Originally Posted by
HoustonCajun
Not my job to get them into the stadium, although I wish is was. But, for starters, here a few ideas. With our population base in the Acadiana area and local players we have, an all out marketing effort should be done to attract attendees. We should have at least 5,000 students a game, which is only about 25% of enrollment. Have to find a way to attract students to the game. One thought, find a sponsor who will provide free beer before and during the game with ID and have a pre-game party for them. Build something like The Grove at Ole Miss. That should leave just 25,000 other fans which is not an impossible number. But, once people get there, we have to improve on pre-game activities and certainly create a better atmosphere within the stadium during the game.
It is ridiculous that UL has not consistently drawn 30,000 to Cajun Field. Find out what schools like ECU are doing for their students and town residents that attract so many fans even when losing. Our people travel all over the country playing games. Do they ever stop and look and ask what makes the university's attendance so successful? Don't we have people monitoring their pre-game activities and in-game music and yells that get the crowds engaged? Every school does something different that works for them. Don't we learn anything of their success that can be applied to UL? What is so frustrating is that we do the same thing game after game, year after year, make no adjustments and get the same results.
I would also use all of the vacant land from the Cajundome to Blackham, tear down Blackham Coliseum and build a Cajun District of shops, restaurants, stores. UL can lease the land to developers, generate a lot of revenue, and build something great that is used year round.
And, clean up the grounds around the athletic complex. For starters, there are old rusted fences on Cajundome Blvd., the names on the APC are faded and need to be repainted, and the entrance to the softball complex always looks bad even on game days. Utilize students in sales & marketing, agronomy, etc. to have senior class projects to work on the athletic complex and help develop ideas to market athletics, all of which benefits the university. Resurface the entire parking lot around the athletic complex to give it a new look. Find alumni who own businesses that can provide services and/or help fund these projects.
Form an athletic committee to address all of these issues and to provide solutions to correcting them. Be proactive for a change and transform UL athletic's image. People who have nice homes, nice lawns and are successful want to attend something they see as also being successful, well manicured and looking like first class facilities and operations. You see that when you visit a P2 school. UL should be no different. Prepare for that so when they arrive, they are wowed. Make the necessary in-game changes to get the crowd involved, change a lot of the UL band's music, get rid of the sideline guy talking to fans, and make the experience something people will want to attend and participate over and over again. We don't have to have a 100,000 seat stadium to create a similar atmosphere. 30,000 can look just as good in the right kind of complex. But, we do have to start with the basics and build on that.
Re: Fire Desormeaux
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