Howard Attendance

[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

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.

Yes, I am saying a "mere" eyeball test should trump "hard", inflated, nonreal numbers. Obviously your model is build it and they will come, which doesn't work anywhere besides the cornfields of Iowa. I'd like for App to be a sustainable business model going forward and spending 10's of millions of dollars on more seats when we can't even fill the ones we have. And no the bank being "full" (which wasn't actually full) isn't a sign for expansion. its fine to have a plan, and I think competent ADs would have one just in case, but we're in no spot to be breaking ground

[JTApps1]

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.

The SoCon is basically Pee-Wee football these days so in comparison we are in big boy football. Are we at the very top of college football? No, but we're higher up than we were 2 years ago. If anyone can't tell the difference then they don't really understand college athletics or pay close enough attention.

[Gonzo]

Last Saturday vs Howard passed both an eyeball test and an evaluation of the ticket sales numbers test.

We sold more tickets than we had seats to HOWARD on a HOLIDAY WEEKEND. This isn't the Roxbury where having a big line in front of the club gives you a "cool" appeal. Emilio Estevez, the Mighty Duck Guy, I swear to God!

[APPARJ]

Last Saturday vs Howard passed both an eyeball test and an evaluation of the ticket sales numbers test.

According to who? Based on and compared to what? Here's a fact, ticket sales, individual and season, are down this year.

[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.

Yes, I am saying a "mere" eyeball test should trump "hard", inflated, nonreal numbers. Obviously your model is build it and they will come, which doesn't work anywhere besides the cornfields of Iowa. I'd like for App to be a sustainable business model going forward and spending 10's of millions of dollars on more seats when we can't even fill the ones we have. And no the bank being "full" (which wasn't actually full) isn't a sign for expansion. its fine to have a plan, and I think competent ADs would have one just in case, but we're in no spot to be breaking ground

How are these non-real numbers? I repeat that 55 of 59 of the last games have been standing-room only as far as ticket sales (whether people sit in seats or the hill is irrelevant). I don't buy into the conspiracy theory that our athletic admin inflates our attendance numbers, sorry. What brand of tin-foil do you use for your special hats?

[NewApp]

$37.00 a ticket, plus handling fee, discourages some with families, especially when you add in motel and restaurant costs. The motels raise charges when there is a home game in Boone.

[EastHallApp]

The "more tickets than seats" line is, frankly, meaningless. KBS' actual capacity is several thousand above the permanent seat count, as it has been for years.

So let's say we expand by however many thousand seats to replace the temporary risers, and every single fan who was sitting there and on the hill now sits in the permanent seats (which they wouldn't, as some fans prefer to sit on the grass, but suspend your logic for a moment).

How exactly does that benefit App? We've spent untold millions of dollars to move around people who were already buying tickets. People who, if they wanted permanent seats, could select from among the many, many unsold ones RIGHT NOW.

[EastHallApp]

I repeat that 55 of 59 of the last games have been standing-room only as far as ticket sales (whether people sit in seats or the hill is irrelevant).

Then why do we need to build them seats when they are already choosing not to sit in them?

[EastHallApp]

Last Saturday vs Howard passed both an eyeball test and an evaluation of the ticket sales numbers test.

We sold more tickets than we had seats to HOWARD on a HOLIDAY WEEKEND. This isn't the Roxbury where having a big line in front of the club gives you a "cool" appeal. Emilio Estevez, the Mighty Duck Guy, I swear to God!

You've mentioned the Labor Day weekend point as a negative a couple times. Not sure I follow. It's the last big tourism weekend of the summer for the mountains - shouldn't that be a golden opportunity to draw non-local fans to KBS?

[JTApps1]

$37.00 a ticket, plus handling fee, discourages some with families, especially when you add in motel and restaurant costs. The motels raise charges when there is a home game in Boone.

Ticket prices have barely gone up over the past 4 years. I seriously doubt $20 more for tickets is keeping any family away if they were willing to pay for all the other factors you mentioned. With gas prices being lower now a good bit of that ticket cost is off set. You act like prices doubled in two years.

