How to get fans to the games??

Ben Gooding · July 21, 2016

Someone may have brought this up here or elsewhere, but bring in legitimate vendors into the tailgating area. One's that will attract all. They do this but it is done very small time.

Bring in mini stages setup around the tailgating area for local and/or traveling bands.

It may take time to get ppl into the stadium. But make tailgating the premiere place to be for 37k students on Saturday's. Sell that hard until (and after) the product on the field comes full circle.

UNT 90 Grad · July 21, 2016

1 hour ago, Ben Gooding said:

Someone may have brought this up here or elsewhere, but bring in legitimate vendors into the tailgating area. One's that will attract all. They do this but it is done very small time.

Bring in mini stages setup around the tailgating area for local and/or traveling bands.

It may take time to get ppl into the stadium. But make tailgating the premiere place to be for 37k students on Saturday's. Sell that hard until (and after) the product on the field comes full circle.

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GrandGreen · July 21, 2016

3 hours ago, GreenGonzo said:

How about win some freakin football games.

The only thing that really works long term.

trud1966 · July 21, 2016

a. Free Parking at Fouts. I realize that statement alone probably would make RV's you know what pucker up, but that alone would actually be a tipping point for some people who were on the fence about "Should we go to the game today or not? Says, here Free Parking....Heck Yeah - lets go!"

b. Bring back the Fireworks after the games like at Fouts. I know in the Dodge-Days, people were so beaten down and complaining that the fireworks felt like "we're celebrating getting our A$$ kicked, again..." For people who say this, seriously, get OVER it. The fireworks show and the game have nothing to do with each other. The Texas Rangers periodically have Fireworks shows, win or lose...Correct me if Im wrong, but I think the Frisco Roughriders have fireworks every Saturday night after a home game, win or lose. Fireworks will actually get people to bring kids...Kids will bug the crap outta their parents all week about going to see the fireworks. Back in the Dodge Days, I never looked at fireworks in a negative light after getting throttled. I always thought "Man, this game blows...Oh well, at least we get to watch fireworks!" AND it was great that they let the fans ON the field to watch the fireworks, go stand in front of the band and listen to them play "You'll never walk alone". These are little things, but they make a difference, and can make the night more enjoyable...

c. ALLOW INDENDANT VENDORS TO SELL AGAIN IN THE MEAN GREEN VILLAGE LIKE AT FOUTS

d. DEAL WITH THE EMPTY WING ZONE: Something has got to be done about the empty Wing Zone. I work in architecture, and that thing bugs me every single time I see it. The fundamental theory in architecture is "FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION"...Meaning, "Make it work, before you make it look cool..." The wingzone to me is more evident that someone did the complete opposite, they wanted something fun-looking, but had no regard if it was functional or not. Is this just MY opinion? Possible, but empty seats don't lie... Yes, it's ours, it's unique, but if it's left empty, it might as well be a sculpture. Seriously CUT the price of this area to get people to sit in it. Buy One Get One, ANYTHING. The fullest I've seen (other than the opening game against Houston...) is Parents weekend. I don't know how that works, but I'm guessing those parents get free tickets or something, right? THE A.D. isn't blind, they have got to be looking at that empty Bohemoth and noticing the same thing we do. THE A.D. NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. IF IT'S EMPTY, YOURE NOT MAKING MONEY, IT'S A NEGETIVE IMAGE, AND IT'S EMBARRESSING....BE PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE....STOP HOPING IT'LL JUST "WORK ITSELF OUT!"

Edited July 22, 2016 by trud1966

cdizzle86 · July 21, 2016

1. Aftergame Music - This has been mentioned before, but college kids would be all over this. It can't be some small garage band though. Needs to be a regional act at least. The other added benefit is that NT has long been considered a music school, so this is something that non sports fans could even appreciate. Make stadium entry required to attend the concert.

2. Nearby Attractions (Longer Term) - We need a hotel/attractions nearby. I live in Austin, so when I come in for a game I'm usually traveling from Dallas the day of the game, which makes for a very long day. We need a legit hotel with some decent restaurants/bars nearby (within walking distance). All my college friends love coming back to Denton, but there's not a lot of decent hotels to choose from.

3. Alumni Travel & Tailgate Package - Put together a special package for Alumni that includes game tickets, hotel, food/drinks, transportation, and maybe throw in some other swag.

