Post by ctghostman on Mar 12, 2014 12:20:35 GMT -5
11am games on Sundays - other than Church, there is no competition - can be on the road before 1 and maybe just miss the kick-offs. A "locker room" mass (which we used to do after walk-through) could be done also. That mass could expose more people to the FU Jesuits too.
Most college students are just waking up and are more likely than not very hungover.
I don't know about you guys but for 4 years (1969-73) we didn't get up on Sunday mornings until the 11:45 am lunch/brunch opened in the Campus Center. Coffee and OJ!
Post by nashvillestag on Mar 12, 2014 13:17:06 GMT -5
During my time in Tennesse I was a season ticket holder for Vanderbilt games. A couple times a year based on television they had 11:00 AM starts, always on a Saturday. My experience was that there was definitely a lack of buzz and intensity with the crowd, and this sometimes led to less than inspirational play on the court, especially at the start of the games. Too early to start any game IMO!
Post by ctghostman on Mar 12, 2014 14:01:56 GMT -5
We're not getting many students now - I don't know if it matters to them if the game is at 11 or 1. 11am may matter to an NFL fan. Bill it as a brunch game - the Arena can serve Bloody Mary's, donuts, OJ, bagels and such. Maybe have a best Bloody Mary contest among local bars - that will solve the "buzz" problem. We need to try different things because what we're currently doing isn't working well.
Stop scheduling games that compete with the NFL, it's a battle that you are never going to win. Friday night 7PM with a special at the Grape afterwards would be a great idea.
I have said this before, the University needs to embrace and support the beach community. It is a major selling point for everything FU. They constantly try to hide it to protect town relations.
Like it or not, Stag Basketball to the non-diehard fan is an "entertainment" event at the WBA, especially for the students with the 60/40 ratio of female enrollment. If they go and have fun and a good time then they will be back. Pregame brunch, receptions, halftime activities, give-a-ways, postgame events at the Levee and the Sea Grape - "Whatever it takes" should be the plan for next season BUT everybody needs to be on the same page with the same goal and SJ can't lose another 25 games. Everything about Stag Basketball at the WBA needs to be examined, re-evaluated and improved, fixed, changed or replaced. Business as usual is not working.
Post by bridgeport on Mar 12, 2014 17:09:21 GMT -5
buzz, juice, the electric feeling, a event - - - it is created by *winning do that, the word gets out, and the fans file in. serving bagels at 11AM on sunday only works at a bagel shop. see line one in this post, *WINNING
buzz, juice, the electric feeling, a event - - - it is created by *winning do that, the word gets out, and the fans file in. serving bagels at 11AM on sunday only works at a bagel shop. see line one in this post, *WINNING
Winning helps but the extras count too - if we win, we maybe able to average 3k plus. The place seats a lot more than that.
Post by brokenboat on Mar 12, 2014 19:09:17 GMT -5
$10 parking for a free bagel? I don't think anyone is finding value in that.
The atmosphere at the game needs to change. We need a real announcer for the arena to get the crowd going. Some pyro technics during the intro. Interesting halftime contests. Engage the crowd with the beautiful new scoreboard. Face painting for kids. Vendors/ musicians playing outside the arena.
Free bagels and other dumb giveaways is a lost cause. Create an atmosphere for game day.
Post by ctghostman on Mar 12, 2014 21:15:23 GMT -5
Nobody said free anything. Appropriate prices. Don't gouge us - if things were reasonable then people may have a good time/come back and spend more. It's a minor league facility charging major league prices. The marketing professors at FU need to bring students to the games and say "don't do it this way".
"Affordability and superior marketing are what brings people to the ballpark. According to the most recent statistics, the Fan Cost Index (a metric which adds up the cost of tickets, hot dogs, sodas, beer and parking for a normal family of four) for a minor league baseball game is $61.23, less than a third of Major League Baseball's FCI of $210.46."
I'm not sure of exact prices on all items, but we're higher than the minor league average
Tickets - 4 * 9 = 36 (probably better cost number is 12- avg of 9&15 tickets) Sodas - 2 * 4 = 8 Hotdogs - 4 * 4 = 16 Beers - 2 * 6 = 12 (8.5 for a 16oz bud light) Parking - 10 ---- Total - 82
Most college students are just waking up and are more likely than not very hungover.
I don't know about you guys but for 4 years (1969-73) we didn't get up on Sunday mornings until the 11:45 am lunch/brunch opened in the Campus Center. Coffee and OJ!
I graduated in 1985 and remember stuggling to get to breakfast before the cafeteria closed at 1 O'clock on sunday. So early games are not geared for the students. However they seem to draw well in the greater community. So when school is not in session it is something that should be tried.
Regarding the win and the will come discussion, there is some truth to it. But market and they will come is also true. I ran a blood drive at Fairfield and got 640 students to wait an hour on line to give blood. At the time that was better than 20% of the student body. It was a result of effective marketing. I don't want to rehash the old marketing discussions, I've posted what needs to be done 100 times before, but no one ever does it. The Fairfield administration could market without any cost, if they just had the will and the creativity. They don't have either.
Post by stagthomas on Mar 12, 2014 22:58:48 GMT -5
There is no aspiration from the administration whatsoever. Look only at their "strategic" plans for evidence. I still can't believe the story my friend told me when FVA spoke in a class when he was a new president. Someone asked him a question about vision and if he had plans to take us to the heights of a BC or Georgetown. FVA said "we'll never be a BC or a Georgetown" and I'm paraphrasing now but that he would make do with Fairfield's resources as best he could. Students in attendance were quite shocked to say the least. Is it any surprise that his decade tenure has been marked by stagnation?
I have been following the local high school basketball tournaments. I wish we could figure out how to capture some of those fans and some of that spirit. The game atmosphere is electric. The local community provides another market that needs to be tapped. I have attended nearly every game that Fairfield has played in the Arena, and I have NEVER paid for parking. There is always plenty of parking nearby, on Main St., Broad St., and other streets. Most of the paths go by Ralf and Rich's, where you can always find Stag fans after the game. Take advantage.
It is not just brand management or marketing but also the product (MAAC Basketball) being sold. None of the top four teams in the MAAC averaged 2,000 fans at home this season:
The two newest MAAC teams with the best on campus facilities did not average 2,000 fans at home this season:
Quinnipiac - 1,890 Monmouth - 1,719
The Stags (7-25) with the record breaking losing season averaged 1,703 including the only 506 fans at the February Blizzard game.
On paper the Stags averaged within 100-200 fans of the top four teams in the league which unfortunately probably looks fine to those in charge. The real problem is that the Stags play in a cavernous 9,000 seat hockey rink facility in an under developed area of Bridgeport that is expensive to go to for what you are watching, inconvenient and expensive to park at and expensive to eat and drink at for MAAC Basketball games. IMO, you are never going to consistently have 4,000 to 5,000 fans at the WBA for MAAC Basketball no matter how good the team eventually becomes. "Win and they will come" BUT up to a certain point. If MAAC Basketball was that popular and in demand then all the top teams in the league would be selling out their smaller on campus venues but they didn't and they don't. It is what it is.