The announced turnout at Scott Stadium for Saturday’s Power 5 game between UVA and Illinois was 36,036, which was almost certainly generous, but let’s go.

That’s about 25,000 voids, and yes, it didn’t help that ACC and ESPN set a kickoff for 11 a.m., which means we had to get up at dawn to get there, but that doesn’t explain the 42,000 and change we had the previous weekend for the night game with William & Mary.

Word is, the folks in the athletics department are frustrated with the fan base for not supporting the football program, but then it’s the same fan base fighting each other for tickets to JPJ, and put about 36,036 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis for the National Basketball Championship game, and another 8,000-10,000 or so in JPJ to watch the game on the big screen a few years ago.

I have experience – in the now almost distant past – in managing an event business, so I am speaking here with a certain degree of knowledge.

Tickets for an event are like hotel rooms. You can’t rent an empty hotel room on Thursday, Friday, or next week, unlike, say, a retailer who doesn’t sell an item in the store on Thursday, who can sell it on Friday, next week. , next month, if not a perishable.

Ditto for a ticket for an event. After the event is over, no one buys the ticket tomorrow, next week, or next month.

This is how websites like Priceline work to match travelers and hotels. If the room normally costs $ 119 a night, but there is no demand at $ 119, the algorithm checks to see if there could be a demand at $ 89, or $ 79, or less or more.

I’m not suggesting UVA Athletics go the algorithmic route, however… hmmm. May be.

I think a little simpler, easier. If there’s no demand for UVA-Illinois at $ 45, $ 50, what about offering some sort of discount, maybe incentives – free hot dogs, maybe a hat or a t-shirt?

It’s not like the box office folks don’t know today, say, a week and a half before the next home game, the Friday September 24 game with Wake Forest, how many tickets are still available.

If there are 15,000, 20,000, more, you’re not bemoaning a fan base for not supporting the program; you think about what you need to do to get butt in the seats.

I would give 15,000 or 20,000 tickets instead of having 15,000 or 20,000 empty tickets, my thinking being if you bring these people into the stadium, a lot of them are going to buy a hot dog and a soda. , a schedule, some popcorn, and I guess they would have a good time while they were there, and maybe next time there are voids they might be inclined to spend $ 15 or $ 20 for a seat on the upper deck, or even a $ 45 or $ 50 spring for lower level.

This is what we did on nights when we weren’t sold out for our wrestling events at the time. Butts in seats mean concessions, they mean T-shirts, and later people having a good time will want to have a good time again, and next time they will understand the value.

The product on the field is worthy of a full stadium. I have this team playing Charlotte against Clemson in December.

It’s embarrassing that we have the Duke or Wake Forest home atmosphere for our home games.

The folks in the athletics department need to stop complaining about the fan base and focus their efforts on energizing the fan base to want to be part of the fun on Fridays and Saturdays.

Chris Graham story

Related