Gopher Season Ticket Costs Going Way UP?

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I think they are over-estimating the goodwill and fan support that they've gained this season. I love the gophers but this price increase will force me to drop my tickets. I already emailed Teague.
 


..So, I'm guessing since it's a donation. What's the % that it can be written off @ the end of the year. . .? Or am I missin' the boat here. .
 


YouBaxter said:
..So, I'm guessing since it's a donation. What's the % that it can be written off @ the end of the year. . .? Or am I missin' the boat here. .
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80% of the donation amount can be taken as a tax deduction, not a tax credit.
 


I get it. We want our athletic program to be on par with the top in the Big Ten.

That objective totally makes sense.

But...

We're not OSU, MICH, PSU, NE, or WIS.

That's not going to work here. This is a pro sports market. 11 of the other 13 BIG teams do not have to deal with this reality, and none of the ones listed above that we want to emulate have this detriment to their program that we have.

We must think outside of the box. We must come up with a solution that works for us.

Us trying to be Ohio State or Michigan is just as laughable as Hardees trying to emulate McDonalds and expecting similar results.
 

Zales04 said:
Oh to have the costs a Purdue fan does...

I looked at the comparable seats for where I sit in TCF, and the average "Scholarship" donation looked to be about $75 comparing all of these. That is the first increase I will face, and if that were it, I would pay no questions asked. But to bump that all the way to $250 in 3 seasons is just ludicrous.
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My parents are in the same boat with their 4 tickets, they can stomach the $75 and if it was staying at that they would be willing to pay it but the prospect of paying an additional $1,000 a year is going to force them to either drop a couple tickets or drop all 4 seats and just pick a few games to go to.
 

josh087;986346We're not OSU said:
We aren't even remotely close to any of those teams. We aren't Iowa or MSU as well.
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This announcement just amazes me considering the culture shift in attending games the past few years across the entire country. How often have we said that to get butts in the seats you need to offer an in stadium experience that can't be duplicated at home?

What does college football offer to set the stadium experience apart?
Tailgating
Marching band
Familiarity/bond of the same people around you year after year

What do we get? Decreased involvement from the band in favor of piped in music, more commercials, tailgating restrictions (loss of lots, no charcoal, increased police presence, etc), and now a gauge so outrageous that it will require a dramatic reseating at TCF. Groups will be broken apart.

I can afford one more year. Barring an unlikely financial windfall before 2016 it just won't work.

I've missed 4 home games in the past 19 years, dating back to the Wacker era. I love this program. What a depressing day.
 

Treating college sports like a ****ing business has ****ing ruined it. Commercialization destroys everything.

But hey, the womens hopscotch team's overpriced tuition might be fully funded.
 

I'm not even directly affected because I can get tickets for any game at about $10 easily enough but the professionalization of college sports really rubs me the wrong way.
 

Schnauzer said:
It seems to me the season ticket base that can be counted on as hard core fans hit a flat line of sorts of about 35,000 during the dome years. It seems that number of season ticket buyers can be maintained no matter how bad the team is or how hopeless the future appears. There are more potential season ticket buyers out there but they are the type that will buy in only when there is a new stadium to see or the team sounds like it is going to be really good. They come and go like the wind. This DRAMATIC ticket increase appears to hammer directly at that 35,000 person core. The bet is that the team will be good enough to replace the hard core fans with corporate and fair weather fans in the coming years.

It sure does seem like a nasty thing to do to that core fan group... the group that paid the way win or lose. I just keep thinking about all those scalping, stubhub, and $10 promotional tickets.
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This is right on the money. (no pun intended)

Very disappointing that this will drive some of us lound, loyal and boisterous fans either out of the stadium, or to the far reaches of it.
 



