So how big of a stadium could we fill?
- Thread starter SDK46
- Start date
DuffMan
Well-Known Member
I've got enough chairs but no way do I have enough beer or those little cocktail weenies.
AcctHawk99
Well-Known Member
It makes for better business to create a demand for your product. I don't think Kinnick can get much bigger without HUGE costs and renovations.
Bowlsby had "plans" to build a new stadium out west of the golf course, I believe and the costs then was absolutely staggering...about $450M...and that was years ago. It was "the alternative" to the Kinnick renovation done 6-7 years ago.
Bowlsby had "plans" to build a new stadium out west of the golf course, I believe and the costs then was absolutely staggering...about $450M...and that was years ago. It was "the alternative" to the Kinnick renovation done 6-7 years ago.
HAWKEYESTATE4ever
Well-Known Member
That is crap. Not a fan. But now that you mention it, you could probably sell two tickets for enough of a profit to pay for two others, which does basically give you free tickets for the season. I guess I am just mad I didn't think of it!
That is crap. Not a fan. But now that you mention it, you could probably sell two tickets for enough of a profit to pay for two others, which does basically give you free tickets for the season. I guess I am just mad I didn't think of it!
You could get mad or do what I do and just walk up 10 minutes before the game and buy a ticket for well under face value. This often works even better at other teams' stadiums.
Went to Iowa at Michigan in 2007 for 10 bucks. Sat less than half way up on the 30 in "sold out" Michigan Stadium.
GravyJones
Well-Known Member
In my more ambitious days, I've been paid to go to games without having tickets in hand when I arrived. We'd buy them for $10-15/piece and sell them for $15-20 less than a block later. Do that a few times and you have seats and cash left over. That tends to work a lot better when the team isn't as good and the weather is crap.
dbqhawk1952
Member
Seats are NOT a fixed cost. Not only do the seats have an additional cost but the extra stadium you have to build to hold the extra seats has a cost.(by definition, that is not a fixed cost) I would say about 5K more at max. With the monster home schedule and the high expectations, this year was the perfect storm.
clicheusername3
Banned
I think they should build a platform that rings the entire stadium and have standers. I might be in the minority but I like to stand the ENTIRE game.
yep right where the new tennis center, soccer field, and field hockey field are, across the street from West and Finkbine.
I think they could add around 5,000 at the very least if they filled in the corners but like Jon said I don't see them doing anything until they have a waiting list for quite a few years and even then I don't see it happening.
SDK46
Well-Known Member
Great responses guys.
My question was a bit vague....I don't see Kinnick itself ever expanding again. I know they did an engineering study of the foundation before the current remodel and determined the structure couldn't support any more weight on the 'old' sections. I think we've reached terminal capacity.
My real question I guess is..."If you had a blank sheet of paper and could make an Iowa stadium any size you wanted based upon perceived historical ticket demand, current fan interest, home schedule, etc etc....what would it be?"
I stand by my original projecture....we could probably do ourselves OK by having an 85K stadium. Wisconsin does it and sells out and we KNOW we're a better program then them.
My question was a bit vague....I don't see Kinnick itself ever expanding again. I know they did an engineering study of the foundation before the current remodel and determined the structure couldn't support any more weight on the 'old' sections. I think we've reached terminal capacity.
My real question I guess is..."If you had a blank sheet of paper and could make an Iowa stadium any size you wanted based upon perceived historical ticket demand, current fan interest, home schedule, etc etc....what would it be?"
I stand by my original projecture....we could probably do ourselves OK by having an 85K stadium. Wisconsin does it and sells out and we KNOW we're a better program then them.
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The stadium also underwent major renovations in 1956, 1983 and 1990 where capacity was gradually taken from 53,000 to 70,397. The most recent renovations in 2004–06 pushed the capacity to its current level at 70,585. well thank god they did expand becuase most of the posters on this issue have said it would cost to much or whatever. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Iowa could very much fill a stadium with 80000 people every home game. here are the stats on that.
