How to Increase Attendance?

[BeauCajun]

Is Lot C paved or grass? We could put it right there tailgate park, and have it run to the baseball stadium ?!

Our tailgating for the commoners needs to be more organized.

You paid 20 bucks to park and you had to walk across to the field and and had to fight traffic you ain’t leaving

It use to be a free for all back in the day this is more organized

Limestone. No thanks on tailgating there.

[CajunNation]

First, tailgating was free. Then, we charged for tailgating. Then, we required season tickets for Tailgate spots.

The product we are selling is not just a football game. It is also the entire Gameday experience. The game. The cooking. the drinking. The baseball park access. The band under the oak. The Cajun Walk. Etc. Etc.

All of that is within the fenced area around the stadium. The answer is to make your Game ticket a Golden Ticket to the Cajun Football Experience.

No Golden Ticket, no access to The Experience. Solves the attendance issue and makes the value of that ticket real.

You want the milk? Buy the cow.

[Jacob81]

First, tailgating was free. Then, we charged for tailgating. Then, we required season tickets for Tailgate spots.

The product we are selling is not just a football game. It is also the entire Gameday experience. The game. The cooking. the drinking. The baseball park access. The band under the oak. The Cajun Walk. Etc. Etc.

All of that is within the fenced area around the stadium. The answer is to make your Game ticket a Golden Ticket to the Cajun Football Experience.

No Golden Ticket, no access to The Experience. Solves the attendance issue and makes the value of that ticket real.

You want the milk? Buy the cow.

Tailgating has been packed before. For free bring all your own stuff. The school made nothing and the stadium was still empty.

[Ragin9221]

Bad thing is TG1 is the best spot Period.

Now to me the best idea is to have open tailgating with vendors and chairs and tents.

People are not bringing there chairs or ice chest inside Cajun Field. You definitely not bring it back to your car.

So people will have to pay for beer and food. Where do we put something like that?

It has to be big and accommodating. I love the baseball stadium but we need to expand that idea.

Look I get it we have one, but it needs to be bigger and better and inviting.

I https://supertailgate.com/top-25-small-school-tailgates

[RaginCajun77]

Growing pains absolutely, but I can’t see any logical reason to displace the folks in TG1 when as much between those gates is vacant as it is.

TG1 isn't a major area of concern. TG2, TG3, LOT B, C, D, E, F, M, and RV Parking are my areas of concern and how we can better utilize these areas.

[CajunNation]

Tailgating has been packed before. For free bring all your own stuff. The school made nothing and the stadium was still empty.

If we require a game ticket to enter the fenced area, you scan them upon entrance to the fenced area.

[Lafitte the Pirate]

I’ve been reading this thread all day, and I like that there’s a consensus that there’s some things that could be done better. A few things to note.

Now with streaming and ESPN+, the battle to bring the fan to the game creates a challenge unlike before. Even Nick Saban gets asked if easy non conference games enable their stadium to not be completely full in Tuscaloosa. That’s a challenge, but it shouldn’t cause our attendance to be only ~15k with the longest win streak in America.

But here is the big issue. The old administration allowed us to park next to stadium for free for decades, offered cheap tickets, didn’t have RCAF to increase surcharges, and basically allowed us to tailgate for free. Now, charges have been added to all of these amenities. Add in the gameday issues inside the stadium of long concession lines and crazy logistics, and you have people just throwing their hands up and staying home. Basically, we have been sold products of no value for so long that we got used to it. So now, everyone wonders why they have to pay up out of nowhere. At the same time, the administration has invested a lot of money into Athletics from coaches salaries to facility enhancements.

The big challenge moving forward will be to bridge the gap between being used to the old ways and understanding why changes were made. To me, that’s the responsibility of getting message out thoroughly and effectively. Help people understand why the value has been added to the amenities. Unless we get the communications and messaging out the right way, we will continue to have these same issues. But also, when people start paying premiums for these things, you can’t fumble the ball and have people wait in line for a Diet Coke for a half hour either.

You and I know this subject well. We have to get our enrollment over 21,000. This is why you have to target the local high schools.

[Jacob81]

If we require a game ticket to enter the fenced area, you scan them upon entrance to the fenced area.

So tailgating spots are free butt you must have tickets to enter? I’m good with that But then all tailgate areas would be first come first serve? Don’t know about that.

[zeppelincajun]

Tailgating has been packed before. For free bring all your own stuff. The school made nothing and the stadium was still empty.

I definitely remember the days of packed tailgating and empty stadium. It was the one reason I always really believed with a successful program we could pack that stadium. Keep in mind the on field product for many of those prime tailgating years was hot garbage. In the same way, you’d like to bring the kids in and see what happens I’d love to get folks back in those gates with our current product and see what happens. Getting inside the complex is the big hurdle. Once you’ve done that, you’ve parked. You’re off the couch.

[Cajun Soldier]

Here is my 2 cents. So the seats are empty and not being used so why not give free admission to kids with HS, Middle School or elementary id cards. The little kids won't be able to attend with adults so that would be 1 or 2 more paid attendees. I know those tickets are free but I promise you can make some of that money up at the concessions. I agree HUD was a go getter. He is the reason I upped my RCAF donation because he always made me feel like a Cajun fan anywhere, he saw me, and I tried to talk to him. I haven't seen Des in the Community at all and he's from down the road. Its like Napier only talked to you if you were a big donor, I hope Dez doesn't act like that. If you don't act like you love this program as a coach, why should the fans. It has to start from the top not the bottom. Work on scheduling not many people traveled from EMU.