Everyone beats up on OU fans for not coming out this year. Well, I looked at OSU's attendance last night and I bet if they had 5,000 it would be lucky and most of their games have been 5,000 or under. They have a decent team - was all of their attendance under Sutton BECAUSE of Sutton? They really are NOT a basketball school - if they were they would still be having a full house just like Kansas/N.Carolina/Duke etc.
Crowd issues - OSU and OU
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ByronHoustonsSweatyPalms
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Where have you been for the last 5 years? Times have changed. OU and OSU are getting hit by the same factors:
Quality of team
Economy
Thunder dipping into limited fan pool
Number 3 hurts more than most like to admit. Improving Number 1 is a prequisite to any improved attendance.
Agree!! #1 has to improve to compete. Most people have less $'s to spend and won't invest in an average squad. Or in OU's case a below average squad, way below.
AdaSooner
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Most OU fans would kill to fill seats the way UNC, Duke and KU have done for years. But according to an article I read two years ago (it was posted here back then, just don't ask me to find it), even the so-called elite basketball schools don't fill up their arenas for every game anymore. The article cited a down economy, gas prices and a number of other reasons for it in the last few years.
In the case of Duke, a full house in Cameron Indoor is 9,314 fans, unless they make room for people who don't mind standing the entire game, and I'm sure even that space is limited. By contrast, seating capacity in the LNC is around 12,000.
Average attendance for home games in the LNC last season was 10,650. Keep in mind, that was when we had a 13-18 season. Two years ago when Blake led the team to an Elite Eight finish, the average attendance at home games was 11,490. Our average attendance this season is down to just over 8,100 so far. It may pick up some when OSU, UT and KU come to town.
The point is, there aren't many schools that "pack the house" for every game. And contrary to what fans of the three schools I named have claimed for years, they all have empty seats at the lesser games when ticket holders don't show up. OU does, too. It's a problem everywhere.
In the case of Duke, a full house in Cameron Indoor is 9,314 fans, unless they make room for people who don't mind standing the entire game, and I'm sure even that space is limited. By contrast, seating capacity in the LNC is around 12,000.
Average attendance for home games in the LNC last season was 10,650. Keep in mind, that was when we had a 13-18 season. Two years ago when Blake led the team to an Elite Eight finish, the average attendance at home games was 11,490. Our average attendance this season is down to just over 8,100 so far. It may pick up some when OSU, UT and KU come to town.
The point is, there aren't many schools that "pack the house" for every game. And contrary to what fans of the three schools I named have claimed for years, they all have empty seats at the lesser games when ticket holders don't show up. OU does, too. It's a problem everywhere.
campbest
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Exactly, even the powerhouses aren't packing CBB games anymore on a regular basis. Our problem is quite a bit worse, obviously.
I don't think the Thunder are a player. Like ADA said, If you win people will show. I think in basketball it is tougher for the weeknight games as in football you plan the whole day to go and don't work. And I have seen many open seats even at Kansas for the non important games - they still report seats sold. Actually OU had about 9,600 "seats sold" this year and OSU has about 11,000 "seats sold" as well but everyone is not showing - even for weekend games. At OSU I truly believe it's the Sutton factor.
There is no way that there have been an average of 8100 fans this year
ByronHoustonsSweatyPalms
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Then I think we have our heads in the sand. The Thunder is fielding a team full of young stars and are currently winners. In addition they bring the best BB players in the world to our front door step each and every night. In addition it's the cool place to be and be seen. Not Norman or Stillwater.
It's no coincidence that attendance has slipped. Now if either local college team was in the Top 25 it would help. Field a big winner and fans will forget about Sutton/Sampson/Adolp Rupp really fast.
oSuJeff97
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The thing that I don't understand about OSU is that the student tickets are a big part of the problem.
From 2001 (first year of new GIA) to about 2006, the students completely filled the seats behind each basket from the floor to the celing.
Now it's rare that there are many students at all above the concourse in the 300-level seats.
I get people in OKC or Tulsa not renewing their season tickets because of inflated prices and/or competition with the Thunder and/or because they get tired of making the drive...
I just don't get at all why the students don't roll out like they used to.
Forgetting everything else --- if the students just rolled out like they used to, OSU would rarely ever have a game with less than 10,000 people in GIA.
