Started By
Message
re: Slive's love affair with Atlanta
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:20 am to KSGamecock
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:20 am to KSGamecock
It's important to notice that Atlanta has five schools within a three hour drive and three hours is more than manageable to get the less-than-diehard fans to attend. New Orleans has one school within a three hour drive: LSU.
1
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:33 am to EKG
quote:
I'm not arguing, I'm just discussing.
Rant these days is so much trolling it is hard to tell sometimes. You are usually a good poster so I made the effort to trow up some data to clarify the point.
quote:
I find this whole topic interesting, that's all.
The problem is so many want it close to them that this thing gets brought up all the time. I know this is new to TAMU and MU, but it is old hat to everybody else. The reality is you have to look at who really attends vs folks who just want it near them. Suppose Houston got picked and TAMU did not make the last 2 days? It would be a ghost town and look terrible on TV and be miserable at the gate.
B1G is copying the SEC when they moved their CCG to Indianapolis as most of the teams that will attend can drive. As NCAA attendance numbers are dropping for the early rounds they have to stop catering to the corporate folks and move back to the fans who will actually attend and make the venues look full.
I have spoken to folks inside the AD's offices and they understand TV is the "deal with the devil" but most will not have their jobs down the road so strategic thinking is all short term - much like corporate America these days.
quote:
Didn't realize the cost was the main issue for so many.
The problem is the post season is just a money grab but the trade off is declining long term fan interest and attendance. Best thing they could do is shrink the SEC tourney to just 8 teams over F, S, and S or 4 teams on just S & S but that will never happen until TV gets less of the equation and gate gets more. My gut tells me we are riding a sports bubble similar to the recent housing bubble. long term it will self correct or the market will crash as the folks with less money will stop attending due to cost.
quote:
Thanks.
No problem
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:36 am to Govt Tide
quote:
InB4whiningaboutSECbaseballtournamentbeinginHoover
Baseball is an outlier as the crowds are smaller and more relaxed. If SEC baseball ever grows to attendance numbers like football or basketball Hoover will be gone with the wind.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:37 am to Cheese Grits
Anybody have any attendance numbers on Hoover? Is it really that big of an issue? I have no problem with it being there.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:39 am to KSGamecock
It's also worth mentioning that what makes New Orleans a great city to visit actually hurts it imho when it comes to hosting an event like a conference basketball or baseball tournament. There are too many distractions in New Orleans that draw casual fans away from such events. N.O. does really well with the mega sports events (Super Bowl, BCS title games, Final 4) that are going to be packed regardless of where they are.
I had a group of friends who went to N.O. when the SEC tourney was there several years ago with the intention of going to the games. They never made it out of the French Quarter
Admittedly they weren't huge hoops fans but that's what I'm reminded of when people lament so many things being in Atlanta or the SEC baseball tourney being in Hoover.
I had a group of friends who went to N.O. when the SEC tourney was there several years ago with the intention of going to the games. They never made it out of the French Quarter
Admittedly they weren't huge hoops fans but that's what I'm reminded of when people lament so many things being in Atlanta or the SEC baseball tourney being in Hoover. This post was edited on 3/15/14 at 11:40 am
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:42 am to Landmass
Atlanta and Nashville are >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>any other SEC town.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:47 am to Navytiger74
I just want the sec football championship to move. It will sellout regardless of location and the media will still be plentiful. No excuse to keep it in Atlanta every year.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:47 am to Govt Tide
quote:
It's also worth mentioning that what makes New Orleans a great city to visit actually hurts it imho when it comes to hosting an event like a conference basketball or baseball tournament.
The #1 thing that hurts NOLA is the jacking up of the prices when the tournament comes to town. If a room that normally goes for 125 gets jacked to 250 it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the fans no matter how appealing the Quarter may be. It would be great if the SEC got concessions from host cities to "freeze" rates to more travel friendly wallets.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:48 am to KSGamecock
It draws over 100,000 total fans pretty much every year. The Hoover Met could seat as many as 16,000 as it did with an Alabama/Auburn game during the tourney one year with full use of the berms on each side.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:52 am to Cheese Grits
quote:
It would be great if the SEC got concessions from host cities to "freeze" rates to more travel friendly wallets.
I don't think the SEC has the clout for that at all. Not to mention that there isn't a bloc of hoteliers with whom to negotiate the agreement.
Hotels are always going to increase prices based on demand, it happens here all the time. New Years Eve, National Finals Rodeo, Basketball Tournament time, all increase demand and prices. It's just the way it works.
