Sugar Bowl ticket sales....not good

[TripletDaddy]

After opening sales to the general public today, Utah still has tickets remaining in its Allstate Sugar Bowl allotment. The Utah ticket office pre-sold 10,000 of its 17,500 tickets to Utah donors and season ticket holders before the tickets went on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. today. Since then, an additional 2,500 tickets have been sold, leaving 5,000 remaining for sale. The online ticketing software system, which crashed earlier today, is again operational and fans may purchase tickets online (utahutes.com), by phone (801-581-UTIX) and at the stadium box office.

I think this is the reason that the BCS bowls don't like non-BCS conference teams. And don't like lower tier BCS conference teams. Poor ticket sales means lower attendance.

Allegedly, Bama fans are gobbling up the public tickets. I wonder if the U will even have 15K fans there?

[Coach McGuirk]

I think this is the reason that the BCS bowls don't like non-BCS conference teams. And don't like lower tier BCS conference teams. Poor ticket sales means lower attendance.

Allegedly, Bama fans are gobbling up the public tickets. I wonder if the U will even have 15K fans there?

Those are pretty much the numbers Chris Hill gave on the radio yesterday. He made it sound great though.

[SCcoug]

A couple questions. How do this year's Utah bowl ticket sales compare to previous Ute bowl games? How do the Utes compare to the other BCS bound teams in ticket sales? While I wouldn't expect Utah to outsell 'Bama it does seem surprising that there aren't more tickets sold. How much does the down economy and distance of travel play in the poor ticket sales?


For that matter anyone know how well BYU has sold to the Vegas bowl? The last few years have felt like the bowl system is slowly dieing. Maybe that is just the MWC crappy bowl situation talking.

[Hot Lunch]

Allegedly, Bama fans are gobbling up the public tickets. I wonder if the U will even have 15K fans there?

Superdome holds what 80k. So much for a neutral field. I know that was already expected.

[ERCougar]

I think this is the reason that the BCS bowls don't like non-BCS conference teams. And don't like lower tier BCS conference teams. Poor ticket sales means lower attendance.

Allegedly, Bama fans are gobbling up the public tickets. I wonder if the U will even have 15K fans there?

Do you think BYU would sell better? I think they would, and I think they would sell better than a lot of BCS teams. I get your point, though, and you're probably right (about why BCS doesn't like non-BCS teams, as a general rule).

By the way, that's a sincere question for you regarding BYU, and unfortunately, we don't know the answer. But I have a hunch that BYU would sell about what a mid-tier BCS team would sell.

[TripletDaddy]

A couple questions. How do this year's Utah bowl ticket sales compare to previous Ute bowl games? How do the Utes compare to the other BCS bound teams in ticket sales? While I wouldn't expect Utah to outsell 'Bama it does seem surprising that there aren't more tickets sold. How much does the down economy and distance of travel play in the poor ticket sales?


For that matter anyone know how well BYU has sold to the Vegas bowl? The last few years have felt like the bowl system is slowly dieing. Maybe that is just the MWC crappy bowl situation talking.

I don't think it is a Ute phenomenon. The BCS bowls, by and large, are probably interested in about 10 or so teams, period. Beyond that, everyone else is a drain on their plans.

Economy and distance definitely play into lower ticket sales, as well. At least, that would be my guess.

The Vegas bowl has been pretty packed the past 3 years, but it is an unfair comparison. Sam Boyd is tiny compared to the Superdome. And if Utah were playing Alabama in Las Vegas, I am pretty sure the utes would travel in droves.

I think the Sugar Bowl is going to be a Tide home game.

[ERCougar]

I don't think it is a Ute phenomenon. The BCS bowls, by and large, are probably interested in about 10 or so teams, period. Beyond that, everyone else is a drain on their plans.

Maybe this is the way out of the bowl system--make them so unprofitable that no one wants to do them. Then we switch to a playoff with higher seeds getting home games.

[TripletDaddy]

Do you think BYU would sell better? I think they would, and I think they would sell better than a lot of BCS teams. I get your point, though, and you're probably right (about why BCS doesn't like non-BCS teams, as a general rule).

By the way, that's a sincere question for you regarding BYU, and unfortunately, we don't know the answer. But I have a hunch that BYU would sell about what a mid-tier BCS team would sell.

BYU's advantage is the nationwide Church fanbase. That much we do know. Beyond that, I would be guessing.

The U-Mo fanbase that constitutes BYU's cheering section is largely the same demographic that cheers for the Utes, so I am not sure that BYU would have packed the house in N.O., either.

ticket prices are a sticker shock for both Ute and Y fans. They are not used to normal college football ticket prices. Face value for SC home games ranges from mid $40s to $75. That is the face value. So paying $100 for a BCS ticket is not a huge leap. Face value for a BYU home game can be as cheap as about $15, so jumping up to $100 is quite a stretch.

[Mormon Red Death]

I think this is the reason that the BCS bowls don't like non-BCS conference teams. And don't like lower tier BCS conference teams. Poor ticket sales means lower attendance.

Allegedly, Bama fans are gobbling up the public tickets. I wonder if the U will even have 15K fans there?

If the game was in Arizona Utah would have 50k and bama would have 15k. How many tickets to the Orange Bowl has Cincy sold?

[ERCougar]

If the game was in Arizona Utah would have 50k and bama would have 15k. How many tickets to the Orange Bowl has Cincy sold?

Cincy = low-tier BCS team. I bet Penn State sells plenty to the Rose Bowl.

[Mormon Red Death]

From cincinattti enquirer:

There’s still a long way to go before the University of Cincinnati reaches its goal of selling its entire allotment of 17,500 Orange Bowl tickets, but the school has gotten off to an excellent start.
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The Bearcats sold 4,300 tickets on Monday, the day after they accepted the invitation to the Orange Bowl, making it the biggest cash day in the history of UC football, with more than $500,000 worth of tickets – at $125 apiece -- sold in one day.

“Things are going really well,” said senior associate athletic director Mike Waddell, who was in Miami on Tuesday. “We’re on our fourth bus of students going to the game. It really is a testament to our campus coming together and making this a priority.”

Waddell projected that by the end of Tuesday the school would have sold 6,000 tickets for the Jan. 1 game in Miami against Virginia Tech.

[TripletDaddy]

If the game was in Arizona Utah would have 50k and bama would have 15k. How many tickets to the Orange Bowl has Cincy sold?

I already spoke to this. Like i said, the BCS is only interested in about 10 or so teams. Cincy is not one of them. Neither ris Utah. Nor BYU.

People should remember this when railing about how the BCS is "scared" to invite non-BCS teams to fill the at-large slots. I guess it is fear.....fear of losing lots of money on crappy teams that nobody watches and that travel poorly.

The Orange Bowl is not happy with Cincy, even though it is a BCS team.

[ERCougar]

From cincinatttie enquirer:

They're all wondering, "why are we playing basketball in a football stadium? Oh well, let's go see what it's about."

[TripletDaddy]

Cincy = low-tier BCS team. I bet Penn State sells plenty to the Rose Bowl.

The B10 team ALWAYS travels well to the Rose Bowl. Always. People can knock the B10 for its football, but not for its fans. They come out of the woodwork.

The Rose Bowl is unique, however, in that each school also participates in the Rose Parade (nationally televised event) and hosts a day at Disneyland (not to mention the Beef Bowl competition). These types of marquee events fire up alumni to travel. Plus, coming out to sunny weather doesn't hurt much, either.

[TripletDaddy]

From cincinatttie enquirer:

That is really pathetic. Seriously.