Coyle says U has to get very creative & innovative to get season ticket sales up

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It's not just Coyle, the U has never been very aggressive with season ticket holders or ticket sales / marketing.

If feels like there is a sense of fatalism when it comes to ticket sales at the U. Mostly deckchair moving is all we see.

I fear they might be right about the fatalism...
 

Coyle says that season ticket holders are the backbone, but I see little the U of M has done to resolve this.
I am an acquaintance of someone who recently was interested in two season tickets. He wanted seats that were between the 10 yard lines. He was taken aback with the total cost and told me he will stick with buying three or four games through 3rd parties.
I'm quite sure he would buy season tickets if the donations were scaled back.

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CWCWCW said:
Coyle says that season ticket holders are the backbone, but I see little the U of M has done to resolve this.
I am an acquaintance of someone who recently was interested in two season tickets. He wanted seats that were between the 10 yard lines. He was taken aback with the total cost and told me he will stick with buying three or four games through 3rd parties.
I'm quite sure he would buy season tickets if the donations were scaled back.
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I'm quite sure that I would buy a Lamborghini if they didn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. What's your point?
 


Bring back the Axe said:
Lower ticket prices, win games. Ta-da
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I would also add game day atmosphere/tailgating.

Our tailgating set up is soooooo stupid. Especially when half of the lots closest to stadium are half to 3/4 Full when richie rich doesnt show up.
 


dpodoll68 said:
I'm quite sure that I would buy a Lamborghini if they didn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. What's your point?
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My point is that the Gophers have priced many of their season tickets where demand and value are not close.
When Coyle says that season ticket holders are the backbone, this is a another example of why we have dwindling numbers.

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dpodoll68 said:
I'm quite sure that I would buy a Lamborghini if they didn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. What's your point?
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You cant price a Camry like a Lamborghini though, and our prices are pretty similar to some much more recently successful teams.
 

CWCWCW said:
My point is that the Gophers have priced many of their season tickets where demand and value are not close.
When Coyle says that season ticket holders are the backbone, this is a another example of why we have dwindling numbers.

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How about the athletic department reward season ticket holders and fill up seats at the same time by offering additional tickets for half off??
That way you take care of your base of loyal fans first. If there is one thing that annoys me is having some guy sit next to you that got seats outside for
10 bucks. There's no motivation to buy season tickets right now.
 

There is this wierd hesitation to lower ticket prices. I don't understand it.

I suppose maybe he is that confident in PJ that within 2 more years the prices will have returned to this price via actual demand, so why bother lowering them? Seems kinda backward though. How hard is it to get a professor from the Carlson School of Business to revamp the ticket price scheme (for all sports for that matter)? When you have one of the best business schools on the nation, you might as well use it!
 



dpodoll68 said:
I'm quite sure that I would buy a Lamborghini if they didn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. What's your point?
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His point was that tickets cost too much for his acquaintance. I thought a sharp sharpie like you would grasp that.

Also, as someone else noted, Gophers football is no Lamborghini.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
You cant price a Camry like a Lamborghini though, and our prices are pretty similar to some much more recently successful teams.
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If the Lamborghini dealer is sitting on a massive amount of unsold inventory, perhaps the pricing structure should be assessed.
 

Taji34 said:
There is this wierd hesitation to lower ticket prices. I don't understand it.

I suppose maybe he is that confident in PJ that within 2 more years the prices will have returned to this price via actual demand, so why bother lowering them? Seems kinda backward though. How hard is it to get a professor from the Carlson School of Business to revamp the ticket price scheme (for all sports for that matter)? When you have one of the best business schools on the nation, you might as well use it!
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Because they can't compete with Stubhub... and Stubhub isn't selling out either.
 

Taji34 said:
There is this wierd hesitation to lower ticket prices. I don't understand it.

I suppose maybe he is that confident in PJ that within 2 more years the prices will have returned to this price via actual demand, so why bother lowering them? Seems kinda backward though. How hard is it to get a professor from the Carlson School of Business to revamp the ticket price scheme (for all sports for that matter)? When you have one of the best business schools on the nation, you might as well use it!
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Maybe. Really, empty seats don't help anyone at all. The games are a lot more fun when the stands are packed and it's good for the players and recruiting too. The smart thing to do is fill it up - then start gradually increasing prices when you have the demand. Another smart thing is to give incentives to make a season ticket a smarter buy than single games. And if you can't fill it up, give tickets away to youth football teams or schools. Get the kids there and create fans while they are young! This is a team on the rise and this shouldn't be a problem. Get it done guys!
 



