Blaudschun: UConn Switching BC Home Game to Fenway?

[Husky25]

Have you been drunk for the last 5 years?

Loaded question.

 

[SubbaBub]

If this is not about money or prime time national TV, or a play to show we can match or outpace BC in their own (only) market, then it is a mistake.

If it leads to this being an annual neutral site game then, I'd just have done that.

But I think it's about the money. AD is probably looking to piece his revenue together a few 100k at a time.

 

[Colt house75]

If attendance and $$ help the off season moves, all be it ... let's get it done-the trade off with
FHCBD was well worth it..

If BC attendance numbers increase for this game, can only see this as being a positive toward potential inclusion next go-around in
ACC consideration.

MAYBE, just maybe, this can build into an annual game at Gillette and Yankee Stadium or another "neutral site".

 

[huskymedic]

BC Interruption: Report: Boston College-UConn Football Game In 2017 To Be Played at Fenway Park

 

[businesslawyer]

If this is not about money or prime time national TV, or a play to show we can match or outpace BC in their own (only) market, then it is a mistake.

If it leads to this being an annual neutral site game then, I'd just have done that.

But I think it's about the money. AD is probably looking to piece his revenue together a few 100k at a time.

Blauds was very clear it is about the money. No reason to believe part of his story and not all of it.

None of us know what expenditures Benedict gets to make by taking this deal. Which makes criticizing it sort of pointless. Was it this or stick with Diaco? This or hire someone we never heard of as OC?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I will probably never understand this mentality. I go to games to watch the team in home blues, not the away whites. I really don't care who they play. The name of the game is winning and in case people have been living under a rock for the last 5 out of the last 6 years, UConn has not been the most competitive program vs. even the most mediocre of opponents.

This is our biggest hurdle as a 'brand name' school.

We draw far fewer fans (in men's hoops as well as football) than schools we want to claim we are peers with.

if Kansas, Duke or Kentucky played North Florida or their regional versions of Boston U or Northeastern do you think they would have had similar attendance to what we saw?

I doubt that our best years in football had attendance any better than average years for Kansas and we've never had what Kentucky does for football attendance.

Of we are to become what we want to be we need fans who want to watch our teams, not our opponents. Until this happens we'll have nobody to blame but ourselves as our detractors will be able to claim our following wad merely a fad, based on fleeting success

 

[TheDrifter75]

Is Oklahoma a laughing stock for playing a game in Dallas every year against Tx?

Lets start something. Giving up a home game for a future marquee game is not the end of the world. Who knows what can become of this. Alternating games between Boston and NYC would be pretty cool and could get a look nationally especially if the teams are decent.

Just thinking out of the box, and not sure of all the facilities available in the area, but what about an annual game in the Springfield area during the Big E? Granted this has no chance if an adequate facility isn't close enough to be affiliated with the event.

 

[CL82]

So to recap, we gave up a 10 game series with Notre Dame because they wanted our home games played in NY and MA, but we are giving it to -ing Boston College. Hang on, I have to puke in my waste basket.

I hate our current situation.

 

[MASSconn]

You guys are crazy. This generates so much more PR than at the Rent. It will probably be a night game too. Showcase game vs ACC, more $$ and a HUGE point to prove after that DISGRACE at The Heights this year. Embrace it people. Chance to start a Fenway/Yankee Stadium series (
cool idea IMO)

 

[CL82]

But I think it's about the money. AD is probably looking to piece his revenue together a few 100k at a time.

From Blauds article:
What I don’t get is what UConn gets out of this. A guaranteed NESN spot?

How does this make us more money, unless they are anticipating a bad turnout at the rent?

 

[businesslawyer]

So to recap, we gave up a 10 game series with Notre Dame because they wanted our home games played in NY and MA, but we are giving it to -ing Boston College. Hang on, I have to puke in my waste basket.

I hate our current situation.

O.K., if you are going to make that comparison, please let us all know what the exact financial repercussions of the never-happened ND deal versus the BC deal. Because without knowing the financial details, how the heck can you make an analysis about whether the situations were actually similar?

 

[coachcap]

Would have preferred this game be at the RENT-I think that we ALL agree on that point. I understand the logic of needing to pay the piper on the Difiasco buyout. Will make do with this arrangement for this season. In the future, if this matchup is to be played offsite, let it be at the Razor with the home team getting a 60/40 split on tickets AND getting a good chunk of souvenir concession sales. Will now be having the wife call her cousin, who lives a stone throw from the U.S.S. Constitution, about accommodations for the weekend of the game. UConn season ticket holders who pay the seat donation MUST be given priority on tickets to the game to assuage the inconvenience of it not being played at the RENT. That is all. Count me in.

