Here is a hint: You won’t have to pass “Go!”
In addition to having one of the greatest nicknames in all of sports – the Chanticleers – Coastal Carolina University knows how to market and drive attendance.
The Conway, S.C., Division 1 football team had a decent 2024 (6-7 record) with decent attendance, averaging 17,128 in a stadium of 20,000. Season tickets average around $200.
But that didn’t stop Coastal Carolina Athletic Director Chance Miller from being bold. He announced that all concessions at Coastal Carolina football games will be FREE (excluding alcohol, of course). Hot dogs, soft drinks, pretzels – all free for ticket buyers.
Miller is throwing an estimated $250,000 a game down the drain, but what a great investment! Think of the goodwill, the increased ticket sales and the brand boost for the program. It’s a move that will create positive momentum and loyalty to the Chanticleers (which is a fierce rooster, by the way).
Now, you probably know where this is headed.
Tallahassee has long fought what is called “leakage” — in-market travelers who drive to Jacksonville, Atlanta or even Orlando to save money. They do this because the Tallahassee airport’s fares are the highest in the nation.
Sometimes the financial calculations can be tricky – a $100 difference for a single traveler might not be worth the trouble and added expense of gas, parking, and time.
But if a family of 4 is saving $250 per passenger, that’s a thousand bucks and mom and dad would probably spend some time on I-10 to save that kind of cash.
In the middle of those two, it can be a close call, balancing finances, convenience and time.
The big idea:
What if Tallahassee’s airport decided to make that call a little harder by going to free parking? The short-term lot costs $15 for a full day; $13 for long term. For a 7-day vacation that’s around $100 of savings that could be offered to travelers. For some, it might be enough to make a difference.
Another idea: How about free coffee at the airport, especially for the plague of pre-dawn flights that seem to be the only options to travel out of town? Sure, there are existing contracts, etc. but why is Tallahassee making its lightly traveled airport a profit center instead of finding ways to make it attractive for residents? Put another way, if Coastal Carolina can give away free food and drinks to their football fans, can’t Tallahassee figure it out for its travelers?
We’ve talked about downtown Thomasville, Georgia’s allure – how much do you pay for parking there? Zilch.
Time for new leadership?
There is also the issue of governance. The Greater Tallahassee Chamber has, in the past, sought to move the airport to an “authority” as exists in other Florida communities. While we certainly aren’t in favor of change for change’s sake, can the performance of the airport really get any worse under a new structure?
We can’t find a single commercial airport in Florida that hasn’t seen passenger traffic growth in the last 30 years, which would make TLH dead last in growth. That alone should be cause for a new model.
One thing to keep an eye on is the state of Florida deciding to take control of the airport. It is certainly a nuclear option, but the airport of a capital city is a vital link in the state’s economic development efforts.
Changing the mindset
Back to the spirit of the Chanticleers, there is good evidence that Tallahassee leaders are thinking innovatively. The City of Tallahassee recently announced a new exhibit at the airport touting the National High Magnetic Laboratory at Florida State.
Even though that’s an idea that has, ahem, been around since at least 2017, it’s a good one.
One last point: Surely it’s just a matter of time before someone loses their life driving for hours to fly out of a cheaper airport. Our current setup is unsafe, not good for the environment and not respectful of city residents. It’s time for some truly innovative thinking to turn this airport around.
So, raise a glass of coffee – or the arm of a parking garage barricade – to the Chanticleers and their innovative approach to customer relations.