Marketing departments can devise promotions, themes and alumni reunions, but plain and simple, Front Range football programs depend largely on the previous year’s record to sell tickets.
With a week until the season opens, only Air Force, an 8-5 bowl winner in 2009, is running ahead of last year’s totals for the same time period. The Falcons have sold 12,172 season tickets (not including 4,000 for the cadet wing) compared with 11,489 at this time last year.
Coming off 3-9 seasons, Colorado is down more than 1,500 from 2009’s total of 21,000, while CSU is off 7 percent (525) from its 7,500 total last year. However, CSU’s revenues are higher because the Sept. 4 game against CU game at Invesco Field at Mile High is considered a CSU home game.
Tickets for the Rocky Mountain Showdown are readily available. CU has fewer than 4,500 general admissions available; CSU had about 9,000 to sell during the week.
“When we reach levels (of winning) we know we will reach, this will not be an issue,” CSU associate athletic director Gary Ozzello said.
Still, he cited 3-9 as the least-used reason in feedback for non-renewal. The most frequent explanation given was a change in employment.
CU’s capacity is 23,750 seats greater than CSU’s 30,000. Buffs athletic director Mike Bohn places last year’s season tickets to the public at “just shy of 21,000.” As of this week the number was 19,000 plus.
When fans were asked why they didn’t renew, Bohn said answers “were all over the map.”
While 3-9 is the obvious factor for the decline, Bohn pointed to the whims of the schedule. Last season, rival CSU and Big 12 foes Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska came to Boulder. This year’s slate has one marquee nonleague draw in Georgia (Oct. 2), but the conference home schedule is not too exciting: Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State.
If there’s one common bond for CU and CSU, it’s the tendency of fans to procrastinate.
“Generally we sell 2,000 between the start of camp and start of the season,” Bohn said. “I anticipate we’ll catch up to last year’s numbers if we don’t exceed them.”
CSU also makes up sales in August. But in Utah, there’s no waiting until the last minute. By mid-August, Utah exceeded last year’s 31,026 paid season- ticket count by 700 seats. Associate athletic director Liz Abel said “season tickets have grown steadily in the last seven years, and we are maxed out at this point.”
During the height of early MWC success, CSU drew crowds in excess of 100 percent capacity. Even then, season tickets rarely exceeded 10,000. Both CSU and Wyoming have historically depended on walk-up sales.
Wyoming spiked to 8,336 season tickets a year ago thanks in part to having Texas at home. With 7,682 and counting, Wyoming has its second-best total of the decade.
Even with economic woes, luxury box sales have not been impacted. Wyoming leased all 12 of its new luxury boxes. CU and Air Force are likewise sold out. CSU has 36 of 45 boxes sold, similar to past years.
Everyone has mini-packages to promote sales. CU is pushing its “National Championship 3-pack,” which includes Alfred Williams Day for Hawaii (Sept. 18), the 1990 team reunion at the Georgia game and Senior Day vs. Kansas State (Nov. 20).
CU mailed postcards to area residents pushing savings. CSU is promoting its first ever “Orange Out” for the home opener with orange throwback jerseys and free rally towels. The school includes fliers in utility bills sent to area customers.
“We’re more involved marketing than we ever have been,” Ozzello said.
Natalie Meisler: 303 954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
Not a ticket item
CU ranks second-to-last in the Big 12 in season-ticket sales and would likely be in that position in the Pac-10, where the Buffs will start play in 2012. The 2009 season-ticket numbers from across the conferences:
BIG 12
Texas 82,500
Nebraska 76,000
Oklahoma 69,000
Oklahoma State 45,694
Missouri 41,000
Texas Tech 39,717
Kansas 36,000
Iowa State 32,599
Kansas State 32,364
Texas A&M 32,083
Colorado 21,000
Baylor 11,700
PAC-10
Oregon 43,008
Washington 40,600
UCLA 40,000
Arizona State 38,618
Cal 38,353
Arizona 24,000
Oregon State 23,052
Washington State 10,871
Note: USC and Stanford are private schools and did not report numbers.
