That can be accounted for by positioning stadium seating properly, if they really wanted to try. In addition it is possible to install bleachers with backs to placate those resistant to change or over 6'5". SMU has similar. Columbus Crew too.
Disappointing attendance total
- Thread starter Babe the Blue Ox
- Start date
Yep and I’d be fine with those. Just meant the ones specifically at TU. The seat backs at Drillers, BOK, and the MLB stadiums I’ve been too I have no problem with the leg room.
TU crammed them into the existing rows instead of adjusting the foot room with the larger seat bottom.
Eh.. people in my section kept checking their watches to make sure they didn't miss the Gooner game.
Most depressing was watching the east side become a ghost town the closer we got to 6 pm.
We need consistent winning. Every time we get momentum with a couple of big seasons we
ourselves.
Big scores. Gaudy stats. Highlight moments that can't be ignored.
And what was up with the guy getting honored on our field wearing a k-state shirt?
Most depressing was watching the east side become a ghost town the closer we got to 6 pm.
We need consistent winning. Every time we get momentum with a couple of big seasons we
ourselves.Big scores. Gaudy stats. Highlight moments that can't be ignored.
And what was up with the guy getting honored on our field wearing a k-state shirt?
Hire a hockey promoter. I bought tickets to the Arizona Coyotes when my son was in a baseball tournament over New Years. They won't stop calling me. Making deals on suites, season packages, holiday specials .. etc..
That's because they're flat ass broke and the least competitive hockey team in the NHL. Serves em right for moving the team from Winnipeg to a friggin desert. Can't wait for the NHL to stop subsidizing that team and let em dissolve.
To the drillers point... I agree and disagree. Yes, they have some awesome promotions and the fireworks are always great (something I think we should do after night games). However, most of the games I go see are definitely not sold out and not even halfway full. Neither are any of our other semi pro sports. The only athletic events that regular draw buzz are big hs matchups.
It's hard to tell what draws fans to TU games. Last year our highest attended game was an afternoon kickoff against Tulane.
In 2015 we had more people come out to watch our evening game against LA Monroe than we did when we played a morning game against Houston (who finished the season in the top 10).
So is it quality of opponent? Kickoff time? None of the above?
In 2015 we had more people come out to watch our evening game against LA Monroe than we did when we played a morning game against Houston (who finished the season in the top 10).
So is it quality of opponent? Kickoff time? None of the above?
TU has called me several times including to push the 'any game' ticket booklets. They have tried fireworks. They are trying something new this year called Captain Cane's kids club.
I would enjoy more comfortable seats too, but doubt that is going to bring several thousand extra fans. Still it should be done if only to respect the current fans.
A top 25 team would make a difference, get people's attention. It has been far too long since we have had one despite other successes. This applies to basketball too.
Doesn't help that the area around TU sucks....zero restaurants or bars to go to before the game. If you don't know somebody or have a lot of money to have a decent spot to tailgate then you feel like an outsider on our campus on game day just like SMU where they also have horrible attendance. Also you lose most people at half because you can no longer leave and comeback. Few have an invested interest in the university so they feel like they got their money worth staying just til half, give the fans something to stick around for til after the game bc to a lot of them the result doesn't matter. Hell just give away 10k dollars at the end of the game to a fan as long as they are present they can win.
You make a good point. Lots of teams out there are creating "arena districts" to keep fans around before and after games and foment an environment of "destination" rather than the event itself. I'd like to see TU do a 50/50 draw each game, where half the money is given away in the 4th quarter to keep onlookers around and the other half used to finance either facilities improvements, or investing in drawing other merchants, restaurants, whatever to enhance game-day environment.
Marketing and the athletic department has been absolutely busting their tails.
Saw pics last week where football did a Football 101 program for international students. Really cool idea to work with the student body we have.
A blowout loss at OSU hurts with the casual fans.
What bothers me is not the total attendance but the empty seats on the East side at the 40-50 yard line. I still don't understand why TU doesn't move the students one section over - that would improve the overall look. The section between the chairbacks and the students almost never fills up.
Attendance on the West side is 3 times the East side - it's about the sun. TU has simply got to lower the chairback prices on the West side and refuse to sell the next sections until the middle of the stadium is full. How hard is that.
What bothers me is not the total attendance but the empty seats on the East side at the 40-50 yard line. I still don't understand why TU doesn't move the students one section over - that would improve the overall look. The section between the chairbacks and the students almost never fills up.
Attendance on the West side is 3 times the East side - it's about the sun. TU has simply got to lower the chairback prices on the West side and refuse to sell the next sections until the middle of the stadium is full. How hard is that.
A bar/entertainment district right next to the stadium is the closest thing to a good answer as I've seen. How you do that, I don't know
That's not a bad idea actually. Don't open up outer sections until the middle is full. I know they want to charge more for the chairback sections BUT if you can't fill them because of that and the look is bad, then do something differently.
It is changing. It's not going to be directly across the street nor anywhere else directly adjacent to campus because there's simply no where to put it. Go just a tad west on 11th street and the Campbell Hotel and it's bar, there's a coffee place down that way along with the new Route 66 Fuel Stop food truck area. TU has brought the trendy craft beers and wine to campus and even inside the stadium.
