No Show, No Go

Graphic by Kip Aoki, Star-Bulletin

Actual attendance in 1996 will dip below the 100,000 mark for the second consecutive year and will be the lowest total since Rainbow Stadium opened its doors in 1984.

Hawaii drew a meager 4,202 fans last weekend for an important three-game Western Athletic Conference series with Cal State-Sacramento.

Through 34 home dates, only 60,275 people have come through the gates for an average of 1,773 a game. In 1995, the turnstile count was 92,047.

But even that low figure is out of reach this season when considering there are only six home dates left. UH athletic department officials are projecting a final count of about 75,000; a drop of nearly 20 percent from last year.

What keeps those same officials from reaching for the proverbial panic button is that season-ticket sales haven't fallen off at the same alarming rate.

There were nearly 2,700 season-ticket holders in 1996, a drop of about 10 percent from last season. Hawaii is still averaging a healthy 3,327 tickets sold a game.

But what may raise a few eyebrows is the large number of no-shows. So far, there have been 52,852 people who bought tickets but chose to be elsewhere, for an average of 1,554 no-shows a game.

UH head coach Les Murakami has heard myriad reasons why so many are staying away. But in his mind, one thing would correct it.

"Winning, no question," Murakami said. "If you're beating caliber competition consistently, then the fans would be out here. To me, that's the biggest factor."

There are certainly other theories.

One is that the success of the men's volleyball team has siphoned off some of the marginal fans. Another reason is Hawaii's lack of success once WAC play begins.

The Rainbows are hovering at the .500 mark and are in the second tier of the West Division standings for the third consecutive season.

There are those who remember when the UH baseball team handled its opponents with the same efficiency as this year's men's volleyball team.

From 1984-93, the Rainbows not only won an astonishing 443 games, they had style doing it.

They also had plenty of people around to share in their success. In that 10-year period, an amazing 1,228,200 people streamed through the gates for an average of 122,820 a season. But those numbers have fallen dramatically.

Over the past two years and counting, Hawaii has drawn 264,813. If the athletic department's projections for this year hold true, the Rainbows will be averaging about 92,000 fans a year since 1994.

The number of sellouts have fallen just as hard. Since 1990, there have been 164 sellouts of the 4,312-seat stadium. But here is the worrisome trend.

Over the past three seasons, Hawaii has sold out only 36 times. The Rainbows had just six in 1995 and haven't sold out once this year.

"I think not being as competitive in the WAC has a lot to do with it, especially over the last three years," UH assistant athletic director Jim Donovan said.

"Early on, we've been out of the race, so naturally, your level of interest is going to fall off.

"A few years ago, we had many WAC games late in the season that would determine whether we would win it or maybe finish strong enough to get an at-large bid for the NCAA regionals.

"But that hasn't happened lately and that's reflected in the lower numbers. On a bright note, we're still close to reaching our projections, and we still have a strong base of season-ticket holders. We hope it's just a blip on the radar screen."

Donovan's projection for revenue generated by the baseball team this year was $500,000. Through the end of March, the Rainbows had made about $440,000. If attendance remains the same the rest of the way, the Hawaii baseball team will generate approximately $491,000.

Granted, that's not a serious hit for the athletic department. But when compared to the gate receipts generated by the baseball team from 1992-95, it's not good.

According to an independent auditor's report of the UH athletic department, last year the baseball team generated $574,425 in gate receipts.

Even as good as that figure is compared to this year's, it pales in comparison to the 1992 gate receipts of $697,071, when Hawaii drew 148,142 fans.

It's a drop of nearly 33 percent in revenues produced and 50 percent in actual attendance. Even the season-ticket sales have fallen by nearly 1,000 in that same four-year period.

So if winning is the key, will Hawaii be more competitive next year and produce the kind of charismatic players like those on the men's volleyball team?

"We have a chance to be a much better team next year with the recruits we've already signed and the young guys who are coming back," Murakami said. "One reason we drew so well a few years ago is because we had good teams.

"But you have to remember that many of our fans are a lot older," the 26-year veteran head coach said. "I had one close friend tell me that his parents apologized for not coming anymore. You see, they're in their 80s now and aren't able to make it. So, there's also some of that."

If that's the case, then what is Hawaii doing to generate interest for the younger fans? Hawaii has always been at the top in terms of national attendance in baseball, but you can't count on people coming to the games just because they always have before.

Daily promotions at the park have worked in the past. The fact that three top-caliber programs will play Hawaii in a national tournament next January should also help revitalize the waning program.

"We hope it will," UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida said. "I think like anything else, the main reason for the decline is our (win-loss) record.

"I think changing some of the night games to afternoon has caused some of the decline. We also have a lot of fans who identify with the university and not necessarily to any one sport. Yuval Katz (of the No. 1-ranked UH men's volleyball team) has captured the interest of the local fans, just like (former UH pitcher) Derek Tatsuno did a few years ago.

"Hopefully, we can get things turned around."