Let Us Restore the Auburn Family to the Community and Raise Football Attendance

I had an interesting conversation today. It was on a topic that has been of concern in the community for some time.

While Auburn has grown and the football program has become very profitable, it has also left behind some of the fans that helped get it there.

We call ourselves the Auburn family, and I agree with that assessment. When you are family it means that all members are cared for. Still, I was informed by some very loyal Auburn fans of an overlooked problem.

Parking and tailgating for games is a tradition at Auburn. The old premium spots have become a hot commodity, and the pricing has grown out of many fans' ability to pay. This is due to demand and is the natural order of things. 

The problem is there were no accommodations made to replace those spots with more economical ones for fans who still want to tailgate but simply can't afford the higher fees. We want the stadium full, and we want ALL of our fans to be able to enjoy the Auburn family. 

Most of these fans understand that there are people willing to pay more for the old premium spots. They simply want more spots opened elsewhere at a more reasonable cost for those fans that cannot afford the higher fees. 

While many games are now available on TV, we still want all of our fans to enjoy what is Auburn. There needs to be consideration and accommodation for the Auburn fan that can only afford such a venture a few times a year. 

While we all understand that every improvement must bring in enough revenue to pay for itself, there is little doubt that this type of accommodation would. I think this is an area where Auburn could gain ground in the community.

I suggest that Auburn University considers making these types of facilities available and advertising them in the community at large. Maybe post the areas and pricing on the new Web site (which is awesome, by the way). There needs to be more information on purchasing tickets made available to the public as well.

It seems that there are many who would like to come to Auburn sports events but that there is simply not enough information available to the public to allow for planning such a trip. This information needs to be more visible and accessible to the community. 

While the teams on the field and court are getting better, we want to be welcoming and make coming to an Auburn event desirable and accessible to everyone in the community. Auburn might find that new arena sold out more in the future if information is made to be common knowledge in the public.

Auburn University needs to do a better job of marketing sports events to the community at large. It can be done at little cost to the University and would make a substantial difference in attendance.