How Fulmer aims to solve falling football attendance

[jim pique]

Being an "ole time vol,(66-71),I believe that students have to pay for tickets to home games at Neyland.Why not let them have a ticket picked up at the student center,or somewhere on campus ,by showing a student id.They pay enough for school,also,some students who haven't much extra moneyget to go see their(andour)vols.This wouldn't break UTAD at all.

 

[MurphyVol]

Need less seats, errbody too fat these days.

 

[jarnol32]

Win and the stadium will be full. It’s as simple as that.

 

[Tourney3p0]

Being an "ole time vol,(66-71),I believe that students have to pay for tickets to home games at Neyland.Why not let them have a ticket picked up at the student center,or somewhere on campus ,by showing a student id.They pay enough for school,also,some students who haven't much extra moneyget to go see their(andour)vols.This wouldn't break UTAD at all.

Tickets for students were free when I was there, but I believe they started charging during either the Kiffin or Dooley eras. I do seem to remember that we had an athletic fee, so maybe that's been removed. Probably not though.

"Oh man, we sure are awful now. We should start charging more money!" Ideas like this are what got us to where we are today.

 

[Iam4utalways]

Take the cost of food out of the equation. You got to eat at home too. This works for my wife on weekend hunting trips too

I travel about 7 hours, cabin for 2-3 nights, but nothing beats being in East Tennessee in the fall. "its football time in Tennessee" still brings chill bumps except that Sept game when it was like 140.

Mrs Iam4utalways likes to go to gumpville every other year just the two of us, so it doesn’t do me any good trying to down play the cost or a game trip. When the kids go with me it’s a couple of days with one or two of them out of her hair. The Vol Baby just turned 2 so she is too young for me to take her with the twin 5 yr olds to a game. When I take 1 it’s always been the boy twin, a guys weekend. I did take the twins to the O&W game last year. We had a blast.

The 1st time just us two guys went to a game he thought we had moved out and was sad when it was time to go home. With 3 sisters at home who could blame him.

Go when you can! Who knows when you can’t?

 

[KingtUT]

Id personally like to see them rip out every bench seat in the stadium. Squeezing 3 people in an area only big enough for 2 average males is a joke. Put real seats in the stadium and whatever it holds....it holds.

 

[bag12day]

Mrs Iam4utalways likes to go to gumpville every other year just the two of us, so it doesn’t do me any good trying to down play the cost or a game trip. When the kids go with me it’s a couple of days with one or two of them out of her hair. The Vol Baby just turned 2 so she is too young for me to take her with the twin 5 yr olds to a game. When I take 1 it’s always been the boy twin, a guys weekend. I did take the twins to the O&W game last year. We had a blast.

The 1st time just us two guys went to a game he thought we had moved out and was sad when it was time to go home. With 3 sisters at home who could blame him.

Go when you can! Who knows when you can’t?

That's hilarious! I do go to every game I can and usually only miss 1 or 2 when my back cant take the ride three weeks in a row. My best times were when my son was at Western Carolina Univ. and we could grab a couple of his buddies and head to Knoxville from his house in Cullowhee. He's our only kid so I figure the more money I can spend with him hunting and going to Vols games the less he has to spend when I'm dead and gone LOL. He has a thumb of oppression (wife) now so those trips are fewer and fewer.

I hate not seeing as many families attend the games as I seem to recall when I was a young'un. Cost is definitely a factor IMO and they better figure something out or (not just at UT) the days of young fans coming to big stadiums are gonna be numbered. I am wholesale on board with putting real seats on the benches even if it drives capacity down by 15,000.

 

[bigalvol27]

Students don’t pay for tickets.

Don’t they have a sports fee that is part of tuition. I bet their parents pony up for that and I bet more pay for it and don’t go. UT isn’t giving away tickets.

 

[bigalvol27]

$35 per seat? Are you talking about 1985? One reason attendance is down besides the poor teams we have been fielding is they have basically priced the tickets so high that the average fan can’t afford to go to a game. I, for one, can’t afford to spend a $1,000 for my family to attend a game, i .e., tickets, food, hotel, etc.

I was giving UT the benefit of the doubt. Assume those last 9k are nose bleed.

 

[W.TN.Orange Blood]

I promise to go to more football games in the fall if he will fire Holly now.

............... And there it is.

 

[Hulavol]

To the above post, I have honestly never really understood why people give a rats ass about women’s basketball. It’s just like Alabama and Georgia with the gymnastics. I understand if you have a daughter on the team and all, but damn, who cares? It’s my fault for not having time to follow all sports - and I do like seeing the Ladies win, but I don’t give a rip when they lose ... if I were in charge however, the Holly lady would be long, long gone.

