[cctop]

I thought you all might be interested in seeing a photo of the Stanford section at the UCLA game on Saturday.

What you don't see is all the empty seats in UCLA's sections as well.  :-)

This is a bigger Stanford showing than at either Notre Dame or Washington this year.  I didn't go to the Oregon or Arizona State games, but I think it's safe to say this was the most fans we had at an away game this year.

[cctop]

I thought you all might be interested in seeing a photo of the Stanford section at the UCLA game on Saturday.

What you don't see is all the empty seats in UCLA's sections as well.  :-)

This is a bigger Stanford showing than at either Notre Dame or Washington this year.  I didn't go to the Oregon or Arizona State games, but I think it's safe to say this was the most fans we had at an away game this year.

[needle]

I haven't been to any home games, but the numbers say that attendance at Stanford Stadium has gone very quickly from OK to borderline awful:

2016 home attendance
Kansas State - 46,147 - Sept. 2
USC - 48,763 - Sept. 17
Wash. State - 50,424 - Oct. 8
Colorado - 44,535 - Oct. 22 (Homecoming)
Oregon State - 38,813 - Nov. 5
Rice - 36,171 - Nov. 26

2018 home attendance
San Diego State - 40,913 - Aug. 31
USC - 42,856 - Sept. 8
UC Davis - 31,772 - Sept. 15
Utah - 37,244 - Oct. 6
Washington State - 39,596 - Oct. 27 (Homecoming)
Oregon State - 34,671 - Nov. 10 (Homecoming)

Numbers from Wikipedia, so please correct if there are any errors.

I chose 2016 to highlight the decreasing attendance when the opponent is the same. 2017 numbers were much better with Kal, UCLA, Oregon (a surprisingly big draw with 48.5 K in attendance) and ND at home.

Scary stuff if you're an AD, and I'm sure this has some effect on recruiting as well.

[needle]

I haven't been to any home games, but the numbers say that attendance at Stanford Stadium has gone very quickly from OK to borderline awful:

2016 home attendance
Kansas State - 46,147 - Sept. 2
USC - 48,763 - Sept. 17
Wash. State - 50,424 - Oct. 8
Colorado - 44,535 - Oct. 22 (Homecoming)
Oregon State - 38,813 - Nov. 5
Rice - 36,171 - Nov. 26

2018 home attendance
San Diego State - 40,913 - Aug. 31
USC - 42,856 - Sept. 8
UC Davis - 31,772 - Sept. 15
Utah - 37,244 - Oct. 6
Washington State - 39,596 - Oct. 27 (Homecoming)
Oregon State - 34,671 - Nov. 10 (Homecoming)

Numbers from Wikipedia, so please correct if there are any errors.

I chose 2016 to highlight the decreasing attendance when the opponent is the same. 2017 numbers were much better with Kal, UCLA, Oregon (a surprisingly big draw with 48.5 K in attendance) and ND at home.

Scary stuff if you're an AD, and I'm sure this has some effect on recruiting as well.

[ColoradoTree]

I haven't been to any home games, but the numbers say that attendance at Stanford Stadium has gone very quickly from OK to borderline awful:

2016 home attendance
Kansas State - 46,147 - Sept. 2
USC - 48,763 - Sept. 17
Wash. State - 50,424 - Oct. 8
Colorado - 44,535 - Oct. 22 (Homecoming)
Oregon State - 38,813 - Nov. 5
Rice - 36,171 - Nov. 26

2018 home attendance
San Diego State - 40,913 - Aug. 31
USC - 42,856 - Sept. 8
UC Davis - 31,772 - Sept. 15
Utah - 37,244 - Oct. 6
Washington State - 39,596 - Oct. 27
Oregon State - 34,671 - Nov. 10 (Homecoming)

Numbers from Wikipedia, so please correct if there are any errors.

I chose 2016 to highlight the decreasing attendance when the opponent is the same. 2017 numbers were much better with Kal, UCLA, Oregon (a surprisingly big draw with 48.5 K in attendance) and ND at home.

Scary stuff if you're an AD, and I'm sure this has some effect on recruiting as well.

FYI, the Washington State game this year was Homecoming, not Oregon State. Still a 5K drop from Homecoming 2016 vs. Colorado, of course.

