E. Washington Bridgeport Attendance?

[WestHartHusk]

I just took a look at the seat map, it looks like this game is virtually sold out (single seats scattered throughout the arena) with the exception of $100 tickets behind the hoops. Is that accurate? If so, great effort by the FFC fanbase.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Yeah I wanted to get tickets, living in New Haven, but they are outrageously priced for the competition. Maybe next year two games in Bridgeport?

 

[WestHartHusk]

Yeah I wanted to get tickets, living in New Haven, but they are outrageously priced for the competition. Maybe next year two games in Bridgeport?

I think so. Hell, if I was in charge I would schedule at least 1/yr in NYC (neutral), 4/yr in Bridgeport (gotta keep that cash flowing), and the rest at Gampel. Hartford area folks need to learn where Storrs is.

 

[Yonick]

No reason in hell should a game vs Maine be scheduled at XL while classes are in session. 9,000 was the reported attendance it seemed more like 7k

 

[tykurez]

I'd 100% be going to that game if I didn't have a prior engagement. Just recently saw Elton John there, that arena is nicely laid out and it great condition. Should be a good game.

 

[Husky25]

No reason in hell should a game vs Maine be scheduled at XL while classes are in session. 9,000 was the reported attendance it seemed more like 7k

This is a true statement if you put a period after, "scheduled" and crossed out the rest. Here. Look:
No reason in hell should a game vs Maine be scheduled.

So much better. Besides that, scheduling these types of New England cupcakes is ill advised going forward...until UConn gets their invitation to the Big Ten.

 

[UConNick]

Yeah I bough tickets for me and my father for the Bridgeport game - 38$ a piece and the seats aren't even good. They are definitely gonna pull in some serious dough. It's nice to show Fairfield County some love, considering it's littered with UConn alumni and one of the top 5 (guesstimate, know they're around there) RICHEST counties in the US.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Has it ever been asked and answered as to why not schedule all of the D-1 in-state schools as the "cupcakes" (dislike the term)?

This way, local opposing fanbases could make the trip to Hartford (or Bridgeport) for the big-time, big-city experience (Nutmeg version), which would probaby up the attendance.

Central, Fairfield, Hartford, Sacred Heart, Southern, Quinnipiac and Yale -- did I leave anyone out -- could be rotated. There doesn't seem to be that much difference between them and Maine, Eastern Washington, etc.

Probably it would be better for the overall CT economy, and something that the flagship university could contribute back to its home state.

More than anything, I'm looking for what's wrong with the idea. That way I can let go of the idea whenever I wonder why there's a game against a distant visitor like Eastern Washington. Or is their 'Xmas in New England' visit the equivalent of a trip to Maui?

 

[Waquoit]

I think so. Hell, if I was in charge I would schedule at least 1/yr in NYC (neutral), 4/yr in Bridgeport (gotta keep that cash flowing), and the rest at Gampel. Hartford area folks need to learn where Storrs is.

Good thing you're not in charge.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Good thing you're not in charge.

Care to elaborate, or do you just want to throw bombs? The civic center is a mess, it has no atmosphere and now is not drawing above gampel's capacity. And fairfield county / NYC is critical to the university survival in CR.

 

[Waquoit]

Care to elaborate, or do you just want to throw bombs? The civic center is a mess, it has no atmosphere and now is not drawing above gampel's capacity. And fairfield county / NYC is critical to the university survival in CR.

The XL Center is not a mess. It draws more for the cupcake games than Gampel does. Did you go to the Detroit game? Neither did anyone else, the place was empty. It's nice that the Bpt game is almost a sell-out, drawing about the same as the Maine game. Your plan is to alienate the core group of fans that actually buy season tickets and go to games. That's not a good plan.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

I've been to a bunch of games this year but have a hard time throwing $40 plus for this game to see Uconn blow out an opponent even if its a short trip away

 

[BoatShow]

The whole "revenue" argument goes out the window when you bring 9k to the XL Center. Unless it's worth it have people buy 9 dollar beers (which profits from don't even go to the school.)

 

[WestHartHusk]

The XL Center is not a mess. It draws more for the cupcake games than Gampel does. Did you go to the Detroit game? Neither did anyone else, the place was empty. It's nice that the Bpt game is almost a sell-out, drawing about the same as the Maine game. Your plan is to alienate the core group of fans that actually buy season tickets and go to games. That's not a good plan.

I didn't go to Detroit, but I have been to some other crappy XL games this season. That building is truly depressing to walk into, order food in, or use the bathroom at, and I wouldn't buy season tickets to the XL for that reason. And my idea isn't to "alienate fans." A fan isn't alienated by putting games an extra 20 miles away at the university those teams represent. A fan would want the team to play nearest to where they live so they don't have to travel like its a road game. A fan would want the team to play in front of the students they share a campus with and represent. And a fan wouldn't hold a university hostage for their own convenience and make them pay $50,000 a game in rent when they already have a facility that can host the event.

