Got our season ticket renewal (not good, very bad)

[shikenjanski]

Lower Level seats are now considered "Preferred Seating". For each seat in 117 we will now have to fork out $1,600 per seat!!!!!! That is a $1,000 increase.

It looks like the extra $1,000 per seat is not a one-time fee. That "fee" is paid so that we can have the privilege to pay the $600 for each seat. We will get the "privilege" to pay this fee every year.

This has the potential to be a PR nightmare. Bad economy and the ticket prices go through roof!!

Maybe this is how the practice facility is getting built.

 

[Ski U Master]

That is an absurd increase.

 

[Holy Man]

All Lower Level Seats?

If that is the case, it will be a PR nightmare. I know people down there who have had tickets for 45 years, and they are not going to be able to fork out an extra $1,000 per ticket. To do this without any warning or discussion is very bad form. Maturi may have a riot on his hands trying to shove out the door people who have been loyal through some really bad years.

We are upstairs, so hopefully this plague passes us over.

 

[GoldInDirt]

I also hope this is a mistake. Hopefully you can call the ticket office to verify this. To randomly switch seats to premium levels is classless.

The single worst thing to happen to Williams is having so many stiffs/business people sitting near the action who don't care about basketball. If people don't want to get up and cheer regularly, they should stay home. How embarassing is it to have Donna Smith trying to get people to stand up and cheer in pivotal game moments and nobody does. They should take away seats from those who don't want to cheer.

 

[shikenjanski]

We also have seats in the corner (108). Those carry a $700 per ticket "fee". I think the seats in between the end lines carry the highest "premium seat fee".

The first four rows of the upper deck also will carry a fee. Don't have the stats on those seats.

 

[anticallihan]

I also hope this is a mistake. Hopefully you can call the ticket office to verify this. To randomly switch seats to premium levels is classless.

The single worst thing to happen to Williams is having so many stiffs/business people sitting near the action who don't care about basketball. If people don't want to get up and cheer regularly, they should stay home. How embarassing is it to have Donna Smith trying to get people to stand up and cheer in pivotal game moments and nobody does. They should take away seats from those who don't want to cheer.

If it is not a mistake, it is anything but random.

I have a feeling it is not, because 117 is one of the best 6 sections in the place.

To be honest, I would have assumed you were already required to pay a similar fee to sit there.

But, if not, this should get very interesting.

Remember, many seats people are already paying with fees plus ticket prices... I know some people that sit in 116 and I am pretty sure there is a fee. I know all the Dunker seats come with fees. Those are all over the place, but including the first 4 rows of the upper deck.

FYI == Fee is a donation to either the Williams Fund or directly back to the team.

I am sure others can confirm.

 

[Bronko Nagurski Gopher]

i am not taking one side or the other, but......

we are not going to be able to get our much needed new practice facility as well as needed improvements to williams (to remain competitive nationally) built for nothing and with no "pain" to the paying fans. some portion of it (likely not all) is going to have to come from an increase in season ticket prices and establishing premium seating areas that carry an annual commitment. one has to believe that a very, very large percentage of a premium seating license will be going directly back into the basketball program and its facilities responsibilities.

of course this is assuming shikenjanski's note about the proposed increases is accurate/true.

i am going to reserve judgement for now until i learn more.

 

[nooram]

Not sure if this is current - I believe it is from a time when only a portion of each section's seats were part of the assured seating program

Assured Seating Map

 

[shikenjanski]

Williams Fund

Williams fund is for tickets in the first 15 rows, I believe. We are in row 17.

Like Anticallihan said, I understand that the added "fee" per ticket is going back to the program. It is just hard to get over the sudden sticker shock. And I disagree that this is a donation. The word "donation" carries with it the connotation of being voluntary. This is not voluntary. The athletic department is expanding the realm of what it means to have the "good seats". Suddenly.

My wife asked me what season tickets cost down in Chapel Hill. We wondered if the athletic department was following a model from other programs with this new ticket policy.

 

[anticallihan]

Williams fund is for tickets in the first 15 rows, I believe. We are in row 17.

Like Anticallihan said, I understand that the added "fee" per ticket is going back to the program. It is just hard to get over the sudden sticker shock. And I disagree that this is a donation. The word "donation" carries with it the connotation of being voluntary. This is not voluntary. The athletic department is expanding the realm of what it means to have the "good seats". Suddenly.

My wife asked me what season tickets cost down in Chapel Hill. We wondered if the athletic department was following a model from other programs with this new ticket policy.

Well, it would be nice if they just offered it to fans of a general pool on donations. Kind of like football parking. So if you already did this for football in a given year, you were good for basketball as well. Not that it makes you feel better it is like 70-80% tax deductible.

It seems like the worst part for you is that to avoid the fee you have to pretty much move to the upper reaches of the lower stadium, or to the upper deck.

