Average Home Attendance

[Old Ram]

Beat Duke, then you’ll get an extra 1000 within the next few games. Folks love winners…it’s winning stupid.

If we’re solely banking on beating Duke to increase attendance I’m not expecting larger crowds anytime soon.

It will take a variety of new strategies, as well as winning consistently, to increase our home attendance. Even with improvement there is a cap on what our crowds will look like.

 

[Verdad]

There are definitely things that could be done to increase attendance - Mason has never been known for its innovation in marketing, despite it being part of our slogan.

When there have been people capable and willing to market, they didn't have the resources (like Ruge).

The multiple decades long failure to build a tradition with the student body to get a few hundred of the tens of thousands of current students to a handful of games each year is the most glaring indictment of the University's efforts.

However, winning is the single biggest thing that will impact attendance. Start making NCAA's and butts will be in seats - all other efforts (except I think what could be done with students) will be marginal until that happens.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I meant to note this in another thread in response to something @gmubrian posted (I think) but what largely has killed our attendance in recent years is the lack of momentum. We lose games right when we get on a roll. We usually finish like 9-3 or whatever with no big wins and one pretty deflating loss. People see through the record and decide there isn’t much to be excited about. Even the year we went into A10 play on fire (2017? Too lazy to look it up), we took a beating by vcu at home in front of a packed house and attendance never rebounded.

 

[Patriot8]

I meant to note this in another thread in response to something @gmubrian posted (I think) but what largely has killed our attendance in recent years is the lack of momentum. We lose games right when we get on a roll. We usually finish like 9-3 or whatever with no big wins and one pretty deflating loss. People see through the record and decide there isn’t much to be excited about. Even the year we went into A10 play on fire (2017? Too lazy to look it up), we took a beating by vcu at home in front of a packed house and attendance never rebounded.

This was the 16-17 season. Started 1-3 but then won 9 straight including at Penn St. Lost to vcu in the first conference game 73-64. Attendance was 7,780. Played UMass at home a few days later in front of 2,755.

 

[Petey Buckets]

Maybe it would help if tickets were priced a little lower. We sell single game tickets (minus promos) from $15-$50 per seat.

The $15 seats are godawful; stuck in the corners of the stadium. To get decent seats, you need to shell out too much for many families to be interested, especially with the amount of events going on daily in the DMV region.

I see people on the boards saying "tell your friends", blah blah blah.... A casual fan is simply not going to pay that amount, also knowing what food/drinks go for in sports venues.

If they do get in to see a game, they are met with empty seats in the 'good' sections (with Naziesque ushers keeping you out of those empty seats), uninspired fans in the arena, less giveaways every year (Chick-Fil-A cows, popcorn, movie tickets, pizza scream, t-shirt gun, etc), and no real draw to make them want to return. Do we even have a furry mascot roaming around the arena anymore? I don't think I've seen him/it in a while.

Yes, a team that consistently wins from year to year does/will help, but that is a slow process and will be difficult to achieve without having an invested fan base (chicken and egg scenario).

This team needs to do whatever they can to get fans in to seats today, to build for a brighter tomorrow. Large blocks of tickets need to be given away to each game, and more needs to be done to entertain the masses when/if they do show up on game day to keep them coming back. Then you can start charging those people once they are hooked and have a vested interest.

Now, I do not personally know how to make this happen, however, Mason has a school of marketing, have its students market! -- [Pipe dream seeing that we can't get the art and design school to design a logo].

Excellent post, fully agree. The ticket mini-plans are dirt cheap but it's still too expensive for one family to go to one (1) game as casual fans. For some reason those single game tickets are always in the rafters while a sea of empty seats are in front of you too. It's a real problem.

And I've said it a bunch of times but I hate our crowd. Hate hate hate it. Being loud and rowdy gets you glares from the wine and cheese crowd. Maybe related: the two guys who sit in 101 who frequently get into it with the other team's head coach haven't been at a game since Bolno went and sat with them to tell them to calm down. Anyone know about that? We had two fans who made an impact on the game atmosphere, but don't worry, the AD fixed it!

 

[GMU1983]

We have no atmosphere... like I said a million times I am embarrassed to bring friends from even other VA universities. The win over Dayton last year was great but my guys killed me on the way home about our lackadaisical student section.

 

[thebiasedannouncer]

Maybe it would help if tickets were priced a little lower. We sell single game tickets (minus promos) from $15-$50 per seat.

The $15 seats are godawful; stuck in the corners of the stadium. To get decent seats, you need to shell out too much for many families to be interested, especially with the amount of events going on daily in the DMV region.

I see people on the boards saying "tell your friends", blah blah blah.... A casual fan is simply not going to pay that amount, also knowing what food/drinks go for in sports venues.