[AppinVA]

Last Saturday vs Howard passed both an eyeball test and an evaluation of the ticket sales numbers test.

We sold more tickets than we had seats to HOWARD on a HOLIDAY WEEKEND. This isn't the Roxbury where having a big line in front of the club gives you a "cool" appeal. Emilio Estevez, the Mighty Duck Guy, I swear to God!

You've mentioned the Labor Day weekend point as a negative a couple times. Not sure I follow. It's the last big tourism weekend of the summer for the mountains - shouldn't that be a golden opportunity to draw non-local fans to KBS?

For students it's a three or four day weekend, and for freshmen, the first chance to no longer take a home-cooked meal for granted.

For us fogies, I'm not sure why it's a deterrent.

[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

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.

Yes, I am saying a "mere" eyeball test should trump "hard", inflated, nonreal numbers. Obviously your model is build it and they will come, which doesn't work anywhere besides the cornfields of Iowa. I'd like for App to be a sustainable business model going forward and spending 10's of millions of dollars on more seats when we can't even fill the ones we have. And no the bank being "full" (which wasn't actually full) isn't a sign for expansion. its fine to have a plan, and I think competent ADs would have one just in case, but we're in no spot to be breaking ground

How are these non-real numbers? I repeat that 55 of 59 of the last games have been standing-room only as far as ticket sales (whether people sit in seats or the hill is irrelevant). I don't buy into the conspiracy theory that our athletic admin inflates our attendance numbers, sorry. What brand of tin-foil do you use for your special hats?

LOOOOOLLLLLL. You are kidding....right? Every single athletic dept in the country inflates their attendance numbers, maybe you're not the right guy to be commenting on this topic if you are not aware of that pal. If you think 55 out of the last 59 games have been standing room only you must not be paying attention. And that has nothing to do with people sitting on the hill. Our attendance this weekend was pretty good but not even close to a reference point for an expansion. Or any talk of an expansion

[EastHallApp]

Last Saturday vs Howard passed both an eyeball test and an evaluation of the ticket sales numbers test.

We sold more tickets than we had seats to HOWARD on a HOLIDAY WEEKEND. This isn't the Roxbury where having a big line in front of the club gives you a "cool" appeal. Emilio Estevez, the Mighty Duck Guy, I swear to God!

You've mentioned the Labor Day weekend point as a negative a couple times. Not sure I follow. It's the last big tourism weekend of the summer for the mountains - shouldn't that be a golden opportunity to draw non-local fans to KBS?

For students it's a three or four day weekend, and for freshmen, the first chance to no longer take a home-cooked meal for granted.

For us fogies, I'm not sure why it's a deterrent.

I know some students leave town, but student turnout appeared to be great Saturday. And I would guess, though I don't know any specific numbers, that the number of people traveling to the High Country for the weekend is significantly greater than those traveling away from it.

[JTApps1]

Why are some of you so dead set against talking about expansion? When Gillin took the job he said there would be a comprehensive study done on how to enhance and expand KBS. So we know expansion will come at some point. What we don't know is how much we owe on the previous expansion in which we spent way more money than we should have (thanks Cobb), and what factors Gillin will use to determine the appropriate time to start expansion.

To me the best course of action is to get our plan together, and start a fund raising campaign asap. We may not need the seats at this moment, but there will be a time that we do. We also know the track needs to be moved first. Saying we need to wait until X goal is met really binds us. People need to see a vision of what the future of KBS will be if we want to get donations coming in. Last time we built started building seats before we had money raised because we had nowhere to put fans for each game. It would be a mistake to wait that long again.

[JTApps1]

LOOOOOLLLLLL. You are kidding....right? Every single athletic dept in the country inflates their attendance numbers, maybe you're not the right guy to be commenting on this topic if you are not aware of that pal. If you think 55 out of the last 59 games have been standing room only you must not be paying attention. And that has nothing to do with people sitting on the hill. Our attendance this weekend was pretty good but not even close to a reference point for an expansion. Or any talk of an expansion

We post sales not butts in the seat so in that regard we do not inflate. For us and most programs that isn't a big deal as the majority of our ticket purchasers show up. For a program like UAB who had the local Pepsi distributor buying thousands of tickets (in place of their donation) to meet the 15,000 mark there could be some questions about ethical practices.

