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Is capacity of the Sun Bowl too large for UTEP?

MinerInWisconsin

MI Miner Maniac
Nov 28, 2001
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I believe JC has brought up the idea previously so would UTEP football tickets be in greater demand and sell at higher prices if capacity for UTEP games was decreased?

It would be easy to cover the endzone seats which would take away about 10k seats I believe. Current capacity now is about 47.5k so covering the endzone would give us a 37.5k stadium.
 
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Capacity is right under 46k.

End zone seats are the best selling only cuz they're the lowest priced ones. Any section that UTEP sets as the "cheap" seats would sell.

It would be nice to renovate the east side with pavilions or luxury suites similar to the ones on the west side. That would probably knock of 10 - 12k.

Since that's not happening either tarp of those seats or set them at some ridiculously low price point.
 
Bob Stull said ideally the dream scenerio would be to add more end zone seats to the south end zone and reduce the East Side and add luxury boxes to the East Side. He said this would produce the most revenue.
 
Would you or anyone else you know pay more to watch the product UTEP puts on the field? I know they had a good season last year but when they’re going 2-10 you can’t give those things away.
You’re right. Very few people are going to suddenly buy season tickets to see them play Sam Houston and Liberty. It’s just another way for Senter and any future ADs to try and get more money from fans, while supplying them with games from the worst FBS conference.
 
A little below 32,000 fans bought tickets to see an 8-0 Top 25 UTSA team play a 6-2 Miners. Yes, it was a little late than normal and it was on ESPN2. There’s not going to be many games that will be more “important” than that game. Less than 32,000. There is no reason for UTEP to have a 46,000 seat stadium.
 
A little below 32,000 fans bought tickets to see an 8-0 Top 25 UTSA team play a 6-2 Miners. Yes, it was a little late than normal and it was on ESPN2. There’s not going to be many games that will be more “important” than that game. Less than 32,000. There is no reason for UTEP to have a 46,000 seat stadium.
People think all we have to do is win and we will magically sell out. Those days are long gone. I don't think UTEP will ever see a sold out crowd again at the current capacity.
 
People think all we have to do is win and we will magically sell out. Those days are long gone. I don't think UTEP will ever see a sold out crowd again at the current capacity.

If UTEP wins a bowl game and starts the next season 4-0, then I think the Sun Bowl can get a sell out.

Let's say UTEP starts 9-1. The home finale would have a good chance of a sell out.

But those are both pipe dreams right now.
 
We all know El Paso. If Utep wins, it becomes the cool place to be.

Not just El Paso. It's any team in any city.

Didn't the Chihuahuas get close to 10k fans yesterday? It amazes me every year they get fans to go the games. Every time I'm in town I always have a great time at the games.
 
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One good example of down sizing a stadium is San Diego St. When they were in their old stadium it was too big for them. Once that stadium bit the dust they decided their new one would seat 35k. I'm sure it will have all the latest bells and whistles but a school in a better conference, bigger school, bigger city with more money wants a 35k stadium. When they are good, which is most of the time, there will be more demand for fewer seats which should drive up the price a bit. I would love nothing more than for UTEP to sellout the Sun Bowl for every game but lets be realistic, the Miners would have to be Boise St successful for that to happen and if it did then remove some tarps as needed.
 
One good example of down sizing a stadium is San Diego St. When they were in their old stadium it was too big for them. Once that stadium bit the dust they decided their new one would seat 35k. I'm sure it will have all the latest bells and whistles but a school in a better conference, bigger school, bigger city with more money wants a 35k stadium. When they are good, which is most of the time, there will be more demand for fewer seats which should drive up the price a bit. I would love nothing more than for UTEP to sellout the Sun Bowl for every game but lets be realistic, the Miners would have to be Boise St successful for that to happen and if it did then remove some tarps as needed.
Another good example is TDECU Stadium in Houston. Built in 2014 with 40k capacity. That year only the home opener sold out. A game against UTSA, that bought a good amount of tickets. The next year the AAC championship game featured an (19) UH 11-1 vs (22) Temple 10-2. A win would send UH to the NY6 bowl. I don't think it gets any bigger than that for a G5 team. Only 35k showed up in a city with a metro population of over 7 million. Since then they've only sold out their stadium 2 or 3 times and they've had some very good teams over the years.

Times have changed since 2005. No matter how much UTEP wins, I don't see games against SHSU and JSU being the cool thing to do in EP anymore.
 
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We all know El Paso. If Utep wins, it becomes the cool place to be.
Part of me believes UTEP fans will return for a l winning team, but will they return for this team? The Miners had a chance to turn the corner with that UTSA game but they got put to bed in the first 5 minutes, and the crowds never grew even though they made a bowl game.

I don’t know if this team is fan friendly enough to attract new fans. Personally a run first/defensive oriented football team doesn’t bother me, especially if they’re getting Ws. But how many fans find this style of play boring and uninspired given how wide open offenses are in college and the NFL?
 
I think fans return when the miners show consistency if they can ever reach that part…. And I don’t mean consistently awful….

You can’t have just one good season and expect everyone back especially when a lot of people realize we really only had that record due to easy competition
 
One thing is apparent. This coming from a guy who wanted Dimel gone before season 2 was in the books. The team is getting better from year to year. I’m excited about this upcoming season. I’m going with 8-4 and a bowl win!!

It’s not the most exciting brand of football, but defensively this team just gets better and better. Offense has definitely improved over the last three years too.
 
Well according to some people here he shouldn’t be because I can’t imagine he’s lived in Manchester
Who are those people? The ones that prefer to be a fan of a team that a have connection to over a team they have no idea where it's located on a map.
 
Isnt the capacity for the Sun Bowl game and not for Utep??
That's true. When the stadium was enlarged from 30k to 52k someone speaking for the university stated that 30k was adequate for UTEP's needs. It was enlarged for the Sun Bowl game.
 
One good example of down sizing a stadium is San Diego St. When they were in their old stadium it was too big for them. Once that stadium bit the dust they decided their new one would seat 35k. I'm sure it will have all the latest bells and whistles but a school in a better conference, bigger school, bigger city with more money wants a 35k stadium. When they are good, which is most of the time, there will be more demand for fewer seats which should drive up the price a bit. I would love nothing more than for UTEP to sellout the Sun Bowl for every game but lets be realistic, the Miners would have to be Boise St successful for that to happen and if it did then remove some tarps as needed.
Their new stadium looks really nice:

 
I don’t know what the Sun Bowl solution is, but it’s a really cool site for a stadium.
 
I believe JC has brought up the idea previously so would UTEP football tickets be in greater demand and sell at higher prices if capacity for UTEP games was decreased?

It would be easy to cover the endzone seats which would take away about 10k seats I believe. Current capacity now is about 47.5k so covering the endzone would give us a 37.5k stadium.
They just filled it up and even though it didn’t work this time, a full Sun bowl is a weapon.
 
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They just filled it up and even though it didn’t work this time, a full Sun bowl is a weapon.
They filled it because they were coming off a winning season, actually promoted it, was the 1st game of the season, and had many (probably most) tickets for $10 or free.

And……………. It made zero difference in the outcome. Crowd size doesn’t matter. Players and coaching does.
 
Right now, UTEP is playing too small for the Sun Bowl. What can we do to change that?
 
They filled it because they were coming off a winning season, actually promoted it, was the 1st game of the season, and had many (probably most) tickets for $10 or free.

And……………. It made zero difference in the outcome. Crowd size doesn’t matter. Players and coaching does.
As does. better facilities (indoor practice facility, lighted practice field etc.).
 
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