In just its third season of football at its new on-campus stadium, Minnesota football is struggling to sell student tickets. According to a report from the Star-Tribune, fans have purchased just 2000 of the 10,000 allotted student seats with just three weeks left until the Gopher home opener. It marks a steep decrease from 2009, when the Gophers opened TCF Bank Stadium by selling the full 10,000-seat section. Minnesota sold approximately 7800 student tickets in 2010.
University leaders have blamed everything from poor marketing to the lack of wins to Metrodome hangover for the reduction in student ticket purchases, but assistant athletic director Jason LaFrenz may have the most reasonable explanation for the recent downturn in sales: The customers aren't back yet.
Jason LaFrenz [...] said the school still hopes to sell 8,000 student season tickets this year, believing the current total will rise when students return to class.
"Other than that first year in TCF Bank Stadium, we've traditionally sold the majority of our students tickets in the 10 days before the first home game," he said. "That's when we sell all of our tickets."
Minnesota opens up its 2012 season at UNLV on Thursday, August 30.
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