Even a title game between 2 elite 14-0 teams cannot hide the warts of holding a college game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
A college game should never be hosted again at Levi’s Stadium. EVER. ANY game. Not just the playoff.
The San Francisco area is not overly interested in college football. That prices for tickets fell to roughly 25% of their face value is just the latest piece of anecdotal evidence. But incredibly far from the only wart:
Stanford, San Jose State and Cal all are saddled with poor attendance. If you were to graph program excellence relative to attendance, Stanford would be at the top of such list during the past decade. We were in the press box for Stanford’s opener against a quality San Diego State squad in August. Stanford’s team was quite hyped, highlighted by “Bryce Love for Heisman” talk. On 6pm during a picture-perfect early evening, the stadium was half full. Before the Pac-12 championship game moved to Levi’s in 2014, Stanford hosted a 2012 Pac-12 title game against another California team, UCLA. The announced attendance was 31,622. Palo Alto is only a 15-20 minute drive from Santa Clara.
One has to go back decades for the last big crowd at San Jose State’s aging facility. When the Spartans hosted an excellent Army team at nearby Levi’s on October 13, announced attendance was a paltry 16,527.
The Odyssey went to a “Big Game” at Cal in 2014. We were disappointed to see the game was not a sellout.
The Pac 12’s delusional commissioner, Larry Scott, was so proud to move the Pac 12 championship game to Levi’s in 2014. The 49ers’ stadium holds 75,000. The championship game is so lightly attended that parts of the stadium are “tarped off.”
With a Rose Bowl bid on the line, November 30’s Washington-Utah tilt had announced attendance of 35,134. Game time prices were under $15. Lackluster attendance screams that such games return to campus sites. Logistic issues haunt Levi’s Stadium. If you have ever driven in the Santa Clara area at 5pm on a Friday evening, you have all our sympathy. We have not even talked about turf issues and parking issues. A composite nightmare.
When Washington played in the 2016 championship game at Levi’s, Alaska Airlines tossed in two free tickets for certain flights from Seattle to San Jose. What, giving away pretzels was more expensive?
Larry Scott has navigated West Coast football into a ditch. The Pac12 Network has small exposure (about 18 million households) compared to the SEC Network (70 million) or the Big 10 Network (60 million), in part due to its perceived small value with cable carriers. Of course, this does not keep Scott and Company from having lush headquarters in downtown San Francisco with annual rent of a cool $7 million. Compare this rent to the SEC office’s annual rent of $300,000+.
Bear Bryant’s first major bowl bid was not with the Crimson Tide but with his 1949 Kentucky team. The Wildcats wound up an Orange Bowl loser, 21-13, to Santa Clara. Despite Santa Clara’s success, they would soon give up big-time football (as did a successful University of San Francisco program that went undefeated in 1951). Both administrations knew a graveyard when they saw one.
If folks from the area are more interested in how fruity, nutty, dry or full-bodied their wine is, the Odyssey has no problem with this set of priorities. Just recognize said reality in scheduling football games in the Bay Area. Getting a Pac 12 commissioner who has clear vision would aid in this process.
Thankfully, both Clemson and Crimson Tide fans were sufficiently fanatical to prevent yet another total embarrassment.
The Odyssey will return in August for our 4th year. We appreciate any word-of mouth. Until then, ………