How are bowl game ticket sales going????

[Dhambuc]

Problem is the Structure of the Bowls and the requirements of schools to purchase a set number of tickets.  Most schools are struggling to sell the tickets they are allotted by the bowls so they either give them away, donate them, discount them for students, ect...   

Fans can get much better seats thru secondary markets at cost or much less.  (usually the school sections are endzone, upper level or corner).  Cant blame fans for buying thru secondary market or bowl directly when the price is less. Throw in travel expenses, hotel, meals ect....  and better seats , It only makes sense. However this hurts the school and this is WRONG.

Schools should be offered the Best seats in the house to help offset some of this problem. Hopefully the AAC  will take this into consideration with our bowl line up (esp the newly created bowls in South Fla and Bahamas).   Instead they  usually GIVE them away to corp sponsors, Big Money donors of the bowls. ect.. who than turn around and sell them online.    (Friend of mine works for hotel in Tampa who house one of the Outback bowl teams and they walk around handing out 50 YRD LINE tickets to employees FREE of charge).  

 

This is a huge problem for MOST if not ALL schools.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Dhambuc

[Mike Stuben]

When we played the Purple Pirates in BHam , they out numbered us 2-1 easily.  (at least that what it looked like to me in person).

We have been outnumbered in ALL our bowls minus the Beef Bowl vs Memphis. Short drive across the bridge helped.

 

Clemson and NC State out numbered us by 5 to 1 or more in Charl bowls.

Oregon out numbered us in Sun Bowl.

 

Not saying our fans don't travel better when we are winning, but the Rutgers game this year prob we had about 30 of us there.(being generous here.) in the USF section in the endzone. 

 

UCF game we didn't sell our allotment either.(believe it was only 5k to sell and we didn't do that, and we took the band)

 

We only had 14 k at home this year Actual attendance for 2 games I believe according to RAY JAY numbers.

 

Going to disagree with you on a couple of facts. I think we outnumbered Oregon in the Sun Bowl. I also think we outnumbered Northern Illinois in the International Bowl. ECU may have outnumbered us in Birmingham, but it wasn't 2-1 or anywhere close to that. Remember, ECU saw that bowl as a good opportunity and we saw it as unattractive (in terms of the match up, we had been there and done that in terms of playing C-USA teams).

 

No doubt that our crowds were really bad this year and we aren't bringing people to road games, just like ECU didn't when they were bad. We are at rock bottom right now (I really hope).

 

I read that ECU sold 6 buses of fans (including students, player parents, fans, anyone can go). That is only 300 people. (not saying they will have a poor, I think 5k at the Beefs bowl for a non-Florida team is a good showing.

[Dhambuc]

Lot of bowls are having issues this year with School allotments.  Gator Bowl is reporting "Luke  Warm sales"  this games features UGA/Nebraska.

Fiesta Bowl (UCF sold about 5,000 of their 17,000 students they are on the hook for).

Nevada is much worse "10 Tickets" sold as of a few days ago thru the school. http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Nevada-still-has-tickets-available-for-the-Hawai?urn=ncaaf-wp11713

 

LSU, Ohio State and the likes are also having a difficult time this year.

 

Than  on the contrast the New Orleans Bowl had almost 60,000 last night( featured Tulane(Home team) and La Laf Ragin Cagins, 2 hours away).  Hurts hotels ect... but was able to sell tickets.

[Mike Stuben]

Lot of bowls are having issues this year with School allotments.  Gator Bowl is reporting "Luke  Warm sales"  this games features UGA/Nebraska.

Fiesta Bowl (UCF sold about 5,000 of their 17,000 students they are on the hook for).

Nevada is much worse "10 Tickets" sold as of a few days ago thru the school. http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Nevada-still-has-tickets-available-for-the-Hawai?urn=ncaaf-wp11713

 

LSU, Ohio State and the likes are also having a difficult time this year.

 

Than  on the contrast the New Orleans Bowl had almost 60,000 last night( featured Tulane(Home team) and La Laf Ragin Cagins, 2 hours away).  Hurts hotels ect... but was able to sell tickets.

 

Yeah, there are two fixes to the problem, and either will work:

 

1. require teams to buy less tickets

 

2. regionalize the bowl game. maybe even play them on home campuses.

 

#1 seems much more likely and fair. Conferences need to demand it when negotiating bowl contracts. 

