01-26-2020, 05:31 PM
Outside of a small strip of Palo Alto, if you aren't an alum I think you'd be hard-pressed to even know there's a top-tier women's basketball program within 15-20 minutes of the surrounding cities. The marketing drop-off is stark.
That said, I think there are deeper trends at play. High housing costs lead to more dual-job families with less time for sporting events, and less money that's not going to rent, mortgage payments, or property taxes. High salaries and operating costs for the programs mean less money for marketing and more upward pressure on ticket and concession prices. Stanford is fighting an elitist perception in the local community with the current battle over housing priorities and who pays for development, which I'm guessing probably turns off a few would-be fans. We have the 49ers and Quakes in the South Bay competing for time and attention with venues that are way ahead of what Maples offers. Bay Area traffic (and lack of infrastructure improvement) is adding more travel time to get anywhere, and Stanford isn't exactly winning any awards with its parking and logistics management.
I'd like to see Stanford find ways to appeal to more people, and make it easier to attend games. Reach out to the blue-collar population more, with lower ticket pricing, concession coupons, and maybe even some busing. Make better use of El Camino Grove so people can get in and out more easily (this includes driving improvements to El Camino itself, like not making everyone drive down to the Galvez/El Camino left turn light). Bring more variety with the stadium entertainment (LSJUMB/Dollies/Tree/Cheer needs to be part of the solution and also realize they might also be part of the problem). More stuff like that...
That said, I think there are deeper trends at play. High housing costs lead to more dual-job families with less time for sporting events, and less money that's not going to rent, mortgage payments, or property taxes. High salaries and operating costs for the programs mean less money for marketing and more upward pressure on ticket and concession prices. Stanford is fighting an elitist perception in the local community with the current battle over housing priorities and who pays for development, which I'm guessing probably turns off a few would-be fans. We have the 49ers and Quakes in the South Bay competing for time and attention with venues that are way ahead of what Maples offers. Bay Area traffic (and lack of infrastructure improvement) is adding more travel time to get anywhere, and Stanford isn't exactly winning any awards with its parking and logistics management.
I'd like to see Stanford find ways to appeal to more people, and make it easier to attend games. Reach out to the blue-collar population more, with lower ticket pricing, concession coupons, and maybe even some busing. Make better use of El Camino Grove so people can get in and out more easily (this includes driving improvements to El Camino itself, like not making everyone drive down to the Galvez/El Camino left turn light). Bring more variety with the stadium entertainment (LSJUMB/Dollies/Tree/Cheer needs to be part of the solution and also realize they might also be part of the problem). More stuff like that...