City of Denton Attendance

wardly · December 11, 2017

4 hours ago, UNTFan23 said:

why?

Well, it was suggested that we need to reach beyond Denton to attract fans and that Frisco would be a good target so why not play SFA there?

James · December 11, 2017

Is Denton too Bohemian for football?

Just a thought, not a statement.

Aldo · December 11, 2017

4 hours ago, wardly said:

How about playing a game at the Toyota Stadium?

untjim1995 · December 11, 2017

53 minutes ago, James said:

Is Denton too Bohemian for football?

Just a thought, not a statement.

Here’s your answer for the student body that stays in Denton all week. The citizenry supports the arts and music a lot more than it does sports.

As ive said all along, we just started caring about sports here about 25 years too late. Apogee should’ve been built when we moved back to I-A in 1995. We should have been playing better teams in OOC play here. And we should’ve been paying a real salary for a coach about 15 years earlier than we did. That kind of neglect isn’t recovervable. We aren’t UCF, USF, or UTSA, who just moved up and used their locations to great benefit. We did the exact opposite. The 1-AA fiasco was the death blow.

But it doesn’t mean we can’t suppprt the alma mater and just enjoy them at whatever level they will be playing in the future. If we had that mindset in the 80s, we wouldn’t be dealing with the situation of poor interest today, even when we have a solid year on the field.

BTG_Fan1 · December 12, 2017

1 hour ago, wardly said:

Well, it was suggested that we need to reach beyond Denton to attract fans and that Frisco would be a good target so why not play SFA there?

You don’t play games in Frisco to attract fans.. what you do is target the individuals, families, and businesses of Frisco and have them come to denton by offering them promotions..

wardly · December 12, 2017

57 minutes ago, BTG_Fan1 said:

You don’t play games in Frisco to attract fans.. what you do is target the individuals, families, and businesses of Frisco and have them come to denton by offering them promotions..

I thought playing in HOD bowl was big because it allowed us to attract fans. Bottom line: if what you are doing isn't working then try something else.

UNTexas · December 12, 2017

6 hours ago, UNTFan23 said:

Spring Game <> regular season game though. Also, I think the NCAA put an end to schools playing scrimmages in the Spring away from their home stadium.

The problem I see with playing a game at a neutral site less than 30 minutes away from Apogee are:

Toyota Stadium holds 20,500 versus 30,500 at Apogee. We're trading a larger venue for a smaller venue.

We'd have to rent the facility from the City of Frisco. We'd be at the whim of their rules for things like tailgating.

We won't make as much as the gate due to extra costs/smaller venue (see #1 and #2).

We likely won't get any money made from things like parking and concessions.

I think with the Rice/Stanford game, the host site of the game, sponsors, or ESPN paid for those two schools to travel to those destinations. Without that, most programs will balk at playing a game at a site that far away from home.

I don't think the NCAA stops teams playing elsewhere for Spring ball. I went to the TT game last spring. It was fun. There was tailgating and everything.

Frisco was just an example. Selling out a small stadium looks better than playing in an empty one. Sadly we'll see an empty stadium Saturday on national TV.

UNT needs to get creative to get the brand out. I'm not sure what more they can do. There's a ton of alumni in the metroplex that they don't tap into. They aren't really showing up now. I think the athletic department is doing better but there's a ways to go. Heck, they are finally making an effort with Letterman. Before, they basically made Letterman feel unwelcome as soon as you were done playing. I've always thought UNT was stupid in that regard.

Speaking of Frisco I really hope we have a good showing at the CUSA tournament at the Star considering it's dang near a home game being played in the Metroplex.

BTG_Fan1 · December 12, 2017

1 hour ago, wardly said:

I thought playing in HOD bowl was big because it allowed us to attract fans. Bottom line: if what you are doing isn't working then try something else.

That is a bowl game and not a regular season game..

The city of Argyle day drew a solid crowd.. the question is why did they not expand it and do something later in the year with another city..

UNTFan23 · December 12, 2017

We averaged 22,000 per game this year. Our lowest attended game wasn't even the FCS game (Lamar). What makes anyone think playing one of our home games in a smaller venue a good idea?

As I previously pointed out, we won't make as much revenue since we don't control the parking or concessions. We won't have a store front to sell North Texas gear/apparel as well. I wonder what the break even point would be on ticket sales/price.

Edited December 12, 2017 by UNTFan23

wardly · December 12, 2017

15 minutes ago, UNTFan23 said:

We averaged 22,000 per game this year. Our lowest attended game wasn't even the FCS game (Lamar). What makes anyone think playing one of our home games in a smaller venue a good idea?

