[NU Sports] NU at Wrigley

[Beamsley, Jeff]

Denis,

I challenge your simplistic assertion that the ONLY thing that guarantees full houses at football games are football teams contending for BT and national championships.

Today's sports audiences are looking for an "experience" for their dollar.  Certainly supporting a winning program can be part of that experience, but there are plenty of examples where the experience in and of itself is sufficient to justify the cost even when the team isn't competitive.

That's where Wrigley Field comes in.  People flock there, not because the Cubs are perennial champs, but because it has become a "bucket list" destination for serious sports fans.  Virtually anything sports related as long as it can be promoted as unique experience will sell out Wrigley Field.  

As far as college football is concerned, there is no strong correlation in the NCAA attendance data between championships and attendance.  The top three programs for attendance last year were Michigan (111,825), OSU (105,278), and PSU (104,234).  Michigan hasn't won a BT championship for six years.  Northwestern has more BT championships in the last twenty years (3) than PSU (2). 

Minny in another good example to disprove the "winning is the only variable affecting attendance" theorem.  They had another disappointing year winning only one home game but sold 99% of their tickets because they opened a new stadium.   

Outside the BT, Texas had their first losing season in 13 years but still sold out every game.  Georgia and Florida also had down years and sold out.  Notre Dame's last national championship was in 1988 but they continue to sell out every home game. The kids graduating from Notre Dame this spring have lived their whole lives without experiencing a Notre Dame championship, but will still buy season tickets and return like salmon next fall to support their team.

There are plenty of examples on the flip side too.  Jim Harbaugh put Stanford back on the national map, averaged only 40K per game (80% of capacity), and didn't crack the top 30 in year-to-year attendance growth.  Miami won the MAC championship last year, only averaged 15K a game (60% of capacity), and that was a good year (19th on the year-to-year growth list).

Northwestern was second only to Louisville in the year-to-year growth in attendance in 2010.  We finished with a losing conference record (3-5) tied for 7th with Michigan.  Michigan was 25th on the growth list, not because they put a championship product only the field, but because they expanded their capacity by 3,000 seats.  Even in another down year which resulted in Rich Rod's termination, demand for the "Big House" football experience still exceeded supply.  

I think that Phillips and Fitz both know what they are doing.  Attendance is growing not only because we are putting a good product on the field, but also because people in Chicago are starting to identify with NU football.  Pat Fitzgerald is becoming the face of college football in Chicago.  The "Chicago's Big Ten Team" marketing campaign is spot on and having the desired result.

We all want a winning team, but I think we should set our sights higher.  Chicago-area fans who want to experience all the best that college football has to offer should be buying OUR home tickets.  It's that "Saturday" tradition that continues to fill up the stands at ND and Michigan during the down years.  It's feeling the same connection to Fitz that causes folks in PA to wear white and support Joe Pa's teams.  

Phillips and Fitz are working to create the same experience and connection in Evanston.  It's that feeling, more than anything else, that will consistently fill our house with loyal fans.

Jeff 



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From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf Of Dennis W. Brandt
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2011 9:54 PM
To: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] NU at Wrigley

> Then how do you explain the fact that we sold out Wrigley with tickets 
> that averaged over $100 each for a game that wouldn't have drawn  30,000 
> fans at Ryan Field at an average ticket price under $50?  Or  the 
> publicity the game attracted, etc.?
>
> I think it's open for debate whether we need an annual game at Wrigley 
> (and it certainly wouldn't start anytime soon as the stadium needs to  be 
> renovated first), but it's quite a stretch to contend that last  year's 
> game was a bad idea given how successful it was at generating  revenue and 
> publicity.  Forget about whether last year's game will  increase ticket 
> sales in the future.  Just for that day alone, NU made  a nice take versus 
> what it would have made at Ryan Field.
>
One thing and one thing only will guarantee full houses:  vying for the Big 
Ten title year after year and even having a reasonable shot at the national 
championship.  A cliché to anyone who paid $100 to watch football at 
Wrigley:  A fool and his money soon parted. 

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