Drop In Attendance

[CB17Cubed]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ion-with-largest-attendance-drop-in-34-years/

Even the big, bad SEC had a drop in average attendance. So in the past, I have seen people hoping Folsom can be ultimately expanded to 65-70k. With this trend continuing, why should we expand Folsom?

First, for Folsom to be expanded we need to be consistent winners on the field. Not a 7-5 season year after year, but we need to be close to 10 wins every year and need to compete for Pac 12 Championships. Until we are at the point, there are going to be better options for people to do on a Saturday in the Fall in Colorado. If CU is losing, like much of the last decade, is the average fan going to go or are they going to spend time in the mountains, trying to get what little warmth and sunshine there is before Winter comes.

Secondly, I think Folsom should not grow, but instead should look to improve on fan experience. CU needs to have better in-stadium amenities such as: WiFi that is accessible, alcohol sales that allow you to bring your beer back to your seat, and a better tailgate experience. Say what you want about social media and what not, but today's fans want to be connected to platforms like Twitter while watching their team. I know I generally talk about CU on Twitter with a few other Buffs. I also like to know what else is going on in other games while I am at CU games. I don't go into depth of other games, but I keep track of scores. I do believe that CU will bring back general alcohol sales to the stadium. It has made the basketball games a lot better in my opinion to sit there and drink a good beer with my father. In regards to the tailgating scene at Folsom. It's awful. If anyone traveled to Michigan or has been UCLA for the Rose Bowl, there is nothing better than that. I believe what CU should do is have more tailgating on campus and in places like where the practice fields used to be. I believe that all these things can be done to help improve the in and out of the stadium environment for the fans.

All in all, I do believe the big reason for the drop in attendance around the nation is every game is televised. Look at the ratings, they are higher than ever. The craving for college football is there, it's just easier to watch at home and it does not take up your whole day. I think another solution to fixing the drop in attendance is to fix the officiating throughout college and pro sports. Fans don't want to talk about the refs. A good crew is an unnoticed crew. Instead we rely so much on video replay that can take several minutes per review. Simplify the rules for the refs and players and I believe we fix many issues that we see. We all just want to see the players decide the games, not the officials. Lastly, to fix attendance to limit TV timeouts. We don't need a timeout after a TD followed by another one after the kickoff. We don't need timeouts with every change of possession. The closer you get the game to 3 hours, the better it is for the players and the fans.

 

[hokiehead]

I believe the reason for declining attendance is that college football has adopted and evolved post-season systems that de-emphasize the regular season.

I agree Folsom should not grow. I believe it has sold out exactly twice in the four years I've been following CU, and never once sold out a home-season.

 

[Not Sure]

At some point, we will likely need to increase capacity for no other reason than we need the extra revenue. I agree that the demand has to be there before any serious discussion of increased capacity takes place.
I’d argue that the “perfect” capacity at Folsom would be around 70,000, assuming there is demand for those seats. Anything beyond that would adversely effect the game day experience.

 

[WarBuff]

At some point, we will likely need to increase capacity for no other reason than we need the extra revenue. I agree that the demand has to be there before any serious discussion of increased capacity takes place.
I’d argue that the “perfect” capacity at Folsom would be around 70,000, assuming there is demand for those seats. Anything beyond that would adversely effect the game day experience.

And increase the bathroom capacity on the West side PLEASE!!!!!!, especially now that we have beer available.

 

[Duff Man]

Expanding Folsom much more than a few thousand seats does not make much sense.

 

[skibum]

I think this thread is missing the forest for the trees. The issue presented by the article is about college football in general, not CU in particular.

The trend is not good. Largest single year over year decline in 34 years. First time in history there's been 4 straight years of declining attendance at college football games.

