Leatherneck Nation

Was that a sold out stadium?

The seating capacity is 20,500.

So it appears to have been sold-out.

Hmm seems like they would consider movign to a little larger stadium if they keep selling it out. Make the maximum profit maybe try to go to a 30,000 person stadium and just see what happens.

WIU0812 wrote:Hmm seems like they would consider movign to a little larger stadium if they keep selling it out. Make the maximum profit maybe try to go to a 30,000 person stadium and just see what happens.

They've essentially sold out the last 4 years (although there were still technically empty seats, and I've heard that you can get tickets fairly easily outside the stadium if you just show up). Thing is, that's only been since NDSU has been playing in the championship game....they travel REALLY well.
In the championship game prior to that (Eastern Washington vs Delaware in 2010) there were only 13k people there. So...what happens if the Bison don't make it in a year? Maybe they get lucky and get another fanbase that travels really well, or they get someone in the Southland that's fairly close, but likely, any game that NDSU isn't in it will not be a sell out.

Before the championship was in Frisco, it was in Chattanooga, TN in Finley Stadium (holds 20,668). Attendance there ranged from just over 12k to just over 23k, with the largest attended years being games involving Georgia Southern or Appalachian State. Both were very popular FCS/I-AA programs with large fanbases and both are less than 5 hours drive away from Chattanooga. Personally, I know that if Western was playing in an FCS championship game that was 5 hours from Macomb, I would definitely be there.

Prior to that, when all the I-AA championship game attendance records were set, the game was at Marshall University's stadium (held ~30k at that time), but 4 of the 5 times it was there, Marshall was in the championship game, and three of the games (including the one that Marshall wasn't in) involved Youngstown State (again...less than 5 hours away).

If you look at years when you didn't have extremely well traveling fanbases or relatively "local" teams in the championship game, you frequently have stadiums that are barely half full.

Also, Frisco won the bid for the championship game and their contract goes through one more season. Frisco doesn't have a stadium larger than Toyota Stadium (where the game is held now), which I've heard is a really nice venue for any type of field sport and is only about 10 years old.

So, unless another city wins the bid for the game and happens to want to use a larger stadium, I don't see it going anywhere else any time soon.

WIU0812 wrote:Hmm seems like they would consider movign to a little larger stadium if they keep selling it out. Make the maximum profit maybe try to go to a 30,000 person stadium and just see what happens.

I got approached several times from guys outside the stadium trying to sell me a ticket or two. There were probably 2-300 empty seats around the stadium with a pretty good standing room only crowd. I would estimate the ISU crowd around 3500 - much much better than Towson last year. When Roberson scored that go-ahead TD, they made some serious noise amongst the suddenly silenced Bison faithful. There are only 3 or 4 FCS teams that if matched up together could draw 30K in for a title game. Since you have long-term bidding for hosting this event, that is not a good gamble for any city which happens to have a stadium that size and there are not too many which do. I could see it moving one day down to Florida simply because of weather. January in Texas is pretty much hit or miss. It was a miss this year. Cold and raw - not good football-watching weather. Very similar to WIU homecoming this year.

I will also add that the Flashseats system (no paper ticket issued ahead of time) worked out great. I gave the gal at gate my credit card, she scanned it, and i got an instant paper ticket with my seat assignment. Whole process took 7-8 seconds and I was in the gate.