Gopher Season Ticket Costs Going Way UP?

Donate To GopherHole
Some guy said:
Doubt that. They've run the numbers and included their projected lost season ticket holders.
You don't make a decision like this on a whim.
Click to expand...
Not so sure. Have seen many organizations make really dumb decisions. Even NASA forgot to convert their calculations to metric system.
 

SOMEONE CALL MARK DAYTON! HE IS GREAT AT FIXING TICKET ISSUES AT THE U!
 

Some guy said:
Buy single game tickets for the three games I most care about for way less...and adjust the quantity depending on the game.
Click to expand...

I think this is going to be the plan for a lot of people. Cherry pick the games you really want and save the $$.

There are also a certain faction who aren't emotionally tied to the U. For them, there are a lot of other places to spend that same sports entertainment money. My upper deck seats are going to over $1k next year (before the huge '16 and '17 jumps). For that same money, a guy can buy an 11 game Wild package, a full season Saints outfield package or a half season baseline package, a cheap seat 40 game or a decent seat 20 game Twins package. And the folks who like U football can just go the single game route. I just don't see this working out the way the U thinks it will.
 

Yikes. I understand a modest price increase.......but this is a significant increase in a VERY short period of time. I will keep my tickets next year and would like to the year after.......but by year three......my ticket prices will have nearly doubled. As others have said......it's already difficult when you see the second-hand market ticket prices and the constant promotions that the U has to run to fill seats. This is a kick in the nuts.
 

From the Strib article:

• There will continue to be no scholarship seating fees attached to student season tickets.

• For lower-level seats between the 35-yard lines, there has been an annual $500 scholarship seating fee attached to each seat. That annual amount will rise to $650 next year, followed by $850, and then $1,000 in 2017.

(Lower-level seats between the 35-yard line to the 25-yard line where there had been a $250 scholarship seating fee will go to $450 next year, followed by $600 and then $750 in 2017)

• Lower-level seats between the goal line and the 25-yard line previously had no scholarship seating fees, but beginning next year it’ll be $150, followed by $300 and $500.

• The seats above those, in the second deck, will have new scholarship fees of $75, followed by $150 and $250.
 


So my crappy Zone 3 seats will go from $660 this year to $1,660 in '17 based on what? Being slightly above-average when the league is down across the board? :rolleyes:

Thanks for giving me my Saturdays back, Norwood. How about you win the conference before you gouge the fans? Heck, just get to the conference title game.
 

theTurning said:
So my crappy Zone 3 seats will go from $660 this year to $1,660 in '17 based on what? Being slightly above-average when the league is down across the board? :rolleyes:

Thanks for giving me my Saturdays back, Norwood.
Click to expand...

It is pretty ridiculous.

You are going to pay 119 dollars per ticket for
Buffalo
Middle Tennessee state
Maryland
Michigan state
Illinois
Nebraska
Wisconsin
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Some of us can't afford this when we are still paying back the six figures on loans we took out to pay for the tuition the U just got done gouging us for.
Click to expand...
The U didn't force you to take such an absurd amount of loans. I went through the U and only had minimal loans with no help from Mom and Dad.
 

Ski U Master said:
The U didn't force you to take such an absurd amount of loans. I went through the U and only had minimal loans with no help from Mom and Dad.
Click to expand...

Good for you. What did you do? Work? Grants?
When did you graduate?


Six figures is pretty ridiculous. I would be willing to guess most people leave with 30-50k in debt though.
 



If I keep my seats beyond next season, I would seriously consider selling my tickets to Nebraska, Wisconsin or Iowa fans just to recoup some of the increase. I never would have thought of that before, but that might be the only way I hang onto them.
 

The U has used a marketing firm to help them make this decision.

This increase plan according to the marketing firm has been successful in the past.

Here's the catch: this isn't a college town. Not even close. Fans make significantly different buying decisions than fans do in college towns.

I hope for the U's sake that they've factored in this major difference in the equation and come up with a way to simulate its results before coming to the conclusion that these massive increases are the best option for the Twin Cities sports market.
 

Sticker shock for sure and i can empathize with all of you. Living out here and having a son go to OSU exposed me to the costs of modern day college football. Seat donations for the equivalent of your Zone 1 out here are 1300-1800/ year per seat. My 30 yard line row 50 tix are 500/seat (+300 for the tix). It sucks but seems to be the cost of athletics nowadays. At least it's a tax write off?!?
 

I have already been told no by my group about the $150, $300 and $500per seat thing so I'm in the same boat as theTurning. In 2015 I gues I keep two seats but after that I'm out.
I guess the loyalty of liking being a Gopher football season ticket holder will fade. I can still go to a few Gopher games but I'm not shelling out the donation levels they think are good value to sit near people that are not paying that much more. I will get a 10 game package for Twins or 11 games package for Wild with the money not to the U, they got enough tuition dollars out of me as it was.
There are going to be a lot more people and groups like me than what the U anticipates, sorry but you have to value vacation time, dollars spent of entertainment, I like Gopher football an awful lot but I'm not at the level that I can afford the scholarship donations every year.
 



