Yeah, lower attendance but higher ticket prices along with some luxury boxes and they'll still be printing money over there. I was surprised how much of that money is being allocated just to improve and reinforce the structure and improve the sound and video systems throughout.

Your last sentence is a very interesting one and one that would be best tackled over a beer. I became a Browns fan in the early 60's going to the games in Cleveland Stadium. Dial the calendar ahead 50 years and by not going to a Browns game, I wonder as an 11 year old kid in 2016 if I'd be as big a Browns fan today as I was in 1966. Yes I could watch them on TV but there is something to be said for being in the stadium.

Good stuff here. I recall being 17-18 and the folks let us drive down to Cbus for the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tour. I'm not sure I'd let kids do that now. Probably why I don't have kids yet. ;)

The cost has to be a big, big factor in it, right? It's a reason I consider Ohio Football Tickets to be a nice value, despite not being the biggest college football fan. It's good value for my money, and I'm usually surrounded by people I like being around.

I used to have the same feeling about Crew games, but you're right, the price has become a little more expensive. The 2008-2009 years a ticket could be had for less than $20 face value.

(As a side note, keep an eye out, we're doing an OU day at the Crew this summer. Tickets will be less than $20)

I have to believe that at places like OSU, Alabama, etc., at some point, the ticket costs will flat line, or go down because of shrinking demand. I can't imagine paying $100 every week for a college football game.

Interesting discussion. I'm a big believer that experiencing the atmosphere of a sports stadium is a huge factor in many people becoming "hooked" on a team.

To Alan's example, I think I've experienced both sides of that coin. My parents started taking me to Browns games in 99 when they "came back" and I absolutely believe experiencing the atmosphere in the stadium was a huge factor in my becoming (cursed) a diehard Browns fan.

On the flip-side, my parents also took me to Ohio games as a kid, but growing up in Detroit and then Cleveland attending games in Athens was never going to be easily accessible from that kind of distance with a family of our size. I went to some games in Athens, and some more Ohio games when we played local teams. I considered myself an "Ohio fan" but I wasn't nearly as big of a fan as I am now.
What really changed it for me was when Ohio started showing up on TV with more regularity. And when they weren't on TV, I could at least find scores on the internet. Slowly, score updates switched to audio and then video. That has really been in the last 10-15 years. I have no idea how you could quantify increased TV viewership or internet streaming on the Ohio fanbase, but I have no doubt it is a positive.