Survey for BDS

[ibeattetris]

Stansbury has seen success changing the fan experience at UCF. However, UCF didn’t have “history” or older fans that would object to changes.

UCF also has almost the same number of alumni living in Orlando as GT has altogether (150k vs 166k). We are a small alumni base to begin with and a lot of us end up away from Atlanta.

 

[bobongo]

Can’t help but think of Donald Rumsfeld who pushed the “curve” in every policy decision including promising that a war in Iraq would not only not be costly but would pay for itself.

I don't think there's any doubt that there's a curve. It's related to the concept of diminishing returns. The only question is, where are we on that curve?
I would argue that right now, we're on the side of the curve that indicates cheaper tickets will get more butts in the seats and produce more revenue in the long term.
Higher ticket prices are certainly not the direction we need to be going right now.

 

[slugboy]

UCF also has almost the same number of alumni living in Orlando as GT has altogether (150k vs 166k). We are a small alumni base to begin with and a lot of us end up away from Atlanta.

UCF has one of the largest, if not the largest, undergraduate enrollments in the US. It’s either them or TA&M. They’re about 10 larger than Ohio State.

List of United States public university campuses by enrollment - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

We’re not a slouch in enrollment. We’re not anywhere close to the top 10 though. Georgia State is in the top ten enrollments, but it doesn’t help their attendance much as far as I can tell offhand.

 

[IEEEWreck]

...and maybe not our revenue woes, either.

This general principle of the Laffer Curve applies to more than just taxes - it applies to prices of all goods and services:
Laffer curve - Wikipedia

No. No no no.

The Laffer curve is a statement of trivially true but unimportant facts that invites the mathematically and economically illiterate to substitute ideology for the actually important mathematical aspects of the question.

In this case, it's not necessarily even about the price elasticity of demand for Tech tickets. What we're looking at is rather the difference between the demand curve for current tech tickets and the demand curve for a basket of one or more more luxurious seat options. At least many of the drivers of willingness to pay are the same (since it's the same people with the same disposable income, etc) which means the elasticity of demand should be similar for both demand curves.

This survey is an attempt to provide information about the demand curve for these new seats. That's good. Now, it's also a well understood phenomenon that surveys are poor tools in general at understanding demand and particularly bad specifically at revealing price information, so I hope GTAA is also undertaking some more rigorous interviews of customers. I suspect they are.

Just in passing, notice that the market for tech seats at present doesn't clear. That should tell you something about where the supply and demand curves are intersecting right now.

Personally, I hate MBS because it's a very comfortable spot to be very far away from the field and be able to understand nothing through the terrible acoustics and audio system. Great opportunity to sip your very expensive beer and gaze upon the stu dent ath uh leets with your opera glasses, though.
Personally, I'd pay more to be in a section where I'm guaranteed to never be asked to sit down and the fans around me do things like cheer. Like the Swarm, but for old people. I recognize that I am weird, though.

 

[ChristoGT]

UCF has one of the largest, if not the largest, undergraduate enrollments in the US. It’s either them or TA&M. They’re about 10 larger than Ohio State.

List of United States public university campuses by enrollment - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

We’re not a slouch in enrollment. We’re not anywhere close to the top 10 though. Georgia State is in the top ten enrollments, but it doesn’t help their attendance much as far as I can tell offhand.

Although we have #32k total enrollment, only half are undergrads (using the geekiness factor only half are interested in sports) with 10k grads on/near campus (who are probably 90% not at all interested in sports) and then another 6k are remote programs. The ones who are going to give are those that have a connection to the school, meaning those that stayed on campus for a number of years. It also helps to have "homegrown" alumni, from Ga and stay in Ga, but that's a small percentage of alumni at this point.

 

[slugboy]

I think we can have a stadium conversation without Rumsfeld and the Laffer curve.

 

[bobongo]

No. No no no.

The Laffer curve is a statement of trivially true but unimportant facts that invites the mathematically and economically illiterate to substitute ideology for the actually important mathematical aspects of the question.

In this case, it's not necessarily even about the price elasticity of demand for Tech tickets. What we're looking at is rather the difference between the demand curve for current tech tickets and the demand curve for a basket of one or more more luxurious seat options. At least many of the drivers of willingness to pay are the same (since it's the same people with the same disposable income, etc) which means the elasticity of demand should be similar for both demand curves.

This survey is an attempt to provide information about the demand curve for these new seats. That's good. Now, it's also a well understood phenomenon that surveys are poor tools in general at understanding demand and particularly bad specifically at revealing price information, so I hope GTAA is also undertaking some more rigorous interviews of customers. I suspect they are.

Just in passing, notice that the market for tech seats at present doesn't clear. That should tell you something about where the supply and demand curves are intersecting right now.

Personally, I hate MBS because it's a very comfortable spot to be very far away from the field and be able to understand nothing through the terrible acoustics and audio system. Great opportunity to sip your very expensive beer and gaze upon the stu dent ath uh leets with your opera glasses, though.
Personally, I'd pay more to be in a section where I'm guaranteed to never be asked to sit down and the fans around me do things like cheer. Like the Swarm, but for old people. I recognize that I am weird, though.

