Is it just me, but are ticket sales lagging?

[nittanymoops]

There are thousands of unsold inventory (not resales) available for Wisky? Hard to believe homecoming isn’t a sellout. Easier to believe when I see PSU is selling nosebleeds for north of $100. Also saw that Wisky returned most of their allotment. Enthusiasm must be down, or perhaps it’s the economy. Either way, we might see swaths of empty seats on Saturday.

The USC game also has unsold seats available, in addition to resales. The dynamic pricing is pretty shocking in its steepness. The university is asking $525 for midfield, 400 level west upper deck seats, and apparently some people are buying them. USC apparently returned some, and those north upper deck nosebleeds are being sold for $350+. There are plenty available a few weeks out for a whiteout, which seems a bit shocking until you see the pricing structure. I am still a bit stunned about them selling west upper deck bleacher seats for $500+. (Again, not resales.)

 

[Marshall2323]

Have not attended. But I've seen pics of upper deck areas that appear empty. The thing with photos is gauging at what point they were snapped.

 

[JWB389]

There are thousands of unsold inventory (not resales) available for Wisky? Hard to believe homecoming isn’t a sellout. Easier to believe when I see PSU is selling nosebleeds for north of $100. Also saw that Wisky returned most of their allotment. Enthusiasm must be down, or perhaps it’s the economy. Either way, we might see swaths of empty seats on Saturday.

The USC game also has unsold seats available, in addition to resales. The dynamic pricing is pretty shocking in its steepness. The university is asking $525 for midfield, 400 level west upper deck seats, and apparently some people are buying them. USC apparently returned some, and those north upper deck nosebleeds are being sold for $350+. There are plenty available a few weeks out for a whiteout, which seems a bit shocking until you see the pricing structure. I am still a bit stunned about them selling west upper deck bleacher seats for $500+. (Again, not resales.)

Yea, it’s an unpopular observation, but I think we’ll see a massive drop in actual attendance, but we’ll never know it.

I get it, sad competition. The new upper west side is empty on the north and south ends. The north and south upper decks rarely fill as it is. I think a lot of people left the west side and aren’t coming back. Hope I am wrong.

They keep announcing 100k+ crowds, which is paid attendance + concessions and people on the sidelines, etc. There is no way those seats on the upper west side are now shows.

 

[Tgar]

They overbuilt the stadium when they had a chance to resize. The stadium will be sold out for the White Out and maybe one other game per season but Beaver Stadium is just way to large at this point and fewer and fewer people buy season tickets.

 

[J.E.B]

They don’t care about seats fillers as much as they do tickets sold. If there are lot of secondary sales going on, PSU still got its money.

 

[mcpat]

I’ve been wondering the same. Some thoughts on this:

• CJF supporters that won’t attend
• 400 level won’t fill like upper west side filled given how high up it is
• Uncertainty. Seems like there are more seats coming available than were planned to be ready for use this season already
• There are reports that our capacity is higher, so thousand of available seats might still exceed what has been full capacity
• West side folks upset at being displaced

 

[Georgia Peach]

This issue is subject to Occam's Razor. Attendance numbers are inversely proportional to the cost of attendance. The stadium improvements will be very nice. The cost of enjoying them not so much.

When the outlay of money for attending a game in State College exceeds the monthly mortgage, choices will be made. Parking, hotels, gas, food and swag at the local stores are prohibitively expensive for most folks.

I don't think it has much to do with CJF, JoePa, the height of the west stands, or the apathy of today's youth in the student section. The price of admission (for all things football) is steep.

 

[BobPSU92]

Gee, one might conclude that “college” football () is unsustainable.

 

[94LionsFan]

There is no way those seats on the upper west side are now shows.

The south end of the west side is student seating, including all the way up in the new upper level, unless I’m mistaken.

 

[KingLando]

There's a reason the Bills built a smaller stadium...younger generations don't care about watching sports live...older generations are getting to an age where many don't want to deal with other fans. Add to that...for most Penn State is a long drive with the cost of a hotel.

Homecoming or not...there's very few games worth going to with how good the other viewing options are.

 

[PSUFTG]

They keep announcing 100k+ crowds, which is paid attendance + concessions and people on the sidelines, etc. There is no way those seats on the upper west side are now shows.

Several years ago, PSU (and many other programs - probably MOST programs) switched from "In the house" numbers for reported attendance, to "In the house + any other tickets sold + any other tickets comped"

I think most people felt that wasn't necessarily "unrighteous".

But that is NOT what PSU does now.
Now? They just make **** up. Seriously.