[WoolyBully]

Wonder if that's a result of bowl saturation?

 

How hard is it to get amped up about going to a bowl game, knowing that 50% of the IA schools are going. Face it ... 6-6 is nothing to pat yourself on the back over (assuming you subscribe to the old school line of thought that post-season play is a reward for superior performance). Then again, I think we're pretty much wise to the fact this plethora of bowl games is really just ESPN broadcast filler around the holiday season. And based on some of the match-ups, it really does look like just another road game at at neutral site. I'm sure the kids get some mileage out of it, but the low ticket sales across the board pretty much tells the tale. 

 

And really, the bowl gets paid for 17K tickets. Doesn't matter where that dollar comes from - the school or some fan - as long as the dollar resides with the bowl. 

 

Think we'll ever see anyone turn down a bowl game because of a money-losing proposition? I doubt it. 

[Goldenbuc]

It's been a dream to be in a BCS Bowl. However the Fiesta is the toughest bowl to attend since the Hawaii in 2005 for us. When the bowl was announced plane ticket from FL were going from $700-900. They've come down a little since, but not much. Not to mention Stub Hub tix are starting at $30-40, while tickets thru the school are $150-250. Baylor has only sold 11k as well. UCF had 10k in pre-orders for the Sugar and would sold that out. The sugar was drivable, a great New Years location and flights aren't that bad, either. Plus playing Alabama would have created a high demand and stub hub wouldn't be an option. The school would be it. Going to a BCS bowl will be great exposure, but the main topic will be ticket sales, unfortunately. Honestly, I sometimes think that going to the Russell Athletic Bowl vs Miami would have been more beneficial financially and ticket sales would have been huge, keeping the critics quiet. But it is the BCS and it's hard not to get excited, as well.

Those of you talking about ECU who didn't go up there for a game in the old CUSA era at USF, should take the trip. It's a solid college atmosphere and game experience.

[Bull-by-Marriage]

I was watching the New Orleans bowl I got sick about hearing how great bowls are based on that bowl attendance. As has been stated one team in home city the other 2 hrs away.

[Danm1983]

Uhh, Nevada isn't bowl eligible this year. That Nevada article that keeps popping up is from last year. Boise State and Oregon State are in the Hawai'i Bowl this year.

[BuckeyeBull9257]

It's been a dream to be in a BCS Bowl. However the Fiesta is the toughest bowl to attend since the Hawaii in 2005 for us. When the bowl was announced plane ticket from FL were going from $700-900. They've come down a little since, but not much. Not to mention Stub Hub tix are starting at $30-40, while tickets thru the school are $150-250. Baylor has only sold 11k as well. UCF had 10k in pre-orders for the Sugar and would sold that out. The sugar was drivable, a great New Years location and flights aren't that bad, either. Plus playing Alabama would have created a high demand and stub hub wouldn't be an option. The school would be it. Going to a BCS bowl will be great exposure, but the main topic will be ticket sales, unfortunately. Honestly, I sometimes think that going to the Russell Athletic Bowl vs Miami would have been more beneficial financially and ticket sales would have been huge, keeping the critics quiet. But it is the BCS and it's hard not to get excited, as well.

Those of you talking about ECU who didn't go up there for a game in the old CUSA era at USF, should take the trip. It's a solid college atmosphere and game experience.

 

Fiesta bowl berth for UCF seemed really cruel to me.  First its far away so the fan base has a tough time traveling.  Second its against Baylor......If UCF doesn't bring its A-game they get destroyed 50-14. 

 

Should have sent Ohio State to the Fiesta Bowl, they would sell every ticket and they have a huge West coast following.  Ohio State and Baylor could play an amazing game with those offenses.  (Also, being in the Orange prevents the band from performing and OSU fans are pissed about that.  An OSU game without TBDBITL?  Blasphemy.).  UCF would have been a better choice in the Orange bowl, they could put up against Clemson and its still Florida so you are close to the fan base.  Ticket sales don't suffer as much and everyone wins with good matchups. 

 

[Mike Stuben]

I had the pleasure of working the Beef's Bowl today. I saw they announced 20k, I think that must be a tickets distributed number. My best guess was 12-15k in the building. about 1.500 Ohio fans, about 5,000 ECU fans and 5k+ local (non affiliated fans).