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Reasons for decreased attendance
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:00 am
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:00 am
Been debating on Rock M why people aren't showing up to basketball games anymore (besides winning).
I've said its because the "newness" is rubbing off, and we don't really have any connection to most SEC schools.
I've said its because the "newness" is rubbing off, and we don't really have any connection to most SEC schools.
This post was edited on 4/23/15 at 10:05 am
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Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:17 am to 5thTiger
I say it's about the experience.
Yes a fun style that wins goes a long ways, but what else is there. Right now other than going to your seat there isn't anything about the experience.
I can watch on my big screen, drink beer and enjoy from home. Mizzou absolutely needs to address the fan experience in both football & basketball.
Yes a fun style that wins goes a long ways, but what else is there. Right now other than going to your seat there isn't anything about the experience.
I can watch on my big screen, drink beer and enjoy from home. Mizzou absolutely needs to address the fan experience in both football & basketball.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:21 am to wubilli
I have said that it is because fans have a connection to other B12 schools, that they don't have in the SEC. History, Rivalries, personal connections (people you know who go to B12 schools).
Other than halftime, I haven't seen much of a change in "fan experience," other than fans not showing up and cheering. The "experience" comes from cheers and such, which actually comes from attendance.
Other than halftime, I haven't seen much of a change in "fan experience," other than fans not showing up and cheering. The "experience" comes from cheers and such, which actually comes from attendance.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:30 am to 5thTiger
I think there is a lot that can be done to make the games an event. If they work on that aspect then who Mizzou plays shouldn't matter.
With the current fan experience it is very much tied to winning & who Mizzou is playing. That true for both basketball & football.
With the current fan experience it is very much tied to winning & who Mizzou is playing. That true for both basketball & football.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:40 am to wubilli
I think the average Mizzou fan thinks we're a football school now & BB was just B12 stuff. Losing sure as hell doesn't help though.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:54 am to Wtodd
A few small reasons for me, but they add up.
- no booze
- not a great atmosphere
- too big (it should have been built around 12-13,000k)
- not enough band music (tradition)
- pricey food and drinks
- no booze
- not a great atmosphere
- too big (it should have been built around 12-13,000k)
- not enough band music (tradition)
- pricey food and drinks
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:55 am to Wtodd
We are a football school, but attendance isn't even where it needs to be for that. We have a very lackluster fan base. Just not as many diehards as most schools our size. Don't really know what will ever change that.
As for hoops, winning will go a long ways to getting attendance back to respectable levels. You can't expect to be awful and have a bunch of fans show up. Just doesn't work that way.
As for hoops, winning will go a long ways to getting attendance back to respectable levels. You can't expect to be awful and have a bunch of fans show up. Just doesn't work that way.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 10:57 am to 5thTiger
Aside from what you said regarding conference change/novelty wearing off:
- Constant coaching/staff turnover killing any sustainable success.
- Unlikable teams (with the exception of maybe 2008 and 2011). I think our fanbase is exhausted stemming from the Snyder era all the way up to the present with our players constantly being dismissed or transferring due to a myriad of legal and personal issues.
- Horrible seating arrangement at Mizzou Arena; giving the best seats to donors that don't show up. Hearnes Center was a more lively, fun environment, plus tickets were affordable.
- Horrible out of conference schedules. Hard to get excited when we line-up 15 home games against schools I've never heard of to start the season each year, and the few good non-conf. match-ups always end up being neutral site games.
- The success and focus on our football program. Mizzou is a medium-sized flagship school in a medium-sized state with an average fan interest. I don't know that we can really support both the football and the basketball program rabidly. Frankly, I'm happier with the focus being on the football program anyway.
- College basketball is a terrible, bloated product right now. This problem isn't just specific to Missouri.
- Constant coaching/staff turnover killing any sustainable success.
- Unlikable teams (with the exception of maybe 2008 and 2011). I think our fanbase is exhausted stemming from the Snyder era all the way up to the present with our players constantly being dismissed or transferring due to a myriad of legal and personal issues.
- Horrible seating arrangement at Mizzou Arena; giving the best seats to donors that don't show up. Hearnes Center was a more lively, fun environment, plus tickets were affordable.
- Horrible out of conference schedules. Hard to get excited when we line-up 15 home games against schools I've never heard of to start the season each year, and the few good non-conf. match-ups always end up being neutral site games.
- The success and focus on our football program. Mizzou is a medium-sized flagship school in a medium-sized state with an average fan interest. I don't know that we can really support both the football and the basketball program rabidly. Frankly, I'm happier with the focus being on the football program anyway.
- College basketball is a terrible, bloated product right now. This problem isn't just specific to Missouri.
This post was edited on 4/23/15 at 10:59 am
Posted on 4/23/15 at 11:12 am to BreakawayZou83
quote:
Horrible out of conference schedules. Hard to get excited when we line-up 15 home games against schools I've never heard of to start the season each year, and the few good non-conf. match-ups always end up being neutral site games.
