Stanford Offers Season-Ticket Holders Money-Back Guarantee
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Stanford Offering Money-Back Guarantee
In Effort To Boost Football Attendance |
New Stanford Univ. football season-ticket holders can regain the cost of their ticket packages if they are "unsatisfied with the 'entertainment value' at season's end," according to Michelle Smith of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The new "Gridiron Guarantee" plan is also available to fans who bought the new "Family Plan" ticket package. Stanford has won just two home games since the renovated Stanford Stadium opened in '06, and filling seats "has proven to be an elusive quest." The school has not sold out one of the 13 games played in the new stadium, averaging paid attendance of 39,332 last season. That was down from 41,742 in '06, and "actual crowds usually were significantly smaller." The money-back guarantee is a "concept that has been used in business for years, but applying it to a football team that hasn't been to a bowl game since 2001 is a brave move." Stanford Assistant AD/Marketing Bob Carruesco: "We're talking entertainment value on a Saturday afternoon. Stanford was an entertaining product last year, and that vibrancy and charisma, winning when they are not supposed to, sometimes losing when they are not supposed to -- it's entertainment." Smith notes one issue "largely out of Stanford's hands is the home schedule," as USC is the only team ranked in the preseason polls to visit Palo Alto. Ticket buyers "can get their money back with little hassle," but there is one caveat -- the refund "must be requested and tickets turned in before" the USC game on November 15 (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/26).
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