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Syracuse football has clearly been in an era of mediocrity for the greater part of the decade, but head coach Scott Shafer has been working to rebuild fans’ trust and excitement about the program.  The recruiting class he is working on right now is helping to do that, and has fans and players looking forward to a tough 2014 schedule.  Syracuse officially has seven home games in 2014, although one will be played at MetLife Stadium.
According to SeatGeek, a website that monitors and sells secondary tickets, Syracuse’s game against Notre Dame at MetLife will be the team’s most expensive “home” football game since they began tracking ticket prices in 2010, at $163 a ticket. This is partially due to Notre Dame’s strong alumni base in the New York City area, a place where the Fighting Irish rarely play.
Syracuse’s upcoming home game against the defending national champion, Florida State, will be the most expensive game at the Carrier Dome since 2010.  The average ticket is selling on the resell market for $96, over $20 more (on average) than the next most-expensive game: the Oct. 16, 2010 matchup with Pittsburgh.
The 2014 home slate features three of the 10 most expensive football games in the Carrier Dome since 2010.  Including Florida State, the Orange’s matchup with Maryland on Sept. 20, and with North Carolina State on Nov. 1, are also very costly on the secondary market.  Fans are spending an average of $71 to see the Orange play the Terps at the Dome, and an average of $59 to see the Wolfpack.
Syracuse will also host Louisville, Duke and Villanova at the Dome in 2014.  Fans looking to see the football team without breaking the bank should look for tickets against Villanova.  They are selling for an average of only $48 on the secondary market.  Duke tickets are relatively cheap, too.  Fans can see the defending second-place Blue Devils at the Dome for just $49 on average, while a Louisville ticket costs $54 in the Cardinals’ first year in the ACC.
Essentially, Shafer is making people come to the Dome to see football —which has been somewhat of a rarity in the past.  The Orange averaged a shade over 38,000 people in the Dome in 2013, and just fewer than 38,000 the year before.  If ticket prices are any indication, Shafer is working toward his goal of making college football a big deal in Central New York again.  The average ticket price in 2010 was only $61, the average price in 2011 was $55, in 2012 dropped to $47, then rose to $51 last season and now sits at $84 for the fall – approaching double the price of two years ago.
If the team itself can put forth a great effort on the turf, fans should start to flock back to the Dome, hopefully with the same passion that they have for the basketball team.  While certainly improbable this season, it isn’t so wild to think that it could happen in the coming years.
Posted by: Jason Weingold 