[ColoradoTree]

I haven't been to any home games, but the numbers say that attendance at Stanford Stadium has gone very quickly from OK to borderline awful:

2016 home attendance
Kansas State - 46,147 - Sept. 2
USC - 48,763 - Sept. 17
Wash. State - 50,424 - Oct. 8
Colorado - 44,535 - Oct. 22 (Homecoming)
Oregon State - 38,813 - Nov. 5
Rice - 36,171 - Nov. 26

2018 home attendance
San Diego State - 40,913 - Aug. 31
USC - 42,856 - Sept. 8
UC Davis - 31,772 - Sept. 15
Utah - 37,244 - Oct. 6
Washington State - 39,596 - Oct. 27
Oregon State - 34,671 - Nov. 10 (Homecoming)

Numbers from Wikipedia, so please correct if there are any errors.

I chose 2016 to highlight the decreasing attendance when the opponent is the same. 2017 numbers were much better with Kal, UCLA, Oregon (a surprisingly big draw with 48.5 K in attendance) and ND at home.

Scary stuff if you're an AD, and I'm sure this has some effect on recruiting as well.

FYI, the Washington State game this year was Homecoming, not Oregon State. Still a 5K drop from Homecoming 2016 vs. Colorado, of course.

[BobK]

Of course the numbers quoted are paid attendance. Not attendance

Those in attendance numbers are much worse. Much

[BobK]

Of course the numbers quoted are paid attendance. Not attendance

Those in attendance numbers are much worse. Much

[stupac2]

Keep in mind that the air was poison during the ORST game. I would've been there were it not for that, and I'm sure the same is true of many others.

The AD must be happy with attendance numbers, because they keep jacking up ticket prices. I'm basically paying for one ticket what I used to pay for two, with no real changes anywhere to justify it. I'm sure that prices will increase again for the odd-year good schedule. If they actually cared about butts in the seats they'd make season tickets much cheaper.

Then again there might just be nothing you can do about it, we're an elite (so to many people elitist), small, private university in an area with at least one pro team in every major league. It's just a hard sell even when we're very good, when we're mediocre it's going to be really tough to fill it up.

[stupac2]

Keep in mind that the air was poison during the ORST game. I would've been there were it not for that, and I'm sure the same is true of many others.

The AD must be happy with attendance numbers, because they keep jacking up ticket prices. I'm basically paying for one ticket what I used to pay for two, with no real changes anywhere to justify it. I'm sure that prices will increase again for the odd-year good schedule. If they actually cared about butts in the seats they'd make season tickets much cheaper.

Then again there might just be nothing you can do about it, we're an elite (so to many people elitist), small, private university in an area with at least one pro team in every major league. It's just a hard sell even when we're very good, when we're mediocre it's going to be really tough to fill it up.

[cctop]

I should have mentioned that at each of the games, Stanford fans weren't consolidated in one section because it may have been cheaper to buy tickets on the secondary market (Stubhub, Seatgeek, etc.).

Notre Dame seats were actually cheaper to buy through Stanford, Cal seats are 60-80% of face price right now, UCLA and Washington were less than half the face value of the tickets.

At Washington I didn't sit in the Stanford section, and I'm not exaggerating to say that in my entire time there walking around campus, entering the stadium to my seats, walking around at halftime, leaving the stadium, etc. I came face to face with fewer than a dozen people wearing red.

I channeled my best Cal friend by pumping my fists and yelling, "Go Cardinal!" any time I saw a Stanford fan.  I've heard stories of Husky fans being rude, but they ignored me...as did other Stanford fans though I did get some funny looks though at halftime when we were down 21-0 before the comeback started.

What's my point?  I don't really know except to say that I can totally see why Stanford fans have a reputation for travelling poorly, even if the bowl attendance numbers don't reflect that.

On the other hand, opposing fan attendance at Stanford Stadium this season has been just as sketchy than this.  USC maybe brought this many fans to Stanford, but every other home game has had skimpy attendance from opponents.

[cctop]

I should have mentioned that at each of the games, Stanford fans weren't consolidated in one section because it may have been cheaper to buy tickets on the secondary market (Stubhub, Seatgeek, etc.).

