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Post by oldschool on Oct 18, 2011 12:42:49 GMT -5
@ Aggie 77. oleschoolaggie made his point Misinformed are not> You also made your point. But what I have a problem with is this. Why are Kids, high school students and other College Students charged the same price as the Adults for a ticket (IF that is the case). Can someone please tell me why ?? Don't give me that we need the money because other schools need the money also but they have a rate for Kids, high schools and other college students W/ID. SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH A&T DOING THE SAME ? EXPLAIN this to me??? My brother , My brother, it has been posted at least three times in response to your question , but just in case you missed it. The price of the homecoming tickets for HS students , kids, and other college students were $15 and $20. All others were $35 general admission, $45 reserved.
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Post by DOOMS on Oct 18, 2011 12:44:59 GMT -5
The thing about SC Steat is their fans were downright proud of the fact they would travel hours just to tailgate! A number of my family members are alums, and they would drive up from Atlanta, tailgate, and leave, and never buy a ticket or set foot in the stadium. And they were proud of it! Steat needed a tailgate zone. Of course, now some of them just don't even bother to go, but they weren't going to buy a ticket anyways. No big loss.
Ultimately, I think the school is willing to take a loss on this thing. Not a huge one, but a loss nonetheless. The hope being that as wins pick up, attendance will pick back up.
The thing that bothers me is the tickets are already too danged expensive. The students are already charged too much money. There are already too many programs being gutted. There is continual mismanagement of the money we do have, and we're steady looking for ways to get more money to mismanage.
Coach Broadway said that the school would have a winning program when it wants to support one. He did not say the fans needed to support it, he said the school. A lot of folks are blaming our lack of success on a lack of donations. I blame it on the school.
Like I've stated before, very few FCS schools run on booster club donations, or even really rely on them. A fair number rely on one or two very rich donors and the rest get the majority of their money from the school itself and from businesses in the community. If we need a fan zone just to have enough money to properly run the department, we have no business in d-1, period. If the school itself won't properly fund the program, won't solicit the business community properly, and won't even properly solicit alumni (a fan game zone is not proper solicitation), then get out the game. That's mismanagement. You have a guy that's supposed to get this money. What's he doing, playing solitaire and telling you to charge people full ticket price to walk around the stadium? It might be more palatable to me if I knew the school was maximizing its own resources. But since I know it ain't....
Whether they keep the dam zone or not, all I know is I'd better see a volleyball team with a full compliment of players, 63 scholarships, a much higher graduation percentage, and some championship caliber teams across the board in the next few years. If not, I suspect that the mismanagement will have continued despite our best efforts.
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Aggie77
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Post by Aggie77 on Oct 18, 2011 13:00:54 GMT -5
You keep clamoring for proof of increased revenue resulting from the Game Zone concept. You do realize that there is no data yet, no way or the other, because this is the first year and the year isn’t over. It doesn't take a year to do a cost analysis mid-stream. Compare the numbers (attendance, sales, concessions etc) for the games played with those played last year then factor in the expenses. Most companies do mid-year financial reports. If we (A&T) are being real about making money then we should be constantly re-evaluating decisions instead of simple season to season adjustments. In other words, there is plenty of data, just not plenty of effort to utilize it. I agree and I'm sure that's being done, is it available to public, I don't know. The problem is still OSA's point, what is the pure impact of the Game Zone. There are a lot of variables in play, win/lost, the economy, time of the month, weather, etc. Overall I think we end the season up, to me that a plus to continue the Game Zone. As a point clarification, it's my understanding that concessions are vendor leased and on a fixed price contract basis. The attendance variable doesn't impact the revenue.
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DECKS
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Post by DECKS on Oct 18, 2011 13:14:05 GMT -5
Oldschoolaggie with all due respect I don't think you totally understand how the concept works. It's targeted toward people who come to the game just to hang around the tailgate area without any intention of coming inside the game. These are people who normally aren't going to come inside whether our record is 1-10 or 10-1. They are there just to hang around the tailgate area period. SCSU discovered that most of these folks aren't going to come inside, no matter what's going on inside the stadium but you do have a small percentage who are willing to pay the price of a ticket just to continue to hang out in the tailgate area. Case in point. My wife had 4 girlfriends come from DC and they all paid $35 for a ticket and didn't set one foot inside the stadium. None of them care about football and only one of them was an A&T alum. They all stayed in the tailgate area the whole day just to eat and socialize. Without the Game Zone A&T would have made zero dollars from these ladies but instead made $140 because they were willing to pay just to tailgate.
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Oct 18, 2011 13:20:41 GMT -5
Be realistic oldschoolaggie. How do you expect to find a model comparable to our last six years? you're exactly right! but that's not an excuse to use a model that's the total opposite to ours. just because we can isn't a good business reason. the idea behind market studies is to study similar circumstances to your own. scsu's program is not similar to ours. nor is the city of orangeburg similar to greensboro. greensboro is not a major city like atlanta or dc, but there's far more to do in greensboro than in orangeburg. i mean, we have to compare apples to apples. scsu is the only show in town for folk in orangeburg. what else are they gonna do if they don't go to a scsu football game?
