Attendance expectations! How should crowds look this year?

[weyuo]

A win, or a one score loss with a huge improvement in play and coaching at Utah St, expect 15,000+ for CCSU.
That same scenario and the Huskies blowing out CCSU, expect 20,000+ for Syracuse.
If Uconn has more wins than losses going into the Fresno St game expect 20-25000.
If beating BC makes UConn bowl eligible expect 25 -30,000.
A bowl eligible UConn could bring 25,000+ for UMass and Liberty. Remember, those games are in November. The weather will most likely be sucky for at least one.

If UConn's record and onfield play resemble last year's expect the attendance to do the same. Keep in mind the Huskies sucked for so many years in a row that a lot of those die-hards have moved on. Getting them back will require a bowl invite so don't expect any sellouts in 2022.

 

[Viet Vet]

Wins will certainly be a big factor, but so will the style of play. Remember, this is our "entertainment" dollar UConn is trying to capture. I'll use the men's BB team as Exhibit A of a team that is not entertaining, even when winning. Turnovers, poor passes, "matador" defense, etc do not incite me to watch, even with no $ invested (on TV).

Give us a reason to want to watch, to embrace the team.................the way I feel about our hockey teams. Yes, I would have preferred a win against Quinnipiac in CT Ice, but - wow, that was a fun game to watch!

 

[Husky25]

It's going to take at least a year of competitive football to bring fans back to live games.

 

[coachcap]

I'm going to throw a little water on the fire of this discussion: We have an aging Boomer fan base that needs to be replaced with younger fans. Will the Gen-Xers buy tickets, or prefer to watch from the comfort of their easy chairs?
1. I have seen former season ticket holders give up their tickets as:
a. their kids graduated & got on with their lives
b. they are retiring & moving out of State
c. they have other leisure activities that they prefer to pursue during the fall weekends.
2. We have seen the almost total erosion of the Student Section over the last 10 years. This is a generation that is getting married, starting families, & never shown interest previously in attending games in person. Why would anyone think these graduates would change their viewing habits now? When the RENT first opened, UConn Football was a novelty at the 1-A level. When it became successful, attendance reached heights that haven't been seen in the last decade.

I am praying that Coach Mora puts a successful product on the field that entices young graduates & their families in future years. This season, I expect to see a mild attendance bump due to all of the positive publicity since HCJM's hiring & his enticement of In-State players to the program. The fan base must be rebuilt & future positive on-field results will be the catalyst.

 

[hardcorehusky]

I'm going to throw a little water on the fire of this discussion: We have an aging Boomer fan base that needs to be replaced with younger fans. Will the Gen-Xers buy tickets, or prefer to watch from the comfort of their easy chairs?
1. I have seen former season ticket holders give up their tickets as:
a. their kids graduated & got on with their lives
b. they are retiring & moving out of State
c. they have other leisure activities that they prefer to pursue during the fall weekends.
2. We have seen the almost total erosion of the Student Section over the last 10 years. This is a generation that is getting married, starting families, & never shown interest previously in attending games in person. Why would anyone think these graduates would change their viewing habits now? When the RENT first opened, UConn Football was a novelty at the 1-A level. When it became successful, attendance reached heights that haven't been seen in the last decade.

I am praying that Coach Mora puts a successful product on the field that entices young graduates & their families in future years. This season, I expect to see a mild attendance bump due to all of the positive publicity since HCJM's hiring & his enticement of In-State players to the program. The fan base must be rebuilt & future positive on-field results will be the catalyst.

To this end, all teams- college, pro, in Europe and America are worried about the aging fan base and the kids not coming due to video games, etc. The legacy fan at the stadium is aging.

The answer is to have in stadium apps with different camera angles- almost mimicking Madden football so the younger generation can experience the game in person and have their hand held fix as well.

 

[CL82]

It will depend entirely on how many people show up for games.

 

[Exit 4]

I'm going to change my commentary on attendance to this; if we avg over 20k live bodies for this year I'll be pleasantly surprised (low 20ks). Averaging in the teens is more likely.

It will take a few seasons to get back to the 30ks and as others have noted there are some very real structural headwinds with demographic shifts and the power of the home HD TV which makes live attendance rather limited it is appeal and utility. I don't expect a U turn.

 

[Slick]

I think you hit it right on the head. If we can average 20k to 23k this season that would be fantastic.

If we can show some tremendous improvement maybe the following season we can get up to 25K to 27K.

 

[businesslawyer]

I think you hit it right on the head. If we can average 20k to 23k this season that would be fantastic.

If we can show some tremendous improvement maybe the following season we can get up to 25K to 27K.

What UConn reports who knows. But there is zero chance we will put over 30k seats per game in the building this fall. That would require at least a 300% increase in real attendance, which now way averaged over 5k last year.

