Why would we renovate a stadium knowing that we are going into the SEC and lower the seating capacity to 5400 from 7,000? Five of the top six teams in attendance are SEC teams that average over 6,000 per game and the top four are SEC teams that average more than 7,400 per game.

I would think that we would want to prove to the SEC that we can run with the big dogs. ???? Mississippi State and Ole Miss make us look like we are Sam Houston State. Weird?

Must be different planners for Kyle Field than Olsen Field. At least a different mindset.

I'm pretty sure when we broke ground we were still in the Big12 and weren't anywhere close to the SEC.

So Byrne could keep ticket prices high

In fairness, the 1B aluminums were usually empty, and pretty sure we were still in the Big 12 when the plans were made.

I guess with attendance in decline, they, whoever "they" is felt smaller was better. Scarcity, higher ticket prices... You get the picture.

But, now things have changed. We are in the SEC, and Hyman has already demonstrated he is more reasonable when it comes to ticket prices.

I missed a few games last year because when I inquired anout tickets, all that was left was berm or SRO, and I refuse to do that.

I'd like to see the stadium expanded to around 7000, which is not unreasonable by SEC standards. Fans shouldn't have to sit on the ground.








[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 2/10/2013 9:57p).]

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Fans shouldn't have to sit on the ground.

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Exactly. Last yr I was living in the Dallas area and if I was gonna drive down the 3+ hrs to watch a game I would need a seat. It kept me from coming down.

People with B**** about anything! BB Park is one of the nicest facilities in the country and when it was built, we had no plans of moving to the SEC. Average attendace at baseball had been trending down for years.

Supply and demand. Ags knew with Old Olsen they could show up and buy a ticket, therefore ticket prices were always low. Im not sure if you all know this, but the Athletic Dept is in the business of making a profit. This is how good businesses operate.

However, even with a smaller seating capacity, for bigger games the grass berms present an opportunity for those that want to see the game to do so. If you look around at Minor League baseball parks across the country, many have these same berms. These berms were also created because they are easily transformed into additional seating (See UFCU Field at tu who followed the same path). If the athletic dept feels there is a need to expand after a season of sellouts then Im sure we will do so.

[This message has been edited by agaus01 (edited 2/11/2013 12:25p).]

[This message has been edited by agaus01 (edited 2/11/2013 12:26p).]

My guess is that at some point, the LF berm will become permanent seating if attendance figures stay up, but they consciously decided that they wanted berm seating rather than GA bleachers that were empty 95% of the time.

One thing to note: we apparently did not sell out season tickets this year (only 20 or so short, but, still, a drop from last year). The first couple of years, we'll probably see some SEC expats living in Texas make some games, but I don't expect a whole lot of road trippers to fill the park consistently over time (LSU probably will be the only exception).

Actually, berm is fine. You can go to Flash Seats now and get tickets at face, or less. May change with SEC opponents.

it's fair to criticize the reduced seating capacity at BBP. It was a risk to drop capacity. Time will tell if it was the right decision. And yes, the left field berm would be the target area for more fixed seats if a decision is made to increase

I like the berm. It is great for families with kids and really helps make the park more family friendly. We had a great time sitting there with a group of friends with kids and their kids had a blast.

If they get rid of the berms down the lines to add seats, I would love to see them put a berm in the outfield.

I still miss my RFB

May as well get ready to expand! To at least 9,000! Arkansas averaged 7,924 for home games last year. With a high of 11,103. With a butt load of top 25 teams, expect a lot of fans to travel! Your in the bigs now, may as well do it now rather than later!

We're fine right now. That capacity doesn't include any berm seating. Plus, we have two major league teams in the state, so our attendance will probably always be lower than schools from Mississippi, Louisiana or Arkansas.

There's no point in *****ing about it until it's an issue. Blue Bell is a fine park and just the right size for now.

A&M used to consistently finish in the top 3-5 in attendance until Byrne came in and made some atrocious decisions on pricing.

Yeah, attendance was trending down because prices were the highest in the country.

Reasonable pricing and A&M could average 8,000 for weekend conference series.

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A&M used to consistently finish in the top 3-5 in attendance until Byrne came in and made some atrocious decisions on pricing.

Yeah, attendance was trending down because prices were the highest in the country.

Reasonable pricing and A&M could average 8,000 for weekend conference series.

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Make excuses all you like, but theory doesn't hold water given the huge drop in student attendance, which wasn't caused by price increases. When we were averaging close to 5k per game, at least 2k of that was students. Now, we're probably averaging 500 students per game--good by college standards, but terrible given what we used to do.

PS: This isn't a knock on students. Things change, and I don't think we can rely on students to supply that large a portion of the gate in the future. Just pointing out that Byrne had nothing to do with this.

He did partially when he killed the Bullpen Bombers and raised student ticket prices.

We knew we were going to the SEC when the renovation plans were made. Don't fool yourself.

