2012 Attendance so far

[vtcwbuff]

In an earlier thread (I can't find it) a poster wondered if attendance numbers were better this year.
As a card carrying member of the "don't have enough to do" crowd, I decided to look it up.

Last year's average home attendance was 9,788
This year's average home attendance so far (16 games) - 8,827
Factor in an estimated 23K for the two remaining games - 9,124

Some things of note - Conference play draws fans. Average attendance at conference games is 9,750. The only poorly attended conference game was Cinncinnati (6,317). The non conference schedule against non competitive teams was the big drag on attendance. Average attendance for the 7 early season cupcake games was 6,730. The HC opener drew only 6,548. Drop the cupcakes and the average attendance increases to 10,457.

 

[alexrgct]

From the sound of it, there will be fewer home games total next year, and possibly fewer cupcakes. But definitely, UConn's experimentation with more games against lesser opponents demonstrated pretty clearly that it will drag attendance averages down. Then again, 6,730 people is a decent crowd to watch UConn eviscerate some hapless team. Given that those games are at Gampel, where UConn controls the parking and concessions, they probably made pretty good money on those games.

Next year, it sounds like Baylor and Maryland will be coming to CT. Possibly Duke as well. Those should be good draws.

 

[EricLA]

From the sound of it, there will be fewer home games total next year, and possibly fewer cupcakes. But definitely, UConn's experimentation with more games against lesser opponents demonstrated pretty clearly that it will drag attendance averages down. Then again, 6,730 people is a decent crowd to watch UConn eviscerate some hapless team. Given that those games are at Gampel, where UConn controls the parking and concessions, they probably made pretty good money on those games.

Next year, it sounds like Baylor and Maryland will be coming to CT. Possibly Duke as well. Those should be good draws.

agreed. i think the RU game was close to a sellout. at least it looked that way on TV. i bet they play Baylor and Maryland at the civic center. chance to get more like 15 or 16K people there...

 

[UcMiami]

Thanks for the research. The last two games should be good draws - senior night and ND.

 

[vtcwbuff]

RU attendance was 9,882 and GT was 10,167. I estimated 23,000 for the final two games. It could be higher.

 

[Kevin G]

Thanks for the stats. I also think that UCONN has played more games at Gampel so far (at least it feels that way) than compared to this time last year. Of course, I'm too lazy to look it up . But, that can effect the numbers since XL holds more

 

[alexrgct]

Thanks for the stats. I also think that UCONN has played more games at Gampel so far (at least it feels that way) than compared to this time last year. Of course, I'm too lazy to look it up . But, that can effect the numbers since XL holds more

And is less of a schlep for the state's major population centers.

 

[earl the pearl]

If they played more afternoon games they would draw more...........

 

[rocky rococo]

If they played more afternoon games they would draw more...........

That's become clear, and Geno caught it right away. I would look for something like a doubling of the number of weekend afternoon games next year.

It makes sense for a team with an aging fan base. They don't want to drive as much at night anymore, for good reason, and we should all be glad that they're smart enough to know that. But those are the loyal fans that gave us ten years of sellouts, so let's make it easy for them to attend by maximizing day games and they will come through. We've seen that this year.

Edited to add: Day games also provide the opportunity to start building the fan base of the future by having games at times it's convenient for their parents to take them.

 

[DobbsRover2]

As always, when comparing attendance figures, it's good to make sure that the data isn't skewed. Few points about trying to compare this year and last year.

1. XLS holds a lot more bodies. Last year 9 home games were played there instead of Gampel. This year it's been 6 so far, so you would expect a lower average to this point.
2. Attendance sometimes bulges at end-of-season, BET (at XLS) and FF tournament games.
3. The average attendance for all of UConn's games (home-away-neutral) is up this year, so if the tournaments' attendance is decent, we could at least say UConn's attendance profile in WCBB was bigger. The first 4 rounds of the NCAAs can be unexciting, but we'll see.

 

[MikeBraddock]

If they played more afternoon games they would draw more...........

Geno has already yelled about the fact that the men's games get first dibs on the afternoon games. You think the new AD will listen to him?

 

[alexrgct]

Geno has already yelled about the fact that the men's games get first dibs on the afternoon games. You think the new AD will listen to him?

I sure hope so. Drawing more than 13,000 for South Florida on a Saturday afternoon sent a pretty clear message, I thought. Much more kid-friendly time of day. And if you want WBB to continue to matter in CT 20 years from now, getting kids in the arena is important.