Howard Attendance

[T-Dog]

Crowd was late-arriving because there was a bad logjam at the entrance plaza. Not enough people going through. One of the worst logjams in recent memory. Almost missed kickoff because of it and I went to the stadium earlier than normal.

[WASU 93]

It was a Holiday weekend, but today's attendance was disappointing. The students did a nice job of showing up. But, the home side was not near capacity, the visitors side was no more than half full and the hill was at half capacity.
The operations struggled as well. From the misfiring play clock to the lack of communication in getting the cart out for an injured Bison, to an abysmal video board operation (especially for some of the HOF recognitions), it was not an A game. Concessions struggled on the Visitors side as well.
Great performance on the field! Beautiful day in Boone and a great HOF Class.

[NewApp]

Crowd was late-arriving because there was a bad logjam at the entrance plaza. Not enough people going through. One of the worst logjams in recent memory. Almost missed kickoff because of it and I went to the stadium earlier than normal.

Was the log jam still going on in mid-second quarter? WCCB was still showing a lot of aluminum.

[appst89]

I was pleasantly surprised with the attendance. Given the concentration of people on the bank, there is no doubt that the East side would have been full if those people had been there. I think the announced number was reasonable and probably very close.

[ASUMountaineer]

It's laughable to say we need to expand right now.

I still haven't seen anyone calling for shovels in dirt tomorrow. This discussion continues to confuse me. What's wrong with having a strategic master plan, with measures that trigger expansion investment?

[Gonzo]

The shaded sections of the grass hill were as packed as there been for our 30k crowds, presumably with people who purchased seats in the east. A lot of those east stands people moved or left early, including my group that went to the west side at half time. That heat was brutal for Boone. My buddy has been rocking the florescent light tan all summer and he got it particularly bad. He was rotating his arms like a rotisserie.

On balance it was a well-attended game -- evidence of the need to expand in the near future.

[Saint3333]

With still no plan to fund it.

I'm all for putting together a plan and raising funds, let's discuss that instead.

What we saw yesterday substantiates my price point assumption. The day before the game half of the east side seats were open, yet 3k were on the hill ( lower priced option).

[EastHallApp]

It was a nice crowd. Certainly better than any I saw last year. But there was no point at which there weren't wide swaths of aluminum visible on the east side. Nor was there any point where the lawn seating was remotely close to what it was in 2007.

Keep in mind that the crowd that was there - which was 7,000 or so below the stadium record - was helped by a discount sale. And that App was honoring a once-in-lifetime HOF class and had a perfect weather day. Oh, and it was the season opener. Obviously Howard wasn't a draw, but let's not act like these were adverse circumstances.

I know there are people who post with a pro-expansion agenda. Obviously I'm not one of them. But if I were, I'd probably at least wait until we, you know, actually sold out a game - preferably without having to offer bargain-basement discounts - before using it as evidence for expansion.

[NewApp]

It was a nice crowd. Certainly better than any I saw last year. But there was no point at which there weren't wide swaths of aluminum visible on the east side. Nor was there any point where the lawn seating was remotely close to what it was in 2007.

Keep in mind that the crowd that was there - which was 7,000 or so below the stadium record - was helped by a discount sale. And that App was honoring a once-in-lifetime HOF class and had a perfect weather day. Oh, and it was the season opener. Obviously Howard wasn't a draw, but let's not act like these were adverse circumstances.

I know there are people who post with a pro-expansion agenda. Obviously I'm not one of them. But if I were, I'd probably at least wait until we, you know, actually sold out a game - preferably without having to offer bargain-basement discounts - before using it as evidence for expansion.

POST OF THE YEAR.
Let's at least sell out Homecoming well in advance without virtually giving away tickets before we even mention expansion again. Good grief we exceeded capacity for little Wofford. Surely we can have SRO for a flagship university on Homecoming Weekend. That's not asking too much.
We proved we are a winner by our streak ending 2014.

[moehler]

one thing that bothers me about the expansion conversation, is people, pro expansion, like myself, aren't saying it should happen tomorrow, or we should go into major debt to fund it. Instead what we are saying is, start the planning now, raise the money over a 3 or 4 year period, and build it the right way. The facts are in 3 or 4 years we will have one of the smallest stadiums in the entire FBS, if we want to become a national recognized program such as Boise State, we must consistently recruit 3 star and sometime 4 star recruits. News flash, these kids aren't going to play for an outdated, 22 thousand seat stadium, sorry folks, not going to happen on a consistent basis. The bottom line is we are now FBS, like it or not, we need to grow if we want to compete on the national level. Never saying we will win a national championship, but we are never going to be more than a regional school if we are afraid to take some calculated risks to grow the program.

[EastHallApp]

one thing that bothers me about the expansion conversation, is people, pro expansion, like myself, aren't saying it should happen tomorrow, or we should go into major debt to fund it. Instead what we are saying is, start the planning now, raise the money over a 3 or 4 year period, and build it the right way.

The first post of the thread said "Time to expand." Maybe that was meant to be interpreted as "Time to start the preliminary planning process for expansion," I don't know.

I'm all for having a master plan. I'm even in favor of stadium enhancements in areas other than expanding seating. I just don't think we should begin a major seating expansion until we have enough people to actually buy tickets for those seats.

[Yosef10]

For the past 4 years we have shown no signs of the need to expand I. Anyway whatsoever. We didn't even have a sellout yesterday and you people are talking about expanding. Then you wanna talk about expanding IF we sell out ONE HOMECOMING game. That's ridiculous. Yeah it's fine to have a plan, I would hope a competent Athletic Department staff would have a plan in mind. As much as I wish we were filling the stadium to need an expansion, we don't.

