Attendance is an embarrassment

[Gismo]

Tampa is just too cool to have big crowds at any sporting event. Rays have trouble, lightning has trouble, USF has trouble... and I have no idea about the Bucs.

 

ots hard to compare to other schools. Most big programs are in regions that have little else to do. Tampa is 90 minutes from the Orlando theme parks. 30 minutes from the beach. Has 3 professional sports teams. And USF competes with FSU, UF, MIAMI and even UCF for Florida native fans. 

 

The entertainment available in Florida is just so much and people only have so much time and money to spend. USF (and UCF as well) is competing with many more entertainment options than most other programs outside of Florida. 

Edited September 25, 2017 by Gismo

[TallyBull]

Still waiting on that investigative report by anyone at the Times asking the following questions of USF representatives:

(1) Has USF noticed the attendance problems?

(2) Assuming it has, what does USF intend to do about them?

(3) How is marketing handled?

(4) How could marketing be improved?

(5) Why is USF considering a $200m OCS 10 years from now, instead of something smaller and more affordable in the near term, considering the attendance will probably never justify a $200m OCS?

As I've said before I don't mind the attendance reporting so long as the Times digs a little deeper. It just seems like the Times is too content to point out the problem (irritating Bulls fans), then claim it's "not their job" to propose solutions. Maybe not, but couldn't they at least put a little pressure on those who might be able to do something about attendance? The fans they're irritating are probably already big fans like us who are doing their part (buying tickets, inviting friends, participating in the culture, etc.)

Those are my thoughts, anyways.

[Gismo]

At this point with football attendance declining we'd be best off having a 30-40k stadium that is mostly full than a 50-60k that is mostly empty. 

[JTrue]

7 minutes ago, Gismo said:

Tampa is just too cool to have big crowds at any sporting event. Rays have trouble, lightning has trouble, USF has trouble... and I have no idea about the Bucs.

 

ots hard to compare to other schools. Most big programs are in regions that have little else to do. Tampa is 90 minutes from the Orlando theme parks. 30 minutes from the beach. Has 3 professional sports teams. And USF competes with FSU, UF, MIAMI and even UCF for Florida native fans. 

 

The entertainment available in Florida is just so much and people only have so much time and money to spend. USF (and UCF as well) is competing with many more entertainment options than most other programs outside of Florida. 

Just so we're clear, you define "trouble" as being one of the consistently best attended teams in the NHL the past 5-7 years? 97% capacity during that time. 97% of all seats in the arena over the past 200+ home games. 

[TallyBull]

Just now, Gismo said:

At this point with football attendance declining we'd be best off having a 30-40k stadium that is mostly full than a 50-60k that is mostly empty. 

Agree 100%. Wish we could justify something larger, but the harsh reality is we need something akin to what Central and FIU has. Make it expandable, build it ASAP. Let RJS pinch hit for occasional big-ticket games vs blue bloods.

[Mama_Bull]

6 minutes ago, TallyBull said:

Agree 100%. Wish we could justify something larger, but the harsh reality is we need something akin to what Central and FIU has. Make it expandable, build it ASAP. Let RJS pinch hit for occasional big-ticket games vs blue bloods.

I totally agree.

If, or when, we get into a P5 conference, we would then have ample money to improve and expand it, accordingly.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Mama_Bull

[Gismo]

10 minutes ago, JTrue said:

Just so we're clear, you define "trouble" as being one of the consistently best attended teams in the NHL the past 5-7 years? 97% capacity during that time. 97% of all seats in the arena over the past 200+ home games. 

I did not know their attendance in recent years has been so strong. I think there was a time when they really struggled. 

[JTrue]

3 minutes ago, Gismo said:

I did not know their attendance in recent years has been so strong. I think there was a time when they really struggled. 

Kind of blows up your whole argument. Lightning have excellent attendance. Bucs do just fine when they field even a decent team. Rays play 20 miles away in another city. 

[Bull Matrix]

1 minute ago, Gismo said:

I did not know their attendance in recent years has been so strong. I think there was a time when they really struggled. 

Yes you are right. They did struggle to get fans to the Lightning games back before Vinik brought the team. I guess with Vinik working close with USF there is some hope. Just got to find a way to make USF events more like happening events. To be honest, RJS is too far away from everything now. Just think OCS is only chance we have now 

[Bull Matrix]

1 minute ago, JTrue said:

Kind of blows up your whole argument. Lightning have excellent attendance. Bucs do just fine when they field even a decent team. Rays play 20 miles away in another city. 

No actually it doesn't. Just proves TB is a bandwagon city. They only show up if it matters and G5 does nothing for them