Zales04 said:
If I keep my seats beyond next season, I would seriously consider selling my tickets to Nebraska, Wisconsin or Iowa fans just to recoup some of the increase. I never would have thought of that before, but that might be the only way I hang onto them.
Click to expand...

If you are selling those three games why are you getting tickets?
 

josh087 said:
The U has used a marketing firm to help them make this decision.

This increase plan according to the marketing firm has been successful in the past.

Here's the catch: this isn't a college town. Not even close. Fans make significantly different buying decisions than fans do in college towns.

I hope for the U's sake that they've factored in this major difference in the equation and come up with a way to simulate its results before coming to the conclusion that these massive increases are the best option for the Twin Cities sports market.
Click to expand...

The problem is, that isn't about "netting more money" - when you lose season ticket holders, you lose affiliation with the U. Season ticket holders start out as buying single game tickets, then they skip a single game or two to do other things in the Fall, they justify missing a non-conference game or Purdue, and before you know it, these season ticket holders realize they are "OK" only going to 2-3 games a year instead of 7. This turns them into a casual fan. Multiply this over a few thousand and its dramatic.

It's a lot easier to maintain a season ticket holder than it is to acquire new ones.

Go Gophers!!
 

Quick question - how does this compare to other B1G schools? What is total cost of season tickets to Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin?

They all fill 80k+ stadiums so a lot more ticket revenue, but I haven't seen mention of how Gopher 2017 tickets will compare to our peers.
 

borninthebarn said:
Quick question - how does this compare to other B1G schools? What is total cost of season tickets to Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin?

They all fill 80k+ stadiums so a lot more ticket revenue, but I haven't seen mention of how Gopher 2017 tickets will compare to our peers.
Click to expand...
I'd be more curious how it compared to Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, and northwestern.
 



Some guy said:
If you are selling those three games why are you getting tickets?
Click to expand...

That's the decision I need to make. I wouldn't want to do that, but if I want to be able to still go to games I would have to consider it. Unfortunately my employer hasn't felt the need to hand out raises over 1/2% the last 3 years, and with where I am in life outside of football, I probably will have to drop them. I can't justify the expense at a certain point.

Had this increase been spread out over a longer period, we may have been able to absorb it. As it stands, I'm probably out after next year.
 

They went way up for this year - and there were not many (any) sellouts. Just read the whole announcement - completely outrageous and unfair, especially to those who have stuck with the program for decades. Within a year or two, I'd be driven out - after 38 years. 8-4 is not exactly a national championship! Greed will eventually kill college football, with coaches making millions, TV dominating, "premium" fees costing more than the seats, etc.
 

Zales04 said:
That's the decision I need to make. I wouldn't want to do that, but if I want to be able to still go to games I would have to consider it. Unfortunately my employer hasn't felt the need to hand out raises over 1/2% the last 3 years, and with where I am in life outside of football, I probably will have to drop them. I can't justify the expense at a certain point.

Had this increase been spread out over a longer period, we may have been able to absorb it. As it stands, I'm probably out after next year.
Click to expand...

We should start a kick starter to get you season tickets
 

Our group of 6 is 100% done with season tickets after 13 years together.

#ThanksNorwood
 


BleedGopher said:
The problem is, that isn't about "netting more money" - when you lose season ticket holders, you lose affiliation with the U. Season ticket holders start out as buying single game tickets, then they skip a single game or two to do other things in the Fall, they justify missing a non-conference game or Purdue, and before you know it, these season ticket holders realize they are "OK" only going to 2-3 games a year instead of 7. This turns them into a casual fan. Multiply this over a few thousand and its dramatic.

It's a lot easier to maintain a season ticket holder than it is to acquire new ones.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Spot on - that is absolutely another part of the equation that should have been considered
 

Oregon Gopher said:
Sticker shock for sure and i can empathize with all of you. Living out here and having a son go to OSU exposed me to the costs of modern day college football. Seat donations for the equivalent of your Zone 1 out here are 1300-1800/ year per seat. My 30 yard line row 50 tix are 500/seat (+300 for the tix). It sucks but seems to be the cost of athletics nowadays. At least it's a tax write off?!?
Click to expand...

You should think about buying Vikings, or Twins, or Wild, or Timberwolves tickets. That's over 100,000 seats times the number of games played. Those can always be had for..Oh, sorry. What's the commute to fight for Blazers tickets like anyway? :eek:
 


El Amin Fan said:
Our group of 6 is 100% done with season tickets after 13 years together.

#ThanksNorwood
Click to expand...

Just got off the phone with my dad, who I split our tickets with. He literally laughed out loud and said "well, it's been fun."

Ugh.
 

The sad thing is they say the costs are going up due to the cost of attendance for athletes. The U largely sets the cost of attendance. Maybe they could keep the cost of attendance in line if they were more responsible with their money. More and more learning is going online and yet the U keeps adding more and more buildings, just one example. Another option would be trimming the excessive layers of administration.
 

A big FU to long time season ticket holders. Probably will keep my seats, but not another dime to any other U cause. No more to CSOM, alumni assoc, etc.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom