Replies: 23
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110%er [6153]
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Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem.
Feb 2, 2020, 6:01 PM
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What other ACC school has a remotely similar population to that of Clemson with about 17,000 permanent residents?
I was thinking, okay Va Tech, but then I looked and saw that Blacksburg has over 44,000.
Where else? Answer ... nowhere else.
Sure there are exceptions, but in general, students and locals are virtually the only ones coming to mid-week game in any numbers.
Especially a game that starts late.
And if students don’t come in large numbers regularly and the local population is tiny, that leaves pretty much nobody on a Monday-Wednesday at 9 pm.
This has changed only incrementally in the past 50 years and during that time the number of games on TV has increased.
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Legend [16733]
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Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem.
Feb 2, 2020, 6:06 PM
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Put a consistently good product on the court will cure the attendance issues.
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110%er [6153]
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Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem.
Feb 2, 2020, 6:09 PM
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Of course that would help.
But, it’s still going to be relative to the overall available number of attendees vs the ones who actually come.
Demand will definitely increase with wins.
But, Clemson vs BC at 9 pm on Wednesday is always going to be a tough sell.
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All-In [27374]
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Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem.
Feb 2, 2020, 6:10 PM
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Very true. NO reason that the students can’t fill LJ for every game. When I was a student there was never an empty sat and Clemson had an enrollment of 5000. Today’s team could beat any Tiger team that I saw as a student. The Clemson students are an embarrassment. They should challenge themselves to better than the Dukies!
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Oculus Spirit [83135]
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They played at Fike when you were there. What was capacity?
Feb 2, 2020, 6:32 PM
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4000?
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All-In [27374]
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Re: They played at Fike when you were there. What was capacity?
Feb 3, 2020, 10:59 AM
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5000 students to fill a 4000 capacity arena. Today we have 15000 students and they can’t fill. 9000 sear arena!!!!!!
Do the math.
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All-In [30873]
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Is the answer to move to Greenville, like Wake Forest did
Feb 2, 2020, 6:24 PM
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when they moved from Wake Forest, NC to Winston-Salem?
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All-In [27374]
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Re: Is the answer to move to Greenville, like Wake Forest did
Feb 2, 2020, 6:31 PM
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You probably don’t know that Wake Forest NC is about 15 minutes from Raleigh, the state capitol.
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CU Medallion [67908]
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110%er [8118]
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I live in Switzerland and bought season tickets
Feb 2, 2020, 12:07 PM
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until this year. Obviously I couldn't attend, but was able to sell tickets. Last year I was barely able to give them away. Unless it was to visiting teams. Which brings up a point, why are there more visiting fans in Littlejohn? They seem to make it to weekday games. Are the 17,000 people in Clemson opposing fans? And the students? Needless to say, I didn't buy my 7 season tickets this year. There's no demand. And there's the problem. Find out why there's no demand and you'll find out why nobody goes. I think I know the answer, but I'm not in charge. I can only make my voice be heard one way.
Go Tigers AND Tiger Nation!
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Asst Coach [731]
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Re: I live in Switzerland and bought season tickets
Feb 2, 2020, 7:27 PM
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If you really cared about Clemson BB you would move back to the states and support our team.
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All-In [25834]
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Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem.
Feb 2, 2020, 6:37 PM
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College athletes are students. Students are the ones who are supposed to support their classmates on the field and in the arena.
Very few tickets available for non students at DUKE, UNC, U OF L. When I was at the U of L and Denny Crum was coach, Freedom hall was sold out for every game, and it was 90% students. Many students could not get tickets. Same at DUKE and UNC. Those schools have a long history of winning BB programs. And the students support them. Chapel Hill is not a large city.
For whatever reason, Clemson has never been supportive of competing with the tobacco road teams. NEVER. With a student body of 15000 plus, a winning program could fill LITTLEJOHN for every game. We fill DEATH VALLEY because we have a winning program. Sports fans support winners more than losers.
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All-In [27374]
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Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem.
