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Average Men's Attendance

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  • Originally posted by ericredaxe View Post
    Could be part of it, especially when dealing with ever increasing traffic issues in Boston.

    Not sure if you were following but tonight’s BU/NU game at Agganis drew 3897 (under 2/3 full)... and that is a game against a crosstown rivalry-ish team that usually brings a good handful of fans.
    i am on the road this wknd & got to watch some of tonight's gm (mostly the 3rd period) on your stream.. & yes, i did notice.

    hopefully powers that be (sports / tickets mktg at each of the schools) can figure it out & help turn it around some. in reading some of the comments on this thread, it is a complex issue with a lot of factors.
    GO NU HOCKEY
    Always bullish on the future.
    We don't always win Hockey East or the Beanpot (#trilogy).. but when we do.. we are the Champions

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    • Re: Average Men's Attendance

      Originally posted by ericredaxe View Post
      Could be part of it, especially when dealing with ever increasing traffic issues in Boston.

      Not sure if you were following but tonight’s BU/NU game at Agganis drew 3897 (under 2/3 full)... and that is a game against a crosstown rivalry-ish team that usually brings a good handful of fans.
      Is traffic in Boston any worse than 128? It's insane how bad it has gotten around here. It doesn't seem like there is any urgency to make things any better.
      Originally posted by BobbyBrady
      Crosby probably wouldn't even be on BC's top two lines next year

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      • Re: Average Men's Attendance

        Originally posted by Drew S. View Post
        Is traffic in Boston any worse than 128? It's insane how bad it has gotten around here. It doesn't seem like there is any urgency to make things any better.
        I think one of the problems here is that you had to build the roads around existing homes in the first place. It's not like out West where they have nearly endless open space. Much of the West wasn't even highly populated until 1900. Here, you have to take out property in order to expand roads and/or add more lanes. A good example is the recent project on Route 2 in Lincoln. It took about five years, and homes were moved, had their front yards "chopped off" and/or walls built so they could grade the road, or land taken by eminent domain. So I'm not really sure what they can do...some of the houses have been here since the 1600s. It's very congested and there is really no room for expansion. You can't build "access roads" to venues because there is simply no place to put them. Public transportation doesn't work, especially if you are outside of the MBTA "range," because, for example, the Amtrak Downeaster has so few runs that you likely would have to spend the night in a hotel and wait until the next day to take the train home.

        If you look out West the cities are "planned," and many of them are grids with "organized" traffic flows. It's impossible to do that here. Combine this with not only the population increase, but the fact that more families have cars, and you get what you have now. I didn't even own a car until I was 26. Now every kid in high school has their own car. Families that used to own one car for four people now have four.

        Unfortunately I don't think there is much that can be done until we develop transporters ("...beam me up, Scotty")

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        • Re: Average Men's Attendance

          Originally posted by dxmnkd316 View Post
          College sports becoming a commodity instead of an event. Sell tickets instead of get fans in seats.
          I think this is absolutely the perfect way to sum up what has happened. And it hasn't just affected student or young alum attendance. I know it is the major factor in why I no longer am a season ticket holder at Notre Dame. (it has nothing to do with the fact I live in Cleveland almost 4 hours away from campus, when I lived in PA I maintained the season pass). My group had grown to 6 people (3 of us since the WCHA days) and now none get tickets.

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          • Re: Average Men's Attendance

            Originally posted by dxmnkd316 View Post
            I disagree. Again, I’m going to point to the Gophers so hear me out.

            The gophers have been on TV for years, decades. Every game. We’ve been on slightly fewer broadcasts in years and they still see shrinking attendance. I’m just not sure it’s an availability thing.

            I think it really has to do with more of a generational thing where it’s not a priority. This is a mistake that was made 20 years ago. College sports becoming a commodity instead of an event. Sell tickets instead of get fans in seats.
            When your team prices tickets like a pro team what do you expect. My season tickets for Yale are $210 a seat on the Yale attacking blue line, fifteen rows from the ice. Priced affordably, ticket sales are not an issue here.
            YALE HOCKEY
            2013 National Champions

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            • Re: Average Men's Attendance

              Originally posted by chickod View Post
              I think one of the problems here is that you had to build the roads around existing homes in the first place. It's not like out West where they have nearly endless open space. Much of the West wasn't even highly populated until 1900. Here, you have to take out property in order to expand roads and/or add more lanes. A good example is the recent project on Route 2 in Lincoln. It took about five years, and homes were moved, had their front yards "chopped off" and/or walls built so they could grade the road, or land taken by eminent domain. So I'm not really sure what they can do...some of the houses have been here since the 1600s. It's very congested and there is really no room for expansion. You can't build "access roads" to venues because there is simply no place to put them. Public transportation doesn't work, especially if you are outside of the MBTA "range," because, for example, the Amtrak Downeaster has so few runs that you likely would have to spend the night in a hotel and wait until the next day to take the train home.

              If you look out West the cities are "planned," and many of them are grids with "organized" traffic flows. It's impossible to do that here. Combine this with not only the population increase, but the fact that more families have cars, and you get what you have now. I didn't even own a car until I was 26. Now every kid in high school has their own car. Families that used to own one car for four people now have four.

              Unfortunately I don't think there is much that can be done until we develop transporters ("...beam me up, Scotty")
              If nothing else, they should re-work the exchanges between where 128 meets 93 and also where it meets route 3. Unless self driving cars help down the road things aren't going to get any better or easier/cheaper to fix.
              Originally posted by BobbyBrady
              Crosby probably wouldn't even be on BC's top two lines next year

              Comment


              • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                The $ thing doesn't wash for me. I priced taking my son to see the Blackhawks at the Garden and it was going to set me back $350 for 2 balcony seats. ONE GAME. And yet, they sell out. I don't think BU ticket prices are that crazy given the price of everything these days.

