Really good X thread on the fan base/temp stadium ticket situation

[Baz=Heisman]

We have to rectify this going forward. And quickly once the regular season concludes. We are losing casual/local fans who have/will pick up Northwestern as their “second team.”

Part of our fan base, because of our lack of success over the totality of the program and the size of the school/focus (academics) of the school, is going to be “fly by” casual fans and they are not going to pony up $85 each for the worst tickets in the house! We need to have a $45-50 each “basic” ST package that those folks will buy. The people on this board will be there no matter what but that’s not enough to sustain a major CFB fan base.

 

[ParisCat]

Cheapest get-in price yesterday on SeatGeek was about $160, drifted down to $130 by game time. No casual fan is going to pay that, but a hyped-up IU fan making a special trip would. I understand that it's basic supply and demand for a 12,000 person stadium, but it's very frustrating.

 

[Sheffielder]

I mentioned this in the other thread - Chicago will always be an attractive "let's make a weekend of it" destination for other Big Ten fans from the middle of nowhere, when in most seasons they expect to see a win over Northwestern. Those fans will also pay the "vacation tax" of inflated prices for one game, just like sports fans pay $15 for bad stadium beer.

Meanwhile, we obviously and admittedly have a thin fan base; that won't change without sustained success. But also...two years ago my season tickets on the 30-yard line with parking came out to less than $400 per person in my three-pack. This year those same (approximate) tickets with parking would be $1K per person...and that does not include the two Wrigley games.

If season tickets were priced this way years ago when I got my non-alum friends to agree to season tickets...they would have politely declined and I don't know that I would even be a season ticket holder at this point without them...we would just buy cheapies every now and then from the secondary market, and NU would get zero from us.

Mark Jackson & Co. need to make a conscious decision on whether they go for some extra revenue and sell out the home stadium to visiting fans, or employ strategy to keep it a little more purple. We have confirmed evidence of the former for this season. When so much of our revenue comes from tv rights, I honestly don't see why we'd sacrifice locking down the local fan base.

 

[Jaguar 88]

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We have to rectify this going forward. And quickly once the regular season concludes. We are losing casual/local fans who have/will pick up Northwestern as their “second team.”

Part of our fan base, because of our lack of success over the totality of the program and the size of the school/focus (academics) of the school, is going to be “fly by” casual fans and they are not going to pony up $85 each for the worst tickets in the house! We need to have a $45-50 each “basic” ST package that those folks will buy. The people on this board will be there no matter what but that’s not enough to sustain a major CFB fan base.

Too bad the people in the NU administration don't get that, yet anyway. $85 for bad seating for a program that has been struggling as of late, with an already relatively small fanbase isn't the way to go. If the seating was good, $85 is a deal considering the insane prices to see a game in the Big House are. But then again Michigan just won the natty and is the winningest program in history. I can see a game at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti for less than $20, almost the same for Welcome Stadium in Dayton. Not the best seats, but good enough to enjoy the game. The administration needs to get some good PR going, get the University more involved locally or even statewide. It is a great school and the new stadium will be gorgeous! It will be sad to see it not filled up.

 

[jne381]

I live three hours away, and we didn't have anyone to watch my twin three-year-olds. As a result, my tickets went up for sale. In the past, when tickets were not as expensive, I would have given them away to friends, but with the high price this year, I needed to sell them.

I asked when I bought them if Northwestern has some sort of mechanism to to sell un-used tickets to other NU fans, and they only ever tell me about the donation thing they have. I am not looking to make more than what face would be if they are going to NU fans, but I am not giving away tickets at this price.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

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We have to rectify this going forward. And quickly once the regular season concludes. We are losing casual/local fans who have/will pick up Northwestern as their “second team.”

Part of our fan base, because of our lack of success over the totality of the program and the size of the school/focus (academics) of the school, is going to be “fly by” casual fans and they are not going to pony up $85 each for the worst tickets in the house! We need to have a $45-50 each “basic” ST package that those folks will buy. The people on this board will be there no matter what but that’s not enough to sustain a major CFB fan base.

NU fans have no idea how goddamn cheap NU football tickets and parking have been for decades. Now that the administration is trying to operate like a modern college football team, those same fans riot.

 

[phatcat]

For anyone who thinks the crowd yesterday, for WI, or at Wirgley will change the course of the Athletic dept, I fear you will be disappointed. They were openly bragging that they made more money on the temp stadium than last year. There will be enough pre-2027 hype to sell most of them next year. They simply don't care.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

For anyone who thinks the crowd yesterday, for WI, or at Wirgley will change the course of the Athletic dept, I fear you will be disappointed. They were openly bragging that they made more money on the temp stadium than last year. There will be enough pre-2027 hype to sell most of them next year. They simply don't care.

Revenue maximization is the norm in modern college football.

 

[NUChicago]

NU fans have no idea how goddamn cheap NU football tickets and parking have been for decades. Now that the administration is trying to operate like a modern college football team, those same fans riot.

Agree, it is super cheap, as I remember talking to Illinois people and I was shocked what they had to pay...for Illinois. If NU is going to charge modern prices, I expect more. We have a world class business and theatre school...use it to make an experience.