4. All You Can Eat Seats - Because lets be honest....people love to eat while watching football.

5. First Responder Half Price Tickets - Somebody else already said this, but what a great idea!!

UNT 90 Grad · July 21, 2016

38 minutes ago, cdizzle86 said:

1. Aftergame Music - This has been mentioned before, but college kids would be all over this. It can't be some small garage band though. Needs to be a regional act at least. The other added benefit is that NT has long been considered a music school, so this is something that non sports fans could even appreciate. Make stadium entry required to attend the concert.

2. Nearby Attractions (Longer Term) - We need a hotel/attractions nearby. I live in Austin, so when I come in for a game I'm usually traveling from Dallas the day of the game, which makes for a very long day. We need a legit hotel with some decent restaurants/bars nearby (within walking distance). All my college friends love coming back to Denton, but there's not a lot of decent hotels to choose from.

3. Alumni Travel & Tailgate Package - Put together a special package for Alumni that includes game tickets, hotel, food/drinks, transportation, and maybe throw in some other swag.

4. All You Can Eat Seats - Because lets be honest....people love to eat while watching football.

5. First Responder Half Price Tickets - Somebody else already said this, but what a great idea!!

I'd love to see #3 for away games as well. (I'm assuming this was intended for alumni coming in town for home games.)

cdizzle86 · July 21, 2016

1 minute ago, UNT 90 Grad said:

I'd love to see #3 for away games as well. (I'm assuming this was intended for alumni coming in town for home games.)

Absolutely! Lets make it as easy as we can for Alumni to come back.

Green P1 · July 21, 2016

Public decapitation of Crappy Scrappy at halftime of the SMU opener = sellout.

casual fan · July 21, 2016

Bottom line

Turn this thing into a party atmosphere where it's going to be fun, win or lose.

Accomplish that first, and attendance will not be a problem, especially when we start winning.

Ryan Munthe · July 21, 2016

9 minutes ago, casual fan said:

Bottom line

Turn this thing into a party atmosphere where it's going to be fun, win or lose.

Accomplish that first, and attendance will not be a problem, especially when we start winning.

Party atmosphere doesn't work. See FIU.

oldguystudent · July 21, 2016

3 hours ago, cdizzle86 said:

4. All You Can Eat Seats - Because lets be honest....people love to eat while watching football.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've taken advantage of those at Rangers games more than once.

GrayEagle · July 21, 2016

3 hours ago, casual fan said:

Bottom line

Turn this thing into a party atmosphere where it's going to be fun, win or lose.

Accomplish that first, and attendance will not be a problem, especially when we start winning.

In theory, I like this but it hasn't worked for us. Too many people want to party rather than come inside for the game.

UNT90 · July 21, 2016

5 hours ago, cdizzle86 said:

4. All You Can Eat Seats - Because lets be honest....people love to eat while watching football.

Metal benches don't taste good.

meanrob · July 21, 2016

If I was the new AD I wouldn't do a single thing to get people to the games this year. We're going to be bad, instead I'd mingle and get to know the people that show up when we are horrible.

As the team improves I'd implement some of the ideas listed. This thing needs to be grown over time, it won't happen overnight.

NTXCoog · July 21, 2016

Has UNT athletics ever teamed up with the Ticket? Ticket Time Waster performance. Guys Night Out at Apogee. There's a natural connection between UNT and the Ticket.

UNT 90 Grad · July 22, 2016

3 hours ago, NTXCoog said:

Has UNT athletics ever teamed up with the Ticket? Ticket Time Waster performance. Guys Night Out at Apogee. There's a natural connection between UNT and the Ticket.

Ryan Munthe · July 22, 2016

4 hours ago, NTXCoog said:

Has UNT athletics ever teamed up with the Ticket? Ticket Time Waster performance. Guys Night Out at Apogee. There's a natural connection between UNT and the Ticket.

yes. a lot.

TreeFiddy · July 22, 2016

10 hours ago, casual fan said:

Bottom line

Turn this thing into a party atmosphere where it's going to be fun, win or lose.

Accomplish that first, and attendance will not be a problem, especially when we start winning.

That is one good reason to go after the ULL AD and make sure he is vetted during this process. He has seen first hand how their tailgate atmosphere has translated into greater overall interest in the program.

