Houston ticket sales

[John]

That's not the argument I'm making. The argument is, no one here cares about Houston. Top 15/20 is meaningless to casual sports fans around here. You're right that it is on the listlessness of the fans here, but it is what it is - no one in CT cares about nearly every AAC team. A game against 5-5 Syracuse, WVU, or Pittsburgh will outdraw 10-0 Houston every single time.

I think this nails it. Rankings don't matter, this is still Conference USA Part 2.

 

[NYUConn]

I think this nails it. Rankings don't matter, this is still Conference USA Part 2.

But again. This isn't 2-8 UConn playing Houston. The opponent is irrelevant.

Showing up on Saturday is a reflection of fan loyalty. 5-5 and a chance to go bowling for the first time in 4 years.

If you can't get excited and show up for that, what else do you need?

 

[John]

But again. This isn't 2-8 UConn playing Houston. The opponent is irrelevant.

Showing up on Saturday is a reflection of fan loyalty. 5-5 and a chance to go bowling for the first time in 4 years.

If you can't get excited and show up for that, what else do you need?

Opponents matter. It's 50% of the equation for many fans.

 

[NYUConn]

Opponents matter. It's 50% of the equation for many fans.

That excuse resonates in Week 6 when at 2-3 UConn is hosting Tulsa in conference play, but when there is something to play for not showing up is a reflection of fan loyalty no question about it.

If that means that UConn football will never see the fan loyalty we built last decade return, that's sad, but a reality we may need to accept.

I was just hoping that more people were real fans of the program as opposed to just showing up for what other people tell them is a big game.

 

[Dooley]

23K is absolutely embarrassing. There is no other way to describe it. I'm tired of excuses - I want to see some fracking action.

There needs to be an all out push to sell more season tickets this offseason. We need to have at least 25K season tickets sold if we have any hopes of turning around our fanbase perception.

Still have a week to go and hopefully there will be a rush of ticket sales. But if there's less than 25K for this game, I will be incredibly disappointed in the CT/UConn sports fanbase. That is nowhere near B1G worthy. Hell, it's not even AAC worthy.

 

[1999.2004.2011]

Man 23k is really bad. Honestly if they can't generate any sort of sales bump at the beginning of the week, I'd wish that the athletic department just gives away tickets to active duty military/police/firefighters/charities etc to get people into the stadium. If the school is going to have to eat the cost of 10k tickets, why not do that?

 

[JMick]

Man 23k is really bad. Honestly if they can't generate any sort of sales bump at the beginning of the week, I'd wish that the athletic department just gives away tickets to active duty military/police/firefighters/charities etc to get people into the stadium. If the school is going to have to eat the cost of 10k tickets, why not do that?

yeah and at least the venue would be happy making it back up in concessions

 

[1999.2004.2011]

yeah and at least the venue would be happy making it back up in concessions

Yeah I mean if you aren't able to sell the tickets, what good does it do to just eat the tickets? Obviously I know that is terrible for the bottom line, but if you are able to get people into the stadium, you can possibly recoup the loss at the gate with concession/gear sales, along with helping to perception of UConn television wise with occupied seats vs. empty metal bleachers.

 

[NYUConn]

Yeah I mean if you aren't able to sell the tickets, what good does it do to just eat the tickets? Obviously I know that is terrible for the bottom line, but if you are able to get people into the stadium, you can possibly recoup the loss at the gate with concession/gear sales, along with helping to perception of UConn television wise with occupied seats vs. empty metal bleachers.

As bad as I want a large crowd, you can't give tix away. It's bad business.

If you give tix away at the last minute for free it sets a bad precedent. People will stop buying them ahead of time if they think they can just show up on game day and get in for free.

Slash ticket prices, do two-for-ones or whatever, but you can't give them away for free.

 

[BlueandOG]

As bad as I want a large crowd, you can't give tix away. It's bad business.

If you give tix away at the last minute for free it sets a bad precedent. People will stop buying them ahead of time if they think they can just show up on game day and get in for free.

Slash ticket prices, do two-for-ones or whatever, but you can't give them away for free.

True. Can't get something for nothing. If people think they are getting a great deal, OK. But they have to pay for tickets, win them, etc.

 

[UConnJim]

It's not surprising that only 23k tickets have been sold so far. The key to attendance is season ticket sales and the weak product over the past 4+ years plus no real marquee teams on the home schedule this year has driven season ticket sales down. Winning one of the next two games and going to a bowl as well as a couple of interesting teams on the home schedule would really help season ticket sales next year.

One other point. College football teams have developed fan bases over time with successful seasons. UConn needs a couple of great seasons to build the fan base.

 

[Palatine]

This seems about right. We haven't been scintillating at home. It looks like another beating at the Rent. Not everybody believes.

With a little bump we get over 25,000, respectable given.....

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

Hey 30K spread out well looks a lot better than it sounds at The Rent... Also, if we can make some extra noise and have some help from the weather we might be able to have a decent home field advantage Saturday.