TV ratings are a little harder to disentangle, but from the WaPo:

the sport’s TV ratings declined this past regular season on ABC (down 18 percent), CBS (down 10 percent), ESPN (down 6 percent) and NBC (down 3 percent). Only Fox (up 23 percent) and Fox Sports 1 (up 4 percent) showed increases among the major networks, and that was because they were in their first year of a new deal with the Big Ten.

Part of ABC & ESPN's drop was losing the B1G, but CBS had no similar excuse, and their ratings were down 10%.

I think CBS had an SEC problem: the SEC, outside of the top few teams (which admittedly were very good), was a ****ty conference this year.

I am curious, and might even try and dig to find it, what the P5 numbers are for stadium attendance. The reported numbers were for all of FBS.

 

[BuffLuke80]

Anywhere from 55 to 60 thousand work? I'd think you would have to schedule up some. Maybe that would put some butts in the seats.

 

[ahoelsken]

Expanding Folsom much more than a few thousand seats does not make much sense.

I want to see more sustained success from this program before we consider even that. As far as the trend in attendance, I think its a few things-One, these games are too long. Too many TV timeouts, and reviews are way too long. The latter is also a problem that the NFL has-look at the debates over the catch rule during the Super Bowl with the two Eagles touchdowns. Simplify the rules and cap off review times. If you can't find something to overturn a call in a minute and a half to two minutes-the call stands and you move on. Two, TV has given the sport two problems-late kick times (which is not a problem unique to our league-we're just the most prevalent example of it) and too many breaks during the game.

Third, there's too much fluff in OOC schedules. I'd make FBS-FCS games illegal during the regular season. When we've played FCS teams (let's exclude UNC last year because of their proximity to us), have we ever drawn more than 30,000? Instead of those games, allow FBS teams to bring in an FCS opponent for a spring game. You get a chance to what you're doing against an opponent wearing a different uniform, but one you don't really have to gameplan for, and you're also giving fans of the sport a better fix in the spring than the glorified scrimmage we get currently. I'd also like to see people have to toughen up their OOC schedules-Everybody in every power five league needs to play one "power 5" opponent a year-and maybe you make a few exceptions to that (BYU, Notre Dame, and the service academies to start).



I

 

[Buffnik]

Capacity is not such a big deal. The biggest deal is maximizing revenue within the stadium. Seems like the best way to do that is to be at your market capacity for premium and super premium seating. After that, you can almost sell the rest of the seats at student and GA prices to get the loudest and rowdiest atmosphere possible (which drives up the value of those premium seats).

 

[PAC MAN]

I believe football in general is trending downward for a few reasons:

1. CTE...if I was aware of that issue during high school, I would have not gone out for football. I believe the kids today are making the decision that it's not worth getting brain damage from playing a violent sport. Some people might decide to vote with their conscience and not contribute to something that could be destructive to a person down the road.

2. NFL...the NFL really messed up this year badly with the anthem controversy and allowed the sport to be more politicized which runs counter to one of the reasons to watch sports: get away from the pressures of the world for a short time. When you show that you can get away with doing something that the very people who watch you would lose their jobs over, it alienates the customer (the fan) and due to the different options out there, it's difficult to win those fans back and it can filter down to college and high school football.

3. Millennials...the generation that was born to parents who were baby boomers isn't the type of people that are willing to watch sports for more than 2-3 hours. That would explain why the revived XFL is aiming to keep games to no more than two hours each. The hope is that the NFL and college football adopts those changes like they did with the cable suspended camera that rovers over the playing field which was an original XFL idea. I only watch CU football games when it's on during the week and I don't really have the desire to watch another game unless it's the upcoming opponent for the Buffs.

Given that the risks to brain damage from playing football (or even soccer when it comes to headers) and there are other better options out there, it shouldn't be a surprise that football's popularity is on the decline. Football is going to have to undergo some serious changes in order to survive in its home country.

