It’s time to look seriously at UConn’s attendance numbers.
Not just because they’re low. Not just because we want to bash the XL Center. Not just because tonight has all the makings of another horrible attendance game in Hartford. Mainly because we’ve spent way too much time complaining about the empty seats and it’s worth a look to see exactly how warranted those complaints really are.
First, let’s #GetSomeFacts:
- UConn has played nine regular season home games so far, with five at Gampel Pavilion and four at the XL Center.
- In those nine games, the Huskies have drawn an average of 9,315 fans.
- In five games at Gampel, UConn has drawn an average of 9,396 fans, or filled the arena to about 92 percent capacity. This includes two sellouts (10,167).
- In four games at the XL Center, UConn had drawn an average of 9,213 fans, or filled the arena to 59 percent capacity. XL Center seats 15,564 fans and UConn’s highest draw in that building this year was 11,319 against Temple.
All of that being said, yes the numbers will rise as the season goes on. That’s what happens with conference play (regardless of what happens tonight). SMU and Cincinnati will both draw a ton of fans. So will the Huskies’ one remaining non-ECU non-conference game against Georgetown. But at this point in the season, UConn has not seen such poor average attendance in the past 20 years.
It’s fair to argue that a pure attendance figure isn’t fair to use because UConn splits its games between two different-sized arenas. That’s why I’ve also looked at percent capacity, which so far has been a little over 74 percent overall — the fourth-worst number in the last 20 years.
So why the dip? There are a few reasons:
1. UConn is coming off an NIT year
As you see here, every time UConn has a non-NCAA Tournament season, it experiences a dip in attendance. Fans don’t want to come out and see a crap team. Conversely, you’ll see a bump in attendance after every national championship season. Winning is fun.
2. The Central game threw everything off
The 7,123 fans to show up at the XL Center for that weird afternoon game before Christmas was the second-fewest to a UConn home game in the last 20 years. Granted this wasn’t entirely UConn’s fault: it was an ESPNU game, so the worldwide leader likely selected the start time. Still, the Blue Devils aren’t exactly a big-time opponent, so good luck filling up an arena in Hartford to see them, regardless of when the game is played.
3. UConn sucks at selling tickets
Take a look at tonight’s game, where there seems to be several thousand tickets remaining for the marquee AAC showdown against Tulane:
It’s the day of the game, UConn is in danger of only half filling the XL Center and you can’t get an upper bowl ticket for less than $36. We’ve talked about this before. For two people to decide, on the fly, to go to a game, that’s a commitment of $72 for tickets, maybe $10 each for parking and a little more for food and such. That’s about $100 to sit in the 200s and watch a game that’s going to be on CBS Sports Network anyway.
Another explanation can be traced back to the schedule. In the Big East glory days, the best games of the season (Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Villanova) were guaranteed sellouts, leading to a ripple effect where basketball-hungry fans bought tickets to down-schedule games just to have a chance to see the team play that year. In 2015-16, fans don’t have to work very hard to obtain tickets to see SMU or Memphis (whom UConn just hosted in front of a non-soldout Gampel Pavilion). There is little motivation for fans to buy tickets against poor competition, especially on weeknights.
To UConn’s credit, it sent out an email yesterday urging people to buy tickets to upcoming home games, but I can’t imagine anyone would have wanted to buy tickets for tonight, given that there’s no special promotion or anything else. Give fans a poster. Give fans a dumb hat with a big ol’ corporate logo on it. Tell them when Red Panda is coming to town. Any of that shit will put more asses in the seats.
Or, you know, make the cheap seats $10 or something.
4. UConn fans suck at going to games
It hasn’t always been this way. Look back to 2006-07 (a 17-14 season) when they sold out games against Albany, Sacred Heart and Texas Southern. Or 2003-04 when every game except for two were sellouts, and the two that were not sellouts, were Civic Center games that still drew over 16,000.
Now, not so much. UConn’s conference opener against Temple was a great example. It was a Tuesday night at 8 p.m. against the Huskies’ closest geographic conference rival. Only 11,000 people showed up. I wonder how many fans who chose to stay home are also complaining that UConn is in the AAC. I wonder if they realize they’re part of the problem.
