(05-19-2014 08:34 AM)wh49er Wrote:  

(05-18-2014 01:08 PM)gsuncc Wrote:  I'll be surprised if it's expanded before 2105, but that doesn't mean it won't. Right now, with half the stadium reserved for students, it's hard to expand without demand from ticket buyers. I'm expecting expansion in 2016, 2nd season in CUSA...better competition coming to Charlotte, more fan appeal, improved game-day experience all added together to justify expansion.

Very hard to gauge the true demand when you are charging $30 a ticket to watch us play teams most people haven't heard of. No one truly knows how many tickets we could sell in a deck priced at $20 a piece to play Marshall, USM, ODU, and WKU. I imagine the average college football fan in Charlotte would be inclined to show if the latter was available.

I don't disagree, which is why I think it will be in place (at least expanded to 25k) for 2016 but not sure for 2015. As long as the students get half the seating it's a different revenue stream (they've earned it with fees one could argue too). I doubt, too, that it will remain half for students when the stadium is expanded. It needs to be more widely known, as well, that if students don't pick up tickets within 48 hours of the game, those tickets are available. Not sure that's as well understood.

But, in the end, I've always said it's much better to be discussing when the stadium is expanded rather than when will Charlotte get football!

(05-19-2014 08:55 AM)gsuncc Wrote:  

(05-19-2014 08:34 AM)wh49er Wrote:  

(05-18-2014 01:08 PM)gsuncc Wrote:  I'll be surprised if it's expanded before 2105, but that doesn't mean it won't. Right now, with half the stadium reserved for students, it's hard to expand without demand from ticket buyers. I'm expecting expansion in 2016, 2nd season in CUSA...better competition coming to Charlotte, more fan appeal, improved game-day experience all added together to justify expansion.

Very hard to gauge the true demand when you are charging $30 a ticket to watch us play teams most people haven't heard of. No one truly knows how many tickets we could sell in a deck priced at $20 a piece to play Marshall, USM, ODU, and WKU. I imagine the average college football fan in Charlotte would be inclined to show if the latter was available.

I don't disagree, which is why I think it will be in place (at least expanded to 25k) for 2016 but not sure for 2015. As long as the students get half the seating it's a different revenue stream (they've earned it with fees one could argue too). I doubt, too, that it will remain half for students when the stadium is expanded. It needs to be more widely known, as well, that if students don't pick up tickets within 48 hours of the game, those tickets are available. Not sure that's as well understood.

But, in the end, I've always said it's much better to be discussing when the stadium is expanded rather than when will Charlotte get football!

I think we'll see at least one side expanded before 2015 honestly. It can easily be done in an offseason. Ga Southern started their deck after the season and their deck is already done. It had its certificate of occupancy and everything before graduation ceremonies.

(05-19-2014 08:34 AM)wh49er Wrote:  

(05-18-2014 01:08 PM)gsuncc Wrote:  I'll be surprised if it's expanded before 2105, but that doesn't mean it won't. Right now, with half the stadium reserved for students, it's hard to expand without demand from ticket buyers. I'm expecting expansion in 2016, 2nd season in CUSA...better competition coming to Charlotte, more fan appeal, improved game-day experience all added together to justify expansion.

Very hard to gauge the true demand when you are charging $30 a ticket to watch us play teams most people haven't heard of. No one truly knows how many tickets we could sell in a deck priced at $20 a piece to play Marshall, USM, ODU, and WKU. I imagine the average college football fan in Charlotte would be inclined to show if the latter was available.

Well we know exactly how many tickets we can sell at $30--all of them. It sure wouldn't make any sense to lower the pricing at this point. I think they need to announce they are going to 25,000 and start taking deposits for the tickets. $49 will hold your seat until the regular ticket bills come out and make it first come, first serve on the better seats to encourage people to do it now. That would put almost a half million dollars in the pot to get the construction started.

(05-19-2014 10:38 AM)Nugget49er Wrote:  Well we know exactly how many tickets we can sell at $30--all of them. It sure wouldn't make any sense to lower the pricing at this point.

How many teams charge the same for upper level as lower level, college or pro? Might be able to get away with between the 40s.

We have to give some fans a lower price point to get in the stadium to grow our program.

(05-19-2014 10:53 AM)wh49er Wrote:  

(05-19-2014 10:38 AM)Nugget49er Wrote:  Well we know exactly how many tickets we can sell at $30--all of them. It sure wouldn't make any sense to lower the pricing at this point.

How many teams charge the same for upper level as lower level, college or pro? Might be able to get away with between the 40s.

We have to give some fans a lower price point to get in the stadium to grow our program.

And, it's important to keep those fans already attending: students who become alums but have just started the family, gotten a job, etc., and don't have the disposable income at $30 per ticket but want to keep attending and supporting the program. I don't know if there's a program for young alums, but there should be IMO.

Seems a lot like you guys are looking for something to fix that doesn't need fixing yet.

(05-19-2014 11:33 AM)49RFootballNow Wrote:  Seems a lot like you guys are looking for something to fix that doesn't need fixing yet.

Not really, just responding to a question about expansion.

Charlotte's problem is having half the stadium reserved for students and then 36 hours before the game opening up sections of unreserved/claimed student seat sections to the public. With all the press about the stadium being sold out, opening up seats last minute just doesn't give you a chance to build a demand or get people interested, because you never know when seats will or won't be available -- by then, most people have made their weekend plans.

They need more seats for the general public - so they can build a marketing campaign for alums and community football fans. Whether that is limiting student tickets and thus opening up more sections to the public, or adding a second tier of seats on the visiting side (and a club level on the home side that includes corporate / alumni suites)... something needs to be done to regularly make enough seats available to allow the rest of Charlotte to be engaged by the program... right now a lot of casual football fans are just sitting back and saying - sold out season - when are they going to enlarge or move games to BOA Stadium so we can go to a game, not realizing online there might be some tickets made available.

(05-19-2014 12:01 PM)IceJus10 Wrote:  Charlotte's problem is having half the stadium reserved for students and then 36 hours before the game opening up sections of unreserved/claimed student seat sections to the public. With all the press about the stadium being sold out, opening up seats last minute just doesn't give you a chance to build a demand or get people interested, because you never know when seats will or won't be available -- by then, most people have made their weekend plans.

They need more seats for the general public - so they can build a marketing campaign for alums and community football fans. Whether that is limiting student tickets and thus opening up more sections to the public, or adding a second tier of seats on the visiting side (and a club level on the home side that includes corporate / alumni suites)... something needs to be done to regularly make enough seats available to allow the rest of Charlotte to be engaged by the program... right now a lot of casual football fans are just sitting back and saying - sold out season - when are they going to enlarge or move games to BOA Stadium so we can go to a game, not realizing online there might be some tickets made available.

Yep. All of this is spot on.

EVERYONE thought there were no general public tickets left for any games because that is what the school had said for a year or more leading up to the season.

The reality was, when students didn't claim their full allotment, there were seats available. Later in the season, there were probably at least 500 seats available to the general public for every game, but people didn't know. Even people I know that are fans of the program didn't even try to get tickets because they had no idea that some were released 36 hours or so before the game, so they just sat at home and watched it on television.

That is one area where the school failed big time last year. There is no reason to give students half the stadium again this year. Many of the students got up at half time to meet their friends on the concourses and never returned to their seats. They didn't leave the game, they just stood on the concourse and watched the game because the view was better than it was from their corner seats in many cases. I'd rather more of those corner and endzone seats be given to the general public and everything between the goal lines can go to the students.