We get what? 2,500 fans per game? That leaves about 5,000 empty seats. How about telling adults that they can bring as many kids in for free. That way the adults pay, the kids will demand money for the concession stands, we will put butts in the seats, and the kids may, just may, become Griz fans.
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What will it take? (I have an answer!)
- Thread starter citygriz
- Start date
Maybe not doable but my suggestion would be to move the crowds closer to the action. You do this by cordon off the upper tiers and this will make the arena smaller. Now instead of 7,500 seats you make it 4,000 or 4,500. Reserved seats in the lower sections would still retain their seats but GA would be forced closer to the action and hopefully more involved.
Also I think that since they scan tickets they can tell which season ticket holders actually use their tickets. If season ticket holders use their tickets less then 50% (conference games) you could offer them special incentives to attend or they lose their seats or they are moved to a different seat that is less attractive. A rather Draconian move and would be a tough sell but maybe something of this nature is needed. Thoughts? Insults?
Also I think that since they scan tickets they can tell which season ticket holders actually use their tickets. If season ticket holders use their tickets less then 50% (conference games) you could offer them special incentives to attend or they lose their seats or they are moved to a different seat that is less attractive. A rather Draconian move and would be a tough sell but maybe something of this nature is needed. Thoughts? Insults?
The_Real_Chief
Well-known member
Sport said:
I think cheap beer, tailgating, fighting and chaos would help with crowd noise and attendance.
UMGriz75
Well-known member
Well, compare the two experiences. Football have evolved as a social experience all on its own over the past 50 years. It may even be self-sustaining at UM because of that regardless of team performance (and we may well find out).The_Real_Chief said:
Basketball? It's gone backwards. It's like walking back-in-time, and many of the people there were there 40 years ago. There are just fewer of them left. The looonnngggg winter break is a natural momentum-breaker. Fix that.
The_Real_Chief
Well-known member
UMGriz75 said:
I completely agree with this.
PeauxRouge said:
But basketball games are only an hour and a half long...
First Problem-Lack of Talent: It isn't just in that town you live in, It is all over the state, even at High school levels. Montana (in general) isn't the Basketball State it use to be. In the past, there were 2 maybe 3 kids a year, that could play for the Cats or griz...Now you are lucky to see 1 every 5 years (sure there are some exception years, but not many).
Second Problem-Players: I have seen it (or heard it) from students on both campuses, that the Basketball players are not as outgoing, and inviting as other sport team players...Now I am not saying all of them aren't, but when my wife went to school at MSU and my cousins all went to school at UM, they all said that the Basketball players always were the last ones in the room, and the first ones to leave...They just carried themselves differently then the football kids did around campus. Therefore a lot of college kids didn't support them (Why would I go watch you, you don't do shit for us)
Why do you think the U of I is building a 4,500 seat arena and Gonzaga's new arena is only 6,000? They both realized that today's campus environment has changed dramatically over the past 20/30 years. There are just to many distractions out there in today's world.
For us old dogs this is disappointing because we love the skill and hard work these young men and women put forth in effort.
For us old dogs this is disappointing because we love the skill and hard work these young men and women put forth in effort.
UMGriz75
Well-known member
After the first major renovation of "the Field House" it had the more comfortable seats and a 9,700 seat capacity. I can recall sell-out basketball games; the days of the "Zoo" and lots of enthusiasm and excitement. Harassing Weber State Coach Neil McCarthy was something of a school sport, mainly because he took things so personally. Big guy with a temper. The favorite ploy was to order take-out pizza for him; and the entertainment value of some hapless delivery kid trying to get McCarthy to take the pizza he had "ordered" -- right there in front of everyone during the game. McCarthy would turn bright red; he hated Montana games.
Students brought potatoes to roll across the floor to honor Idaho schools; one Ref blew up and threatened a team foul if "one more potato" made an appearance on the floor. Naturally, someone had a box of freeze-dried potatoes. Plop. The box lands on the floor in front of the ref. Even he had to laugh. The days of "The Zoo." It was located midway at floor level so it had maximum visibility to the audience, and was a great PR feature. Then, for reasons unfathomable, during a renovation that took the BB games off campus to Sentinel High for a year or more, they moved back onto campus and put "The Zoo" on the "north" bleachers, partially hidden by the basketball supports. "The Zoo" never really returned, and attendance dropped by 2/3rds or more.