 

[skibum]

Found the underlying data here (additional years can be found by changing the year in the url)

Here's the annual changes in home attendance by conference, and then the final column shows the percent change in 2017 vs the baseline of 2013:

Conference	2014​	2015​	2016​	2017​	Tot​
SEC	2.7%​	1.2%​	-1.4%​	-3.1%​	-0.8%​
B1G	-5.1%​	-1.3%​	0.2%​	0.1%​	-6.0%​
B12	-1.4%​	-1.3%​	0.3%​	-1.2%​	-3.5%​
P12	-1.7%​	-1.6%​	-3.5%​	-0.9%​	-7.5%​
ACC	0.6%​	-2.5%​	1.4%​	-2.6%​	-3.1%​
AAC	-13.4%​	9.1%​	-0.7%​	-9.3%​	-15.0%​
MWC	-3.2%​	-5.4%​	1.1%​	3.4%​	-4.3%​
CUSA	-4.9%​	-0.4%​	-2.6%​	-3.0%​	-10.5%​
Sun Belt	-7.9%​	-4.4%​	3.3%​	-1.2%​	-10.2%​
MAAC	-7.8%​	-0.7%​	7.0%​	-6.1%​	-8.0%​
Ind.	29.7%​	7.4%​	-16.8%​	-4.3%​	11.0%​

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Keep in mind that the B1G added Rutgers and Maryland in 2014, so it's probably better to think about them starting from 2014 rather than 2013, and in those terms, they're pretty close to the SEC.

Attendance is down everywhere, but the Pac 12 is exceptionally bad among the P5 (once you make the conference realignment adjustment for the B1G, the Pac 12's decline is more than twice as bad as next worst). One does have to wonder how much of a role P12's ****ty scheduling is playing in this - because I'm not sure it's clear that we should be under-performing our peers by such a large margin.

But my suspicions from my previous post are also true: the decline in attendance is hitting the G5 schools a lot harder than the P5 schools (especially if CSU's 2017 improvements are short lived, as I think we all sort of expect).

 

[PAC MAN]

As for Folsom Field, I'm for improving the fan experience...it's what keeps the fans coming back or away. Plus there is a difference between out of town Pac-12 fans versus Big 12 fans and the Pac-12 fans simply don't travel as well. Plus Pac-12 fans do not come from states that are more agricultural like the Big 12 & fewer entertainment options.

 

[skibum]

One last additional note think about on the numbers I posted: the hurricane impact on several home games in 2017 for the SEC & ACC.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

I believe the reason for declining attendance is that college football has adopted and evolved post-season systems that de-emphasize the regular season.

I agree Folsom should not grow. I believe it has sold out exactly twice in the four years I've been following CU, and never once sold out a home-season.

Most decent NFL teams sell out most of their games or come close to it in 75-100k stadiums and their regular season means far less than college football. I don't think this myth of the "de-emphasis of the regular season" has anything to do with it. The fact is that the TV experience, coupled with social media and the cost of tickets, parking, concessions, etc has frankly made it better to watch at home.

 

[leftybuff]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ion-with-largest-attendance-drop-in-34-years/

Even the big, bad SEC had a drop in average attendance. So in the past, I have seen people hoping Folsom can be ultimately expanded to 65-70k. With this trend continuing, why should we expand Folsom?

First, for Folsom to be expanded we need to be consistent winners on the field. Not a 7-5 season year after year, but we need to be close to 10 wins every year and need to compete for Pac 12 Championships. Until we are at the point, there are going to be better options for people to do on a Saturday in the Fall in Colorado. If CU is losing, like much of the last decade, is the average fan going to go or are they going to spend time in the mountains, trying to get what little warmth and sunshine there is before Winter comes.

