There are many reasons for this but so many have been priced out of attending.
Athletic departments around the country have to be concerned
- Thread starter Vernon
- Start date
You play boring match up cup cakes that's what happens. You charge outrageous prices for tickets and people are going to be selective about what on your schedule they go see.
The sport (football, baseball, basketball, etc.) needs the fan worse (much worse) than does the fan need spectator sports. I feel that the age of the $7M coach and $25M player sends the signal loud and clear. Enough is enough! Like President Bush famously onct said............."There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." I predict that within the next 10 years the tail will begin to wag the dog. Warez
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Some students can't go every week because exams are on Monday (I know for med school it is)... schools are not adjusting their curriculum to allow for student attendance.
![[laughing]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/laugh.r191677.gif "Laughing [laughing]")
Let's also realize:
-Rutgers Sucks
-North Korea Sucks and has never had good attendance except games vs WVU or ND.
-Missouri Sucks and in a Very Very Baaaad Waaay!
-A&M fans want desperately to fire Sumlin and some fans just ain't showing up for Louisiana Lafayette (a school leading early in the Chip Kelly Sweepstakes)
-Duke is a basketball school.
The price of tickets makes fans be selective as was the case today with DE State in the 26505.
-Rutgers Sucks
-North Korea Sucks and has never had good attendance except games vs WVU or ND.
-Missouri Sucks and in a Very Very Baaaad Waaay!
-A&M fans want desperately to fire Sumlin and some fans just ain't showing up for Louisiana Lafayette (a school leading early in the Chip Kelly Sweepstakes)
-Duke is a basketball school.
The price of tickets makes fans be selective as was the case today with DE State in the 26505.
I forgot about A&M, they were in a dog fight with Nicholls St last week and blew a historic lead to UCLA the week before. Their fans have given up and want Sumlin fired.
We shouldn't be comparing ourselves to these dumpster fires. Granted it was Delaware State, but our attendance isn't good overall.
We shouldn't be comparing ourselves to these dumpster fires. Granted it was Delaware State, but our attendance isn't good overall.
I'd have loved to have paid 50-60 bucks a pop for 4 tix on all those trips from D.C. to Morgantown. I never got a single ticket for less than $200 and the vast majority of the time they were $250 a piece. Thanks Stubhub and Ebay.
I am done with attending multiple games a season. I don't post much on here any more, but the situation is ALL about money. The plastic bag rule for "safety". That was all a way to keep people from bringing outside food in so they would have to buy the outrageous concession food. Today was "family day"...if you had 4 or less in your family. I tried to buy 5 of the discounted tickets and was denied on wvugame.com. The frosting of the glass pissed me off, too. Was that for terrorism or something. I am going to one game this year. That is it. I am not going to line any more greedy pockets with my money.
I honestly wonder if we have passed "peak fan attendance." Not only bad teams aren't selling out... but I have seen considerable numbers of empty seats at Oklahoma, Florida, and Florida State in the past couple of years. Virginia Tech's sell-out streak ended and they have gone back to hawking tickets in commercials.
I think it is many things. Every game is on TV... and that TV is high def. Prices for tickets have gone up faster than inflation. We have lost a lot of middle class in the past 20 years. But also, sports isn't as central to a community or state as it used to be. I remember going to Princeton HIgh School basketball games in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I literally remembered showing up at 6pm for 7:30 games - otherwise I wouldn't get a seat. I went to a game a few years ago against intra-county rival Bluefield, and the gym was empty. As Bill Stewart said, kids are "home playing their space stations." I think we have passed peak attendance. - Winter Tim
I think it is many things. Every game is on TV... and that TV is high def. Prices for tickets have gone up faster than inflation. We have lost a lot of middle class in the past 20 years. But also, sports isn't as central to a community or state as it used to be. I remember going to Princeton HIgh School basketball games in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I literally remembered showing up at 6pm for 7:30 games - otherwise I wouldn't get a seat. I went to a game a few years ago against intra-county rival Bluefield, and the gym was empty. As Bill Stewart said, kids are "home playing their space stations." I think we have passed peak attendance. - Winter Tim
I used to go to multiple home football games now Im limited to 1 maybe 2 games a season. The cost of attending has increased far too much and spending money to see opponents like Delaware State is not worth it.
