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http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sp...atemiami-game-sold-out-some-explanations.html
Why isn’t the Florida State-Miami game sold out? Some explanations
posted by Andrew Carter on Aug 24, 2009 3:00:00 PM
As we discussed earlier, Florida State’s season-opener against Miami is not a sellout. In fact, I was told today by someone who would know that the game isn’t anywhere close to being sold out. This will surprise people. After, all, it’s Florida State-Miami. One of college football’s great rivalries. It’s a primetime game. It’s the first game of the season. It’s Labor Day night. And so on and so on. And yes, there are lots of reasons to be excited about this game.
But there are also lots of reasons why this game is not sold out, and why it very likely will not be sold out come Sept. 7. Let’s examine some of these reasons. I will provide five. There are probably more, but five seems like a good number. And they are presented in reverse order of importance.
Here we go: Why FSU-Miami is not – and probably won’t be – sold out …
Reason No. 5: Florida State-Miami is more of a national rivalry than a local rivalry.
Bear with me here. Florida State-Miami is certainly an impassioned rivalry. One of the best in college football history. But, somehow, this is a bigger game nationally than it is in the state of Florida. The Seminoles and Hurricanes make for some great television, and great ratings, which is why ESPN so desperately wanted to broadcast this game on Labor Day night. Even when the programs aren’t on top of the polls – and only FSU, at No. 18, will enter this game ranked – Florida State-Miami is still great on TV. But it’s somehow different in this state. For FSU fans, Florida is and always will be the Seminoles’ chief rival. Miami fans, meanwhile, are among the most fickle anywhere. Even when the Hurricanes were competing for national championships every season, the school still had a difficult time filling the seats. But the game still might be a sell out if it weren’t for …
Reason No. 4: The economy is still bad.
It’s still a struggle out there for a lot of people. And even though Tallahassee-area hotels have become friendlier in these difficult economic times, it’s still an expensive venture for people to come to Doak Campbell Stadium. Let’s say, for instance, you’re driving up for Orlando. That’s about 230 miles or so. So throw in gas. A night at a hotel. Food. Tickets. It adds up. And suddenly, watching the Seminoles and Hurricanes at home on ESPN starts making more sense than spending hundreds of dollars to watch it in person. But the game still might be a sell out if it weren’t for …
Reason No. 3: Tallahassee is remote enough – but seems more so for a weekday night game.
Making it to Tallahassee is already a difficult trip. It’s out there. Anyone who has spent a significant amount time on I-10, pulling your eyelids open during a late night drive down a dark, lonely stretch of road, knows as much. Tallahassee is a good four hours from Orlando and Tampa and Atlanta – all cities with a lot of FSU alumni and fans – and about two-and-a-half hours from Jacksonville. In short, Tallahassee is a ways away from any major population center. This is a problem all season long for FSU officials trying to fill Doak Campbell. But it’s even more of a problem for the Miami game, which comes on a Monday night. You’re asking people to drive a long distance on a work night. Not good. It will be difficult enough for the Tallahassee natives to get up and make it to work on time on Tuesday morning. For those driving hours from out of town? Forget about it. But the game still might be a sell out if weren’t for …
Reason No. 2: Doak Campbell Stadium is too big.
It needs to be said. Doak Campbell is simply too big. With an 83,000-seat capacity, it has about 10,000 more seats than is necessary. When Bobby Bowden arrived at FSU in 1976, the capacity at Doak was 40,500. And as he built the Seminoles into a national powerhouse, stadium expansion followed. In less than 10 years, the capacity went from 40,500 to 60,519. It remained there through the 1991 season, and then Doak grew again, this time to 70,123 seats. It probably should have stayed right there. FSU last expanded the stadium before the 2003 season, which brought the official capacity to 82,300. That might be OK if you’re a top-5 program year and year out, or if you’re playing a rivalry game every week. But if FSU suffers any kind of slump – like it did during the consecutive 7-6 seasons in ’06 and ’07 – then it will be stuck with thousands of empty seats. Like there were last season. A smaller stadium wouldn’t hurt demand and, in fact, might help it given that tickets would become scarcer. As it is now, though, the stadium is simply too big. But the game still might be a sell out if weren’t for …
Reason No. 1:Florida State isn’t back. Not yet.
More than any other reason, the lackluster sales for the season-opener against Miami can be attributed to the fact that FSU isn’t yet back. The Seminoles seem to be on their way, of course. Their 9-4 finish a season ago was their best since 2003. And FSU will enter the season ranked No. 18. But the program is still a ways away from what it used to be. If the ‘Noles were a national title contender, ranked in the top 5, this game would be sold out. And you wouldn’t have to worry about the lagging economy, remoteness of Tallahassee or any other reason why there are still plenty of tickets remaining. Winning seems to take care of a lot of those issues.
