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

[NittanyLionRoar]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

 

[Anon1648262989]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

The college football you and I grew-up with is dead, it's dead to the point it stinks and it's never going to be resurrected. Hold on to your memories.

 

[PSU Mike]

It’s become just a TV show to many, but …

The in-person spectator group also includes a number of people who have radically different values than I - people making far less that fork over $10k+/year for tickets and often lodging to go to just the home games.

To the “modern thinkers” I’m just stupid. You have to spend spend spend. Well, I hate to break it to you but the games haven’t gotten more exciting. Like everywhere else we’ve just gotten used to overhyping **** and convincing ourselves it’s real.

 

[razpsu]

Sorry, but… hope you feel better soon.

 

[BCS PSU]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

If you watched FSU this past Saturday, not only has their stadium shrunk, but so has the talent on the football team.

 

[PSUFTG]

It’s become just a TV show to many, but …

The in-person spectator group also includes a number of people who have radically different values than I - people making far less that fork over $10k+/year for tickets and often lodging to go to just the home games.

To the “modern thinkers” I’m just stupid. You have to spend spend spend. Well, I hate to break it to you but the games haven’t gotten more exciting. Like everywhere else we’ve just gotten used to overhyping **** and convincing ourselves it’s real.

More and more. people watch/participate for reasons that are no different than the reasons people watch 'Real" housewives, pop culture award shows, or The Kardashians (are they still on TV?) Can you "live bet" on who is going to win a Grammy? (Never thought of that before, but I "bet" you can - on one of the prediction platforms)

And, of course, that is perfectly logical - they are largely the same people. Right? In the same society.



Remember when this was comedy/parody?

 

[RolexKong]

The folks in the premium seating areas will be the first heading to the exits when the team has a bad game, they won't bother showing up if the team has a mediocre season, and simply won't renew their subscriptions if the program has a skein of anything less than exemplary seasons.

 

[Mr. Potter]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

I appreciate the post. Good story.

Shalom

 

[PSUFTG]

The folks in the premium seating areas will be the first heading to the exits when the team has a bad game, they won't bother showing up if the team has a mediocre season, and simply won't renew their subscriptions if the program has a skein of anything less than exemplary seasons.

I certainly don't expect anything rivalling the 2000-2004 seasons - not any time soon anyway.
But the thing that kept things from totally imploding during that era was the "loyalty program" and loyalty psyche of the fans at that time. The system in which long-term ticket holders/NLC points/etc ruled the day.

Since then:
Around 2010: The move from NLC point accumulation program to the STEP program (Just write me out a check THIS year, and its all good) changed the game quite a bit.
"Loyalty" and the desire - and need - to maintain tickets from year-to-year was largely killed by STEP. Just that change - if it were in place in 2000-2004, would have completely imploded ticket sales. There were a lot more "no shows" during that era, but not a lot more unsold tickets.
FWIW: Nebraska was one of the few programs who had - and maintained - a program similar to Penn State's pre-STEP days. I think most folks know they have sold out every game since dirt was new - despite LONG periods of mediocre football. That loyalty program will have that effect (I am not 100% certain, but I think even Nebraska may be making some adjustments from their "loyalty" based program - but I'd have to check for sure)


This new reseating/premium/jack-up-all-the-prices deal associated in large part to the Beaver renovation? That is a whole new level.
A lot of the premium stuff will have longer term contracts - so that provides a bit of insulation from short term blips. But any significant downturns, for any significant length of time, on the field? Look out Loretta.


[FWIW for those who may not even remember:
The STEP rollout definitely reduced season ticket sales - and hitting just before the whole 2011 fiasco, things were pretty dicey for a while. Fortunately, the team on the field managed to keep winning its share of games (the O'Brien years) - and when Franklin came in they quickly went from "a bit better than 500", even with the sanctions, to challenging for the top of the Big Ten again in a very short period of time. A couple of "Dark Years" type seasons? Woulda' been ugly. With all the changes now? I would expect even a few "winning seasons but not competitive at the top" could have a huge impact. And that is not good when you (PSU ICA) are operating on the presumption that every ticket will sell out every year at higher and higher prices (significantly higher) ad infinitum - - - - just to break even.

For those whose memories don't go back that far:
STEP changes PSU into college football money maker | Archived News | Daily Collegian | psucollegian.com
]

 

[Wilbury]

The folks in the premium seating areas will be the first heading to the exits when the team has a bad game, they won't bother showing up if the team has a mediocre season, and simply won't renew their subscriptions if the program has a skein of anything less than exemplary seasons.