GopherVotary said:
If the Lamborghini dealer is sitting on a massive amount of unsold inventory, perhaps the pricing structure should be assessed.
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That was going to be my next point. I don't think the Lamborghini CEO is out giving press conferences about struggling to increase the number of cars sold.
 

There are 2 groups on this topic:
1. Those that understand supply/demand
2. Those that want to feel better about their decision to pay the U for ST


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Where do we fall in terms of season ticket prices compared to the rest of the B10? I'd think if you could compared the list sorted by wins to the list sorted by season ticket price most wouldn't shift. If we're higher on the season ticket prices list than the wins list by a significant amount, it would be stubborn and ludicrous not to lower season ticket prices. I'd also take a look at concessions as well, doing what the Falcons did would encourage people to get food during the game! Like, sure, people tailgate, but if my stomach is feeling a little empty part way through the game, having lower concession prices would encourage me to buy in stadium instead of wait until after. Finally, lean into beer sales, add some flair too it, its one of the more exclusive things we have at our stadium.

I know these aren't new thoughts here, but i don't understand why the Athletics Department is not trying these things or at least giving us a better answer as to why they aren't...
 

Re: Coyle. To be fair, we don't know how much leeway Coyle has to make changes. You may have the greatest ideas in the world, but if the big boss says "No," there isn't a lot you can do.

I do get the sense that Coyle is not a maverick or a boat-rocker. He's not going to do anything "new" or "innovative" without someone above him on the food chain signing off on it.

So, it could be that Coyle wants to make changes, but he can't get them approved. Or, it may be that a lot of things are in a holding pattern because Kaler is on his way out, and the new Prexy (hi, wren) hasn't taken over yet.

Sid has been saying for years that the reason Gopher teams are not more successful has a lot to do with the administration. he might actually be right.
 

dlw4gophers said:
Figure out how to at least get the $$$ back to where they can be deducted.
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Doable for corporate/business tickets via "advertising". Tough to do for individuals. Also, very few people will itemize now anyway.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Re: Coyle. To be fair, we don't know how much leeway Coyle has to make changes. You may have the greatest ideas in the world, but if the big boss says "No," there isn't a lot you can do.

I do get the sense that Coyle is not a maverick or a boat-rocker. He's not going to do anything "new" or "innovative" without someone above him on the food chain signing off on it.

So, it could be that Coyle wants to make changes, but he can't get them approved. Or, it may be that a lot of things are in a holding pattern because Kaler is on his way out, and the new Prexy (hi, wren) hasn't taken over yet.

Sid has been saying for years that the reason Gopher teams are not more successful has a lot to do with the administration. he might actually be right.
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If the whole protest incident is an example .... probably choosing to do nothing.
 

I, like everyone else, would love to see a packed house every game day. But for those who are confused about why donation seats are not drastically reduced in order increase season ticket sales are likely not the doing math.

So I'll throw out some numbers. After the strong finish, lets say the season ticket holder base for next season remains the same as last season at ~22,000 at the current price. I'll put current season ticket cost at an average of $600 per ticket. That results in season ticket revenue of $13.2 million.

Now let's say they reduce the average cost by $150 per season ticket for next year. At 22,000 tickets, that would result in revenue of $9.9 million. That means they would have to generate 7,333 new season ticket holders at that price, just to break even from what they would stand to make if everything remains the same. It's highly unlikely that lowering the cost would result in that many new season ticket holders, meaning they would lose money.

I think they will tweak some of the prices, but that's why we likely won't see large changes to the donation seating prices.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I, like everyone else, would love to see a packed house every game day. But for those who are confused about why donation seats are not drastically reduced in order increase season ticket sales are likely not the doing math.

So I'll throw out some numbers. After the strong finish, lets say the season ticket holder base for next season remains the same as last season at ~22,000 at the current price. I'll put current season ticket cost at an average of $600 per ticket. That results in season ticket revenue of $13.2 million.

Now let's say they reduce the average cost by $150 per season ticket for next year. At 22,000 tickets, that would result in revenue of $9.9 million. That means they would have to generate 7,333 new season ticket holders at that price, just to break even from what they would stand to make if everything remains the same. It's highly unlikely that lowering the cost would result in that many new season ticket holders, meaning they would lose money.