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Have something to add to this story? Don’t! Just go to the game tonight instead. Buy tickets here.
Part of the reason ticket prices are so high is it is one of the few ways that UConn makes money on their athletic events. Games at XL and Rentschler will always have ticket prices higher than they should be because the university doesn’t make up for their lost ticket revenue in other ways (ie parking, concessions, apparel sold at Co-Op, etc)
Gampel games are more likely to see a last minute price reduction because of this reasoning- although the university has completely dropped the ball on this end too. There is also something to be said for not trying to screw over season ticket holders who buy tix for games for $36 a game on top of in some cases a fat donation. Why would anyone want to buy season tix if they knew they could get tix the day of the game for $10?
I agree the prices of these tix are way too high, however until UConn is able to recoup money in other ways this is what we are stuck with. $10 upper bowl seats and $25 lower bowl seats would be fantastic but it just isn’t going to happen unfortunately.
But price should be determined by supply and demand. If supply is great (and it is at the XL), the demand and price are the variable factors.
Price is high, demand will be low. Artificially keeping the prices high just makes people want to stay at home. What’s better, empty seats generating NO revenue, or butts in seats generating $10/seat? There are ancillary benefits to cheap seats: not spending as much at the door means a greater likelihood of spending at the concession stand. The revenue simply isn’t there if the people aren’t.
It really isn’t rocket science to write an algorithm to set ticket prices based on demand and time until top-off.
I have been a season ticket holder since 2009. This year I bought tickets in August being promised better seats for buying early. What does UConn do, they moved me up a few rows in the 200s in XL. I am up to Row R, I started in L. Next year I will be in AA. So tonight, people can buy better seats than I do as a season ticket holder for the same price. What is the point of buying season tickets?
I have no idea why UConn does not try to sell tiered prices for seat locations. The same price should not be the first row and the last row.
See the promotion for the women’s team? Those attendance numbers having taken a nose drive in the past decade.
Play some interesting, competitive teams with respectable RPI stats and then real fans with a “pride” factor involved (alumni) will amp up venues like when Corny was the novelty at New Haven Coloseum or Wes + Toby gave new hope or when Cliff + Phil took down Ohio State at MSG to sweep NIT or when Nadav jolted landscape with nouveau riche Jonathan. Do not patch a team together with ulterior motive, other agenda transfers from other conferences & juco ranks who have no interest or loyalty to anything Storrs and expect the massive numbers of four year matriculating grads on main campus to support mercenaries and coaching staffs assembled through obvious, blantant cronyism. Alumni tend to disown such activities. Also, alumni like to see a few of these athletes actually graduate and not make UCONN the laughing stock of so called “college” sports. Thank you Mr. Shabazz for all your classroom + sports achievements.
I am a season ticket holder to Gampel for past 4 years since I graduated.
1) UConn needs a young alumni season ticket option for at least the XL Center games since those are the games with the attendance problems. Broadway plays have a ticket option where if you are under 30 years old, you can get discounted tickets day of the play if available. I think UConn should institute something like that where if young fans want to walk up day of the game and buy tickets and they are available, they would be able to for like $15 per ticket.
2) There is a fine line for UConn when offering discounts to non-season ticket holders since you need to keep an incentive for people to buy season tickets and the 5 game flex plans at full price. For example, I bought a 3 game flex plan around Christmas for SMU, Cincinatti, and Temple for $48 total. At the beginning the season those tickets were $36 for SMU/Cinci each and I think $30 for Temple. Why would I buy season tickets if I could get 3 of the best opponents at a steep discount then what they were offering at the beginning of the year.
3) Winning cures all. Memphis played in Conference USA and sold out the FedEx Forum during the Calipari years because they were winning and seeing a good product. If UConn had two losses this year and was ranked, attendance would be doing better. I would think and hope.
4) UConn games have been unwatchable for chunks of home games. When both teams ares struggling to score, the games are hard to watch. The Memphis game was awesome because the score was 81-78 and the crowd was into it. Both teams were scoring and playing good offense. The Temple and Tulane games were rock fights hard to watch as both teams struggled mightily to score.
Lastily, our fans keep complaining about the conference and our opponents but who gives a shit who we play. Get to the XL Center or Gampel and support the team. I