Question: Ticket Demand Seems to Have Decreased

[Scraptor]

There comes a point when they will price themselves out of a full stadium. The games that most people don't want to go at are around $65 each and the price goes up depending on the game. When you add in the cost of parking and food it gets really expensive to take a family to the game. The way I look at it I would rather go on vacation somewhere than spend that kind of money on one football game.

And the tickets are getting even more expensive... Maybe I will go on another vacation this year, because I am mostly watching the games at home

 

[WylieTexasTider]

I know it's already July, but does anyone else feel like it's early for teams to already return their allotment?

I wonder if the schools have a deadline to pay for their allotment or return the extras? I know they offered the 4 and 6 game packages which included aTm, MIZ and Miss St to the public back in May. I'm surprised the Aggies returned tickets as I thought they traveled better than they do.

 

[GP for Bama]

Tickets are expensive, but not a lot more expensive than they have been for years. I think many SEC fans are traveling less because the home teams (including Bama) give opposing fans such bad tickets. I also think many opposing fans don't want to come here just to see their team lose.

 

[Rama Jama]

I've been to almost every kickoff classic we've had in the last 11 years. I only missed the Michigan game in jerryworld. I don't want to travel to Orlando to see Louisville. If Lamar Jackson was still there, it would interested me more. I have attended or one of my immediate family have attended every championship game since Saban arrived and most of the playoff games. Frankly ticket prices are just getting to the point where I just choose not to pay 150 for 1 seat to see a game.
College football is killing the golden goose. It is almost impossible for a family to go see and SEC game simply because is costs so much. At some point, the PTB need to realize they are pricing the average fan out of the stadium.

 

[teamplayer]

There comes a point when they will price themselves out of a full stadium. The games that most people don't want to go at are around $65 each and the price goes up depending on the game. When you add in the cost of parking and food it gets really expensive to take a family to the game. The way I look at it I would rather go on vacation somewhere than spend that kind of money on one football game.

I agree. I have been to many games through the years, but the entertainment value for the money just doesn't make sense to me. I actually had two Bama v. LSU tickets offered to me for free last year, and I still decided not to take them just because of the hassle of battling traffic and all of the other expenses that would accompany the trip. I watched the game in comfort with friends and enjoyed it just as much if not more. My family has been to the beach twice for two different weeks this summer, and my wife and I are going to NOLA next week. I think I choose wisely when it comes to my entertainment dollar. Now, with all of that said, I do plan to try to go to T-town this fall. It has been a few years since I have been, and I like to make it back to campus at least occasionally. Of course, I only have to drive an hour and a half to get there. What some of y'all do to make it to games is incredible. Y'all should get the Bama fan version of a medal of honor or something. It could be called the Alabama Fan Medal of Effort. Roll Tide to you brothers and sisters.

 

[teamplayer]

College football is killing the golden goose. It is almost impossible for a family to go see and SEC game simply because is costs so much. At some point, the PTB need to realize they are pricing the average fan out of the stadium.

I agree, and it's like I've said a million times, if they take care of the game, the money will always be there. If they take care of the money, the game will go away. I am really surprised that it has lasted as long as it has, and I truly wonder if they are really trying to up the ante on the cash grab now that they think the game may be going away anyway due to health concerns.

 

[TiderMan]

Well for all the naysayers on this thread, there are still a lot of us who still enjoy the game day atmosphere that comes with going to a game at BDS. I do enjoy watching a game at home with all the comforts but there is still something special about going to campus and BDS to take in a game. I have been a season ticket holder since 2011 and there is cost involved but to me it is well worth my time and money. My son and myself have made that trip to BDS 6 to7 times every year to see the Tide play. My son is now 16 and who knows how long he will continue to want to go with the old man but for now that is what we do in the fall and we enjoy the time we get to do this together. I spend roughly $2,000 per year on Bama football ($320 Tide Pride donation for my 2 seats, $950 for 2 sets of season tickets, $100 for 2 chair back cushion seats, and about $90 per game on parking, food, drinks, etc. Sometimes that amount is reduced if we have friends go down with us and split cost of parking and food.

Also the demand for Tide Pride season tix is till up and from what I have heard the waiting list is still very long so there are plenty of people who still want to go.

 

[TomFromBama]

Well for all the naysayers on this thread, there are still a lot of us who still enjoy the game day atmosphere that comes with going to a game at BDS. I do enjoy watching a game at home with all the comforts but there is still something special about going to campus and BDS to take in a game. I have been a season ticket holder since 2011 and there is cost involved but to me it is well worth my time and money. My son and myself have made that trip to BDS 6 to7 times every year to see the Tide play. My son is now 16 and who knows how long he will continue to want to go with the old man but for now that is what we do in the fall and we enjoy the time we get to do this together. I spend roughly $2,000 per year on Bama football ($320 Tide Pride donation for my 2 seats, $950 for 2 sets of season tickets, $100 for 2 chair back cushion seats, and about $90 per game on parking, food, drinks, etc. Sometimes that amount is reduced if we have friends go down with us and split cost of parking and food.

