When people feel a program is in decline, they quite simply stop spending their money. Whether you call it voting with your feet or with your wallet, the point is, when something isn't worth the cash to you anymore, you stop doing it. This can happen with magazine subscriptions (like THuff's Playboy stash or B-Dowd's Playgirl collection), it can happen with television (Tim still pays for Cinemax, but only for the documentaries) and, obviously, it can happen with sports teams.
Going to any sporting event at the collegiate or pro level is expensive. Even when tickets seem "reasonable," you still have to get there, which for alums can mean long drives (with $4/gallon gasoline) or flights, hotel rooms, meals, etc. This is to say nothing of the multiple days not at home and the resulting foot-tapping from the spouse.
So we think these attendance figures are startling, despite the fact that they shouldn't be surprising. Below are attendance figures for the past eight seasons plus the athletic department's fantasyland estimate for 2011.
2003 -- 58,000
2004 -- 63,000
2005 -- 63,000
2006 -- 55,000
2007 -- 59,000
2008 -- 56,000
2009 -- 50,000
2010 -- 48,000
2011 -- 42,000
That's a precipitous drop in recent years. I would hazard a guess that 2011's average will be a lot lower than 42,000 if things continue in this scary direction, and if it gets down to 40,000 then that's a 20% drop in just two years. And a 37% drop in just six years! Even if the average ticket in Ross-Ade is $20, an assumption of 23,000 fewer seats would equal lost revenue of $460,000 per game or more than $3.2 million over the course of the season's seven home games. And, obviously, this is to say nothing of lost concession sales, team apparel, parking fees, the influx of dollars spent in the community, etc.
As has been discussed, some programs can handle a down year or two, or a "rebuilding" phase. And Purdue actually was a program like that -- look at the numbers as recently as '07-'08. Those weren't world-beaters, but the fans had seen enough success and near-success that they wanted to come out to see the team to be there when the fun happened. That is no longer the case, quite clearly.
The answer is not new unis, it's not fun taglines for the billboards and it's not even "we gotta get five star recruits!" No, the answer -- at least for now -- is to make the product on the field exciting. Until it is that -- and not infuriating -- the fans will continue to vote with their wallets.
13 comments:
Great post. I always read all the comments posted on Purdue's Facebook account regarding the games. There are always those people who tell everyone to stop complaining...uh, people will stop complaining and in fact, they will stop doing anything at all. It isn't that hard to figure out that if the team/coach/etc/etc is not producing something of quality then people are going to stop giving their money.
P.S. As someone who attended games in the good era that photo of the stadium makes me sad!
But Burke runs the athletic dept. in the black. I've been told by many fellow Boiler fans, that is the primary goal. It is an enlightening post because it illustrates that sometimes you have to spend money (eg. not Danny Hope) to make money.
I don't think you even have to WIN more games to see the attendance numbers rise. What you do have to do is be COMPETITIVE in more games. Pat Forde pointed out yesterday that Purdue has only led for 15.5 minutes out of 120 minutes played. In other words, we have been trailing 87% of the time this season against two non AQ teams. I would be curious to know over the past 4 years (when attendance began to spiral downward) what percentage of the time we have lead in games.
The most games Purdue has won since 2000 has been 9 (only happened once). Even the Rose Bowl year we only won 8 games. But we were competitive in almost every game in the Brees and Orton years.
To get attendance back into the 60s I don't think we have to win 8 or 9 games. What we do have to do is win 6 or 7 by blowing out the Rices and MTSUs and by at least giving the big boys like OSU and Wisconsin a run.
L2F, your last paragraph.
It's sad but true that your statement sounds like such a lofty goal - 6 wins, and giving OSU and Wisconsin a run. Ah, that'd be the day.
I didn't miss a game when I was a student and the 4 years after that, but I stopped buying season tickets for the 2009 season. I still go to 1 game a year, but its hard to justify season tickets with the crappy product on the field and other budgetary priorities. When we make a coaching change I will reconsider.
Well, the product on the field is exciting this year, just not in the right way or the right context. Two games decided at the gun: that's something not even Notre Dame has managed. (Of course, after last week, they probably don't want another nailbiter.)