This always gets me. As a Mizzou fan I come to see Mizzou play, not the opponent. Sure I want to see a fun entertaining game, but I go for Mizzou.
Help me understand why knowing the other teams really effects Mizzou fans seeing & cheering for Mizzou.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 12:50 pm to JesusQuintana
We have a fan base that perfectly mirrors Missouri society before and during the Civil War. We're a split state, no two ways around that. We'll never agree on anything let alone Missouri sports or attendance.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 1:11 pm to 5thTiger
People have to drive in for the games -- more worth it for football.
Basketball games are quick.
Often midweek.
No tailgating or extra actives.
And of course not winning.
Basketball games are quick.
Often midweek.
No tailgating or extra actives.
And of course not winning.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 1:20 pm to wubilli
We were debating basketball for the most part.
MISSOURI ATTENDANCE
Year Overall % Conf. %
2013-14 9,318 -22.3 11,458 -17.0
2012-13 11,996 +1.4 13,805 -7.0
2011-12 11,830 +6.4 14,839 +8.0
2010-11 11,112 +7.4 13,735 -0.9
2009-10 10,349 +5.5 13,861 +0.8
2008-09 9,807 +21.7 13,753 +21.2
2007-08 8,060 -2.2 10,981 +0.4
2006-07 8,243 -1.5 10,940 +5.9
2005-06 8,370 -14.4 10,329 -7.2
2004-05 9,773 -20.4 11,129 -10.7
Why the 2,400 average drop, despite almost identical records and bubble status?
Because it wasn't a problem from 08 on
MISSOURI ATTENDANCE
Year Overall % Conf. %
2013-14 9,318 -22.3 11,458 -17.0
2012-13 11,996 +1.4 13,805 -7.0
2011-12 11,830 +6.4 14,839 +8.0
2010-11 11,112 +7.4 13,735 -0.9
2009-10 10,349 +5.5 13,861 +0.8
2008-09 9,807 +21.7 13,753 +21.2
2007-08 8,060 -2.2 10,981 +0.4
2006-07 8,243 -1.5 10,940 +5.9
2005-06 8,370 -14.4 10,329 -7.2
2004-05 9,773 -20.4 11,129 -10.7
Why the 2,400 average drop, despite almost identical records and bubble status?
Because it wasn't a problem from 08 on
This post was edited on 4/23/15 at 1:24 pm
Posted on 4/23/15 at 1:21 pm to hipgnosis
I think there's always going to be attendance issues even if we're at an elite level. Columbia barely has 100k people.
Once a week football games have trouble enough, no one really wants to regularly drive in from KC or Missouri on a weeknight to see a BBall game.
It'd be cool to see some kind of aggressive plan where the University works with the state to attract jobs and grow Columbia. It has a lot of potential to grow IMO.
Once a week football games have trouble enough, no one really wants to regularly drive in from KC or Missouri on a weeknight to see a BBall game.
It'd be cool to see some kind of aggressive plan where the University works with the state to attract jobs and grow Columbia. It has a lot of potential to grow IMO.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 1:33 pm to TJJefferson
Right, we rely heavily on the population of como for basketball games rather than football. 140,000 vs 3,000,000
Posted on 4/23/15 at 1:34 pm to mizslu314
But it hadn't been an issue for the previous 4 seasons...
Posted on 4/23/15 at 2:03 pm to 5thTiger
quote:
5thTiger
Do you have Mizzou stickers on your SUV?
Posted on 4/23/15 at 2:05 pm to mizzoukills
Don't have an SUV, drive a car.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 2:17 pm to mizzoukills
Tons of reasons...I'm a season ticket holder, but these are the reasons I sometimes struggle to get to the games:
Parking - This is probably number one for me. On a weeknight in January, unless you donate $4000 you either have to walk a mile to get to your car or wait an hour to get out of the parking lot. Literally, the lot donation levels go from $50/yr to $4,000 per year. And the $50 lot is about 5x too big such that getting out of it is a nightmare and we usually just park at the football stadium. With a 2 and 5-year old that is an issue for me.
Weeknight games that start at 8 or 6 - We have this quite a lot now since we're one of the most western teams in an Eastern/Central Time Zone league. I can't imagine that folks who drive from St. Louis or KC can take off early enough to get here for the 6:00 game, or stay long enough to go to an 8:00 game. I sure as heck wouldn't do it if I had to drive 2 hours home during the week and go to work the next day.
Better TV experience - ALL of the games are on now. Even two or three years ago there were some games that weren't on, or if they were they weren't in HD. But now they're all on, and they're all in HD. If you've got The SEC Network+ you will see every game in HD.
