We also started 2-5 and played the next home game on Halloween. It wasnāt until the end of the year really that The Healy effect started to be felt.
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While I donāt know if the tickets scanned or not scanned affected the final number, what was tangible were crowds for Umass after the App game and FAU after the Clemson game (and even Middle after UNT).
Also tangible was the crowd at UNT after the three game losing streak.
The damage done to the psyche of the average Charlotte football fan in 16 and 17 cannot be measured. I only recognize about a third of the folks in my section as people have been their in the past.
I donāt know how to recapture those folks
True but not all is doom and gloom, there is a ton of momentum for the program. The Bahamas Bowl turnout was incredible, and not only that we captured the city for a day. I have friends who are buying FSLs this year, and friends sat through the entire downpour with me vs Marshal that I had no idea were that invested emotionally in the program.
Early in the past season I had decided to drop my football tickets because it wasnāt much fun, and I felt like I could find better ways to spend six Saturdays in the fall. Then it started getting better, then I sat in the rain for the Marshall game and it was one of the best games I have ever seen. It actually felt like we were playing for something, and against a team I wanted to skulldrag through the mud. Suddenly it was fun! I went out after the Marshall game and bought a new rain jacket because mine was not as waterproof as I thought, and I am ready to sit in the rain again, anytime. I will order my season tickets this weekend, so I am back on board. If we keep winning I think people will come back.
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Come on, man. SEC is a meme. Our own fans are not the target market for this.
Iām in the camp that bigger isnāt always better. Atmosphere is more important than numbersā¦ getting a kid in to see a wild crowd packed into a 25k stadium is going to leave a better impression than the same crowd spread out across 35k seats.
Iād like to see roofs added to whatever decks we end up building. Spend a little bit more to make sure they trap sound and redirect it towards the field in addition to giving us some much needed shade in the stands.
I personally wouldnāt be opposed to pulling out the end zone seating we have now and replacing it with a lawn. Not sure how much that would cost, but it would provide a lot of flexibility for bigger game crowds without presenting as a ton of empty seats. Would look better, IMO, than the idea of tarping those seats off when theyāre not needed.
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I like a lot of that. make the seats nicer , roof, suites, you name it. Sure, more seats, but we donāt need to have the biggest stadium if weāre not going to fill it. Iād be OK with 25k if it was super nice. I donāt think we need more than 30k perm seats.
We need whatever the AAC tells us we need and not one more seat. If keep the end zone open can always SRO/Temp there for overflow crowds.
End Zone Lawn made with the same turf as the field with a big Charlotte Logo on it. I like it.
clt doesnt think aoc will have any input
A lawn would be really nice, Iāve always liked Wake and Apps lawns and those end zone seats are not the most desirable.
Ignoring looksā¦ Would you rather sit on a lawn or a bleacher? Iād choose a bleacher.
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Itās true, but if we add an upper deck we could take out the bleachers and add a lawn and beer garden in the end zone. Lawns look better empty than bleachers.
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Only reason we would put bleachers in the end zone would be to go to 40k. Looks and atmosphere are nearly as important as capacity.
I really like the idea of making endzone a lawn. Looks better on TV than empty seats and creates flexibility.
Funny how this thread has shifted from stadium expansion to taking out seats.
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clt says we need a track around the field.
Agreed with much that has been said. I am confident weāre taking into account what the AAC would want in our plans to expand. I am not sure I buy the argument that weāre a conference move away from filling up on a 30K seat stadium.
Attendance this season will be interesting after the excitement from last season. We need to continue to win games and keep fans interested. Love the idea of a lawn in the endzone too!
If we donāt do any expansion in the end zone we need to do something about the scissor lift.
Thatās not what any of us are saying, and Iām pretty sure youāre well aware of thatā¦