As Vernon has stated "so many have been priced out of attending." Unfortunately the cost of everything has increased and has outpaced workers wages.
As Vernon has stated "so many have been priced out of attending." Unfortunately the cost of everything has increased and has outpaced workers wages.
It might be about football. With fewer kids playing football there isn't the demand to take these kids to games. Then a lot of these games take 3-4 hours to complete. Then a lot of these games aren't competitive. Even the NFL has been having attendance issues.
Interest in football has peaked. There's no denying it. Attendance at every level is dipping, ratings are down. Along with being priced out of the realm of reason, the product on the field is going down at the pro level. The new generation (god, I'm only 35) has an attention span of about two heart beats, and can't be bothered to go to a live event of any kind and not check their phone every 7 seconds.
A lot of truth there.
I think a lot of those statements are true for every sport and especially at the pro levels. There are just more options.
I would go further and say any kind of live event. I went to see Metallica in May, at M&T Bank Stadium. It was a reported attendance of 40k, which was a lie, and fair sized chunks of the stands were empty. This is freaking Metallica I'm talking about! And once again, morons spend the whole show on their phone, either Snap Chatting or attempting to record.
Michigan only drew 111,387 fans to the game yesterday, but Vernon is correct though. I used to attend all games, but no longer find myself wanting to waste the time and effort going any longer, except maybe once a year. It's so much better watching at home on a 65" screen, knowing you can watch dozens of different games at the push of a few buttons.
Lots of good points everyone is making. A few additional comments;
For myself - why go to a game when I can watch in high definition at home without fighting crowds? Because it is the game-day experience. I only get chill bumps with "Let's bring on the Mountaineers!" when in the stadium. That said, my own interest is down from what it was 10 or 20 years ago. Maybe it is aging, but I think 100+ years of college athletics attendance maybe just reached natural peak - and is now waning.
And we talk about re-alignment a lot... think about the HUGE TV contract signed 3, 4, 5 years ago... just before this wave started breaking. I think the 2020s will see contraction, less travel, smaller TV contracts, and reduced athletic departments spending. -Winter Tim
For myself - why go to a game when I can watch in high definition at home without fighting crowds? Because it is the game-day experience. I only get chill bumps with "Let's bring on the Mountaineers!" when in the stadium. That said, my own interest is down from what it was 10 or 20 years ago. Maybe it is aging, but I think 100+ years of college athletics attendance maybe just reached natural peak - and is now waning.
And we talk about re-alignment a lot... think about the HUGE TV contract signed 3, 4, 5 years ago... just before this wave started breaking. I think the 2020s will see contraction, less travel, smaller TV contracts, and reduced athletic departments spending. -Winter Tim
I agree with the frosted glass. I would most often leave my seat around halfway through the first quarter and stand up there out of the sun and watch the rest of the half and use the restroom. Towards the end of the game my wife would go up and use the restroom and watch the rest of the game and wait for me to come up. They screwed that up and I still don't know what the purpose was.
Hotel prices are worse than tickets. I went to the Delaware State game yesterday and stayed at the Fairfield Marriot - $275. I checked in around 8:30 p.m. and immediately left for a late dinner. I got back around 10:30 p.m., checked out at 7:30 a.m. this morning. All I did was crash into the bed for a few hours.
It's not even convenient. They had no shuttle to the game/downtown and it's unwalkable to the restaurants nearby (no sidewalks, on a steep hill with lots of traffic).
My wife bought the tickets as a gift and probably spent around $200. We had a blast at the game...stayed near the end and went downtown via PRT. When we wanted to get back to our car (which was parked at the Coliseum) the PRT was closed, that was around 8:00 p.m. I had to Uber back to our car. Without Uber, we would have been screwed.
So tickets and hotel put me near $500, and that didn't even give me a convenient spot to park-walk-eat-sleep. I dropped $100 inside the stadium, easily. Canned beers were $8-$9, and we were there to have fun (we didn't tailgate beforehand, no time).