Close games are fine if they're against teams that should be Purdue's peers ... unfortunately that means Illinois, Michigan, and Penn State, teams that aren't going to win the conference but would like to go to a bowl game. Excitement against a non-AQ team is supposed to be something like the Wisconsin-UNLV game.
Last season, there were five games where Purdue did not lead: Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State, Toledo, and Notre Dame. There were three more where they established a lead and did not relinquish it: Minnesota, Ball State, and Western Illinois.
Putting everything together, Purdue led for 248 minutes and 2 seconds last season, 34.4% of the time. Keep in mind that that includes more than three full quarters against Michigan State and more than one quarter against Wisconsin, feats that seem unlikely to replicate themselves this season.
I'd do other seasons, but I need a break. Remembering the MSU game was a bit much.
Surprisingly, the bubble in Purdue's attendance wasn't during the Brees years: it was from 1979 through 1981, when Purdue averaged nearly 70,000 fans per game. (In 1981, it was 69,892.) Attendance fell off gradually until 1985, when memories of the Peach Bowl season stabilized things. Not even the Akers years had much of an effect ... what did, if I remember correctly (as you may recall from a previous rant), was the decision to charge students half price for season tickets rather than handing them out for free. In 1989, attendance dropped 18,635 per game ... more than 100,000 fewer people that season.
The mistake that King made in 1989 is the same mistake that Burke is making now: trying to increase revenue without improving the "product". Burke went cheap with Hope, just like he did with Painter. It worked in basketball, temporarily, and then nearly backfired when Burke didn't want to shell out $$. It isn't working in football. If he wants a robust athletic program, then football (with men's basketball's help) needs to bring in the money. To bring in the money, they need to win. To win, they need facilities and coaching, and that costs money.
Of course, it's not just the peon section that contributes to the bottom line. Suites start at $50K, which works out to about $2800 per season ticket (18 season tickets come with a suite). Compare that to almost $260 for a normal ticket (in 2011, with 7 home games). Filling the cheapest suite is like selling 180 normal season tickets ... even club seats, at $2K or $4K, are multiples of normal seats.
If the luxury seats sell out, then it doesn't matter so much if the peon seats don't; you'll note Purdue doesn't report luxury-box attendance separately. So for a time, Burke will be all right, because businesses will make up the difference between the good years and now ... but when they stop renewing, then Burke will fall short in both areas (luxury and peon), and that'll be it.
Of course what he should be doing is improving the on-field product so that everyone wants to come to the game, but as we've discussed at length, that's not a priority for him.
You know what the problem is? The problem is you jerks! If you would all go out and buy tickets to everything, buy jerseys and other high-priced Purdue items, and then give the rest of your money to the Purdue Athletic Department (make checks payable to Morgan Burke), then all of these issues would go away and the football team would be the greatest thing since ugly hats roamed the sidelines!
http://www.ticklethewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/bear-bryant.jpg
So quit being such tightwads!
I think it really does all come back to winning, or as L2F commented, at least being competitive. I was a student at Purdue during the pre-Baby Boiler basketball famine. We had some pretty terrible teams back then, and I remember sitting in the stands, essentially by myself in my section, wondering if we'd ever get back to filling Mackey. Then Smooge, JJ and Robbie came in, starting winning, and they injected a sense of excitement into the program. Now Mackey is one of the toughest places in the nation to play. Once our football program creates the same sense of excitement, Ross-Ade will be the same way. And the rest of us can keep the candle burning until then.
I see a bit of similarity between Purdue's situation and the current Colts upheaval.
The price of tickets to Colts games have plummeted, and people are more than ready to jump ship. Why? Not only did the Colts lose, and lose badly, they also LOOK LIKE they're going to lose again.
The Purdue team needs to LOOK LIKE they could win big games (not just Rice, MTSU) in order to ever flirt with 60,000 again.
On a related note, we've had JPC season tickets since we graduated in 2000. Our seats have not moved the past two years despite our requests to take any improvement over Sec. 121.
So if there's been a mass exodus of attendees, it must not be between the 20's...or at least they're hiding it well.
A lot of great points made here.