If they do get in to see a game, they are met with empty seats in the 'good' sections (with Naziesque ushers keeping you out of those empty seats), uninspired fans in the arena, less giveaways every year (Chick-Fil-A cows, popcorn, movie tickets, pizza scream, t-shirt gun, etc), and no real draw to make them want to return. Do we even have a furry mascot roaming around the arena anymore? I don't think I've seen him/it in a while.

Yes, a team that consistently wins from year to year does/will help, but that is a slow process and will be difficult to achieve without having an invested fan base (chicken and egg scenario).

This team needs to do whatever they can to get fans in to seats today, to build for a brighter tomorrow. Large blocks of tickets need to be given away to each game, and more needs to be done to entertain the masses when/if they do show up on game day to keep them coming back. Then you can start charging those people once they are hooked and have a vested interest.

Now, I do not personally know how to make this happen, however, Mason has a school of marketing, have its students market! -- [Pipe dream seeing that we can't get the art and design school to design a logo].

Totally agree- When I wanted to bring my family to a game my junior year I couldn't believe how much tickets crossed to be almost nosebleeds on one of the sides- why would I want to take them back when nicer seats cost me nearly 300 bucks for four?

 

[gmubrian]

Maybe related: the two guys who sit in 101 who frequently get into it with the other team's head coach haven't been at a game since Bolno went and sat with them to tell them to calm down. Anyone know about that? We had two fans who made an impact on the game atmosphere, but don't worry, the AD fixed it!

I had noticed the same thing. I have been looking for them every game and haven't seen them since. I am of two minds on this. If they didn't do anything out of bounds, and from what I have heard, they didn't, not sure why anything needed to be done after it was initially investigated. I could see going over there to make sure nothing truly bad happened and then when no evidence was found, it should have been dropped. Since they were not kicked out by security, I am assuming nothing was found.

If that is the case (nothing was found and they weren't asked to come back), the other part of me is like why aren't they coming back? I have been talked to by a representative of the AD on several occasions and even had a flyer distributed to the entire arena, apparently, targeted at my behavior during a game. If I was thin skinned about it, I would have stopped coming, but you still see me at all the games. Regardless, I'd like to see them come back as they are the type of fan that helps us to win games.

Totally agree- When I wanted to bring my family to a game my junior year I couldn't believe how much tickets crossed to be almost nosebleeds on one of the sides- why would I want to take them back when nicer seats cost me nearly 300 bucks for four?

In the trying to do my part category, I have offered this several times: I frequently have extra tickets to games as I get enough for my whole family, but, frequently, they don't all come to the games. If you are looking for tickets to a game feel free to DM me and I'll see what I can do. They are great seats and come with Green Room access. The only catch is I frequently can't guarantee availability until game day.

And I've said it a bunch of times but I hate our crowd. Hate hate hate it. Being loud and rowdy gets you glares from the wine and cheese crowd.

We have no atmosphere... like I said a million times I am embarrassed to bring friends from even other VA universities. The win over Dayton last year was great but my guys killed me on the way home about our lackadaisical student section.

I do understand the balancing act for the AD and the fans. They can't directly offend too much of the wine and cheese crowd as I am guessing that makes up 50% of our top donor tier. We have to stop letting the other people in the arena dictate the way we are fans and I recommend find a way being embarrassed by actions of other people. Be the fan you want to be. In my discussions with Marvin, I am of the understanding the ushers have been trained in the recent past to not discourage people from being loud cheering fans. You start to cross the line with personal attacks. This would include things that are not about their play on the court but things from their personal life.

If you (for those without good reading comprehension skills I mean that collectively so nobody feels singled out) are still having trouble with ushers asking you to sit down or quiet down, please let me know, the more specific details the better (date, time, seat location, usher name, etc.) and I'll go to bat for you and hopefully get those ushers better informed. If you aren't having troubles with ushers, ignore the wine and cheese crowd and keep cheering loudly.

 

[ProfessorCFK]

An easy one day solution - kick the cheer coach and dance coach out of both student section front rows. It's the STUDENT section, not the staff section.

The first row dictates the vibe for the whole student section. If the front row is standing, it's likely that the people behind them are standing. If the front row is mostly empty because they are "reserved" for staff and everyone there is sitting playing on their iPads, no one behind them will be rowdy. Additionally, I'd be pissed if I was a "Mason Maniak" and couldn't even have access to the front row.

Compare and contrast:

with

 

[Mason2005]

I'm having a discussion with some other Mason people. It's amazing how much Mason has stripped from the game day experience. I'm pretty sure we used to jab fun of them but now I miss them haha.