So what's your plan? Every seat's $20? People would still leave or not show up. Many wouldn't show up because you'd be back to peeing in a trough, sitting on rusty steel and eating hotdogs crammed in a foil bag.

 

[NittanyLionRoar]

So what's your plan? Every seat's $20? People would still leave or not show up. Many wouldn't show up because you'd be back to peeing in a trough, sitting on rusty steel and eating hotdogs crammed in a foil bag.

Beaver Stadium definitely needed some updates and I’m happy we got them. In fact, as I mentioned in my post, I’m glad PSU took care making sure capacity wouldn’t be affected. But I think we all know there’s some massive price hikes coming for anyone that wants to attend PSU games over the coming years.

 

[BobPSU92]

At least we aren’t ucla.

With $6.5 million left on deal, UCLA fires AD Martin Jarmond

UCLA fired athletic director Martin Jarmond on Monday, with chancellor Julio Frenk explaining in a letter to the UCLA community that the Bruins' athletic program "currently carries a significant financial deficit, and its current path is not sustainable."

www.espn.com

Sandy to Westwood.

 

[PSUFTG]

At least we aren’t ucla.

With $6.5 million left on deal, UCLA fires AD Martin Jarmond

UCLA fired athletic director Martin Jarmond on Monday, with chancellor Julio Frenk explaining in a letter to the UCLA community that the Bruins' athletic program "currently carries a significant financial deficit, and its current path is not sustainable."

www.espn.com

Sandy to Westwood.

UCLA ICA has been a **** show under Jarmond. Why they were invited into the Big Ten - who already had plenty of welfare cases in the conference - is an unanswered question.

FWIW (not much, apparently ):
UCLA was the other program that entered into a deal with ELEVATE.

 

[Warlerski]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

I have been watching the world since the 1950's. Everything eventually goes to the money. Everything else becomes increasingly viewed as irrelevant by those that run it. CFB is just the latest victim. I know a guy who has $200/game seats for the Browns home games. When they move to their new stadium that same relative seat will be $800+. This is for the Browns. You might actually see 1-2 wins in a given year. 3 in a good year.

 

[RolexKong]

So what's your plan? Every seat's $20? People would still leave or not show up. Many wouldn't show up because you'd be back to peeing in a trough, sitting on rusty steel and eating hotdogs crammed in a foil bag.

My plan is to buy Penn State bonds at 20 cents on the dollar.

 

[Catch1lion]

I have been watching the world since the 1950's. Everything eventually goes to the money. Everything else becomes increasingly viewed as irrelevant by those that run it. CFB is just the latest victim. I know a guy who has $200/game seats for the Browns home games. When they move to their new stadium that same relative seat will be $800+. This is for the Browns. You might actually see 1-2 wins in a given year. 3 in a good year.

They're paying him to go. Right?

 

[bdgan]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

I agree with what you're trying to say but I don't think it's what you call the K shaped economy. That's a recent phenomenon and this stuff has been going on for decades.

I remember going to a dozen Baltimore Orioles every year when I was young. I remember seeing 2 games for the price of one when they had real double headers. Those things ended many decades ago. Now it's more about TV money than individual attendance. And preference has been given to people willing to pay big prices for premium seats and luxury boxes.

The Buffalo Bills just spent $2.2 billion to build a new stadium that seats more than 10,000 fewer fans. They can focus on people willing to spend a lot of money and still come out ahead.

Back to PSU did you see the new fan experiences? I don't remember the exact numbers but it's something like $2500 to see the press box and post game interview and $5000 to walk through the locker room. Just in case you thought $90 was too much to park.

 

[NoBareFeet]

So what's your plan? Every seat's $20? People would still leave or not show up. Many wouldn't show up because you'd be back to peeing in a trough, sitting on rusty steel and eating hotdogs crammed in a foil bag.

$20 seats with piss troughs, foil bag hot dogs, and steel bench seats? I'm in.

 

[DaytonRickster]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

What a great memory you shared. Yes, those days are gone and I'm content attending one away game a year and watching the rest on TV (when available); if PSU is not on TV, I will watch other games and listen to PSU radio broadcast. Not going to pay for streaming or pay-per-view.

 

[KingLando]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

I don't believe attending games is necessary in becoming a fan--I'd wager countless fans (especially ND fans) have never been to a game or even been to South Bend. How many kids in PA live close enough to ride their bike to attend a Penn State game? This all comes across as well intentioned but angsty and the billionaire comments screams agenda.

Also, let's be real--legally a kid couldn't ride his bike to a game and attend without a parent in 2026--the parents would be arrested.