Expensive for a season ticket - I think most of the lower level sections used to be made up of folks from the Columbia area who came to all the games when it was at Hearnes. When they switched to the new arena a lot of folks were priced out of prime seats. I think a lot of those seats are owned by folks from St. Louis or KC with the money for the seats but who don't want to come up on a Tuesday night at 8pm to watch them play Misissippi St. or Alcorn St, but they're not getting rid of them either.
Football Team - I really do think people's entertainment dollars are getting stretched by the football team already and there just isn't enough time or money to go around to support a basketball program that has been treading water the last few years (at best).
The teams Mizzou plays - I root for Mizzou, and I go to watch Mizzou. But anyone who says they have just as good a time watching Mizzou play SEMO as they do Iowa State isn't being genuine. There's just more electricity in the building when you're playing good teams, and even more so when those good teams are your rivals. Mizzou has no rivals, not even Arkansas really moves the needle. That will take some time, and I think it has hurt the attendance.
All that being said, if I can afford it I'll get tickets again next year, even though I would have saved a fortune if I had just scalped them each game this year. I had a lot of fun going to games this season, and the one benefit of having empty arenas is that my kids could basically run the entire aisle because there were literally about 8 people who sat in our row the entire year. Total.
Parking - This is probably number one for me. On a weeknight in January, unless you donate $4000 you either have to walk a mile to get to your car or wait an hour to get out of the parking lot. Literally, the lot donation levels go from $50/yr to $4,000 per year. And the $50 lot is about 5x too big such that getting out of it is a nightmare and we usually just park at the football stadium. With a 2 and 5-year old that is an issue for me.
Weeknight games that start at 8 or 6 - We have this quite a lot now since we're one of the most western teams in an Eastern/Central Time Zone league. I can't imagine that folks who drive from St. Louis or KC can take off early enough to get here for the 6:00 game, or stay long enough to go to an 8:00 game. I sure as heck wouldn't do it if I had to drive 2 hours home during the week and go to work the next day.
Better TV experience - ALL of the games are on now. Even two or three years ago there were some games that weren't on, or if they were they weren't in HD. But now they're all on, and they're all in HD. If you've got The SEC Network+ you will see every game in HD.
Expensive for a season ticket - I think most of the lower level sections used to be made up of folks from the Columbia area who came to all the games when it was at Hearnes. When they switched to the new arena a lot of folks were priced out of prime seats. I think a lot of those seats are owned by folks from St. Louis or KC with the money for the seats but who don't want to come up on a Tuesday night at 8pm to watch them play Misissippi St. or Alcorn St, but they're not getting rid of them either.
Football Team - I really do think people's entertainment dollars are getting stretched by the football team already and there just isn't enough time or money to go around to support a basketball program that has been treading water the last few years (at best).
The teams Mizzou plays - I root for Mizzou, and I go to watch Mizzou. But anyone who says they have just as good a time watching Mizzou play SEMO as they do Iowa State isn't being genuine. There's just more electricity in the building when you're playing good teams, and even more so when those good teams are your rivals. Mizzou has no rivals, not even Arkansas really moves the needle. That will take some time, and I think it has hurt the attendance.
All that being said, if I can afford it I'll get tickets again next year, even though I would have saved a fortune if I had just scalped them each game this year. I had a lot of fun going to games this season, and the one benefit of having empty arenas is that my kids could basically run the entire aisle because there were literally about 8 people who sat in our row the entire year. Total.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 2:44 pm to 5thTiger
I think its kind of funny you are trying to tie this into the conference move after you were pining for the "glory days" of Mizzou-kansas games just the other day.
Posted on 4/23/15 at 2:50 pm to kilo
I think it does make a difference. The statistics have shown a decreasing trend of mizzou basketball attendance.
Sure, I wish we weren't in the SEC. I wish we were still in the Big 12. That doesn't change the fact that we are seeing decreased attendance.
Do I think the conference switch has a bearing on attendance? yes I do. I also think that so many transfers affect basketball attendance, along with the KA hire.
Throw out the general suck of this season, because it did not explain the lack of attendance the past 2 seasons.
Edit: Sorry I enjoy the kansas game. Sorry I see it as a piece of American history. I'm sorry I don't have an affinity to play Miss. St. or LSU. I'm sorry that I don't enjoy the fact that over 100 years of history against former Big 8 teams simply go out the window.
Sure, I wish we weren't in the SEC. I wish we were still in the Big 12. That doesn't change the fact that we are seeing decreased attendance.
Do I think the conference switch has a bearing on attendance? yes I do. I also think that so many transfers affect basketball attendance, along with the KA hire.
Throw out the general suck of this season, because it did not explain the lack of attendance the past 2 seasons.
Edit: Sorry I enjoy the kansas game. Sorry I see it as a piece of American history. I'm sorry I don't have an affinity to play Miss. St. or LSU. I'm sorry that I don't enjoy the fact that over 100 years of history against former Big 8 teams simply go out the window.
This post was edited on 4/23/15 at 2:56 pm
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