The Event Experience

[Big Poppa]

True, but think about this: In every bowl game we played in, we brought more people than our season high in Cajun Field. In the first two, we legitimately had 40k+.

That should be a big piece of the puzzle to many here wondering "why..."

In those bowl games many people went because of the party in NOLA and will never step foot in Cajun field. Heck some of them were my lsua&m supporting family members.

[Cajunsmike]

1) The cost was a third of the price that it is today.
2) Oil Field and Local economy was in much better shape.
3) ESPN+ didn't exist.
4) We weren't burned by a cheating scandal and our coach didn't get political.
5) Covid hadn't happened.
6) NIL and transfer portal hadn't happened.
7) A group of outsiders hadn't come in and "Shown our fans" how to be Cajun.
8) Expansion of of Amb Caffery, Broussard, Youngsville and Carencro hadn't happened.
9) Tailgating was free and this was before they rearranged everything.
10) Greeks and students weren't actively being pushed away.

I'm sure there are more.

Very astute observations there. How do we react to the new circumstances will determine the future.

[Cajun Monkee]

Just a quick take on this idea...but I like it.

I think in New Mexico, it is state law that all tailgaters must present a ticket and enter the stadium. If they don't have a ticket by a certain time, they must leave the tailgating premises.

Ours is a small picture, but we can have 40+ show up for tailgating.

They park across the street but gladly would pay $10 to park at Cajun Field.

But fewer than 10 actually go into the game. Most just go for the tailgating.

Just curious....what should be the cost for a ticket to get those folks in the stadium?

And how much should they pay for parking if they don't go into Cajun Field?

And how do you reconcile this with the fact other folks are paying for parking, have season tickets AND made contributions to the RCAF?

[KajunKrazy]

I think in New Mexico, it is state law that all tailgaters must present a ticket and enter the stadium. If they don't have a ticket by a certain time, they must leave the tailgating premises.

Ours is a small picture, but we can have 40+ show up for tailgating.

They park across the street but gladly would pay $10 to park at Cajun Field.

But fewer than 10 actually go into the game. Most just go for the tailgating.

Just curious....what should be the cost for a ticket to get those folks in the stadium?

And how much should they pay for parking if they don't go into Cajun Field?

And how do you reconcile this with the fact other folks are paying for parking, have season tickets AND made contributions to the RCAF?

If they decide to start letting drive ups non RCAF park inside cajun field I would say a minimum of 15 dollars per game. Right now a 500 dollar donation gets you a C lot pass for 10 dollars per game.

[ManAboutTown]

One can get a ticket for 10 bucks today. You saying it was a third of that.

I have been in the same tailgating spot since the 90s and it has never been free. Like bread eggs and milk it has gone up. But tailgate spots inside of Cajun field gates have always had a price on them since the end of stokley days.

Please explain how expansion of ambassador Caffery, Youngsville, Carencro, and Broussard hinder attendance?

We brought couches and tents and tailgated under the trees behind the score board for free until about 2010. Then moved to the Eauxk with the Eauxk boys for a few seasons until they let the spot go. Now, you can't even buy a spot in that area. It's full of trashcans.

Bread, eggs and milk went up 30-40% lately because of geo-politics, a pandemic, supply chain issues and incompetent legislation. Why did RV and tailgate prices go up? Because App St gets a certain dollar amount? South Al?

I understand (and agree whole heartedly with) setting a value to your product. But the reality is... We ain't App St. This is a program that has won at a highly consistent level for 40 years. We don't have an on campus stadium with limited space. In fact, the opposite. Lafayette isn't Boone, with limited events to do on Fall/Winter Saturdays. Again, quite the opposite. We're also not Mobile, AL. A major city in this country with many many wealthy alumni in a corporation-rich area.

We are our own. We are very unique. Something we take pride in and could take to market SO EASILY. But instead, we try to compare ourselves to "peer institutions" and arbitrarily raise prices on fans that came to the stadium PRECISELY BECAUSE it was a cheap (damn near free) option.

I used to joke about "the purge" and getting rid of the hangers on. Which, hey, looks like they listened to ole MAT. Problem is, they went about getting the correct type of fan into the stadiums, arenas and fields in the complete wrong way. Not only did we chase off fans, we chased of people in leadership in this admin that had the right ideas but were so hamstrung by people in Martin Hall clinging to control that they just gave up. Can't say that I blame them.

As far as growth south, it's pretty simple: Growth takes families with them. There are many more things to do for families in 2023 than in 2005 in this area. New parks, more youth sports, trampoline parks, fun zones, etc. And now, they're living 30 minutes from CF rather than 10. So not only do you have more competition, it's more of a hassle to get to the field. I'm not saying this is THE reason. I'm saying it's one of several we're dealing with. And still, no evolution by Athletics.

