Kinnick sees lower attendance but high enthusiasm.

By Lauren O’Machel
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With the Hawkeyes’ first game of the season under their belts with a solid win against Illinois State, ticket sales proved disappointing.

Kinnick Stadium experienced its lowest ticket sales in over 12 years. Sales have been lagging for the past year or so following a perceived drop in fan enthusiasm.

Associate Athletics  Director Rick Klatt gave a final attendance number of 59,450 people. The stadium can seat more than 70,000 people.

“There has been a recent decline is season tickets of 16 percent, and that has been the bulk of the decline,” Klatt said. “However, we are very pleased with the final number of attendance when selling an additional 1,800 tickets leading up to the game.”

With how well the Hawkeyes played game Sept. 5, Klatt believes the attendance number is the least of the program’s worries.

“We’ve sold more than 44,000 season tickets to the general public, UI faculty, staff, and students. We are excited for the opportunities we have in store,” he said. “With the night game coming up against Pittsburgh there is always much more enthusiasm when it comes to a night game. We are very optimistic about the future.”

Tickets for UI students are easy to obtain, such as by billing them to their university balance.  They also can come in handy when trying to sell them for extra cash.

UI junior Cole Griess attended the game but said he was a bit drained because of the heat and early start to his day.

“At halftime we left because it was too hot in the stands and we were tired of buying bottled water solely to pour on ourselves,” Griess said. “After we left, I took a three-hour nap since I got up at 5 a.m. to tailgate.”

With the heat being well into the 90s, it still didn’t tamper with his Hawkeye spirit.

“Oh yeah, the crowd was totally in it,” Griess said. “The heat didn’t affect that.”

For some, heat was a huge factor. UI senior Jason Skinner was more than excited to attend the game but knew the heat was going to play a major role in his enthusiasm.

“I know for a fact that the heat played a huge factor in the attendance and in the trickle of spectators leaving before the finish of the game,” Skinner said.

After being with friends, Skinner noticed people leaving the stadium for two main reasons: one, the overbearing heat, and two, it was a one-sided game.

UI junior Josefina Lopez said she had to work the game, but even if she didn’t, she would’ve gone because all of her friends were going.

“Everywhere that you would look it was a sea of gold,” Lopez said. “Another thing I noticed was that even though it was extremely hot and we all smelled pretty bad, our passion and love for the Hawkeyes wouldn’t stop us from being there, especially since we were winning.”