They’ve Given Up

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Originally Posted by CajunNation

I think the bottoming out of Fracking had more to do with the drop off in attendance than anything else, but we need to discuss this more. There is a bigger issue here.

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You’ve mentioned the “bottoming out of fracking” more than once.

Can you explain further? Because yes, there was a slump in 2014/15, then Covid-induced crash in 2020, but there is now a ____ ton of fracking going on these days. And oilfield service companies in Louisiana are doing well, even if it’s all Permian and GOM work.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm reading is that tickets need to be cheaper, parking and tailgating access needs to be cheaper, and RCAF contributions need to be abolished.

I don't care either way, but what I'm reading really seems contrary to what some of the very posters in this thread were suggesting in the not too distant past.

"We shouldn't be giving something of value away for free."

Like I said, I don't care.

But if you were wrong in your initial assessment (which was pretty consistent with how the Athletic Department was doing things) at least admit you were wrong.

This is 100% accurate.
We used to have 2 tailgating spots, season tickets to baseball, basketball and football.
They went up DOUBLE on the baseball patio boxes, almost double on tailgating spots.
Had to make a financial decision and kept baseball and dropped the rest.

I remember calling in on Jay’s radio show and telling him they just went up double (DOUBLE) on our baseball patio box and he said no, no way they would do that. Then the next caller who called in and that Jay knew said uh uh Jay that guy was right they did go up double. He didn’t know what to say. We signed a seven year contract. The cost for one box (6) tickets for each year was $3336 per year ($556 per person for one year). We were promised concierge service and many other perks. They came through for about 2 years on this and then it was gone. What we ended up getting was a bunch of bad policies:
Fired peanut man (eventually brought him back)
No local food products
Tried to ban kids (do away with young ragin cajun club attending all games) eventually brought back
Only letting kids run on the field after sunday game (this was never ever a problem under Coach Robe).
The yellow shirts standing by the bricks to make sure KIDS do not go on the field after the games (almost like treating them like criminals not kids as fans)
Making up new polices that my own kids could not sit with me (which eventually got changed)
Hot beer and ran out of beer horrible sodexo food and service.


I could go on and on and on.

I guess my point is that my family goes to at least 90% of the games and it is very costly.

My question is do you all think they will go up from the $556 yearly price per person?

If so they will start to price people out that are die hard baseball fans.

I did get the McDonalds 6 pack the last couple of years for football as it was something I could afford.

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Originally Posted by Cajunrunner

You’ve mentioned the “bottoming out of fracking” more than once.

Can you explain further? Because yet, there was a slump in 2014/15, then Covid-induced crash in 2020, but there is now a ____ ton of fracking going on these days. And oilfield service companies in Louisiana are doing well, even if it’s all Permian and GOM work.

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All I know is that A LOT of the attendance back then was group ticket purchases by oilfield companies, and when the initial fracking boom ended, they quit doing that. To my knowledge, they have never resumed doing that.

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Originally Posted by GreatestStory

I have been saying this for years. Search my post history and you will see how many are regarding "fix tailgating".

I remember when tailgating was the talk of the town during football season. It was very similar to the vibe generated by Downtown Alive: let's go out there, meet up with our friends, make some new friends, have a few drinks, eat some food, and have a great time. It was all organically grown by the fans, for the fans.

Then the university decided to take over the tailgating scene. Every year the restrictions, requirements, and pricing increased to the point where it became more of hassle for casual fans to tailgate. Gone was the Downtown Alive vibe. It felt as if tailgating was no longer an event open to the public, but rather a membership type atmosphere. Instead of just showing up to tailgate, you had to try to find a group to tailgate with.

We are one of the few universities that charge for basic tailgating. Yes, most universities have premium tailgating and/or turnkey tailgating, but those same universities still have free "first come, first served" areas for general tailgating. I don't think it's a great idea for there to be zero free tailgating.

I agree with having premium spots next to the stadium, but cut the students and fans loose and let them do their thing. People in South Louisiana definitely don't need to be told how to party.

GEAUX CAJUNS!!

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Not much search history available past a few weeks since the reboot.