 

[NEO]

When I was at Ohio state tickets were like 18 bucks per ticket for students and you could buy up to four.

This was about 23 years ago and may have changed but the tickets always sold out fast.

I have no idea what student tickets at neyland cost but 18 is fair. Basically a non matinee movie.

I stopped going to games at neyland because I am not driving 3 hours and paying 800 to watch our team get killed. And I am sure as hell sick of the ride back where all my teenage kids ask if we always sucked.

My one daughter likes candy because as she puts it....they can actually win games and always beat UT dad.

Thanks UTAD!!!!

Just start winning games.

 

[Iam4utalways]

That's hilarious! I do go to every game I can and usually only miss 1 or 2 when my back cant take the ride three weeks in a row. My best times were when my son was at Western Carolina Univ. and we could grab a couple of his buddies and head to Knoxville from his house in Cullowhee. He's our only kid so I figure the more money I can spend with him hunting and going to Vols games the less he has to spend when I'm dead and gone LOL. He has a thumb of oppression (wife) now so those trips are fewer and fewer.

I hate not seeing as many families attend the games as I seem to recall when I was a young'un. Cost is definitely a factor IMO and they better figure something out or (not just at UT) the days of young fans coming to big stadiums are gonna be numbered. I am wholesale on board with putting real seats on the benches even if it drives capacity down by 15,000.

Sounds like your Daughter-In-Law needs to drop y’all off at the game and spend her day shopping in Knoxville or Pigeon Forge. Make it worth her while for you to spend time with your son.

I’m not sure if I’m in love with the number 102,455. If they chair backed all the straight parts and see what the number would be. If they just put a back to the benches it would be way better.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

I understand the cost argument, but I was spending much more on a SEC rivalry game weekend 15 years ago than I do now and back then I just felt lucky to get scalped tickets paying 4x or more than face value and book a decent room. Nowadays, ticket price is up but you can buy tickets at face value for almost any game and there are many nice motels that don't require 2-night minimum.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Id personally like to see them rip out every bench seat in the stadium. Squeezing 3 people in an area only big enough for 2 average males is a joke. Put real seats in the stadium and whatever it holds....it holds.

You just prodded me into making a decision. Considering the last few times Shirley and I got whale-edged in our seats, We're not returning to Neyland until they install chair seats. Been see-sawing on this decision for a while. But your post finalized things for me. Why pay for enduring the 280-mile drive, and other costs if you can't enjoy the reason you're doing all that? Meanwhile, I might just get an even bigger TV, one that covers even more wall space with the saved cash. Or install a semi-covered brick grill for our various game meat steaks. Maybe add solar-powered LED lighting for night grilling. Enjoy games in a whale-free environment. Thanks for the push.

 

[bag12day]

Sounds like your Daughter-In-Law needs to drop y’all off at the game and spend her day shopping in Knoxville or Pigeon Forge. Make it worth her while for you to spend time with your son.

I’m not sure if I’m in love with the number 102,455. If they chair backed all the straight parts and see what the number would be. If they just put a back to the benches it would be way better.

Hahaha Here's the rub... She is a great kid and she grew up a Bama fan but she loves to go to the games when her work allows. Its more about life getting in the way of three days away from home and they have two dogs. Last year we invited her parents to the Bama game and she was dressed in all orange to her moms chagrin. It was their first time going to another SEC stadium and they were surprised by how small the seats were and they are small folks.

 

[Vato]

I hate being an A**hole but the simple answer is winning.
If the program starts winning the stadium will be full.

 

[Iam4utalways]

Hahaha Here's the rub... She is a great kid and she grew up a Bama fan but she loves to go to the games when her work allows. Its more about life getting in the way of three days away from home and they have two dogs. Last year we invited her parents to the Bama game and she was dressed in all orange to her moms chagrin. It was their first time going to another SEC stadium and they were surprised by how small the seats were and they are small folks.

That’s cool her being dressed in Orange. Brain washing at it’s best.

I’ve been jammed up in Neyland they are right about that.

My Dad, brother and I went to the AR game when McFadden was there, had a blast except for the game.

We headed up on Friday and after checking in the hotel we drove by the stadium to check out what was what. The students camp out for tickets, so we drive by and I holler out “Go Vols”. That was so fun we did it again. The 2nd time around still taken by surprise one of them threw their flip flop at the car. It was a company car so we did it again. Well the next time around they threw some change, so we called it a night.

So game day we ended up with an extra ticket, my Dad gives it away. My brother asked, “Who did you give it to?”, Before he could even answer my brother said, “Please tell me you gave it to the hot girl and not the fat man.”

