Football Season Tickets "On Par" With Previous Seasons?

[J187Money]

I have access to several folks in the administration and have personally let them know but ideas, just like football plays need to be executed . Talk as they say is cheap. The matrix/maze of UCONN athletics is not as easy to maneuver through as one might think. There are special interests groups, and also IMG contractual issues that need to be dealt with and cleared. All of the splinter groups would be better served to work together. That's what good leaders do. They bring diverse groups together for the common good.
Call it synergy, harmony, orchestration, etc. Ticket sales can and will improve. Winning certainly helps but more can be done. Ticket Master and the UCONN Web site are in the "Pull business" We need to get more into the "Push business" and drive business towards those sites.

To compound things ticket sales are down nationally, in part due to quality HD televisions and coverage. http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/2013/college-football-live-game-attendance/

Corporations pay big bucks for season tickets for all the professional sports teams between Boston and New York. Several of my past employers had season tickets for Yankees, Redsox, Giants, Jets, Pats, Rangers, Bruins, etc.
IMO, UCONN provides great entertainment and is more affordable and convenient for Connecticut residents. We have a distinct advantage because there are no Pro Sports teams in CT. As stated in my original post. The value proposition needs to be positioned and sold more effectively to a specified corporate audience.

All true - but the reality is that for entertaining people want access to seats that they can't get elsewhere (boxes, lower level seats). I can get our tickets to the Marlins anytime I want, because they aren't really being used much for entertaining, because nobody wants them. UCONN isn't a tough ticket for football, most entertaining happens after work on a weekday, and a lot of the tickets would go unused. I had trouble giving Knicks tickets away to the staff on some nights in my last job, even though they were 100 level seats and our offices were at 35/7. If the CEO wasn't a big fan, we probably would have cancelled the package.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

So that would mean non-students are 12-14 thousand, the students are another 7 and they are 19-21 total.

Allocation of season tickets for students is about 4K, and roughly the same each game for opponents.

 

[whaler11]

Allocation of season tickets for students is about 4K, and roughly the same each game for opponents.

Hmm I've seen 7 thrown around here since they expanded the student section. I always assumed that was the actual students, the band, and what's allocated to the players.

 

[CAHUSKY]

And therein lies the rub. There is a sizable gap between HR expressing interest in UConn Football and the Sales force setting aside funds for a luxury box.

There are a few major differences between Football and basketball.

One major one is timing. The majority of football games do not take place during the work week. It is not difficult to extend a work day for a Thursday night basketball game, but many people with the sales and buying relationships use the weekends for personal purposes, whatever that may be (kids' activities, honey do lists, general relaxation, spouse not being agreeable that a football game is a reason to "extend the work week for a sixth day," given about 15 minutes out of at least 3 1/2 hours will be work). It can, has, and does happen. I'm just saying that it's less conducive.

As a sales and marketing executive who spends lots of weekends entertaining clients, we just take Monday off.

 

[Confident Carl]

All true - but the reality is that for entertaining people want access to seats that they can't get elsewhere (boxes, lower level seats). I can get our tickets to the Marlins anytime I want, because they aren't really being used much for entertaining, because nobody wants them. UCONN isn't a tough ticket for football, most entertaining happens after work on a weekday, and a lot of the tickets would go unused. I had trouble giving Knicks tickets away to the staff on some nights in my last job, even though they were 100 level seats and our offices were at 35/7. If the CEO wasn't a big fan, we probably would have cancelled the package.

The goal is to make it a tough ticket. Not every game can be a Michigan game but it proves the potential is there. UCONN's D-1A football program is only 13 years old!

 

[J187Money]

As a sales and marketing executive who spends lots of weekends entertaining clients, we just take Monday off.

I would imagine that your weekend events are "events" and not the mundane...as of now UCONN football is generally not an "event".

 

[Waquoit]

I hate reading all of this kvetching about attendance. It just brings back all the anger I had towards Warde for not canning P earlier. We would already be in year 2 of the rebuilding process today.

 

[rich1122]

The down trend has been going on for years. Even before P. P just exacerbated it. Tough market. Don't expect miracles. It ain't happening.