And I would counter-point that by keeping football and half of basketball games off campus, you are alienating your students from the school / teams they should be supporting after they graduate. Using my friends as a sample, they don't feel a connection between the school and the sports teams because it didn't exist while they were there for the sake of the "fans". So now that they are years out of school the school has to rebuild them as fans all over again. That is not how it works at nearly any other school. You graduate, and immediately return to campus 1 year out, 2 years out, 10 years out to see games.

 

[Waquoit]

The whole "revenue" argument goes out the window when you bring 9k to the XL Center. Unless it's worth it have people buy 9 dollar beers (which profits from don't even go to the school.)

Not true. The same game drew maybe 5K in Gampel. 4k x $27 = $108k. I think the "revenue" argument still holds.

 

[Waquoit]

Using my friends as a sample, they don't feel a connection between the school and the sports teams because it didn't exist while they were there for the sake of the "fans". So now that they are years out of school the school has to rebuild them as fans all over again. That is not how it works at nearly any other school. You graduate, and immediately return to campus 1 year out, 2 years out, 10 years out to see games.

I know those guys. If they played all the games in Storrs they would have another excuse.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Not true. The same game drew maybe 5K in Gampel. 4k x $27 = $108k. I think the "revenue" argument still holds.

- $50K for rent, - $ for concessions that the university does get, - $ parking that the school doesn't get. The financials make sense for 13-16k, but not below 10.

 

[WestHartHusk]

I know those guys. If they played all the games in Storrs they would have another excuse.

You are probably right, at this point - we'll never know if things would have been different with an on-campus team. But as it stands now, we get three negatives out of the UConn/Hartford alliance:

1. Hartford doesn't have to get its act together to fix the arena to draw bigger acts since UConn subsidizes a fair amount of its cost;
2. UConn can't justify the cost to renovate Gampel;
3. The UConn bball team and students lose out on having a "home" team.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

The XL Center is not a mess. It draws more for the cupcake games than Gampel does. Did you go to the Detroit game? Neither did anyone else, the place was empty. It's nice that the Bpt game is almost a sell-out, drawing about the same as the Maine game. Your plan is to alienate the core group of fans that actually buy season tickets and go to games. That's not a good plan.

Seriously, any thoughts on why/why not have in-state cupcakes each year for XL Center. The only downside I see is evening out crowd cheering/potential for an embarrassing loss, but that can't be the reason. What am I not getting here? Would the schools in West Hartford, New Britain, Hamden, New Haven and Fairfield lose something, even if their fans gain something?

 

[upstater]

The XL Center is not a mess. It draws more for the cupcake games than Gampel does. Did you go to the Detroit game? Neither did anyone else, the place was empty. It's nice that the Bpt game is almost a sell-out, drawing about the same as the Maine game. Your plan is to alienate the core group of fans that actually buy season tickets and go to games. That's not a good plan.

It's drawing the same but tix are scarce, and a lot more expensive. Big difference. People don't care about the cupcake games anyway. It's probably a good idea to send more games into Fairfield based on this game against the worst team on the schedule.

 

[Husky25]

Seriously, any thoughts on why/why not have in-state cupcakes each year for XL Center. The only downside I see is evening out crowd cheering/potential for an embarrassing loss, but that can't be the reason. What am I not getting here? Would the schools in West Hartford, New Britain, Hamden, New Haven and Fairfield lose something, even if their fans gain something?

The perception is that the AAC is going to be enough of a cupcake going forward, there is no reason to add more. Lew Perkins and Jim Calhoun were skewered back in the late 90's for doing exactly this and that was when UConn was playing in the Big East. It has nothing to do with the in-state schools. As a national power, UConn has zero to gain. At best, they destroy a weaker team as expected. At worst they lose.

 

[Husky25]

- $50K for rent, - $ for concessions that the university does get, - $ parking that the school doesn't get. The financials make sense for 13-16k, but not below 10.

In order to break even compared to Gampel, UConn must sell generally 2000 extra tickets to cover the $50k rent (assuming an average ticket cost of $25 per. That means they need to average 12,167 at the XL Center. Otherwise the program is better off to hold all games on campus, where the school benefits from parking.

Both venues have their draw backs and it is true that the XL Center has better concession options. But the sightlines stink and it is a dated, 2nd rate facility. You can't even call it antiquated, because that implies some level of character. Fenway Park it is not.

 

[Waquoit]

In order to break even compared to Gampel, UConn must sell generally 2000 extra tickets to cover the $50k rent (assuming an average ticket cost of $25 per. That means they need to average 12,167 at the XL Center.

You're assuming that the cupcakes sell-out at Gampel. You could combine the fannies in the seats for the Detroit and BU games, put them in the XL and you would get the crowd for the Maine game.

 

[Husky25]

You're assuming that the cupcakes sell-out at Gampel. You could combine the fannies in the seats for the Detroit and BU games, put them in the XL and you would get the crowd for the Maine game.

No I'm not. I'm assuming it does not cost $50,ooo a day to operate Gampel Pavilion on game days on top of what it already costs to operate it on any other day. The heat and electricity don't go off on off days, Gampel is used for intramurals and classes for students other than scholarship athletes.

 

[Ozone21]

They should be giving away tickets to the youth groups for the top levels at XL. It's depressing to see all those empty seats. Warde needs to get on that and reach out to the community