfield county ppl to drive a hour up the high way to our games. the drive isn't long, its letting them know its there and a good time is the issue. ppl drive a hour to mets/yanks games all the time and fball games etc. they can drive a hour south or take the train a hour south all the time. they can drive north, but uconn has to give them the idea to.

 

[whaler11]

This is purely a gut feeling but I believe it is respect for our new AD (who happens to be a Michigan alum) that is keeping the Woverines from buying out the game.

I also believe that it is the myopic viewpoint of many in our legislature (as well as a portion of our fan base) that is preventing us from using this to our advantage. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to believe that we could convince UM to extend this series if within this extension we would play in Foxboro and the Meadowlands. It also could easily be argued that a couple of future home games (UConn's conference holding television rights) against Michigan would be quite valuable to whoever has our television rights when those games come around (also quite a bargaining chip for soon to arrive negotiations).

Michigan may have had a few down years but the fact is they are still Michigan. A scheduling relationship with them is invaluable to a school in our situation.

You are exactly right and Michigan's down period is already over.

 

[Excalibur]

Simple math shows it's not the buyout compelling them to do anything.

They easily gross 5 million plus for a MAC school.

Gross doesn't matter.

 

[whaler11]

Gross doesn't matter.

And what do you think Michigan spends to get to a net number. They easily gross 7-8 million. They could pay a 2 million dollar buy out twice and still be ahead. Their home schedule is AWFUL this year and they will probably sell close to 50 million dollars worth of tickets opening the gates 6 times.

110,000 seats. Prices like this:
4-Game Ticket Pack: MSU, UMass, 2 more games (choose from Air Force, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa) -- Limit 4 - $320/pack**
Individual Tickets: Air Force, UMass, Illinois (single seats only), Northwestern, Iowa (single seats only) -- Limit 10/game - $75 each**

 

[2Infinity]

I agree but, where would they play? Meadowlands would be way too far for regular season fans who don't like to go thru NYC. Same with Yankee Stadium. Is there a place in Fairfield County?

Well it's not Fairfield County, but Yale Bowl, in New Haven, seats about 70,000. It clearly would be an easy drive for anyone in FC and even for the Michigan alumni in NYC too. Not sure of the current condition since the 2005 renovation began, but if halfway decent,which I believe it is, it would be a great location.

 

[whaler11]

Well it's not Fairfield County, but Yale Bowl, in New Haven, seats about 70,000. It clearly would be an easy drive for anyone in FC and even for the Michigan alumni in NYC too. Not sure of the current condition since the 2005 renovation began, but if halfway decent,which I believe it is, it would be a great location.

It is not remotely suitable for a Michigan/UConn game. Why would anyone play a game in New Haven that could be played in either of two state of the art world class facilities in NYC or within a par 5 of NYC?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I personally believe that it is time for those in the middle of the state to realize that there are quite a few people with more than merely a little disposable income in this part of the state. Whether you are of the opinion that it is the fault of the school or the fault of the residents of Fairfield County that Fairfield County is not as connected to UConn as other parts of the state is unimportant. What is important is that there is a very valuable market here and the school would be insane if they did not make a serious effort to cultivate it. I will add in Westchester County (NY) as an area that is there for the taking if we can reach them with very similar demographics to Farifield County.

I am not talking about moving all of our football games to somewhere more convenient for those down here. I am talking about one game every other year, to introduce people to something they may want to consider becoming a part of in East Hartford. I absolutely believe that this part of the state could easily increase the season ticket base by 20k seats. I also firmly believe that the more of a presence we have in the NYC television market (through fans who live down here) the more immune we become to the pitfalls of conference realignment.

I have said for a decade now that we should plant a stake in NYC, another in Boston and devise a plan to make everything between the two our target market (for all of our athletic programs). I defy anyone to try to convince me that this would be a bad idea.

Great post. I 100% agree with everything you have said here.

I still have no clue why we don't market ourselves more in NYC and Boston.

Face it, everyone loves a winner, and UConn Basketball is an elite program that people would follow. Get some people on the UConn basketball train and then it would only be natural for them to start tuning into UConn Football. Obviously marketing and promotion costs money, but the potential for growth is enormous in Fairfield County, let alone NYC and Boston.

 

[Waquoit]

I don't get why this is even an issue. UConn plays it's home game at The Rent. UM is doing the right thing, but you're supposed to do the right thing.

 

[ruskin]

I could see temp bleachers being constructed below and on either side of video board for Mich. Hopefully by next year the scoreboardage will have been upgraded.

 

[ruskin]

With all due respect quoit doing the right thing in big-time college sports these days is an upset of major proportions.

 

[Rondogg]

It sure will be fun to get the miniBIG HOUSE rockin for that game!

 

[Adios]

It sure will be fun to get the miniBIG HOUSE rockin for that game!

It will definitely be rocking. Michigan players (and staff and fans) will take back good words about their visit to East Hartford to the B1G.

We've done that with the SEC and Big 12.

 

[2Infinity]

It is not remotely suitable for a Michigan/UConn game. Why would anyone play a game in New Haven that could be played in either of two state of the art world class facilities in NYC or within a par 5 of NYC?

Well I was responding to RD's query about stadium location, specifically regarding Fairfield County. If Michigan is truly after a larger venue, the Yale Bowl suits that well and it's still in CT and right down the road. If you want to bring state-of-the art stadiums into the discussion, then yes, we're back to NYC metro area or Foxboro.

