2020 Schedule

[FurmAlum]

While we're talking about the schedule, I would like to know why we play early season home games at 1 P.M. when its 95 degrees under a blazing sun.

Wouldn't a 7 P.M start time for games in Sept. make better sense?

[apaladin]

Agree FA but CCH prefers early games so that is why.

[The Jackal]

While we're talking about the schedule, I would like to know why we play early season home games at 1 P.M. when its 95 degrees under a blazing sun.

Wouldn't a 7 P.M start time for games in Sept. make better sense?

This is me, but I love the fact that we start home games at 1:00.

It's a hot time of year. If they moved the start time back, then folks are just baking while tailgating (which, to me, is always worse) instead of baking while in the stadium.

[cavedweller2]

What’s wrong with getting baked at the Tailgate?

[Jasper]

What’s wrong with getting baked at the Tailgate?

DRUM ROLL!

[aqualung]

Concerning crowd size and the current Paladin Stadium.


I think it would be worth it for Furman to do an architectural study of Paladin Stadium and how to make it more intimate and give the Dins a better home-field advantage in all aspects including improving the experience for fans.

I'd remove section 1/6 entirely and the matching section 5 on the right side. This would create a compact seating area, improve site lines, and IMO create a more vocal environment.

Next, demolish the visitor's stands. I would love to see shorter in height stands that start from the twenty-yard line and curves up to the mountain-side endzone. You could do the same on the home side replaced the old section 6 with a shorter stand section that corners into the grass bank area bookending the visitor stands. I'd put the students in this section.

I doubt this will ever happen, but I'd love to see Paladin Stadium sized down and somehow get fans and students closer to the action.

.

I think that this is possibly the worst idea that I have ever heard concerning FU Football.

[gofurman]

Concerning crowd size and the current Paladin Stadium.

There are a lot of battling factors that have led to Furman's current attendance situation. An extended period of ho-hum football. Very few fans cared and the product on the field was inconsistent. At the same time other SoCon programs invested in their programs. Then the ability to broadcast games digitally was an earthquake, you can watch every home Paladin game from the comfort of your couch. All of this has led to apathy and we're seeing an overall football attendance decline outside of the perennial winners.

Fast forward to today… Furman has a vastly better product to sell. Paladin Stadium, for the most part, is a very good facility. The issue now is the stadium was built for a different era.

I think it would be worth it for Furman to do an architectural study of Paladin Stadium and how to make it more intimate and give the Dins a better home-field advantage in all aspects including improving the experience for fans.

I'd remove section 1/6 entirely and the matching section 5 on the right side. This would create a compact seating area, improve site lines, and IMO create a more vocal environment.

Next, demolish the visitor's stands. I would love to see shorter in height stands that start from the twenty-yard line and curves up to the mountain-side endzone. You could do the same on the home side replaced the old section 6 with a shorter stand section that corners into the grass bank area bookending the visitor stands. I'd put the students in this section.

I doubt this will ever happen, but I'd love to see Paladin Stadium sized down and somehow get fans and students closer to the action.

.

I see Astro catching some heat for his thoughts on this. I agree with him in theory. I don't agree with tearing down stadium portions but I get his point. When I look at basketball arenas (Timmons, cough cough) the ones that are smaller and more intimate ( Cameron vs Rupp Arena) are MUCH more intimidating. Crowd noise is much louder in the smaller arenas.

I do wish we could get students and everyone more "on top" of the football field. More within earshot of the players. The worst are the stadiums wtih a track between the fans and the players. Wasn't ETSU like this at the mini-dome? You were 20 /30 yards from the field.

Not sure how this is possible unless we could sit on the hill but that's where our fieldhouse is.

[cavedweller2]

Eliminate sections 6 and 7. Move Paladin Hospitality there. Put up tents and dealios To block sun and rain in the stands. Make it easy to get food and drink.

Win.

[Flagman]

ETSU’s mini dome did not have a track around it. The site lines were horrendous. Unless you were on the first row, and leaned over the rail, you couldn’t see the sideline on your side. The first row was about 10 feet above the field. Absolutely the worst place to watch a game.

VMI has a track.

[cavedweller2]

The mini dome in Johnson City was exquisitively horrendous.

