In Reply to: Disparaging Words from Chesney? He Noticed the RoseBowl Crowd posted by MANTIS9 on October 26, 2026 at 17:21:18
1. Is there a database that shows our attendance numbers for the last 40-50 years? One that shows numbers for individual games? Other than a few good years and a few good games here and there...I don't think our attendance has ever been good. Yes, everyone points to the 2014 season...yes attendance was up, but that was 1 year...it didn't last. I had season tix from '78 to '18 and I remember many many games where attendance was less than 50k. Yes, it is way worse now, but it has never really been great.
2. A good portion of our student body is simply not interested in football, or sports in general. Many prefer to study on weekends. This has become much more obvious in the last 20 years as it has become more difficult to be accepted into UCLA...and the student body base has changed as a result. Free tix isn't gonna help.
3. Technology has become a thorn in the side of many teams around the country. Students (and the general population) are their addicted to their phones and pay more interest to them than the game. Some schools around the country (even top programs!) are also feeling the technology pinch and have criticized their student bodies for not showing up or for leaving early. Plus it probably takes 6-7-8 hours for our students to go to the games, vs 3-4 hours for most schools. Big screen TVs at home offer a better experience than spending the better part of the day going to a game for many fans.
4. Many of long term UCLA fan are aging out and not being replaced by new fans. Considering the lack of interest of the student body...I don't see most of them ever becoming season ticket holders. And...while many fans are aging out, prices have skyrocketed, making it even more difficult for many to attend.
5. There is too much competition for the football dollars in Los Angeles. We have 2 major university teams and 2 pro teams (which we did not have for many years...and when we did, it was only 1 pro team). There are a limited number of football fans in SoCal and when you are splitting them between 4 teams, something's gonna give...especially with the economy where it is. SC is not drawing well...yes, better than us, but not close to great and hasn't been for awhile.
6. It seems this year they are ONLY counting the paid tix that come through the gates. They are no longer counting the vendors, security etc like they used to...so that's a few thousand a game no longer being counted.
I could go on and on...but simply put, I don't see it getting much better. There are too many factors involved. I don't think an on campus stadium would help...other than having a smaller capacity. I honestly don't know what the future holds for us.