Elasticity of Demand

[tmhunter52]

Winning team - watch in person. Losing team - watch on TV.

Losing team - watch until you can’t take it anymore - go outside and do yard work

 

[LargeFO]

The upper north was and is a complete waste.

 

[g0lftime]

They already do this to some extent. Tickets for FCS opponents are usually $25-$35. Tickets for lower draw ACC opponents are around $40. Tickets for higher draw ACC opponents are $60-70. Tickets for Clemson and the mutts are around or over $100. The cheap ticket games are never sold out, and the expensive ticket games are at least very near capacity. (albeit with the other fans)

Marketing people can do surveys and try to figure out where the maximum revenue point is. I think it is more important at this point to work on the product than the pricing. The team isn't good, so the football product isn't enjoyable. The gameday production isn't very good. At the ND game, it was extremely well produced, and there was enough going on such that if a person was in attendance and didn't care anything about football, they could still be entertained. At GT, the video quality isn't very good, the PA announcing/music and interaction with the band seems haphazard. If GT wants to build a fan base with very cheap/free tickets as @bobongo stated, there needs to be more reason to be at the game than only football. They installed the LED lights in 2020, but I don't remember them being used to great effect as of yet. Improve video replays. Make a professional production out of the video board and PA system. Get some one the way up musicians to play a short show after some night games and utilize the stadium LED lights as part of that show. Football definitely needs to be improved, but so does the gameday operations.

I go to AAA minor league baseball with season tickets. I can park next to the stadium. Lots of good concessions and beer. There is always some sort of attraction on the field during inning changes with prizes etc. It is attended by groups, some who only come for one game a year but it is good entertainment. Churches birthdays corporate outings etc are targeted groups. They have made it more than just a baseball game and very well attended.

 

[Randy Carson]

^This.

 

[MikeGT]

I love football on TV but disagree that football on TV is better than in person. To me there is nothing better than being a BDS on beautiful fall day watching a game. Of course it helps when there is a decent crowd in the stands. Last year that was not the case.

Football at home is more comfortable. But the atmosphere of a closely contested football game can't be beat. (in public )

 

[CLHarperJackt]

Some Thoughts:

The Price of the ticket isn’t the only factor (and in my case a miniscule one) in choosing not to attend games in person at Bobby Dodd.

Some other factors are:

1) The exacerbated length of the games due to all of the commercial timeouts. ( This factor also diminishes the accessibly and enjoyability of viewing college football period.) Suggestion to address this issue is to reduce the number and time for commercial timeouts and move to premium prices for commercial time instead.

2) Bobby Dodd is an extremely uncomfortable stadium; especially in the mid-day sun. Suggestion: at least install seat backs and some type of awning.

3) The transfer portal/free agency has come to college football. Free agency and “One and Done” lessens a community’s connection and emotional investment in the players, since it makes plain to the most causal observer that most players today are simply rented/hired guns with little to no connection and emotional investment in the community. Unfettered free markets for players begets unfettered free market consumers of the game: tradition, loyalty and emotional connection for team be damned all around.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I agree with you post except for the top of the upper deck part. That's my favorite seat in the house, up top. Your field of view is the whole field.

Agree. I always sit in the upper deck. Being able to see the offensive line splits and the spacing is the best part of the game. I once sat on the 3rd Ron behind our bench. It was cool for about 15 minutes see8ngnup close and hearing the sideline but I quickly moved back up top to actually watch the game.

 

[Towaliga]

The upper north was and is a complete waste.

As an occupant of the waste land, I can tell you that when the TO was clicking, the upper north provided some of the best views in the stadium for watching plays develop. Of course, these days it’s a great location for getting out early and getting to the car when the game gets out of hand. (I kid, I would never leave a game early).

 

[takethepoints]

I don't think GT has enough fans to fill a 55K stadium and likely hasn't for generations. Building it to 55K was likely a financial mistake.

College football attendance continues to decline with no suggestion that it is likely to change anytime soon (most conferences are back to attendance levels of the late 1990's or early 2000's). College football continues to do well on TV but is likely to continue to struggle with in-person attendance especially with fewer students also attending nationwide.

Yes, and it is too bad. There is such a dramatic difference between attending a game and watching it on TV; it is like night and day to me. But I'm not the generation that could fill the seats in the future. That's why I think we had better turn the program around and right fast too. If a generation both in and out of Tech gets to where they doubt they'll see a win if they go to the games, then they simply won't come. It used to be - and not so long ago - that there were limited CF choices on TV. Not now. Why go to a game to see your team lose when you can watch a game with national repercussions without moving any muscles but the ones int you forefingers?

We had best hope that something is done about winning at Tech and soon. All the ATL hype i8n the world won't solve the problem.