Secondly, I think Folsom should not grow, but instead should look to improve on fan experience. CU needs to have better in-stadium amenities such as: WiFi that is accessible, alcohol sales that allow you to bring your beer back to your seat, and a better tailgate experience. Say what you want about social media and what not, but today's fans want to be connected to platforms like Twitter while watching their team. I know I generally talk about CU on Twitter with a few other Buffs. I also like to know what else is going on in other games while I am at CU games. I don't go into depth of other games, but I keep track of scores. I do believe that CU will bring back general alcohol sales to the stadium. It has made the basketball games a lot better in my opinion to sit there and drink a good beer with my father. In regards to the tailgating scene at Folsom. It's awful. If anyone traveled to Michigan or has been UCLA for the Rose Bowl, there is nothing better than that. I believe what CU should do is have more tailgating on campus and in places like where the practice fields used to be. I believe that all these things can be done to help improve the in and out of the stadium environment for the fans.

All in all, I do believe the big reason for the drop in attendance around the nation is every game is televised. Look at the ratings, they are higher than ever. The craving for college football is there, it's just easier to watch at home and it does not take up your whole day. I think another solution to fixing the drop in attendance is to fix the officiating throughout college and pro sports. Fans don't want to talk about the refs. A good crew is an unnoticed crew. Instead we rely so much on video replay that can take several minutes per review. Simplify the rules for the refs and players and I believe we fix many issues that we see. We all just want to see the players decide the games, not the officials. Lastly, to fix attendance to limit TV timeouts. We don't need a timeout after a TD followed by another one after the kickoff. We don't need timeouts with every change of possession. The closer you get the game to 3 hours, the better it is for the players and the fans.

Good post. I think a big part of the problem is CFB forgot who their market is. For over a decade now CFB has been trying to be NFL lite. Part of the reason I preferred CFB to NFL was ticket prices were more reasonable, the atmosphere was more relaxed and it was an experience that tended to instill generational continuity. Parents brought kids to games, they grew up seeing the University as "theirs", they wanted to go to school there, and the cycle repeated over time. That was my experience.

With the advent of what I see as ridiculous security theater, NFL type pricing structures and the like, the family outing attendee is dwindling. Fans with little kids are hassled about diaper bags, assuming they want to pay the ticket price for a kid in the first place, every person, infants too, have to have a ticket, CU in 60 (asking people to line up at least an hour before game time) kills tailgating time with security checks.

I know many aren't bothered by the enhanced security, but if it is that dangerous, maybe I am safer just staying home and watching on the tube. My kids really have zero interest in CU FB. Now in their late teens, they have no memory of CU FB being anything but crummy, my daughter and wife, also a CU alum, do not want to put up with the hassle of getting there an hour early, going through airport style security and eating up a whole Saturday, when you can watch it on the tube much more easily and in a less time consuming way (not to mention the price of tickets.) My son still will go with me, largely to humor me, but he really has no desire to go to CU.

It seems the policies on attendance make it more cumbersome, expensive and time consuming. It doesn't surprise me more people stay home and watch on the tube.

JMO.

 

[Highlander]

Stadiums will need to become similar to Movie Theater complexes in the sense that some theaters get lounge seating and dolby sound (at a price) and some just get the traditional movie screen and okay sound - some in between. In this case, they are all watching the same movie, but with different amenities and price points.

 

[patebuff]

Most decent NFL teams sell out most of their games or come close to it in 75-100k stadiums and their regular season means far less than college football. I don't think this myth of the "de-emphasis of the regular season" has anything to do with it. The fact is that the TV experience, coupled with social media and the cost of tickets, parking, concessions, etc has frankly made it better to watch at home.

Anytime Hokie gets a chance to take a poke at the playoff system, he will do it.

 

[leftybuff]

Anytime Hokie gets a chance to take a poke at the playoff system, he will do it.

Hokey pokey?

 

[skibum]

Stadiums will need to become similar to Movie Theater complexes in the sense that some theaters get lounge seating and dolby sound (at a price) and some just get the traditional movie screen and okay sound - some in between. In this case, they are all watching the same movie, but with different amenities and price points.

Holy **** has it been a long time since I've been to a movie theater. They do that?