Food and beer prices downtown were reasonable, actually very cheap. I probably plugged another $100 downtown with our group, then $75 for dinner.
Fun day, but not real convenient.
It's not even convenient. They had no shuttle to the game/downtown and it's unwalkable to the restaurants nearby (no sidewalks, on a steep hill with lots of traffic).
My wife bought the tickets as a gift and probably spent around $200. We had a blast at the game...stayed near the end and went downtown via PRT. When we wanted to get back to our car (which was parked at the Coliseum) the PRT was closed, that was around 8:00 p.m. I had to Uber back to our car. Without Uber, we would have been screwed.
So tickets and hotel put me near $500, and that didn't even give me a convenient spot to park-walk-eat-sleep. I dropped $100 inside the stadium, easily. Canned beers were $8-$9, and we were there to have fun (we didn't tailgate beforehand, no time).
Food and beer prices downtown were reasonable, actually very cheap. I probably plugged another $100 downtown with our group, then $75 for dinner.
Fun day, but not real convenient.
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Just MHO but, sports are no longer a working person's past time. The average family cannot afford to go to a game every week. Every single part of game, from tickets to concessions is geared toward maximum profit.
That's fine, I get it. As a business owner myself, I would LOVE to charge all these unbelievable fees and rates for my services but, I know I can't because if I did, I'd be out of business within a week.
That's the thing though, there's the catch. Once you declare an allegiance or like I was, born into it, that thing, whatever it is that you love, is now a monopoly and you'll pay just about anything to be a part of it. College football teams are no different.
Personally, I think it's ridiculous. A $7 Bud Light is ridiculous, a $100 ticket is ridiculous. It's the price we our loyalty demands. That's crazy if you really think about it.
That's fine, I get it. As a business owner myself, I would LOVE to charge all these unbelievable fees and rates for my services but, I know I can't because if I did, I'd be out of business within a week.
That's the thing though, there's the catch. Once you declare an allegiance or like I was, born into it, that thing, whatever it is that you love, is now a monopoly and you'll pay just about anything to be a part of it. College football teams are no different.
Personally, I think it's ridiculous. A $7 Bud Light is ridiculous, a $100 ticket is ridiculous. It's the price we our loyalty demands. That's crazy if you really think about it.
I'm an alum. I don't get back to visit Morgantown often. Morgantown is the attraction, not just the game. I want to see the game, but I also want to visit campus and downtown. They need to do a better job of transporting people from the stadium, downtown and back.
Game days are when your alumni are in town, and that's what they want to do. See the game, see campus, have fun downtown - get back to hotel. Don't make me drive much. I'm paying $200 for tickets, $275 for a hotel. I'm HAPPY to drop $100 inside the stadium, and $200 downtown - LET ME DO IT. Just give me an easy way!
It was 8:00 p.m. and I needed to Uber back to my car that was parked at the Coliseum, then drive back to my hotel. That sucked.
Game days are when your alumni are in town, and that's what they want to do. See the game, see campus, have fun downtown - get back to hotel. Don't make me drive much. I'm paying $200 for tickets, $275 for a hotel. I'm HAPPY to drop $100 inside the stadium, and $200 downtown - LET ME DO IT. Just give me an easy way!
It was 8:00 p.m. and I needed to Uber back to my car that was parked at the Coliseum, then drive back to my hotel. That sucked.
If you raise the prices, raise the value too.
If you're asking for nearly $300 for a basic hotel room in Morgantown, WV - please give me a shuttle to the game or one that goes from downtown every two hours (6 p.m., 8 p.m. 10 p.m.). Or at the very least, please do not close the PRT @ 7:00 p.m. Seriously, WTF?
I don't mind paying, I WANT to pay. When I attend a game, I'm happy. I'm in a good mood. I WANT to go downtown and drop dough and have fun. I want to buy over priced crap at the bookstore, even though I can get it cheaper online. I'll pay $9 for a Blue Moon in the stadium, I don't care.....just make it EASY for me.
