I believe cost is a major driver...
in many cases (NFL), but I err on the side of growing convenience at home and the rising expectations of such (including generational changes) with a lack matching convenience growth at DWS as a bigger driver for State.
From my personal experiences:
We bought Club seats in 2001. Kept them for years, and even suggested at one point to the BC that the price needed to increase (from $1,000 to $1,250).
What I didn't suggest was that they cram more people in the same space. Once they added the seats along the windows and pulled the chairs from most tables, my days in the East CL were numbered...the facilities became overcrowded and the convenience of short bathroom waits, a place to sit in the air conditioning/heat, and easy access to watch other games all suffered. When they kicked up the cost to $1,750 and opened up the possibility of reseating, I was done with sitting over there.
Now, we're in the 200s. I have the bathroom access, viewing of other games thanks to my phone, and the price point is much more reasonable. Throw in better protection from the weather than on the east side, and I'm much happier.
Honestly, though, I wouldn't pay much more for the same amenities...I'd probably stay at home (or drop to the 100s) rather than pay more for a new Club. At this point I keep dealing with increasingly annoying little entrance requirements (clear bags for the girls, metal detectors, etc), buying food from vendors that means I have to plan ahead or risk them running out of food (happened at several games over the past couple of seasons), good traffic flow being apparently an unsolvable puzzle...these are all things that start to add up. If a season ticket holder since graduation (at the height of the Sherrill era), and who has already gotten his kids through the worst stages to attend games, is thinking these thoughts, I can see why attendance is suffering.
From my perspective, if they want to save attendance and the associated gameday atmosphere, State needs to assume the per-game profit is going to drop and:
1. Replace the bench seats stadium-wide with chairbacks (and yes, I realize there will be ADA difficulties per the GP staff questioning MSU staff)
2. Rework the west side not with an additional club level, but with an updated version of the 100s\200s, and keep the price point below the endzone Club
3. Revamp the remaining traditional concession stands' food lineup
If you really want to go hog-wild, also look at structural possibilities for large-scale protection from the weather.