3 minutes ago, Ryan Munthe said:

yes. a lot.

Guys night out at Apogee would be very nice. Don't think that has been done.

casual fan · July 22, 2016

11 hours ago, GrayEagle said:

In theory, I like this but it hasn't worked for us. Too many people want to party rather than come inside for the game.

True enough.

Move the "party" inside the stadium.

Fireworks can be seen just fine sitting outside the stadium.

However, to watch a rock band or country western band you must go inside the stadium to see them play.

Local bands want to get their names out there. Most would jump at the chance to play in a stadium with thousands watching.

Many student who aren't into football would show up for concerts.

You will never get them interested in UNT football if they never come to the games.

cdizzle86 · July 29, 2016

I was thinking about this a little more today. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I live in Austin and lucky if I make it to 2 games throughout the year. Therefore season tickets don't really do me any good.

That said, I would love to donate a few hundred dollars a year and instead of getting tickets, get some cool special edition gear. There are a bunch of companies that now offer subscription based services for all kinds of products. How about a monthly subscription for mean green gear?

GoMeanGreen1999 · July 30, 2016

On 7/21/2016 at 7:33 AM, trud1966 said:

a. Free Parking at Fouts.   I realize that statement alone probably would make RV's you know what pucker up, but that alone would actually be a tipping point for some people who were on the fence about "Should we go to the game today or not? Says, here Free Parking....Heck Yeah - lets go!"

b. Bring back the Fireworks after the games like at Fouts.   I know in the Dodge-Days, people were so beaten down and complaining that the fireworks felt like "we're celebrating getting our A$$ kicked, again..."   For people who say this, seriously, get OVER it.   The fireworks show and the game have nothing to do with each other. The Texas Rangers periodically have Fireworks shows, win or lose...Correct me if Im wrong, but I think the Frisco Roughriders have fireworks every Saturday night after a home game, win or lose. Fireworks will actually get people to bring kids...Kids will bug the crap outta their parents all week about going to see the fireworks. Back in the Dodge Days, I never looked at fireworks in a negative light after getting throttled. I always thought "Man, this game blows...Oh well, at least we get to watch fireworks!"   AND it was great that they let the fans ON the field to watch the fireworks, go stand in front of the band and listen to them play "You'll never walk alone".   These are little things, but they make a difference, and can make the night more enjoyable...

c. ALLOW INDENDANT VENDORS TO SELL AGAIN IN THE MEAN GREEN VILLAGE LIKE AT FOUTS

d. DEAL WITH THE EMPTY WING ZONE: Something has got to be done about the empty Wing Zone. I work in architecture, and that thing bugs me every single time I see it. The fundamental theory in architecture is "FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION"...Meaning, "Make it work, before you make it look cool..." The wingzone to me is more evident that someone did the complete opposite, they wanted something fun-looking, but had no regard if it was functional or not.  Is this just MY opinion? Possible, but empty seats don't lie... Yes, it's ours, it's unique, but if it's left empty, it might as well be a sculpture. Seriously CUT the price of this area to get people to sit in it. Buy One Get One, ANYTHING.  The fullest I've seen (other than the opening game against Houston...) is Parents weekend. I don't know how that works, but I'm guessing those parents get free tickets or something, right? THE A.D. isn't blind, they have got to be looking at that empty Bohemoth and noticing the same thing we do. THE A.D. NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. IF IT'S EMPTY, YOURE NOT MAKING MONEY, IT'S A NEGETIVE IMAGE, AND IT'S EMBARRESSING....BE PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE....STOP HOPING IT'LL JUST "WORK ITSELF OUT!"

I have never quite understood why we don't utilize that area in the wing to do whatever to get people there. If nothing else, those who got in free will most likely still spend money on concessions.

drex · July 30, 2016

It's simple. Have the athletic department work for a living. A little creativity wouldn't hurt either.

Aldo · July 30, 2016

Some time last year, FC Dallas hosted a bar crawl in Denton. Had to submit your cell number to enter a drawing for some prizes (prizes that were worthy enough to submit my number).

So I got a call at least once a month throughout the season to get me out to Frisco.

Could do something similar to involve Denton folks (or other local cities) a little bit more.

Edited July 30, 2016 by Aldo