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Attendance For Some Power Five Championship Games Could Be An Issue

Attendance for this weekend's conference championship games "might be an issue" for the ACC in Orlando, the Big Ten in Indianapolis and the Pac-12 in Santa Clara, according to Dan Wolken of USA TODAY. As of Thursday, upper deck tickets in Lucas Oil Stadium, host of the Big Ten Championship, were "less than $20 on the secondary market" for Penn State-Wisconsin. The Washington-Colorado Pac-12 game also "was not yet a sellout" as of Thursday at Levi's Stadium (USA TODAY, 12/2). Navy Senior Associate AD/Ticket Operations Matt Munnelly said that only 22,000 tickets "had been sold as of Thursday night" for Saturday's AAC Championship game against Temple at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. In Annapolis, Bill Wagner notes Navy "averaged 33,322 [fans] for five home games this season." Navy AD Chet Gladchuk "expressed concern on Wednesday night for the pace of ticket sales" and encouraged fans who have "not purchased tickets to hurry up and do so." Gladchuk: "We've even made personal calls to our season ticket holders." Wagner notes part of the problem is that Navy "did not know it was hosting" the AAC game until last Saturday night. That meant the ticket sales effort "could not begin in earnest until Sunday morning" (Annapolis CAPITAL GAZETTE, 12/2).

BUCKING BRONCOS
: Western Michigan AD Kathy Beauregard said tickets sold for tonight's MAC Championship game between WMU and Ohio at Ford Field are "46,000 and counting." In Detroit, George Sipple notes that is a number that "would shatter the previous record for a MAC title game." Central Michigan's involvement has "brought out the three highest crowds for a MAC title game at Ford Field." The "highest attendance for a MAC title game is 25,483" in '06. Beauregard said that the upper bowl of Ford Field "will be opened for the first time in MAC title game" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/2).

SADDLE UP
: The Univ. of Wyoming is hosting the Mountain West title game for the first time tomorrow night against San Diego State, and in Wyoming, Seth Klamann cites sources as saying that the game "could haul in more that $900,000 in revenue for the university." That total "could muscle past" what SDSU earned last year when it hosted the championship. Wyoming Senior Associate AD/Business Affairs Bill Sparks said that the school "expects $615,000 from the game itself, with the rest of that $900,000 coming from a net revenue pool filled with money from conference apparel, ESPN money and corporate sponsors." As for attendance, Sparks "estimated between 20,000 and 23,000 people will attend, buying tickets costing between $14 and $35 each." The "wildcard in those attendance figures is how full the 7,800-seat student section becomes." UW students "don't normally pay for attendance" at home games. Sparks said that the school "worked it out with conference so students don't have to pay" (CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE, 12/2).

FORGONE CONCLUSION? SECCOUNTRY.com's Travis Durkee noted the "get-in-the-door-price" for Saturday's Alabama-Florida SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome is $76. Data provided by Vivid Seats shows that "median ticket prices are hovering around $147." The low ticket prices "extend to actual sold tickets." The "average price paid for a ticket to the championship game last season, also between Alabama and Florida, was $353." The average this season "has dipped to $292." From "interpreting the secondary ticket market, fans don’t see the value in attending a game in which the outcome is largely presumed" (SECCOUNTRY.com, 12/1).

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