Also the demand for Tide Pride season tix is till up and from what I have heard the waiting list is still very long so there are plenty of people who still want to go.

Good for you, buddy!

If I lived only 75 miles from Tuscaloosa I would probably go to most, if not all, home games as well. I've never said I didn't enjoy going to games!! IN fact, I LOVE going to games at B-D!. Which is why it makes me sad that I can't do what you do!

But how about this? Try living 200 or more miles away (and living on a budget). As the old folks say, "Walk a mile in my moccasins".

As I said in a post above (I think it was in this thread) it's nothing for a family of 4 to drop a Grand PER GAME if you don't live within an easy driving distance. For me, it's just my wife and I - but we still have Tide Pride donation and ticket prices, parking, at least one night in a hotel (sometimes two depending on kickoff time); meals for both days - and that's before we drop $20 for a stadium dog or nacho's and two cokes...... We've done games for ~$400 before, but it's not unusual for a single game to set us back $500 or more, especially if we have a couple decent meals along the way.

So your $2,000 a year budget that gets you to 6-7 games, only gets me to Four.

FWIW, I expect ticket and TP demand to continue to be strong, at least until Coach Saban retires. But at the same time, it's an undeniable fact that more and more of us are being priced out of the market - and prices will continue to rise UNTIL they can't fill the stadium..... or at least can't fill it for major SEC games.

We think that will never happen, and UA behaves as though that will never happen. But experience tells us that it will.

Just as Nebraska. Or any Alabama fan who was coming to games from 1997-2006...... Which would include Me.

 

[teamplayer]

Well for all the naysayers on this thread, there are still a lot of us who still enjoy the game day atmosphere that comes with going to a game at BDS. I do enjoy watching a game at home with all the comforts but there is still something special about going to campus and BDS to take in a game. I have been a season ticket holder since 2011 and there is cost involved but to me it is well worth my time and money. My son and myself have made that trip to BDS 6 to7 times every year to see the Tide play. My son is now 16 and who knows how long he will continue to want to go with the old man but for now that is what we do in the fall and we enjoy the time we get to do this together. I spend roughly $2,000 per year on Bama football ($320 Tide Pride donation for my 2 seats, $950 for 2 sets of season tickets, $100 for 2 chair back cushion seats, and about $90 per game on parking, food, drinks, etc. Sometimes that amount is reduced if we have friends go down with us and split cost of parking and food.

Also the demand for Tide Pride season tix is till up and from what I have heard the waiting list is still very long so there are plenty of people who still want to go.

I can certainly understand that. If my daughter enjoyed going to the games with me, I would probably want to keep that going as long as possible. There is a special feeling to being in the stadium for a game and visiting with old buddies before the game, but I hang out with friends and cook and eat and drink and enjoy the heck out of games here in my town without battling traffic and overpaying for everything from parking to water to food. It is a to each his own situation here, and there are definitely enough people who are willing to pay.

 

[BamaInBham]

The teams participating in these games have very little if anything to do with who their opponent will be. Some are put together with input from both schools, but that doesn't always work out as planned. Bama was contracted for the 2013 and 2014 Atlanta games because the Atlanta Sports Council had a tentative agreement with USC to play in either (not both) of those years and Bama was their prefered opponent. All of that went out the window when Pete Carroll left and Bama wound up playing Va Tech and WVU.

Thanks - I did not know that about USC.

 

[ALA2262]

Thanks - I did not know that about USC.

It was never highly publicized because of the tentative nature of the USC agreement. Gary Stokan, then President of the Atlanta Sports Council, announced the agreement with USC on his weekly call-in show on 680 The Fan in June of 2008. The game really never got off the ground because Bama was scheduled to play GT in 2013 and 2014. But when that was dissolved in May of 2010, the earlier negotiations made it easier for Stokan to go back and renegotiate those years with Bama even though the USC agreement was gone.

 

[81usaf92]

It was never highly publicized because of the tentative nature of the USC agreement. Gary Stokan, then President of the Atlanta Sports Council, announced the agreement with USC on his weekly call-in show on 680 The Fan in June of 2008. The game really never got off the ground because Bama was scheduled to play GT in 2013 and 2014. But when that was dissolved in May of 2010, the earlier negotiations made it easier for Stokan to go back and renegotiate those years with Bama even though the USC agreement was gone.

I remember Kiffin being against the match up for some reason and him being the big reason USC backed out. Kinda ironic that the first time he was on our sideline was the 2014 WVU game.

 

[WylieTexasTider]

Also the demand for Tide Pride season tix is till up and from what I have heard the waiting list is still very long so there are plenty of people who still want to go.

Folks are not dropping off the Tide Pride wait list. I have been on the wait list since July 2007. Three years ago I checked and was told they are up to January 2007. Last I checked a few months ago they were on February 2007. They anticipate they will get to July 2007 in approx 2025.