Notre Dame seats were actually cheaper to buy through Stanford, Cal seats are 60-80% of face price right now, UCLA and Washington were less than half the face value of the tickets.

At Washington I didn't sit in the Stanford section, and I'm not exaggerating to say that in my entire time there walking around campus, entering the stadium to my seats, walking around at halftime, leaving the stadium, etc. I came face to face with fewer than a dozen people wearing red.

I channeled my best Cal friend by pumping my fists and yelling, "Go Cardinal!" any time I saw a Stanford fan.  I've heard stories of Husky fans being rude, but they ignored me...as did other Stanford fans though I did get some funny looks though at halftime when we were down 21-0 before the comeback started.

What's my point?  I don't really know except to say that I can totally see why Stanford fans have a reputation for travelling poorly, even if the bowl attendance numbers don't reflect that.

On the other hand, opposing fan attendance at Stanford Stadium this season has been just as sketchy than this.  USC maybe brought this many fans to Stanford, but every other home game has had skimpy attendance from opponents.

[Phogge]

Stanford has never been able to market successfully. Plus having every game on TV is a brobdingnagian factor. I got involved at age five taking the train from Third and Townsend and the Key System to Emeryville for the shuttle to Memorial Stadium. Had college football, the Seals, USF hoops and the Russian River. No TV, no video games, no helicopter parents, no Internet. Plus we played outside on our own and learned more from bruises and bloody noses than from books.

How can you bring a five year old to an 8pm game? How do kids get interested in college football for life in the Bay Area with so much to do? This isn’t Baton Rouge.

[Phogge]

Stanford has never been able to market successfully. Plus having every game on TV is a brobdingnagian factor. I got involved at age five taking the train from Third and Townsend and the Key System to Emeryville for the shuttle to Memorial Stadium. Had college football, the Seals, USF hoops and the Russian River. No TV, no video games, no helicopter parents, no Internet. Plus we played outside on our own and learned more from bruises and bloody noses than from books.

How can you bring a five year old to an 8pm game? How do kids get interested in college football for life in the Bay Area with so much to do? This isn’t Baton Rouge.

[donkey687]

Declining attendance is an issue with all programs for many of the reasons cited elsewhere. It is going to get worse for the same reasons. The Athletic Department recognizes this and is concerned, but fortunately television revenue is holding up and there is still enough revenue to go around. However, the rate of increase in spending by the Department (on coaches salaries and increased staff) will need to slow down as revenue growth is stalling.

I watched the UCLA game on television and was surprised by how sparse the crowd was but was more suprised by how much red there was in the crowd interspersed throughout.  As someone in this thread stated, no opponents this year brought a large fan base to Stanford Stadium this year. The lack of UCLA and USC fans at recent games at Stanford is really surprising given how many alums they have in the Bay Area.  Those fan bases just aren't as passionate as they used to be.

[donkey687]

Declining attendance is an issue with all programs for many of the reasons cited elsewhere. It is going to get worse for the same reasons. The Athletic Department recognizes this and is concerned, but fortunately television revenue is holding up and there is still enough revenue to go around. However, the rate of increase in spending by the Department (on coaches salaries and increased staff) will need to slow down as revenue growth is stalling.

I watched the UCLA game on television and was surprised by how sparse the crowd was but was more suprised by how much red there was in the crowd interspersed throughout.  As someone in this thread stated, no opponents this year brought a large fan base to Stanford Stadium this year. The lack of UCLA and USC fans at recent games at Stanford is really surprising given how many alums they have in the Bay Area.  Those fan bases just aren't as passionate as they used to be.

[Renaissance Man]

I have been to every home game since 1982.  Many of my friends and family have stopped going for a variety of reasons.  The main reasons are late starts, ticket price increases, parking costs ($0-$10-$40 minimum in just a few years) and traffic (not just around the stadium, so Stanford has no control, but the drive has gone from 1 to 1.5 hours each direction, to 2-4 hours each direction which makes the late starts a real problem.

[Renaissance Man]

I have been to every home game since 1982.  Many of my friends and family have stopped going for a variety of reasons.  The main reasons are late starts, ticket price increases, parking costs ($0-$10-$40 minimum in just a few years) and traffic (not just around the stadium, so Stanford has no control, but the drive has gone from 1 to 1.5 hours each direction, to 2-4 hours each direction which makes the late starts a real problem.

