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Worst attended Pitt game at Heinz/Acrisure?

Sean Miller Fan

Lair Hall of Famer
Oct 30, 2001
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All things considered:

Announced 59K, no way they were only 9K short of a sellout. 50K tops. No one in upper deck visitor side.

- ACC Champs
- ranked 17th
- unbelievable win over longtime rival in Week 1
- historic ranked SEC opponent
- 3:30
- perfect weather

Only 32K non-student Pitt fans showed up (according to Souf). So basically the same amount of non-student Pitt fans who show up to see a 6-6 Chryst team play Temple or Delaware.

Stadium too big
 
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All things considered:

Announced 59K, no way they were only 9K short of a sellout. 50K tops. No one in upper deck visitor side.

- ACC Champs
- ranked 17th
- unbelievable win over longtime rival in Week 1
- historic ranked SEC opponent
- 3:30
- perfect weather

Only 32K non-student Pitt fans showed up (according to Souf). So basically the same amount of non-student Pitt fans who show up to see a 6-6 Chryst team play Temple or Delaware.

Stadium too big
What’s your solution?
 
All things considered:

Announced 59K, no way they were only 9K short of a sellout. 50K tops. No one in upper deck visitor side.

- ACC Champs
- ranked 17th
- unbelievable win over longtime rival in Week 1
- historic ranked SEC opponent
- 3:30
- perfect weather

Only 32K non-student Pitt fans showed up (according to Souf). So basically the same amount of non-student Pitt fans who show up to see a 6-6 Chryst team play Temple or Delaware.

Stadium too big
It is a good question as to why such bad turnout yesterday? Really expected a Clemson turnout. Don’t get it.
 
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It is a good question as to why such bad turnout yesterday? Really expected a Clemson turnout. Don’t get it.
I would hope too with the fact that students have honestly been great at coming the last few years as they graduated they would buy tickets. Maybe a lot of them aren’t local?

also pitt tickets are still pretty darn cheap and if you have a group tailgate you can get a full day of entertainment flr like 40 or 50 dollars.

with that said a lot of students do come out of school struggling financially, and honestly I think too that in the end there is less priority getting to a game than other plans
 
All things considered:

Announced 59K, no way they were only 9K short of a sellout. 50K tops. No one in upper deck visitor side.

- ACC Champs
- ranked 17th
- unbelievable win over longtime rival in Week 1
- historic ranked SEC opponent
- 3:30
- perfect weather

Only 32K non-student Pitt fans showed up (according to Souf). So basically the same amount of non-student Pitt fans who show up to see a 6-6 Chryst team play Temple or Delaware.

Stadium too big
Please stop! You are always so negative.
 
Maybe pitt shouldn't have charged $95 a ticket for nosebleed seats
Yeah. You can get a season package for like 175 in the upper end zone. Not sure why they charge 60 for singles.

not going to lie I was going to go to a basketball game this year and walked up to buy tickets and they were selling at the window for 45. I just went home
 
The stadium formerly known as Heinz Field is too big for Pitt's fanbase. And it takes decades of consistent effort from a supportive administration to build a larger fanbase, which they won't be able to do playing in the Steelers stadium. It's not a solvable problem for Pitt until they have their own on campus stadium.
 
I estimated about 52 - 54 at the game. I'd say a solid 8k were Tennessee fans. So we had around 42, I would guess. That's not very many, all things considered, but that's what Pitt is. Should be playing in a 45k stadium, but it is what it is.
 
I estimated about 52 - 54 at the game. I'd say a solid 8k were Tennessee fans. So we had around 42, I would guess. That's not very many, all things considered, but that's what Pitt is. Should be playing in a 45k stadium, but it is what it is.
I have today too last year too I was pretty disappointed in the UVA game attendance
 
I have today too last year too I was pretty disappointed in the UVA game attendance

It's a bad formula. The stadium is way too big for the fan base. And then the season tickets are so cheap that out of towners, or even opposing fans, will buy them and then only attend a few games.

Smaller stadium = more demand = pricier tickets that people won't be so content to just eat when they don't feel like going or can't make it.
 