The blimp - gone
Chick Fil A cows bring dropped - gone
Tshirts being thrown - gone
Male cheerleaders - gone
The decibel meter on the wall - gone

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other things. The game day atmosphere is now just the Green Machine singing way too many songs and the game being played in a 25% full arena. I hope better days are ahead but I'm seeing 0 effort from Mason. How long does TS stick around for this?

 

[GMU79]

Why are the student sections at the baseline sections? "Back in my day," we sat on the fold down risers right behind, oh, let's say the JMU bench, and rode those guys all game. Often getting reactions from coach Campanelli. (I think that was the name) It was great!
The dookies can almost touch the players on their sidelines. What gives?

 

[Mason2005]

I have been talked to by a representative of the AD on several occasions and even had a flyer distributed to the entire arena, apparently, targeted at my behavior during a game.

This is pretty wild, a flyer??????

 

[GMU79]

I had noticed the same thing. I have been looking for them every game and haven't seen them since. I am of two minds on this. If they didn't do anything out of bounds, and from what I have heard, they didn't, not sure why anything needed to be done after it was initially investigated. I could see going over there to make sure nothing truly bad happened and then when no evidence was found, it should have been dropped. Since they were not kicked out by security, I am assuming nothing was found.

If that is the case (nothing was found and they weren't asked to come back), the other part of me is like why aren't they coming back? I have been talked to by a representative of the AD on several occasions and even had a flyer distributed to the entire arena, apparently, targeted at my behavior during a game. If I was thin skinned about it, I would have stopped coming, but you still see me at all the games. Regardless, I'd like to see them come back as they are the type of fan that helps us to win games.


In the trying to do my part category, I have offered this several times: I frequently have extra tickets to games as I get enough for my whole family, but, frequently, they don't all come to the games. If you are looking for tickets to a game feel free to DM me and I'll see what I can do. They are great seats and come with Green Room access. The only catch is I frequently can't guarantee availability until game day.


I do understand the balancing act for the AD and the fans. They can't directly offend too much of the wine and cheese crowd as I am guessing that makes up 50% of our top donor tier. We have to stop letting the other people in the arena dictate the way we are fans and I recommend find a way being embarrassed by actions of other people. Be the fan you want to be. In my discussions with Marvin, I am of the understanding the ushers have been trained in the recent past to not discourage people from being loud cheering fans. You start to cross the line with personal attacks. This would include things that are not about their play on the court but things from their personal life.

If you (for those without good reading comprehension skills I mean that collectively so nobody feels singled out) are still having trouble with ushers asking you to sit down or quiet down, please let me know, the more specific details the better (date, time, seat location, usher name, etc.) and I'll go to bat for you and hopefully get those ushers better informed. If you aren't having troubles with ushers, ignore the wine and cheese crowd and keep cheering loudly.

Yeah, people with poor reading comprehension skills are like folks with poor writing skills who lack clarity.

 

[mkaufman1]

Why are the student sections at the baseline sections? "Back in my day," we sat on the fold down risers right behind, oh, let's say the JMU bench, and rode those guys all game. Often getting reactions from coach Campanelli. (I think that was the name) It was great!
The dookies can almost touch the players on their sidelines. What gives?

This has been gone over a lot. The rest of the arena including the premium seats, are reserved for season ticket holders whether they show up or not. Students have been in the endzones since the arena was built. Its never going to change.

An easy one day solution - kick the cheer coach and dance coach out of both student section front rows. It's the STUDENT section, not the staff section.

The first row dictates the vibe for the whole student section. If the front row is standing, it's likely that the people behind them are standing. If the front row is mostly empty because they are "reserved" for staff and everyone there is sitting playing on their iPads, no one behind them will be rowdy. Additionally, I'd be pissed if I was a "Mason Maniak" and couldn't even have access to the front row.

Compare and contrast:

with

View attachment 2496

the 2nd image is just a function of AI creating a picture based off "show students who are bored at a George Mason University Men's Basketball game"

 

[GMU79]

This has been gone over a lot. The rest of the arena including the premium seats, are reserved for season ticket holders whether they show up or not. Students have been in the endzones since the arena was built. Its never going to change.


the 2nd image is just a function of AI creating a picture based off "show students who are bored at a George Mason University Men's Basketball game"

Thanks. I must have missed those discussions. Certainly season ticket holders should get prime seating. They paid for it. Still, the students should get much better seating. I can't imagine there are that many season ticket holders.

 

[mkaufman1]

Thanks. I must have missed those discussions. Certainly season ticket holders should get prime seating. They paid for it. Still, the students should get much better seating. I can't imagine there are that many season ticket holders.

Np - I'm not against students being able to move down for lightly attended games or some creativity (have maybe 1 buy game on a Tuesday where students can sit in a section amongst some folks)- but for the most part the seats they get are prime real estate.