Great Plains Gopher said:
Contact AD Scrooge at: [email protected]
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In addition to contacting the AD and Prez, let the media outlets and potential bowls know how our fan base feels. Money talks especially the kind that walks out the door! Here is contact info for the likely bowls:

Outback:

http://www.outbackbowl.com/contact

Citrus (scroll down to email form)

http://buffalowildwingscitrusbowl.com

Holiday:

[email protected]%20

TaxSlayer

http://www.taxslayerbowl.com/aboutus/contactus/
 

I sent this today:

If the current pricing plan for my two seats in section 11X of TCF Bank stands in March stands, I will be abandoning my seats and plan to walk away.



I will not pay above market prices for a Gopher Football team that has not been in the Rose Bowl or a BCS Bowl in my lifetime and did not get to the Indianapolis B10 Championship game this year. We live in a professional team dominated marketplace, and the Norwood Teague plan announced today attempts to force Ohio State or Penn State (top of the market, elite Big Ten)pricing on this loyal, long suffering fan base.

The Minneapolis-Saint Paul market has many options for us to spend our money. We have chosen to support the U of M football team, unlike many in this 3.3M MSA, yet now we are being skewered by our own. Unless someone steps in and fixes this, the wounds will not heal for years.

I will not pay these prices to stay in my modest seats at the 25 yard line and will walk away. I will spend my money attending Gopher games on the road in Madison, Iowa City, Lincoln, C-U, Evanston and elsewhere. The $860 that went to the U of M and the $500 that went to Aramark will all sit in my pocket as I sit on the couch 5 miles from TCF Bank Stadium watching the games from my couch.





I am not going to accept an increase from $775 for the two seats I have to almost $1700 in 2017. If this is not reversed in the next week I will walk away for good, and my decision will be final even if this is changed before March when renewal payment is demanded.



Someone needs to be held accountable for this disaster and be terminated in a very public manner.



It is quite possible that even if this decision would be reversed this week, the damage to the program will continue to accrue.



Someone at the University of Minnesota owes me a phone call with a very specific explanation for this betrayal, and mitigation plan.



My 75 year old father is a long suffering 1961 grad, who attended the Rose Bowl as a member or the official traveling party that arrived via a special train in LA. He is probably not aware of this yet, but he will give up his tickets as well. He is still waiting, and has been waiting for almost for 60 years for third Rose Bowl before he dies, and now when things are getting slightly better, the U dumps this on him? This is an outrage!
 

While this will almost certainly be rolled back to some extent if sales flag, the athletic department seems to be rolling the dice that the program is becoming a viable alternative to the Vikes. Time will tell and the market will have its say. MPLS is a wealthy metro and there are many tens of thousands of football fans that can afford these tickets if the product is good.

Secondly, at risk of sounding like my very wise father, if you want to afford something you'll find a way. The major dollar increases are concentrated in the center of the field. Look at your budget and manufacture the money and buy the seats you can afford. Cut the cell phone bill. Shop for better and cheaper auto, home, medical insurance. Stop doing dumb things with your money like buying expensive cars. You can scrape together anywhere from a couple hundred to easily a few thousand a year by not doing dumb things with money. I feel for you guys just out of school and/or with young families. You're screwed. I'm sorry. Life sucks sometimes.

Thirdly, I've been a vocal critic of Teague on several issues. I don't believe he's a prime time AD or fundraiser. This isnt VCU. I want to be wrong. Norwood, I hope you know what the hell you're doing. I'm not so sure.
 

I work in marketing for a large company in town, and every time an outside "marketing firm" has been brought in by the company for some study, the end result is almost always failure, because the outside firm doesn't have the insight to the product and the processes that those of us inside do.

I think this is a clear example of that.

A marketing firm is going to say "your peers are Michigan and OSU and Nebraska etc., and based on the higher income level here than say, Omaha or Columbus, you should be able to charge X dollars more.

This is beyond foolish. Whoever came up with this plan didn't take into account several things.

1. Gopher football is way down the list of entertainment interests in this market. The Vikings, Twins and Wild are all higher up. Maybe the Wolves (but maybe not), not to mention the myriad of other options to spend money in a major metro area that don't exist in Lincoln or Iowa City. This is simply not a hot ticket item by any means.

