Where are the fans?

Sitting in the press tribune tonight, I was quite disappointed with what I saw. I loved the field hockey matches. On pitch one, I got the pleasure of seeing the USA score the equalizer against heavy-favorite Argentina with just over five minutes to play. During the second game, Germany put on a clinic scoring five times and holding Great Britain to just one goal. What I was disappointed with is what I saw in the stands... a very small crowd.

Now I am sure tomorrow's newspaper will claim the consistent rain kept fans from the opening day of field hockey. I guess I will say that was part of the problem, but after talking with my dad who has been watching the Games religiously, he said unfilled seats are also present at beach volleyball and even gymnastics. For the record, gymnastics is not affected by rain. It's not the weather that is keeping people away, it is the ticket price.

Ticket prices for games are relatively reasonable. Rhythmic gymnastics for example sell at face value at around 30 bucks. Beach volleyball tickets are less than 5 and baseball is a whole $7.50. All the tickets are sold out, but why are the venues not filled. This is because scalpers believe the tickets are worth way more than they are. For example last night I received an email from a guy telling me he wanted 10,000 RMB for 2 semifinal baseball tickets. That is roughly $1,500. That is more than I would pay for Super Bowl tickets. So how do we get rid of scalpers that ruin the game and cause poor attendance at Olympics events?

I would like to propose the Lothrop Plan. For those in charge of the Vancouver Games in 2010 and London in 2012, feel free to further contact me about this theory. I will be more than happy to guide you. The plan is a hybrid model of Haymarket Park in Lincoln and the idea of Will Call. Here is how it would work. All tickets would be sold by will call. You could either order on line, in person, or by phone. However you would not be able to pick up the tickets until 72 hours before the event. This would cut down on the people buying the tickets and immediately reselling them. They would not have them in hand until 3 days before the event.

The second part of my plan is that if the tickets have not been claimed 3 hours before the game, they are resold at face value to the general public. Think of it this way, you could charge the face value to both the initial ticket purchaser and the guy who is actually going to the game. An empty seat and a full seat cost about the same to heat and cool. Also a full seat usually buys popcorn, soda, candy, pretzels, t-shirts, hats and programs. Also full venues make it at least look as if the locals care about the sport.

This plan is still in it's infancy stage as there are many ways it could be improved. But think about it, all the things we would like to see would happen. Those fanatics who want to go to the games could buy them weeks in advance and pick them up 3 days before the competition. Also casual fans could pick up a cheap ticket. Vendors could sell more Snickers bars. And most importantly in my mind, we could eliminate scalpers.

Cheers,
-Matt