I think they will tweak some of the prices, but that's why we likely won't see large changes to the donation seating prices.
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If short-term earnings is all you care about, your math is correct. If they are also concerned about building up a long-term and loyal customer (fan) base they should also consider taking a short term loss of earnings. It may pay off in the long run.
 

Word said:
If short-term earnings is all you care about, your math is correct. If they are also concerned about building up a long-term and loyal customer (fan) base they should also consider taking a short term loss of earnings. It may pay off in the long run.
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Are you're assuming 7,333 new season ticket holders show up with a $150 reduction in price?

What does loyalty mean even, if they have a rough year will they stay?
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Are you're assuming 7,333 new season ticket holders show up with a $150 reduction in price?
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No. Build it back up to what it was over a few year span.

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
What does loyalty mean even, if they have a rough year will they stay?
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I think most season ticket holders are not the type that just buy for one season and drop. So if you can get them to sign on, you'll probably at least get a few years out of them. I had my non-student season tickets for 7 years before finally dropping, even though for the last couple years I was having a really hard time getting to all the games. It's a lot easier to get someone to renew than to sign them up to start with.
 

Word said:
No. Build it back up to what it was over a few year span.



I think most season ticket holders are not the type that just buy for one season and drop. So if you can get them to sign on, you'll probably at least get a few years out of them. I had my non-student season tickets for 7 years before finally dropping, even though for the last couple years I was having a really hard time getting to all the games. It's a lot easier to get someone to renew than to sign them up to start with.
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Most season ticket holders now aren't the folks who have dropped.... anyone new it's not the case.

I just don't get what people think is going to happen, if Stubhub can't dump tickets for a couple bucks, season ticket holders aren't coming for less than current prices, but substantially more ....
 

So the U has to get very creative and innovative to get seats filled?

I predict the following creative and innovative steps will be taken:

1. Some cheap seat deals set up to sell tickets to more than one game at a time - maybe even run in conjunction with a deal on pizzas, cokes, etc.
2. ... that's it.

And as far as regular season tickets are concerned... A few will be added and a few will drop due to feeling like a sucker after being aware of #1 above.

That should cover it.

But, the media coverage and pages of GH comments about the empty stadium will continue on, and on, and on.
 

Schnauzer said:
So the U has to get very creative and innovative to get seats filled?

I predict the following creative and innovative steps will be taken:

1. Some cheap seat deals set up to sell tickets to more than one game at a time - maybe even run in conjunction with a deal on pizzas, cokes, etc.
2. ... that's it.

And as far as regular season tickets are concerned... A few will be added and a few will drop due to feeling like a sucker after being aware of #1 above.

That should cover it.

But, the media coverage and pages of GH comments about the empty stadium will continue on, and on, and on.
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Seat + food + such and such deals for single games, easy to do, you get a good feel if it worked and can try new things fairly quickly. Advertising is also short in duration.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Most season ticket holders now aren't the folks who have dropped.... anyone new it's not the case.
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I think there are people out there that have never had season ticket holders that have interest enough to sign up, if the price is right. But maybe that's where we differ.
 

Bring back the Axe said:
Lower ticket prices, win games. Ta-da
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I laugh every time I hear "lower the price". Price does not have anything to with the issues discussed. It is how the product is presented and the perception of value. Go to any chain restaurant and watch people fork up unlimited amount of cash to eat basically dog food and booze. The tickets are fair but asking for the donation makes the whole thing unattractive.
 

Word said:
If short-term earnings is all you care about, your math is correct. If they are also concerned about building up a long-term and loyal customer (fan) base they should also consider taking a short term loss of earnings. It may pay off in the long run.
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Bingo. Get it full(er), then slowly increase the prices back up, unlike what they did after the Citrus Bowl.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Most season ticket holders now aren't the folks who have dropped.... anyone new it's not the case.

I just don't get what people think is going to happen, if Stubhub can't dump tickets for a couple bucks, season ticket holders aren't coming for less than current prices, but substantially more ....
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Also.... (and I hate to keep bringing up the Twins because I'm sure it's the 100th time I've mentioned it...) but considering how bad the Twins have been the last 10 years, they've kept a pretty decent season ticket holder base (myself included). Guess what? They haven't increased my season ticket price in the 7 years I've had tickets - in fact last year they even lowered the price. The Twins also have some perks for season ticket holders. So despite the bad baseball, my ticket partner and I have hung on to our tickets because we still feel it's a good value. Get people to sign up and then do what you can to keep them.
 

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