And honestly until students show interest, their seats are just fine. They can sit right off the court if they get there early enough.

 

[Jack Strop]

Np - I'm not against students being able to move down for lightly attended games or some creativity (have maybe 1 buy game on a Tuesday where students can sit in a section amongst some folks)- but for the most part the seats they get are prime real estate.

And honestly until students show interest, their seats are just fine. They can sit right off the court if they get there early enough.

When I was a student 1986–92, there was NO PLACE else that I wanted to be to watch a game than from behind one of the baskets. Even after I graduated, and purchased season tickets, I still watched the games from the student section for many seasons. Now, there's no point sitting with the students—the ones who attend games only SIT!

Excellent post, fully agree. The ticket mini-plans are dirt cheap but it's still too expensive for one family to go to one (1) game as casual fans. For some reason those single game tickets are always in the rafters while a sea of empty seats are in front of you too. It's a real problem.

And I've said it a bunch of times but I hate our crowd. Hate hate hate it. Being loud and rowdy gets you glares from the wine and cheese crowd. Maybe related: the two guys who sit in 101 who frequently get into it with the other team's head coach haven't been at a game since Bolno went and sat with them to tell them to calm down. Anyone know about that? We had two fans who made an impact on the game atmosphere, but don't worry, the AD fixed it!

Who manages EBA? Isn't it Monumental Sports?

According to Wikipedia.com, "The arena is owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment."

Are ticket prices too high because Ted demands too large of a cut? Perhaps too much of Mason Athletics' operating budget is also going to Ted, leaving them pennies to attempt to run a decent game day show?

I mean, how many NCAA Div I basketball programs' home venues are owned and operated by a third party? One comes to mind... Georgetown. Look at that flailing program and do your comparisons. Is there a common denominator with Mason?

Now consider this: Where does G'Town play? Verizon Center—owned and operated by, you guessed it, Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Oooooh, the conspiracy possibility is growing hotter!

 

[tblack33]

I had noticed the same thing. I have been looking for them every game and haven't seen them since. I am of two minds on this. If they didn't do anything out of bounds, and from what I have heard, they didn't, not sure why anything needed to be done after it was initially investigated. I could see going over there to make sure nothing truly bad happened and then when no evidence was found, it should have been dropped. Since they were not kicked out by security, I am assuming nothing was found.

If that is the case (nothing was found and they weren't asked to come back), the other part of me is like why aren't they coming back? I have been talked to by a representative of the AD on several occasions and even had a flyer distributed to the entire arena, apparently, targeted at my behavior during a game. If I was thin skinned about it, I would have stopped coming, but you still see me at all the games. Regardless, I'd like to see them come back as they are the type of fan that helps us to win games.


In the trying to do my part category, I have offered this several times: I frequently have extra tickets to games as I get enough for my whole family, but, frequently, they don't all come to the games. If you are looking for tickets to a game feel free to DM me and I'll see what I can do. They are great seats and come with Green Room access. The only catch is I frequently can't guarantee availability until game day.


I do understand the balancing act for the AD and the fans. They can't directly offend too much of the wine and cheese crowd as I am guessing that makes up 50% of our top donor tier. We have to stop letting the other people in the arena dictate the way we are fans and I recommend find a way being embarrassed by actions of other people. Be the fan you want to be. In my discussions with Marvin, I am of the understanding the ushers have been trained in the recent past to not discourage people from being loud cheering fans. You start to cross the line with personal attacks. This would include things that are not about their play on the court but things from their personal life.

If you (for those without good reading comprehension skills I mean that collectively so nobody feels singled out) are still having trouble with ushers asking you to sit down or quiet down, please let me know, the more specific details the better (date, time, seat location, usher name, etc.) and I'll go to bat for you and hopefully get those ushers better informed. If you aren't having troubles with ushers, ignore the wine and cheese crowd and keep cheering loudly.

Agree with everything here. For what it’s worth, I sit about 15 feet from the AD, and I am pretty much just as loud and obnoxious as I’ve ever been and have not once gotten as much as a glance for it. So I don’t think that direction is coming from the top.

 

[Mason2005]

Has Mason ever done a alcohol promotion for a game? Duquesne is doing a $1 beer game for their conf home opener 12/31. Their record stinks right now and they are putting in an effort to get ppl to that game.

I just want to see some effort Mason, please .

 

[tblack33]

Has Mason ever done an alcohol promotion for a game? Duquesne is doing a $1 beer game for their conf home opener 12/31. Their record stinks right now and they are putting in an effort to get ppl to that game.

I’m sure people will tell you there’s a million reasons Mason can’t do this, but it would be the best promotion we could put on. Have to find a way to get out of our own way for things like this.