Campaign to boost Mean Green football attendance

UNTflyer · July 16, 2014

Promotions will begin next week for a new campaign set to create a game-day experience for Mean Green fans and UNT alumni throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The Mean Green Game Day campaign will provide complimentary transportation services via the A-train and Denton County Transportation Authority shuttles under the partnership of DCTA, UNT, and the Denton Convention & Visitors Bureau. With easier access to fan-friendly stops, those who bleed green will be able to support their team while enjoying a traffic-free travel to their game-day destinations.

“It helps improve not only our potential crowd reach, but it’ll also help increase revenue for the city in general,” said Kayla Spears, coordinator of marketing and promotions at UNT athletics. “We don’t want to have to limit the fans [based on] how far away they live from Denton that may keep them from coming.”

On game days, shuttles will connect passengers for free from the Downtown Denton Transit Center to the Mean Green Tailgating Village and Apogee Stadium. The buses will also stop at locations on the Denton Square so that riders can take a break for dinner, drinks and shopping before or after the football games.

Passengers will have to show their Mean Green pride by wearing green or other team merchandise in order to avail of complimentary services. Businesses around Denton are also joining in on the school spirit by joining Game Day Champions, a group of 15 Denton restaurants and bars who will serve as campaign sponsors, including Beth Marie’s and Rooster’s Roadhouse.

“Community collaboration is the key to success,” said Adrienne Hamilton, marketing and communications specialist at DCTA. “We expect we’ll see new passengers on our systems for games and, when they have a good experience, hope they’ll become regular passengers in the future.”

The idea for the campaign came after a trial run of DCTA services during the UNT Heart of Dallas Bowl against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. A successful outcome led to the creation of the campaign to kick off on September 6 when UNT plays Southern Methodist University.

“It’s not likely to happen in the very first year, but if we make this a committed effort to change the paradigm regarding game-day football for UNT, we think that over the next few years we can actually create a uniquely Denton-centric game-day experience,” DCVB vice president Kim Phillips said.

For passenger convenience, DCTA will publish a travel schedule for each game at RideDCTA.net.

http://ntdaily.com/campaign-to-boost-mean-green-football-attendance/

eulessismore · July 16, 2014

I think Roy Orbison's online biography first defined "Denton-centric" without saying it, when it described Dallas as a place southeast of Denton.

Harry · July 16, 2014

I think this is fantastic!

eagle2014 · July 16, 2014

This is really great! I assume it will get even better as the years go on.

GrayEagle · July 16, 2014

This can be a very important tool for boosting attendance and a great step in the right direction. But, to get the townspeople involved it will take a lot more because transportation is not as much of a problem.

The townfolk need incentive to come. There need to be promotions of cheap (or free) game day tickets for Denton County youth. There needs to be discounts or drawings for certain groups on a rotatiing basis. Special incentives for wing zone seats. Promote! Promote! Promote!

TIgreen01 · July 16, 2014

Free shuttles back and forth to the Denton Square is a fantastic idea. Even if you're from Denton and don't need to ride the train. One of the things a lot of major football powers have going for them are VERY close access from their stadiums to their best college town bars and restaurants. When I was in school I always thought Fouts was on the wrong side of the campus. Imagine how much easier it would be to create an electric atmosphere if our stadium was right next to Fry St. Since that clearly isn't an option, this is not a bad plan B.