We were crowded all night.

At Neyland there is some curve to the seats as you get to the corners. We were on the sideline but in line with the back line of the end zone, no curve. It took us way too long to figure out they were late on their curve.

My brother is the one that hollered out, “You know he’s gonna run it!”, right before McFadden threw for a TD. Although my brother was wrong, from our angle he could have run it in just like he did their last possession.

Go Vols!

 

[VolForLife83]

The Vols’ announced attendance for seven home games in 2017 totaled 670,454. That represented a 5.1 percent drop compared to announced attendance for 2016. Announced attendance decreased to 650,887 for this season’s seven home games, an additional 2.9 percent drop compared to 2017.

Announced attendance reflects tickets distributed – not the number of fans who actually attend the game. As for actual attendance, Tennessee totaled 545,343 fans in 2018, which equates to an average actual crowd of 77,906. That’s more than the capacity of several SEC stadiums, but it means that, on average, 25,000 seats were empty at Neyland for a home Saturday.

...Fulmer noted that the NFL is moving toward smaller, fan-friendly stadiums to address changes in attendance patterns. Because UT doesn’t plan to decrease Neyland Stadium's capacity, Fulmer is focused on the fan-friendly portion of the NFL’s approach. He also noticed the fan experience while attending a game at Yankee Stadium last summer.
UT Vols: How Phillip Fulmer plans to remedy sagging Tennessee football attendance

Just add a bar

 

[rockingchairvol]

Ticket. Prices. Transport to stadium. pF needs to look at the crowd movement at Auburn. It works well. Have not paid for parking in years. Let off near stadium and now that need it golf carts take me to the gate. Think I have been to last game at neyland so sad. Even going for ever 60 years.

 

[VOL_Lyfe]

...Fulmer noted that the NFL is moving toward smaller, fan-friendly stadiums to address changes in attendance patterns.

"Our program isn't losing popularity, its just that our appeal is becoming more selective!"

 

[VolsRule]

Win and the stadium will be full. It’s as simple as that.

It's not that simple. Cheap 70-80 inch TVs and much higher prices for tickets, hotels, and parking have changed the attendance dynamics. More people are staying home, regardless of how well the team is performing. One suggestion among many that are needed---add NFL style seating in at least half of the stadium, with wider seats, cupholders, and totally redo the concessions model, with lower prices, more stations, better quality, and faster service. Eventually, the SEC will allow beer and wine to be served at games, which will help a little.

 

[jarnol32]

It's not that simple. Cheap 70-80 inch TVs and much higher prices for tickets, hotels, and parking have changed the attendance dynamics. More people are staying home, regardless of how well the team is performing. One suggestion among many that are needed---add NFL style seating in at least half of the stadium, with wider seats, cupholders, and totally redo the concessions model, with lower prices, more stations, better quality, and faster service. Eventually, the SEC will allow beer and wine to be served at games, which will help a little.

It is that simple, and for proof look at the men’s basketball team. We have a huge arena that is constantly being sold out. Why? Because we are winning. We don’t need wider seats for the fatties and beer to sell out Neyland, we need a winning product on the field. You vastly underestimate the passion behind this fan base. The last ten years has battered expectations, but you would be suprised what a couple of ten win seasons and a trip to the sec title game would do for attendance.

 

[OleRockyTop]

It's not that simple. Cheap 70-80 inch TVs and much higher prices for tickets, hotels, and parking have changed the attendance dynamics. More people are staying home, regardless of how well the team is performing. One suggestion among many that are needed---add NFL style seating in at least half of the stadium, with wider seats, cupholders, and totally redo the concessions model, with lower prices, more stations, better quality, and faster service. Eventually, the SEC will allow beer and wine to be served at games, which will help a little.

The stadium was literally filled for almost every game in 2016 and we still ended up 9-4, win and they will come. Also considering they don't want to lower the capacity they'll never add NFL style seats to a good bit of the stadium as it would lower the capacity tremendously.

 

[Iam4utalways]

If we can pick and choose where to start, I would start with winning and see what that gets us. After that all that other stuff would be fine too.

Going to games is like going fishing. Two things are important...
1)Winning/Catching Fish
2) Who you go with.

Going to a win or filling the live well, you can enjoy that with about anybody, but if you aren’t winning or you get skunked, you better believe who you are with matters.

I’m fortunate that crowded seats and the occasional jackwagon at a game are low on my radar. Same goes for concessions and other amenities.

Although I did get jammed up once needed a changing table. FWIW the difference between the Terrace and the rest of the regular parts of Neyland is substantial.