Why isn’t the Florida State-Miami game sold out? Some explanations
posted by Andrew Carter on Aug 24, 2009 3:00:00 PM
As we discussed earlier, Florida State’s season-opener against Miami is not a sellout. In fact, I was told today by someone who would know that the game isn’t anywhere close to being sold out. This will surprise people. After, all, it’s Florida State-Miami. One of college football’s great rivalries. It’s a primetime game. It’s the first game of the season. It’s Labor Day night. And so on and so on. And yes, there are lots of reasons to be excited about this game.
But there are also lots of reasons why this game is not sold out, and why it very likely will not be sold out come Sept. 7. Let’s examine some of these reasons. I will provide five. There are probably more, but five seems like a good number. And they are presented in reverse order of importance.
Here we go: Why FSU-Miami is not – and probably won’t be – sold out …
Reason No. 5: Florida State-Miami is more of a national rivalry than a local rivalry.
Bear with me here. Florida State-Miami is certainly an impassioned rivalry. One of the best in college football history. But, somehow, this is a bigger game nationally than it is in the state of Florida. The Seminoles and Hurricanes make for some great television, and great ratings, which is why ESPN so desperately wanted to broadcast this game on Labor Day night. Even when the programs aren’t on top of the polls – and only FSU, at No. 18, will enter this game ranked – Florida State-Miami is still great on TV. But it’s somehow different in this state. For FSU fans, Florida is and always will be the Seminoles’ chief rival. Miami fans, meanwhile, are among the most fickle anywhere. Even when the Hurricanes were competing for national championships every season, the school still had a difficult time filling the seats. But the game still might be a sell out if it weren’t for …
Reason No. 4: The economy is still bad.
It’s still a struggle out there for a lot of people. And even though Tallahassee-area hotels have become friendlier in these difficult economic times, it’s still an expensive venture for people to come to Doak Campbell Stadium. Let’s say, for instance, you’re driving up for Orlando. That’s about 230 miles or so. So throw in gas. A night at a hotel. Food. Tickets. It adds up. And suddenly, watching the Seminoles and Hurricanes at home on ESPN starts making more sense than spending hundreds of dollars to watch it in person. But the game still might be a sell out if it weren’t for …
Reason No. 3: Tallahassee is remote enough – but seems more so for a weekday night game.
Making it to Tallahassee is already a difficult trip. It’s out there. Anyone who has spent a significant amount time on I-10, pulling your eyelids open during a late night drive down a dark, lonely stretch of road, knows as much. Tallahassee is a good four hours from Orlando and Tampa and Atlanta – all cities with a lot of FSU alumni and fans – and about two-and-a-half hours from Jacksonville. In short, Tallahassee is a ways away from any major population center. This is a problem all season long for FSU officials trying to fill Doak Campbell. But it’s even more of a problem for the Miami game, which comes on a Monday night. You’re asking people to drive a long distance on a work night. Not good. It will be difficult enough for the Tallahassee natives to get up and make it to work on time on Tuesday morning. For those driving hours from out of town? Forget about it. But the game still might be a sell out if weren’t for …
Reason No. 2: Doak Campbell Stadium is too big.
It needs to be said. Doak Campbell is simply too big. With an 83,000-seat capacity, it has about 10,000 more seats than is necessary. When Bobby Bowden arrived at FSU in 1976, the capacity at Doak was 40,500. And as he built the Seminoles into a national powerhouse, stadium expansion followed. In less than 10 years, the capacity went from 40,500 to 60,519. It remained there through the 1991 season, and then Doak grew again, this time to 70,123 seats. It probably should have stayed right there. FSU last expanded the stadium before the 2003 season, which brought the official capacity to 82,300. That might be OK if you’re a top-5 program year and year out, or if you’re playing a rivalry game every week. But if FSU suffers any kind of slump – like it did during the consecutive 7-6 seasons in ’06 and ’07 – then it will be stuck with thousands of empty seats. Like there were last season. A smaller stadium wouldn’t hurt demand and, in fact, might help it given that tickets would become scarcer. As it is now, though, the stadium is simply too big. But the game still might be a sell out if weren’t for …
Reason No. 1:Florida State isn’t back. Not yet.
More than any other reason, the lackluster sales for the season-opener against Miami can be attributed to the fact that FSU isn’t yet back. The Seminoles seem to be on their way, of course. Their 9-4 finish a season ago was their best since 2003. And FSU will enter the season ranked No. 18. But the program is still a ways away from what it used to be. If the ‘Noles were a national title contender, ranked in the top 5, this game would be sold out. And you wouldn’t have to worry about the lagging economy, remoteness of Tallahassee or any other reason why there are still plenty of tickets remaining. Winning seems to take care of a lot of those issues.
had tickets but just realized that i cant attend the gt/fsu game. PISSED!!!
