FSU football fans had to endure a disappointing 2024 season because the team struggled and Doak Campbell Stadium was incomplete due to renovations.
Those renovations were part of some much-needed upgrades, but also decreased the overall capacity by about 12,000 seats.
A vocal minority of FSU fans on social media have voiced their displeasure about the downsizing of the stadium. However, the maximum capacity for the stadium was over 80,000 about a decade ago, but it was 79,560 in the 2023 undefeated regular season. Tallahassee is difficult to get to, and only a small percentage of fans live within 150 miles (about a 3.5 hour drive) to Tallahassee.
The downsizing effects are largely overblown by FSU fans. The loss of 12,000 seats will not decrease the amount of noise THAT much. If FSU fields a good team, how loud the crowd gets won't matter anyway, aside from maybe 1-2 plays per game? How many times does crowd noise draw an offsides or false start penalty during a game?
Exactly. Furthermore, FSU fans don't pack Doak Campbell Stadium unless the team is undefeated. The 2022 night game against Clemson during the 2022 season is a prime example. FSU was 4-2 going into that game, and the attendance was only 71,098 fans. FSU only had 61,000 attend the Georgia Tech game the following week after that loss.
The attendance during the 2023 season was outstanding because FSU was undefeated. How often does any college football team go undefeated? FSU reducing the stadium size means the stadium should look mostly full for every game now, whether they are undefeated or not.
I understand some fans lost seats they had for a long time, and that's another story entirely. However, the noise and visual effects of the stadium downsizing are way overblown.