 

[roadkill]

When I took the recent fan experience survey, I could see some of the logic with respect to stadium improvements. Most improvements have the side effect of reducing capacity. So, improve fan experience while simultaneously using up some of the excess capacity, as well as justifying premium seat (higher) ticket pricing. Win-win-win. Now we just need to, you know, win some games too.

 

[CEB]

I think the way the game is conducting is hurting college football. By that I mean, how long a game takes to play. The number and length of commercials is beyond distracting when you are at a game. Seeing the sideline TV timeout man hold up the electronic sign with 3 minutes plus multiple times is annoying. When you are at home, you just turn to another game and avoid the commercials. I realize the freight ESPN pays to these conferences and they are paying for it with commercials. But it really has become a serious issue for people attending games.

I’d like this post twice if I could. It’s not unique to football, either. The “made for TV” sports approach is killing the fan experience. Of course we know the money is in the TV, but this is a really big reason why attendance is struggling.

 

[rhino gold]

Arthur Blank provided the model when he bought the Falcons. He sold the upper deck season tickets for $5.00 per game. I'm from South Georgia. I couldn't afford NOT to buy them. Bought four. He slowly raised the prices as their fortunes turned.
My point, lower the prices, the fans will come. A little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing!

 

[Randy Carson]

^So. Totally. This.

Food trucks, fireworks, facepainting, family fun. Oh, and there is a football game, too. Five Bucks.

The whole city of Atlanta should know that Bobby Dodd is a fun place to be on Saturday afternoons.

 

[TechBurn]

I enjoy the West upper deck, also,,, Good view & great panorama of D.T. Atlanta, when things go sour on the field! There is a GA yardbird that posts some derogatory comments on a building near the center of ATL on occasion!

 

[AUFC]

Beer sales have made football games more tolerable. Now I have a beer or 2 before the game to get a buzz on with the beautiful backdrop of Tech Green or the old campus and then a few more in the stadium to sustain it over the next 3 hours. I always hated binging before entering the gates and yawning through the whole 2nd quarter.

Also I'm an upper west lifer at this point. What a magical place to watch a football game, especially with the lights on. Just would be nice if you could get a sunset view from there as well. The energy up there is poor too, just feels way more disconnected than the lower west which I suppose is to be expected.

 

[GTRhino24]

Put in stadium seats so I’m not sitting elbow to elbow with a stranger and neither are my kids. Cup holders. Some personal space so I don’t feel the need to get air any chance I get. The thought of sitting in 98 degrees with no air gap between me and a bunch of people gives me anxiety.

 

[Root4GT]

1. Have to have a better product on the field.
2. Figure out what you want to be as a gameday experience. I feel like the experience is sort of all over the map right now. How glitzy do you want to be, how focused on college traditions. etc.
3. Shorten the game. College football is currently the longest sport in the US. Avg game is 3 hr 28 min. NFL and MLB are both about 20 min less. NBA more than an hour less. MLS is also more than an hour less.

Three items have largely contributed to the lengthening of the college game. Increased number of advertisements, increased number of reviews, and the proliferation of passing offenses. All have lengthened the amount of time required to finish a game.
I'd say there is almost no chance for the first one to decrease as the AA's are drunk on TV money and it continues to become a larger percentage of the revenue generated by AA's, so if anything I expect it to increase.

The number of reviews (outside of targeting which are sort of untouchable due to athlete safety) could be reduced. Maybe go to more of an NFL system where you have a limited number of reviews you can use in a game.

May have to think about either shortening the time between plays to 30-35 seconds (though that could potentially backfire if it leads to more delay of game penalties) or allowing the clock to run after an incomplete pass.

Don’t stop the clock after first downs. That adds several minutes every game.

 

[DavidStandingBear]

I would give away tickets to fill it up. Concessions and a full house. If you’ve ever sat in the top of the upper deck, you’ll know why no one wants to sit there. Once, never again.

Football at home is more comfortable. But the atmosphere of a closely contested football game can't be beat. (in public )

Like in a sports bar?

 

[DavidStandingBear]

Hmmm how about a theater analogy - a struggling business I assume.

How does a theater make money? Last night at a theatre I bought a $14 small can of wine. Yes I am ashamed !

But the movie sucked, 'the batman' I doubt I'll go to a theater again any time soon. I can watch better stuff on Netflix.

70" TVs with friends and even sports bars have made an impact

BTW I love the Institute and am a proud graduate

How about we have a go fund me to recruit certain players via NIL?

 

[MikeGT]

Like in a sports bar?

I want to assume this is a joke... but in case it's not.... No, being at the stadium is where you get the energy and excitement of the crowd when you're winning or in a close game. Sports bars can be ok too if you can't make it to the real thing, or don't want/can't afford to spend the money.