Maybe if the tournament was being held in a smaller college town, but I can't see it happening in a decent sized town.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:57 am to KSGamecock
quote:Is the issue with the venue, or with traveling fanbases who will actually attend the game (this is the argument that Cheese Grits is making concerning the basketball tournament).
Anybody have any attendance numbers on Hoover? Is it really that big of an issue? I have no problem with it being there.
For 2013 Attendance (national ranking based on avg attendance, listed is total attendance) data:
1. LSU (~365k)
2. Arkansas (~220k)
3. Ole Miss (~210k)
4. South Carolina (~200k)
5. Mississippi State (~210k)
9. Texas A&M (~130k)
10. Florida (~110k)
12. Alabama (~86k)
21. Auburn (~72k)
24. Vanderbilt (~74k)
31. Tulane (~58k - for reference)
32. Kentucky (~45k)
33. Georgia (~49k)
34. Tennessee (~40k)
According to Cheese Grits' argument, the SEC baseball tournament should be somewhere like Shreveport or Memphis.. more centralized to the schools with actual fanbases. However, the tournament is in a suburb in the middle of Alabama which has limited hotel space, limited outside entertainment options to make it a destination location, and most convenient to schools with middling attendance in the sport in question.
Clearly, there is a breakdown of logic here between what's good for the basketball tournament and what's good for the baseball tournament.
This post was edited on 3/15/14 at 12:00 pm
Posted on 3/15/14 at 11:57 am to Cheese Grits
Wasn't a troll--I promise. Didn't realize this topic comes up annually.
I'm not pulling for Houston (or Dallas or San Antonio); I just wondered what the logic was behind never rotating it--maybe a west city one year and an east the next?. I do, however, disagree with you that Houston would've been a "ghost town" this year. Apart from SEC fans, the local community would've eaten up the tix. It certainly wouldn't have looked any worse on TV than Atlanta has looked (in terms of empty seats).
Not a bad suggestion at all.
Thanks for your well-thought response.
I'm not pulling for Houston (or Dallas or San Antonio); I just wondered what the logic was behind never rotating it--maybe a west city one year and an east the next?. I do, however, disagree with you that Houston would've been a "ghost town" this year. Apart from SEC fans, the local community would've eaten up the tix. It certainly wouldn't have looked any worse on TV than Atlanta has looked (in terms of empty seats).
quote:
Best thing they could do is shrink the SEC tourney to just 8 teams
Not a bad suggestion at all.
Thanks for your well-thought response.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:03 pm to jprice4608
quote:
jprice4608
LSU Fan
I just want the sec football championship to move. It will sellout regardless of location and the media will still be plentiful.
No excuse to keep it in Atlanta every year.
Money talks and bullsh*t walks. If anyplace was better than ATL the SEC would have done it already. Homer fans don't make the call as that is the nome office in Birmingham does. Houston, Saint Louis, Jacksonville, and New Orleans are just SOL even if their fans want it as the numbers do not work. ATL (Hartsfield) is #1 in the world moving roughly 80 million passengers in 2013. Next closest was IAH (George Bush) at #30 and roughly 33 million passengers.
New Orleans and Nashville did not make the list and getting a last min flight (with no connections) at a reasonable cost is poor at best.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:10 pm to Mizzeaux
quote:
Maybe if the tournament was being held in a smaller college town, but I can't see it happening in a decent sized town.
That is the catch 22!
Fewer rooms in smaller cities means may not be able to handle demand.
quote:
I don't think the SEC has the clout for that at all.
The NCAA does, especially as they are the conduit for the hotel rooms and tickets to the game as they have corporate sponsors. However they do just the opposite with the monopoly franchise. When the Final Four was in NOLA that 125 room got jacked to 500 to 1000 per night with a 4 night minimum. To get a ticket from the NCAA you had to buy the room as well. Corporations can blow 5K to 10K per person to such an event but how many actual fans can?
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:14 pm to Cheese Grits
The whole purpose of a city hosting an event like this is that it brings the money in. That comes in the form of increased room rates as well as food, beverage, and leisure sales.
It's just the way it works. There's absolutely no reason for a city to host an event like this unless there is increased demand and increased revenue.
Hosting a major event isn't some altruistic venture to be undertaken by a city for the good of the event's organizers. It's there to help the businesses in the city make money and increase revenues for the city as a whole. I could never see a city freezing rates to secure an event with the only benefit being increased hotel occupancy and increased food/bev sales.