It's a bad formula. The stadium is way too big for the fan base. And then the season tickets are so cheap that out of towners, or even opposing fans, will buy them and then only attend a few games.

Smaller stadium = more demand = pricier tickets that people won't be so content to just eat when they don't feel like going or can't make it.

Correct.
 
It is a good question as to why such bad turnout yesterday? Really expected a Clemson turnout. Don’t get it.
Yea, I was shocked. I was totally expecting Clemson given the situation. I don't remember if single game tickets were any cheaper last year but I looked for this game and the worst upper corner stats were $75. I cant imagine more than 10-20 Pitt fans bought single game seats in those sections. If you are spending that much, you are either a season ticket holder or will Stubhub cheaper/better seats.

I don't know what the solution is. Honestly, there probably isnt any. I just absolutely cant stand the people that say win and we'll sell out. No freaking way. 70K is just too big. Put that crowd yesterday in a 50K seat stadium and the place would have been electric. Yea, you lose the extra 20K for WVU but most of those extra fans in the worst sections were WVU fans so who cares.
 
Yea, I was shocked. I was totally expecting Clemson given the situation. I don't remember if single game tickets were any cheaper last year but I looked for this game and the worst upper corner stats were $75. I cant imagine more than 10-20 Pitt fans bought single game seats in those sections. If you are spending that much, you are either a season ticket holder or will Stubhub cheaper/better seats.

I don't know what the solution is. Honestly, there probably isnt any. I just absolutely cant stand the people that say win and we'll sell out. No freaking way. 70K is just too big. Put that crowd yesterday in a 50K seat stadium and the place would have been electric. Yea, you lose the extra 20K for WVU but most of those extra fans in the worst sections were WVU fans so who cares.

Who cares? The crowd was electric.

I agree it looks bad but what looks worse is us making 10 threads about it a week.

And there were easily 50-55k there.
 
Yea, I was shocked. I was totally expecting Clemson given the situation. I don't remember if single game tickets were any cheaper last year but I looked for this game and the worst upper corner stats were $75. I cant imagine more than 10-20 Pitt fans bought single game seats in those sections. If you are spending that much, you are either a season ticket holder or will Stubhub cheaper/better seats.

I don't know what the solution is. Honestly, there probably isnt any. I just absolutely cant stand the people that say win and we'll sell out. No freaking way. 70K is just too big. Put that crowd yesterday in a 50K seat stadium and the place would have been electric. Yea, you lose the extra 20K for WVU but most of those extra fans in the worst sections were WVU fans so who cares.

Well if Georgia Tech can play Clemson in Atlanta (looked like there were at least 20k empties), we could certainly play WVU or ND in the stadium formerly known as Heinz if we did get our own sandbox.
 
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Who cares? The crowd was electric.

I agree it looks bad but what looks worse is us making 10 threads about it a week.

And there were easily 50-55k there.
50K, correct. Not 55.

The place wasnt electric. It was ok. I thought there was some fan enthusiasm hangover from last week and that's somewhat understandable. Personally, I was much more into the WVU game so I am partially to blame.
 
All things considered:

Announced 59K, no way they were only 9K short of a sellout. 50K tops. No one in upper deck visitor side.

- ACC Champs
- ranked 17th
- unbelievable win over longtime rival in Week 1
- historic ranked SEC opponent
- 3:30
- perfect weather

Only 32K non-student Pitt fans showed up (according to Souf). So basically the same amount of non-student Pitt fans who show up to see a 6-6 Chryst team play Temple or Delaware.

Stadium too big

It was a good crowd. Go take a nap.
 
50K, correct. Not 55.

The place wasnt electric. It was ok. I thought there was some fan enthusiasm hangover from last week and that's somewhat understandable. Personally, I was much more into the WVU game so I am partially to blame.

The crowd is fine.

The players on the field don’t count the empty seats. They just want there to be noise. And it was loud.

It’s fine. We need a right-sized stadium and we’ll have one in the nearish future but you obsess WAY too much over this.
 