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Originally Posted by crazycajun

Imo they need to first, get off the students backs and let them cultivate a atmosphere. Then they need to get the party back at tailgating, they have made it where there isnt really anything for tyhe 1,2,3 games a year people. They are forcing peopole to be all in, rcaf, season tickets parking passes and giant tailgate spot. A lot of people that cant go to every home game dont see the value in that. Figure out how many actual spots you need forthe passes you sold on the pavement, save a few extra and open up the rest to game day pay to park. I have a parking pass but would gladly pay to park in the morning so i can leave my wife the parking pass to come later in the day with the kid. Have per game tailgationg spots available somewhere inside the gate. A good start would be to take the unsold 30' x 30' TG spots and cut them in half which would allow 2 diiferent groups to put pop up tents on the same spot for half the price and teh university gets twice the money bc you know, they are empty. I think families have been priced out in that aspect and not everyone needs room for a 20' x 20' tent and 2 vehicles, offer something more practical. We will never get people in the stadium if we cant even get them outside the stadium.

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this point about tailgating passes being all or nothing is valid especially when you throw in multiple mid week home games per season. Someone paying for a full season worth of games and only getting to use it for 1-3 games per season is not getting the value they are paying for

I don't have a magical solution for this but we need to get back to a more organic tailgating environment. Some how some way

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Originally Posted by crazycajun

Imo they need to first, get off the students backs and let them cultivate a atmosphere. Then they need to get the party back at tailgating, they have made it where there isnt really anything for tyhe 1,2,3 games a year people. They are forcing peopole to be all in, rcaf, season tickets parking passes and giant tailgate spot. A lot of people that cant go to every home game dont see the value in that. Figure out how many actual spots you need forthe passes you sold on the pavement, save a few extra and open up the rest to game day pay to park. I have a parking pass but would gladly pay to park in the morning so i can leave my wife the parking pass to come later in the day with the kid. Have per game tailgationg spots available somewhere inside the gate. A good start would be to take the unsold 30' x 30' TG spots and cut them in half which would allow 2 diiferent groups to put pop up tents on the same spot for half the price and teh university gets twice the money bc you know, they are empty. I think families have been priced out in that aspect and not everyone needs room for a 20' x 20' tent and 2 vehicles, offer something more practical. We will never get people in the stadium if we cant even get them outside the stadium.

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Facts.

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Originally Posted by Swamp

First we need a cool flag. All the ones we got bleaux

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The Soccer Crest is the best logo this university has and it’s never used. It’s not on any merchandise (Leslie Saloom absolutely sucks and should be fired), now will it ever be.

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Originally Posted by CajunNation

I think the bottoming out of Fracking had more to do with the drop off in attendance than anything else, but we need to discuss this more. There is a bigger issue here.

The changes in pricing and tailgating were supposed to go hand in hand with what the Alden Report suggested to grow revenues. Remember, the reason that report was wanted in the first place was to prepare ourselves for the next realignment. Well, here we are. I don't think that Big12 invite is coming any time soon.

Perhaps, it is time to ditch that way of thinking and grow our revenues the Cajun way. The way we know best. We tailgate our asses off! I believe we need to embrace who we are, invite all of our cousins back home for the BBQ and to Hell with the freakin' Alden report, reseating, and price hikes!

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Another excuse.

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Originally Posted by BabbForHeisman

I wouldn't say I've given up, but I share the frustration. For me, the biggest thing is not the football stadium, or the baseball stadium, or attendance, or anything like that.

When I graduated from college 17 years ago, if you had told me that in 2023 there would be a conference shakeup of monumental proportions, I would say that my hope beyond wildest hope that we'd be in the mix to make a move to a power conference.

And yet here we are, still in the same position. A power conference is nothing more than a notional future plan. However, if we'd done the right thing all these years...we'd be the UCF or Houston right now. We would.

That's not a knock on the Sunbelt. The Belt is our best option at the moment. But the fact that all this shakeup is happening and we are still just in the Belt...that's disappointing.

And I'm not the only person that feels that way, I'm sure.

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Like many, my frustration is at an all time high. What is really sad, I dont let it get to me as much because I really could care less. This is the 1st time in many years that I will be missing a couple games for events that are out of my control. I'm not even sweating it like I used to. It really is what it is.

For me, it feels like we are back in a position like we were in the Bustle days and we are falling closer and closer to being back in the Baldwin days. Yes, I said it but that is really how I feel.

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Originally Posted by Kid Rock

This is 100% accurate.
We used to have 2 tailgating spots, season tickets to baseball, basketball and football.
They went up DOUBLE on the baseball patio boxes, almost double on tailgating spots.
Had to make a financial decision and kept baseball and dropped the rest.