                Other theories:
                - The one and done's are hurting the sport. No more following the same team for 2-3 years and building a Jr/Sr laden team to a Frozen Four birth
                - The quality of the game. It's down. I think because of the above.
                - Much more options for students these days than back in "our day."
                - Lack of a fun environment as noted by Brassbonanza above.
                - Season is too long
                It Happened!!!!

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                • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                  Originally posted by Bomber View Post
                  The $ thing doesn't wash for me. I priced taking my son to see the Blackhawks at the Garden and it was going to set me back $350 for 2 balcony seats. ONE GAME. And yet, they sell out. I don't think BU ticket prices are that crazy given the price of everything these days.

                  Other theories:
                  - The one and done's are hurting the sport. No more following the same team for 2-3 years and building a Jr/Sr laden team to a Frozen Four birth
                  - The quality of the game. It's down. I think because of the above.
                  - Much more options for students these days than back in "our day."
                  - Lack of a fun environment as noted by Brassbonanza above.
                  - Season is too long
                  I kind of agree with all of this, I doubt that if a game ticket was $18 instead of $25 that we would see a huge spike in attendance.

                  The one exception to this might be some sort of young alum discount for single game tickets or ticket packs, for those young alums who don't want to go all in on the season tickets.

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                  • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                    Originally posted by Bomber View Post
                    - The one and done's are hurting the sport. No more following the same team for 2-3 years and building a Jr/Sr laden team to a Frozen Four birth
                    I think attendance is also down at schools without draft picks, though I could be wrong.


                    Powers &8^]

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                    • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                      Originally posted by brassbonanza View Post
                      A good point about BU, and perhaps other schools, doing a bad job of cultivating a fun environment for the students. BU and Agganis went so over the top with security measures over the past decade for the student sections that it zapped the fun out of the experience. I'm not saying cracking down on vulgar language was a bad thing, but they went miles beyond that...make the atmosphere conducive to having fun, and make being a student hockey fan fun again
                      This thread has done a pretty good job identifying the myriad societal and technological factors that tend to depress attendance. But I think Mr. Bonanza is onto something here. And you can add Conte (BC) to the list of over-reaching venues. Went to an NU game there a couple of years back and the security atmosphere was stifling. Orange-jacketed security agents everywhere and watching every move. Sucked out the spontaneity that has always been a hallmark of college sports.
                      "Through the years, we ever will acclaim........"

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                      • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                        Originally posted by Bomber View Post
                        The $ thing doesn't wash for me. I priced taking my son to see the Blackhawks at the Garden and it was going to set me back $350 for 2 balcony seats. ONE GAME. And yet, they sell out. I don't think BU ticket prices are that crazy given the price of everything these days.
                        The big NHL fan bases are orders of magnitude bigger than the biggest college hockey bases because, generally, city-rooted fan bases will trump university-rooted ones.

                        Winning helps. UAH used to out-draw the local SPHL team, but now they don't —*not by a long shot, even though the SPHL is below even what UAH was trotting out during the independent years. The down years have stopped having home games be a draw for students, and those students don't stay committed as alumni. I'm on the trailing edge of that myself at 39.

                        GFM
                        Geof F. Morris
                        UAH BSE MAE 2002
                        UAHHockey.com

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                        • Originally posted by gfmorris View Post
                          The big NHL fan bases are orders of magnitude bigger than the biggest college hockey bases because, generally, city-rooted fan bases will trump university-rooted ones..

                          GFM
                          yes good point.. & also dont forget, a lot of the professional team (NHL) ticket sales are a corporate expense in the cities they are based.. least here in Boston. Most of the 'loge' / box seats are sold to companies as employee perks, entertainment, a upbeat atmosphere to go enjoy the gm, do business, whatever etc. And the seats are generally sold at or cloae to full price. Those folks also generally expense the parking and the meals & beverages and they spend a lot.
                          Its a different model and one the colleges can of course not compete against due obvious reasons.

                          For the individual schools.. it comes down to knowing your base, your alumni, your fans, students.. and marketing to that.. to that subset (on individual campuses) & area... in terms of special pricing, contests, special student/ alumni events, parking etc. That's one way to go about drumming this thing up. That may be the only way to get things going again as the NCAA ain't allowing ads on college hockey jerseys.. are they?

                          So, again.. comes down to the individual schools to role up their sleeves & come up with innovative solutions.
                          GO NU HOCKEY
                          Always bullish on the future.
                          We don't always win Hockey East or the Beanpot (#trilogy).. but when we do.. we are the Champions

                          Comment


                          • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                            Originally posted by brassbonanza View Post
                            Yeah, the young alumni season ticket price is excellent, $219 for the season which comes out to about $12/game. And they consider young alumni to be anyone who's graduated in the past 10 yeasr. But you're right there's no YA price for individual games, and unless you walk up and buy a ticket, it comes out to $32.55 for one ticket to tonight's game. Face value is $23, plus another $8.55 in TM fees. Ridiculous.
                            Ticket Bastard is Satan incarnate... It shakes you down for absolutely nothing in return.

                            Try ordering directly from the box-office on your phone. Pay with a credit card, and ask for your tickets to be held at "Will-Call". We've defeated TB many times in this manner.

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                            • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                              Admittedly a poor night for a game but 2916 for Connecticut at BC is the smallest crowd I can remember at BC

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                              • Re: Average Men's Attendance

                                Originally posted by DLG View Post
                                Admittedly a poor night for a game but 2916 for Connecticut at BC is the smallest crowd I can remember at BC
                                No way there were that many people there tonight. I think closer to 1,000 - 1,500.

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