As I previously pointed out, we won't make as much revenue since we don't control the parking or concessions. We won't have a store front to sell North Texas gear/apparel as well. I wonder what the break even point would be on ticket sales/price.

Well, it might be nice to sell out a football game for once and actually create a demand for tickets. I'm just saying that in a 1AA throwaway game we might want to try something different. I have no idea if the numbers work as I am not privy to our cost and expenses. I'm sure we would be allowed to set up a store front for gear just like the opponents in the 1AA championship game played in January at Toyota . Just trying to think outside the box ,be positive,and find reasons why something new and different might work instead of why it automatically won't. I also would like to move our La. Tech series to Shreveport.

Aldo · December 12, 2017

46 minutes ago, wardly said:

Well, it might be nice to sell out a football game for once and actually create a demand for tickets. I'm just saying that in a 1AA throwaway game we might want to try something different. I have no idea if the numbers work as I am not privy to our cost and expenses. I'm sure we would be allowed to set up a store front for gear just like the opponents in the 1AA championship game played in January at Toyota . Just trying to think outside the box ,be positive,and find reasons why something new and different might work instead of why it automatically won't. I also would like to move our La. Tech series to Shreveport.

What isn’t working that we would move our venue 10 miles away to a small soccer stadium?

This is a terrible idea and small time.

Aquila_Viridis · December 12, 2017

Actually, every once in a while playing over there, is not the worst idea. The North Texas region is much larger than Denton, and NT does need to reach out to people over in that area. The potential is not to be Denton’s team, but to represent all those other millions of people.

aztecskin · December 12, 2017

6 hours ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Actually, every once in a while playing over there, is not the worst idea. The North Texas region is much larger than Denton, and NT does need to reach out to people over in that area. The potential is not to be Denton’s team, but to represent all those other millions of people.

I don't think anyone disagrees with the idea that we should reach out to those areas.

However, playing any games in venues other than Apogee needs to have a more compelling reason and a clearer benefit. I think those suggesting we play elsewhere underestimate the budgetary and cultural impact games at Apogee have.

wardly · December 12, 2017

9 hours ago, Aldo said:

What isn’t working that we would move our venue 10 miles away to a small soccer stadium?

This is a terrible idea and small time.

Maybe you are right. What do you think is a great idea and big time?

MeanGreenTexan · December 12, 2017

The attendance this year was an increase. What's "not working"?

Maybe it's not skyrocketing, but it increased. Watch what happens to attendance when we beat SMU & Arkansas next year... And the very last thing we want to do is move our home game revenue to Toyota in hopes of maybe attracting some Frisco people. Frisco is close enough to Denton that if anyone from Frisco is interested in coming to a UNT game, they can simply drive across 380 or across El Dorado/Swisher.

DentonLurker · December 12, 2017

I could see playing a non-conference, "neutral site" game in Frisco. I just wouldn't want to lose a home game at Apogee to do it. I went to the FCS champ game in Frisco a few years ago and it's actually a decent venue for a football game. 6 home games, 1 game in Frisco, and 5 road games... I could support that.

As far as getting Denton, non-UNT alums involved, I've always thought it would be cool to have an "All But One" Club for alums of other schools who want to support the local school in all games except the ones against their schools. Have it roll up into the MGC increasing membership, give them access to a sports bar type area outside the stadium to watch the games of their schools, etc. Find ways to embrace their schools while encouraging them to support the Mean Green the rest of the time. Expand it to sports other than football. Etc.

Aldo · December 12, 2017

55 minutes ago, wardly said:

Maybe you are right. What do you think is a great idea and big time?

Winning this bowl game.

Market more.

Win recruiting battles.

Half-time concert vs SMU at Apogee is worth a shot. (obviously someone known).

Market more.

Competing for first in the division again.

Look, we broke #2 most attended games twice this season. Why take away from that?

MeanGreenTexan · December 12, 2017

11 minutes ago, Aldo said:

Winning this bowl game.

Market more.

Win recruiting battles.

Half-time concert vs SMU at Apogee is worth a shot. (obviously someone known).

Market more.

Competing for first in the division again.

Look, we broke #2 most attended games twice this season. Why take away from that?

Post-game show would probably be better.

Halftime is for Green Brigade & Dancers. They deserve that time to perform. Plus, if the concert is a good one, then everyone will stay through the entire game to see it rather than leaving after halftime.

wardly · December 12, 2017

56 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

The attendance this year was an increase. What's "not working"?