 

[Marty Jackson]

would they or have they targeted the BB fans that are already going to be in Hartford.
Maybe even offer a shuttle to and from the XL center. Offer them a $15 ticket to the rent with a coupon for a hot dog/coke.
Sell it as a party bus to the Rent... Wouldn't they have to run the buses anyway for the students if they go to both games?

thought BB game was in XL... could still target BB ticket holders, just not as convenient a sell.

 

[RioDog]

Just printed tix for me and my wife. Will be working to 4:00 (maybe 3:45?) downtown but we'll be there by the 2nd quarter with bells on.

 

[BoatShow]

would they or have they targeted the BB fans that are already going to be in Hartford.
Maybe even offer a shuttle to and from the XL center. Offer them a $15 ticket to the rent with a coupon for a hot dog/coke.
Sell it as a party bus to the Rent... Wouldn't they have to run the buses anyway for the students if they go to both games?

thought BB game was in XL... could still target BB ticket holders, just not as convenient a sell.

This would be great but the bb game is in Storrs

 

[Nostical]

Hey 30K spread out well looks a lot better than it sounds at The Rent.

It looks a lot more full if people are in their seats instead of roaming in and out of the nooks and crannies. My advice is to stay away from the scoreboard area and get in your seats. And yell loudly.

 

[sanchez42885]

Well another problem is they are not publicly marketing the $15 promo code. Des' article references there is one out there but does not disclose it. It has only been sent to season ticket holders, donors and students. You need to draw in the general public not the people who already have tickets. Some other things I'd like to see them try:

Sell some tickets on Groupon- The Meadows does this regularly and the XL center just did it a few weeks back with Stevie Wonder tickets and the turnout was great. If people perceive they are getting a great value they are more likely to buy.

Rotate through the local radio stations and give away a pair of tickets every hour while also having the DJ's advertising the discounted seats

Uconn Facebook can run a contest to give away a pair of tickets if you "share" their ad. You'll reach a much wider audience. There are plenty of cheap creative ways to get the word out.

 

[BlueMAB]

One thing to consider regarding giving away tickets, running mass promotions for discounted seats etc, is the possibility of disincentivizing the purchase of season tickets next year.

Like Joseph A. Banks. Who would buy a full price suit there, knowing every couple of months you can buy one and get 2 free?

They have to balance getting people in the seats for this week without giving some of their season ticket holders reasons not buy them again next year.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

That excuse resonates in Week 6 when at 2-3 UConn is hosting Tulsa in conference play, but when there is something to play for not showing up is a reflection of fan loyalty no question about it.

If that means that UConn football will never see the fan loyalty we built last decade return, that's sad, but a reality we may need to accept.

I was just hoping that more people were real fans of the program as opposed to just showing up for what other people tell them is a big game.

That fan loyalty was based on known entities coming to play here, the prospect that there was a path to the top of the college football world potentially, and the new-ness of it. That died when P was hired, we got kicked to the AAC with a bunch of nobodies, and the general fan perception became that UConn football turned more or less into the equivalent of minor league baseball. That's not the reality necessarily, but for the casual fan on the streets of CT - the ones who fill up seats 23,001-40,000 - that's what they believe. You can market all you want, but at the end of the day, as long as it says AAC on the field, and it's Houston, Temple, and Tulsa coming into town, getting those last 17K fans in the seats will be very, very difficult. The exact same argument is beginning to apply more and more to the basketball team as well, but with there being a 68-team tournament, the possibility of a highly successful season still exists there. Really, no one from the AAC is ever going to get into the four-team playoff. Let's be real, it's not happening.

 

[bmayuc]

Everyone chill. This is not an indictment on CT, or Marketing, or anything. Its a late November game against a team with ZERO name recognition(Go Cougs!) that has ZERO fanbase in CT and ZERO graduates in the state. Yes they are like #18(or something, whatever), and undefeated(I am a diehard and didn't know this until this week). No One Cares About That Outside of the Boneyard. No One probably even KNOWS about it.

There is also a UConn basketball game that day as well, and while we are all stoked the team is 5-5... uh... the team is 5-5 and just won an absolutely unwatchable atrocity of a game against a very, very bad team.

This is just a way of saying, just like the team is getting over some humps this year, so will the fanbase. We deserve at least as much slack as the team does, given the absolute garbage we have perservered through the past 5 years.

It takes time. For the players, for the fans, for the program. Chill. Enjoy the game, even though we are likely looking at cincinatti v2.

 

[BugsyCT]

UConn's been promoting it, but how about the local news outlets? How much does UConn football ever get mentioned during sports on the 6pm or 11pm news? Could use their help on this.

 

[freescooter]

Bmayuc is on the button. If we were 9-1 and #24 you can't beg a ticket to this game. But we are not. We are a .500 team that on paper looks like it is going into a mismatch and needs to compete with its own athletic department. 30000 would be great but with the hoop game that isn't possible.

 

[Bonehead]

I can help with attendance if anyone has a Grey Parking Pass for sale...

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I'm going; but, sorry in advance if I have to leave early. Taking my youngest son to his first college football game and I doubt no matter what the score is if he will be able to make it through an entire game as he's just 5.