[Yosef10]

LOOOOOLLLLLL. You are kidding....right? Every single athletic dept in the country inflates their attendance numbers, maybe you're not the right guy to be commenting on this topic if you are not aware of that pal. If you think 55 out of the last 59 games have been standing room only you must not be paying attention. And that has nothing to do with people sitting on the hill. Our attendance this weekend was pretty good but not even close to a reference point for an expansion. Or any talk of an expansion

We post sales not butts in the seat so in that regard we do not inflate. For us and most programs that isn't a big deal as the majority of our ticket purchasers show up. For a program like UAB who had the local Pepsi distributor buying thousands of tickets (in place of their donation) to meet the 15,000 mark there could be some questions about ethical practices.

We also post tickets we give away FOR FREE to charities and any other organizations. I worked in an athletic department, I know how these things work guys, I promise

[Appftw]

My problem with your logic is that you're basing it largely on the last two years of attendance which has been the most anomalous stretch of App football in 20 years. If you take a more long-term view of our historical success and the trajectory of our program it's not outlandish. When we start winning again you won't have a leg to stand on. "LOL"

[Yosef10]

My problem with your logic is that you're basing it largely on the last two years of attendance which has been the most anomalous stretch of App football in 20 years. If you take a more long-term view of our historical success and the trajectory of our program it's not outlandish. When we start winning again you won't have a leg to stand on. "LOL"

And my problem with your "logic" is that you assume we are going to see the attendance like we did from 05-09, you can't assume those things and when you do that's when major mistakes are made. It's a simple business model. You act like not winning was the ONLY factor in determining the drop in attendance, when several other factors come into play. Don't get me wrong, I hope I don't have a leg to stand on but at this point I have 2 very sturdy legs I'm standing on.

[Appftw]

My problem with your logic is that you're basing it largely on the last two years of attendance which has been the most anomalous stretch of App football in 20 years. If you take a more long-term view of our historical success and the trajectory of our program it's not outlandish. When we start winning again you won't have a leg to stand on. "LOL"

And my problem with your "logic" is that you assume we are going to see the attendance like we did from 05-09, you can't assume those things and when you do that's when major mistakes are made. It's a simple business model. You act like not winning was the ONLY factor in determining the drop in attendance, when several other factors come into play. Don't get me wrong, I hope I don't have a leg to stand on but at this point I have 2 very sturdy legs I'm standing on.

We went 4-8 and our avg. attendance dropped 3k. Stop the ship! Reverse Course!

Sorry buddy, but the expansion plans have been on the table for years already. It's gonna happen. It's actually already a line item in the budget for 2019.

[Yosef10]

My problem with your logic is that you're basing it largely on the last two years of attendance which has been the most anomalous stretch of App football in 20 years. If you take a more long-term view of our historical success and the trajectory of our program it's not outlandish. When we start winning again you won't have a leg to stand on. "LOL"

And my problem with your "logic" is that you assume we are going to see the attendance like we did from 05-09, you can't assume those things and when you do that's when major mistakes are made. It's a simple business model. You act like not winning was the ONLY factor in determining the drop in attendance, when several other factors come into play. Don't get me wrong, I hope I don't have a leg to stand on but at this point I have 2 very sturdy legs I'm standing on.

We went 4-8 and our avg. attendance dropped 3k. Stop the ship! Reverse Course!

Sorry buddy, but the expansion plans have been on the table for years already. It's gonna happen. It's actually already a line item in the budget for 2019.

Yeah you're not breaking any news. 4 years out we hopefully will be ready to expand. At this point, after one game of decent attendance, we are not. I'm fine with expanding, it's just not needed at this point, as I have been saying, buddy. Oh and we have no money to do this right now, kind of a big deal, no?