Totally agree. The team comes out of the runway last night to a virtually empty arena. Must be really disappointing to the players.
Attendance Tonight
- Thread starter General_Tso
- Start date
While i have not been disappointed with the fans at the game, I am very disappointed in how few fans are at the games. I don't remember attendance being this visually bad at CAA in the late 90's and early 2000s. It just seems like there are so many empty seats in the arena. I am sure the bar areas don't help as i do see many fans watching the games from there. Anyway, I really hope Lyons and company can figure out a way to get more fans to the game. I know winning cures all, but this team deserves our support.
So many issues Pirate Russ to consider. One of the posters presented some excellent points on another
thread last week about attendance. Things are different than they were in the 1990s and early 2000's.
Every game is on TV now. So you can just stay home and watch it on a beautiful HD screen. That's a
problem for many schools now. The Seton Hall dynamic is a bit different. We are a smaller school that competes with numerous Pro sports teams. The demographics of the region have changed. Many of our
best fans have migrated away from the area to Southern and Western NJ. We have an aging fan base
and we may not be replacing them as we need to. A big reason has been the lack of success by the Men's
basketball program and that has been bad for business. This season's team is good but you can't get fans back just like that. The loss of the marquee BigEast teams like Syracuse and UConn has hurt also.
The Prudential Arena is a very nice building and we are fortunate to have it. The curtains make
it feel a bit more like a college arena. The mass transportation into Newark helps. Having said that
the area is a bit underdeveloped and aside from the arena itself it's kind of bland around there. The parking is overpriced for a college event I believe, but the food concession prices are over the top(like almost
every arena or stadium in the NJ/NY). The SHU ticket prices are fair for the most part. When you add it all
up the economics are crushing the product. How many people can afford to go to Prudential 3 times in
eight days adding traveling costs into the mix?
The good news is that year by year we get more students to the games, most people wear Seton Hall
items and the fans are getting a bit more involved. Winning is also key and having dynamic players is
great for business.
Exactly. That was such an obvious BS smokescreen.
This site is an anomaly. My guess is that there is still a genuine hangover from the lousy performance of the last five years under Willard. Doing better than expected but we're not a ranked team. It's not enough yet to attract the casual fans or those still skeptical about Willard to come back.
Outside of the Xavier game, I don't think attendance for the rest of the season will be much better.
No one said that here. Personally I said sales were up, better than last season and that's true.
But not once was the comment well up used.
This has been a pretty good winter so weather can't be used as an excuse. Neither can the record as it has been better than most anticipated.
Clearly there's been some backlash regarding Willard's past 5 years here and that's understandable. And all the games being on TV is a factor as well. It's a lot easier and cheaper to just stay home and flip the TV on. But that doesn't in any way help the program moving forward.
For most of us we have the ability to go the games. The team needs us to do that. I hope all who read this understand how much and attend the last three games at the Rock. That's not a lot to ask for if you care.
Clearly there's been some backlash regarding Willard's past 5 years here and that's understandable. And all the games being on TV is a factor as well. It's a lot easier and cheaper to just stay home and flip the TV on. But that doesn't in any way help the program moving forward.
For most of us we have the ability to go the games. The team needs us to do that. I hope all who read this understand how much and attend the last three games at the Rock. That's not a lot to ask for if you care.
Agree 1000% (except we only have two home games left). We should also try and get to the Garden for Wednesday night's game too!
I don't recall Dan making the comment. It was another poster or two that knew someone in the ticket office.
I don't think the posters on this board are going to move the needle at all, since most go to every game anyway. At this point the difference with a 5,000 and 8,000 showing is going to be the result of one (or a combination) of three things: 1) A marquee team coming in (only X left), 2) SHU ranked and clearly looking like an NCAA team....which results in more TV/media exposure and buzz and 3) A rivalry...nothing left there on the schedule.
We don't have 8,000 die hard's...more like 3,500 and that has been on the decline. I don't think there's enough right now or left to draw in that casual fan.
I will be there as well. Its tax season at my job I work long hours and have still found a way to make to most games. Where there is a will there is a way!
Those are valid points and I agree with the part about marquee teams. Only Villanova and GTown at this point back to BigEast glory days. SJU stinks right now and Rutgers is no longer a conference game and will be every other year. Too bad because Butler, Xavier and Creighton are very good programs with bright futures. SHU is getting attention this year. Having outstanding local talent helps the brand. The rivalry is really with ourselves at this point. It doesn't matter who we play, we just need to win games.
Great point about how many diehards are left. I believe there is another layer of fans that just
don't attend too many games anymore The other great thing is when I see families at the games
with tons of future Pirate fans. We have to keep those relationships moving forward.
Economics are a factor. I'm not sure that our fans that have season tickets and can travel with the team once a year can relate.
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It's good to support the Pirates on the road but remember that the school only gets ticket revenues for home games.
The athletic dept should be working on selling out both the Providence and Xavier games.
Drop the $29 and $21 seats to $20 for both games if 2+ tickets are purchased.
Set up a 2-pack plan, buy the last two games for $40 and also get a SHU t-shirt.
Etc, promotions will get the casual and/or cheap fan into the arena.
The athletic dept should be working on selling out both the Providence and Xavier games.
Drop the $29 and $21 seats to $20 for both games if 2+ tickets are purchased.
Set up a 2-pack plan, buy the last two games for $40 and also get a SHU t-shirt.
Etc, promotions will get the casual and/or cheap fan into the arena.
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