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Coming to grips with college football’s declining attendance


Beau Vine

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Growing up, I liked college football because it was more entertaining and enjoyable to me than the NFL. Also, as I was younger I had more interest in people closer to my peer group. 

Now, it just seems kind of bastardized, dishonest, juvenile and I genuinely dislike most of the personalities associated with it. 

Im way more into fantasy football with friends now.

It really makes me sad that, while my 2 girls will go with me to UT games, it won't have the power and community that I found so magical from my days in 1996~2008. Don't get me wrong, shit was fucked up then too, but going to a UT game was fun. Now it's like going to a Phillies game.

Edited by Doc Reeves
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It's just too damn expensive for most people to justify.



Basically this. I’m no poor but there are other things I’d rather spend my money on. Like traveling around the world for example.

Now if someone wants to give my tickets I’ll be there.

These. I look at the investment of time and money...and I can take a nice trip with my family instead.

And yeah, I have different priorities than I did when I was 25. For example, I remember when I realized that I’d rather watch my 8 yr old son play a Little League game than go to the Disch.

And finally, the game is more and more disconnected with the college and student experience. All the students who want to can’t go to TX-OU because too many tickets go to donors and shit? Fuck that. The kids should be able to go. And we’ve made such scrutinized gods of CFB players that they’re no longer part of student life, really. I remember drinking beer and hanging out with guys like Shane Dronett; his girlfriend taught me to jitterbug. They were just folks. Now, their every move is dissected on sports radio and the internet.

I’m not thrilled with what CFB has become. And with all that we’ve learned about CTE...that makes it even harder.

I went to a couple of games last year. The one I enjoyed most was Tech. Not because of the game, but bI cause I got a chance to catch up with an old friend who had moved back to Texas and was attending his first game in 15 years. Got to meet his wife, hang out with some other old friends, and had a great visit. Even though the game sucked. Oh, and my ticket was free. Only reason I went.
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12 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:



And finally, the game is more and more disconnected with the college and student experience. All the students who want to can’t go to TX-OU because too many tickets go to donors and shit? Fuck that. The kids should be able to go. 

 

This will kill it no matter how much money it generates.

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I started in the knot hole section in 1957. Attended DKR's first game, and his last. Suffered through all the bad years after (and some good)  just because it was simply "what I do." When the jumbotron started to drown out The Longhorn Band I couldn't take it anymore. It was no longer the experience I had loved for over 50 years. It was a circus...not a Longhorn game. 

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I’ve gotten to the point where I enjoy the away games more. We pick one of the better road games each year and make a long weekend trip out of it. It’s cool seeing the set up and traditions at other schools. Then, if the game goes poorly...cough, cal game, cough...at least you got a vacation out of the rest of the weekend. 

And the OU game. I agree with a lot of what others have said about the money and time commitment to make it to a game, but the OU game is the one that being there is person matters. 

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I’ve gotten to the point where I enjoy the away games more. We pick one of the better road games each year and make a long weekend trip out of it. It’s cool seeing the set up and traditions at other schools. Then, if the game goes poorly...cough, cal game, cough...at least you got a vacation out of the rest of the weekend. 

And the OU game. I agree with a lot of what others have said about the money and time commitment to make it to a game, but the OU game is the one that being there is person matters. 

 

 

This is a really good point. A RT + game is a lot of fun. We try and do that every year. I also definitely agree about Texas\OU. It’s an extremely unique experience that is worth attending.

 

Someone above posted the strategy I have employed for the last few years - only buying tickets for the games we actually want to see. We will go to the USC game. I will buy 4 tickets together and it will cost me less than a donation and tickets to other games that I would rather watch with friends at someone’s house or a bar.

 

The entire game day experience is shit outside 1-2 games per year.

 

 

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One good away trip a year and Texas OU is where I'm now at. We had season tickets from 1998-2014. I haven't really missed them. The home environment is too stale and corporate now. And honestly, our fans are lame AF. Yeah, I get the games haven't been great since 2010 but it's like everyone's just going through the motions out there. I blame the giant TV because it makes everyone more passive. It's just not an experience I want to spend money on. Of the two games against USC, I wanted to go to USC than see USC in Austin. The gameday experiences were pretty similar but the added bonus of a trip to LA was too good to pass up. 

 

Plus, mdleast makes some great food on his WSW and the beers are much cheaper. 

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17 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

 


These. I look at the investment of time and money...and I can take a nice trip with my family instead.