Well to simplify, you don't want to price yourself out of the market. To maximize revenues, the price should be neither too high nor too low.
I just think we're currently on the high side, if anything.
As for the variable of fan interest, that's driven mostly by winning and losing. Win and they will come. Lose and they will stay home. It's that simple.
The more we win, the higher the fan interest and the more we can charge for tickets. We aren't there yet.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I don't think there's any doubt that there's a curve. It's related to the concept of diminishing returns. The only question is, where are we on that curve?
I would argue that right now, we're on the side of the curve that indicates cheaper tickets will get more butts in the seats and produce more revenue in the long term.
Higher ticket prices are certainly not the direction we need to be going right now.

I’ve argued in the past, to much ridicule by other posters, that Tech should offer really cheap ($5?) general admission seating. These would not be good seats but getting into the stadium to check out the skyline, cheerleaders, the beer, the band etc might fill up some of the empty areas and might even attract a few new fans. Make it cheap enough and some people might try it on a lark knowing that if they don’t like it they haven’t wasted a wad of cash. Couple this with a media blitz advertising the color, pageantry and juice of the exciting new things happening on the flats.

 

[bobongo]

I’ve argued in the past, to much ridicule by other posters, that Tech should offer really cheap ($5?) general admission seating. These would not be good seats but getting into the stadium to check out the skyline, cheerleaders, the beer, the band etc might fill up some of the empty areas and might even attract a few new fans. Make it cheap enough and some people might try it on a lark knowing that if they don’t like it they haven’t wasted a wad of cash. Couple this with a media blitz advertising the color, pageantry and juice of the exciting new things happening on the flats.

Absolutely.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I think we can have a stadium conversation without Rumsfeld and the Laffer curve.

Interesting note, Donald Rumsfeld went to the same high school as Ken Seguiera.

 

[cthenrys]

I’ve argued in the past, to much ridicule by other posters, that Tech should offer really cheap ($5?) general admission seating. These would not be good seats but getting into the stadium to check out the skyline, cheerleaders, the beer, the band etc might fill up some of the empty areas and might even attract a few new fans. Make it cheap enough and some people might try it on a lark knowing that if they don’t like it they haven’t wasted a wad of cash. Couple this with a media blitz advertising the color, pageantry and juice of the exciting new things happening on the flats.

100% this....

While I am incredibly skeptical of any salvation from "sidewalk fans", this is an approach that A) we have never tried, and B) just might make a difference.

Empty stadiums are depressing, even when they are great venues for a game (walking into one tomorrow at Wallace Wade Stadium)

 

[Treb1982]

beer sales

 

[awbuzz]

beer sales

already doing that !!

 

[GTpdm]

I recognize that I am weird, though.

Thank goodness! We were getting ready to draw straws to see who would have tell that you’re quite, quite weird. I had it all rigged so that @kg01 would draw the short straw.

(Of course, being weird, you actually fit in quite well, here. )

 

[kg01]

Thank goodness! We were getting ready to draw straws to see who would have tell that you’re quite, quite weird. I had it all rigged so that @kg01 would draw the short straw.

(Of course, being weird, you actually fit in quite well, here. )

I accepted these terms when I donned the super-tite member's only jacket of the #get-bak! coach, sir.

 

[iceeater1969]

A few years ago a single game the Alabama Georgia ticket went for the same as 45 yd line gt season ticket.

seems like i have a good deal - if the team plays better!!!

How bout
we up the price in the middle seats 35-35 that the all have nice back;
hold the price on the seats from 35- 20 and good endzone
and lower prices on the extremes.

 

[AUFC]

Personally, I'd pay more to be in a section where I'm guaranteed to never be asked to sit down and the fans around me do things like cheer. Like the Swarm, but for old people. I recognize that I am weird, though.

I would also buy season tickets in an "intense" section. I am not currently a season ticket holder. Sounds like an unbelievably fun experience. I have friends who would also be interested so make it general admission.

 

[Oakland]

I would also buy season tickets in an "intense" section. I am not currently a season ticket holder. Sounds like an unbelievably fun experience. I have friends who would also be interested so make it general admission.

The Oakland Raiders had the Black Hole. Probably too intense for most Tech fans.

 

[Towaliga]

I’ve argued in the past, to much ridicule by other posters, that Tech should offer really cheap ($5?) general admission seating. These would not be good seats but getting into the stadium to check out the skyline, cheerleaders, the beer, the band etc might fill up some of the empty areas and might even attract a few new fans. Make it cheap enough and some people might try it on a lark knowing that if they don’t like it they haven’t wasted a wad of cash. Couple this with a media blitz advertising the color, pageantry and juice of the exciting new things happening on the flats.

I agree. At one time I had season tickets to the Falcons. We were in the end zone, upper deck, next to the last row. The tickets were unbelievably cheap and that section was full of season-ticket holder’s. It provided a good environment that was rowdy. The team got better, so the ticket prices started going up. That’s when I switched over to getting season tickets to GT.

 

[Treb1982]

already doing that !!

Im gonna be greedy then, Hard Liquor sales !