I sure hope they don't spin this as... ticket prices have been flat for X years...

 

[sec105]

Holy Man: We are upstairs, so hopefully this plague passes us over.

If I don't want to pay the extra $2000.00 maybe Joel will give me your seats seeing as I have had mine for 35 years. What do you think?

 

[go 31]

I've been expecting some type of required donation for the best seats. Do we want to be an elite program?

Maturi had the formula just right for football and if they do a Dunkers Plus seat donation option for basketball, I expect there will be options for the old season ticket holders to get some decent seats with no donation. I'd rather mix it up with some young people willing to pay rather than to just have those same old people sitting when we need everyone standing.

I'm one who moved up with a donation for football and I'd pay for better seats in basketball too. And, I'm the first to stand and make noise whenever possible.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

I find it remarkable that our beloved Gopher fans don't connect the price of winning with the price of tickets.

If we are to have competitive facilities and teams, we must spend and therefore we must charge.

Welcome to modern college sports...it is about time the U of M got involved.

I don't see this any different than if your favorite restaurant hired a new chef and changed the menu and doubled the prices...would you presume because you ate their for 30 years that you should get to keep the old menu and prices?

Things change...if you don't like the new terms...you can watch the games from home.

I am very comfortable with you losing your cheap seats so we can win a big ten title.

 

[Bronko Nagurski Gopher]

I find it remarkable that our beloved Gopher fans don't connect the price of winning with the price of tickets.

If we are to have competitive facilities and teams, we must spend and therefore we must charge.

Welcome to modern college sports...it is about time the U of M got involved.

I don't see this any different than if your favorite restaurant hired a new chef and changed the menu and doubled the prices...would you presume because you ate their for 30 years that you should get to keep the old menu and prices?

Things change...if you don't like the new terms...you can watch the games from home.

I am very comfortable with you losing your cheap seats so we can win a big ten title.

quoting that metallica song: "you know it's sad, but true!"

i can't really argue with anything you wrote here. all are fair points. i know it doesn't make it easier to take for some, but at some point schools/fans, etc. have to "pay the piper" to some extent if they want to win big these days. top flight student-athletes are looking for: 1.) the best coaching 2.) the best facilities. realistically, both of those things cost real money and it is very, very rare that they come at no cost to the school and its paying fans.

 

[sec105]

I won't be losing my cheap seats. I will be paying the premium. It will come out of what I usually give the University so it will be a wash in my case.

What bothers me is the misconception many have that everyone in the "good seats" is borderline catatonic. Many of those good seats are already corporate owned. When Williams was renovated back in the early 90's many lost their prime seats due to the premium pricing put in place at the time. Those seats were gobbled up by Corporations who ended up giving them to their customers who were not really Gopher fans. Or they gave them to their distinguished guests from out of town.
I have written about this in the past. I can't tell you how many times I have never seen the people who come and sit in the seats next to us before. They usually arrive late and leave early. These are the "fans" who do not know they should stand for the rouser or if they do, find it to much of a bother. Of course during the Monson years the seats were usually empty.

At $1600.00 a seat more of these seats will go to Corporate America and we will have more lethargy in the sec 107 106 and 105 than we do now. (By the way Dave Mona never stands up either). Or worse they will be sold to Stub Hub at a premium so offset the extra cost and Wisconsin fans will be siting there. God Forbid.

 

[koppco1]

quoting that metallica song: "you know it's sad, but true!"

i can't really argue with anything you wrote here. all are fair points. i know it doesn't make it easier to take for some, but at some point schools/fans, etc. have to "pay the piper" to some extent if they want to win big these days. top flight student-athletes are looking for: 1.) the best coaching 2.) the best facilities. realistically, both of those things cost real money and it is very, very rare that they come at no cost to the school and its paying fans.

Here is the issue. They communicated this VERY poorly. They knew very far in advance that this is what they were going to do yet they chose to wait until they sent season ticket renewals. This should have been communicated much earlier and many more times (not to mention they should have involved the ticket holders in the process). The U executed the construction and seat selection of TCF almost flawlessly but really screwed this up. Big question: If you are one of those long time ticket holders who choose not to pony up an additional $1400 for a pair of seats (or just can't afford it), do you get to boot someone with less seniority who is in a "no donation required" seat? If not, then this is even worse than poorly communicating the process. It seems like they almost need to reseat Williams similar to what they did with TCF.

 

[Rouser]

This is certainly not fun for those impacted right now. That said, we all knew that changes were coming to the Hoops program in regards to Gopher Points. Its been talked about for some time, Maturi responded to me in an email a few months ago that it would happen (Gopher Points) but not this year.

Once the entire process is changed, it will be like the football program. If you have a long history of tickets you will get first choice. I would assume you could choose any seat in the house when this happens...ala the football process now.

