[QUOTE=ninerID;209712]Exactly[/QUOTE]
Amazing how that works huh?..As opposed to having a mediocre(iām being kind) team with a terrible home schedule.Someone needs to light a fire under Bobby and Judyās butts, before the big boosters take a hike.
[QUOTE=A-10 bound;209711]How do you get much cheaper than this deal? Its obvious the department is trying to attract families to come out and watch Niner basketball in hopes to get the young generation hooked on Charlotte athletics rather than other Carolina college athletics.
Iām pretty sure the department has extended a hand to every YMCA and youth group from South Charlotte to Hickory to Kannapolis. Its pretty much unanimous that to pack Halton it always helps to have a good team and play those top tier teams.[/QUOTE]
Easy, how about just throwing out the hotdogs and drinks and just giving those UNUSED tickets away to the YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, United Way, Make a Wish, etc. Hell if there isnāt going to be anyone in the seats anyway, why not fill them. Maybe they could set up a deal with these groups for concessions, but this could not only be a marketing ploy (The Niners helping kids out who wouldnāt normally have the chance to attend games), and it would also make Halton look full and kids always provide excitement. It would also boost our attendence numbers in those box scores :biggrin:
[QUOTE=A-10 bound;209711]How do you get much cheaper than this deal?[/QUOTE]
At this point, $5 per ticket is reasonable to get butts in Halton. The talk is all about football right now but come March/April youāll be hearing of athletic department shortfalls in revenue due to low attendance numbers.
How do you get much cheaper than this deal? Its obvious the department is trying to attract families to come out and watch Niner basketball in hopes to get the young generation hooked on Charlotte athletics rather than other Carolina college athletics.
I think the point a few are making is that despite the good deal at $49, there are still countless empty seats at every game. So, essentially, theyāre taking a loss on a lot of those seats. So even if you sold the package at a price that equates to $1 profit (after at-cost concessions), isnāt that better than not selling the seats at all? I agree that they could probably generate more money simply by lower that deal another $10. You may lose that $10 off the package price but if the lower prices attracts 15 more families, Iād think that it would end up being more cost-effective.
Why arenāt we getting info like this out to more people anyway? In all honesty, if you never visited this site, how many of you would know about this deal? I see it every once in a blue moon in the sports section of the Observer but thatās about it. But how do the families who donāt use this site or get the paper know about this? I havenāt seen any ads on local TV stations or heard anything on local radio stations. Because it cost too much? This just in: You have to spend money to make money.
I like the idea about showing what groups are there. That is a good deal, but the empty seats concern me as well. I know marketing has improved some this year, but not enough. Itās got to go further. A coworker of mine was given tickets, but couldnāt make the game and could not get anyone to take them! I watch other college games on TV and see all these commercials that when I was young made me interested in the school, Charlotte only does those Almuni commercials. We need commercials to seel the school and the sthletics. I really think the Chancellor needs to revamp marketing.
If we had picked up more fans during our CUSA days, we MAY still have some of those fans hanging around.
I was really hoping that the city would have embraced us more during those days. Unfortunately, most of the people in this city either barely knew we existed or perceived us as somewhere down around the Southern Conference level (I think the term used in the Observer was ālittle oleā local schoolā).
[QUOTE=HP49er;209724]At this point, $5 per ticket is reasonable to get butts in Halton. The talk is all about football right now but come March/April youāll be hearing of athletic department shortfalls in revenue due to low attendance numbers.[/QUOTE]
Excellent point. Poor basketball attendance from the last 2 years will be a great arguing point for those that oppose starting a football team.
Like Mac saidā¦ those seats are going to be empty anyways. Sell them as cheap as you have to to boost attendance numbers and create an exciting atmosphere in Halton. $5 seems reasonable to me. And as jcl saidā¦ it doesnāt matter how cheap you sell them if people donāt know about the deal.
[QUOTE=Ninerballin;209717]Easy, how about just throwing out the hotdogs and drinks and just giving those UNUSED tickets away to the YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, United Way, Make a Wish, etc. Hell if there isnāt going to be anyone in the seats anyway, why not fill them. Maybe they could set up a deal with these groups for concessions, but this could not only be a marketing ploy (The Niners helping kids out who wouldnāt normally have the chance to attend games), and it would also make Halton look full and kids always provide excitement. It would also boost our attendence numbers in those box scores :biggrin:[/QUOTE]
Lots of tickets are given away to groups like this.
[QUOTE=Max Power;209738]Excellent point. Poor basketball attendance from the last 2 years will be a great arguing pointfor those that oppose starting a football team.
Like Mac saidā¦ those seats are going to be empty anyways. Sell them as cheap as you have to to boost attendance numbers and create an exciting atmosphere in Halton. $5 seems reasonable to me. And as jcl saidā¦ it doesnāt matter how cheap you sell them if people donāt know about the deal.[/QUOTE]
We need to do the deal where you buy one adult and get 2 kids in free. Put them in all the family coupon books and the paper. One of the low budget circuses does that and pack Independence arena. We went last year. They had one elephant and he had half a trunk.
