Gopher Season Ticket Costs Going Way UP?

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Great Plains Gopher said:
There is a total lack of respect and concern for the most loyal Gopher fans, those who have stuck with a bad product for decades. Norwood is driving out middle class people, families with children being brought to games to become future Gopher fans. He is killing his fan base (in a small stadium rarely sold out) to skim profits from corporate ticket buys. The man is a scoundrel! Contact all regents, media, Kaler.
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many seats were priced artificially low for a new stadium.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
There is a total lack of respect and concern for the most loyal Gopher fans, those who have stuck with a bad product for decades. Norwood is driving out middle class people, families with children being brought to games to become future Gopher fans. He is killing his fan base (in a small stadium rarely sold out) to skim profits from corporate ticket buys. The man is a scoundrel! Contact all regents, media, Kaler.
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He killed Santa Claus!!!
 

saintpaulguy said:
I took my call from the Ticket Office today, made my appointment, and they called back. Spoke to a nice fellow. And, I will not complain on this board again. Not because I agree with all this, but because if anything I'm firmly convinced that they are going forward with this without any concern for my opinion, tradition, or loyalty.

1. They say they've done the studies, and there is EXCESS demand in the good seats. They say they can sell those at higher prices. The fact that there is unsold inventory for games is irrelevant--those seats are just hard to sell. People are willing to pay more to sit in my seat than I pay for it now, so I have to pay up, move, or not go. Don't challenge me, this is what I was told.

2. My loyalty back to the Metrodome days, when I couldn't give a ticket to a homeless guy who wanted to stay warm in November is of no concern of theirs going forward, because they are certain that with the direction the program is going, there is nothing but upside in the future. These changes are to make a winner, and they will win.

3. They welcome me to stay for as long as I can afford it, whether that be 2015.2016, or 2017. And they will work to get me into an area I can afford. They show that inventory will be available, as most people will prefer to stay in their place, and the lower donation seats are not now season tickets.

4. They seem aware that the makeup of the fan base will shift from what it is now, to something else.

5. Best of all, all those empty seats I see in the good sections every week are sold. The people just don't go to the game. This did not strike the caller as a problem.
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The "manager" at the season ticket relations office called me back this afternoon after getting my email. While I have no way of knowing if it was the same person stpaulguy talked to, the script was pretty much the same.

1. They fully considered the other sporting options a fan in Minneapolis has and they are confident people will chose the Goph's over the Wild, Twins, etc. He also said they looked at other schools in major sports markets, not just the B1G schools (since few of them are in major sports markets).

2. He said not to look past 2015 prices when comparing to other schools seat fees. He said every other B1G school will be making these same increases in the next three years. Yes, in 2015 Minnesota will be at the top of the fees list. But by 2017 we'll be back down to the middle.

3. When asked about not selling out the stadium, he told me season tickets were sold out. I told him there are a bunch of empty seats in my section alone. He stated there may not be butts in the seats, but the seats were sold. In fact, they will have no problem selling my seats if we opt to not renew.

4. When I told him they're paying for the scholarships for non-revenue sports on the backs of the football fans, he told me that having 25 sports is a point of pride for the University and dropping any of them is flat off the table for discussion.

5. When told that they were pretty much pricing the working family out of Gopher football, he basically said they knew that and were confident they could make up the missing bodies with new fans.

I knew he wasn't in a position to make changes or offer me anything. I didn't even really expect to talk to anyone when I sent the email; I just wanted them to know my feelings on all this. But I was completely surprised that many of his responses were basically, "Yep, we know it. And we'll replace you."

I'm really not sure what to make of all this. The confidence over there is amazing. For all the talk about our great fans, it's pretty obvious that they aren't too concerned about anyone staying or leaving. Apparently they have a line of people waiting to jump into any empty seats we leave behind.
 

There is no way they have people waiting to get season tickets. Pure scare tactic.
 

Season tickets were sold out? We capped our season tickets at south of 35,000 in a 51,000 seat stadium? How the hell does that make sense? Why in god's name would you not sell as many season tickets as you possibly could?
 


theTurning said:
There is no way they have people waiting to get season tickets. Pure scare tactic.
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Wow. Are they are flat out lying about all season tickets being sold? I know for a fact that the ticket we gave up was not picked up, as it was available for sale for every home game this year.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Wow. Are they are flat out lying about all season tickets being sold? I know for a fact that the ticket we gave up was not picked up, as it was available for sale for every home game this year.
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Guarantee they're bluffing.
 

