Ticket Sales dropping and the solution...???

[westender]

If tickets continue to increase and attendance continues to decline then it only makes perfect sense to hire a digital marketing firm. Let's shell out money to figure out what decreasing ticket costs and, I don't know, maybe schedule better OOC games to justify ticket costs.

Ultimately the value of the dollar and the investment of time is the driving force. You may not be able to rearrange a person's priorities, but by decreasing the cost you may be able to find more people willing to attend games that otherwise may have nothing that conflicts or anything better to do with their time or money.

It also is a deal where it could be changing times and losing interest. Story lines play out and get boring. Even the best tv shows come and go. I personally think it is over exposed, as people mention they can sit home and watch on tv so no big deal. Well the school gets a ton of revenue off that too. So that exposure is a bit self fulfilling in terms of attendance. And let's face it Iowa is sparsely populated and Iowa City is a not a huge metro area so people have to travel a good distance. For me the big difference between now and 30 or 40 years ago is that every game is on tv so one doesn't have to go to see the game. They have mini packs of tickets, youth games (usually 3 at least), single game tickets, etc. Kinnick is an old stadium also and in a crowded area. If you built brand new it would look and feel a lot different with many different amenities than now. People want beer sales. Are they willing to pay $12 for a beer at the game because that is what they will be.

It will never happen, but on game days I would like to see the west side of Kinnick fenced off and allow food and beverage vendors in there to set up for game days. Remove everything after games so available for parking during weeks.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

They do need to do some promoting. The 2019 home football schedule is horrendous, games that as a 20 year season ticket holder, I really don't want to pay to see. The only reason that I am, is so that I can maintain my seats for 2020. For a whole lotta reasons Barta should be fired, but this may be the primary one for me.

I renewed, but yes the schedule is brutal next year. Might go to Penn State/Purdue, but that’s probably it.

 

[TychoBrahe]

They already do have youth games. $20 a seat. Not for the "big" games but they do and the Nebraska game at home is always one since on Friday after Thanksgiving.

Also park on a street somewhere, it is free.

Take in some prepackaged food as they let in what you can put in a gallon zip lock bag per adult. You can't take in a McDonalds burger but we haven't had any issue with just prepackaged stuff.

And $75 for a game like ISU or Nebraska these days is not overpriced. Look around at what other schools charge.

They have cheaper youth games, but as you admit it's not the big games. And those big games aren't even selling out every time, either! I would say that if you're not selling out Wisconsin and Nebraska, then your tickets ARE over-priced, and it doesn't matter what other teams charge, you've got tickets you're eating.

As for parking: on the street for free? Are you kidding? Do you know how far away you'd have to park to do that? My mother lives in IC within walking distance of Kinnick, and let me tell you: there ain't any free street parking available on a gameday morning.

Also, sounds like a lot of fun to bring in snacks and such to satiate hunger over a four hour game experience, noting that you can't really bring beverages in on game day. It's not very practical.

 

[westender]

They have cheaper youth games, but as you admit it's not the big games. And those big games aren't even selling out every time, either! I would say that if you're not selling out Wisconsin and Nebraska, then your tickets ARE over-priced, and it doesn't matter what other teams charge, you've got tickets you're eating.

As for parking: on the street for free? Are you kidding? Do you know how far away you'd have to park to do that? My mother lives in IC within walking distance of Kinnick, and let me tell you: there ain't any free street parking available on a gameday morning.

Also, sounds like a lot of fun to bring in snacks and such to satiate hunger over a four hour game experience, noting that you can't really bring beverages in on game day. It's not very practical.

The problem with the Nebraska game here is it is day after Thanksgiving. A lot of competing interests at that time and students mostly at home for holiday. Also Nebraska had not been Nebraska of old so lesser interest. I can't recall many empty seats at any recent Nebraska game.

To a kid any game is a big game. I only got to go to the gimme games when I was young and it did not make one bit of difference to me. I was getting to see Iowa play football!

We do park on a street and it is about 1 mile. Has never in about 20 years killed us, even on "bad" weather days. And we get out relatively easily.

Just don't cry about the costs when there are things you can do to keep costs down. But it is a sign of the times of how soft this country has become. Have to have it have it all and have it dirt cheap or we will whine about it. And yet we want the best of the best of coaches and facilities and we want someone else to pay for them.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

They have cheaper youth games, but as you admit it's not the big games. And those big games aren't even selling out every time, either! I would say that if you're not selling out Wisconsin and Nebraska, then your tickets ARE over-priced, and it doesn't matter what other teams charge, you've got tickets you're eating.

As for parking: on the street for free? Are you kidding? Do you know how far away you'd have to park to do that? My mother lives in IC within walking distance of Kinnick, and let me tell you: there ain't any free street parking available on a gameday morning.

Also, sounds like a lot of fun to bring in snacks and such to satiate hunger over a four hour game experience, noting that you can't really bring beverages in on game day. It's not very practical.

I park on the street for free all the time when I go to a game and don’t tailgate. Usually show up an hour before kick. Always places on the side streets back in the olive court neighborhoods

 

[Chickenlounge]

Does this mean we can play MSU twice at home some seasons? just kidding I couldn't resist.

Yes, because the first game won't be the entire team. The second game will include all of the players currently on work-release from the local prison.

 

[TychoBrahe]

I park on the street for free all the time when I go to a game and don’t tailgate. Usually show up an hour before kick. Always places on the side streets back in the olive court neighborhoods

My mother lives on Olive Court, and unless you're getting there at 6 am, or are incredibly lucky, you can't find street parking there. Some of the other side streets might have an opening here and there, but man you must have awful good luck to consistently find an open spot on a gameday.

 

[TychoBrahe]

The problem with the Nebraska game here is it is day after Thanksgiving. A lot of competing interests at that time and students mostly at home for holiday. Also Nebraska had not been Nebraska of old so lesser interest. I can't recall many empty seats at any recent Nebraska game.

To a kid any game is a big game. I only got to go to the gimme games when I was young and it did not make one bit of difference to me. I was getting to see Iowa play football!

We do park on a street and it is about 1 mile. Has never in about 20 years killed us, even on "bad" weather days. And we get out relatively easily.

Just don't cry about the costs when there are things you can do to keep costs down. But it is a sign of the times of how soft this country has become. Have to have it have it all and have it dirt cheap or we will whine about it. And yet we want the best of the best of coaches and facilities and we want someone else to pay for them.

I'm not crying about the cost myself, because I pony up what it takes. But the evidence is in the falling attendance, and the high cost of game tickets and concessions contribute to people deciding to watch from home. Parking can be free if you don't mind walking 20 minutes, or maybe $10-15 bucks to walk 10 minutes. I admit that's not a big deal (though the cost of gas might be for some people who come from a distance). But I think the high ticket cost is the big one, and I don't see any other option but to reduce that cost to fill more seats.