 

[Crimson1967]

Well for all the naysayers on this thread, there are still a lot of us who still enjoy the game day atmosphere that comes with going to a game at BDS. I do enjoy watching a game at home with all the comforts but there is still something special about going to campus and BDS to take in a game. I have been a season ticket holder since 2011 and there is cost involved but to me it is well worth my time and money. My son and myself have made that trip to BDS 6 to7 times every year to see the Tide play. My son is now 16 and who knows how long he will continue to want to go with the old man but for now that is what we do in the fall and we enjoy the time we get to do this together. I spend roughly $2,000 per year on Bama football ($320 Tide Pride donation for my 2 seats, $950 for 2 sets of season tickets, $100 for 2 chair back cushion seats, and about $90 per game on parking, food, drinks, etc. Sometimes that amount is reduced if we have friends go down with us and split cost of parking and food.

Also the demand for Tide Pride season tix is till up and from what I have heard the waiting list is still very long so there are plenty of people who still want to go.

I don’t think anyone was trying to say you shouldn’t go to games in person. Just that the expense and hassle isn’t worth it to them.

It is great you can do that with your kids. But not everyone can or has a desire to do so, even if they could afford it.


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[selmaborntidefan]

I am in the DFW area now as well. I didn't move here until after the last time Bama played at Jerry World, which is only a few miles from my house. I have to admit, sadly, that I am a LazyBoy and my own bathroom fan, and I like it that way. I also prefer being able to be in the air conditioning and watch replays as they happen, while avoiding all the crowds and traffic. My last Bama game was Coach Saban's first bowl game with us, the Independence Bowl in Shreveport. I lived there at the time, and my son was pretty young. He wanted tickets to that game for Christmas (just like the year before), so we went and saw our favorite team when they were in the area. I need to do something, for sure, about how long it has been. But man I love my couch, my own food, and all the other comforts of home.

A reminder that one of the semi-finals is here this year.....and Dallas is closer to T/Town than Miami is mileage wise.

So if we're #1 or #4, we're playing here this year.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Selma,

If you ever want to go and split the gas from DFW, let me know! Last two games I've been to I drove the day before to Meridian and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, $120. I always park in Bryant Dr/12th St in the yard of a house there, $30. I eat a big breakfast at the hotel for free. I bring a small cooler with a sandwich or something for lunch. If it is a 2:30 kick off I will wait and eat after the game. If it is a night game, I will eat a big breakfast at 10AM, eat my sandwich around 3PM and have dinner after the game. I might buy 2 or 3 bottled waters ($10-$15) in the Stadium depending on how hot it is.

I've been lucky to have connections to get tickets at face value. (Actually got free tickets to the 2011 LSU game and had a hell of a time finding someone to go with me.) Therefore, $75-$100 for a ticket, $240 for 2 nights at the hotel, $100 in gas, $20 for meals and $15 in the stadium. $450-$500 for the weekend. Not cheap but, not as bad as it could be...

I wish I had known you then.

Of course, I was in my unhealthy phase at that point (that was about 75 pounds ago).

This year is doubtful but maybe next year. Planning on the IB with a friend this year.

 

[81usaf92]

A reminder that one of the semi-finals is here this year.....and Dallas is closer to T/Town than Miami is mileage wise.

So if we're #1 or #4, we're playing here this year.

That’s not necessarily true. It goes by the geography of the top seed and if there is a home state lower seed.

For instance.

If it was:

1. Clemson
2. Bama
3. FSU
4. TOSU

Clemson would go to Miami because they are closer to Miami than Dallas

Now let’s switch it up

1. Clemson
2. Bama
3. TOSU
4. FSU

Clemson would now go to Dallas to avoid playing in FSU’s home state

Point is there is no #1 assigned site.

FWIW the last time with the Dallas-Miami combo the rankings were:

1. Clemson
2.Bama
3. MSU
4. OU

 

[selmaborntidefan]

That’s not necessarily true. It goes by the geography of the top seed and if there is a home state lower seed.

For instance.

If it was:

1. Clemson
2. Bama
3. FSU
4. TOSU

Clemson would go to Miami because they are closer to Miami than Dallas

Now let’s switch it up

1. Clemson
2. Bama
3. TOSU
4. FSU

Clemson would now go to Dallas to avoid playing in FSU’s home state

Point is there is no #1 assigned site.

FWIW the last time with the Dallas-Miami combo the rankings were:

1. Clemson
2.Bama
3. MSU
4. OU

The way I said it was stupid and incorrect.

If we are number one, we get the "mileage advantage" and it will be here in Dallas.

Otherwise, we're at the mercy. My bad.

 

[bamacpa]

Tough to imagine, at least for me, that there are not 7,000 people willing to visit Tuscaloosa from those 3 SEC schools.

 

[Vinny]

We are staying at the Polynesian for Labor Day weekend and plan on attending the game with our 7 year old. Not too sure if it’s better to Uber it to and from the game or rent a car and pay for parking at the stadium which looks like they are out if their minds for parking. $90 or more. That can’t be right. Any thoughts on Uber vs renting a car for the day, parking, and gas.


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