This whole discussion really makes me think of Northwestern - a program that's traditionally struggled but has been on the upswing the last few years.
And you know what? I've always really enjoy watching their games, even in the years they didn't put up a lot of Ws. (I also think it's criminal how little fan support they get) I have to believe that this is because Fitzgerald has consistently built teams that believe they can win every game they play, and has filled his program with players that leave everything on the field. Physically and talent wise our teams are very similar, but our attitude and confidence couldn't be more different.
The sickening part of it all is that it's plain to see here is talent on our team. Unfortunately, it's being squandered by a lack of leadership, ability, and preparation on the part of our coaching staff.
I don't really think it has as much to do with the team as it does with the fact that apparently Purdue students don't seem to care. Asses in the seats bring recruits. When you bring a recruit to watch a game in a packed house and show a great atmosphere, it makes an impression. The fact is that Purdue's atmosphere is self defeating and though I hate to point the finger, I will... BREAKFAST CLUB... Its great... its fun... but its an excuse to NOT go to the game if the team is struggling against Northeastern Illinois State of Southern Chicago. If you watch the TV coverage, you never see anyone wearing BC costumes in the student section any more... probably because they just don't go... I remember when a guy dressed as Jesus would be lifted up by the captain from Love Boat to start the wave at every game... Breakfast Clubbers need to go to the game and not pass out in their rooms and talk about how "Saturday was an EPIC WIN at BC, dawg" (Epic Win: a term that should be banished from the English language).
I don't think it will get as low as 42,000 for the year, but sadly, it won't be because Purdue fans are filling the stadium...
Against SEMO, we'll have an influx of high school students for band day, surely pushing us to or even above 50K (which happened against NIU and WIU last 2 years). Obviously ND will fill up the stadium, mostly with ND fans and some Purdue fans who can even travel for that game, but just like 2009, that won't even sell out.
I can tell you right now the attendance for the Minny game is going to suck because it happens the Saturday of Fall Break at Purdue. Granted classes end the Friday before, but are most Purdue students willing to stay for that game with the team's current direction? I'm saying the average will probably be about 45,000 outside of ND and OSU, maybe even Iowa. Those 3 games will certainly push attendance up, but not in the way we like it.
It's sad we can't even get Purdue fans to take up even 75% of the capacity on a regular basis.
I'm going to quote my self EXACTLY from an earlier post about how the fan base needs to support the players. That post spoke to the same point as this one...
"I'm not a Purdue alum, nor a Purdue fan, but I've been a college football fan for 35 years and I now live in Boiler Country. Here's some things I've noticed about the Boilermaker football program.
1) Boilergal is completely correct is her comment. It almost as if being a Boiler fan is to be a complete fatalist. Where I disagree with her is when she tells the "negative fans" to stay home. The negative fans are still invested; its the apathetic fan that kills you (look at Minnesota or Indiana football).
Actually, what the program needs to do is give those negative fans a reason to be positive. It doesn't necessarily have to be winning on the field that does that, but it does require the athletic department to show it has a commitment to winning. If Purdue's very own athletic department doesn't show a commitment, why should the fans?
2) If you stop supporting the players, you can forget about recruiting them. If you aren't going to cheat, and if you're not going to win, then you need to make the Ross-Ade experience kick ass in other ways. Make it something like the Wrigley Field of college football, a fun atmosphere regardless of whether the team sucks.
3) Forget this crap about "football helps the other sports." Nobody buys a ticket for a football game thinking about how they are helping women's golf or some other sport nobody cares about. Laying a guilt trip on me is not going to get me a buy a ticket; making the football experience worth the price of admission will. That's the ONLY thing that will.
4) Morgan Burke has to go. There will never be a quality program in West Lafayette as long as Burke is the AD. I can't be any more succinct than that.
5) Culture comes from the top. This is atrue story which happened earlier this year - I'm in the lobby of a Lafayette hotel when the shuttle bus fromthe Indy airport pulls up and off steps Coach Hope. There's nobody from Purdue there to pick him up; the head coach of a Big Ten team literally has to bum a ride from a complete stranger who happened in the lobby with me. When the dis-organization reached down to that level, it is time for a wholesale revamping of the athletic department."
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