I remember calling in on Jay’s radio show and telling him they just went up double (DOUBLE) on our baseball patio box and he said no, no way they would do that. Then the next caller who called in and that Jay knew said uh uh Jay that guy was right they did go up double. He didn’t know what to say. We signed a seven year contract. The cost for one box (6) tickets for each year was $3336 per year ($556 per person for one year). We were promised concierge service and many other perks. They came through for about 2 years on this and then it was gone. What we ended up getting was a bunch of bad policies:
Fired peanut man (eventually brought him back)
No local food products
Tried to ban kids (do away with young ragin cajun club attending all games) eventually brought back
Only letting kids run on the field after sunday game (this was never ever a problem under Coach Robe).
The yellow shirts standing by the bricks to make sure KIDS do not go on the field after the games (almost like treating them like criminals not kids as fans)
Making up new polices that my own kids could not sit with me (which eventually got changed)
Hot beer and ran out of beer horrible sodexo food and service.


I could go on and on and on.

I guess my point is that my family goes to at least 90% of the games and it is very costly.

My question is do you all think they will go up from the $556 yearly price per person?

If so they will start to price people out that are die hard baseball fans.

I did get the McDonalds 6 pack the last couple of years for football as it was something I could afford.

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I remembered you being fired up when they wouldn't let your kid come to the patio boxes and he was a young ragin cajun club member. Also the yellow shirt rent a cop security is a joke. They have way to many at the softball and baseball games that stand up and do absolutely nothing.

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Originally Posted by cajun4life

The Soccer Creat is the best logo this university has and it’s never used. It’s not on any merchandise (Leslie Saloom absolutely sucks and should be fired), now will it ever be.

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Soccer Creat?

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Originally Posted by ManAboutTown

It won’t be announced for a while, but it is coming.

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Once again, admin does not understand ECON 101.

School needs to stop posturing like they are "one of the big boys now".. P5 conferences are not going to be calling. The fossils that run these conferences and teams look at a D1 team named the "Ragin' Cajuns" like we're a goofy but loveable little punchline.

Embrace who you are. Lean into what makes us different.

Reserve a small amount of "premium" amenities for people who want to pay for them, and dramatically cut prices of tailgating and game tickets for general admission.

Drawing 19k people to pay $25 per ticket brings in less money than drawing 35k paying $15 per ticket, and that doesn't even mention how much they would clean up by bringing all of those tailgaters into the beer lines in the stadium.

The young adult/young family age group that really push those attendance numbers up were all born in the 80s and 90s, so give me some freakin 90s nostalgia. Play the Hulkamania theme song... SOMETHING. That little sound clip is the difference between remembering being bored during a TV break, and remembering having a funny moment annoying your wife by singing that song.

I remember a few years ago when the band started playing the 'chest beating' song from Wolf of Wall Street, and thinking man if you can get the rest of the crowd to figure this out and do it together, it would be incredible. Then someone squashed it altogether...

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Originally Posted by Cajunrunner

You’ve mentioned the “bottoming out of fracking” more than once.

Can you explain further? Because yet, there was a slump in 2014/15, then Covid-induced crash in 2020, but there is now a ____ ton of fracking going on these days. And oilfield service companies in Louisiana are doing well, even if it’s all Permian and GOM work.

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It’s just an excuse. Every single well that I ever completed was “fracked”. Oil crashed, but is back and stable.

We put prices our fan base and drove them off. Athletics is a different animal. The supply and demand ratio of pricing isn’t what is needed here at the G5 level. You don’t raise prices to curd the demand to meet the supply.

Set prices that get the supply filled, then create more supply. We have ample area for tailgating within 1 mile of the stadium.

Lower the prices inside the fence. Charge $10 to park inside the fence. Make tailgating free outside of the fence and create a party atmosphere.

6 times a year we should be flooding Acadiana with marketing. How this is an exciting atmosphere that is affordable and a great time.

Get more recognizable bands. Figure out what bands have the largest followings and hire them. Get their crowd in the tailgate area. Encourage more tailgating. Make it INCLUSIVE not exclusive.

We’ve made some epic missteps regarding the atmosphere around the stadium. But they can all be fixed if the proper steps were taken.

What are the origins of tailgating?

People would pay to go to a sporting event or concert, arrive a little early, and pre-party out in the parking lot.

Now we have:
5 football season tickets: $405
1 tailgating spot: cheapest tailgating spot $425 (plus minimum $500 donation to RCAF)

Where else in the world does the cheapest tailgating spot cost more than 5 season tickets?