Or all kids under 12 get in free with a paying adult. We actually do offer that for some games.
[QUOTE=jcl49er;209725]I think the point a few are making is that despite the good deal at $49, there are still countless empty seats at every game. So, essentially, theyāre taking a loss on a lot of those seats. So even if you sold the package at a price that equates to $1 profit (after at-cost concessions), isnāt that better than not selling the seats at all? I agree that they could probably generate more money simply by lower that deal another $10. You may lose that $10 off the package price but if the lower prices attracts 15 more families, Iād think that it would end up being more cost-effective.
Why arenāt we getting info like this out to more people anyway? In all honesty, if you never visited this site, how many of you would know about this deal? I see it every once in a blue moon in the sports section of the Observer but thatās about it. But how do the families who donāt use this site or get the paper know about this? I havenāt seen any ads on local TV stations or heard anything on local radio stations. Because it cost too much? This just in: You have to spend money to make money.[/QUOTE]
Iāve heard where we spend our money and how much but I canāt recall the specifics. Itās geared towards the TV stations, Magazines, Coupon books that are family oriented. Mini-van mom doesnāt read the sports page or check the sports message boards but sheās still getting the information. Of course more could be done.
I canāt speak for any TV commercials in the Charlotte market, but Time Warner has produced and shows commercials of Elon, High Point, and UNC Greensboro promoting games.
Itās bigger than just athletics, but itās almost like the suits want to isolate this University. Perhaps Stamats can/will address this.
Heres an idea, make the door tickets like wicked cheap. Like 30 mins before the game or something, just let people in real cheap.
[QUOTE=Gill2003;209757]Heres an idea, make the door tickets like wicked cheap. Like 30 mins before the game or something, just let people in real cheap.[/QUOTE]
Hereās another ideaā¦CHARGE LUTZ 10K PER PRIOR LOSS TO ENTER HALTONā¦THATāD SOLVE THE BUYOUT PROBLEM!
[QUOTE=Gill2003;209757]Heres an idea, make the door tickets like wicked cheap. Like 30 mins before the game or something, just let people in real cheap.[/QUOTE]
Why would anyone by a ticket in advance then?
I donāt think the issue is marketing. I have tickets that I canāt even give away sometimes. At this point, the only possible solution is probably a top 20 team.
This is still a tough sell when the number one team in the country is in your state and you are nowhere on the map relating to college athletics.
Advance tickets would get your lower seats. Make the el cheapo tickets those in the way back. Like at Bobcats games or something.
I've heard where we spend our money and how much but I can't recall the specifics. It's geared towards the TV stations, Magazines, Coupon books that are family oriented. Mini-van mom doesn't read the sports page or check the sports message boards but she's still getting the information. Of course more could be done.
Well, Iāve yet to see any TV ads for our games or ticket packages. Maybe theyāre playing them on Channel 22 where the audience is like 5 people. But theyāre not running them on the major local stations (WBTV, WSOC, WCNC, FOX, etc.) which is where most people are going to see them. Nor are they running them on local radio stations. And a 3-second āHOME of the Charlotte 49ersā promo on WFNZ doesnāt count. Seriously, how hard is it to get a 15-30 second ad on Ace/Tj, Bob/Sheri or during the music-only part of the day on 104.7FM or 102.9FM? Weāre in āfamily-oriented coupon books?āā¦lol Yeah, thatās really getting the message out.
And again, donāt argue budget because the school can afford to toss in a radio/TV ad if it means more exposure/ticket sales. If we can afford to put up billboards then surely we can hit a few other key avenues. I know the folks over in Marketing mean well but in my opinion, they do a great job of marketing the product to the people they already have on board and a poor job at marketing the product to everyone else.
If we had picked up more fans during our CUSA days, we MAY still have some of those fans hanging around.I was really hoping that the city would have embraced us more during those days. Unfortunately, most of the people in this city either barely knew we existed or perceived us as somewhere down around the Southern Conference level (I think the term used in the Observer was ālittle oleā local schoolā).
We had our opportunity to win over the Charlotte basketball fan when the Hornets left(prior to the Bobcats and also while the Heels were down). We blew it on the courtā¦
[QUOTE=LeftyNiner;209740] They had one elephant and he had half a trunk.[/QUOTE]
Way off topicā¦but, thatās pretty darn funny.
I loved circusās when I was a kid. But I took my kids when they were 4-5 years old & I was embarrassed to be there and never went again. It was a gross environment, but the elephant did have all of his trunk.
[QUOTE=Gill2003;209757]Heres an idea, make the door tickets like wicked cheap. Like 30 mins before the game or something, just let people in real cheap.[/QUOTE]
Hate to say it, but I think this is one of few ideas that would put butts in the seats for the rest of this season.
IMO, this is the ultimate despiration move, but I think the city of Charlotte is an unusual sports market
[QUOTE=LeftyNiner;209739]Lots of tickets are given away to groups like this.[/QUOTE]
I have been told (2nd or 3rd hand) that the school has been doing this for at least the past 3 years.