From 2001 (first year of new GIA) to about 2006, the students completely filled the seats behind each basket from the floor to the celing.
Now it's rare that there are many students at all above the concourse in the 300-level seats.
I get people in OKC or Tulsa not renewing their season tickets because of inflated prices and/or competition with the Thunder and/or because they get tired of making the drive...
I just don't get at all why the students don't roll out like they used to.
Forgetting everything else --- if the students just rolled out like they used to, OSU would rarely ever have a game with less than 10,000 people in GIA.
DenverSooner
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Another thing that hurts attendance is that virtually all of the games are on TV or the internet. This is probably a bigger problem for OSU given that many fans have to travel from Tulsa and OKC to attend the games. When you combine the newer option of the Thunder, the ability to see the game, the time savings by watching on TV and the fact that neither team is particularly strong it simply means less people at the game.
AdaSooner
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I got those stats from Soonersports.com. I'm betting that's tickets sold, though, not the average attendance. If that is the case, season and package ticket sales have taken a hit this year, which comes as no surprise.
Sooner_In_MI
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Pretty sure that 8100 average is tickets bought, not butts-in-the-seats attendance.
Sooner04
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Please note that the first attendance figure in every box score is for "tickets sold". Below that you'll find the estimated attendance, which is "tickets scanned".
Soonerstats uses the first one to gauge the attendance, but if you're looking for butts in the seats it's the wrong number to use. Our average attendance may say 8,100, but I don't think we've had more than 7,500 butts in the seats for a single game this year.
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The students have too many other things to do now, Jeff. When I was a student, we didn't even have internet or cell phones (unless you wanted to carry two backpacks). Now kids are playing on their iPhones, playing Xbox Live, goofing off on FB and all the other stuff the Net brings with it. Going to GIA for a basketball game was a big deal for the students a few years back (especially when I was in school). We either studied or went to the games. 99% of us went to the games - the campus was deserted. Now it's just another choice kids are making - stay home and play XBox Live or go to the game?
Adding to this, most of the students now at O-State don't even know what GIA was like when it was rocking, they don't know what the experience is like. The down years of Sean Sutton really hurt our Program. Every game I attended as a student in GIA was an awesome experience. You couldn't even talk to the person next to you most of the time. Remember the old Bedlam matchups when Kelvin was coaching ou? Those were some of the most awesome experiences of my life and I was just cheering from the student section.
AdaSooner
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I have no doubt that you're right, 04. I pretty much knew the stats I used were tickets sold, not the number scanned at entrances to the LNC. I went with tickets sold, because that's the number all of the schools use in reporting their attendance. It was easier to make my point about schools like Duke that have relatively small arenas. That's not to say that we wouldn't love to have their "problem." The Cameron Crazies are quite a show in their own right.
There were lines of people outside GIA for the Stanford game that couldn't get in because it was sold out. Yet there were seats everywhere.
The Sutton factor is huge. but then again, Eddie is at almost every game. A lot of fans took their toys and went home when Sean was let go.
The Sutton factor is huge. but then again, Eddie is at almost every game. A lot of fans took their toys and went home when Sean was let go.
MsProudSooner
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First, the quality of our team has to improve over the next 2 or 3 years. If that happens, I think they are going to have to lower ticket prices somewhat. This will lure some people who used to come to games and new people who can't afford Thunder games. But improving the quality of the team has to come first.
True, but attendance was already hurting before Sean was let go and IMO, that's because of the product on the floor. Also, why would anyone buy tickets and not show up? That goes back to my earlier post - kids have too many choices these days. They own a ticket, yet choose not to go to the game - crazy. Are there any stats that separate student ticket holders that don't show up vs other ticket holders that don't show up?
oSuJeff97
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Dude - come on... they had the Internets in 2001-06.
They even had Playstation 2, XBOX, etc.I think this is the more likely scenario. You had 3 full years worth of OSU students who didn't get to ever see an NCAA-tournament calibur team.
I felt like it would take Ford a few years to win the students back, but goodness I thought they might be back in force this year. We've had two straight NCAA tournament teams and Ford is 38-3 inside GIA.
So I don't know what the deal is.
Well I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the Stanford game was different... it was during Christmas break and thus all of the student seats were sold to the general public.
That sort of drives home my point, actually... the one game this year where the student tickets were sold to the public was the best attended game of the year.
