Attendance drops for Charlotte 49ers football
Athletics director Judy Rose isn’t happy with sagging attendance at Charlotte 49ers football games.
“I’m not pleased; I’m disappointed,” said Rose after the 49ers beat Wesley (Del.) 38-33 Saturday in front of a crowd of 10,708 at 15,314-seat Richardson Stadium. It was the lowest home crowd in Charlotte’s one-plus seasons of football, dipping under the previous low of 12,052 that came one week earlier against Coastal Carolina.
Charlotte’s average attendance is 13,761 this season, which is significant because a minimum of 15,000 over a two-year period is required to play in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivison once the 49ers move up next season.
“We’re going to be as proactive as we can,” said Rose of figuring out ways to increase attendance. “We’ll figure out why it is and come up with a solution.”
The cause of the decreased crowds (the 49ers averaged 15, 541 in 2013) appears to be coming from students who are not using all of their allotment of 7,500 tickets per game. Rose said she will recommend to chancellor Phil Dubois that the student allotment – which accounts for half the stadium – be cut next season.
“Now that puts the burden on us, because it will free up tickets that we will have to sell,” Rose said. “But we will have a marketing plan in place to make that happen. But we’d rather know we have that option available early on rather than waiting until game day.”
Rose said there are several possible explanations for the low student attendance, including a tailgate section reserved for students on the other side of campus, making it more difficult for them to get to games.
“They might end up going back to their dorms or watching it on TV, rather than walk all the way to the stadium,” Rose said.
She also said a six-game losing streak (which ended Saturday) might be a factor.
“And next year is another first, when we debut in Conference USA,” Rose said. “We could have that excitement again, like we did last year when we were a brand new program.
“I don’t know what people are thinking. But I’m going to find out.”
Rose said the student section might be shifted in the stadium to provide more energy, a move that’s been made in Halton Arena, where attendance was at an all-time low for men’s basketball last season.
And until the football crowds return, it is unlikely that Richardson Stadium will be expanded. It can grow to 40,000 seats, incrementally if needed.
“Why would we do that?” Rose said in September. “We won’t until we’re selling out what we have now.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Attendance drops for Charlotte 49ers football."