[KajunKrazy]

1) The cost was a third of the price that it is today.
2) Oil Field and Local economy was in much better shape.
3) ESPN+ didn't exist.
4) We weren't burned by a cheating scandal and our coach didn't get political.
5) Covid hadn't happened.
6) NIL and transfer portal hadn't happened.
7) A group of outsiders hadn't come in and "Shown our fans" how to be Cajun.
8) Expansion of of Amb Caffery, Broussard, Youngsville and Carencro hadn't happened.
9) Tailgating was free and this was before they rearranged everything.
10) Greeks and students weren't actively being pushed away.

I'm sure there are more.

All good observations. Please explain how number 9 affects a football crowd?

[ManAboutTown]

All good observations. Please explain how number 9 affects a football crowd?

Rearranging the student tailgate area resulted in a substantial drop in student attendance and participation. Why? I'm not really sure, but the results were clear.

Cheap or free tailgating (and listen, y'all have to understand, I'm speaking relative to the demographic that typically fill seats at CF) is a numbers game. If you get 40k inside the CF fences, you'd hope to get 25k (at very least) in the game. During Hud years, I'd argue it was closer to 50k on the grounds and 28-30k in the stands. Closer proximity customers are to your product, higher the probability they'll buy something. It's the foot traffic for coffee shops and retail model.

[CajunNation]

I think in New Mexico, it is state law that all tailgaters must present a ticket and enter the stadium. If they don't have a ticket by a certain time, they must leave the tailgating premises.

Ours is a small picture, but we can have 40+ show up for tailgating.

They park across the street but gladly would pay $10 to park at Cajun Field.

But fewer than 10 actually go into the game. Most just go for the tailgating.

Just curious....what should be the cost for a ticket to get those folks in the stadium?

And how much should they pay for parking if they don't go into Cajun Field?

And how do you reconcile this with the fact other folks are paying for parking, have season tickets AND made contributions to the RCAF?

All valid questions, and I don't propose to have all of the answers. I do believe it is an idea that needs to be discussed as much as possible to see if it is a workable idea.

As to your questions, let's start with the premise that all current, paid Tailgating spots will remain as is. Then, it would need to be determined how many more spots will be made available for new sales. Then, the space that is left over could be parking spots. I would charge for those parking spots. I would not charge for parking in any area outside of the Outer Stadium fence. Also, I would only require RCAF membership for a TG spot, nothing else. The cost of the ticket should be whatever price gets the most people to enjoy the Louisiana Football Experience.

[moorecajun]

We are chasing our tail here. Most schools have trouble getting people to come to the stadium. We don't have that problem. Our issue has always been that a lot of these people refuse to enter the stadium.

We are not just selling a football game. We are selling an experience. That includes the game and the tailgating. The Game ticket should be the Gameday ticket. The fence around the stadium should be considered the outer wall of the Outer Stadium. No entry without Gameday ticket. Scan them there.

Official attendance would average near 30K most years. There would be no long lines of people cramming the entry to the Inner Stadium. People would be free to come and go from the Playing area to the Tailgating area as they please.

I like this idea. A lot.

[KajunKrazy]

We brought couches and tents and tailgated under the trees behind the score board for free until about 2010. Then moved to the Eauxk with the Eauxk boys for a few seasons until they let the spot go. Now, you can't even buy a spot in that area. It's full of trashcans.

Bread, eggs and milk went up 30-40% lately because of geo-politics, a pandemic, supply chain issues and incompetent legislation. Why did RV and tailgate prices go up? Because App St gets a certain dollar amount? South Al?

I understand (and agree whole heartedly with) setting a value to your product. But the reality is... We ain't App St. This is a program that has won at a highly consistent level for 40 years. We don't have an on campus stadium with limited space. In fact, the opposite. Lafayette isn't Boone, with limited events to do on Fall/Winter Saturdays. Again, quite the opposite. We're also not Mobile, AL. A major city in this country with many many wealthy alumni in a corporation-rich area.

We are our own. We are very unique. Something we take pride in and could take to market SO EASILY. But instead, we try to compare ourselves to "peer institutions" and arbitrarily raise prices on fans that came to the stadium PRECISELY BECAUSE it was a cheap (damn near free) option.

I used to joke about "the purge" and getting rid of the hangers on. Which, hey, looks like they listened to ole MAT. Problem is, they went about getting the correct type of fan into the stadiums, arenas and fields in the complete wrong way. Not only did we chase off fans, we chased of people in leadership in this admin that had the right ideas but were so hamstrung by people in Martin Hall clinging to control that they just gave up. Can't say that I blame them.

As far as growth south, it's pretty simple: Growth takes families with them. There are many more things to do for families in 2023 than in 2005 in this area. New parks, more youth sports, trampoline parks, fun zones, etc. And now, they're living 30 minutes from CF rather than 10. So not only do you have more competition, it's more of a hassle to get to the field. I'm not saying this is THE reason. I'm saying it's one of several we're dealing with. And still, no evolution by Athletics.

I have to disagree with the growth and people moving to the smaller towns out side of Lafayette. That happens all across America. If it were a reason for people to not go to games it would happen every where. People have just lost interest and they need to figure out how to get them to drive from not only outer Lafayette parish but Iberia, Vermillion, Acadia….and so on. There is nothing close to Troy Alabama and they draw decent crowds even when they are down.