 

[NUChicago]

For anyone who thinks the crowd yesterday, for WI, or at Wirgley will change the course of the Athletic dept, I fear you will be disappointed. They were openly bragging that they made more money on the temp stadium than last year. There will be enough pre-2027 hype to sell most of them next year. They simply don't care.

NU simply won't connect with anyone outside the walls of NU. No subway alum here.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Agree, it is super cheap, as I remember talking to Illinois people and I was shocked what they had to pay...for Illinois. If NU is going to charge modern prices, I expect more. We have a world class business and theatre school...use it to make an experience.

It’s a self-fulfilling thing… can a team really succeed if the resources aren’t there? Or do you need to have a team to get the resources?

 

[NUChicago]

It’s a self-fulfilling thing… can a team really succeed if the resources aren’t there? Or do you need to have a team to get the resources?

great question, really tough to answer.

 

[Overly_Invested_Cat]

NU fans have no idea how goddamn cheap NU football tickets and parking have been for decades. Now that the administration is trying to operate like a modern college football team, those same fans riot.

And with those goddamn cheap tickets, NU was never able to attract a sizable fan base. As we’re seeing with our 12K lakefill stadium, reduced supply isn’t creating higher demand. With 35K seats at Ryan Field, the demand will further decrease or balance out financially, since attendees will be paying more. I don’t think that’s rioting, that’s making an Irish exit to watch games from home.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I have been a ST for over a decade. ST holder when prices were very low. I can tell you when we stink, I can’t give the tickets away. We aren’t going to see some giant spike in ST’s with lower prices. Not happening UNLESS we win. If we are boring and/or stink, no one will waste a Saturday. I dint see lowering the prices as a move that keeps out the opposition. You want to keep the opposing fans out, bitch at the guy sitting around you who gleefully sells them at a profit. The only other thing I can think of is to somehow restrict the transfer of tickets.

Locals like NU, but they don’t care about it enough to support a mediocre program. The local marketing for the team is non existent. The school is unattainable for most students and their family and they do little to encourage locals to attend, in fact, the opposite.

 

[NUChicago]

And with those goddamn cheap tickets, NU was never able to attract a sizable fan base. As we’re seeing with our 12K lakefill stadium, reduced supply isn’t creating higher demand. With 35K seats at Ryan Field, the demand will further decrease or balance out financially, since attendees will be paying more. I don’t think that’s rioting, that’s making an Irish exit to watch games from home.

NU has NEVER tried to create a real fan base. Nor do they really want to. Phillips tried but he was the only person to really try. Do we even have marketing people anymore?

 

[phatcat]

It’s a self-fulfilling thing… can a team really succeed if the resources aren’t there? Or do you need to have a team to get the resources?

I don't agree. As long as NU or other low revenue producing programs are part of the P2, they will have lavish resources from their revenue share. Further, NU certainly has had tremendous success in athletic fundraising. Which, by the way, frustrates the hell out of me that Jacob Schmidt has to make do with duct tape and paper clips. This is why we have a baseball player at QB

 

[Overly_Invested_Cat]

I have been a ST for over a decade. ST holder when prices were very low. I can tell you when we stink, I can’t give the tickets away. We aren’t going to see some giant spike in ST’s with lower prices. Not happening UNLESS we win. If we are boring and/or stink, no one will waste a Saturday. I dint see lowering the prices as a move that keeps out the opposition. You want to keep the opposing fans out, bitch at the guy sitting around you who gleefully sells them at a profit. The only other thing I can think of is to somehow restrict the transfer of tickets.

Locals like NU, but they don’t care about it enough to support a mediocre program. The local marketing for the team is non existent. The school is unattainable for most students and their family and they do little to encourage locals to attend, in fact, the opposite.

I agree with most of your post, but NU accepts dozens of Evanston Township students each year, more than any other high school. They’ve actually been pretty progressive in terms of supporting local students.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

And with those goddamn cheap tickets, NU was never able to attract a sizable fan base. As we’re seeing with our 12K lakefill stadium, reduced supply isn’t creating higher demand. With 35K seats at Ryan Field, the demand will further decrease or balance out financially, since attendees will be paying more. I don’t think that’s rioting, that’s making an Irish exit to watch games from home.

Then the NU admin will likely be perfectly fine accepting premium single game prices from opposing fans. Revenue maximization.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I don't agree. As long as NU or other low revenue producing programs are part of the P2, they will have lavish resources from their revenue share. Further, NU certainly has had tremendous success in athletic fundraising. Which, by the way, frustrates the hell out of me that Jacob Schmidt has to make do with duct tape and paper clips. This is why we have a baseball player at QB

1) You’re being purposely combative or inadvertently obtuse. We live in a world where Indiana spends millions in NIL on football and NU is behind our next-closest competitor by about 3x. “Lavish” is relative.

2) We have been extremely successful in athletic facilities fundraising. Pat Ryan seems pretty geeked up to build big buildings with his name on the side and not much else. The hope had to be that once the stadium is built there aren’t many more significant capital projects left so the Ryans’ donations are diverted to NIL.