[hapapp]

For the past 4 years we have shown no signs of the need to expand I. Anyway whatsoever. We didn't even have a sellout yesterday and you people are talking about expanding. Then you wanna talk about expanding IF we sell out ONE HOMECOMING game. That's ridiculous. Yeah it's fine to have a plan, I would hope a competent Athletic Department staff would have a plan in mind. As much as I wish we were filling the stadium to need an expansion, we don't.

Technically, 24,000+ is above capacity. However, obviously there were plenty of available seats because so many folks took to the bank. It does seem that it makes sense to begin planning for that time when we may need to expand but clearly we haven't reached that point yet.

[Appftw]

As much as I hate to agree with the Gonz, we have sold more tickets than we have seats for the past 55 OF 59 GAMES. Think about that statistic for a second. The need is clearly there. To say we have "no reason" to expand is beyond tone deaf.

[Yosef10]

As much as I hate to agree with the Gonz, we have sold more tickets than we have seats for the past 55 OF 59 GAMES. Think about that statistic for a second. The need is clearly there. To say we have "no reason" to expand is beyond tone deaf.

Have you actually looked at the stands lately? If so and you are still saying this you might need to take a trip to the eye doc

[NewApp]

For the past 4 years we have shown no signs of the need to expand I. Anyway whatsoever. We didn't even have a sellout yesterday and you people are talking about expanding. Then you wanna talk about expanding IF we sell out ONE HOMECOMING game. That's ridiculous. Yeah it's fine to have a plan, I would hope a competent Athletic Department staff would have a plan in mind. As much as I wish we were filling the stadium to need an expansion, we don't.

Technically, 24,000+ is above capacity. However, obviously there were plenty of available seats because so many folks took to the bank. It does seem that it makes sense to begin planning for that time when we may need to expand but clearly we haven't reached that point yet.

I don't recall hundreds or thousands of people leaving their seats in the East Stands and going to the bank before. Of course the bank has been buttski to buttski many times in the past.

[Appftw]

As much as I hate to agree with the Gonz, we have sold more tickets than we have seats for the past 55 OF 59 GAMES. Think about that statistic for a second. The need is clearly there. To say we have "no reason" to expand is beyond tone deaf.

Have you actually looked at the stands lately? If so and you are still saying this you might need to take a trip to the eye doc

So you're saying that a mere eyeball test should trump hard numbers of tickets sold? Not sure how that makes any sense.

Clearly, there are some season ticket holders who are forgoing a trip to Boone in favor of watching the game on TV. I think expansion would be just the thing to inject even more excitement into everyday fans (i.e. not those who can afford suites or club seating). The biggest thing holding back our alumni base from donating up to their potential is the stigma that we don't play "big boy football". Like it or not, it exists, but we can start to change that and send a powerful signal by announcing expansion plans for 2018 or so.

[EastHallApp]

As much as I hate to agree with the Gonz, we have sold more tickets than we have seats for the past 55 OF 59 GAMES. Think about that statistic for a second. The need is clearly there. To say we have "no reason" to expand is beyond tone deaf.

Have you actually looked at the stands lately? If so and you are still saying this you might need to take a trip to the eye doc

So you're saying that a mere eyeball test should trump hard numbers of tickets sold? Not sure how that makes any sense.

Clearly, there are some season ticket holders who are forgoing a trip to Boone in favor of watching the game on TV. I think expansion would be just the thing to inject even more excitement into everyday fans (i.e. not those who can afford suites or club seating). The biggest thing holding back our alumni base from donating up to their potential is the stigma that we don't play "big boy football". Like it or not, it exists, but we can start to change that and send a powerful signal by announcing expansion plans for 2018 or so.

I would say yes, the eyeball test is pretty convincing when you can look and see thousands of empty seats every single home game.

But if that doesn't convince you, go look at tickets available on the website - there are well over 2,000 reserved seats remaining for Homecoming, and that doesn't include the student sections, the lawn or the temporary risers.

Or look at the fact that App is introducing deep discount offers in the last week or two before a game. That doesn't happen if it's anywhere close to a sellout.

Any fan who wants to buy a ticket has ample opportunity to do so now, for any game on the schedule, right up until kickoff.

Now, to your point about a non-"big boy" stigma stopping fans from donating - maybe that's true, but what's your basis for that statement? If App actually has any data to back up that claim, and to support the idea that stadium expansion would drive donations and support for the program, then that would at least be a rationale to support expansion. But only if there's real evidence to support it.

[AppinVA]

I have no way of backing it up with a link to anything substantial, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we haven't seen the last of the 30,000 seat threshold for the top division. We need a long-term plan to address that need, and a short-term one, just in case things get out of hand at a meeting -- like they did in 1981.

[NewApp]

As much as I hate to agree with the Gonz, we have sold more tickets than we have seats for the past 55 OF 59 GAMES. Think about that statistic for a second. The need is clearly there. To say we have "no reason" to expand is beyond tone deaf.

Have you actually looked at the stands lately? If so and you are still saying this you might need to take a trip to the eye doc

So you're saying that a mere eyeball test should trump hard numbers of tickets sold? Not sure how that makes any sense.

Clearly, there are some season ticket holders who are forgoing a trip to Boone in favor of watching the game on TV. I think expansion would be just the thing to inject even more excitement into everyday fans (i.e. not those who can afford suites or club seating). The biggest thing holding back our alumni base from donating up to their potential is the stigma that we don't play "big boy football". Like it or not, it exists, but we can start to change that and send a powerful signal by announcing expansion plans for 2018 or so.

I thought the move to FBS was moving to 'big boy football." At least that was what we were sold on for leaving the SoCon and I-AA FCS.