What did they announce for Buffalo? Over 100,000?
They were nowhere near 100,000. Not "in the house", not "in-the-house plus no shows", not "in the house plus no shows, plus comped, plus people there in spirit"
They just make up numbers and put them out there.
It is what it is. All you can do is look around - know what you know - and laugh at them.

I don't know if there is any reason to care about "announced attendance" (Who cares what they announce? Really? I don't) - aside from just knowing these folks haven't issued a completely honest and righteous statement about anything in years.
And, again, it is at least worth a few laughs to hear from folks who think those announcements were actually true

I do care when the University administration/leaders lie about all the other things they lie about - including the important stuff. That does trouble me - sometimes greatly.

 

[PSUFTG]

I’ve been wondering the same. Some thoughts on this:

• 
  
• There are reports that our capacity is higher, so thousand of available seats might still exceed what has been full capacity

The capacity isn't higher, FWIW. It may be a touch higher next year - but only if they cram in a bunch more "bleachers in the corner" (more than they have now).
FWIW: Despite that I will almost wager the mortgage money that they will ANNOUNCE an attendance at the White Out game of some amount over and above the previous record attendance - because they just make up those numbers anyway, so why not? And then Pat Kraft can do a monkey dance and waive a flag or two.

 

[PSUFTG]

There are thousands of unsold inventory (not resales) available for Wisky? Hard to believe homecoming isn’t a sellout. Easier to believe when I see PSU is selling nosebleeds for north of $100. Also saw that Wisky returned most of their allotment. Enthusiasm must be down, or perhaps it’s the economy. Either way, we might see swaths of empty seats on Saturday.

The USC game also has unsold seats available, in addition to resales. The dynamic pricing is pretty shocking in its steepness. The university is asking $525 for midfield, 400 level west upper deck seats, and apparently some people are buying them. USC apparently returned some, and those north upper deck nosebleeds are being sold for $350+. There are plenty available a few weeks out for a whiteout, which seems a bit shocking until you see the pricing structure. I am still a bit stunned about them selling west upper deck bleacher seats for $500+. (Again, not resales.)

The pricing issue (and its impact on "filling the stadium") is something that at least a few of us (on the Board at the time) saw coming when Penn State gave control to third parties - though I may be the only one who actually tried to do something about it.

In any event, it is what it is.

And it is VERY real. And it is NOT good for fans or for attendance.
And it was avoidable.

 

[mcpat]

They may make mistakes until they figure it out.

 

[PSUFTG]

They may make mistakes until they figure it out.

"Figuring it out" requires two things:

1) Being willing and able to recognize when you ****** up
2) Having enough intelligence/common sense to be able to fix it (or at least improve it)

Neither of those is abundantly present in the current circumstance.

 

[BobPSU92]

We really suck, hard.

 

[Tgar]

Looking up at how high up people sit in the new upper deck, it’s hard to imagine many folks renewing their tickets enthusiastically. Some of those seats are a long way from the field. One would imagine selling the new club seats season over season will be a challenge let alone the nose bleeds ( even though the nose bleeds cost a 1/10th of the Club seats.)

 

[PSUForever]

This makes me think we screwed up with a $700 million stadium renovation project. Could we have done a much smaller and cheaper project at half the cost? We apparently didn't need to expand capacity, we already were over 100,000.

The other thing could be that the stadium renovation could have all been to increase the amount of suites they could sell and they didn't care at all about the average Joe buying tickets in the upper West sections.

 

[NittanyLionRoar]

A few weeks ago, I posted about how the K-shaped economy is gutting college football (and nearly everything) in our country. Fewer and fewer people can afford game days each year.

As with most things in this economy, only a small number of people have nearly all the wealth, so most stadiums have been re-engineered to cater to them (smaller and fancier) while regular folks get locked out of taking part.

The K-Shaped Economy Is Turning College Football Into a Snake That’s Eating Itself​

 

[94LionsFan]

Looking up at how high up people sit in the new upper deck, it’s hard to imagine many folks renewing their tickets enthusiastically. Some of those seats are a long way from the field. One would imagine selling the new club seats season over season will be a challenge let alone the nose bleeds ( even though the nose bleeds cost a 1/10th of the Club seats.

I’ve sat in the very top row (under the suites) on the east side for years and I went to the very top on the west side in the 2nd half of the Marshall game. Yes, it’s a good bit higher, but it’s also not as far from the field horizontally speaking. All in all, I thought the two views were comparable. It may even be possible that the distance from your eyeballs to the field is shorter in the top row of the west side than it is the top row of the east.

 

[AvalonJohn]

A few weeks ago, I posted about how the K-shaped economy is gutting college football (and nearly everything) in our country. Fewer and fewer people can afford game days each year.

As with most things in this economy, only a small number of people have nearly all the wealth, so most stadiums have been re-engineered to cater to them (smaller and fancier) while regular folks get locked out of taking part.

