Ohio State Football: How to improve the fan experience at the Shoe

We are about six months away from another Ohio State football season. Even sooner than that is the Spring Game, which will be played in a few weeks. Fans will be descending on the Shoe once again to support their beloved Buckeyes.

Yet, attendance has been struggling over the last few years. I was at the Tulsa game last season when the attendance was the worst it’s been since just after WWII. Fans haven’t been showing up except for the big games, and even those aren’t sellouts sometimes.

So what can the program do to improve the fan experience at the Shoe so that more fans want to go to games? The biggest thing that I can think of is to reduce ticket prices. They have gone up sharply since the pandemic, presumably to try and recoup lost revenue.

That’s part of the reason I won’t be getting season tickets this year. They are too expensive for the slate of home games we get this season. I don’t want to pay $1000 for games against Youngstown State, Western Kentucky, and Minnesota. I can spend my money in better ways.

The stadium itself also needs some upgrades. Seatbacks that you don’t have to pay extra for on every seat would be nice. Putting in more bathrooms so the lines aren’t absurd would help too. They’ve done a better job speeding up the lines for food and drinks, so that’s a positive.

But with the viewing experience of Ohio State football being so good at home now, it’s hard to get fans to pay the kind of money the university wants them to pay to see the team in person. Especially when the slate of home games is so bad as it is this year.

I hope the university realizes this and tries to make some improvements. I love going to Ohio State football games. Fans are starting to demand more from their experience though. It’s time the Buckeyes took notice.