Section209 said:
I knew he wasn't in a position to make changes or offer me anything. I didn't even really expect to talk to anyone when I sent the email; I just wanted them to know my feelings on all this. But I was completely surprised that many of his responses were basically, "Yep, we know it. And we'll replace you."
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That is a really bizarre response, and that is the tone I got from the other person who said they talked to the manager. That is what I would expect some idiot student employee caught off guard on the phone to say before getting chewed out for saying it. Can't believe that sort of answer is what the scripted for the guy specifically designated for this kind of calls. The blunt honesty is a little bit refreshing. However, seems like it would be much better to have your tone be "we recognize this is going to be a hardship for many of our fans, but we do value our fans, and we are doing this to make sure we are supporting all of our student athletes who work so hard to provide a quality on the field product for our fans, so that you the fan can continue to enjoy a successful Gopher athletic program in the future.

Also, as to the non-revenue sports, I am a little annoyed that their stance to the fan is "hey this is business, if you won't pay someone will", but when it comes to non-revenue sports, they throw dollars and cents out the window because its a "point of pride." I don't know why making games accessible to alumni who paid thousands to attend the institution is not as much a point of pride as the number of sports they have that can't support themselves.
 

CP Gopher said:
I was a season ticket holder for the Twins at the dome, then went to partial at Target Field. Now I have dropped those because the owners basically cheated everyone.
At the dome, the season ticket base was small but loyal. The cost increase upon moving to Target Field basically eliminated that fan base, and it was replaced by a modern fan willing to spend more to be part of a trendy experience. The result was a crowd not really interested in the game itself, but more apt to spending a ton of money on tickets, food, beverages and socializing.
The Twins on-field success prior to the move fueled the success of this strategy, and Norwood and company right now see the same opportunity.
I'll probably renew my Gopher tickets for next year. After that I'm doubtful.
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I have a relative with Twins season tickets who sits in the first few rows of the upper deck not much past 1st base, and I think he pays a around $10 per seat, which is a good deal for nice seats. His Metrodome tickets were a little cheaper, but much worse seats. At Target field, at the top end and middle range, you certainly can spend a great deal more of money than at the Metrodome, but if you sit upstairs or work the secondary market, you can do very well. I like the upper deck seats in the first few rows.

I think the Twins really screwed the fans on Beer/ Food prices, with Beer much more than at Milwaukee or even White Sox Park.

As far as the Corporate Crowd taking over TCF while the families exit, that is not going to happen, although the family groups will evaporate. There is no demand presently or those corparate people would already be at TCF in larger numbers. With the new Vikings Stadium opening, and if the Twins ever right the ship, the competition for Corporate, Suite, and premium dollars will intensify.

The Vikings stadium will rule the marketplace for years, which makes the timing of this even worse.

I may keep my tickets for year 1 to see if Norwood has to back down, or might just dump the whole thing on principle alone. There is no doubt seats will be found on the street or on the e market for much less that we season ticket holders were committing to every single game. The problem is if you have a larger group or do not like uncertainty, the game by game approach can be a problem.

The bigger problem is that embittered people will stay home in droves and watch on TV, determined that Norwood fails gets fired.

I probably will be able to get into the stadium with any ticket and move down near my old seats if I wanted to if this plays out the way I think it will. There are large multi-generational groups sitting all around me that bring different people to the game every week, and that will mostly come to an end. These people are typical Minnesotans and they will not accept a doubling of prices. Some of these people are fairly non complex, non wealthy older people that drive 2-3 hours to the game and this will not be at all accepted.
 



bleedsmaroonandgold said:
That is a really bizarre response, and that is the tone I got from the other person who said they talked to the manager. That is what I would expect some idiot student employee caught off guard on the phone to say before getting chewed out for saying it. Can't believe that sort of answer is what the scripted for the guy specifically designated for this kind of calls. The blunt honesty is a little bit refreshing. However, seems like it would be much better to have your tone be "we recognize this is going to be a hardship for many of our fans, but we do value our fans, and we are doing this to make sure we are supporting all of our student athletes who work so hard to provide a quality on the field product for our fans, so that you the fan can continue to enjoy a successful Gopher athletic program in the future.

Also, as to the non-revenue sports, I am a little annoyed that their stance to the fan is "hey this is business, if you won't pay someone will", but when it comes to non-revenue sports, they throw dollars and cents out the window because its a "point of pride." I don't know why making games accessible to alumni who paid thousands to attend the institution is not as much a point of pride as the number of sports they have that can't support themselves.
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Is anybody sure that the people you're talking to are employees of the University of Minnesota and not employees of Aspire?