I visit Vegas. I over-spend. I don't mind it. They make it easy.
$800 for a game against Delaware State and I had to Uber myself around and drive my car back to my hotel room before 9:00 p.m.? That's crap.
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My dad took me to my first WVU game in 1977. I still have the ticket stub. It cost $7.
Yes... everything has gone up. But a ticket has increased 9 fold. Salaries - while maybe quadruple what they were in 1977... have not increased 9x like ticket prices have. -Winter Tim
Yep. And that was kind of my point, Tim so, you see where I'm coming from. I was actually born in '77 so you're a tad older than I am. My first game ('81) with my dad, our tickets were obviously higher because of the new stadium and whatnot but, nowhere near what they would become just a few years later.
My dad, a simple blue collar West Virginian, he loved to take his kids to games but even then, it was a crunch I'm sure but, it was still attainable; there wasn't a system in place yet that required a $500 or $600 commitment for just one afternoon of Mountaineer football.
Unlike many, I am fortunate enough to have been able to create a comfortable life for my family and still be in the the state so, I don't have to fuss with all the inconveniences of motels and everything that Darth was speaking of above. Like him, I don't mind paying. It's just the dues of my loyalty to my alma mater and maybe just as important, "my" team.
Being from that blue collar background and getting to see the daily struggles of so many right here in the state, I am cognizant of how much everything (not just college football) has raised even in the past 5-7 years. I know the value of a dollar. I also know that Mountaineer game day is not very high of a priority for those that struggle but, it is an indicator of the times. Just a mere 30 years ago, an afternoon of Mountaineer football was something just about anyone could afford. Now, it's more of a luxury for alums like myself. The average West Virginian has been priced out of it.
My dad, a simple blue collar West Virginian, he loved to take his kids to games but even then, it was a crunch I'm sure but, it was still attainable; there wasn't a system in place yet that required a $500 or $600 commitment for just one afternoon of Mountaineer football.
Unlike many, I am fortunate enough to have been able to create a comfortable life for my family and still be in the the state so, I don't have to fuss with all the inconveniences of motels and everything that Darth was speaking of above. Like him, I don't mind paying. It's just the dues of my loyalty to my alma mater and maybe just as important, "my" team.
Being from that blue collar background and getting to see the daily struggles of so many right here in the state, I am cognizant of how much everything (not just college football) has raised even in the past 5-7 years. I know the value of a dollar. I also know that Mountaineer game day is not very high of a priority for those that struggle but, it is an indicator of the times. Just a mere 30 years ago, an afternoon of Mountaineer football was something just about anyone could afford. Now, it's more of a luxury for alums like myself. The average West Virginian has been priced out of it.
I have had the opportunity on numerous occasions to take in a pro football game (Dallas Cowboys and also in Charlotte to see the Panthers). I turned down these free tickets for a few simple reasons. First, the stinking game takes all day to attend. Leave home very early to 'beat the traffic", sit in amongst a hot, sweaty crowd, pay $100 to park, pay highwaymen prices for food and drinks, etc. and then get back in traffic. No thank you.................sir!
Have to agree with all of you in one way or another. I'm barely old enough to remember having to listen to a good many WVU games on the radio and hopefully catching the box score the next day to fill in the missing pieces. Ticket prices have been going up much faster than inflation but the big equalizer in this entire saga has been the improvements of the home viewing experience. #1, you get every game on tv now (even Delaware State) and that simply wasn't the case before. #2, HD broadcasts on a big screen tv and in the comfort of your own home are awesome, period. #3, I have noticed that even my older, more elderly friends who are at least semi-internet literate have developed the same attention span problems that they denounce Gen-X'ers and Millenials for having. They'll spin yarn about the old days but they really don't want to go to a game any more than a person half their age wants to so I think that short of a big game with big stakes, attendance will simply be less than desired when WVU is projected to be a 6-8 win team and you're playing a team like Delaware State.