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Oct 18, 2011 13:31:00 GMT -5
Oldschoolaggie with all due respect I don't think you totally understand how the concept works. It's targeted toward people who come to the game just to hang around the tailgate area without any intention of coming inside the game. These are people who normally aren't going to come inside whether our record is 1-10 or 10-1. They are there just to hang around the tailgate area period. SCSU discovered that most of these folks aren't going to come inside, no matter what's going on inside the stadium but you do have a small percentage who are willing to pay the price of a ticket just to continue to hang out in the tailgate area. Case in point. My wife had 4 girlfriends come from DC and they all paid $35 for a ticket and didn't set one foot inside the stadium. None of them care about football and only one of them was an A&T alum. They all stayed in the tailgate area the whole day just to eat and socialize. Without the Game Zone A&T would have made zero dollars from these ladies but instead made $140 because they were willing to pay just to tailgate. there's always gonna be an exception or two to the rule. but don't get me wrong, i'm thankful for that $140. but i'd be willing to bet we ran away at least 10 times as much money as that by fencing folk out. i honestly don't think you'll find too many folk who are willing to pay $35 just to tailgate, i really don't. again, what else are ya gonna do in orangeburg if you don't go to see scsu play? there's not much else to do there...
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Post by Aggie Monster on Oct 18, 2011 13:43:12 GMT -5
there's always gonna be an exception or two to the rule. but don't get me wrong, i'm thankful for that $140. but i'd be willing to bet we ran away at least 10 times as much money as that by fencing folk out. I dont get that statement? Either they are going to pay or not. If the Game Zone wasn't there the people that didn't show up were not going to pay anyway. They saw the fence and left cause they didn't want to pay $35. If there was no fence they would have just tailgated and NOT paid $35 to go in the game. Do you even see how that works?
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DECKS
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Post by DECKS on Oct 18, 2011 14:04:44 GMT -5
there's always gonna be an exception or two to the rule. but don't get me wrong, i'm thankful for that $140. but i'd be willing to bet we ran away at least 10 times as much money as that by fencing folk out. I dont get that statement? Either they are going to pay or not. If the Game Zone wasn't there the people that didn't show up were not going to pay anyway. They saw the fence and left cause they didn't want to pay $35. If there was no fence they would have just tailgated and NOT paid $35 to go in the game. Do you even see how that works? Exactly. OSA please describe the demographic who would have normally paid $35 for homecoming but turned away because of the Game Zone.
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Oct 18, 2011 15:18:28 GMT -5
I dont get that statement? Either they are going to pay or not. If the Game Zone wasn't there the people that didn't show up were not going to pay anyway. They saw the fence and left cause they didn't want to pay $35. If there was no fence they would have just tailgated and NOT paid $35 to go in the game. Do you even see how that works? Exactly. OSA please describe the demographic who would have normally paid $35 for homecoming but turned away because of the Game Zone. i'm suggesting that demographic "didn't show up at all" for homecoming. i'm suggesting that that demographic got turned away at previous home games this season and chose not to come back because of it. if ya know you can hang out around the stadium without paying to go in, you're more likely to come and hang out. but if you've been turned away earlier in the season and was told it's now gonna always be this way, you don't bother coming back. no one is gonna hang out outside of the fence just for the hail of it, so they don't bother coming at all. the demographic i'm talking about has money in their pocket and can afford to buy a ticket. they just don't want to pay to go see a&t lose yet again. so they hang out not necessarily intending to go in, but if it sounds like a&t is having a big game and the fans are constantly cheering very loud in the stadium, i believe a small element of those folk will be inclined to purchase a ticket and go inside...
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Post by Aggie Monster on Oct 18, 2011 15:39:01 GMT -5
Exactly. OSA please describe the demographic who would have normally paid $35 for homecoming but turned away because of the Game Zone. i'm suggesting that demographic "didn't show up at all" for homecoming. i'm suggesting that that demographic got turned away at previous home games this season and chose not to come back because of it. if ya know you can hang out around the stadium without paying to go in, you're more likely to come and hang out. but if you've been turned away earlier in the season and was told it's now gonna always be this way, you don't bother coming back. no one is gonna hang out outside of the fence just for the hail of it, so they don't bother coming at all. the demographic i'm talking about has money in their pocket and can afford to buy a ticket. they just don't want to pay to go see a&t lose yet again. so they hang out not necessarily intending to go in, but if it sounds like a&t is having a big game and the fans are constantly cheering very loud in the stadium, i believe a small element of those folk will be inclined to purchase a ticket and go inside... ROTFL, All 2 of them. Seriously I cant knock you cause you REALLY believe that and thats your opinion. So I'm going to let it go. It might need tweeking if it doesn't work out and maybe the $10 tailgate ticket is the answer. If they do that I think they need to limit the amount that they sell as well. Maybe only 500 Fan Zone Only tickets can be sold for each game(1500 for homecoming).
