52,552 = MotorCityBowl attendance record.
52K might have been the announced crowd but the actual crowd was about 40K.
seats were occupied in all sections but some sections were mostly empty and many half full.
my guess, is that a lot of the tixs were bought but not used.
p.s. 40K looks very good in F.F.
emu steve Wrote:52K might have been the announced crowd but the actual crowd was about 40K.
seats were occupied in all sections but some sections were mostly empty and many half full.
my guess, is that a lot of the tixs were bought but not used.
p.s. 40K looks very good in F.F.
Just curious: do the Big 3 automakers give out alot of comp tickets to their employees? If they don't then good on Detroit for supporting this bowl so well.
No, I don't believe comp tickets were given out, rather Big 3 employees were offered a discount package - a $45 ticket for $25 which included a $5 concession voucher.
emu steve Wrote:52K might have been the announced crowd but the actual crowd was about 40K.
seats were occupied in all sections but some sections were mostly empty and many half full.
my guess, is that a lot of the tixs were bought but not used.
p.s. 40K looks very good in F.F.
Really, I would have guessed actual attendance at about 50,000, but that was my first time there, so I don't have anything to compare it against.
The "Big three automakers" support for the MCB serves to illustrate just how important a major sponser is in the making of a successful Bowl game. Hopefully, this growth in attendance has not peaked, and will be broken again next year. If the game ever starts to sell out, I'am sure that the payout could reach a million, a number that would almost force the big ten to assign it's 5th, or sixth place team to play in this game. Now if the MAC can find a sponser for Toronto and or Indy, things will only get better...
TexanMark Wrote:Just curious: do the Big 3 automakers give out alot of comp tickets to their employees? If they don't then good on Detroit for supporting this bowl so well.
This is a common perception.
I believe the reality is this: the Big Three offers the chance to buy
discounted tickets.
My brother works for Ford, and I went last year using tickets that cost $10 or $15 each. The seats weren't so good -- upper deck corner. But, for $10 or $15... it was a great value.
Very nice attendance guys, that's what the mid majors need in bowl games,of course we all need to win also, but those will come in the future.
Best of luck to you guys the rest of the way, NIU and Troy should be a great game.
UTLAW I'm with you on the attendance estimate, i.e., about 50K. I think EMU Steve's 40K is way too low. I didn't see 25K empty seats, particularly when everyone finally were seated.
Too bad Gradkowski wasn't in....clearly UT is a different team with their general on the field. I thought the backup QB had some decent athleticism but looked very lost on the field.
What was with UConn passing in the 4th quarter? You're up 33-10 and there are 11 min left? Run the ball. :rolleyes:
Great job on the attendance. I thought FF looked very good on tv...and loud. The upper decks looked more full than last year...at least on TV.
FF seats, what, 65,000?
There was definitely 40,000 in the seats in the 3rd quarter. Probably 25,000 in the 4th. I was just too embarrassed to sit through the entire game.
There must have been traffic problems coming to the game on I-75. People were still pouring into the stands by the end of the first quarter or so. I would have guessed 55,000 were there by the second quarter. I was a little off, apparently - but I get that a lot. :)
blue blood Wrote:There must have been traffic problems coming to the game on I-75. People were still pouring into the stands by the end of the first quarter or so.
Same thing happened last year.
Quote:There must have been traffic problems coming to the game on I-75.
Traffic problems on I-75 in SE Michigan are basically a given, trust me.
that's because everyone gets off at grand river instead of getting off at rosa parks, the lodge, or 375...i got off at rosa parks, went down to michigan avenue and parked 2 blocks behind the state theatre...was out of there and back onto 75 south within a minute or two last night afterwards.
emu steve Wrote:52K might have been the announced crowd but the actual crowd was about 40K.
seats were occupied in all sections but some sections were mostly empty and many half full.
my guess, is that a lot of the tixs were bought but not used.
p.s. 40K looks very good in F.F.
You are way off. Even the upper seats were pretty full. Remember Ford Field seats 65K. There were at least 50K there. I think it looked better than 52K even so I was a little surprised by that number.
It looked very good on TV. Regardless of the actual number it was a very impressive showing.
I was there - and have been to FordField many times with many different size crowds. I too believe that 52,000 is a bit high - but there was easily more than 40,000 as well. My best guess would be 45,000 in the seats.
And the Big3 haven't offered comp tickets since MotorCityBowl #3. For the first 3 MotorCityBowls they gave out up to four free tickets to people who stopped in at select dealerships around town (not just to employees) - but only for a few weeks - and not the week of the bowl.
It showed a lot at the first three MotorCityBowl games if you walked around and read shirts - as there were many thousands of locals - many wearing many variations of green (MSU, EMU, many local high schools etc). I believe they wanted to support the MAC rep Marshall, but didn't know what the actual shade of the Marshall green. The EMU and MSU shades are much darker and dirtier than the bright Marshall green.
Having BGSU and Toledo in the last few has eased the "correct colors" issue, since the locals are more familiar with the NE Ohio schools' colors - plus the home MAC team contingent has been much larger anyway due to the much shorter home team commute.
The first MotorCityBowl that they didn't give comps out was a much sparcer crowd - partly due to the fact that they didn't give out comp tickets and also I think the locals were getting pretty tired of seeing Marshall anyway. Since then the genuine local support (where they actually had to spend money to support the MAC school) has grown with the more familiar and local MAC participants.
maybe I was too low with 40K. There might have been 5K at the concessions stands at all times.
It wouldn't surprise me the late crowd.
wasn't a lot of tailgating going on before the game - did see one though.
folks get stuck in traffic or will call.
