Empty Seats at Michigan Home Bball games
One thing I've always wondered about Michigan basketball is why they can rarely seem to fill every seat in Chrisler Arena/Center. I mean, I could understand it back in the Ellerbe/Amaker years, but they've been a great to elite team for many years now and are the #4 team in the nation, and yet the cameras were showing all these empty seats in the upper bowl and lower bowl. Maybe if we could pack the house every night, we'd have a louder, more hostile home court advantage and would get more calls like other elite teams get when they play at home.
November 17th, 2021 at 9:51 AM ^
Price point is definitely important, I think convenience is equally important. If someone can park and walk in, or park in a lot and take a bus and be at the arena in 5 mins, more people are likely to go. If you have to spend time waiting outside for a bus in the cold, walking long distances, finding a lawn to park on, and have to dodge traffic on stadium or main, have to sit in traffic for 30 mins while you make your way to the freeway, you're just not likely to go. I feel like the university has not done a good job of making it convenient to attend a game (football or basketball).
November 17th, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
Most of the games are sold out. The issue is getting ticketholders to show up to midweek games.
November 17th, 2021 at 9:44 AM ^
Maybe the fact that there is a flu epidemic on campus that is so serious that the Centers for Disease Control has gotten involved.
Plus...Crisler has always filled for really big games with big opponents (Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, UNC...Kentucky or even UCLA could potentially get Crisler filled...Indiana...once upon a time)
November 17th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
Now that tickets are all digital, it's time to add a couple of features:
1. Restrict the percentage of the season ticket games that can be resold--say 25%. Remove the flippers/brokers from the demand.
2. Reward/penalize season ticket holders based on the percentage usage of the season ticket. The leverage here is renewal priority--show up or shut up.
3. Create a profitless transaction forum among season ticket holders to exchange/aggregate/upgrade tickets on a game by game basis at face value without fees.
4. Create a fan reward structure for those who show up frequently (not just season ticket holders). Use that to upgrade superfans to unfilled seats in real time. Reward those who show up all the time.
These ideas are based on my experience as a 50% season ticket holder for a MLB team.
November 17th, 2021 at 1:36 PM ^
Is this question that complicated? It seems as simple as a 9 PM ET on a Tuesday night.
Shoot, even Ann Arborites may not be home by Midnight (not to speak of people coming in from Oakland/Macomb/Wayne).
We know why those tip times exist --- television and $$$$$ --- but unless it's a TOP-tier opponent (no offense to SHU, but they don't qualify here), 9 PM local tips hurt attendance.
November 17th, 2021 at 10:37 PM ^
Lower bowl 50% empty (I was at the game). Lower bowl tix were like $200 per ticket a few weeks ago. All the blue hairs list their tix every week for sale for a fortune then just don’t show up when they don’t sell. It’s a joke. They should all start losing their season tix if they don’t have their tickets used for 90% of the games … at least let students use them vs letting the seat sit empty.
November 18th, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
IDK. Maybe try scheduling a weeknight tip off before 9pm? ?