And yeah, I have different priorities than I did when I was 25. For example, I remember when I realized that I’d rather watch my 8 yr old son play a Little League game than go to the Disch.

And finally, the game is more and more disconnected with the college and student experience. All the students who want to can’t go to TX-OU because too many tickets go to donors and shit? Fuck that. The kids should be able to go. And we’ve made such scrutinized gods of CFB players that they’re no longer part of student life, really. I remember drinking beer and hanging out with guys like Shane Dronett; his girlfriend taught me to jitterbug. They were just folks. Now, their every move is dissected on sports radio and the internet.

I’m not thrilled with what CFB has become. And with all that we’ve learned about CTE...that makes it even harder.

I went to a couple of games last year. The one I enjoyed most was Tech. Not because of the game, but bI cause I got a chance to catch up with an old friend who had moved back to Texas and was attending his first game in 15 years. Got to meet his wife, hang out with some other old friends, and had a great visit. Even though the game sucked. Oh, and my ticket was free. Only reason I went.

 

Yeah, I think I said this once on the other board, but I hate pretty much everything about college football except college and football. 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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Lots of reasons, many well articulated already.  I've had season tickets for a long time, and I still have them.   Some years I went to all the games, some years maybe half, and sold or gave away the rest.  Now I have to skulk around like a drug dealer to sell them.  It's ridiculous. And the cost is an issue. For the price of going to 1 game for 4 people, you can buy yourself a 55 inch TV.   Or take a nice trip. There are a lot of factors, but I maybe the biggest factor now is that college football is competing with itself on TV. And losing.  I like college football, and every weekend there are outstanding games in crystal clear HD at home. And if it's a day game in September, fuck that.  UT administration seriously needs an attitude adjustment toward their fans. You don't build loyalty making it transparently obvious that all a fan is to you is a source of revenue.  As much as I'd like to believe otherwise, it's a 1 way street for fans.

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Lots of reasons, many well articulated already.  I've had season tickets for a long time, and I still have them.   Some years I went to all the games, some years maybe half, and sold or gave away the rest.  Now I have to skulk around like a drug dealer to sell them.  It's ridiculous. And the cost is an issue. For the price of going to 1 game for 4 people, you can buy yourself a 55 inch TV.   Or take a nice trip. There are a lot of factors, but I maybe the biggest factor now is that college football is competing with itself on TV. And losing.  I like college football, and every weekend there are outstanding games in crystal clear HD at home. And if it's a day game in September, fuck that.  UT administration seriously needs an attitude adjustment toward their fans. You don't build loyalty making it transparently obvious that all a fan is to you is a source of revenue.  As much as I'd like to believe otherwise, it's a 1 way street for fans.


I don't claim to be an insider but have had discussions with some in the AD on this exact topic. They get that they are competing with an HD big screen, AC and free beer if you stay home or go to your friend's house. Don't have an answer but realize there is a hill to climb.


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I still go to almost all  home games but there are so many tickets available that it is just so much cheaper to buy them from scalpers or people who can't go. Plus I get to watch the game from all over the stadium. 


This has become my MO. Paid anywhere from$40 to $140 last year, including sitting on the third row behind the Purple Wizard.


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On 4/6/2018 at 8:09 PM, The Tower said:

don't tell that to aggy.  

Building a 487,392 seat stadium in the middle of nowhere when everyone and their uncles has a 60+" HD TV, the OoC schedule is largely shit, and the product doesn't even begin to justify the prices is a fucking great idea. Just you wait.

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36 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Building a 487,392 seat stadium in the middle of nowhere when everyone and their uncles has a 60+" HD TV, the OoC schedule is largely shit, and the product doesn't even begin to justify the prices is a fucking great idea. Just you wait.

I thought 487,392 was your enrollment

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On 4/7/2018 at 7:43 PM, Not that Bob said:

I started in the knot hole section in 1957. Attended DKR's first game, and his last. Suffered through all the bad years after (and some good)  just because it was simply "what I do." When the jumbotron started to drown out The Longhorn Band I couldn't take it anymore. It was no longer the experience I had loved for over 50 years. It was a circus...not a Longhorn game. 

After the NCAA tournament as a ticket purchaser the NCAA sent a survey and a few of the questions concerned the pipped-in music over the pep bands. I answered each one that we needed less pipped-in and contrived fun and more focus on the game and allowing the bands to play more.

Less attempts to entertain us during every time out.

