I thought the attendance would be good last night since it was finally a Saturday game. I was pleased to see a lot of people in the upper bowl and a lot of sections looking close to full.
The actual tickets scanned were 11,034. But I was surprised to see 17,022 tickets were sold for the game.
Ticket Revenue is a multiple of tickets sold and not tickets scanned. And ticket revenue plus Razorback foundation donations is what drives AD decisions.
I expect those two numbers for 2018-19 year to be the about the same as 2017-18. Foundation donations are already in and I expect tickets sold to be the same as last year, since most of the tickets sold are season tickets.
I don’t believe one season of not making the tournament is going to significantly reduce season tickets sold for next year, especially since most are aware that this was going to be a down year.
However, foundation donation for next year is an entirely different thing. Posters wanting a change in coaching at the end of the season should root for significant drop in foundation donations. It is very important that Hogs don’t close out the season strong.
I don’t trust the tickets scanned numbers because of the stories I’ve heard about people getting in without scanning for various reasons. I wasn’t at the basketball game last night, so I can’t speak to whether the scanned number sounds right, but there were 4,809 tickets scanned at the baseball game yesterday. It appeared there were a lot more people in the stadium than that when the first game started.
I read on here that we have 13,000 season tickets sold. I moved to Fayetteville in May 2018 and have been to 4-5 games. You can’t buy a decent seat to see the game, but when you go inside…there aren’t more than 5,000-6,000 fans in attendance. Nobody sits in the upper bowl, hardly. I don’t blame them…I am not going to sit that high either…don’t like heights.
The reality is people don’t go to the games and most of the time their tickets go to waste. It is a shame. There has to be a better way to get a good seat. I sat in the suite for the Georgia Tech game, but prefer to be in the crowd in the lower area. I guess I may have to break down and buy season tickets, but I just don’t want to go to all the games.
I promise this. If CMA is back, and if we go into the next season without significant upgrades in the frontcourt (I like our backcourt and see where it can improve), I will not renew my 3 tickets. There several seats empty around me that were mostly filled the last 2 years. I’m a guy that is usually one of the last to turn on a coach, but I’m getting close.
Again it is not about empty seats. I have stopped looking at that number. It changes based on how the team is doing, who the opposing team is and whether it is a Saturday game or not. All those three factors are working against using the tickets bought. It is about whether NavyHog renews his tickets.
As far as me, I am never going to not renew, unless I run out of money. Because I do not want to lose my seats where they are, in case team starts going to FF again. That is the case most around where I sit. They have stuck through Heath and Pelphrey.
One thing to keep in mind is that the remaining three games are all Saturday games, with last two in attractive 12 pm and 5:30 pm slots.
Agreed that donations is the biggest factor, but empty seats and fan apathy have to count for something. Tommy Boyer and other savvy BB minded BOT members aren’t going to put up with it much longer.
I think we have entered the era of empty seats depending on how a team is doing that particular year, unless the team has won real big the prior year. If I am the AD, I would make decision on the Basketball P&L and not empty seats. You have to adapt to times.
I was at the game last night sitting in the upper deck and I was guessing maybe the place was half full so 11k scanned seems a lil high but not much. It was definitely a bigger crowd than the Vanderbilt game a couple weeks ago. Sadly we saw a pretty poor performance.
My seats are across the Arkansas bench by the student section. Our side of the lower bowl was pretty full and across from me in the lower bowl, it looked like 80% full. I cannot see the entire upper bowl.
LSU game was the only other weekend SEC game we have had. They had 11,525 scanned for that game. Last night from my seats, the crowd looked like the LSU game crowd.
I don’t have season tickets because I live in Northeast Arkansas and just can’t get there often enough to make it worthwhile. When I have gone, I have purchased tickets on line. The seats were good but it takes a lot of effort to get there. Unless I go two hours early I have to park a mile away and walk those hills to the arena. Then you get there and they play like crap and I have to walk the hills for another mile to get my car and sit in traffic for an hour. Television is better for me. I can change channels when they play like they did the second half last night. Losing to Missouri didn’t help the fans to show up last night either. Missouri’s best shooter didn’t play and lord knows how bad they would have beaten the hogs if Jontay Porter was not out for the season.
I have been 90% of conference game for last 40 years. In the Anderson era, they have lost very few games, I don’t remember many games when the drive back to Little Rock was painful.
Looks like you have been only to the games when we lost. We need to make sure you stay home.
They care whether you show up, because if you don’t they can’t sell you sodas and hot dogs and T-shirts. But the bigger number is your season ticket. They get your $500 in October, that’s in the bank. And season ticket numbers have improved under MA. If they fall off next fall, that might be what gets his seat warm. If they’re stable, I think HY goes with him. But I’m not the AD and I don’t have all the information HY does.
Scanned is scanned, and from all reports at all UA events the scanned number is going to be low; people are getting in without scanning due to equipment problems or just not understanding the scanning process. If they say 11K scanned, in all probability there were probably more like 12.5 or 13K there.
