Sellouts since the Bobby Dodd Stadium expansion (2003)

[jeffgt14]

Attendance for ALL sporting events is down overall. Too easy to sit at home and watch games on HD on your big flat screen with friends than battle traffic, fight for parking, pay a lot of money to attend, eat, drink, and do it all over again on your way out.

It's not just GT that's having problems, I believe UGA is starting to see their attendance erode as well outside of national profile games.

Here's the answer. Everything else is just a fake excuse.

 

[ClydeBrick]

Yeah. Exactly. Whenever we talk about OCC games to increase attendance I always wonder if anyone else is concerned that we have to fill our stadium up with opposing fans to have good attendance. I am tired of the stadium looking all red for the uga game. I am sure I would get tired of it being all orange for Tennessee or all whatever for whatever team we schedule to bring in a boat load of opposing fans.

I remember being at a Notre Dame game years ago and I was surrounded by Notre Dame fans. I felt like I was in South Bend.

THIS.

It appears that the well attended games were ones where the opponent's fans would be the ones selling out Grant Field. Back in the quasi-SEC days in the 80's, Grant Field for GT-UT was white & orange, not White & Gold.

Think about this from the mind of a recruit: This is game day here? Either there are more opponent fans than Tech fans or a bunch of empty seats.

I remember all the jokes about making Grant Field smaller since we had such a poor program. I guess the 1990 success started us back to the capacity we have today. Having the capacity where it is now does make for some inexpensive tickets on Stubhub - especially in the years where UGAg fans buy a season ticket for the one game they are going to, but that probably happens with other factory-like schools too (see Clemson).

Bottom line, a sell out at a Tech home game is only impressive if it includes mostly Tech fans. Selling out a game by having 40% of the attendance be your opponents fans may put some $$ in the bank but it can make us look worse to outsiders (and recruits) than we actually are.

Full disclosure: Did not go to any games after my student days to my parent-of-a-student days. I only live 45 minutes away. That span of non-attendance included 1990, 1998 and 2009. Shameful, I know. This year my daughter is co-oping so she is not marching in the band so getting my wife enthusiastic about attending this year is a problem. Dammit.

I have to admit I love the gameday experience. Being back on campus, the band playing the fight songs, being among other fans, traditions, etc. Even without tailgating I have really enjoyed going back to the Flats. I do miss being able to watch 3-4 games on a Saturday. I would rather not spend the money (being a cheapskate). Traffic after a well attended game is awful, as is the sunburn and the heat. The excuses not to go can be legion but the excitement is still there when I go.

What will come first the chicken or the egg? Better attendance = better program or better program = better attendance? I don't know. I think that the wrong attendance (too many opponent's fans) can make our naturally skittish fan base more likely to stay home. As much fun as it is to see the dejected look on our opponent's fan's faces after a W, walking out of Grant Field after a loss seeing the opponent's smiles is worse - especially when there are so many of them.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Get your butt to some games Clyde....leave the wife at home

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

i don't think its OOC scheduling. All our sellouts and only 2 were OOC. I think its partly people have fallen off the paul wagon, and there is no premier talent like a CJ that is pulling in the periphery...

Lack of Wi-fi in the stadium, the HD bigscreen effect versus the view from the top of the north stands, the things you mentioned, and games like Wofford. What would substituting Tennessee and Florida last year for Elon and Alabama A & M done for attendance? I know, I know, we didnt schedule those two because we wanted to--other teams like Alabama reneged leaving us in a bind. But scheduling could improve. I have seen Penn State, Texas A & M, Notre Dame, Michigan State, etc on Grant Field. Of course we were independent at the time.

 

[Animal02]

Lack of Wi-fi in the stadium, the HD bigscreen effect versus the view from the top of the north stands, the things you mentioned, and games like Wofford. What would substituting Tennessee and Florida last year for Elon and Alabama A & M done for attendance? I know, I know, we didnt schedule those two because we wanted to--other teams like Alabama reneged leaving us in a bind. But scheduling could improve. I have seen Penn State, Texas A & M, Notre Dame, Michigan State, etc on Grant Field. Of course we were independent at the time.

Not to keep harping on the B10- but your post got me to looking things up. Didn't realize we had played MSU and PSu outside of the bowls and kickoff games.

We have never played Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, or Minnesota. Played once - Michigan, Iowa (Bowl), Purdue(Bowl) Nebraska (Bowl), Rutgers, 3 times -Mich State, 7 times PSU, and then there is MD.

Cool site for comparisons....http://www.winsipedia.com/

 

[GTonTop88]

We think weve had a bad off-season, USCw is goin in a downward spiral. First the Shaw lie and dismissal, now a senior RB quits and say because Sark is a racist.

 

[CTJacket]

THIS.

It appears that the well attended games were ones where the opponent's fans would be the ones selling out Grant Field. Back in the quasi-SEC days in the 80's, Grant Field for GT-UT was white & orange, not White & Gold.

Think about this from the mind of a recruit: This is game day here? Either there are more opponent fans than Tech fans or a bunch of empty seats.

I remember all the jokes about making Grant Field smaller since we had such a poor program. I guess the 1990 success started us back to the capacity we have today. Having the capacity where it is now does make for some inexpensive tickets on Stubhub - especially in the years where UGAg fans buy a season ticket for the one game they are going to, but that probably happens with other factory-like schools too (see Clemson).

Bottom line, a sell out at a Tech home game is only impressive if it includes mostly Tech fans. Selling out a game by having 40% of the attendance be your opponents fans may put some $$ in the bank but it can make us look worse to outsiders (and recruits) than we actually are.

Full disclosure: Did not go to any games after my student days to my parent-of-a-student days. I only live 45 minutes away. That span of non-attendance included 1990, 1998 and 2009. Shameful, I know. This year my daughter is co-oping so she is not marching in the band so getting my wife enthusiastic about attending this year is a problem. Dammit.

I have to admit I love the gameday experience. Being back on campus, the band playing the fight songs, being among other fans, traditions, etc. Even without tailgating I have really enjoyed going back to the Flats. I do miss being able to watch 3-4 games on a Saturday. I would rather not spend the money (being a cheapskate). Traffic after a well attended game is awful, as is the sunburn and the heat. The excuses not to go can be legion but the excitement is still there when I go.

What will come first the chicken or the egg? Better attendance = better program or better program = better attendance? I don't know. I think that the wrong attendance (too many opponent's fans) can make our naturally skittish fan base more likely to stay home. As much fun as it is to see the dejected look on our opponent's fan's faces after a W, walking out of Grant Field after a loss seeing the opponent's smiles is worse - especially when there are so many of them.

Both of you make very good points. Is the goal just to fill the stadium or fill it with Tech fans? Obviously the latter for us but I don't know what the AA thinks. Interesting.

Perhaps there is a middle ground there regarding scheduling. I like the idea of the B10 schools, and there are plenty that could be scheduled that would bring fans but also excite our fan base. I'm not so keen on closer schools that will bring in more of their fans than ours (a la UT, etc.).

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

We have a tradition of playing SEC powers. I'd rather continue with that than create a new series with random b1 teams.

IMO SEC > B1 > sunbelt...wishes and wants tho