(06-06-2022 04:01 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(06-06-2022 02:49 PM)e-parade Wrote:  Thanks to inflation schools are going to be able to start counting every fan in attendance as 1.25 fans in attendance and statistics will look better than ever.

I think some schools have been doing this already.

Nobody was more notorious for this than Tulane in the Superdome.

People may show up this year (and maybe next year) even with high inflation because they have been eager to spend on entertainment after the pandemic but what about future years? I think it could be a long term problem if this keeps up.

Rental cars are insanely expensive...I miss the days of those Enterprise $9.99 weekend specials.

Motels are very pricey too

It all adds up...

Bottomline: if you already bought season tickets...you still go but you try to economize. If you are a casual fan maybe you pull back??? We might see 10% less travelers from a couple hours out. Local fans will still go and maybe buy less beer and crap on game day.

(06-06-2022 09:52 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  People may show up this year (and maybe next year) even with high inflation because they have been eager to spend on entertainment after the pandemic but what about future years? I think it could be a long term problem if this keeps up.

When the gas prices shot up back in 2008 I know people who decided to cut back on driving long distances for FB games. Its not so much they can't afford the gas but they decide its not worth it.

The second question is how high are prices going to go? If you are thinking about season tickets now and the prices may go to 6 or 7 dollars at the pump that's a risk you are taking.

Interesting info from the Atlanta Fed about sports in the South during the Great Recession of 2007-09:

https://www.atlantafed.org/regional-econ..._draw_fans

Upshot was that attendance and ticket sales decreased slightly for NFL, MLB and major SEC and ACC teams, but not dramatically so. Florida noted that their ticket sales were the same, but where they really saw a difference was much lower merchandise sales from their 2008 National Championship compared to 2006.

NASCAR and minor league sports, on the other hand, got hammered very badly by the Great Recession. Their ticket sales got crushed.

This reflects the unique dynamics in sports economics. For most products, when the economy goes down, it’s the higher end premium products that get hammered while lower priced and discounted products do better. In sports, it has generally shown to be the opposite: the higher priced premium products retain a lot more of their sales, while the lower end product is what gets cut out of people’s budgets the most.

(06-06-2022 10:04 AM)Bronco14 Wrote:  Schools have rich alumni plus draw enough local community or have large national fanbases. Home schedule only 5-7 times a year.

Maybe I'm wrong. W/ gas at $5.20 a gallon now & still surging, all bets may be off.

(06-07-2022 08:19 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Interesting info from the Atlanta Fed about sports in the South during the Great Recession of 2007-09:

https://www.atlantafed.org/regional-econ..._draw_fans

Upshot was that attendance and ticket sales decreased slightly for NFL, MLB and major SEC and ACC teams, but not dramatically so. Florida noted that their ticket sales were the same, but where they really saw a difference was much lower merchandise sales from their 2008 National Championship compared to 2006.

NASCAR and minor league sports, on the other hand, got hammered very badly by the Great Recession. Their ticket sales got crushed.

This reflects the unique dynamics in sports economics. For most products, when the economy goes down, it’s the higher end premium products that get hammered while lower priced and discounted products do better. In sports, it has generally shown to be the opposite: the higher priced premium products retain a lot more of their sales, while the lower end product is what gets cut out of people’s budgets the most.

NASCAR I thought at least for the main circuit was a statewide draw rather than an local event. Easily can see how higher gas prices would hammer that.

College sports season ticket holders are in the most cases local. I know there is an exception at some of the mid-majors with distributed alumni but they are normally local, which I define as being within 1 hour. The alternative for them might be traveling 3 hours to get to a major league game so staying local with high gas prices makes sense.

I decided to cancel mine. For me its a tank of gas one way ($90) and I don't like the idea of contributing to demand. I'm also canceling a vineyard that I am a member of which is also a tank round trip and $500 a year. Family changes are another consideration as well as COVID. Convenient time to give some things up IMO.

(06-06-2022 02:04 PM)MattBrownEP Wrote:  This could very well happen, but the place where you've seen the biggest impact from inflation right now is with facility construction and renovation. Projects that were already planned from like, 2019, and getting killed, and others are going to be delayed.

Yes, we're so fortunate to have broken ground on our new $32-million Chippewa Champions Center at Central Michigan right before the pandemic began. The now completed facility at Kelly/Shorts Stadium is already paying huge dividends in recruiting.

(06-06-2022 02:04 PM)MattBrownEP Wrote:  This could very well happen, but the place where you've seen the biggest impact from inflation right now is with facility construction and renovation. Projects that were already planned from like, 2019, and getting killed, and others are going to be delayed.

Which runs counter to this amped up arm race wanting donations for NIL.

The broader trends in society are going away from college sports.

Things are trending toward a low carbon, active lifestyle.