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10 hours ago, mdmost said:

One good away trip a year and Texas OU is where I'm now at. We had season tickets from 1998-2014. I haven't really missed them. The home environment is too stale and corporate now. And honestly, our fans are lame AF. Yeah, I get the games haven't been great since 2010 but it's like everyone's just going through the motions out there. I blame the giant TV because it makes everyone more passive. It's just not an experience I want to spend money on. Of the two games against USC, I wanted to go to USC than see USC in Austin. The gameday experiences were pretty similar but the added bonus of a trip to LA was too good to pass up. 

 

Plus, mdleast makes some great food on his WSW and the beers are much cheaper. 

As far as the stale and to corporate goals, how much of that do you think Patterson can be blamed for or do you think we were pretty much headed down that road beyond the point of return anyway? Just curious. Also do you think it will change as time goes by or just get worse? 

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If we didn’t have a bad ass tailgate I would drop my season tickets and make more selective trips. Sitting at the ranch watching games in hunting season is more fun anyway. We will see how this season goes.

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Baseball AttendancePosted on 4/9/18 at 2:35 pm
uArw.png0dArw.png0
 
 
Midseason Check In 

1. LSU 10,832 
2. Ole Miss 8,439 
3. Arkansas 7,273 
4. South Carolina 6,640 
5. Mississippi St 5,031
 
6. Louisiana 4,842 
7. Texas A&M 4,832 (should pass of UL after tomorrow night) 
8. t.u. 4,767  
9. Clemson 4,596 
10. Florida St. 4,396 
... 
13. Florida 3,926 
... 
18. Alabama 2,926 
19. Kentucky 2,896 
20. Auburn 2,781 
21. Vanderbilt 2,756 
... 
31. Georgia 2,091 
... 
41. Tennessee 1,616 
 
I'll let you figure out who originally posted this.
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I'm sure if we were a top-10-15 team competing for a Big 12 Championship, most of the issues would fade. 

At the end of the day the years of mediocre to shitty teams have deservedly led to fan apathy. Nobody wants to invest the time, money, and effort into a poor on field product.

Last year's Tim Beck offense was goddamn unwatchable. The prior year under Strong the defense got destroyed over and over again. Then there were the Twatson years. 

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21 hours ago, SHOOTER12 said:

As far as the stale and to corporate goals, how much of that do you think Patterson can be blamed for or do you think we were pretty much headed down that road beyond the point of return anyway? Just curious. Also do you think it will change as time goes by or just get worse? 

Not kidding, I really think once the Godzillatron was added, the atmosphere started going downhill as it made our passive fans even more passive. I used to sit in Section 1 with a fair to decent view of the field facing to my left. The Godzillatron was immediately on my right. Most of the game, I would notice everyone, even my wife, looking to the right at the giant, overpowering screen instead of to their left where the actual action was happening. It's similar to the giant TV at JerryWorld. Everyone looks up at the screen versus down at the field. I'm not sure it was Patterson or Deloss who took their cues from the JerryWorld guy who was consulted about their in-game experience. I do think CDC is the right person to switch things up but I think the genie is out of the bottle and it's so much easier for people to not spend the money to go to a game now. If I could bottle the experience of the Cotton Bowl or when Texas goes to oSu, I'd definitely love to see that in Austin. I get the reasons why Texas OU is the way it is. It just would be nice to go to a game that's more about the game than all the superfluous stuff you get in Austin. USC didn't have a better environment but it was fun to at least go someplace new. 

Edited by mdmost
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I had season tickets from 1990 till 2012 when I moved to Portland.  I would kill to go back and deal with the inconvenience of attending a game. 

Some of the articles about AD Del Conte seem to suggest that he's focused on the fan experience and wants to leverage what is appealing about Austin (live music, food carts, etc.)  - could be interesting - at least it's a step in the right direction.

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Adzillitron sucked the life out of the stadium from Day 1. It’s only gotten exponentially worse as Belmont discovered how to fill every single second of non game play with either ads or insipid programming. I still go because watching in person is still infinitely better than watching on TV. 

I’ve been to over 100 Texas road games. Our current game day presentation is amount the worst I’ve experienced anywhere.

Bernard

 

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Good points above. Fan attendance has been falling off the last few years. The student section is pretty vacant. Game day experience is getting too expensive. After 35 years as a season ticket holder, this or maybe next year will be the last. Besides all game are on the tube and my bar is always open. No lines to take a piss either. 