It hasn't actually been that long - I saw the Hateful Eight in the theater, but it was the 70mm version in the American Film Institute's large theater - and, as the name would imply, it's an old-school large theater. They've put in larger chairs (with cupholders) and serve beer & wine, but that's about the only thing different from a theater 30 years ago. Hell, they even still have a big red curtain that they open to reveal the screen.

 

[leftybuff]

Holy **** has it been a long time since I've been to a movie theater. They do that?

It hasn't actually been that long - I saw the Hateful Eight in the theater, but it was the 70mm version in the American Film Institute's large theater - and, as the name would imply, it's an old-school large theater. They've put in larger chairs (with cupholders) and serve beer & wine, but that's about the only thing different from a theater 30 years ago. Hell, they even still have a big red curtain that they open to reveal the screen.

I can't remember the last movie I saw in a theater. Valkyrie?

 

[skibum]

I can't remember the last movie I saw in a theater. Valkyrie?

Setting aside 2-3 movies at AFI, I'm pretty sure the last movie I saw in a regular theater was Hitch.

 

[Buffnik]

One thing I'd look at very closely if I was going to do a major project to Folsom that re-worked the west side and maybe the south side: increase the field area as part of that so that we can fit soccer and lacrosse on Folsom within standard field sizes without having to put both teams on the same sideline.

Increasing the number of events that can be hosted there with those growing sports would only enhance the value of the facility.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Stadiums will need to become similar to Movie Theater complexes in the sense that some theaters get lounge seating and dolby sound (at a price) and some just get the traditional movie screen and okay sound - some in between. In this case, they are all watching the same movie, but with different amenities and price points.

I think the Rockies do the best job around in terms of stadium fan experience. Part of it is the individual seating, audio/video system, ton of drinking and eating venues, a ton of bathrooms, the view, and of course the Rooftop. At Folsom...

- Rooftop Terrace and multiple beer gardens that provide a cool, social atmosphere; the only problem is the TV viewing in the beer gardens is complete ****. They need to get the live TV feed and not the weird, close in stadium feed.
- Individual seating could probably be done in certain areas, but definitely not the entire stadium, not should it be, IMO.
- Better/more concession areas so lines aren't 30 minutes long and allow beer at the seats
- NEED NEED NEED a new sound system. The current one is embarrassing.

One other idea is start selling tickets to the IPF beer gardens only (not the game), so people can come to Boulder and tailgate and not have to leave to a bar once the game starts. They can pay $20 to have full access to all the jumbo screens in the IPF and spend more money on concessions/beer there while watching the game. Essentially, take away the need for people in Boulder to want to go to the bars to watch the game and instead, have them come to the IPF for a watch party of sorts.

 

[Highlander]

Holy **** has it been a long time since I've been to a movie theater. They do that?

It hasn't actually been that long - I saw the Hateful Eight in the theater, but it was the 70mm version in the American Film Institute's large theater - and, as the name would imply, it's an old-school large theater. They've put in larger chairs (with cupholders) and serve beer & wine, but that's about the only thing different from a theater 30 years ago. Hell, they even still have a big red curtain that they open to reveal the screen.

In our nearest theaters, all seating is reserved. There are IMAX 3D theaters, then 3D theaters, then theaters with superior sound but 2D, then regular 2D. Most of them have been converted to lounge chairs that recline electronically. They are shockingly comfortable.

Then there is Alamo Drafthouse where you order and have food delivered at your seats, but the service is a wee bit awkward and they only come by once (I think?) after the movie starts to see if you need anything else. Definitely doesn't keep the beer flowing throughout the full run time.

Still - a lot of change in the past 3-5 years.

 

[PAC MAN]

Stadiums will need to become similar to Movie Theater complexes in the sense that some theaters get lounge seating and dolby sound (at a price) and some just get the traditional movie screen and okay sound - some in between. In this case, they are all watching the same movie, but with different amenities and price points.