ETA: Again, unless it's a smaller town looking for a bump in food/beverage sales and occupancy. The SEC BB Tournament just doesn't make a big enough splash food/bev wise in a big city to sacrifice anything else to get the event. Even then, the city's tourism board likely couldn't get independent hoteliers in the city to all agree to freeze prices.
It's just the way it works. There's absolutely no reason for a city to host an event like this unless there is increased demand and increased revenue.
Hosting a major event isn't some altruistic venture to be undertaken by a city for the good of the event's organizers. It's there to help the businesses in the city make money and increase revenues for the city as a whole. I could never see a city freezing rates to secure an event with the only benefit being increased hotel occupancy and increased food/bev sales.
ETA: Again, unless it's a smaller town looking for a bump in food/beverage sales and occupancy. The SEC BB Tournament just doesn't make a big enough splash food/bev wise in a big city to sacrifice anything else to get the event. Even then, the city's tourism board likely couldn't get independent hoteliers in the city to all agree to freeze prices.
This post was edited on 3/15/14 at 12:17 pm
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:15 pm to Landmass
quote:
For 1st time since renewal in 1979, SEC Tourney's 1st 2 sessions draw less than 10,000. That's 7,132 Wednesday; 9,308 Thursday afternoon."
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:19 pm to EKG
quote:
It certainly wouldn't have looked any worse on TV than Atlanta has looked (in terms of empty seats).
Here is the issue. If UK is in the finals they will make the Dome look packed and they will be loud - which looks really good on TV - but Reliant would look empty even if UK was in the finals there. As stated before, you want to appeal to teams that travel well and distance is a factor.
UK has about 90% of the venue when they play early season tourneys in Alaska or Hawaii but those venues are small. UK will sell 90% in Nashville or Atlanta because they are close. UK will not do 90% in Houston. Local folks in Houston will not do 90% either as they have little or no vested interest. Florida and Kansas both have multiple NC's in basketball but the Jayhawks travel and the Gators do not. See the difference?
B1G was actually paying people to attend the B1G CCG the first year and the numbers were not bad, but the crowd was flat because of it. Best to mix venue with a group that will travel near it.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:28 pm to Mizzeaux
quote:
The whole purpose of a city hosting an event like this is that it brings the money in.
Yes and no
Yes, in the sense they rape the tourists
No, in the sense of the free advertising
quote:
It's there to help the businesses in the city make money and increase revenues for the city as a whole.
Depending on how you look at it. Gouging is a short term policy but Goodwill is the longer term strategy. Would you rather make 400 dollars once or make 100 dollars ten times?
Airline and Hotel are the biggest part of the budget. Food and Beverage are smaller. I did not say the "freeze" was limited to low demand rates, just saying a ceiling leaves better long term memories with your visitors.
If I am in sales I want repeat customers more than I want single buy folks.
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:30 pm to Cheese Grits
If it ever came down to Houston, I would think It would be in the Toyota Center (home of the Rockets), not in Reliant Stadium.
I honestly don't have a clue about who would come from where; but perhaps expanding the tourney site would help with marketing, as well as to pull fans from places other than just UK? Kinda like FB recruiting--teams like to play in different cities/states to develop a presence in new territories?
Regardless, it is where it is; and very few teams outside of 4 or 5 within the SEC are currently worth a walk across the street to watch em play.
I honestly don't have a clue about who would come from where; but perhaps expanding the tourney site would help with marketing, as well as to pull fans from places other than just UK? Kinda like FB recruiting--teams like to play in different cities/states to develop a presence in new territories?
Regardless, it is where it is; and very few teams outside of 4 or 5 within the SEC are currently worth a walk across the street to watch em play.
This post was edited on 3/15/14 at 12:36 pm
Posted on 3/15/14 at 12:37 pm to CrazyTigerFan
You describe Hoover as some podunk town with little to nothing around it. It's a suburb of roughly 85,000 in a metro area of 1.15 million not that much smaller than New Orleans or Memphis. Calling the hotel accommodations limited is a bit of a stretch too. An over abundance of entertainment options would kind of defeat the purpose of keeping fans at the ballpark for as many games as possible. The problem for those of you that hate Hoover is how well attended the tournament has been even when Alabama wasn't in it. That and the fact that the championship game keeps selling out despite no in state team playing in it for the last few years.
I know you were only using Shreveport as an example but just in case you were being serious it would be a bad move. Other than LSU, Arkansas, and A&M, it is much less convenient for all other league members.
I know you were only using Shreveport as an example but just in case you were being serious it would be a bad move. Other than LSU, Arkansas, and A&M, it is much less convenient for all other league members.
Page 5 of 11
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News