20 year ticket holder and I’ve been saying the above for the last 3-4 years. Just can’t bring myself to pull the plug.
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1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Scalpers charging $500 and up for $65 face value tickets is also part of it.

Hotels that charge a $100 a night charging $300 per night for 2 night min. stays.

 

Neither of those 2 points have anything to do with UT or the game atmosphere.   Every single sporting event in the country has scalpers charging 3-5X the face value of a highly anticipated ticket, sometimes more.  ...although, other than the Notre Dame game, I cant remember a single game in the last 4 years that generated mass scalpers charging $500.

and Austin is way too big for hotels to be able to really lock down the 2 night minimum requirement- EXCEPT when we did the triple whammy of UT home Game, ACL, and F1 weekends.

 

that being said all the other complaints listed are really, really valid.  I had season tickets from 1998-2007, and I gave up after the pure money grab Belmont did after the BCS championship and the year after.   I re-upped in 2010, the product on the field was terrible, combined w/ Adzillatron killed the atmosphere.  So i dropped the season tickets permanently.

 

the advantage of being at home, with my $1 beers, instant replay and being able to bitch about each play on Shaggy Surly... is a lot more fun

 

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14 minutes ago, AUS-97HORN said:

Neither of those 2 points have anything to do with UT or the game atmosphere.   Every single sporting event in the country has scalpers charging 3-5X the face value of a highly anticipated ticket, sometimes more.  ...although, other than the Notre Dame game, I cant remember a single game in the last 4 years that generated mass scalpers charging $500.

and Austin is way too big for hotels to be able to really lock down the 2 night minimum requirement- EXCEPT when we did the triple whammy of UT home Game, ACL, and F1 weekends.

 

that being said all the other complaints listed are really, really valid.  I had season tickets from 1998-2007, and I gave up after the pure money grab Belmont did after the BCS championship and the year after.   I re-upped in 2010, the product on the field was terrible, combined w/ Adzillatron killed the atmosphere.  So i dropped the season tickets permanently.

 

the advantage of being at home, with my $1 beers, instant replay and being able to bitch about each play on Shaggy Surly... is a lot more fun

 

Sure it does.  And yeah it is the bigger games that get the big price scalps, but the other costs like hotels are there regardless of the ticket face value. Ticket prices and the related other money grabs keep a huge segment of the population from even thinking about attending a game.  This is a national issue Austin ain't the center of the universe.  

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3 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Greed, it's always greed and over exposure.  

Scalpers charging $500 and up for $65 face value tickets is also part of it.

Hotels that charge a $100 a night charging $300 per night for 2 night min. stays.

 

These things aren't greed. 

These things are supply and demand.

 

Greed would be UT (a non-profit organization) charging you $95/ticket + donation to watch fucking Kansas play.

Edited by Beau Vine
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7 minutes ago, Fondren & Main said:

They charge too much for a shit product.  

They raised prices because everyone else had raised prices. Take note, Bellmont: all those teams aren't selling out, either.

We used to get good bang for our bucks. That hasn't been the case in a decade.

 

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On 4/7/2018 at 10:55 AM, Bozo_Casanova said:

It's just too damn expensive for most people to justify.

 

This is the correct answer.  I'll spend $1M on a house but I won't spend $10K for the right to buy one seat and I love college football.

Sports in general are doing themselves a long term disservice.  It's too expensive to take your family to these things and a generation from now, you're not going to have a generation of 30 year olds who fondly remember going to games with their dads.

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33 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

 

This is the correct answer.  I'll spend $1M on a house but I won't spend $10K for the right to buy one seat and I love college football.

Sports in general are doing themselves a long term disservice.  It's too expensive to take your family to these things and a generation from now, you're not going to have a generation of 30 year olds who fondly remember going to games with their dads.

I endorse a similar view of this. Going to games is a communal experience, or it should be, and if the game atmosphere does not replicate that environment then it's not really any different than going to some random general assembly only you're paying a shit load of money for it. If the only interaction kids have with a sport growing up is watching their dads consume it on television, then it's not really any different than than being a fan of 60's style campy television series. 

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1 hour ago, Aqua Buddha said:

 

This is the correct answer.  I'll spend $1M on a house but I won't spend $10K for the right to buy one seat and I love college football.

Sports in general are doing themselves a long term disservice.  It's too expensive to take your family to these things and a generation from now, you're not going to have a generation of 30 year olds who fondly remember going to games with their dads.