Well if Georgia Tech can play Clemson in Atlanta (looked like there were at least 20k empties), we could certainly play WVU or ND in the stadium formerly known as Heinz if we did get our own sandbox.
I hope the Pirates leave and we remodel PNC Park into a football/MLS stadium. Need to take out the lower level seats and build them at a different angle for football. Also need to bulldoze the RF area seats and along the OF 1st Base line and build seating in RF/CF. Georgia State did this with Turner Field but a very low budget job since they dont have any many. Pitt can make it very nice. We just need Las Vegas or Nashville or someone to buy them.
 
All things considered:

Announced 59K, no way they were only 9K short of a sellout. 50K tops. No one in upper deck visitor side.

- ACC Champs
- ranked 17th
- unbelievable win over longtime rival in Week 1
- historic ranked SEC opponent
- 3:30
- perfect weather

Only 32K non-student Pitt fans showed up (according to Souf). So basically the same amount of non-student Pitt fans who show up to see a 6-6 Chryst team play Temple or Delaware.

Stadium too big
As usual, you appear to be incorrect again. I was at the game and I did visually look a couple of times at the upper seats several times. I would say that on the visitors side of the field there had to be at least a 1/3 to 1/2 of the seats filled and slightly more then that on the home side of the field. My seats in the end zone offered a good view of both sides of the stadium.
Also, you are going way out of your way to try to support your statement. Yes, the 17th ranked Pitt football team are the defending ACC Champions, but what does that have to do with statement. The win over wvu in week #1 was nice, but hardly "unbelievable" and what does the victory over a rival have to do with the opponent that they are playing the following week? The most laughable part of your post is the part about the "historic ranked sec opponent". Who was that??? The time and weather are meaningless. If you are a Pitt football fan, you will be there regardless of what time the kickoff is and the weather.
Another poor attempt on your part SMF.
 
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The stadium formerly known as Heinz Field is too big for Pitt's fanbase. And it takes decades of consistent effort from a supportive administration to build a larger fanbase, which they won't be able to do playing in the Steelers stadium. It's not a solvable problem for Pitt until they have their own on campus stadium.
I have said it before on here and I'll say it again. The #1 issue for the Pitt football program and the athletic department, is the building of a stadium that Pitt can call it's own. Until heather lyke gets that done, she gets an "F" grade from me for her job performance.
A stadium similar in size to that of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium would be perfect.
That stadium holds roughly 35,000 with an open end zone. If Pitt was to build a stadium that size and put seats in the open end, they could easily have a stadium that holds 45,000-50,000.

 
As usual, you appear to be incorrect again. I was at the game and I did visually look a couple of times at the upper seats several times. I would say that on the visitors side of the field there had to be at least a 1/3 to 1/2 of the seats filled and slightly more then that on the home side of the field. My seats in the end zone offered a good view of both sides of the stadium.
Also, you are going way out of your way to try to support your statement. Yes, the 17th ranked Pitt football team are the defending ACC Champions, but what does that have to do with statement. The win over wvu in week #1 was nice, but hardly "unbelievable" and what does the victory over a rival have to do with the opponent that they are playing the following week? The most laughable part of your post is the part about the "historic ranked sec opponent". Who was that??? The time and weather are meaningless. If you are a Pitt football fan, you will be there regardless of what time the kickoff is and the weather.
Another poor attempt on your part SMF.
There are roughly 15K seats on each upper sideline. Let's call it 12K to give Pitt the benefit of the doubt. If the Nebraska uppers were half empty, that right there is 6K empties for a game with supposedly only 9K empties. I couldnt see the Pitt uppers but the upper endzone was at best half full, probably 25%-40% full. And there were scattered no shows in the lowers. Maybe 1K no shows.

50K tops. Maybe 45K
 
All things considered:

Announced 59K, no way they were only 9K short of a sellout. 50K tops. No one in upper deck visitor side.

- ACC Champs
- ranked 17th
- unbelievable win over longtime rival in Week 1
- historic ranked SEC opponent
- 3:30
- perfect weather

Only 32K non-student Pitt fans showed up (according to Souf). So basically the same amount of non-student Pitt fans who show up to see a 6-6 Chryst team play Temple or Delaware.