I still wish we would have kept the maroon benches and the wide corners. I still can't believe a pitching oriented coach wanted to reduce foul territory.

so looking back...did any of Byrne's decisions with regard to baseball...whether it were season tickets, single game tickets, attendance, parking, prices, capacity, etc.., turn out to have a positive end result?

seems like the federal government's tax-your-way-to-prosperity approach was tried. And the attendance numbers of the past 10 years would suggest that it did not work

I'd say Mark Johnson had something to do with attendance declining. Many season tickets holders didn't like BB firing their beloved coach. Then charging for season ticket holders for parking didn't help either.

The problem with limited capacity is you got too many season tickets holders than can afford to buy them to attend one Or two series and leave those areas empty for most games.

It'll be interesting to see how things play out. SEC will really put a strain on tickets. Glad we jumped in this year and got them.

once you lose fans its very hard to get them back.
In baseball you heavily depend on localAgs and the local community for season tickets and to fill the stadium during the week.

When Byrne fired and in the manner in which he fired Mark Johnson, it turned alot and i mean alot of season ticket holders against Byrne and threrefore they did not buy tickets anymore.
A&M baseball attendance is still reeling from that situation.

I think the steep increase in season tickets had more to do with it than MJ's firing (although that certainly did not help the situation). I think BB believed even if the locals no longer continued with their season tickets they would still come out every once in awhile. He found out otherwise, when folks have tickets in hand they'll come to most of the games, without they'll find other things to do.

I'd like to see some type of arrangement for the un-used seats in reserved areas. Maybe if you're not there by the third inning all seats are fair game? BTHO uic !

What if I get stuck in traffic or other unforeseen occurrences prevent me from making it to the game by the third inning? Are they going to kick out whoever is in my seat or reimburse me for the loss of my seat?

It is beyond me how blind some are to this. I purchased tickets for that seat for the entire year. If I choose never to go and waste the money I spent on those tickets that is my affair. As it is I will make my seat available through flash tickets when I know in advance I will not make the game at a very reasonable price.

[This message has been edited by jkag89 (edited 2/12/2013 8:25p).]

But it looks bad.

How could I've been so blind. For appearance sake we must open the Club Level seating and Suites to those who purchase $8.00 GA tickets at least for those games that are on TV.

There's no single cause, nor is there any simple solution. I was shocked at the empty seats we had at the 2003 regional, and that was before Byrne hiked prices, or MJ was fired. More than anything, I think baseball attendance has suffered because there are simply more things to do in BCS than there used to be, and that's especially true for students. Add in little things like starting night games at 6:30 rather than 7, and playing day games on Saturday when families often have youth sports conflicts, along with increased prices, the fallout from losing, the fallout from firing MJ, and it all adds up to less attendance.

IMO opinion I don't think BB ever cared about really engaging the locals (non former students) in buying tickets to Aggie sports. I hope that changes. But I think we need a pricing plan that encourages more attendance instead of max revenue. Esp in non rev sports. It's not like that extra in tickets rev is going to pay for that sport anyway.

Two years ago you could buy pass to baseball that cost about $5/game, softball GA was either $7 or $8. That's crazy.

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I'd like to see some type of arrangement for the un-used seats in reserved areas. Maybe if you're not there by the third inning all seats are fair game? BTHO uic !

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That's not even a possible option.
Pretty sure this was discussed at length last year.. If the seats are sold they are sold. There is no way to enforce the buyer to attend all games of tell them they have to be there by a certain inning or they lose their seat



[This message has been edited by Aggie (edited 2/13/2013 7:58a).]

The solution is to make more ticket holders aware of Flash tickets, and encourage them to put their unused tickets up for sale.

It's not so much that the empty seats look bad. People at the game helps and encourages the team, and it results in increased revenue through parking and concessions.

Season ticket holders of course are free to to do with their tickets what they please. It's their property, and no, there is never going to be a "use it or lose it" policy where you lose your seat if you show up late.

All we can do is encourage holders to release their tickets to willing purchasers. Some do this, but I was astonished at the low number of tickets for sale for this weekend. Either the ticket holders will attend, or there will once again be a lot of empty seats that could be filled...

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I'd like to see some type of arrangement for the un-used seats in reserved areas. Maybe if you're not there by the third inning all seats are fair game? BTHO uic !

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This was discussed ad nauseum last season. No. I paid for three seats. I should get my seats every game, no matter the time I get there.

Sometimes you run late and sometimes life gets in the way of getting there before first pitch.

[This message has been edited by Tanya 93 (edited 2/13/2013 10:56a).]

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Two years ago you could buy pass to baseball that cost about $5/game, softball GA was either $7 or $8. That's crazy

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That is crazy. But I guess A&M fans have grown accustomed to high ticket prices they don't know any other way.

Based on Hyman's handling of 2013 season football tickets I am REALLY hopeful and encouraged that our athletic director is going a different direction, one that does not include bludgeoning a loyal fan base over the head and then squeezing them for every penny he THINKS he can.

They called him Dollar Bill at Nebraska too, ya know...

Some of that was justified, we needed cash.

Things change, I'd like to see the new AD try to get every venue packed with fans, esp students.