Right. You have to always be cultivating young fans. We have done a terrible job of that. Del Conte needs to be on it, or the stadium will be half full iin 20 years.

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I'm wondering if Austin's growth has hurt things more than helped. Most people living here have little connection to the university and have come from areas where pro sports are more important. When I was a kid in the 90s UT football was all that was going on....even in the bad years. Attendance was terrible for some of those years but it still seemed like much more of a conversation that it is now. 

But, as has been stated before....win and the stadium will be sold out against Kansas for $100 a ticket.  

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I haven't been to a UT home game since we beat New Mexico or New Mexico State 50-to-nothing in 2012 or 2013. Took my GF who is now my wife. She's a Clemson grad. I apologized for the shit atmosphere in the stadium -- it was just awful. I go to Texas-OU every single year, though, and might start adopting the one away game/trip per year. I just hate the atmosphere at Memorial from the Godzillatron to everything else people are complaining about on here. I'd like to start taking my kids but as y'all point out, it's freakin' expensive.

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There is one word that has not been written in this thread and it's this: traffic. 

Every day I fight with Austin traffic. Every day I'm sitting there in my car asking "is this really what you're doing with your one, little granted life?" Every day it is worse.  It's stealing my soul. Mind you, I LIVE here not more than 15 minutes from the stadium if there is no traffic, but the only time that happens is about 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.  And even living here 15 minutes from the stadium there have been times when I've asked myself if it's worth it to descend into the clusterfuck, look for a parking spot in the madness etc...  Particularly when the alternative is going somewhere where the beer is relatively cheap, I can watch multiple games, and I'm not worried about getting skin cancer from that high midday sun that bakes the entire stadium. I still do it but, as the traffic gets worse and worse, I question WHY I am doing it.  Then I put myself in the position of fans coming from Dallas or Waco or Houston.  Would I really want to fight that battle when staying home is cheaper, more comfortable,  has less anxiety ----- and is far safer?

CDC has his work cut out for him, no doubt.  First thing I would do is bring back knothole tickets. Make it so a family of four can see a game for 40 bucks.

As far as Godzillatron, I remember when it was announced and built everybody on Hornfans was so enthusiastic about it. It could still be a force for the greater good. 

Edited by Hornius Emeritus
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6 minutes ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

CDC has his work cut out for him, no doubt.  First thing I would do is bring back knothole tickets. Make it so a family of four can see a game for 40 bucks. 

Even if not that cheap, sitting on swathes of empty seats is just plain stupid. Cut season ticket prices for everyone and designate some GA sections for all but the games with the highest demand.

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42 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I haven't been to a UT home game since we beat New Mexico or New Mexico State 50-to-nothing in 2012 or 2013. Took my GF who is now my wife. She's a Clemson grad. I apologized for the shit atmosphere in the stadium -- it was just awful. I go to Texas-OU every single year, though, and might start adopting the one away game/trip per year. I just hate the atmosphere at Memorial from the Godzillatron to everything else people are complaining about on here. I'd like to start taking my kids but as y'all point out, it's freakin' expensive.

It has improved somewhat from those years. I'm especially pumped to watch the Herman-led team play this year. 

I'm contemplating going to OU or TT this year as well as one or two home games.

USC should be fun, and a packed house, probably the best game in DKR in 10 years.

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2 hours ago, Tex Pete said:

They raised prices because everyone else had raised prices. Take note, Bellmont: all those teams aren't selling out, either.

We used to get good bang for our bucks. That hasn't been the case in a decade.

 

I'd rather take the money, convert it into dollar bills, stuff them in a paper bag and set it on fire while three starving meth-heads watch. THEN you can bet some excitement would break out.

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22 minutes ago, Tex Pete said:

Even if not that cheap, sitting on swathes of empty seats is just plain stupid. Cut season ticket prices for everyone and designate some GA sections for all but the games with the highest demand.

Also, basically take the opposite approach of aggy -- who squeezed in as many shitty uncomfortable seats with poor sight lines as possible so they could claim the biggest stadium in Texas.  Let them have it.  Cut capacity by 5-10k.  Have more club level and suite type seats.  More chair backs or folding stadium seats.  Basically take some inspiration from iPic.  Have better and more comfortable seats, and less capacity.

Student seats and cheap seats should be general admission.

I have heard when we close the south end zone off that will primarily add premium seats and capacity may go down.  I would be happy with a stadium that seats 85k given the longterm trends.  Would help with parking, traffic, sell outs and have less ticket supply.

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