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8/6/00-
Thinking about the Future Football Ticket Increase
We've been hearing a lot over the last
couple of weeks about how UM has fallen behind other Big Ten rivals
when it comes to generating revenue from our football stadium. The
spin seems be that UM needs to 'catch up' to what other programs are
making. If there's one thing that will get Michigan fans and
alumni up in arms it's the inference that another school is beating us
in some area.
But the larger question should be- is
this some kind of race to see how much revenue the Athletic Department
can extract from Wolverine Fans?
Here are the current ticket prices of
Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State.
But the ticket prices don't tell the whole story.
At first glance, one could conclude
that UM football ticket prices are grossly under-valued. But you
have consider the total revenue generated by each facility.
|
Current Stadium Revenue- UM vs PSU |
| Beaver
Stadium |
Michigan
Stadium |
| 93,000 capacity |
107,501 capacity |
| $38/per ticket |
$31/per ticket |
| $3.53M |
$3.33M |
To match the current revenue generated by PSU, UM would need to charge
$32.83 per ticket.
| Current Stadium
Revenue- UM vs OSU |
| OSU
Stadium |
Michigan
Stadium |
| 89,000 capacity |
107,501 capacity |
| $41/per ticket |
$31/per ticket |
| $3.65M |
$3.33M |
To match the current revenue of the Horseshoe, UM would need to charge
$33.95 per ticket
PSU and OSU have raised ticket prices and capacity to catch up with UM's revenue numbers. Their ticket prices also are being used to finance major renovations which will greatly change revenue generating capacity of the respective stadiums.
Both OSU and Penn State are expanding
their stadiums. Let's review the estimated revenue post renovation.
|
Projected Stadium Revenue- UM vs
PSU |
| Beaver
Stadium |
Michigan
Stadium |
| 103,500 capacity |
107,501 capacity |
| $38 |
$31 |
| $3.93M |
$3.33M |
UM would need to charge $36.56 per ticket to match the projected revenue of Beaver Stadium.
| Projected
Stadium Revenue- UM vs OSU |
| OSU
Stadium |
Michigan
Stadium |
| 97,000 capacity * |
107,501 capacity |
| $41 |
$31 |
| $3.97M |
$3.33M |
* Capacity is predicted to be between 96,000-98,000
so I took the average
UM would need to charge $36.93 per ticket to match the projected revenue of the Horseshoe.
UM is considering raising ticket prices $10 to $41 for the 2001
season.
UM Stadium would generate $4.40M per game.
And they want to sell advertising, and they may charge seat licenses? How much more revenue do they need to extract from the stadium to 'catch-up' to other schools?
We hear other programs are allowing advertising in stadiums so we need to as well. Not all colleges do. Stanford has removed all advertising from college stadiums.
Stanford
News Release
What school has won the Sears Cup the last six years? Stanford.
It's distressing to see that Michigan finds itself following in the footsteps of lesser programs.
PSU and OSU fans are financing the expansion of their respective stadiums with what they pay for football tickets. This expansion will help the schools generate additional long term
revenue. The proposed UM price hike will only bail out UM from the current deficit. It will pay for no suites, no improved parking, no improved services, no
additional seating, nothing other than what we already have.
UM has generated additional revenue from its large stadium capacity over the last 20 odd years while PSU and OSU have had significantly less capacity and revenue. One possible conclusion is that their athletic departments have been run better over that time...I want to believe that the additional revenue generated by next year's ticket price increase will be better spent than past funds. Let's hope so...
Go Blue!
Phil Callihan
UMGoBlue.COM- By Fans...For Fans
phil@umgoblue.com
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