They've addressed everything they can. Ticket prices are low. We have an energetic dynamic coach and one of the most prolific offenses in the country- product is good. Stadium and atmosphere are fine and getting better every year. This year's home schedule is as good of one as I have ever seen at TU since I've been going to games in '92. I don't want to hear about parking because the people complaining about the free parking 4-5 blocks away are the same ones that would go to Norman and pay $20 to park a mile away without a shuttle. Face it, a lot of Tulsans are just lame
Marshall's Brewery opening up between 11th and 15th, and the restaurant strip across the street from it will foment more businesses coming in. Like, I said, patience Daniel son.
IMO continuing to improve the tailgate atmosphere is a lot more important (and realistic) than an "entertainment district".
Get rid of alumni specific stuff, just a For Our City beer garden, bands, food trucks, games.
Get rid of alumni specific stuff, just a For Our City beer garden, bands, food trucks, games.
Campbell Bar charged 9.50 for a bottle of Marshall's. Craptastic service. They're only open since they're subsidized by a hotel.
/end tangent
/end tangent
Completely agree - we want to welcome EVERYONE. While it's obviously important to recognize alumni, TU needs to show they are also committed to regular Tulsans who want to experience a TU game.
Don't even get me started on that place. Awful service, overpriced, and lame. I gave it plenty of chances to be good, but it's disappointing every freakin time. Hell, the Buc is much more enjoyable than the Campbell restaurant.
I think you guys are referring to two different things. The Campbell bar is different than Maxwells. Not that it matters much.
Maxwell's also terrible. But cheap unlike the bar and I feel sorry for the wait staff who actually try and are nice but undoubtedly make zero money because of the aforementioned cheapness and therefore have constant turnover. But also subsidized by a hotel.
That is an even worse place pregame since your breakfast for a family of 4 will run at least 90 minutes with no wait
That is an even worse place pregame since your breakfast for a family of 4 will run at least 90 minutes with no wait
They could put a nice brookside / cherry street strip there with some nice bars / eateries / shops. That would be preferable to what looks like a biker bar, a laundromat, a record store and a low level restauran that all look like they're from 1977 and none of the students tend to go to.
He owns the whole strip mall, won't sell it for anything less than a fortune, and puts in things that suit his mentality. Has no creative entrepreneurial sense, and won't improve the face of the businesses there. He has a crappy laundromat, a head shop, etc. The only thing he has allowed there, moved to a better space once it got hopping.(Burn Co.)
When my son started at TU a few years ago, they were told in orientation that TU had a plan to substantially grow the campus & the enrollment. Has that plan changed?
No that's been the plan for several years. It was Stead's vision... he wanted to get to the 8-10k student range. Unfortunately, TU is having trouble keeping enrollment steady at 4K at the moment though.
I don't think that jives with the mission statement of the university. Their goal is to become a top 50 private university with small class enrollments so students enjoy a more personalized experience with their professors. I will say this was one of the reasons I loved TU so much went I went through it. It's actually quite impressive that TU remains competitive with other universities in its athletic endeavors when you consider how small the student body is.
They want and need to grow enrollment, particularly for unsubsidized students. Ideally this would be done maintaining admission standards. It is crucial for the budget.
But when they show up, everyone else leaves.. gentrification begins. Next thing you know an artisan vegan restaurant opens and a craft brewery making chokeberry cola.
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As an alumni, I had zero desire to watch from my living room let alone spend money on a ticket to see a horrible Louisiana team play against a Tulsa team that got the socks blown off of them the week before. Call them fair weather fans or whatever you want but the product I saw on the field the first week just doesn't inspire the typical die hard Oklahoma football connoisseur to go to a TU game especially when in comparison, you have two other teams in Oklahoma that are putting a quality product on the field. Advice to the AD.......stop scheduling home games with teams that suck! Even if you don't win, at least you will make a profit.
It's somewhat of a catch 22 though. If TU played their first game against an FCS team and won, would attendance for ULL have been any better? And that's a rhetorical question, because I don't know the answer to it. Watching them get spanked by OSU wasn't a thrill for me either, but at least they played a solid opponent in week 1. It might have improved attendance if they played a solid opponent at home instead of ULL, which speaks to your point which is inarguable and I happen to agree with. We only have 1 or 2 out of conference games that can be home games on the schedule. I guess sunbelt, MWC and MAC teams are the very best we can get to visit us? No P5 teams will come here anymore.
You, of all people (as a former TU football player), should know that scheduling better competition isn't that easy, especially for TU.
Of course we'd all love to see us get 1-1 deals with "name" teams, but finding those types of teams that'll come here is just not as easy as asking them to come. There are many factors working against us, a large factor being the small stadium size, the next large factor is that said "name" team may get their ass kicked by TU and they certainly don't want to do a 1-1 and go 0-2.
There is nearly ZERO city pride in Tulsa. Look around at other similar cities - Wichita for example, people there support their local sports because they are proud to be from Wichita. Of course, the probably follow KU and K State too, but they don't act like WSU is below them.
People in Tulsa would rather pay $50 to sit at home and watch OU pound Tulane by 50 points on ppv, than spend $15 for a ticket to see TU play a conference game. So yes, that's a fair weather fan and as an alum, I wouldn't be proud to tell anyone that I purposely chose not to watch the game because the opponent scheduled wasn't a home and home with a top 25 team. That's bs and you know it.
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I'm hoping that response was influenced by something like loyalty for Blankenship, if not my respect just took a hit.
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