The FIU football team is predicted to lose every game this season. Head Coach Mike MacIntyre is a relative unknown person in South Florida. The University is surrounded by local businesses, suburban houses, local elementary schools, middle and high schools. Miami-Dade County is a place where there is a wide variety of activities. So why do individual game tickets start at $50?
A comparison of other ticketed athletic events in Miami:
- Tickets at 400 level at Miami Heat games (vs lower tier opponents) $40
- Movies at IMAX theater $16
- Upper deck seats at Hard Rock Stadium for Miami Dolphin regular season $110
- Upper deck seats at Hard Rock Stadium for Miami Hurricanes regular season $23
- High school football tickets at local stadium $8
Make the games attractive and tickets affordable
There are currently 43 players on the FIU football team from the South Florida area.
- Free tickets to each player’s family, friends, youth football coaches, after-school counselors
- Free tickets to every young child in his community at every local park to attend the game
Without a doubt, attending an FIU football game is last or next to last on the list of activities in South Florida on a weekday or week night. Setting an individual ticket at $50 to attend a football game is similar in comparison to attending a movie and paying $4 for a small drink and $10 for a cheeseburger. Unfortunately, movie theaters can offer kids CGI cartoons and superheroes to grab their attention. Parents will pay enormously for that opportunity, but would rather go to the stadium and watch a football game.
Obviously, the plan by the stadium to promote the football program is to maximize attracting “the base.” This means that their primary focus is on season ticket holders, boosters and alumni (Panther Club)to attend games, i.e. “those who know about the team will come.” That is a good strategy if the team is winning games but now it is not. The University of Iowa charges football fans on a sliding scale based on the opponent.
In Conclusion:
Many families in the South Florida area are “working professionals” so they will spend their afternoon at an affordable place. So, they’ll spend $200 at Chuck E’ Cheese and the movies, but not for two tickets at football game. Therefore, FIU should have its ticket prices on the low end of the pricing spectrum among college teams.
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