More coverage of the announcement of Penn State vs. Indiana at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. has poured in.
KEVIN McGUIRE – Penn State football coming to Washington D.C. in 2010 – The Philly Examiner
Let’s credit McGuire with having the story up first, on a non-subscription site at least.
IU to play Penn State at FedExField in 2010 – Indy Star
Indiana, Penn State to play at FedEx Field in 2010 – ESPN
Who Says There’s No Trades In College Football? Hoosiers Swap Home Conference Game For Cash – First and Big Ten
More 2010 FedEx college football – D1SCOURSE, The Wash. Times
Expect more college games like this one at FedEx Field in the coming years.
Now, a few thoughts from me on this game
Indiana sold its soul for $3 million, but given l’affaire Bobby Knight, one can debate whether Indiana has a soul. They traded a Big Ten home game for a road trip that puts than 500 miles further away from home than the “visiting” team.
Based on what I am seeing on Twitter, Facebook and talking to people around the office, Nittany Lion fans are very excited about this game. Apparently, there are 40,000 alums in D.C./Va./Md./Del. Also, I know some Pennsylvania based fans who want come down. It should be a very good turnout. Indiana is on the hook for just 7,000 seats. While Penn State will certainly exceed that by a wide margin, will they buy 84,000 more? Maybe, Temple sold 69,000 tickets to their 2007 game with Penn State at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field and that included forcing fans to buy a three game package.
The Redskins initiated this game and will pay Indiana $3 million. Now, let’s say that tickets cost $55 and parking costs $25. This is probably a conservative guess. I’m going to say they sell 75,000 tickets which is $4,125,000. Let’s say 15,000 people park there, that’s another $375,000, so right there the Redskins have already grossed $1.5 million minus the $3 million they gave to Indiana. That is before anyone buys a concession too. Chances are attendance will be higher, maybe even a sellout which would mean another 15,000 tickets sold and probably 5,000 more parking spaces.
Speaking of concessions, I do not know if they will be able to sell alcohol in the stadium. The Big Ten probably gets a say in that decision and they are ban alcohol in on-campus stadiums. Temple sold beer at Lincoln Financial Field two years ago.
This won’t hurt Penn State’s recruiting efforts in the greater D.C. area either, though I don’t know that they can host potential recruits for the game.
I for one, am really looking forward to this game. Just the thought of being able to take the Metro to a Penn State game is very exciting. I have been hoping Maryland would come back on the schedule for this reason. Speaking of Maryland, I wonder if they will be playing in College Park that day too. The game at FedEx Field might double their attendance.
PRESS RELEASES
Indiana to Play Penn State at FedEx Field in 2010 – Indiana University Athletics
Penn State and Indiana to Play at FedExField in 2010 – Intercollegiate Athletics
FedExField to Host Penn State-Indiana Game In 2010 – Redskins