Do you guys think Sparty will make EMU move the home game to a neutral site? If so, where at? Ford Field?

If the game is kept at EMU, will the Athletic Department make you buy season tickets to get the tickets to that game? As a way to inflate the attendance for the season.

(06-09-2014 11:47 AM)DexterDevil Wrote:  Do you guys think Sparty will make EMU move the home game to a neutral site? If so, where at? Ford Field?

If the game is kept at EMU, will the Athletic Department make you buy season tickets to get the tickets to that game? As a way to inflate the attendance for the season.

Very good questions. My thoughts:

1). MSU will try to get the game moved to Ford Field.

2). If the game does move to Ford Field say 50K will show up - 40K with one shade of green (MSU) and 10K with the other shade of green (EMU). Most of the MSU green will be from S.E. MI and (MSU) non-season ticket holders. NIU has played this game with Iowa, etc. with games at Soldier Field. Iowa fans buy 80 - 90% of the tickets.

3). IF the game is at Rynearson, EMU could try what CMU tried in 2012 (?). They were able to leverage demand very effectively.

The absolute wild card: How good will EMU be???

IF we have a winning record in 2019, then we could try to keep the game in Ypsi and try to leverage season tixs, contributions to EMU athletics, etc. etc.

I could see EMU trying to re-do the scoreboard, press box, etc.

BTW, EMU has to know how to price the tixs. There is plenty of experience with Toledo/OSU in CLE, NIU vs. Iowa/WI at Soldier Field and the best example: MSU @ CMU in 2012 (I think).

I could see tixs up to say $50 bucks for a Ford Field game (say $50 sideline, $30 bucks end zone. EMU students $15 (5- 7.5K end zone seats. MSU students - sorry).

The question becomes: Say 50K will show at Ford Field. Will 30K+ show at Rynearson? What this is implying: Will MSU fans from Oakland, Macomb, etc. drive all the way to Ypsi?

Ford Field is very centrally located for all of S.E. Michigan.

Love to see the game at Ford Field. I miss having one home game there a year.

(06-09-2014 12:06 PM)emu79 Wrote:  Love to see the game at Ford Field. I miss having one home game there a year.

We need this game at Rynearson Stadium. It delegitimizes our "home field" if we move it to Ford Field.

(06-09-2014 12:12 PM)EMU03 Wrote:  

(06-09-2014 12:06 PM)emu79 Wrote:  Love to see the game at Ford Field. I miss having one home game there a year.

We need this game at Rynearson Stadium. It delegitimizes our "home field" if we move it to Ford Field.

Big problem is the gate (which I assume we'll keep or give MSU a 'guarantee' - easy to work out these deal when there are 2:1 deals).

I don't see folks paying more than say 30 - 35 bucks for a bench seat at Rynearson.

Fifty bucks should be a go for sideline seats at Ford Field.

Look at the options:

Ford Field: 40k @ 50 bucks = 2M. 7K @ 15 = 100K (EMU student tixs). 5K @ 30 bucks = 150K (end zone, non-student tixs).

So I have the GROSS gate at around 2.2M (or 2M after taxes).

Rynearson:

7K @ 15 buck EMU students (I believed CMU students didn't get in free).

23K sideline seats @ 30 bucks = 690K

total 800K (say 750K after taxes), but no stadium rental, etc.

There could be a difference in gross gate (after taxes but before rental of Ford Field) of say 1.25M between Ford Field and Rynearson.

We also need the revenue in order to afford having a football program.

(06-09-2014 12:39 PM)emu79 Wrote:  We also need the revenue in order to afford having a football program.

Generate revenue by playing our usual revenue generating road games.

Keep the game at Rynearson and give EMU students a D1 college football experience on their own campus, generate excitement, which hopefully translates to the next generation of alumni interested in the success of the athletic programs. If EMU somehow stuns the Spartans, that is a memory you want forever tied to the stadium.

If we can't pull off this game at Rynearson then we are setting our standards below that of CMU which is a supposed peer rival of ours.

(06-09-2014 08:54 PM)EMU03 Wrote:  

(06-09-2014 12:39 PM)emu79 Wrote:  We also need the revenue in order to afford having a football program.

Generate revenue by playing our usual revenue generating road games.

Keep the game at Rynearson and give EMU students a D1 college football experience on their own campus, generate excitement, which hopefully translates to the next generation of alumni interested in the success of the athletic programs. If EMU somehow stuns the Spartans, that is a memory you want forever tied to the stadium.

If we can't pull off this game at Rynearson then we are setting our standards below that of CMU which is a supposed peer rival of ours.

Good point. On the main MAC board a discussion that OOC games for many power conference teams now go for 7-figures.

If EMU needs say 850K they can get it by say playing at PSU, OSU, etc.

And what was the attendance when MSU game to play at the Convo in basketball?

(06-10-2014 06:10 AM)emu79 Wrote:  And what was the attendance when MSU game to play at the Convo in basketball?

Yep, if EMU has mediocre football in 2018/19 then the crowd at Rynearson will not be 25 - 30K.

IF EMU FB is up in 2018/19 then a sellout is very possible.

A game at Rynearson would draw mostly EMU fans.

A game at Ford Field would draw mostly MSU fans.

BTW. Rynearson seats 30K but is inadequate for 30K.

It doesn't have a big enough press box; concessions and rest rooms are fine for 10k; traffic and parking would be a disaster (in 1995 there was no Convo and that space was used for parking).

It would be nice to see an honest 20K crowd and then judge whether we could handle 150% of that sized crowd.