[CTcard]

Declining attendance is an issue with all programs for many of the reasons cited elsewhere. It is going to get worse for the same reasons. The Athletic Department recognizes this and is concerned, but fortunately television revenue is holding up and there is still enough revenue to go around. However, the rate of increase in spending by the Department (on coaches salaries and increased staff) will need to slow down as revenue growth is stalling.

For those who care about attendance across the nation, here is the site for many years of NCAA attendance reports.
http://www.ncaa.org/championships/statis...attendance

Looks to me as if attendance was steadily growing, flattened out around 2008, then took a big hit in 2017.
Obviously, 2018 isn't available yet.

[CTcard]

Declining attendance is an issue with all programs for many of the reasons cited elsewhere. It is going to get worse for the same reasons. The Athletic Department recognizes this and is concerned, but fortunately television revenue is holding up and there is still enough revenue to go around. However, the rate of increase in spending by the Department (on coaches salaries and increased staff) will need to slow down as revenue growth is stalling.

For those who care about attendance across the nation, here is the site for many years of NCAA attendance reports.
http://www.ncaa.org/championships/statis...attendance

Looks to me as if attendance was steadily growing, flattened out around 2008, then took a big hit in 2017.
Obviously, 2018 isn't available yet.

[sunnyside sudser]

I thought you all might be interested in seeing a photo of the Stanford section at the UCLA game on Saturday.

What you don't see is all the empty seats in UCLA's sections as well.  :-)

This is a bigger Stanford showing than at either Notre Dame or Washington this year.  I didn't go to the Oregon or Arizona State games, but I think it's safe to say this was the most fans we had at an away game this year.

There were also a number of other Card fans scattered around the Rose Bowl.  It was so empty my buddy and I sat 30 rows up on the 40 on the sunny side using $20 tix.

[sunnyside sudser]

I thought you all might be interested in seeing a photo of the Stanford section at the UCLA game on Saturday.

What you don't see is all the empty seats in UCLA's sections as well.  :-)

This is a bigger Stanford showing than at either Notre Dame or Washington this year.  I didn't go to the Oregon or Arizona State games, but I think it's safe to say this was the most fans we had at an away game this year.

There were also a number of other Card fans scattered around the Rose Bowl.  It was so empty my buddy and I sat 30 rows up on the 40 on the sunny side using $20 tix.

[Spiny_Norman]

I was there on Saturday too. It was the longest non-OT game that I have ever attended. The length of games has to be a factor for some fans as well.

I found Hank91 and his son on the 50 yard line in the middle of the UCLA big donors. He said that he paid $22 each for his tickets. Why pay retail when you can get the same product at a discount?

[Spiny_Norman]

I was there on Saturday too. It was the longest non-OT game that I have ever attended. The length of games has to be a factor for some fans as well.

I found Hank91 and his son on the 50 yard line in the middle of the UCLA big donors. He said that he paid $22 each for his tickets. Why pay retail when you can get the same product at a discount?

[OutsiderFan]

I have no real interest attending any live sports event anymore. Reasons:

1. Don't live real close to any teams of which I am a fan (used to be a 20 minute drive from Stanford)
2. The ticket prices are more than I care to pay
3. Can extract myself from a bad game by flipping channels or turning off the TV
4. Miss too many other compelling games when at just one
5. Can do other things around house if watching at home, can pause game, watch my own replays
6. No value-add to make being at games in person compelling
7. Used to be fun yelling with others, but only in packed stadiums; it's like entropy has kicked in, fewer people leading to fewer people
8. Haven't been to as many games as some, but have been to enough to feel "been there, done that"

I mean I have had these experiences and don't feel I am missing too much by not being at games in person:

1. 1981 NFC Championship Game (try topping this)
2. Monday Night Football Niners games in 1980s
3. 1988 AL CS Game when A's clinched pennant vs. Red Sox (can't remember the game number)
4. Colorado at Stanford in 1993 - what a game that was
5. First night game at then Pac Bell Park to see Kevin Elster of all people hit 3 HRs for Dodgers, ushering in the steroid era LOL
6. Candlestick double header against Reds with dad and grandpa, seeing Willie McCovey hit 500th HR
7. Tennessee and Petyton Manning upset at Memphis 1996 (there for Grad School) 
8. A Warriors game with Run TMC against Phoenix Suns when Coliseum rocked in 1992
9. 2006 at Knoxville to see Cal get creamed by Tennessee
10. 2007 Tennessee at Cal when Cal clobbered Tennessee
11. Oregon at Cal in 2006 when DeSean Jackson went wild
12. USC at Stanford in 2000 when Chris Lewis won game on 4th and 20 TD pass on last play of game (led to Pete Carroll hiring)
13. UCLA at Stanford 1999 when I called the 98 yd TD pass to Troy Walters to my friend at the game, when they lined up to snap
14. Arizona at Stanford in 2010 to see Andrew Luck beat Nick Foles
15. Oregon State at Cal in 2007, the game Kevin Riley ran out the clock when Cal could have been #1 the next day
16. Seeing Matt Williams and Barry Bonds hit back to back HRs in game last year at the Stick
17. Cal getting crushed by Syracuse a MSG several years ago
18. Niners lose to Vikings in 1987 NFC Playoff
19. Niners beat Giants in 1995 NFC Playoff Ricky Watters scores 5 TDs
20. Washington at Stanford in 2000 the day Curtis Williams was paralyzed and Stanford gave up a 34 second TD drive to lose, even after taking lead following two straight onside kick recoveries...

I could add a few more, but just wanted to make the point that mid 40s guy may have already seen enough games in person to not feel compelled to attend more. If you factor in my attitude and that young kids don't really have a passion for going to games, its no wonder attendance is plummeting across pro and virtually pro college sports.

[OutsiderFan]

I have no real interest attending any live sports event anymore. Reasons:

1. Don't live real close to any teams of which I am a fan (used to be a 20 minute drive from Stanford)
2. The ticket prices are more than I care to pay
3. Can extract myself from a bad game by flipping channels or turning off the TV
4. Miss too many other compelling games when at just one
5. Can do other things around house if watching at home, can pause game, watch my own replays
6. No value-add to make being at games in person compelling
7. Used to be fun yelling with others, but only in packed stadiums; it's like entropy has kicked in, fewer people leading to fewer people
8. Haven't been to as many games as some, but have been to enough to feel "been there, done that"

I mean I have had these experiences and don't feel I am missing too much by not being at games in person:

1. 1981 NFC Championship Game (try topping this)
2. Monday Night Football Niners games in 1980s
3. 1988 AL CS Game when A's clinched pennant vs. Red Sox (can't remember the game number)
4. Colorado at Stanford in 1993 - what a game that was
5. First night game at then Pac Bell Park to see Kevin Elster of all people hit 3 HRs for Dodgers, ushering in the steroid era LOL
6. Candlestick double header against Reds with dad and grandpa, seeing Willie McCovey hit 500th HR
7. Tennessee and Petyton Manning upset at Memphis 1996 (there for Grad School) 
8. A Warriors game with Run TMC against Phoenix Suns when Coliseum rocked in 1992
9. 2006 at Knoxville to see Cal get creamed by Tennessee
10. 2007 Tennessee at Cal when Cal clobbered Tennessee
11. Oregon at Cal in 2006 when DeSean Jackson went wild
12. USC at Stanford in 2000 when Chris Lewis won game on 4th and 20 TD pass on last play of game (led to Pete Carroll hiring)
13. UCLA at Stanford 1999 when I called the 98 yd TD pass to Troy Walters to my friend at the game, when they lined up to snap
14. Arizona at Stanford in 2010 to see Andrew Luck beat Nick Foles
15. Oregon State at Cal in 2007, the game Kevin Riley ran out the clock when Cal could have been #1 the next day
16. Seeing Matt Williams and Barry Bonds hit back to back HRs in game last year at the Stick
17. Cal getting crushed by Syracuse a MSG several years ago
18. Niners lose to Vikings in 1987 NFC Playoff
19. Niners beat Giants in 1995 NFC Playoff Ricky Watters scores 5 TDs
20. Washington at Stanford in 2000 the day Curtis Williams was paralyzed and Stanford gave up a 34 second TD drive to lose, even after taking lead following two straight onside kick recoveries...