So, there was a "winning formula" for BB crowd attendance, but UM broke the mold and didn't seem to care in particular; so crowd support languishes, and UM just shrugs.
Students brought potatoes to roll across the floor to honor Idaho schools; one Ref blew up and threatened a team foul if "one more potato" made an appearance on the floor. Naturally, someone had a box of freeze-dried potatoes. Plop. The box lands on the floor in front of the ref. Even he had to laugh. The days of "The Zoo." It was located midway at floor level so it had maximum visibility to the audience, and was a great PR feature. Then, for reasons unfathomable, during a renovation that took the BB games off campus to Sentinel High for a year or more, they moved back onto campus and put "The Zoo" on the "north" bleachers, partially hidden by the basketball supports. "The Zoo" never really returned, and attendance dropped by 2/3rds or more.
So, there was a "winning formula" for BB crowd attendance, but UM broke the mold and didn't seem to care in particular; so crowd support languishes, and UM just shrugs.
I think perhaps the days when Fat Dad" could stir the crowd into a frenzy and get the bleachers trembling with the stomping of feet are in the past. I believe it was the Big Sky Commissioner, Doug Fullerton who put a stop to his outlandish antics that truly made the Field House a palace of horrors for opposing teams. I could be wrong on the Fullerton piece but it hasn't been the same since.
Like it or not it's the "show" plus exciting basketball that will bring the crowds back to the arena. We have one of the ingredients now all we need is the show and the promotion. Travis and his staff have put together a great young group of men who will play an exciting brand of up tempo ball. The Athletic Dept. is remiss if they don't put more effort into promoting our product. Start with the half time show which is sadly lacking and the pep band which needs to learn some new songs. Double their size add some pizza to their sets. Do a full page ad in the Student newspaper as well as the Missoulian on game day. When I was in school there were 5,000 students and a city population of under 30,000. And the Field House would rock. Today we have a student body of around 11,000 and 80,000+ in Missoula. I would be willing to put some money towards hiring a local ad agency to help out.
Fire away Griz fans!
Like it or not it's the "show" plus exciting basketball that will bring the crowds back to the arena. We have one of the ingredients now all we need is the show and the promotion. Travis and his staff have put together a great young group of men who will play an exciting brand of up tempo ball. The Athletic Dept. is remiss if they don't put more effort into promoting our product. Start with the half time show which is sadly lacking and the pep band which needs to learn some new songs. Double their size add some pizza to their sets. Do a full page ad in the Student newspaper as well as the Missoulian on game day. When I was in school there were 5,000 students and a city population of under 30,000. And the Field House would rock. Today we have a student body of around 11,000 and 80,000+ in Missoula. I would be willing to put some money towards hiring a local ad agency to help out.
Fire away Griz fans!
The_Real_Chief said:
The only thing I'll add is they are not going to be able to fund the program any further than it is until this happens
MissoulaMarinerFan
Well-known member
If I remember correctly, it has been discussed here before. The gist of it (when I was a student athlete as well in the early 2000's) is that the Griz and Lady Griz "rent" the Adams Center for their use. It isn't all that un-common (especially at schools larger than UM), however (from what I can remember) is that they pay a truckload, all the $$$ earned from Food and Beverage goes back to UM Concessions and the remainder (I think) goes into the general budget at the U. Football is setup pretty similar, but they do OK because they get just about 25,000 butts in the seats every home game. Griz and Lady Griz? Not so much. All that said, I could be wrong.kyle_sample said:
616s6e said:
Sky Club is a pretty small venue, so inviting everyone up for dinner is not realistic. For your question as to who is eligible for Sky Club, you have to have donated a minimum of $1300 in a calendar year to athletics above ticket prices, or belong to one of the booster clubs ( quarterback, hoop, round-ball).