Maybe it's not skyrocketing, but it increased. Watch what happens to attendance when we beat SMU & Arkansas next year... And the very last thing we want to do is move our home game revenue to Toyota in hopes of maybe attracting some Frisco people. Frisco is close enough to Denton that if anyone from Frisco is interested in coming to a UNT game, they can simply drive across 380 or across El Dorado/Swisher.

Gee, playing to 70% of capacity and asking "what's not working."

MeanGreenTexan · December 12, 2017

1 minute ago, wardly said:

Gee, playing to 70% of capacity and asking "what's not working."

As opposed to playing to 35% capacity only 2 years ago... again, what's not working? That's a marked improvement.

The current AD leadership has been here for about 1.5 yrs. College football attendance/interest at the G5 level is not a Seadoo. More like a supertanker. We're not going to be able to sell out Apogee after going 1-11 2 seasons ago, not beating SMU lately, and not beating a P5 in years.

UNTFan23 · December 12, 2017

If Toyota Stadium was the same size as Apogee I wouldn't think this is such a bad idea but why limit attendance to a 20k stadium? It be nice to know what the rental cost is for Toyota Stadium

20.5k seats in Toyota Stadium. The remaining amounts are estimates based on student body size, etc.
7.5k max for student tickets
1.5k visitor max
11.5k season ticket/general admission. Seating assignment based off of MGC priority points.

If the rental cost is $50k, that's basically $2.5/seat. Of course that goes up if the rental cost is higher.

If the AD decides to forfeit the revenue for the student tickets so that students an attend for "free" (estimated at 7.5k available tickets) the rental cost gets spread to the remaining tickets upping the cost per ticket to $4.00/seat (assuming the $50k rental cost). The AD could choose to use similar prices to what we charge in Apogee and just eat those extra costs or they could add in the extra rental costs to the price of tickets.

Something to keep in mind is that there are no endzone seats. That said, there could be basically one ticket price for all sideline seats which might be in the upper $30 to lower $40 range. So if we went with a ticket price of $38 here's how revenue might break down:

20.5k = $779k max revenue @ $38.00/ticket
7.5k "free" student tickets = -$285k
1.5k visitor seats = $57k
11.5k season tickets/general admission = $437k
Estimated Rental Cost = -$50k
Estimated Contract Cost to Pay to Visiting Team = -$250k
Estimated Net Revenue = $194k (but this number could go down even more due to things like security costs, etc).

Either way, I don't see how the AD could make as much profit on moving a game to Toyota Stadium given its size without charging more money per ticket.

12 hours ago, wardly said:

Well, it might be nice to sell out a football game for once and actually create a demand for tickets. I'm just saying that in a 1AA throwaway game we might want to try something different. I have no idea if the numbers work as I am not privy to our cost and expenses. I'm sure we would be allowed to set up a store front for gear just like the opponents in the 1AA championship game played in January at Toyota . Just trying to think outside the box ,be positive,and find reasons why something new and different might work instead of why it automatically won't. I also would like to move our La. Tech series to Shreveport.

If the series is moved to Shreveport and we still get 6 home games, I am fine with that.

DeepGreen · December 12, 2017

No to moving a game to Frisco! North Texas needs to sink or swim with Apogee Stadium. It was built for UNT football games in Denton, Texas, home of the Mean Green. Keep winning, find a way to pay your good assistant coaches more money so they stay in Denton, and did I mention "keep winning"? A win over Troy is very important to our football program, recruiting, national perception, and a sense that next year will be equally successful. We need to continue recruiting and winning football games and Championships.

You want Frisco? Do a Frisco day at Apogee next season.

MeanGreenTexan · December 12, 2017

11 minutes ago, UNTFan23 said:

...

If the series is moved to Shreveport and we still get 6 home games, I am fine with that.

That would be very difficult for the AD to do. Because you're basically alternating a home game at the Independence Bowl every other year, so in essence, you're asking for a 7 home-game schedule every other year with one of those "home" games being in another state.

However, it would be really a really awesome piece in building up a "rivalry" with LATech!

UNTFan23 · December 12, 2017

10 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

That would be very difficult for the AD to do. Because you're basically alternating a home game at the Independence Bowl every other year, so in essence, you're asking for a 7 home-game schedule every other year with one of those "home" games being in another state.

However, it would be really a really awesome piece in building up a "rivalry" with LATech!

The real question is how much of our regular fan base will travel to go watch this game? 10k? 15k? What makes these neutral site rivalry games work is when both fan bases show up in solid numbers.

I wonder if Shreveport would be on board given many NT fans would just make a day trip out of the game.