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

[Gophers_4life]

As a former employee of the Dept. of Transportation services (parking), I can confirm that the Athletic dept receives $0000000.00 from parking. DTS was and I believe still is its own separate entity within the university adn they hoard all that cash.

Ahhh .... OK. This I can buy.

So at the end of the day, the UNIVERSITY is making $$$ on the parking, but technically none of that money funnels through the athletic dept (on its way to the school), so it is reported as zero by the athletic dept.

I am less sure on concessions, but I am almost positive Aramark has a bid to service the stadium with concessions and they get whatever profit or loss, so again the U doesnt see that money.

But the U wouldn't let them just waltz in there and waltz out with all that cash, for nothing! *buzzer sound* Fat snowball's chance in hell.

Aramark pays dearly to the U for that contract.

The question, again, is if Aramark's contract is directly with the University (or another dept than the athletic dept), or if it's with the athletic dept. I could definitely buy, again, that it is not with the athletic dept.

And to DPODOLL's point, if $250 for nosebleeds is not moving the needle for people to snatch up all of those tickets than yes, it is too high.

That wasn't his point. He was making a snarky comment that people complaining about high prices "only" need to fork over $250 to get into the stadium for the season.

 

[Gophers_4life]

So at the end of the day, re: parking and concessions (and merch) on gamedays ...... we're splitting hairs. Trust me, the U is making lots of $$$$ on them. They're just not being recorded as a line item in the athletic dept revenues, because the contracts are with different depts within the U.

 

[dpodoll68]

As a former employee of the Dept. of Transportation services (parking), I can confirm that the Athletic dept receives $0000000.00 from parking. DTS was and I believe still is its own separate entity within the university adn they hoard all that cash.

I am less sure on concessions, but I am almost positive Aramark has a bid to service the stadium with concessions and they get whatever profit or loss, so again the U doesnt see that money.

And to DPODOLL's point, if $250 for nosebleeds is not moving the needle for people to snatch up all of those tickets than yes, it is too high. Simple economics really. You dont get to arbitrarily set the price for people and judge what may be considered too low or high. That's what voting with the wallet is for.

No one said anything about too high or too low. Saying that only the "financially elite" can afford $249 for season tickets is demonstrably false.

 

[t-docious]

right, I was merely stating that the athletic dept doesnt see any of those game day cash cows. Of course Aramark pays the U for that contract, but it obviously must still be profitable for them. DTS cash funnels back into the univeristy somehow but I cant remember, probably through the general fund and also some for capital improvements or whatever else.

I get that it was snarky, but some people on this board act like $250 is not a lot of money, but to some of us it is. I have kids in daycare that literally eat up most, if not all, of my discretionary income and $250 is something I have to think long and hard about.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Yes, I don't think that perfectly valid point, or his point, are incompatible .... but his response to rockford's point #3 was not valid IMO because that was not what he meant.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

for the 1 gazillionth time - I don't tell you how to spend your money - you don't tell me how to spend my money.

Everyone's situation is different. yeah, I "could" afford season tickets. Which would mean a 5-hour plus round trip drive to every game, plus parking.

when you add it all up, it's just not worth it to me to pay the price required for good seats. and that's the key word - good seats. If I'm going to the game in person, it has to be a better experience than I can have sitting on my couch with a 55" HDTV. sitting in the upper deck nosebleed seats, and watching the whole game through binoculars, is not a better experience than my couch. (and it's an old, crappy couch to boot....)

that's the real issue. it's not just price of seats - it's the total in-game experience.

 

[Gophers_4life]

SON does bring up another good point: round trip travel times.

Think about Madison and Iowa City. They get 70's 80's thousands people in those stadiums every home game, and guessing a good portion of people have 4 or more total hours of driving (round trip) to do on gameday.

So to me, that kinda removes the "hassle/parking/traffic" part of the equation out of it for the U. We have a 3M people metro surrounding our stadium. Most of those people I bet would have less than 2hrs total driving time.

 

[dpodoll68]

for the 1 gazillionth time - I don't tell you how to spend your money - you don't tell me how to spend my money.