 

[businesslawyer]

From Blauds article:
What I don’t get is what UConn gets out of this. A guaranteed NESN spot?

How does this make us more money, unless they are anticipating a bad turnout at the rent?

From what Blauds said, we are not selling tickets to the game and keeping the proceeds after expenses. It sounds like the Red Sox are writing us a check, and then will keep the proceeds (or are writing us a smaller check and then giving us some share of the proceeds). This would not be a hard calculation for the AD to make actually knowing the details of the offer.

Assume whomever is writing the check is going to charge more per ticket than we would at the Rent. Just like MSG charged more per seat for the Syracuse game than we would have charged to play it at the Xl Center.

 

[Husky25]

So to recap, we gave up a 10 game series with Notre Dame because they wanted our home games played in NY and MA, but we are giving it to -ing Boston College. Hang on, I have to puke in my waste basket.

I hate our current situation.

Not exactly. If memory serves, ND didn't really want a 10 year "home and home" series. They wanted a Home and Neutral site, where they could get a higher share of the gate in ND alumni dense locales.

Also, I believe it was in the lease that UConn had to play all of their home games at Rentschler until 2017. With the name change and donation a few years ago, that stipulation may have changed.

 

[huskymedic]

From Blauds article:
What I don’t get is what UConn gets out of this. A guaranteed NESN spot?

How does this make us more money, unless they are anticipating a bad turnout at the rent?

That was in the BC Interruption article - not the Blaud article

 

[31GuardTrap]

Just booked a room at The Verb right outside Fenway. Epic day it will be.

 

[businesslawyer]

That was in the BC Interruption article - not the Blaud article

For TV purposes, it's a UConn home game, which means ESPN would control the rights. Including the right to sell it to CBSSports or to not carry it and only sell rights regionally.

 

[Excalibur]

I think that this sucks, but it's what we are at this point . . .

 

[Husky25]

From Blauds article:
What I don’t get is what UConn gets out of this. A guaranteed NESN spot?

How does this make us more money, unless they are anticipating a bad turnout at the rent?

The game wouldn't be on NESN. NESN shows William and Mary vs. Tufts. The game would be shown at a minimum on ESPN2 within New England and New York and ESPNNews outside the region, IMO.

 

[RSTuthill]

Another factor in the season tix calculation. Not a positive one.

 

[EJHarrington]

We already have 6 home games on top of this game. I always wanted to go see UCONN football at Fenway Park. This is great news for the program, especially if we lump up BC.

 

[businesslawyer]

Another factor in the season tix calculation. Not a positive one.

Yes. That absolutely is a factor in the calculation. But there is no reason to think Benedict doesn't realize that and didn't take it into effect in making the decision (if he made the decision).

 

[PopcornHatKid]

From Blauds article:
What I don’t get is what UConn gets out of this. A guaranteed NESN spot?

How does this make us more money, unless they are anticipating a bad turnout at the rent?

This game is towards the end of the season. If we have another down year, people wouldn't show up and we'd be embarrassed attendance wise, losing out on a lot of potential ticket revenue. This is a foolproof plan. If we are bad, fans aren't expected to travel, we still make money. If we are good, people travel and we still make money.

TLDR: We need the money, and this is a way to guarantee it.

 

[CL82]

O.K., if you are going to make that comparison, please let us all know what the exact financial repercussions of the never-happened ND deal versus the BC deal. Because without knowing the financial details, how the heck can you make an analysis about whether the situations were actually similar?

Easy there hoss. First let me say that given your position as head of FCUCFAC (Fairfield County University of Connecticut Fan Advocacy Committee) I was surprised by your reaction to this. I think it is the right one, however. We are where we are and we need to accept the reality of it.

That said, how are the two deals similar? It's not hard Biz. We gave up a 10 game deal with a marquee program because we ("we" being the CT legislature in this instance) didn't want to play our home games out of the Rent. Now we are playing a home game out of the Rent for lowly Boston College? In Boston? When they have a hard enough time filling their stadium?

As to your "the exact financial repercussions of the never-happened ND deal versus the BC deal" statement, that's just silly. The better question is what exactly does UConn get for giving up a home game? I suppose we will hear what that is soon enough.

I'm happy with AD Dave, so far but this is a head scratcher.

[A somewhat related point, I've wondered if having a 10 game deal with ND in place at the time of last ACC expansion would have been enough to make us a more attractive target than Louisville.]

 

[SubbaBub]

If UConn doesn't get a cut of the concessions at the rent, then that is where a place like Fenway can find extra money to pay us even if ticket sales are similar at the two venues.