Athletic Dept. hoping events boost sagging football attendance

1996 attendance at football games averaged 12,669, which was the lowest per game since 1981. Hoping to increase attendance at Penn football games, Athletic Department administrators have planned themed events -- including Saturday's Festival of Fun, a free Hill Field event before the 6 p.m. kickoff against Towson -- for each home game during the rest of the season. Additionally, a Fan Appreciation Day will be held before the November 22 game against Cornell, and a Homecoming celebration is scheduled for the November 8 game against Princeton. The events come in response to declining average attendance at football games across the Ivy League over the past several years. The 1996 season average for Penn home games, for example, was 12,669 -- the lowest per-game level since 1981. "Hosting events around games certainly did positive things for us last year ? so we made great efforts to create five solid themes to attract students to the home games [this year]," said the Athletic Department's Special Events and Marketing Coordinator Katrina Dowidchuk. Senior Associate Athletics Director Carolyn Femovich added that "the main idea is to get students to come to the games." The first themed event, Youth Day, received mixed reviews -- it succeeded in attracting more than 1,000 Philadelphia-area schoolchildren to the September 20 game against Dartmouth, but many of the students left in disappointment after the football team canceled plans to meet the children. Overall attendance for the game hit 11,123, which Dowidchuk described as a good turnout. Although Youth Day was designed to attract primarily school age children, officials hope Saturday's event will draw Penn students and faculty alike. Athletic Department administrators are optimistic that high student and faculty turnout at the Festival of Fun will lead to high attendance levels at the game. "Night games generally attract more people, and we hope this will get even more people," Dowidchuk said. As part of the event, games such as a human joust, a bungee run, mini-golf and a moon bounce will be set up on Hill Field from 3-6 p.m. Last year's game against Colgate was also an evening game, and the Athletic Department held a Laser Light show after the game to attract students. More than 12,200 people attended the game. "That was our third highest attended game, after Family Weekend and Homecoming," Dowidchuk said. In case of rain, the Athletic Department will reschedule the Festival of Fun for Sunday afternoon, although the football game will be held on Saturday regardless of inclement weather.