Actually, every time one of these threads is started, the "lower the prices!!!" crowd is telling the U how to spend their money - or more precisely, how to not spend the money they won't have, since they'll have less of it by lowering ticket prices.

when you add it all up, it's just not worth it to me to pay the price required for good seats. and that's the key word - good seats. If I'm going to the game in person, it has to be a better experience than I can have sitting on my couch with a 55" HDTV. sitting in the upper deck nosebleed seats, and watching the whole game through binoculars, is not a better experience than my couch. (and it's an old, crappy couch to boot....)

I know you've said that you've never gone to a game in TCF, and this proves it. There's no such thing as "nosebleeds" in TCF. The concept of using binoculars at a football game in TCF is laughable to anyone who's actually been inside.

that's the real issue. it's not just price of seats - it's the total in-game experience.

You're correct. Will you share this information with everyone else so we don't have to have this thread on a weekly (or more frequent) basis?

 

[Zeppelin Gopher]

So in other words, unless you're buying cheap seats ..... ie, if you're going to spend the coin to get season tickets, you actually want to have decent seats .... then yes, it is just for people who can afford that cost, plus the cost of the donation.

dpo was trying to make it sound like any joe can walk off the street and be sitting lower deck 50 yard line in 2019 all season for $250 total.

You're very confused.

My group has seats row 2/3 upper deck, and we pay $249/seat with zero donation.

There are plenty of affordable season tickets available and we aren't just talking about the nosebleeds.

 

[Minneman]

right, I was merely stating that the athletic dept doesnt see any of those game day cash cows. Of course Aramark pays the U for that contract, but it obviously must still be profitable for them. DTS cash funnels back into the univeristy somehow but I cant remember, probably through the general fund and also some for capital improvements or whatever else.

I get that it was snarky, but some people on this board act like $250 is not a lot of money, but to some of us it is. I have kids in daycare that literally eat up most, if not all, of my discretionary income and $250 is something I have to think long and hard about.

I sent an email to PTS at the UMN to find out, we shall see.

 

[swelna]

I would hazard a guess that aramark has a broad contract, they supply all of the university run food areas around campus, or did when I was a student a few years ago. Maybe aramark's bid for the concessions is different, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is part of their larger contract.

 

[Word]

I sent an email to PTS at the UMN to find out, we shall see.

I've heard that phone calls are the way to get things done.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

It’s very likely some of the better sections, ie around the 50 yard line are underpriced relative to what people are willing to pay while other seats may be a bit overpriced. Some/many higher income folks spend their money on what some would consider ludicrously dumb things like designer clothes, expensive cars, electronics, hotels/traveling and restaurants etc. It’s all about what is important to an individual and for many money really isn’t a huge concern. For most others it’s a huge deal/living paycheck to paycheck.

It’s likely there is a segment of the fan base that is willing to spend far more for good seats than what the U is charging for reasons of sight lines and perhaps as a status symbol. Think of luxury cars. Those cars generally aren’t worth anywhere near the price paid but they are scarce and people will pay for status and perceived higher quality. Jack the better seats up, reduce the others or give them away. The dollar numbers could even up or even net out higher and perhaps draw more fans in.

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

You're very confused.

My group has seats row 2/3 upper deck, and we pay $249/seat with zero donation.

There are plenty of affordable season tickets available and we aren't just talking about the nosebleeds.

Obviously you haven't been following along. I'll try to give you a recap...
1. Every ticket needs to be cheap or the U isn't doing enough to attract fans.
2. Supply and demand is the basis for which you should consider all purchases. What you value a product is irrelevant, it's all about what others determine its value to be.
3. Finding a ticket in your price range and actually attending and enjoying the game is wrong because it is more important to send a message to the U that fans didn't like the price increase.
4. Seats beyond the 20s or in the upper decks don't really matter because who would actually sit there?

 

[Gophers_4life]

Obviously you haven't been following along. I'll try to give you a recap...
1. Every ticket needs to be cheap or the U isn't doing enough to attract fans.
2. Supply and demand is the basis for which you should consider all purchases. What you value a product is irrelevant, it's all about what others determine its value to be.
3. Finding a ticket in your price range and actually attending and enjoying the game is wrong because it is more important to send a message to the U that fans didn't like the price increase.
4. Seats beyond the 20s or in the upper decks don't really matter because who would actually sit there?

