I was curious to look at some attendance figures at games at Pitt Stadium and as always been stated, Notre Dame, Penn State and West Virginia consistently drew very well. The only outliers to that was when Pitt had a bad team and the weather was bad. No sh*t Sherlock I get that.
In ’84 when Pitt went 3-7-1, the attendance against BYU was only 40,263 and against Oklahoma only 40,075. Both those games were in September.
In ’94, with Pitt having a third consecutive three-win season, against WVU the attendance was 38,293, and against Texas only 32,337. In ’97 when Pitt went 4-7 that year, the attendance for the Notre Dame game was 47,306.
In ’92 a year Pitt went 3-9 and with rain that day, the attendance for the West Virginia game was 41,723. In ’93, Pitt went 3-9 and against Ohio State on a rainy day, the attendance was 41,511. As you can see, if Pitt and the weather are both bad, the attendance reflected that as well. Fair weather fans, literally.
Typically however, against Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and West Virginia the attendance ranged anywhere from 52,155 (Notre Dame in ’92) to 60,283 (Penn State in ’83).
For those who will say well we draw more at Heinz Field, perhaps a truer measure is percentage of capacity filled. Pitt Stadium’s capacity was listed at 56,500 yet there were games where the attendance exceeded that. How many games has the attendance exceeded capacity at Heinz Field? If ever? Will anyone answer that question?
When Pitt had good to very good teams, even against some lesser opponents, Pitt still drew pretty well despite the poor access and egress, no parking, lousy metal bleacher seating, minimal concessions, old bathrooms and outdated facilities at old Pitt Stadium. Of course, there were some lesser opponents when the crowd wasn’t great and I didn’t bother to check the weather on those but here are some attendance figures against lesser teams that I thought were respectable:
’76 Pitt 12-0 – Syracuse 50,399
’81 Pitt 11-1 – Syracuse 50,330, Army 53,225
’82 Pitt 9-3 – Temple 57,250, Louisville 53,017, Rutgers 46,728
’83 Pitt 9-3 – Syracuse 52,374
’86 Pitt 5-5-1 – Maryland 48,120, Navy 45,345
’87 Pitt 8-4 – Temple 45,387, Boston College 46,238
’89 Pitt 8-3-1 – Navy 50,467
Some of you remember and complain that Pitt Stadium that had terrible access, no parking, lousy metal bleacher seats, few concession stands, outdated everything, etc. In looking at those numbers from the ’86-’89 Pitt years when Pitt was winning five to eight games like they are now, if Pitt played those same schools at Heinz Field present-day, I don’t think the attendance would be greater at Heinz Field and most certainly the percentage of capacity would have been greater at that old falling apart on-campus stadium that had terrible access, no parking, few concessions, lousy metal bleacher seats, outdated everything, etc., etc.
One thing that seemed noticeable in looking at game attendance figures was if Pitt played at home and the game was televised, that impacted attendance negatively, particularly more so against lesser opponents.
Just wanted to throw that out there. Confirms the obvious yes, but in some cases it went against the thinking of what many hold on to as true and want to believe.
Just as a side note, in 1988, three of the first five games of the season saw Pitt host: #18 Ohio State, #11 West Virginia and #5 Notre Dame. How’s that for an early slate of home games!
The sources for the attendance figures were Wikipedia and wunderground.com for the weather.
In ’84 when Pitt went 3-7-1, the attendance against BYU was only 40,263 and against Oklahoma only 40,075. Both those games were in September.
In ’94, with Pitt having a third consecutive three-win season, against WVU the attendance was 38,293, and against Texas only 32,337. In ’97 when Pitt went 4-7 that year, the attendance for the Notre Dame game was 47,306.
In ’92 a year Pitt went 3-9 and with rain that day, the attendance for the West Virginia game was 41,723. In ’93, Pitt went 3-9 and against Ohio State on a rainy day, the attendance was 41,511. As you can see, if Pitt and the weather are both bad, the attendance reflected that as well. Fair weather fans, literally.
Typically however, against Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and West Virginia the attendance ranged anywhere from 52,155 (Notre Dame in ’92) to 60,283 (Penn State in ’83).
For those who will say well we draw more at Heinz Field, perhaps a truer measure is percentage of capacity filled. Pitt Stadium’s capacity was listed at 56,500 yet there were games where the attendance exceeded that. How many games has the attendance exceeded capacity at Heinz Field? If ever? Will anyone answer that question?
When Pitt had good to very good teams, even against some lesser opponents, Pitt still drew pretty well despite the poor access and egress, no parking, lousy metal bleacher seating, minimal concessions, old bathrooms and outdated facilities at old Pitt Stadium. Of course, there were some lesser opponents when the crowd wasn’t great and I didn’t bother to check the weather on those but here are some attendance figures against lesser teams that I thought were respectable:
’76 Pitt 12-0 – Syracuse 50,399
’81 Pitt 11-1 – Syracuse 50,330, Army 53,225
’82 Pitt 9-3 – Temple 57,250, Louisville 53,017, Rutgers 46,728
’83 Pitt 9-3 – Syracuse 52,374
’86 Pitt 5-5-1 – Maryland 48,120, Navy 45,345
’87 Pitt 8-4 – Temple 45,387, Boston College 46,238
’89 Pitt 8-3-1 – Navy 50,467
Some of you remember and complain that Pitt Stadium that had terrible access, no parking, lousy metal bleacher seats, few concession stands, outdated everything, etc. In looking at those numbers from the ’86-’89 Pitt years when Pitt was winning five to eight games like they are now, if Pitt played those same schools at Heinz Field present-day, I don’t think the attendance would be greater at Heinz Field and most certainly the percentage of capacity would have been greater at that old falling apart on-campus stadium that had terrible access, no parking, few concessions, lousy metal bleacher seats, outdated everything, etc., etc.
One thing that seemed noticeable in looking at game attendance figures was if Pitt played at home and the game was televised, that impacted attendance negatively, particularly more so against lesser opponents.
Just wanted to throw that out there. Confirms the obvious yes, but in some cases it went against the thinking of what many hold on to as true and want to believe.
Just as a side note, in 1988, three of the first five games of the season saw Pitt host: #18 Ohio State, #11 West Virginia and #5 Notre Dame. How’s that for an early slate of home games!
The sources for the attendance figures were Wikipedia and wunderground.com for the weather.