I could add a few more, but just wanted to make the point that mid 40s guy may have already seen enough games in person to not feel compelled to attend more. If you factor in my attitude and that young kids don't really have a passion for going to games, its no wonder attendance is plummeting across pro and virtually pro college sports.

[cctop]

I was there on Saturday too. It was the longest non-OT game that I have ever attended. The length of games has to be a factor for some fans as well.

Yeah, I was getting worried about the game going to overtime since I had a 6:50pm flight.  With all flights full for Thanksgiving weekend, standing by on a later flight was not an option.

I've got some friends who flew to L.A. last month on a day trip to the World Series game that ended up going over seven hours.  They had to leave around the 12th inning.

Replying to OutsiderFan:  I agree that I'm losing interest in going to games live.  Partially it's the TV timeouts and consequent length of games, but mostly it's your point that sitting quietly in the stadium isn't much better than watching on TV.  In that regard Notre Dame was eye-opening for my teenager because the stands were nearly full 15 minutes before kickoff.  It was a different energy.  The main thing keeping me attending games is having an excuse to hang out on campus with my kid for a few hours.

[cctop]

I was there on Saturday too. It was the longest non-OT game that I have ever attended. The length of games has to be a factor for some fans as well.

Yeah, I was getting worried about the game going to overtime since I had a 6:50pm flight.  With all flights full for Thanksgiving weekend, standing by on a later flight was not an option.

I've got some friends who flew to L.A. last month on a day trip to the World Series game that ended up going over seven hours.  They had to leave around the 12th inning.

Replying to OutsiderFan:  I agree that I'm losing interest in going to games live.  Partially it's the TV timeouts and consequent length of games, but mostly it's your point that sitting quietly in the stadium isn't much better than watching on TV.  In that regard Notre Dame was eye-opening for my teenager because the stands were nearly full 15 minutes before kickoff.  It was a different energy.  The main thing keeping me attending games is having an excuse to hang out on campus with my kid for a few hours.

[qwerty49]

Of course the numbers quoted are paid attendance.   Not attendance

Those in attendance numbers are much worse.  Much

Just from the games I attended this year I would guess actual butts in seats were at most about 2/3 of paid attendance. Of course from a business point of view Stanford probably just cares about paid attendance — even though there’s probably a lot of $ in concessions and parking as well.

---

Stanford has never been able to market successfully. Plus having every game on TV is a of immense proportions factor. I got involved at age five taking the train from Third and Townsend and the Key System to Emeryville for the shuttle to Memorial Stadium. Had college football, the Seals, USF hoops and the Russian River. No TV, no video games, no helicopter parents, no Internet. Plus we played outside on our own and learned more from bruises and bloody noses than from books.

How can you bring a five year old to an 8pm game? How do kids get interested in college football for life in the Bay Area with so much to do? This isn’t Baton Rouge.

So true on all counts.

I really get the impression they don’t hire top professionals to do their marketing.

We pay an average of $80/seat for tix on the 15 yd line, maybe end up spending another $8 on concessions. Stopped paying for parking when Lot 2 got to $40 a few years ago.  If we are “average” spenders and even if they sell out every game that’s about $30 million in revenue per year from the stadium. That’s probably chicken feed compared to the TV money — is it worth it to spend up to a million of more a year on marketing costs and staff? Hard to say, but with the PAC-12 network deal losing ATT and still not on Direct TV Stanford would be negligent not to have a long term plan in place.

---

I have been to every home game since 1982.  Many of my friends and family have stopped going for a variety of reasons.  The main reasons are late starts, ticket price increases, parking costs ($0-$10-$40 minimum in just a few years) and traffic (not just around the stadium, so Stanford has no control, but the drive has gone from 1 to 1.5 hours each direction, to 2-4 hours each direction which makes the late starts a real problem.

Agree 100%. I’ve had season tix since 1973 and I think that next year will be my last.

It has nothing to do with performance—but I left the Bay Area in 1985 and it’s increasingly hard to justify blowing a whole weekend when I can surrender to my TV and DVR and have a great meal in the process without taking out a second mortgage on the house. The night starts are just brutal and always mean another night away.