2. People in this state are frugal/cheap, and aren't going to be willing to pay a ton more for a historically mediocre product. It will be very interesting to see what happens when the new Vikings stadium opens. I know a lot of people who have had tickets since the 1960's who are dropping them because of PSL's, and that's a one time fee - not an annual fee. The Gophers are a few steps below in interest. Vikings tickets for last weeks games could be had for very cheap on Stubhub and they're supposedly the most popular team in town (though not very good this year.)

3. One of the biggest stories in college football early this season was declining attendance, even at traditional powerhouses like Michigan (okay, they were awful), but even at places like Alabama, who may have a shot at another title this year. If this really blows up in their faces, we could be looking at crowds like they have at Miami and Pitt. Seriously.

We had tickets when I was a kid (think terrible Guety/Wacker teams) and once my two year old turns 5 or 6, my plan was to get us season tickets so he would grow up a fan like I did. He knows the Gophers when they're on, and loves his Goldy Gopher hoodie, but realistically, I'm probably not going to be able to justify those prices in three years.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
While this will almost certainly be rolled back to some extent if sales flag, the athletic department seems to be rolling the dice that the program is becoming a viable alternative to the Vikes. Time will tell and the market will have its say. MPLS is a wealthy metro and there are many tens of thousands of football fans that can afford these tickets if the product is good.

Secondly, at risk of sounding like my very wise father, if you want to afford something you'll find a way. The major dollar increases are concentrated in the center of the field. Look at your budget and manufacture the money and buy the seats you can afford. Cut the cell phone bill. Shop for better and cheaper auto, home, medical insurance. Stop doing dumb things with your money like buying expensive cars. You can scrape together anywhere from a couple hundred to easily a few thousand a year by not doing dumb things with money. I feel for you guys just out of school and/or with young families. You're screwed. I'm sorry. Life sucks sometimes.

Thirdly, I've been a vocal critic of Teague on several issues. I don't believe he's a prime time AD or fundraiser. This isnt VCU. I want to be wrong. Norwood, I hope you know what the hell you're doing. I'm not so sure.
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None of this makes any sense. The Gopher Football product is in a near breakthrough, but fragile state. MN Football is not there yet. The product is not good enough for the Sunfish Lake/ Wayzata crowd to transfer their money from the Wild and new Vikings Stadium to make a difference.

I can afford the increases and many of the Gopher fans also afford the increase, but we will not pay it. Your premise is false.
 

If that 35,000 number is correct for current ticket holders, at my seat location and that forced donation of $250 a seat come 2017, that is and extra $8,750,000 to the U, not taking account the higher ammounts for the more beautiful people seats......
 

So the consensus seems to be that people are really happy about the price changes? ;)
 

AF_Howie_2180 said:
If that 35,000 number is correct for current ticket holders, at my seat location and that forced donation of $250 a seat come 2017, that is and extra $8,750,000 to the U, not taking account the higher amounts for the more beautiful people seats......
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How many athletes are there at the U? I think its around 750. $5000 or $10000 X 750 tells us that the "pay for play" number is: from $3.75M to $7.5M. This is what the anti-NCAA crew wanted, and now you get it.
 

discochris said:
I work in marketing for a large company in town, and every time an outside "marketing firm" has been brought in by the company for some study, the end result is almost always failure, because the outside firm doesn't have the insight to the product and the processes that those of us inside do.

I think this is a clear example of that.

A marketing firm is going to say "your peers are Michigan and OSU and Nebraska etc., and based on the higher income level here than say, Omaha or Columbus, you should be able to charge X dollars more.

This is beyond foolish. Whoever came up with this plan didn't take into account several things.

1. Gopher football is way down the list of entertainment interests in this market. The Vikings, Twins and Wild are all higher up. Maybe the Wolves (but maybe not), not to mention the myriad of other options to spend money in a major metro area that don't exist in Lincoln or Iowa City. This is simply not a hot ticket item by any means.