 

[whaler11]

Well I was responding to RD's query about stadium location, specifically regarding Fairfield County. If Michigan is truly after a larger venue, the Yale Bowl suits that well and it's still in CT and right down the road. If you want to bring state-of-the art stadiums into the discussion, then yes, we're back to NYC metro area or Foxboro.

The Yale Bowl is not suitable for a game of that magnitude. Michigan is not just looking for a bigger stadium. They want to give their NYC area alumni access.

Yale Bowl makes no sense when there are better options in better locations.

 

[Dann]

this may sound silly, but the only way i think i would be ok with playing a game at the yale bowl would be if instead of a fcs team we got army on the schedule. we could give them a good amount of tix and it could be a fun experience for both fan bases being somewhat in between the 2 campus wise. the counter would be yankee stadium to that of course.

 

[RedSoloCup]

I agree with earlier posts, we should have some games in the meadowlands. The market we want is NYC, that makes us a better television asset.

We should be working creative deals like a double home and home, with one at the home stadium for each team, and one at a neutral site for each. Make that the deal and use it to get our name in markets. Then up front, both schools get extra marketing and we can fit in more of their fans for a better share of the gate.

Also, win the @*(#&$)@ game of course.

 

[Carl Spackler]

This again.

Michigan will play at Rentschler next year. You know who else is playing that day? UCONN!!!

Yale bowl, needs significant upgrade work, and the parking/traffic is a mess. even if there was movement to upgrade the facility to 2012 standards, after the unfortunate death of a tailgater at I think last year's yale-harvard game (was it two years ago already?) I highly doubt that the decision will be made anytime soon to invest in that. It's not like they don't have the money, it's just not something that's going to be looked at.

 

[CL82]

I'd do home, home, NYC with any major program but there is no way I give up a game at the Rent. Bringing in big names to our stadium is critical to building the brand. As noted above, sending these teams back to their conferences with favorable impressions (eg Robert Griffin's comments about stadium noise) helps with our reputation a bit. Winning these games helps our reputation a lot.

 

[APA]

Michigan's average ticket price is $185. At 110,000 seats, that is gross income of $20,350,000, before parking, concessions, etc. The buyout could have been 10 million and it wouldn't matter.

 

[uc1974]

You stuck in a "1" where a "0" should have been. Michigan's average game price is $80 or so, not $185. Google Michigan ticket prices to verify. Gross ticket revenue per game is about $8,800,000. Michigan does not sell out every game. To add a Washington Generals type team is $1,000,000. So, Michigan starts with a gross sales figure of $5,800,000 (buyout plus guarantee fee). If you want to argue on that basis fine, but let's not be ridiculous. It should please you that UM is actually doing what they said they would do. Nebraska played at Wake Forest (32,000) a few years ago so there is precedent for doing what you agreed to do amongst some programs at least. Michigan opens its 2013 FB schedule with three home games, two against semi-turkeys Central Michigan and Akron. Adding a third would make their schedule worse that anything Rutgers ever did and give them four home games in a row, three against patsies. Despite the money, do you think UM believes this to be a good idea? UConn is a decent opponent, hardly in the CMU and Akron category. It's not always about short term $$'s.

 

[CL82]

One of the benefits of a playoff system is the SOS component. This will cause the big boys to play better quality programs. This is beneficial to the BE even though the format makes it difficult to get into the playoffs,

 

[junglehusky]

Well if winning fairfield county's hearts and minds is what we're after, wouldn't Yankee stadium be the best target? It's much easier access via Metro-North.

And as Carl pointed out, New Haven / Yale would never want another big time game at the Yale Bowl after last year's tragedy, especially one not involving Yale, and the neighborhood is just not equipped to handle the traffic for a UConn tailgate, let alone a UConn+Michigan one. (Probably the reason they wound up not proceeding with plans to move last year's Fordham game to the Yale Bowl).

 

[Carl Spackler]

If a game - any game - not the Michigan game in 2013 - that one is beign played at Rentschler, but if any future game were to be scheduled in NYC, I prefer Yankee Stadium over Meadowlands. I have no idea of the information given is accurate, that there is legislation on the books somewhere that says that UConn can't play a "home" game anywhere but Rentschler. But even if it is, that means nothing for a neutral site game, where the day's take is being split 50/50.

I've said it before, I'll say again. I'd love to see us with the regular 7 game "home" schedule with 6 games at Rentschler, and 1 neutral in the Bronx against a nationally prevalent program that's interested in playing in the Big Apple.

The New Haven line would get a lot of business, I think.

 

[uc1974]

Can we agree to put the Yale Bowl to rest for anything anytime?? It is a 1914 only slightly upgraded classic that is not designed for crowds much over 25,000. Years ago trains ran to New Haven as football specials and a large proportion of fans then took the streetcar (last ride 1947) to the Bowl. The residential neighborhood and streets don't cut it in 2012. A 50,000 crowd once every two years for Harvard is about it, I'm afraid. If it weren't there Yale would have a 25,000 seat facility (maybe), but at least it would have some modern conveniences. The Bowl has no lights, no comfortable seats, and a number of horses buried under the gridiron. Poor things dropped dead during construction and were buried where they fell.