5 ways to boost attendance in 2014-15

[Webergrad02]

1. Dedicate the court to Damian Lillard. Worst case scenario retire his number this year. Dame has proven with his shoe release and commercial that he is a Wildcat for life. We need to show the man some serious respect. The fans and community would support an event like this in big numbers.

2. Get Dame or some deep pocketed donors to give 500 - 1000 tickets to elementary school kids to each home game. That game last year with the school kids chanting was awesome. Paul George bought all of Fresnos tickets to a game last year and the community loved it. Dedicating the court to Dame may sway him to do something like this. Worse case scenario, have the athletic department donate the tickets to the school districts.

3. Come up with a catchy name to coincide with our program. Everyone in America knows about Florida Gulf Coast because of "Dunk City". One possible name that comes to mind for this year would be welcome to "Blockden". With Joel, Hill, Big Jim and Braxton I am sure we will be getting some sweet blocks this year.

4. Change the student culture when it comes to attending basketball games. This takes the right leadership in the right places. Make it the cool place to be. Have costume contests and themed nights. I would be happy to sponsor more events like we did with Hot Dog Huff if I knew that the leadership would run with it and push it.

5. Really work on our in game presentation, but involve the students. Replace SATOG with students. Have students do play by play with Carl. Get students running some social media campaigns. Do the in game stuff right and have the students totally involved. Why not give the communication and marketing students some assignments that will benefit the overall program? The more students you involve, the more friends they will bring with them.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

All very good suggestions; it would be nice to think that those who can initiate positive change would hear and consider this or other good ideas. Let me drag out the dead, rotting horse that I beat to death before.... any changes made in an attempt to boost attendance should be made within the concept of boosting paying attendance.

The way I see it, selling more tickets for less $$$ per ticket will bolster the program and department much more so than selling less tickets for more $$$ and artificially inflating attendance with free tix, etc. Getting more paying customers not only will put more butts in seats but will do so with a commitment level of a true fan or booster. This does not seem to be the same approach Weber State agrees with and have forced me and other fans I know into financial decisions of either downgrading (paying less overall) or discontinuing support for the athletics altogether, maybe with the exception of free ticket games. Of those I'm personally familiar with, which takes more than two hands to count on, I'm the only one who has downgraded and stuck with continued, lessened financial support.

I love the idea of promotions to get large numbers to games who would not ordinarily be there, and anything that supports getting large groups of grade school students (future boosters/supporters) making noise at games regularly is fantastic, fun, and a win-win all the way around. However, if similar gains can't be made with season ticket holders and pay-at-the-door attendees, then the increased attendance is not helping the program financially as it could. What better time to make season and individual tix more attractive and/or affordable than when the program is enjoying greater success?

I'll continue to hope, even pray, that someone will pull their head out and enact changes that will entice many that I know are out there to upgrade their seats, become season ticket holders, or achieve that balance of interest/cost to regularly get out to the games as paying customers. A few (already debated) ideas to accomplish this:
1) Re-size and/or move the student section. If students won't support a great program for free, don't tie up attractive seating for paying customers. Even donated attendance (i.e. area school kids) should be in those empty seats instead of stuck in a corner on row 30+. It's obvious there are better sections for the students who do show up to "help" the team and if nothing else, consolidate the large student area into 1-2 sections until there is a demand for more.
2) Restructure season ticket pricing to make it more attractive to those who would love to support the program but can't at the current price level with 5-7 years of a depressed economy. Make it make more sense to upgrade existing season tickets. Reward your loyal customers with the ability to improve their seating without breaking the bank, instead of forcing them into an annual decision of whether or not upper-row seating is worth the price.
3) Take the top 3-5 rows on the basket sides of the DEC and severely discount ($1-$3) those seats at game time. Target those kids or even strapped adults who can afford a few bucks to get out to games regularly.

At an absolute minimum, TRY SOMETHING to improve your business and support for your team(s)!