The K-Shaped Economy Is Turning College Football Into a Snake That’s Eating Itself​

Actually, I think people are getting sick of paying more and more for everything, even if they have the money. I believe they are starting to pull back on things. Choosing to be more selective about what they spend it on. At least that's me....

 

[Rocco3]

Actually, I think people are getting sick of paying more and more for everything, even if they have the money. I believe they are starting to pull back on things. Choosing to be more selective about what they spend it on. At least that's me....

I agree. The world economy is sick the question is what to do about it. It's time as painful as it may be to just wipe the slate clean and start over.

They should have murdered the Federal Reserve a long time ago. In fact, it should have never existed. The Federal Reserve, a rouge institution that is neither a reserve or federal.

 

[Chumboshifko1]

How can you count ticket sales at 108K and state that ticket sales are down?

 

[JoeBagobagels]

I've seen various YouTube documentaries about things such as this not particularly Penn State. The bills are going to be losing seats however they'll be making more money

And one of these documentaries, they mentioned that the Boston Celtics make more money from those courtside seats then the rest of the tickets sold combined.

It's all about the cash, that Rah Rah College BS is gone. My cousin has tickets yet on a 40 yard line about 20 rows up. With the stadium renovations are done you have to pay at one time $10,000 donation to keep them along with $700 per ticket per game.
Try getting somewhere to go see that game with you. Especially when some of us paid $40 for a season ticket 41 years ago or so.
When I was taking my young children to the games for the three of us, I could spend $2000 I believe on my ticket donation, some gas and food and get that done say 2005 or so. I don't even go anymore.

 

[Marshall2323]

I've seen various YouTube documentaries about things such as this not particularly Penn State. The bills are going to be losing seats however they'll be making more money

And one of these documentaries, they mentioned that the Boston Celtics make more money from those courtside seats then the rest of the tickets sold combined.

It's all about the cash, that Rah Rah College BS is gone. My cousin has tickets yet on a 40 yard line about 20 rows up. With the stadium renovations are done you have to pay at one time $10,000 donation to keep them along with $700 per ticket per game.
Try getting somewhere to go see that game with you. Especially when some of us paid $40 for a season ticket 41 years ago or so.
When I was taking my young children to the games for the three of us, I could spend $2000 I believe on my ticket donation, some gas and food and get that done say 2005 or so. I don't even go anymore.

The Cotton Bowl was likely the final in person game I will attend, as age is making crowds etc. associated with in person games challenging. But within the last decade, I took my family (4) to the Cotton, Fiesta and Rose Bowls (as well as minor bowls) and didn't spend 4k (each time) for everything (tickets, plane, meals, lodging). It's insane to think you'd spend as much or more to see PSU vs Buffalo.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

I wouldn’t spend 5 bucks to watch State v W. The value proposition is awful.

 

[JoeBagobagels]

The Cotton Bowl was likely the final in person game I will attend, as age is making crowds etc. associated with in person games challenging. But within the last decade, I took my family (4) to the Cotton, Fiesta and Rose Bowls (as well as minor bowls) and didn't spend 4k (each time) for everything (tickets, plane, meals, lodging). It's insane to think you'd spend as much or more to see PSU vs Buffalo.

Yep, we got priced out. I took my daughter and her boyfriend to the game against SMU at Beaver Stadium for Christmas present. I think those tickets cost me in the one $150-$175 range and we had good seats.

 

[JoeBagobagels]

The Cotton Bowl was likely the final in person game I will attend, as age is making crowds etc. associated with in person games challenging. But within the last decade, I took my family (4) to the Cotton, Fiesta and Rose Bowls (as well as minor bowls) and didn't spend 4k (each time) for everything (tickets, plane, meals, lodging). It's insane to think you'd spend as much or more to see PSU vs Buffalo.

My cousin is often asking me if I want to go to a game and I usually decline. It's amazing how I could easily afford season tickets from a 1991 to about 2011 when I decided to drop them I had a whole bunch of things going on and it was getting to be a hassle.

It was all very affordable though a $600 donation and then I would buy four tickets, I believe my cousin usually took two of them. The price per game it might've been in a 40 or so dollar range yeah I know we're all guys talking here and things go up all time, but they have exceeded any inflationary pressures by a huge margin.

They can do this because of TV money essentially none of these universities gives a crap about the fan no matter how they preach go State.

I don't like to take individual blame for a wide spread problem, but we essentially sold our souls for TV access. I know you are old enough to remember when you only got to see 3 to 4 Penn State games on TV and then you had to listen to the radio.

And don't let me get into the other ancillary media outlets.