[AstroDin]

ETSU’s mini dome did not have a track around it. The site lines were horrendous. Unless you were on the first row, and leaned over the rail, you couldn’t see the sideline on your side. The first row was about 10 feet above the field. Absolutely the worst place to watch a game.

VMI has a track.

It's all about the site lines as you said… and trying to build a multi-purpose facility creates bad site lines. As we all know that is at the heart of Timmons woes.

Back to the schedule and Paladin Stadium - the realistic goal is to aim for 9,000 to 10,000 in attendance for home games. As everyone else had mentioned WIN, then some of the games have to have relevance/interest. If Furman plays Wofford in the first game of the season and if this game isn't marketed during summer this game will be mostly attended at best.

Some of you may remember we did a summer marketing campaign back in 89 after the national championship season. We did a series of newspaper ads, a guy cutting grass in his Furman football helmet, a woman laying out in the sun with a Furman football helmet - it got a lot of attention. Today you'd run facebook ads, etc…

With a great stable of returning talent and I'd expect Furman to be the pre-season favorites for the SoCon - the admin needs to go out on a limb a bit and support the team with an increase in marketing. I'd also do something aggressive and target very specific target markets in the Anderson-Greenville-Spartanburg area - retirees, families with kids that play sports, etc… then roll out the purple carpet for these folks.

It doesn't matter what it is your selling, a widget, an automobile, tickets to see college sports, there's a lot more noise and competition are now at your fingertips. You have to not just work harder but smarter, and more narrow, you can't just shotgun blast to everyone anymore.

[AstroDin]

ETSU’s mini dome did not have a track around it. The site lines were horrendous. Unless you were on the first row, and leaned over the rail, you couldn’t see the sideline on your side. The first row was about 10 feet above the field. Absolutely the worst place to watch a game.

VMI has a track.

It's all about the site lines as you said… and trying to build a multi-purpose facility creates bad site lines. As we all know that is at the heart of Timmons woes.

Back to the schedule and Paladin Stadium - the realistic goal is to aim for 9,000 to 10,000 in attendance for home games. As everyone else had mentioned WIN, then some of the games have to have relevance/interest. If Furman plays Wofford in the first game of the season and if this game isn't marketed during summer this game will be modestly attended at best.

Some of you may remember we did a summer marketing campaign back in 89 after the national championship season. We did a series of newspaper ads, a guy cutting grass in his Furman football helmet, a woman laying out in the sun with a Furman football helmet - it got a lot of attention. Today you'd run facebook ads, etc…

With a great stable of returning talent and I'd expect Furman to be the pre-season favorites for the SoCon - the admin needs to go out on a limb a bit and support the team with an increase in marketing. I'd also do something aggressive and target very specific target markets in the Anderson-Greenville-Spartanburg area - retirees, families with kids that play sports, etc… then roll out the purple carpet for these folks.

It doesn't matter what it is your selling, a widget, an automobile, tickets to see college sports, there's a lot more noise and competition are now at your fingertips. You have to not just work harder but smarter, and more narrow, you can't just shotgun blast to everyone anymore.

[tim]

There isn't a bad sight line in Paladin Stadium.

[rudyscribe]

I believe the stadium attendance record of 19,000+ was set for a "Royal Ambassador day" (Southern Baptist boys group) promotion, although the kids likely either got in free or for a dollar of so. Perhaps some kind of join effort with youth or civic groups, with Furman donating a portion of the revenue from tickets sold (maybe a couple of dollars per ticket after a certain sales goal is reached) by that group back to the group.

[sluggo]

Some of you may remember we did a summer marketing campaign back in 89 after the national championship season. We did a series of newspaper ads, a guy cutting grass in his Furman football helmet, a woman laying out in the sun with a Furman football helmet - it got a lot of attention. Today you'd run facebook ads, etc…

That's like a radical idea these days it seems; but It makes sense to me.

ESPN online games could be an advertisement for people to come out to the game; but it fails because
they don't show enough of the fans enjoying themselves.
It's about people. People attract people.
The broadcast can't just be about the game; it's got to be about how fun it is to be at the game.
Turn the main camera toward the home crowd instead of the empty visitor section.
Show the cheerleaders and band more and with some audio.
The sound of the crowd is more entertaining then some of those commentators so turn their mics down a bit
and let some background noise in.
Sell the atmosphere of the game.

Show people the fun they are missing when they don't go to the game.