Finally, stadiums are getting smaller because younger generations have little to no interest in watching games in person because of the product that exists to watch in other settings. It's not the golden era where you couldn't watch 60 games every weekend if you want/had the time. Stadiums are way too large--Northwestern is handling it correctly.

 

[KingLando]

The folks in the premium seating areas will be the first heading to the exits when the team has a bad game, they won't bother showing up if the team has a mediocre season, and simply won't renew their subscriptions if the program has a skein of anything less than exemplary seasons.

Isn't this true of most fans? I'm not going to watch a 5-6 Penn State team in November--if I had tickets I'd give them away for free if anyone was foolish enough to want them

 

[fairgambit]

I was remembering when I was a boy and would ride my bike to Beaver Stadium on a fall Saturday to catch a game, with nothing on me—no money, no ticket, and no food. I’d grab a sack from the CDT, who hired paperboys to hawk their PSU pregame newspapers, and sell them to tailgaters. They bought my papers and kept me fed—and sometimes offered beer as a joke (sort of ). As game time approached, I’d take my profits, find an old man whose wife couldn’t make it and buy a ticket to the game. Sometimes he’d give it to me for free. I never missed a game.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the trend of college football stadiums getting smaller while getting more expensive, and I think it’s a pretty good reflection of what’s happening in the broader economy.

Florida State took Doak Campbell from nearly 80,000 seats to around 67,000, replacing seats with clubs and premium areas. Northwestern went from a 47,000-seat stadium to a 35,000-seat, $870 million stadium built around the premium experience. PSU is spending hundreds of millions renovating Beaver Stadium, with a huge emphasis on clubs, suites and luxury seating—though at least for us, I’m glad they found a way to preserve capacity.

The people running these programs will tell us it’s just economics. Which is true. It’s just a particularly depressing kind of economics.

Why sell 10,000 $75 tickets when you can replace some of them with seats that generate several times that amount? Why try to make college football affordable for ordinary families when you can squeeze more money out of the people who have plenty of it?

This is the K-shaped economy in college football. People at the top keep getting richer, and instead of fixing the imbalance, most billionaires and institutions are embracing it.

The irony is that the wealthy customers they’re chasing aren’t actually what made college football special. The massive crowds did. The 100,000 people packed into a stadium. The students, families, alumni and regular fans all sitting together. The amateur student athlete. The feeling that this was something you could actually be part of.

A luxury suite doesn’t create that atmosphere. The crowds of people in the seats do.

I’m sure all of this is obvious, but I think we’ve crossed a very stark line in the past year or two. As with many things in this country, the middle and lower class no longer matter.

There’s not enough wealth among the bottom 90% for billionaires and institutions to even create a product meant for this group, let alone market and cater to it. This country has given up on the bottom 90% and it shows in places like college football.

And I think that’s the part that pisses me off.

Rather than asking how we preserve the thing that made college football great, we’re asking how much more money can be made from the wealthiest fans. Forget everyone else, they’re not worth it.

It’s a race at the top that ultimately hollows out the bottom. But the bottom is massive.

And that’s why I think college football is eating itself.

You can make more money in the short term by turning stadiums into luxury experiences. But if you keep pushing ordinary fans out, eventually you lose the next generation of fans, the traditions, the atmosphere and the sense that this belongs to everyone.

The people making these decisions will probably be fine. They can afford the suites.

I’m more worried about the kid who wants to ride his bike the game and get in for cheap after a few hours of work because his family can’t justify spending $500+ just to get through the gate.

That’s the kid who becomes a lifelong fan—or doesn’t. And we’re betting the future of the sport that he’ll somehow care anyway.

Excellent post.

 

[Warlerski]

They're paying him to go. Right?

They should be, but I don't believe so. The Browns are generally unwatchable.

 

[Nittering Nabob]

The folks in the premium seating areas will be the first heading to the exits when the team has a bad game, they won't bother showing up if the team has a mediocre season, and simply won't renew their subscriptions if the program has a skein of anything less than exemplary seasons.

This is true. Whenever you meet people attending a PSU game in the private boxes, a majority never attended Penn State. They are simply there because their corporate employer leases the box and invited them to attend. They have no academic connection with Penn State...they just come for the free food and booze.

 

[KingLando]

This is true. Whenever you meet people attending a PSU game in the private boxes, a majority never attended Penn State. They are simply there because their corporate employer leases the box and invited them to attend. They have no academic connection with Penn State...they just come for the free food and booze.

Most of our players have no academic connection with Penn State--what's the issue?

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

Guys, the kids are getting paychecks. The yarn was lovely but the romance is dead.