What will make attendance better?

[Stryker]

From Iowa's home game tonite.
https://twitter.com/sammmidd/status/...5Es1_&ref_url=

Not even the power schools are immune it seems.

[tomahawk chop]

Last nights attendance was disappointing , this team is fun to watch and they deserve bigger crowds. The only reason I could think of was because of the early start.

[Bradley3342]

Last nights attendance was disappointing , this team is fun to watch and they deserve bigger crowds. The only reason I could think of was because of the early start.

I agree tomahawk chop. Disappointing with last night’s crowd but I talked to a couple of fans that said they forgot about the early start. Hard to figure out with the success this team is having this year that we just can’t draw better.

[Da Coach]

There was also some dense fog in areas around the city with temperatures dropping down near the freezing point. I know a few people who stayed home out of concern for the driving conditions last night, combined with the fact the game was on CBSSports cable network making it available to nearly everyone.

[Da Coach]

Despite the decline in average attendance over the last 10-15 years, Bradley continues to rank at or near the top among current MVC teams in attendance each year.
With a couple home games remaining, here are the attendance numbers for the 12 MVC teams. Bradley currently ranks 3rd with an average of 5,202 per game.



The MVC team that has seen the biggest percentage drop is Missouri State. Their home average attendance is down 60% since they won the MVC in 2011.
For comparison, Bradley's attendance is down about 38% in the same time period. They averaged 8,447 in 2011, and currently average 5,202.
Missouri State beat writer Wyatt Wheeler has a good article today about their attendance woes (it's actually part 1 of 3 parts) - https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...d/72315715007/

[Da Coach]

Part 2 of Wyatt Wheeler's series about Missouri State's attendance problems looks at what some other schools like SIU are doing to increase fan and student interest - https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...s/72523581007/

[braves16]

Part 2 of Wyatt Wheeler's series about Missouri State's attendance problems looks at what some other schools like SIU are doing to increase fan and student interest - https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...s/72523581007/

I see the Mizzou AD is leaving for the Arizona job.

[braves16]

What do you think Bradley has to average in attendance to break even in paying for the cost to rent Carver? Do we get a cut of parking and concessions?

[Da Coach]

Unless something has changed in recent years, Bradley was not getting anything from parking or concessions (other than the Bradley apparel vendor).
And, there are some variables in the cost and revenues for each game, but Ken Kavanagh told me about 15 years ago that Bradley needed at least 5,000-5,500 to break even.
Recall that when Bradley's attendance dropped into the 6,000's a decade ago, the BU President began moving games to the Renaissance Coliseum and considered playing all games there unless she could negotiate a better deal from the Civic Center. It was not a popular move with the fan base, and one of the first things Dr. Reynolds announced when he was hired was that he favored playing all games at Carver Arena.

[braves16]

Unless something has changed in recent years, Bradley was not getting anything from parking or concessions (other than the Bradley apparel vendor).
And, there are some variables in the cost and revenues for each game, but Ken Kavanagh told me about 15 years ago that Bradley needed at least 5,000-5,500 to break even.
Recall that when Bradley's attendance dropped into the 6,000's a decade ago, the BU President began moving games to the Renaissance Coliseum and considered playing all games there unless she could negotiate a better deal from the Civic Center. It was not a popular move with the fan base, and one of the first things Dr. Reynolds announced when he was hired was that he favored playing all games at Carver Arena.

Any idea if they were able to negotiate a better deal from the Civic Center?

[ollienanyes]

Sigh...I wonder if anything CAN be done? The current faithful..well...are pretty old and won't be able to go to games much longer. And I wonder about the quality of the competition in the Civic center; don't see BU bringing in Michigan (ok, awful this year), Illinois, Penn State, Villanova (etc.) anymore.

[Da Coach]

Any idea if they were able to negotiate a better deal from the Civic Center?

I was told the Civic Center was already losing lots of money for other reasons, and not willing to cut a better deal for BU.
Pres. Glasser wanted to pull out of Carver, and even commissioned the BU engineering department to do a feasibility and cost analysis on adding balconies in the Renaissance Coliseum to see if the capacity could be increased to around 6,000. The engineering people believed it could be done for a reasonable cost, but there were other serious problems like traffic issues, neighborhood resistance, and inadequate infrastructure (utilities, sewer, parking, etc), so it never went any further.
If anyone is privy to more info, please feel free to add.

[Bballjunkie]

Even if seats were added to Renaissance there is only 1 feasible exit to leave arena which is not good . They would have to add more exits besides adding upper deck. That was one of main reasons Peoria lost the boys sectional .

[yoda]

for 15 yrs I've seen multiple threads here and comments elsewhere of what Bradley could consider
or do to promote the brand better, to draw more fans in, get better coverage in the community. A few billboards
is a nice start, but here are just a few of ideas and suggestions people have posted. BUT - note that virtually NONE
of these ideas seems to appeal to the folks in the Athletic Dept as they've never done any of these:

-do some community events, some in summer and some during the season. The Voice of the Braves shows are pretty well attended,usually packed, but anyone who gets there later than 5:30pm can't get in or get a seat and then turns around and leaves. Host a summer festival or cookout, or a fall meet & greet. with players giving out t-shirts, apparel or the little balls they throw into the stands.

-hire someone that appears at Bradley events, makes himself known to the fans, browses thru the arena at games, engages fans, finds out who might have needs or beefs and guides them. KK did this routinely and did a great job, so did Rick Gaa, but nobody in the past decade is ever available. They have a name on their "Directory" for someone who is "Associate AD for Marketing and Fan Engagement", but nobody knows who he is. I spent a year trying to get in touch with calls and emails and was never got a reply (see some of my old posts). I say hire someone fans will LOVE and who has a personality to
do this job (names like Cellus, Daniel Ruffin, Lou Griffith, Luqman Lundy, Pete Hanley). I'm not saying they are all available, those are just examples.

- I am looking at a schedule from 15 years ago - and every game had some special event or activity... several games with free T--shirts, free commemorative keychains, packs of collector cards, worthwhile halftime events or acts, and at least 1 or 2 ceremonies to honor our past Braves & Championship teams.
When they had Chet Walker & Hersey back it drew interest from fans, but bring back fan favorites more often than once a year - Walt Lemon, Anthony Manuel, etc...

- more games that get local students in - maybe hand out BU game tix at the high school games they have at Ren-Col

-some open practices and summer events, players hang out after games to sign autographs, Athletic Dept staff walking thru arena, greeting & shaking hands

-fall events, cookouts, tailgates, pre-season or post-season banquet - heck, it took a literal fan-uprising to get the Itoo Supper back
They used to have Fan Appreciation breakfasts & lunches where the fans could meet players/coaches and the fans were willing to PAY!

-what has this decade of paying Learfield & IMG gotten us? Are we not paying them to get more sponsorships & promotions?

- the ESPN+ crew should promote game attendance- talk about upcoming games and events, "promote the brand"

[Da Coach]

Don't forget events like pregame rallies (I think there was one earlier this season that was not well publicized), preseason meet & greet events, postseason banquets where team members are honored (MVP, Most Improved, top newcomer, and other awards), etc. Bradley used to do the preseason and post-season banquets, and they were always well attended, and were effective money-raisers.
And have we given up trying to attract students? There have to be some ways to get more students to the game, even if you have to pay or bribe them.
Other schools have been effective at drawing students, and there were times in the recent past that even Bradley had way more enthusiasm. Even Joanne Glasser, who usually wrecked everything she touched, was able to get more students to the games. But I had a hard time finding any students at the last couple home games.