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Oct 18, 2011 16:07:47 GMT -5
i'm suggesting that demographic "didn't show up at all" for homecoming. i'm suggesting that that demographic got turned away at previous home games this season and chose not to come back because of it. if ya know you can hang out around the stadium without paying to go in, you're more likely to come and hang out. but if you've been turned away earlier in the season and was told it's now gonna always be this way, you don't bother coming back. no one is gonna hang out outside of the fence just for the hail of it, so they don't bother coming at all. the demographic i'm talking about has money in their pocket and can afford to buy a ticket. they just don't want to pay to go see a&t lose yet again. so they hang out not necessarily intending to go in, but if it sounds like a&t is having a big game and the fans are constantly cheering very loud in the stadium, i believe a small element of those folk will be inclined to purchase a ticket and go inside... ROTFL, All 2 of them. Seriously I cant knock you cause you REALLY believe that and thats your opinion. So I'm going to let it go. It might need tweeking if it doesn't work out and maybe the $10 tailgate ticket is the answer. If they do that I think they need to limit the amount that they sell as well. Maybe only 500 Fan Zone Only tickets can be sold for each game(1500 for homecoming). monster, if you really think about it, its the same mentality some folk use when they go out clubbing. some folk just hang around the premises until they feel confident there's a good party crowd inside. then they'll ante up and pay for admission. but if a good party crowd doesn't show up in a timely fashion, they'll party hop to the next club and do the same thing. same idea behind folk hanging out around aggie stadium. if it seems like there's excitement inside the stadium, they're more inclined to purchase a ticket. the only difference from the analogy above, is that stadium hangers either stay outside the stadium for the entire game or go home whenever they feel like it rather than go to another game...
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Oct 18, 2011 16:39:42 GMT -5
me personally, i really don't like the fan zone concept at all. the only way i can digest it is if it brings in "significantly" more revenue. and even still, i still won't like it, but i feel i can accept it under those circumstances.
admittedly, i'm selfish in that i prefer a more robust tailgating area. but that's not the only reason i don't like the fan zone. i also don't like it because a&t has always been embraced by the black community of greensboro. the way i see it, historically a&t belongs to the black community of greensboro. no, not literally speaking, but "figuratively" speaking. symbolically, a&t was born in the local black community and we serve the local black community.
so i don't like shutting the local community out from something that has always been free for all these years. yes, i understand we need new ways of raising funds. but at what cost? is it worth alienating our own people? not in my opinion and i'm sure my opinion may not be popular with the masses, but that's how i feel.
i see plenty of local folk who have never set foot in an aggie classroom in their entire lives, but are adamant supporters of aggie athletics. folk from the community wake up early saturday mornings just to watch a&t's homecoming parade. even i don't do that! but hey, that's just me. dudley high school feels like a part of the aggie family to me. i've spent many a nights tutoring students at dudley when i was an aggie undergrad. and it felt good just seeing the dudley high school band stand on the sidelines at half time of the homecoming game to watch their big brothers and big sisters perform. ain't it so cool that we both happen to have the same school colors?
so i feel a connection to the local community and i just don't like that we've "partitioned" ourselves from our own community on game days. as long as they don't cause any disturbances or commit any crimes, i don't feel they owe us one single dime if they just want to hang out at aggie stadium. to me (and i know i'm in the minority), that's our way of giving back to the community.
i don't like this exclusive "country club" feel to aggie stadium that separates the haves from the have nots. i know a lot of aggies had rather send folk home if they don't buy a ticket. i don't agree with that mindset, but i understand it. again, i know my opinion may not be popular, but its how i feel...
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Post by TOPPDOGG on Oct 18, 2011 18:32:35 GMT -5
Im one of those members of the local black community. I grew up near campus. I didnt attend a&t (Howard). Yet i volunteer at T and i donate money. I also buy season tickets. I attend games with 5 other guys who never went to A&T. this isnt about shutting out the community. This is about shutting out the freeloaders whose only contribution was their presence at a tailgate.
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saabman
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Post by saabman on Oct 18, 2011 18:45:09 GMT -5
Lose the Community and you lose Everything . It has taken A&T along time to Cultivate its relationship with the Black community in Greensboro. Somewhere down the line the connection was lost and now that you have it back you may lose it again . I would Tread Lightly on this subject if I were the Administration! Get Feedback from the community and see what they think and then move from their.
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Post by aggiechamp on Oct 18, 2011 21:52:23 GMT -5
Why don't we just let everybody in for free and be done with it!
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