And you forgot the avg price of a ticket is $165 and trust me.. The hotels arent cheap either
Woody (via iPhone) On Dec 16, 2012, at 7:26 PM, "Jerry D. Belloit" <[email protected]> wrote: > This is not the least surprising. If Florida was playing Ohio State or USC > (West), there would have been more tickets sold. The problem is threefold: > 1. I agree that the economy has something to do with the poor sales, 2. > Louisville is just not an interesting opponent. I am not sure if the Sugar > Bowl had any other choices other than some regional school in Illinois, but > there ought to have been someone more exciting than Louisville. 3. I am not > sure that people are that interested in going to New Orleans anymore, > especially the more senior of us. I enjoyed New Orleans when I was younger. > New Orleans is not that family friendly. I would not want to take younger > children there. As a senior citizen, I am a little afraid of being out at > night in New Orleans. The crime is just too high. I can think of several > Bowl cities that I would prefer over New Orleans. > > From: Shane Ford <[email protected]> > Reply-To: "[email protected]" > <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, December 15, 2012 12:53 PM > To: GatorNews <[email protected]> > Subject: [gatornews] [Gainesville SUN ]: Bitter ticket sales for Sugar Bowl > for UF > > Bitter ticket sales for Sugar Bowl for UF > > Gator fans and Cincinnati fans hang out outside of the Louisiana Superdome > before the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2010. > > Doug Finger/The Gainesville Sun > By Robbie Andreu > Gainesville SUN Staff writer > Published: Friday, December 14, 2012 at 5:11 p.m. > Last Modified: Friday, December 14, 2012 at 5:11 p.m. > A berth in the Sugar Bowl is Florida's reward for a successful football > season. But with it comes a likely significant financial hit for the UF > athletic department. > > As part of the current bowl system, participating schools are required to > purchase a designated number of tickets from the bowl and then sell them. > Schools are accountable for any unsold tickets. > > Playing in a BCS bowl, Florida was required to purchase 17,500 tickets from > the Sugar Bowl. With the Jan. 2 game against Big East co-champion Louisville > less than three weeks away, UF has sold only 6,500 tickets. > > That leaves UF holding 11,000 unsold tickets at an average price of $165 a > ticket. That adds up to a little more than $1.8 million in unsold tickets, > which would be a significant financial hit for the University Athletic > Association. > > UF is expected to sell more tickets between now and the game. The school also > will get assistance from the SEC, which has a rule where it will purchase up > to 3,000 unsold tickets from member institutions that are unable to sell all > of their bowl tickets. > > UF's ticket sales also lagged in a poor economy before the Sugar Bowl game > against Cincinnati, another Big East school, three years ago. Less than three > weeks before that game, the Gators were holding about 5,000 unsold tickets. > > Even with some help from the SEC, the UAA sustained a significant financial > loss three years ago. > > That hit, coupled with probably an even bigger one this year, could add up to > more than $2 million in combined losses for UF from unsold tickets in its > last two Sugar Bowl appearances. > > Florida isn't the only state school facing a significant financial setback > this bowl season playing in a non-championship game during a struggling > economy. Florida State, which plays Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl > (also a BCS bowl), has sold less than 5,000 of its 17,500 tickets even though > it has slashed the cost of bowl tickets. Northern Illinois has sold about > 5,500 of its tickets. > > Along with the economy, another factor working against schools like UF and > FSU is the reality that fans can find and purchase less expensive tickets on > the Internet without having to go through the university. > > Among the nine SEC schools in bowl games, six (UF, LSU, Mississippi State, > Georgia, South Carolina and Texas A&M) remain far short of selling out their > bowl tickets. Only Alabama, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss have sold out. > > Alabama is in the BCS Championship Game, Vanderbilt is playing in its home > city (Nashville) and Ole Miss has a short trip to Birmingham for the Compass > Bowl, where tickets are only $50. > > Mike Hill, UF's executive associate athletic director for external affairs, > expressed appreciation for the Florida fans who have purchased tickets for > the Sugar Bowl and are headed to New Orleans. > > “We certainly understand the financial commitment it takes to travel to and > attend a game like the Sugar Bowl, and we are very appreciative of the > support of our fans who are making their way to New Orleans,” Hill said. “We > are looking forward to celebrating a special football season with them in the > Big Easy as we bring in the New Year and close the curtain on a very > memorable 2012 season. > > Contact Robbie Andreu at 352-374-5022 [email protected]. Also check out > Andreu's blog at Gatorsports.com. > > > > > > > > > Sent From Shane's iPhone > Go Gators! & Skol Vikes! > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