A coaches salary should be limited to $400,000. A single college game ticket price should be limited to $50 (50 yard line) and go down from there. A single beer should be limited to no more than $4.00 and a soft drink (chaser) $2.50. Bring the game back to the people. Take the game away from corporate. Now, I understand that most of the coaches and administrators would boycott and quit. Wake Up Amurika! Warez
LOL! You're absolutely right, Tejas. Everything is so commercialized anymore. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and crimony, even St. Patrick's day!
The hilarity of some of the 6,236 bowl games is fantastic! The Steven's Rotor and Front End Alignment dot com bowl! Coming to you live from Newportstonville Arkansas. Wednesday Dec 2nd only on ABC 3!
The hilarity of some of the 6,236 bowl games is fantastic! The Steven's Rotor and Front End Alignment dot com bowl! Coming to you live from Newportstonville Arkansas. Wednesday Dec 2nd only on ABC 3!
A bit of an aside, but I started following WVU regularly as an 11-year-old in 1977. From 1977 until 1981, I never saw WVU on TV, with the exception (I think) that in 1980 - somehow the Hawaii game was shown on local channels. But it started at midnight and I didn't see it. First game I saw on TV was 1981 Peach Bowl, which was syndicated. First game I saw on network TV was 1982 game at Pitt. So it took my into my 6th season of following WVU games to see a regular season game on network TV. I listened to Jack and Woody ... and my dad would drive us to Morgantown from Mercer County a couple of home games a year. We went to a few games at Va Tech, too.
Does anyone remember... seemed like in the 1970s, on Sunday morning a 30-minute show would come on showing highlights from the Saturday's game (which was always at 1pm at No-lights Mountaineer Field). -Winter Tim
Does anyone remember... seemed like in the 1970s, on Sunday morning a 30-minute show would come on showing highlights from the Saturday's game (which was always at 1pm at No-lights Mountaineer Field). -Winter Tim
I know I have shared this before... but pictures I took from the 1978 WVU-Richmond game (the one we almost lost). I think my ticket was $8 for that game. I will have to check my stubs.
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_7_.jpg
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_9_.jpg
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_10_.jpg
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_12_.jpg
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_7_.jpg
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_9_.jpg
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_10_.jpg
http://timfrench.org/images/pers_12_.jpg
Winter Tim.................I was born and raised in Bluefield, Mercer County, West Virginia, USA. Driving up to Morgantown was an all day trip! I remember driving up one time to sit in the end zone metal bleachers on a cold November Saturday at old Mountaineer Field..........only to watch Penn State run over the Mountaineers starting with the kickoff return! What a way to treat a fan that drove from daylight to dark (midnight) just to be cold, tired and disillusioned! The game was over before I could get seated. Wow, the ride back home was sooooo solemn. Never again! Ole Warez sits in the Dallas area these days watching the game on the big screen HDTV with PIP as he jumps on that Chinese take out served with a little sake! Now, I still drink a little beer these days but...not enough to hurt a man. Warez
I am in the same boat. Far enough away to make late-night games a pain, but too close to really justify a hotel room. I like the Hampton Inn in Bridgeport, but by the time I am there, I feel like I might as well tough it out for several more hours and drive on home...
Warez... I mostly grew up in Princeton. Born in Bluefield, though... and went to Bluefield State for 2 years. Also, first year of my life was in Gary, McDowell County.
As to that drive to Morgantown... I caught the last year it was sort of a long drive. 1977 we drove up twice. New River Gorge Bridge wasn't open yet. We had to drive down one side of the gorge... cross that iron bridge at bottom... and back up other side. Probably took 25 minutes. Now - fly over the river in 45 seconds. At least I got to ride I-79. I heard that used to be an all-day trip before the interstate, like you said. -Winter Tim
As to that drive to Morgantown... I caught the last year it was sort of a long drive. 1977 we drove up twice. New River Gorge Bridge wasn't open yet. We had to drive down one side of the gorge... cross that iron bridge at bottom... and back up other side. Probably took 25 minutes. Now - fly over the river in 45 seconds. At least I got to ride I-79. I heard that used to be an all-day trip before the interstate, like you said. -Winter Tim