I'm not saying it should all be free, but get a grip with these ridiculous tailgating prices and quit scratching your head asking why the tailgating area is a ghost town.

Soccer Crest. Stupid autocorrect. It’s on come of the kits they wear for games.

If you’re familiar with soccer, you’ll see that every team has a crest that is normally over their heart.

Ours is phenomenal.

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Originally Posted by jaxmc1023

...Embrace who you are. Lean into what makes us different....

The young adult/young family age group that really push those attendance numbers up were all born in the 80s and 90s, so give me some freakin 90s nostalgia....

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This is what its all about.

I agreed back then that we needed to give the Alden Report a try. We needed to at least try to run things like the bigger dogs. That experiment should end. We have our own Cajun way of doing things. Embrace it.

EVERY generation deserves and needs to feel that nostalgia on Gameday. From the band playing "Hey Baby" to piping in whatever song the current students love, we all need to feel that.

A good way to frame the opening of the new stadium would be to coincide that with a revival of the Cajun spirit. Call it "Back to the Future" or something like that. Just spitballing here, but this is the idea.

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Originally Posted by Cajun Monkee

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm reading is that tickets need to be cheaper, parking and tailgating access needs to be cheaper, and RCAF contributions need to be abolished.

I don't care either way, but what I'm reading really seems contrary to what some of the very posters in this thread were suggesting in the not too distant past.

"We shouldn't be giving something of value away for free."

Like I said, I don't care.

But if you were wrong in your initial assessment (which was pretty consistent with how the Athletic Department was doing things) at least admit you were wrong.

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I don’t think everything should be free, there needs to be more per game experienced offered. It shouldn’t be a full season or nothing, you price out a lot of people that way, mainly young families.

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Originally Posted by cajun4life

The Soccer Crest is the best logo this university has and it’s never used. It’s not on any merchandise (Leslie Saloom absolutely sucks and should be fired), now will it ever be.

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But she’s one of us…

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Originally Posted by ZoomZoom

But she’s one of us…

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She’s a hinderance to the advancement of the merchandise arm of athletics. She’s cost us millions in bad deals.

I made my money in the oil business. Have some service companies gone away? Yes. Have some big boys pulled jobs? Sure. But the idea that the oil industry was just sucked out of Acadiana is nonsense. The service companies that weathered covid (the properly run businesses) are thriving like never before. Also, the entrepreneurs in Lafayette didn’t just shrug their shoulders and go live on the streets of San Fran. They reinvested in other sectors. Medical and Tech are booming here now. The truth is, all the work that was done to fund athletics privately in the 70s-2000s were aimed at the O&G industry. Now that the economy has shifted to the Med & Tech industries, it takes WORK to go and cultivate those relationships. Nico started doing that, and it tuned into seed money for the CF reno. Who picked up that baton when he left? Where is the sales force banging down doors, beating the pavement, finding new supporters?

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Originally Posted by crazycajun

I don’t think everything should be free, there needs to be more per game experienced offered. It shouldn’t be a full season or nothing, you price out a lot of people that way, mainly young families.

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Average age in Lafayette proper is 28.7 years old. Which tells me, your target audience needs to be young families. If you’re not going to cultivate students and young people, you have to go after young families.

But this shotgun approach to marketing is moronic. Need TARGETED campaigns.

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Originally Posted by CajunNation

This is what its all about.

I agreed back then that we needed to give the Alden Report a try. We needed to at least try to run things like the bigger dogs. That experiment should end. We have our own Cajun way of doing things. Embrace it.

EVERY generation deserves and needs to feel that nostalgia on Gameday. From the band playing "Hey Baby" to piping in whatever song the current students love, we all need to feel that.

A good way to frame the opening of the new stadium would be to coincide that with a revival of the Cajun spirit. Call it "Back to the Future" or something like that. Just spitballing here, but this is the idea.

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They implemented the parts of the Alden report that were easy and fast. Then they totally abandoned the plan. They also raised prices, reseated, changes RCAF structure and benefit structure in the most arbitrary way conceivable. I guess that happens when you go through 3 RCAF directors in 5 years.

Speaking of, anyone have any real contact with our new guy? I’ve seen him around events, we give plenty of money, we (RR Boys) even offered to take him out to get to know him… crickets

You’re probably on the “naughty” list. Most politicians have one of perceived foes.