That is what I'm thinking too. Given the prices of ticket these days, such amenities ought to be necessary and can be done for an one time cost.

One thing I'd look at very closely if I was going to do a major project to Folsom that re-worked the west side and maybe the south side: increase the field area as part of that so that we can fit soccer and lacrosse on Folsom within standard field sizes without having to put both teams on the same sideline.

Increasing the number of events that can be hosted there with those growing sports would only enhance the value of the facility.

I believe the NE seating is a reflection of what is yet to come for Folsom Field. I'm also curious about the reason why those seats were located at that height...better views or part of a raised field in the future that would widen the playing field for said sports?

 

[CitizenKane]

You all are saying what really matters is fan experience and you're all correct.
Start rant.
Here are the things that kill fan experience for me:

1. Games are too long due to all the TV breaks and challenge breaks. NCAA should set a goal that no game can last longer than 2.5 hours. This means rules changes and reducing the maximum number of commercials allowed during a game. I don't believe add dollars would decrease too much because the shorter game would drive up TV ratings, thus increasing the cost for individual commercials.
2. Games are played on too many different days. I live west of Loveland, but work in downtown near the capital. This means I am not attending any games during the week, EVER (ok ok I went to the game at Mile High). Not if it is an early game because I can't get there in time and not if it is a late game because I am an old fart and need to be able to wake up the next day. No more games on days other than a Saturday. Yes I watch the Buffs on TV when they play on Thursdays or Fridays...but I won't watch any other college game that isn't on a Saturday.
3. Can't have a drink at my seat...thank God for Sackygate. They do this because it wasn't family friendly and students got rowdy. Well if you see #4 you know CU doesn't care about family friendly and...if I am honest, even as a kid, watching the student section antics was part of the college game day experience that made it so freaking awesome....and yes, even me, Mr. old fuddy duddy would still think it was awesome to watch a nutty, rowdy, raucous and lewd student section (All you judging puritans can go jump in Boulder creek for all I care).
4. I cancelled my season tickets when CU started making me pay for my 6 month old baby (my youngest). I haven't had season tickets since and my baby is nearly 22 now. Sure, I have gone to games but no season tickets. CU is the king of unfriendly fan rules...that was just the first one that got me and it STILL pisses me off. Hey CU what happened to wanting a family friendly atmosphere? LIARS!
5. Ticket prices are going up but CU has sales which they advertise and send text messages about, however, most of the time, their sites fail to work to allow me to complete my purchase at the discounted rate. I have spoken to Rick George about this via email, on the phone and in person. Each time he does something to try and make it right. However, the problem still happens significantly more than half the time (Just last week when trying to buy basketball tickets).
6. Games are played at too many different times. If you have an 8 or 9pm start time for a game, I most likely won't go and there is no way I will buy season tickets knowing there is a game like that on the schedule. If you have an 11am start time the students won't go. Be consistent with your home games. Start times between 12:30 and 7PM. Funny thing about all the different start times and all the different days is that it has over saturated the market with football and this, as much as any factor, makes people less likely to want to attend or watch a game. Reduce your offering but make it consistent so it is a must see or must attend event again and the revenues lost won't be nearly what some might think.
7. Sorry the bench seating was all well and good in 1970, but really?
8. Security....the security costs CU big bucks and if I am honest, even I sneak crap in to every single freaking game I attend. All of this type of security is for show and to reduce liability in case something happens. The security in place would have zero, and I mean zero, ability to stop something bad from actually happening if a person or people really wanted to do it. So stop pretending already.
Stop rant.

 

[CB17Cubed]

One thing I'd look at very closely if I was going to do a major project to Folsom that re-worked the west side and maybe the south side: increase the field area as part of that so that we can fit soccer and lacrosse on Folsom within standard field sizes without having to put both teams on the same sideline.

Increasing the number of events that can be hosted there with those growing sports would only enhance the value of the facility.