Yeah isn't it annoying, all this idle chatter about attendance?? Clearly there is nothing wrong with attendance. Weird that they would even publish an article about it, or that Coyle would have anything to say about it at all. Clearly a non-issue.

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

There absolutely is a problem with attendance, but I'm not sure what everyone is expecting to happen. I brought this up on another topic, cheap tickets for good seats are available on secondary markets. People aren't buying them. Even the people on this gopher fan board are choosing not to buy those cheap tickets. So supply and demand is saying that a lower level seat for $30 is too much. But many here want the gophers to offer tickets at a price to attract fans. Which means they would have to lower prices so much that the revenue could never be matched even with a sellout. How many hot dogs does every one need to eat to make up the difference with lower level season tickets for $25/per game?

There are many options for sports fans in the Twin Cities and gophers will always be second to the vikings for casual fans. 2014 had a spike in gopher football interest. 2015 had a dip in performance and loss of popular coach. 2016 had the scandal and new Viking stadium. 2017 terrible gopher product and great viking product. All of this contributed to the attendance in 2018. If the gophers play as well as they did in the last 4 games of 2018, next year the trends will start to reverse (not be fixed but start to get better). There are a lot of winnable games on the schedule next year, and if the Vikings disappoint it could be even better for gopher attendance.

Winning cures a lot. Someone on another topic pointed out that this is a bad strategy for a program that hasn't won consistently in 50 years which is true, but what is the other option? Losing revenue isn't going to help football or any other program at the U.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Yes, that is a great post full of valid points.

I think there are three other factors worth mentioning that all seemed to combine to help "ruin" attendance for 2018 specifically: weather, game day/timing, and bad losses immediately prior.

Game 1 - New Mexico St - Thursday evening, great weather, against a tomato can opponent. Limited tailgating time. Before Labor Day weekend
Game 2 - Fresno St - Saturday evening, this was probably one of the nicest of the year for weather, unfamiliar opponent
Game 3 - Miami OH - Saturday afternoon, blazing hot ... I mean, blazing. Low level opponent.

Game 4 - Iowa - Saturday afternoon, mild weather, bad loss at Maryland the week before, but it was homecoming against a rival
Game 5 - Indiana - Friday night, mild but raining, bad loss at Nebraska the week before
Game 6 - Purdue - Saturday afternoon, freezing cold, bad loss at Illinois the week before, fired DC, no one knew what to expect
Game 7 - Northwestern - Saturday late morning, freezing cold, had just come off an incredible, even mysterious (at the time) win against Purdue, don't think people trusted it yet ...


By the time people realized that Purdue and a solid defensive performance against NW were for real, and that we'd go on to beat Wisconsin, it was obviously far too late.


I mean look at our home slate .... out of four Big Ten games, only the Iowa homecoming game was really decent as far as weather, conditions, and state of the team. And the Fresno game was the best for non-conf, but still was an unfamiliar opponent.

 

[Spoofin]

Attendance better improve quickly or PJ is going to feel Coyle over his shoulder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MennoSota]

Attendance better improve quickly or PJ is going to feel Coyle over his shoulder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The snake [emoji216] will whisper sweet nothings to anyone willing to listen to him hiss.

 

[PMWinSTP]

for the 1 gazillionth time - I don't tell you how to spend your money - you don't tell me how to spend my money.

Everyone's situation is different. yeah, I "could" afford season tickets. Which would mean a 5-hour plus round trip drive to every game, plus parking.

when you add it all up, it's just not worth it to me to pay the price required for good seats. and that's the key word - good seats. If I'm going to the game in person, it has to be a better experience than I can have sitting on my couch with a 55" HDTV. sitting in the upper deck nosebleed seats, and watching the whole game through binoculars, is not a better experience than my couch. (and it's an old, crappy couch to boot....)

that's the real issue. it's not just price of seats - it's the total in-game experience.

You living that far away is different than the boatload of alum who live within an hour of the stadium. I have stood on the top for many games and you don't need binoculars. Sight lines in TCF are good everywhere. You can spend around $300 and find season tickets in the first 10 rows of the upper deck, which are perfect for game viewing.