Feb 2, 2020, 6:40 PM
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Death Valley was filled long,long before Clemson was a winning program. Like fifty plus years before.
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110%er [6153]
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If Clemson only played hoops on Saturdays then attendance
Feb 2, 2020, 6:51 PM
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would be much better. And if football was played mostly on late weekday nights attendance would suffer.
In my long history of observing Clemson football the idea of filling the stadium game in and game out only started happening around 1977.
In the 1960s, having 1/3 of the seats empty was pretty commonplace except for S.C. or a big name opponent.
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CU Guru [1425]
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Seems like the football attendance dropped
Feb 2, 2020, 7:08 PM
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Significantly during the Tommy West years. I’m guessing we were averaging in the 50 thousands his last year. There was more buzz around the soccer team during that season.
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MVP [514]
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Re: Seems like the football attendance dropped
Feb 2, 2020, 7:31 PM
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The city of Clemson, with a 2017 estimated population of 17,000, is the SMALLEST HOST CITY of the 65 Power 5 schools.
Season tickets are also a problem. Supporters need to excited about an upcoming season to invest in season tickets to insure they will have a seat. Many people see no need to purchase season tickets if they know they can simply wait and buy individual game tickets even on the day of the game. With 9,000 seats Clemson has room for about 7,000 season ticket and 2,000 students. Clemson came close to selling the maximum season tickets during the last years under Purnell.
I attended Clemson between 1968-1972 and played in the pep band. There were numerous games when the sections above the concourse were closed and all attending were asked to sit below the concourse.
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All-TigerNet [11934]
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That was my time at Clemson too.
Feb 3, 2020, 11:51 AM
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I remember when they would simply close the upper tier completely making seating little more that the old Fike capacity.
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All-In [44055]
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We fill Death Valley because football games are an event.
Feb 3, 2020, 10:23 PM
[ in reply to Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem. ] |
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Home games occur no more than once a week, virtually always on the weekend. Football games are social as much as anything. Many people go for the tailgating, eating, drinking, and socializing. This was true at Clemson, even when we weren’t great at football.
Basketball is a harder sell because there are way more home games, half of which are during the week. As opposed to football, fans who attend basketball games are going solely for the game and not the social aspect. You go to a basketball game because you want to support Clemson and watch a game, not because you also (or perhaps solely) want to tailgate.
I can understand that weeknight Clemson basketball games aren’t as appealing to adults with families, especially if they don’t live within 10-15 minutes of the arena. But there is little excuse for students not to go. They are right there and get free tickets.
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110%er [5014]
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Re: Basketball attendance, here’s the problem.
Feb 2, 2020, 7:11 PM
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Nothing gets butts in the seats like watching a team play the previous game that had no interest in showing up. Just freaking fire the guy already, even if it doesn't work out, we will still suck as bad as we do now. I need a reason to go Wendsday night, and last night showed me the players could care less
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All-In [44055]
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Please explain how a team that “sucks” beat three of the best
Feb 3, 2020, 10:26 PM
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basketball coaches ever, in a span of a couple of weeks.
I’ll wait.
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CU Guru [1260]
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We can fill up the John when we're good and play an exciting
Feb 2, 2020, 7:13 PM
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brand of basketball. I love my Tigers, but sometimes watching these guys is like watching paint dry.
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CU Medallion [58448]
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I think that is a factor, but not the only one, and maybe
Feb 2, 2020, 7:44 PM
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not the main one. Because of the reason you mention, we'll probably never pack 'em in on weeknights like most other ACC schools on many occasions, but it can get pretty packed and loud in there mid-week when we are in contention or there is excitement around the program.
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All-In [37023]
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The Issue is simply wins or the lack of consistency in
Feb 3, 2020, 11:57 AM
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getting them.
Clemson is small yes, but surrounded by Seneca, Easley, Anderson, and parts of Greenville that can get there relatively easy.
Win and they show up per the Oliver Purnell days
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All-In [44055]
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Excellent points!***
Feb 3, 2020, 10:33 PM
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Replies: 23
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