2. People in this state are frugal/cheap, and aren't going to be willing to pay a ton more for a historically mediocre product. It will be very interesting to see what happens when the new Vikings stadium opens. I know a lot of people who have had tickets since the 1960's who are dropping them because of PSL's, and that's a one time fee - not an annual fee. The Gophers are a few steps below in interest. Vikings tickets for last weeks games could be had for very cheap on Stubhub and they're supposedly the most popular team in town (though not very good this year.)

3. One of the biggest stories in college football early this season was declining attendance, even at traditional powerhouses like Michigan (okay, they were awful), but even at places like Alabama, who may have a shot at another title this year. If this really blows up in their faces, we could be looking at crowds like they have at Miami and Pitt. Seriously.

We had tickets when I was a kid (think terrible Guety/Wacker teams) and once my two year old turns 5 or 6, my plan was to get us season tickets so he would grow up a fan like I did. He knows the Gophers when they're on, and loves his Goldy Gopher hoodie, but realistically, I'm probably not going to be able to justify those prices in three years.
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Agree with all of that and would only add one thing. Past experience in the business world and with consulting companies tells me one other thing too. Most of the time when a consultant is hired the results and suggestions they come-up with line-up with what the executives wanted before they hired them.
 

New Stadiums come at a cost.

New Stadium, better team and we still want to pay Dome prices? If someone had told you 10 yrs ago in the dome that for $500 you could have a seat in a new on campus stadium you probably would have said 'yes.'
 

MNGoldenGophers1 said:
In addition to contacting the AD and Prez, let the media outlets and potential bowls know how our fan base feels. Money talks especially the kind that walks out the door! Here is contact info for the likely bowls:

Outback:

http://www.outbackbowl.com/contact

Citrus (scroll down to email form)

http://buffalowildwingscitrusbowl.com

Holiday:

[email protected]%20

TaxSlayer

http://www.taxslayerbowl.com/aboutus/contactus/
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Yeah , get the team bumped down to the Motor City Bowl or whatever they call it nowdays. That will help to make the situation better.
 

oak_street1981 said:
None of this makes any sense. The Gopher Football product is in a near breakthrough, but fragile state. MN Football is not there yet. The product is not good enough for the Sunfish Lake/ Wayzata crowd to transfer their money from the Wild and new Vikings Stadium to make a difference.

I can afford the increases and many of the Gopher fans also afford the increase, but we will not pay it. Your premise is false.
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So, here is my summation of all of these posts and replies:

Oak street 1981 & MNGoldenGophers1 are right about absolutely everything and anyone who disagrees with their overly personal sentiments on the topic in even the slightest is completely wrong and are idiots. At least that seems to be the jist of it. Cool, thanks.
 


If most of the Gopherhole crowd just switched to a little cheaper beer, they wouldn't be affected by this price increase.
 

wait!what? said:
New Stadium, better team and we still want to pay Dome prices? If someone had told you 10 yrs ago in the dome that for $500 you could have a seat in a new on campus stadium you probably would have said 'yes.'
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wait!what! thinks they haven't raised prices since 2008! Beautiful. :drink:
 

I have 4 tickets in the $0 donation area so this will affect me. I see it as a choice...

Either we're an Indiana level team with an Indiana level of fanbase investment, or

We're a Nebraska level team with a Nebraska level of investment.

I would prefer the latter as I think it is unrealistic/unfair to expect a Nebraska level of a team at an Indiana level of investment.

It seems as if I'm in a very small minority in this line of thinking.
 

Go Gophers Rah said:
I have 4 tickets in the $0 donation area so this will affect me. I see it as a choice...

Either we're an Indiana level team with an Indiana level of fanbase investment, or

We're a Nebraska level team with a Nebraska level of investment.

I would prefer the latter as I think it is unrealistic/unfair to expect a Nebraska level of a team at an Indiana level of investment.

It seems as if I'm in a very small minority in this line of thinking.
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My big issue is that I have ZERO interest in my money going to support the scholarship costs of non-revenue sports. Sorry, but I simply don't care. If they need to pay their own way, so be it. If this were going to support football only, I would be on-board.
 

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