 

[Word]

You living that far away is different than the boatload of alum who live within an hour of the stadium. I have stood on the top for many games and you don't need binoculars. Sight lines in TCF are good everywhere. You can spend around $300 and find season tickets in the first 10 rows of the upper deck, which are perfect for game viewing.

Agree with you on the sightlines - not a bad seat in the house. I'm just not a fan of the bleachers though, so if I were ever to re-up my season tickets I would need to have a chair back like I did before.

 

[Vandy]

Agree with you on the sightlines - not a bad seat in the house. I'm just not a fan of the bleachers though, so if I were ever to re-up my season tickets I would need to have a chair back like I did before.

$45 will get you a seat back installed on your bench season seats. Besides being more comfortable, it will keep your "portly" neighbor from encroaching on your space.

I sit in the upper deck , 4 seats within the first 15 rows for $310 each, and no donation / contribution. It has worked out very well for me, no sightline issues or need for binoculars whatsoever.

Perhaps when I am completely done funding higher education and weddings, I will opt for something a bit more pricey.

 

[everybody knows my name]

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.

If you think that price has nothing to do with ticket sales, then you're in a different tax bracket than I am.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

If you think that price has nothing to do with ticket sales, then you're in a different tax bracket than I am.

Stubhub doesn't sell all their tickets by gameday, even ultra cheap.

 

[Gophers_4life]

$45 will get you a seat back installed on your bench season seats. Besides being more comfortable, it will keep your "portly" neighbor from encroaching on your space.

I sit in the upper deck , 4 seats within the first 15 rows for $310 each, and no donation / contribution. It has worked out very well for me, no sightline issues or need for binoculars whatsoever.

Perhaps when I am completely done funding higher education and weddings, I will opt for something a bit more pricey.

You’re probably exactly the type of person the AD should be interviewing to gain insight on why you “put up” with going to the stadium. Depending where in Anoka county you live, could be 45mjn-2hrs round trip drive time, plus waiting to get into and out of a parking spot, plus getting into the stadium and to your seats, getting back to your vehicle, and sitting in the upper deck for $1240 per year. And having to deal with the weather (was a doozy this past season) and the game day/times (one Thurs night, one Fri night, and one Sat night, instead of the usual Sat 11am or 230pm).

On paper at least, it seems like there should be no way that you would go through all that vs. just watching on TV from the comfort of your living room. Could buy a really nice TV, new sofa, etc. for that kind of money over a few years.

So why do you do it??

 

[Vandy]

You’re probably exactly the type of person the AD should be interviewing to gain insight on why you “put up” with going to the stadium. Depending where in Anoka county you live, could be 45mjn-2hrs round trip drive time, plus waiting to get into and out of a parking spot, plus getting into the stadium and to your seats, getting back to your vehicle, and sitting in the upper deck for $1240 per year. And having to deal with the weather (was a doozy this past season) and the game day/times (one Thurs night, one Fri night, and one Sat night, instead of the usual Sat 11am or 230pm).

On paper at least, it seems like there should be no way that you would go through all that vs. just watching on TV from the comfort of your living room. Could buy a really nice TV, new sofa, etc. for that kind of money over a few years.

So why do you do it??

If I had to pay hundreds of dollars on top of the ticket price I wouldn't do it... This was why I gave up on my Gopher hockey tickets.

That being said, there is nothing much I like better than being at a college football game. Decades of tradition, going with my late dad starting in the early 70's.

I attend regardless of the weather, and stay through the school song following the game. It's a little habit of mine. It's Minnesota, so I will take the heat when we get it, and dress for cold or wet weather. I want to be there.

Love being around a college campus. It just feels good. I think the U campus is an amazing place.
Saturday afternoons, a few beers, a little tailgating, the band, hopefully some sunshine... and a good team performance helps...

That being said, the game day experience at the U needs work. Tailgating spots need to be made more affordable to fill the lots, pregame activities need to be more attractive, concessions need to be made more affordable... etc...etc... It can be made better and more attractive to those that have not been attending regularly over time. I realize everyone does not feel the same as I do...Sometimes when I have an available ticket, it is difficult to fill the seat.

