Plenty of tickets still available for Lafayette/Lehigh

[Franks Tanks]

I checked the Lafayette ticket website and many seats are still readily available. Most say general admission however. For the Lehigh guys does that mean you are sitting on the hill or are large parts of the stadium now just general admission?

In any event, not so long ago the game was typically sold out months in advance. It was especially hard for Lafayette fans to get tickets for away Lehigh games through the school, and unheard of a week before. So what’s going on?

Had the older generation of fans aged out of being able to attend?

Do you get alums not care?

Are the teams so poor that the community has stopped paying attention?

Probably a mix of all of the above, but curious as to your thoughts.

Another interesting development is that Lafayette is advertising watch parties close to campus, such as one in Morristown,NJ. Lafayette fans looking to attend this can simply get a ticket and drive an hour or so and actually attend in person. Perhaps the perception still exists that tickets aren’t available, when they are in fact readily so.

[Sitting Bull]

What's going on? Have you been following college football attendance trends the last ten years?

[Sader87]

Notre Dame's home attendance sell out streak will end this Saturday too...largely look at what you're staring at now for a big reason why attendance is down in college football.

[PAllen]

The administrations don't care about the quality of the game or the atmosphere.

I won't be packing my young kids in a car and driving 4 hours to sit in the cold and watch crap football in a blah environment. Tailgating used to be fun. The quality of play used to be good. Now it's more like suffering. I'd rather play wiffle ball in the back yard with my kids.

[DFW HOYA]

Notre Dame's home attendance sell out streak will end this Saturday too...largely look at what you're staring at now for an a big reason why attendance is down in college football.

It's only a symptom. There are lower bowl tickets on ND's site starting at $70 and up to $145 per person. Add a family of four, travel (most will be driving or flying in) parking, souvenirs, hot dogs, etc. and it is much, much easier to watch on TV. Want to see South Carolina-Texas A&M? Start at $80 for fourth tier upper end zone plus a $7 "convenience fee" (the "convenience" to get overcharged). Major college games are overpriced!

Yes, fan bases are soft, I get that. But you can't outprice the market.

[Sader87]

I agree with the cost factor....yet another reason why FCS football is more enjoyable (for your wallet anyway) than FBS.

If you compared say HC or Harvard vs BC for game-day enjoyment/convenience/views from the stands etc....it's really not even close. BC is an absolute cluster**** for parking/tailgating, most seats (benches) have nothing close to the view of the game you get at Fitton or Harvard Stadium, the costs for tickets/parking are much more etc...just a completely more enjoyable day overall for a fan at HC/Harvard than BC imo.

[Franks Tanks]

Cost may be a factor. Tickets are $29 and are not expensive by most standards, but may keep some casual fans away.

Seems like more people attend to party in the parking lot and have no intention to actually enter the stadium.

[CHIP72]

I've been tracking ticket sales for this year's Lafayette/Lehigh game, mainly because I'm attending the game and am a member of the general public for ticket buying purposes. Compared to when tickets became available to the general public back on October 2nd, there are a lot fewer tickets available now. (On October 2nd, just about all the seats in three entire upper level sections on the SE side of the stadium, plus a few seats in a couple other sections on the same side, both upper and lower level, were available.) Based on attending last year's game at Lafayette and monitoring ticket sales for both last year's and this year's game, sales have been stronger this year.

Having said the above, this year's game is still not a sellout, and I think it is likely a few reserved seats will be available for sale on the day of the game, though nowhere near the number of tickets that were available on the day of last year's game.

EDIT: It looks like some lower level reserved seats in the SE corner of Goodman Stadium have been put on sale. I'm guessing those seats are part of Lafayette's allotment.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

I'm undecided if I'm going to attend. I went to every game from 1997 through 2016 but skipped the last two years. It's just been bad teams playing in a so-so atmosphere since 150.

If Lafayette wins and Lehigh at least plays well tomorrow i might be more inclined to go. If nothing else the idea of Lehigh preventing a sub .500 Pard team from making the playoffs is something i can get behind!

[Southsider]

And who is surprised at any of this? Sometimes things need to hit rock bottom before they can improve. Well, they have. As for any future improvement, I’m not holding my breath unless there is a change with the league bigwigs !

[JacksFan40]

It’s easier to watch the game from the comfort of home over freezing your ass off watching mediocre at best football.

[ST_Lawson]

...freezing your ass off watching mediocre at best football.

Hey, I resemble that remark (or will tomorrow afternoon).

On the plus side, a 5 minute drive and $20 gets me in the stadium, pretty much my pick of seats, two brats, and a pop.

[van]

well I am driving 950 miles to attend, although the game motivation is secondary to seeing family for thanksgiving

[ngineer]

The tickets for L-L start out all reserved until the students and alums have been given the opportunity to buy. Many blocks are purchased by living groups and alumni association organizations. Then they go on the market to the general public. The away school is given an allotment to sell to their students and alums, but must return unsold tickets by a certain date. So GA tickets could likely be the upper tier and lower tier sections from the 20 to the goal lines. They don't sell GA for the Horseshoe unless they expect to go over the 16,000 seat capacity of the stands.

I will be attending my 49th Rivalry game. Only miss from 1970 being 1976. A good number of alums consider this "homecoming" and many come back to see old fraternity and, now, sorority brothers/sisters and stay in the lots tailgating and watching on TV. We'll have around 300 at our tailgate (15 turkeys being pressure cooked). Prep work begins Friday afternoon and has become a tradition in itself.

Unfortunately, today's students don't seem to be "into" athletic events as a means of bonding. Today's wrestling match against #4 Oklahoma State was in Stabler (cap. 5,600) and I'd estimate a crowd of 3,500-4,000. Ten years ago it was SRO for OSU. The times they are achangin...unfortunately.