 

[JoeBagobagels]

I agree. The world economy is sick the question is what to do about it. It's time as painful as it may be to just wipe the slate clean and start over.

They should have murdered the Federal Reserve a long time ago. In fact, it should have never existed. The Federal Reserve, a rouge institution that is neither a reserve or federal.

Well, that's not gonna happen, but aside from that people are also the blame. If you look at the most highly rated TV show shows or episode since 2019 the major majority of them are NFL games.
Think of TV shows you might have watched as a kid on a regular basis? They realize that NFL broadcast take up the most spots in the top 100 highly rated episode episodes in the last seven years.
People won't stop watching and they make the majority of their money from TV not in house attendance.

 

[jp3272]

More big opponents, right @laKavosiey-st lion ?
More big wins.
More ticket sales.

 

[BobPSU92]

A few weeks ago, I posted about how the K-shaped economy is gutting college football (and nearly everything) in our country. Fewer and fewer people can afford game days each year.

As with most things in this economy, only a small number of people have nearly all the wealth, so most stadiums have been re-engineered to cater to them (smaller and fancier) while regular folks get locked out of taking part.

The K-Shaped Economy Is Turning College Football Into a Snake That’s Eating Itself​

Think how much better the stadium smells on game day now by eliminating the little people in attendance.

 

[G3624]

Share the event! https://www.ticketmaster.com/penn-s...ennsylvania-09-26-2026/event/020064A97BB158ED
Just got this.

Just got this

 

[LMTLION]

I actually like being high up at football games, and not just because I’m cheap. I like to see the entire play unfold.
In terms of the stadium itself, if we win, the seats will be filled. We just laid an egg of biblical proportions in 2025. Campbell is a great coach, but people don’t know him yet or even the players. With some wins and more familiarity all will be well. Having said that, I would’ve also chosen to slightly reduce capacity with the renovation and add more seatbacks for the common folk like me. I also would have completely enclosed both end zones with the design.

 

[PSUFTG]

How can you count ticket sales at 108K and state that ticket sales are down?

Because that number is pure fiction?

Was that supposed to be a trick question?

 

[Marshall2323]

More big opponents, right @laKavosiey-st lion ?
More big wins.
More ticket sales.

More big opponents, right @laKavosiey-st lion ?
More big wins.
More ticket sales.

go Cylions beat Wisky

 

[Binder74]

I actually like being high up at football games, and not just because I’m cheap. I like to see the entire play unfold.
In terms of the stadium itself, if we win, the seats will be filled. We just laid an egg of biblical proportions in 2025. Campbell is a great coach, but people don’t know him yet or even the players. With some wins and more familiarity all will be well. Having said that, I would’ve also chosen to slightly reduce capacity with the renovation and add more seatbacks for the common folk like me. I also would have completely enclosed both end zones with the design.

You can also stargaze between plays.

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

There's a reason the Bills built a smaller stadium...younger generations don't care about watching sports live...older generations are getting to an age where many don't want to deal with other fans. Add to that...for most Penn State is a long drive with the cost of a hotel.

Homecoming or not...there's very few games worth going to with how good the other viewing options are.

Much of this has to do with the advancement of electronics and 100% of games being televised. Watching a game on TV in the old days was awful (and most games weren't televised) - not so much today..... game telecasts and modern TVs are much better and produce great picture quality.

 

[IoffendwithTruth1]

I have not gone to a game in over 8 years and I do not plan on going back. I prefer to stay at home and watch the game from a comfy outdoor chair or sofa. I built an addition off of my existing garage that has large french doors that open to a patio with a fire pit so I can watch the game by the fire. Inside of the addition is my cigar/pipe lounge. Addition is 16x10 with a 70" TV and leather chairs. I plan on building a humidor for my cigars. I installed a 9k mini split and also installed an ERV to bring in fresh air. Exterior walls are stained planks I made from pallets. The TV is on a ship lap white washed accent wall. I am only 38 years old and I have officially turned into a hermit during the Fall and Winter months because of PSU football and Wrestling. Also, when I say I built the addition, that means I built it. Being in the construction field/trades my entire career, I have learned many skills and I can officially fix anything in and around the house.

 

[RolexKong]

This makes me think we screwed up with a $700 million stadium renovation project. Could we have done a much smaller and cheaper project at half the cost? We apparently didn't need to expand capacity, we already were over 100,000.

The other thing could be that the stadium renovation could have all been to increase the amount of suites they could sell and they didn't care at all about the average Joe buying tickets in the upper West sections.

Alternatives require analysis and since the powers that be were challenged to evaluate one.....you get the picture.

 

[Chumboshifko1]

Because that number is pure fiction?

Was that supposed to be a trick question?

They would lie why?