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Iceland12 said:
Is anybody sure that the people you're talking to are employees of the University of Minnesota and not employees of Aspire?


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The Person I spoke to is in the U of MN directory, I checked.
 


Gopher07 said:
Season tickets were sold out? We capped our season tickets at south of 35,000 in a 51,000 seat stadium? How the hell does that make sense? Why in god's name would you not sell as many season tickets as you possibly could?
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Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't 8,000-10,000 of the 51,000 Student Tickets 07? That would bring that number down to 41,000.
 



e.bigelow said:
Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't 8,000-10,000 of the 51,000 Student Tickets 07? That would bring that number down to 41,000.
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There is also an allocation in each of the North corners for Visitors, which you need to subtract as well.
 


Section209 said:
The "manager" at the season ticket relations office called me back this afternoon after getting my email. While I have no way of knowing if it was the same person stpaulguy talked to, the script was pretty much the same.

1. They fully considered the other sporting options a fan in Minneapolis has and they are confident people will chose the Goph's over the Wild, Twins, etc. He also said they looked at other schools in major sports markets, not just the B1G schools (since few of them are in major sports markets).

2. He said not to look past 2015 prices when comparing to other schools seat fees. He said every other B1G school will be making these same increases in the next three years. Yes, in 2015 Minnesota will be at the top of the fees list. But by 2017 we'll be back down to the middle.

3. When asked about not selling out the stadium, he told me season tickets were sold out. I told him there are a bunch of empty seats in my section alone. He stated there may not be butts in the seats, but the seats were sold. In fact, they will have no problem selling my seats if we opt to not renew.

4. When I told him they're paying for the scholarships for non-revenue sports on the backs of the football fans, he told me that having 25 sports is a point of pride for the University and dropping any of them is flat off the table for discussion.

5. When told that they were pretty much pricing the working family out of Gopher football, he basically said they knew that and were confident they could make up the missing bodies with new fans.

I knew he wasn't in a position to make changes or offer me anything. I didn't even really expect to talk to anyone when I sent the email; I just wanted them to know my feelings on all this. But I was completely surprised that many of his responses were basically, "Yep, we know it. And we'll replace you."

I'm really not sure what to make of all this. The confidence over there is amazing. For all the talk about our great fans, it's pretty obvious that they aren't too concerned about anyone staying or leaving. Apparently they have a line of people waiting to jump into any empty seats we leave behind.
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Has the feel of a whole department shocked that so many people aren't excited about this.
 

You were right - some person from the office thanked me for my football support and invited me to ask for any other concerns!
 

5$BitsOfBrokenChair said:
This particular poll from The Daily Gopher would suggest that the people that are giving up their tickets will be replaced,

View attachment 3207
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I must be reading this poll differently than you. It seems 41% are saying they will cut back, drop their tix or the increase will prevent them from buying season tix. Only 35% said the increase will have no impact on them. Where are you reading in these results that people will be replacing the exiting fans?
 

Sorry, a bit confused in regards to parking...


So based on your ticket 'zone', you are limited to where you park. Has it always been that way?
 

Section209 said:
I must be reading this poll differently than you. It seems 41% are saying they will cut back, drop their tix or the increase will prevent them from buying season tix. Only 35% said the increase will have no impact on them. Where are you reading in these results that people will be replacing the exiting fans?
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He was banking on people not reading it?
 

theTurning said:
Guarantee they're bluffing.
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FWIW, my group got our 4 season tickets about 2 or 3 weeks prior to the season. We were told at the time "No Rush" in terms of calling in and finalizing our seats (we're in he cheap seats). So, yes, unless there was a HUGE influx of Season Ticket sales in the last two weeks of the year. The "sold out" season tickets line is 100% bull.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I have a relative with Twins season tickets who sits in the first few rows of the upper deck not much past 1st base, and I think he pays a around $10 per seat, which is a good deal for nice seats. His Metrodome tickets were a little cheaper, but much worse seats. At Target field, at the top end and middle range, you certainly can spend a great deal more of money than at the Metrodome, but if you sit upstairs or work the secondary market, you can do very well. I like the upper deck seats in the first few rows.