Home for the Iowa football team is Kinnick Stadium, one of the 15 largest college-owned stadiums in the nation. One of college football's finest facilities, Kinnick Stadium is routinely filled on Saturdays each fall. The Hawkeyes played before a record 58 straight home sellouts during the Hayden Fry Era.
Iowa draws sellout crowds for a majority of all home games, including all 25 home games in the last four years and 30 straight games over the past five seasons
The Hawkeyes annually rank among the top 25 schools in the nation in home attendance. Iowa ranked 25th in home attendance in 2007 with its average of 70,585. Big Ten Conference football games in 2007 drew over 5.4 million fans as the conference annually ranks first or second nationally in home attendance. Conference games a year ago averaged over 72,000 fans per
Going into the 2009 season Iowa had 30 straight home sell outs, Iowa has sold out every game at home since it became 70 585 the only exception was in 2009 against ark state. Which was 67,898 But if you schedule a better team maybe thats a sell out!!!
Home for the Iowa football team is Kinnick Stadium, one of the 15 largest college-owned stadiums in the nation. One of college football's finest facilities, Kinnick Stadium is routinely filled on Saturdays each fall. The Hawkeyes played before a record 58 straight home sellouts during the Hayden Fry Era.
Iowa draws sellout crowds for a majority of all home games, including all 25 home games in the last four years and 30 straight games over the past five seasons
The Hawkeyes annually rank among the top 25 schools in the nation in home attendance. Iowa ranked 25th in home attendance in 2007 with its average of 70,585. Big Ten Conference football games in 2007 drew over 5.4 million fans as the conference annually ranks first or second nationally in home attendance. Conference games a year ago averaged over 72,000 fans per
Going into the 2009 season Iowa had 30 straight home sell outs, Iowa has sold out every game at home since it became 70 585 the only exception was in 2009 against ark state. Which was 67,898 But if you schedule a better team maybe thats a sell out!!!
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GhostofBTT
Banned
I stand by my original projecture....we could probably do ourselves OK by having an 85K stadium. Wisconsin does it and sells out and we KNOW we're a better program then them.
Madison is 5 times bigger than Iowa City.
SDK46
Well-Known Member
Well...actually.....only 3.4582x as big (231,916 to 67,062)
But so what....the Twin Cities population is 2,308,221 or 41.8x as big as Iowa City and we out-draw the goooophers. Hell, they even constructed their new stadium to a paltry capacty of 51K.
It's not about city size....it's about what I said before....team perception and ticket demand
AEGHawkeye
Well-Known Member
I've always hoped we would hit the 85k mark and stay there. I've always thought Kinnick was a little too small for the product on the field but oh well. We should at least be able to match ND IMO.
tiggerhawk
Well-Known Member
No. In truth, this is both specifically and operationally wrong. The 2000 census had Madison proper population at 200,000, three times that of Iowa City. Most recent estimate is about 220,000 to 70,000.
If you add in the close communities like McFarland, Middleton, Monona--or Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin you get about 250,000 to around 120,000 or a ratio of about two to one.
But as anyone who has tried to find lodging in a busy season, especially a football weekend, the local market is not just Iowa City & Johnson County, it includes Cedar Rapids, Marion, Linn County. The comparable demographics of the Iowa City-Coralville-N Liberty-Marion-Cedar Rapids corridor are not significantly less than those of Madison & greater Dane County.
And while enrollment on the UW Madison campus is about 10,000 more than at the U of Iowa, that is offset by the 20,000 plus enrollment at the CR & IC Kirkwood campuses.
Not that the comparative numbers mean much. Both the Hawkeyes and the Road Kill play their home games within a two hour radius of more than two million people. No problem for either to draw crowds consistently of a 100,000 attendance depending upon winning, ticket prices, state of the economy...
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
That number is a flat out lie. There were thousands of empty seats at the Western Michigan game that year and even one game with attendance under capacity would pull the attendance number down to below the 70,585 number. Plus, the student section is rarely materially more than half full now. They are only counting ticket sales, not actual attendance, when they disclose those patently false numbers.