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

You’re probably exactly the type of person the AD should be interviewing to gain insight on why you “put up” with going to the stadium. Depending where in Anoka county you live, could be 45mjn-2hrs round trip drive time, plus waiting to get into and out of a parking spot, plus getting into the stadium and to your seats, getting back to your vehicle, and sitting in the upper deck for $1240 per year. And having to deal with the weather (was a doozy this past season) and the game day/times (one Thurs night, one Fri night, and one Sat night, instead of the usual Sat 11am or 230pm).

On paper at least, it seems like there should be no way that you would go through all that vs. just watching on TV from the comfort of your living room. Could buy a really nice TV, new sofa, etc. for that kind of money over a few years.

So why do you do it??

What would it take for you to "put up" with attending a game? It seems that price has nothing to do with it.

 

[Hates Monikers]

There absolutely is a problem with attendance, but I'm not sure what everyone is expecting to happen. I brought this up on another topic, cheap tickets for good seats are available on secondary markets. People aren't buying them. Even the people on this gopher fan board are choosing not to buy those cheap tickets. So supply and demand is saying that a lower level seat for $30 is too much. But many here want the gophers to offer tickets at a price to attract fans. Which means they would have to lower prices so much that the revenue could never be matched even with a sellout. How many hot dogs does every one need to eat to make up the difference with lower level season tickets for $25/per game?

There are many options for sports fans in the Twin Cities and gophers will always be second to the vikings for casual fans. 2014 had a spike in gopher football interest. 2015 had a dip in performance and loss of popular coach. 2016 had the scandal and new Viking stadium. 2017 terrible gopher product and great viking product. All of this contributed to the attendance in 2018. If the gophers play as well as they did in the last 4 games of 2018, next year the trends will start to reverse (not be fixed but start to get better). There are a lot of winnable games on the schedule next year, and if the Vikings disappoint it could be even better for gopher attendance.

Winning cures a lot. Someone on another topic pointed out that this is a bad strategy for a program that hasn't won consistently in 50 years which is true, but what is the other option? Losing revenue isn't going to help football or any other program at the U.

The Gophers averaged -- AVERAGED -- 52,366 fans in 2015. That was only three seasons ago. that was after the first round of scholarship seating increases. The U doesn't need to cut prices in half; they only need to stop gouging. If the team is competitive and tickets are fairly priced, people will come. (That 2015 season did include an attractive home schedule, and we were coming off a fun 2014 season.)

You keep bringing up cheap tickets available on StubHub. That's a fair point, but people don't buy them in November when it's getting cold. And even in September and October, selling 20,000 season tickets leaves 30,000 seats to fill with people searching StubHub. That's a big ask.

 

[rockford]

Regarding my earlier "economic elite" remark:

If you don't think the price of season tickets typically restricts access to the economic elite, consider this from teamsportsmarketing.com (based on its work for members of the NFL, NBA and NHL):

"Whether you are selling season tickets for major league sports, NCAA Division I athletics, or even most minor league teams, your primary group of season ticket buyers will have similar characteristics. Since the cost to frequently attend professional and major college sporting events exceeds the ability to pay for most young employed individuals ... season ticket holders are almost by necessity going to be in the upper-income brackets."

Emphasis mine. And let's point out that this is a general statement, and not specifically for a team whose tickets are demonstrably overpriced in terms of its peers.

Median household income in Minnesota is about $58,500. That's about $7,500 less than the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says a family of three needs to cover basic-needs cost of living in Minnesota.

You think even $600 for season tickets is on the radar for a family near the median household income? You think it's on the radar for many families whose income is twice the median?

I'm sure there are many who find money for season tickets even though their household income is less than $100,000. That's great, but they are outliers.

The U's pricing structure makes it clear it is targeting a relatively small but affluent segment of the population. And I maintain that's a really ****ty approach for a public institution relying on public dollars.

JTG

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

The U's pricing structure makes it clear it is targeting a relatively small but affluent segment of the population. And I maintain that's a really ****ty approach for a public institution relying on public dollars.

I'll just assume your conclusion is accurate.... what is the problem?

Football I belive is profitable on its own.... is it supposed to be less so in order to subsidize entertainment for people who make less money?

The educational institutional institution and sports business is a weird thing to begin with .... you would suggest they should then be providing sports entertainment services as well?