I think the Twins really screwed the fans on Beer/ Food prices, with Beer much more than at Milwaukee or even White Sox Park.
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I have Twins partial season tickets - 1st few rows of upper deck near 3rd base. The tickets are about $21 each. Beer at Target Field is the same price or cheaper than TCF (Twins season ticket holders get 10% off concessions too). Twins also allow you to bring in all the outside food you want.

I also just asked the Gopher ticket office to not even ask me to renew my seats that I've had for 7 years. I am only getting more furious about the ticket price increases the more I have time to think about it.
 

BMEnGopher said:
FWIW, my group got our 4 season tickets about 2 or 3 weeks prior to the season. We were told at the time "No Rush" in terms of calling in and finalizing our seats (we're in he cheap seats). So, yes, unless there was a HUGE influx of Season Ticket sales in the last two weeks of the year. The "sold out" season tickets line is 100% bull.
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Haven't the lower level, license fee seats been sold out or nearly sold out since it opened?
 

Iceland12 said:
Haven't the lower level, license fee seats been sold out or nearly sold out since it opened?
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Not sure the $250 donations and $500 donations in section 211 were maybe a little over half sold this year. I looked frequently for single-game tickets and there would be multiple rows not sold.
 

YouBaxter said:
Sorry, a bit confused in regards to parking...


So based on your ticket 'zone', you are limited to where you park. Has it always been that way?
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More game day parking near the stadium. Season ticket holders in tier 4 are being pushed across the river rather than being in the ramps near the stadium.

https://www.goldengopherfund.com/online/tickets-parking

That pushes it over the edge for me. Forget about the price increase on the tickets.....they also want to use the (up until now) STH parking spaces in the nearby ramps for game day parking. Probably more profitable that way.

Great..........guess I'm joining the single game/second hand ticket market.
 

Section209 said:
I must be reading this poll differently than you. It seems 41% are saying they will cut back, drop their tix or the increase will prevent them from buying season tix. Only 35% said the increase will have no impact on them. Where are you reading in these results that people will be replacing the exiting fans?
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Only 17% are saying they are dropping tickets all together. 24% of responders are not season ticket holders that say that the price increase does not affect their plans to purchase season tickets in the future. At least that's how I read it.
 

josh087 said:
Us trying to be Ohio State or Michigan is just as laughable as Hardees trying to emulate McDonalds and expecting similar results.
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Wow...the only difference between us the them is that over the last 50 years they promoted and invested in their teams and our admin didn't do squat. Yes we have some catching up to do, but to think that we can't get back to where we were is BS IMO. Maybe you can give up so easily and call it realism, but I would rather do the work and call it success.
 

5$BitsOfBrokenChair said:
Only 17% are saying they are dropping tickets all together. 24% of responders are not season ticket holders that say that the price increase does not affect their plans to purchase season tickets in the future. At least that's how I read it.
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They also don't say whether the had any plans to buy tickets in the first place only that the price increase won't "affect those plans".
 

5$BitsOfBrokenChair said:
Only 17% are saying they are dropping tickets all together. 24% of responders are not season ticket holders that say that the price increase does not affect their plans to purchase season tickets in the future. At least that's how I read it.
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You are reading it way wrong. Assume 100 people responded. 24 weren't STH's and don't care. 9 weren't STH's but apparently wanted to be but won't be now. 35 are STH's and will remain so. 15 are STH's and will reduce, 11 are STH's and will drop because they can't afford, 6 will drop because they are mad.

So... of the 100, 76 are currently STH's or are presumably interested in ST. Of those 32 will change their behavior because of this. 41/76 = 54%. Of actual season ticket holders its 32/70 = 46%. Of STH's, 17/70 = 24% say they will outright drop. That's pretty significant. Granted this isn't a scientific poll, so I don't give it much weight. But it certainly doesn't support the idea of a happy STH base...
 

saintpaulguy said:
2. My loyalty back to the Metrodome days, when I couldn't give a ticket to a homeless guy who wanted to stay warm in November is of no concern of theirs going forward, because they are certain that with the direction the program is going, there is nothing but upside in the future. These changes are to make a winner, and they will win.

4. They seem aware that the makeup of the fan base will shift from what it is now, to something else.

5. Best of all, all those empty seats I see in the good sections every week are sold. The people just don't go to the game. This did not strike the caller as a problem.
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If these parts are really true, then it is bizarre to me. Yes, money and facilities will help, but do they think recruiting won't be hurt by having even less fans in the stands every Saturday? Kids love a great atmosphere, how do we expect to beat out top programs for top recruits when there is only 35,000 in the stands even if we actually sold 50,000?

I don't get that part.
 

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