It’s no secret that Stanford football games are not well attended. Screenshots of the stands during broadcasts are often tweeted out in mocking tones, and the routine 7:30 p.m. local time kickoffs don’t help either.
But fear not, Cardinal fans, for the school has found a potential remedy: Free tickets.
Officially, the school’s latest idea to boost attendance is being labeled a “free trial” for fans to try and see if they want to opt in and actually buy tickets for the 2023 season. The promotion will cover Stanford’s final two home games of the season—Nov. 5 against Washington State and Nov. 26 against BYU.
“Starting today, you can test drive seats for the 2023 season, for FREE,” the release said, per Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. “That’s right … get free tickets to our final two home games of this season, and lock in those same seats for the entire 2023 home schedule.”
The idea behind the promotion is, ostensibly, to try and generate momentum for fans to purchase season tickets for next year. But fans will be allowed to take full advantage of the promotion this season and cancel before ever having to pony up any actual money toward 2023 games.
“Decide that next year’s plan isn’t right for you. No sweat; you can cancel anytime this year. It’s truly a free trial for the 2022 season.”
With its bookish reputation and lack of an exciting game-day atmosphere, Stanford football often gets a bad rap. But prior to its downturn in recent years, the program had become one of the most consistently successful in college football. The Cardinal averaged over 10 wins per year from 2010 to ’17, with a Rose Bowl win, three conference titles and four top-15 finishes in the AP Poll. Things haven’t gone so well lately, which hasn’t helped garner interest in an already-apathetic fan base, so perhaps this can at least get a few more eyeballs on the team for the home stretch.
