352 Consecutive Sellouts
By: Bayne Basche
There is one sports team in the United States that holds, and continues to grow on it’s 352 consecutive sellout for games. That team is the University of Nebraska- Lincoln football team. The Cornhuskers play at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE. The stadium seats a grand total of 90,000 people, and every Saturday that Nebraska has a home football game 90,000 people squeeze into Memorial Stadium filling it to the brim. The University of Notre Dame is behind Nebraska with 249 consecutive sellouts and Oregon is behind them with 110 games. But, you may ask how and why of all sports team would the University of Nebraska- Lincoln have the most consecutive sellouts? Well, I believe that several factors like no substitutes, incentives, strong, winning history and loyal fans are what helps the University of Nebraska-Lincoln continue its commanding lead in consecutive sellouts.
Within the state of Nebraska there is one sports team. It is not a professional team, it is only at the collegiate level and that is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The fans only have one team to cheer for, which is why Nebraska can be compared to a monopoly, and the idea of no substitutes is so key. If fans had other teams to choose from there would be less of a demand for tickets to the Nebraska football games. There would also be more competition for ticket sales, but there isn’t so the University of Nebraska-Lincoln can be compared to a monopoly. Another way that Nebraska has improved it’s chances of selling out each game is by incentives. They have spent the time and money improving their stadium so it provides a more fan friendly environment. As you seen in the picture above Nebraska bought a bigger scoreboard that allows the fans to preview replays, and scores of other games more easily. They also provide wifi in the stadium, and decreased the amount of seats they had by 1,000 in the north end zone to widen the seats for a more comfortable experience for fans. By decreasing the supply in seats they provide in the stadium they also increased their demand for each seat because of the incentives listed above. Lastly, the University of Nebraska- Lincoln could also continue to improve their stadium to further persuade fans to come to the games if they run the risk of losing their sellout streak.
Whenever there is a home football game on a Saturday, the picture above is what Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska looks like. People from around the whole state travel, and wear their red to support the Cornhuskers. On November 3, 1962 Nebraska hosted Missouri for their homecoming and started the tradition. Even though they ended up losing the game they played strongly in the years to come. Nebraska now holds five national championship, three heisman trophies, and 22 conference championships. With that being said, fans have continued to come back and support the Cornhuskers. The opportunity cost for the Nebraska fans is relatively low. People could argue that fans could be working, or be productive around the house but in the eyes of a true fan there is no other place they would want to be besides Memorial Stadium cheering on the team they love. For that reason, Nebraska continues to sell out their football games.
Ultimately there are various factors that have allowed Nebraska to have that many sellouts in a row, and continue the streak. But, with the fan experience and environment Memorial Stadium provides on college football Saturdays there is nothing quite like it. Overall, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will continue its sellout streak throughout this year and hopefully years to come with the idea in mind that Nebraska football in Memorial Stadium is unlike any college stadium in the country.
Work Cited
"News Rotator." Huskers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016, Huskers.com.
Reports, From Staff. "Putting the Nebraska Sellout Streak in Perspective: History, Key Facts and What the Future Holds." Omaha.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 12 Nov. 2016, http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/putting-the-nebraska-sellout-streak-in-perspective-history-key-facts/article_88db979a-2dcc-11e6-894a-3b1198be9b95.html.
I think that your guess is right as to why they have had so many consecutive sellouts. Nebraska is commonly known for not having much to do, so since there is such a big stadium that has a recurring event happening, it makes sense that it would be so popular. Additionally, family probably plays into it since it could be a family tradition to go and enjoy the college football game together especially if a family member is going to school there or they may be an alumni.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely right as to why they have so many consecutive shutouts. The fact that they are practically a monopoly causes so many more people to attempt to go to the games, having a very high demand. If they really wanted to they could most likely raise the price of tickets and still continue their record-setting streak. Despite the economics behind the sell out, it still must be an amazing atmosphere in the game that attracts a majority of the fans.
ReplyDeleteI believe you are for sure right about why there have been so many consecutive sell-outs for Nebraska. There is basically no professional or other collegiate teams in the area which gives Nebraska lots of power to easily sell their tickets, and also for a pretty good price. I also believe that the atmosphere does play a factor to the sales. Nebraska constantly has competitive teams that have the ability to excite fans and fill the seats.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you as to why they have had so many sellouts. Nebraska literally has no other teams. They have no MLB, NFL, or NBA teams. The only teams they have are college teams or semi-pro leagues. Along with that, there are almost no football teams whatsoever and some of the other ones aren't very good. The Nebraska Corn Huskers, are almost in a perfect monopoly as they own and attract almost all the consumers for the football industry in Nebraska. Along with that, I would agree with you because although they are playing very well this year and therefore attracting a lot of attention, there has been past years where they haven't been as good yet they still had sold out crowds due to the fact that they are the only attraction for top football competition.
ReplyDeleteDue to the fact they are not the only football team, Nebraska is not a monopoly. One way I would recommend to Nebraska they increase the supply of their stadium seating and lower price to maximize economic profits. If they do not increase their stadium size, Nebraska is limiting their ability to grow.
ReplyDeleteThere are several factors that explain why Nebraska has been able to maintain this solid streak overtime, however the ones that were mentioned in this post are very insightful and accurate. The monopoly factor is one that many people don’t think about regarding collegiate sports, however in the case of Nebraska football it is very close to reaching that status. And it is because of the lack of substitutes for Nebraska football in terms of sports entertainment. There are no professional sports teams or major Division 1 collegiate teams in the state and that gives them a major advantage. Similar situations are seen in states Alabama and Mississippi where the college football dominates the landscape even though each state has multiple teams that are popular. Since there are no professional teams in these states, the only option for citizens as to what to support is college athletics which explains why the fans always come back to support their team. The fans in these areas are also some of the most passionate in the country which provides rivalries that are unmatched in other parts of the country.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting example of something that can be both a natural monopoly and a monopolistic competitive firm. While it is a monopoly in Nebraska, due to the small size and population of the state, it also must compete for fans nationally, considering the huge number of college football teams in our country. While these teams are differentiated by location and with their stadiums, in many ways they are also interchangeable since football is football no matter who’s playing.
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