Ironically what I miss the most about the Bay Area is the opportunity to do something (non-football) on a Saturday night with so many great ways to find entertainment (and spouse-pleasing entertainment, I should add.)

At least next year, when we once again play ND on (sigh) Thanksgiving weekend, I get to recoup most of my season tix cost from some fanatic Domers.

But after that, after 46 years, I think it might be cord-cutting time for the season tix. Good seats everywhere in the stadium and Stubhub works fine.

[qwerty49]

Of course the numbers quoted are paid attendance.   Not attendance

Those in attendance numbers are much worse.  Much

Just from the games I attended this year I would guess actual butts in seats were at most about 2/3 of paid attendance. Of course from a business point of view Stanford probably just cares about paid attendance — even though there’s probably a lot of $ in concessions and parking as well.

---

Stanford has never been able to market successfully. Plus having every game on TV is a of immense proportions factor. I got involved at age five taking the train from Third and Townsend and the Key System to Emeryville for the shuttle to Memorial Stadium. Had college football, the Seals, USF hoops and the Russian River. No TV, no video games, no helicopter parents, no Internet. Plus we played outside on our own and learned more from bruises and bloody noses than from books.

How can you bring a five year old to an 8pm game? How do kids get interested in college football for life in the Bay Area with so much to do? This isn’t Baton Rouge.

So true on all counts.

I really get the impression they don’t hire top professionals to do their marketing.

We pay an average of $80/seat for tix on the 15 yd line, maybe end up spending another $8 on concessions. Stopped paying for parking when Lot 2 got to $40 a few years ago.  If we are “average” spenders and even if they sell out every game that’s about $30 million in revenue per year from the stadium. That’s probably chicken feed compared to the TV money — is it worth it to spend up to a million of more a year on marketing costs and staff? Hard to say, but with the PAC-12 network deal losing ATT and still not on Direct TV Stanford would be negligent not to have a long term plan in place.

---

I have been to every home game since 1982.  Many of my friends and family have stopped going for a variety of reasons.  The main reasons are late starts, ticket price increases, parking costs ($0-$10-$40 minimum in just a few years) and traffic (not just around the stadium, so Stanford has no control, but the drive has gone from 1 to 1.5 hours each direction, to 2-4 hours each direction which makes the late starts a real problem.

Agree 100%. I’ve had season tix since 1973 and I think that next year will be my last.

It has nothing to do with performance—but I left the Bay Area in 1985 and it’s increasingly hard to justify blowing a whole weekend when I can surrender to my TV and DVR and have a great meal in the process without taking out a second mortgage on the house. The night starts are just brutal and always mean another night away.

Ironically what I miss the most about the Bay Area is the opportunity to do something (non-football) on a Saturday night with so many great ways to find entertainment (and spouse-pleasing entertainment, I should add.)

At least next year, when we once again play ND on (sigh) Thanksgiving weekend, I get to recoup most of my season tix cost from some fanatic Domers.

But after that, after 46 years, I think it might be cord-cutting time for the season tix. Good seats everywhere in the stadium and Stubhub works fine.

[CTcard]

I was there on Saturday too. It was the longest non-OT game that I have ever attended. The length of games has to be a factor for some fans as well.

Yeah, I was getting worried about the game going to overtime since I had a 6:50pm flight. 

Hey, you might have missed a flight but my recording of the game kicked off with Stanford losing 41-42.
After avoiding the score until I could watch - I then thought we had lost.

[CTcard]

I was there on Saturday too. It was the longest non-OT game that I have ever attended. The length of games has to be a factor for some fans as well.

Yeah, I was getting worried about the game going to overtime since I had a 6:50pm flight. 

Hey, you might have missed a flight but my recording of the game kicked off with Stanford losing 41-42.
After avoiding the score until I could watch - I then thought we had lost.

[Phogge]

Great schedule next year has changed my mind. But the following year at age 74 the plus two hour one way drive isn’t in the Cards, that is if I’m still ticking.

[Phogge]

Great schedule next year has changed my mind. But the following year at age 74 the plus two hour one way drive isn’t in the Cards, that is if I’m still ticking.