 

[DCUconnfan]

Desmond Conner @desmondconner · 3m
Today #UConnFootball season tickets sold for 2014-15 season is 21,000, 10 big selling days left n students typically snatch another 2,000...


Desmond Conner @desmondconner · 1m
#UConnFootball tickets sold in 2013 were 24,500 with bump from #Michigan, 22,000 in 2012...

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Desmond Conner @desmondconner · 3m
Today #UConnFootball season tickets sold for 2014-15 season is 21,000, 10 big selling days left n students typically snatch another 2,000...


Desmond Conner @desmondconner · 1m
#UConnFootball tickets sold in 2013 were 24,500 with bump from #Michigan, 22,000 in 2012...

So not a super surprising drop. Not great, but... it could be worse. Hard to believe we didn't lose more, given how bad the team has been the last 2-3 years. Winning solves everything. (Well, most things.)

 

[pepband99]

After 3 pretty piss poor years, I'll live with flat!

 

[Dooley]

Horrendous.

 

[DCUconnfan]

I was cautiously optimistic, to me getting to the 24k mark would have been acceptable for where we've been. Would have liked to see more considering how much Diaco's been hitting the road (which I love and find completely refreshing). Hopefully some more W's on the board will get us higher up on the season ticket #'s for next season.

 

[DSquiz]

A small drop was to be expected with the schedule and 3 win season. We make a bowl this year and I can see a jump to 30k. Connecticut is ready to be excited for UConn football.

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

it is what it is. Its not really gonna get better by "winning" but rather by getting invited to a real conference. Until then this may be a high water mark. Because they are not going to have a schedule better than BYU and Boise at home, as sad as that it is to say.
that being said, I bet there are more mini-packs sold this year than in years past

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Horrendous.

21k is not horrible when you take everything into consideration.

 

[Sprague03]

A small drop was to be expected with the schedule and 3 win season. We make a bowl this year and I can see a jump to 30k. Connecticut is ready to be excited for UConn football.

Agreed. UCONN fans are hybrids of Pats/G-ment/Jets (we all know our football, we hate losing, and we win championships (less the JETS). UCONN should be selling more tickets, but it'll come when Diaco pulls this W against BYU next Friday!!!!!

 

[sportsart]

If we get the 2k bump from students, 23k is not bad at all.

 

[Carl Spackler]

21k is not horrible when you take everything into consideration.

The low mark in actual attendance since 2003, and the opening of Rentschler was the Memphis game, only 9 months ago. We've got no where to go but up, and 21k season tickets sold, prior to season, is most certainly a positive thing as we go forward.

What the high water mark is? Until a winning, national ranked and relevant program (which is possible in this conference - happened last year) is combined with actual promotion and support and publicity - what the high water mark is - is unknown. I disagree that we have seen a high water mark for UCONN football when it comes to this stuff, ESPECIALLY because of this new conference.

Just win.

 

[noeynox]

21k is tad disappointing, but last year's start, particularly at home was tough for the casual fan. We need a break out season in football similar to our 1989-90, hoops team.

 

[SAMCRO]

So after the students season tickets get added in it looks to be an increase over 2012 sales, and either on par or a slight lag to 2013 (which included Michigan and FHCRE's return to the Rent with Maryland). Seems about right to me, although I was hoping it would be a little higher. Bigger question in my mind is how the game to game sales go as season progresses.

 

[Stinger92860]

Winning get us to 30k. A p5 conference, while still winning, takes us to 40k. For high profile games, e.g. Michigan we will sellout the 55k that the rent will be expanded to.

 

[Srqhusky]

Is 21000 acceptable. Of course not. However when u consider we have no bandwagon yet it is not that bad. Once we get a bandwagon going by hopefully winning some games we should get to 28000 easily

 

[SubbaBub]

True, and I guess we'll find out how big the Michigan bump really was.

Michigan bump was 5,000 people not dropping their tickets after year two of the dark times.

 

[primus74]

I wonder how the 3-packs sold. I couldn't make all 7 home games so I picked up a 3-pack with a friend. I hope lots of others did too.