Stadium too big
I said this a few days ago that peanut heaven tickets on the Pitt website were $75!!! And like someone mentioned on here half the bleachers were empty along w half of visitors side. It’s like Pitt athletic dept doesn’t even try to get ppl to go. Family of 4 that’s a $300 day just for tickets…and bad ones! Cmon!!!
 
BTW the answer to the original question is almost certainly the rainy, cold, Wednesday night against UConn in the dying days of the Big East. I believe this was the game Ray Graham ripped up his knee on the crappy melting logo at midfield.


You, sir, are correct.

The only other contender was the game against Navy on a Wednesday night in 2007 that we lost in overtime.

It's dumb enough to play on Wednesday in the first place. But then you schedule a game against Navy, who on a Saturday might send up a bunch of buses full of midshipmen to the game, on a Wednesday and that wins the prize for the stupidest home game at Heinz.
 
It is a good question as to why such bad turnout yesterday? Really expected a Clemson turnout. Don’t get it.
I think it has everything to do with the opponent. Nobody under the age of 30 has any recollection of Tennessee having a good team. And their glory era pales in comparison to Clemson's.

If it were just a matter of supporting the Panthers, the crowd I was disappointed in was last year's game against Virginia for the Coastal. They made up for it with a strong turnout in Charlotte though.
 
BTW the answer to the original question is almost certainly the rainy, cold, Wednesday night against UConn in the dying days of the Big East. I believe this was the game Ray Graham ripped up his knee on the crappy melting logo at midfield.
Yes but its crazy we probably actually had 20K or so at that game. But only 32K non-student Pitt fans for Tennessee yesterday (according to Souf)?
 
I said this a few days ago that peanut heaven tickets on the Pitt website were $75!!! And like someone mentioned on here half the bleachers were empty along w half of visitors side. It’s like Pitt athletic dept doesn’t even try to get ppl to go. Family of 4 that’s a $300 day just for tickets…and bad ones! Cmon!!!
Well, what Pitt is doing I suppose, is pricing the stadium as if its like a 40K seat stadium. They know they have a pretty devoted core fanbase who will pay almost anything so they overcharge those fans (ie season ticket holders) for the best seats, but in return they have to price the worst seats very high, which prices out the local Yinzer or bandwagon fan or some casual fan who wants to take his family to a game. This is done to "protect" the season ticket holder's purchase. To be honest, Pitt doesn't price those tickets to sell. They know no one is buying single game tickets for GT and Duke or anybody so they put an inflated price. Now, lets say they made the worst seats $10 or $15 yesterday and advertised the heck out of it. Could they have sold it out? For Tennessee, maybe but then you potentially piss off season ticket holders. And even if you sell the other games for $10 or $15, you probably wouldnt sell more than 1000 or so.
 
This isnt that hard.

We played a longtime rival in Game 1.

They inflated the Tennessee number.

Take a nap and quit trying to make something out of nothing. It was a good crowd, very similar to Clemson last year.

You're the only one that cares if it was 50k, 55k or 59k.
 
I’m a season tix holder, have been for three decades. Myself and I’d bet the great majority of other STH) do it out of the interest to support the program. I’m not concerned in the least if Pitt would charge peanuts to fill the remainder of the seats that are unsold. I would be happy for Pitt that they are getting some additional revenue, and putting more butt’s in the seats that would otherwise be empty. I don’t buy my season tix as a way to save money on face value with envy or anger that someone might be getting a ‘better deal’ than me.
 
Yeah. You can get a season package for like 175 in the upper end zone. Not sure why they charge 60 for singles.

not going to lie I was going to go to a basketball game this year and walked up to buy tickets and they were selling at the window for 45. I just went home

uh, to encourage season tickets and deflate there value
 
What’s your solution?
There is no solution other than either "right sizing" Heinz or building a smaller stadium. There was a reason why Stanford tore down their 80K stadium and rebuilt it to 50K. Or Minnesota build a new stadium at 50K. The rocking Autzen Stadium in Oregon seats what, 52-54K? Mountaineer Field downsized from 66K to 60K. Baylor built their new stadium at 48K.

Few programs, and none that are not large state schools, can pull off regularly attended games at more than 50K.
 
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