I completely agree. I would also like to see more concerts in the summer and even some concerts in the winter and spring at CEC.

 

[leftybuff]

You all are saying what really matters is fan experience and you're all correct.
Start rant.
Here are the things that kill fan experience for me:

1. Games are too long due to all the TV breaks and challenge breaks. NCAA should set a goal that no game can last longer than 2.5 hours. This means rules changes and reducing the maximum number of commercials allowed during a game. I don't believe add dollars would decrease too much because the shorter game would drive up TV ratings, thus increasing the cost for individual commercials.
2. Games are played on too many different days. I live west of Loveland, but work in downtown near the capital. This means I am not attending any games during the week, EVER (ok ok I went to the game at Mile High). Not if it is an early game because I can't get there in time and not if it is a late game because I am an old fart and need to be able to wake up the next day. No more games on days other than a Saturday. Yes I watch the Buffs on TV when they play on Thursdays or Fridays...but I won't watch any other college game that isn't on a Saturday.
3. Can't have a drink at my seat...thank God for Sackygate. They do this because it wasn't family friendly and students got rowdy. Well if you see #4 you know CU doesn't care about family friendly and...if I am honest, even as a kid, watching the student section antics was part of the college game day experience that made it so freaking awesome....and yes, even me, Mr. old fuddy duddy would still think it was awesome to watch a nutty, rowdy, raucous and lewd student section (All you judging puritans can go jump in Boulder creek for all I care).
4. I cancelled my season tickets when CU started making me pay for my 6 month old baby (my youngest). I haven't had season tickets since and my baby is nearly 22 now. Sure, I have gone to games but no season tickets. CU is the king of unfriendly fan rules...that was just the first one that got me and it STILL pisses me off. Hey CU what happened to wanting a family friendly atmosphere? LIARS!
5. Ticket prices are going up but CU has sales which they advertise and send text messages about, however, most of the time, their sites fail to work to allow me to complete my purchase at the discounted rate. I have spoken to Rick George about this via email, on the phone and in person. Each time he does something to try and make it right. However, the problem still happens significantly more than half the time (Just last week when trying to buy basketball tickets).
6. Games are played at too many different times. If you have an 8 or 9pm start time for a game, I most likely won't go and there is no way I will buy season tickets knowing there is a game like that on the schedule. If you have an 11am start time the students won't go. Be consistent with your home games. Start times between 12:30 and 7PM. Funny thing about all the different start times and all the different days is that it has over saturated the market with football and this, as much as any factor, makes people less likely to want to attend or watch a game. Reduce your offering but make it consistent so it is a must see or must attend event again and the revenues lost won't be nearly what some might think.
7. Sorry the bench seating was all well and good in 1970, but really?
8. Security....the security costs CU big bucks and if I am honest, even I sneak crap in to every single freaking game I attend. All of this type of security is for show and to reduce liability in case something happens. The security in place would have zero, and I mean zero, ability to stop something bad from actually happening if a person or people really wanted to do it. So stop pretending already.
Stop rant.

If I could like this post twice, I would...

 

[leftybuff]

8. Security....the security costs CU big bucks and if I am honest, even I sneak crap in to every single freaking game I attend. All of this type of security is for show and to reduce liability in case something happens. The security in place would have zero, and I mean zero, ability to stop something bad from actually happening if a person or people really wanted to do it. So stop pretending already.
Stop rant.

I have snuck things into many "secure" areas. I generally, do not do it intentionally, it is usually because I have forgotten I have it on me. Rockies games, DIA, Folsom, Raymond James, Six Flags Over Texas, just to name a few. Security theater is so lame they don't even know...most of the time I don't either which means there was no attempt on my part to conceal it. It is a big joke IMO.

 

[Buffnik]

I always figure that the security stuff is in place because of the lawyers and insurers. No one really believes it's effective. Everyone knows it's a costly hassle that isn't good for anybody. But it's a "cost of doing business" from a CYA standpoint.