 

[CL82]

If they are really concerned with filling up the rent, give season ticket holders some kind of ridiculous incentive to get more tickets. Say, something like $10 tickets. These are your hard-core fans who will go out and sell other people on the experience. Make it cost-effective for them and reward them for sticking with the program. It’s not like we’re gonna need that extra capacity, particularly early on.

The second thing we need to do is give Connecticut high school teams a break to get them in the stadium. Give every team a shot to buy tickets for five dollars a seat. Give then a shout out on the PA. Mora has already told schools they are part of the program and has been getting buy-in. This is a way to build on that.

 

[CL82]

Attendance? I think there are two elements to attendance in 2022 beyond the standard matter of weather in New England.

1) Do our BB teams make deep runs in the tournament? I think a deep run and I mean very deep would get some juices flowing for all things UConn again. It wont lead directly to many football ticket sales, but it might get people paying attention and looking for a winner and more ready to jump on the bandwagon if we start winning. I consider a deep BB run an opportunity to prime the pump.
2) Secondly, this is hardly rocket science- but this team needs to win early and I mean very early. This team gets a legit W on the road at Utah State and then returns to thump an FCS opponent like it should then maybe - just maybe - we get a nice crowd for Syracuse - say 25-30k.

Realistically though I'm not expecting a big lift in attendance this year. Need to log in a full season of Mora....a full season of better football and then look to a rosier outlook and ticket investment in 2024.

Ten years of losing has really eroded our casual fanbase. If we can legit avg in the 20s it would be a victory. Build from there in 2023.

I think Mora could give us a lift in attendance right off the bat. He’s not going to fill the stadium, but if biz laws 5000 number is correct, I could see us at 10 or close to it right from the start.

 

[Tdaley]

I'm going to throw a little water on the fire of this discussion: We have an aging Boomer fan base that needs to be replaced with younger fans. Will the Gen-Xers buy tickets, or prefer to watch from the comfort of their easy chairs?
1. I have seen former season ticket holders give up their tickets as:
a. their kids graduated & got on with their lives
b. they are retiring & moving out of State
c. they have other leisure activities that they prefer to pursue during the fall weekends.
2. We have seen the almost total erosion of the Student Section over the last 10 years. This is a generation that is getting married, starting families, & never shown interest previously in attending games in person. Why would anyone think these graduates would change their viewing habits now? When the RENT first opened, UConn Football was a novelty at the 1-A level. When it became successful, attendance reached heights that haven't been seen in the last decade.

I am praying that Coach Mora puts a successful product on the field that entices young graduates & their families in future years. This season, I expect to see a mild attendance bump due to all of the positive publicity since HCJM's hiring & his enticement of In-State players to the program. The fan base must be rebuilt & future positive on-field results will be the catalyst.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you 100%.

 

[ZooCougar]

I think we will pleased with the attendance improvement. But I refuse to put a number on it.

I’ve already made plans to travel back.

We’ve rounded the bend and the scenery is going to look much different.

 

[Woof 101]

If they are really concerned with filling up the rent, give season ticket holders some kind of ridiculous incentive to get more tickets. Say, something like $10 tickets. These are your hard-core fans who will go out and sell other people on the experience. Make it cost-effective fo

@CL82 Agree 100% percent but the interest has to be there. I have eaten several tickets in what I consider good seats next to chair backs for several years now due to lack of interest. This when one in my party of four could not make a game and yes it was offered for free.
This might work for some but not all.

The second thing we need to do is give Connecticut high school teams a break to get them in the stadium. Give every team a shot to buy tickets for five dollars a seat. Give then a shout out on the PA. Mora has already told schools they are part of the program and has been getting buy-in. This is a way to build on that.

Agree again 100%, they have to grow the audience. Bring in the high schools and if seats available midget football teams for free. They will collect more for the vendors and develop a loyalty for future fans. The problem???
When they tried in the past many season ticket holders and I am not one of them cried foul when they were selling Top Of The Rent tickets at a budget price.
I sit where I like to watch a game from and requires a donation. I have no problem with what those at the top of the The Rent or in the end zone pay for their tickets or if they came in for free. Just would love to see bodies rather than aluminum benches.....

 

[Waquoit]

I think we will pleased with the attendance improvement. But I refuse to put a number on it.

I’ve already made plans to travel back.

If you come to the Cuse or Fresno game, you can double up with a Hartford Athletic game!

 

[Devland]

Unfortunately my group will be 2 people less this season. We lost 2 of the 8 this off-season. Both were in their mid 80's.

 

[Watchdog]

Got it 15,000 - 22,000
and I flunked algebra twice in High School!!!!!

Only twice?
Where's the "x" with the *W in wins if you're saying you'll credit 2,000 additional attendance for each win?

 

[LBird33]

More than usual

 

[Slick]

Unfortunately my group will be 2 people less this season. We lost 2 of the 8 this off-season. Both were in their mid 80's.

Did they pass away?

 

[uconnbill]

If they can get 15,000 to 18,000 inside the stadium it would be a win for the school, the players and The Rent.

 

[JellyBean]

About the same.