[Southsider]

The tickets for L-L start out all reserved until the students and alums have been given the opportunity to buy. Many blocks are purchased by living groups and alumni association organizations. Then they go on the market to the general public. The away school is given an allotment to sell to their students and alums, but must return unsold tickets by a certain date. So GA tickets could likely be the upper tier and lower tier sections from the 20 to the goal lines. They don't sell GA for the Horseshoe unless they expect to go over the 16,000 seat capacity of the stands.

I will be attending my 49th Rivalry game. Only miss from 1970 being 1976. A good number of alums consider this "homecoming" and many come back to see old fraternity and, now, sorority brothers/sisters and stay in the lots tailgating and watching on TV. We'll have around 300 at our tailgate (15 turkeys being pressure cooked). Prep work begins Friday afternoon and has become a tradition in itself.

Unfortunately, today's students don't seem to be "into" athletic events as a means of bonding. Today's wrestling match against #4 Oklahoma State was in Stabler (cap. 5,600) and I'd estimate a crowd of 3,500-4,000. Ten years ago it was SRO for OSU. The times they are achangin...unfortunately.

Schools fault. Likens chased the kids away. Then he left.

[DFW HOYA]

Unfortunately, today's students don't seem to be "into" athletic events as a means of bonding.

There is no bonding, atheltics or not. We're raising a generation of loners.

But think about it--why did people go to those games?

1. Meet girls/take dates to the game
2. Drink
3. Socialize with friends
4. Maybe get on TV
5. Drink

Today's students see a sterile stadium, poor food choices, a sad video/sound system, and no Wi-Fi. It doesn't matter if it was football or Pokemon there, PL stadiums aren't a good use of their time.

[Sitting Bull]

As another example of something much bigger is going on, I was shocked when they mentioned on TV yesterday that the Navy/Norte Dame game was 6,000 tickets short of a sellout. Tickets to ND games used to be golden, you just couldn't get them. When did this happen?

[DFW HOYA]

Tickets to ND games used to be golden, you just couldn't get them. When did this happen?

When tickets got above $100 a game.

[ngineer]

As another example of something much bigger is going on, I was shocked when they mentioned on TV yesterday that the Navy/Norte Dame game was 6,000 tickets short of a sellout. Tickets to ND games used to be golden, you just couldn't get them. When did this happen?

I remember back in 1976, my buddy, who was a ND grad, had "his turn" to get season tickets. The demand was so great he could only get them in even numbered years! Luckily, we got to see the epic Alabama - Notre Dame game when the Crimson Tide were stopped at the one with time expiring for an Irish win. Bedlam.

[caribbeanhen]

There is no bonding, atheltics or not. We're raising a generation of loners.

But think about it--why did people go to those games?

1. Meet girls/take dates to the game
2. Drink
3. Socialize with friends
4. Maybe get on TV
5. Drink

Today's students see a sterile stadium, poor food choices, a sad video/sound system, and no Wi-Fi. It doesn't matter if it was football or Pokemon there, PL stadiums aren't a good use of their time.

agree with all except the get on TV part, no Patriot league teams on tv..... playoffs maybe

[ngineer]

agree with all except the get on TV part, no Patriot league teams on tv..... playoffs maybe

WFMZ-TV out of Allentown will carry, as always, #155 of the Rivalry. Up until a couple years ago, TV2 out of Allentown broadcast Lehigh home games and RCN televised Lafayette's . Now with the PL Network, all games are streamed via the internet.

[CHIP72]

WFMZ-TV out of Allentown will carry, as always, #155 of the Rivalry. Up until a couple years ago, TV2 out of Allentown broadcast Lehigh home games and RCN televised Lafayette's . Now with the PL Network, all games are streamed via the internet.

I'm pretty sure WBPH Channel 60 in Bethlehem will also carry the Lafayette broadcast of L-L 155. (That station carries all Lafayette games produced by the Lafayette Sports Network, i.e. pretty much all Lafayette home games and selected road games, that are televised on RCN Cable Channel 4. Of course, Service Electric Cable Channel 2 televises all Lehigh home games excluding the L-L game; WFMZ Channel 69 broadcasts the Lehigh telecast of that game every season regardless if it is at Lehigh or Lafayette.)

As a side note, there have been years both the Lehigh broadcast and the Lafayette broadcast of the Rivalry have been available on TV on my cable system in the DC area. The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) has televised the Lafayette broadcast of the game in every year in recent years.

[ngineer]

Yes, I keep forgetting about station WBPH, Channel 60.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

I'm still undecided about going. I'm currently stuck on 24 L vs L games if my memory is right. My first one was in 1990. Eric Torrain had a huge game. Right now my feeling is likely no given how bad both teams are. I feel like the games on tv will be far more compelling.

If I could attend one game this weekend it would Temple at Cincinnati. If I wasn't in Fargo last week I'd be inclined to make the trek.

[CHIP72]

If I could attend one game this weekend it would Temple at Cincinnati. If I wasn't in Fargo last week I'd be inclined to make the trek.

If Muhlenberg's D3 playoff game against MIT was played at a time that didn't overlap with Lafayette/Lehigh, I'd probably go to see the Mules in Allentown on Saturday as well. (I'll also note Kutztown is also hosting a D2 playoff game on Saturday after getting edged in the PSAC championship game last week by Slippery Rock and losing the #1 regional seed and first round bye to The Rock. Kutztown's game, like Muhlenberg's, overlaps with Lafayette/Lehigh.)

For anybody who lives in/near Columbus, Cincinnati, or anywhere in between, a Penn State/Ohio State and Temple/Cincinnati doubleheader would be very doable.