Gies Memorial Stadium

#201      
Dan
#204      
AirTran
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I get that we need to focus on other things, I just wish they would articulate a vision. If Josh said the goal is the renovation floated in 2016 but we can’t make any progress with the SEZ until $X million dollars are secured … fine! But IF there isn’t some long term vision for the SEZ, then some of this $100 million should go toward relatively inexpensive fixes like filling in the stands so they go closer to the field.

In other words, the “do nothing to the Horseshoe until we can REALLY renovate it” only makes sense if there is some long term plan to renovate it. And when I hear the DIA talk about it, they seem 110% fine with the SEZ as is, which would be really disappointing if true.
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Have you been to Memorial Stadium in the past 2 years? There has been quite a bit of renovation.

With less than 60,000 of average attendance - spending over $100mm to upgrade seated (and one side of Memorial Stadium has been upgraded in the past 20 years) has a negative return on investment. You need to donors to have a plan and we don't have the donors. Not yet anyway.

Josh is doing EXACTLY what any intelligent CEO would do:

(1) Improving the product. 3 bowl games in 4 years. This year's schedule is challenge however.
(2) Improve the game attendance experience. Terrific job there.
(3) As the improvement to concessions, egress, bathrooms, wifi etc continue, use Memorial for more revenue generating events.
(4) Keep Memorial Stadium as full as possible to preserve premium pricing if we don't make it to a bowl game.

Digging up a field that was just installed and spending $100mm to lower the playing surface to improve sight - lines would be the next most obvious step. But that's not going to happen until we sell out season tickets for consecutive years. Season tickets for 2026 are still available.
 
#205      
Saturdaze
Bucktown said:
I think we have the least expensive seats in the Big Ten.
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KBLEE said:
Yes - but everyone seem to want the cheapest of the least expensive seats.
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It think this is the disconnect between the DIA and fans. The DIA sees we have the cheapest seats and feels entitled to raise prices.

The problem is it’s hard to raise prices when you don’t have a demand constraint (sellouts).

The price a Purdue fan pays for a ticket has no influence over what an Illinois fan is willing to pay for a ticket. It just doesn’t work that way.
 
#206      
NASchamp
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Random, non-scoreboard related question. I have always been really interested in how steep or gradual the slope of a stadium is, and my preference is DEFINITELY for the former, as it helps create a much better gameday environment! With that said, would anyone who has traveled to many Big Ten stadiums have a comment on where GMS ranks among our peers as far as steep vs. gradual slopes?

On the obvious "bad" end of the spectrum is the Big House, which has such a gradual slope that it looks like it was done on purpose to be a joke, and this notoriously makes the crowd MUCH quieter than you would expect for 110,000 people...
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On the other end of the spectrum, I have always heard Clemson's stands are super steep (especially the upper deck!), and this no doubt plays a role in its reputation as a really tough place to play.
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Any ideas / opinions as to where Memorial Stadium and other Big Ten stadiums would fall on that spectrum? I know every area of the stadium might be a bit different (e.g., East Balcony seems the steepest, East Main seems more gradual, the Horseshoe seems even more gradual yet, etc.), but I was just looking for an overall assessment. I have only been to Kinnick and Camp Randall out of the other Big Ten stadiums. Kinnick seems a little steeper than GMS, but not by that much. Camp Randall felt really gradual, and my Badger friend has said it suffers from a diluted version of Michigan's problem, in that it never got as loud as you feel it should have because it sucks at trapping noise.
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After going to a Texas A&M game this past year, I can say that stadium feels like one of the steepest (and loudest) I can remember.
 
#207      
Bucktown
Saturdaze said:
It think this is the disconnect between the DIA and fans. The DIA sees we have the cheapest seats and feels entitled to raise prices.

The problem is it’s hard to raise prices when you don’t have a demand constraint (sellouts).

The price a Purdue fan pays for a ticket has no influence over what an Illinois fan is willing to pay for a ticket. It just doesn’t work that way.
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I think Illinois has the lowest population of any Big Ten school within an hour drive of campus. It is in the middle of the pack if you increase the drive to 3 hours. For Illinois to fill the stadium it needs to get the 3 hour drive people. The game day atmosphere is what will attract those longer distance drivers vs them just sitting at home and watching a game on TV. It is the social experience that drives someone to want to attend in person. Once you are driving 3 hours the price of the ticket is a smaller percentage of the total amount spent.

It is a difficult task, but the DIA is doing the right thing: continue to improve the game day experience, raise ticket prices, get more revenue.

For locals (not necessarily students) the games are literally the only game in town, so there isn't much competition for their entertainment dollar--especially when you think about it in relationship to say UCLA or Rutgers which are in the largest population centers and can't come close to what Illinois is doing.
 
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