I'm guessing this thread is nothing more than an increase in the existing donations. Why not? Its supply and demand folks. Tubby has attendance up..yeah there is a recession, but this past winter was the worst of the recession and no changes were made. We'll see how it plays out but I figure that now is the time to start making changes...not after Tubby leaves someday (hopefully retires).

 

[Bronko Nagurski Gopher]

This is certainly not fun for those impacted right now. That said, we all knew that changes were coming to the Hoops program in regards to Gopher Points. Its been talked about for some time, Maturi responded to me in an email a few months ago that it would happen (Gopher Points) but not this year.

Once the entire process is changed, it will be like the football program. If you have a long history of tickets you will get first choice. I would assume you could choose any seat in the house when this happens...ala the football process now.

I'm guessing this thread is nothing more than an increase in the existing donations. Why not? Its supply and demand folks. Tubby has attendance up..yeah there is a recession, but this past winter was the worst of the recession and no changes were made. We'll see how it plays out but I figure that now is the time to start making changes...not after Tubby leaves someday (hopefully retires).

good post. well thought out.

 

[shikenjanski]

GopherinPhilly said:

I find it remarkable that our beloved Gopher fans don't connect the price of winning with the price of tickets.

If we are to have competitive facilities and teams, we must spend and therefore we must charge.

Welcome to modern college sports...it is about time the U of M got involved.

I don't see this any different than if your favorite restaurant hired a new chef and changed the menu and doubled the prices...would you presume because you ate their for 30 years that you should get to keep the old menu and prices?

Things change...if you don't like the new terms...you can watch the games from home.

I am very comfortable with you losing your cheap seats so we can win a big ten title.

I hear what you are saying and I might have an easier time understanding you if I knew who you were and where you are coming from. It is hard for me to believe that you can have much personal involvement with this issue since you reside in Philadelphia. (let me know if I am wrong on that notion.) Your response to this issue doesn't take into account the reality of what this price hike does to people. I think your take on this is hard to swallow and I hope I am not in the minority. (To be honest, you don't seem to be interested in my feelings at all. )

Don't get me wrong, our family will find the money to renew the seats. My frustration and anger is, like Koppco1 said, aimed at the lack of communication from the athletic department. It is hard to swallow because there is no transparency and there was zero warning. Where is the money going? Who made these decisions? etc.

And to defend myself, I do enjoy standing and cheering in our seats next to people who don't stand and cheer. But I don't have the cash on hand for this to be a non-issue. My family is now in a position that we will have to be extremely creative with the little money that we have. Gopher tickets are the one luxury that I am allowed each year.

Also, who knows where we got this model from. Is this the norm in college basketball? Does Kentucky and North Carolina do this? Or is this just the pressure Joel feels to keep this train moving at all costs? Maybe I need to shoot a letter to Joel directly. But I do appreciate everyone letting me vent for awhile here.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

GopherinPhilly said:




I hear what you are saying and I might have an easier time understanding you if I knew who you were and where you are coming from. It is hard for me to believe that you can have much personal involvement with this issue since you reside in Philadelphia. (let me know if I am wrong on that notion.) Your response to this issue doesn't take into account the reality of what this price hike does to people. I think your take on this is hard to swallow and I hope I am not in the minority. (To be honest, you don't seem to be interested in my feelings at all. )

Don't get me wrong, our family will find the money to renew the seats. My frustration and anger is, like Koppco1 said, aimed at the lack of communication from the athletic department. It is hard to swallow because there is no transparency and there was zero warning. Where is the money going? Who made these decisions? etc.

And to defend myself, I do enjoy standing and cheering in our seats next to people who don't stand and cheer. But I don't have the cash on hand for this to be a non-issue. My family is now in a position that we will have to be extremely creative with the little money that we have. Gopher tickets are the one luxury that I am allowed each year.

Also, who knows where we got this model from. Is this the norm in college basketball? Does Kentucky and North Carolina do this? Or is this just the pressure Joel feels to keep this train moving at all costs? Maybe I need to shoot a letter to Joel directly. But I do appreciate everyone letting me vent for awhile here.

If I had known you needed a hug...I would have offered it first before speaking of the reality of college sports. Sorry.

As for my personal impact...very little today as I currently live in Philadelphia (excited about a St. Joe game though). My family, however, has a combined 20 seats at Gopher Basketball and Hockey for 10 plus years and now have six seats in the bank for football games. We have long debated and discussed the need for premium pricing on our sports teams and the need for top nothc coaches and facilities.

The simple truth is that we have to invest to win. And sadly, not all fans contribute to the funds that support our teams...so mandatory contributions are necessary. For those that already contribute...I suspect this wont make a difference in your annual giving budget...for those that don't, welcome to the party if you want the best seats.

And just for the record, I don't care if the entire lower level (except the student section) is corporately owned if we could win Big Ten Titles and compete for Championships.

 

[SelectionSunday]

One would assume. ...

that if this is true, that the nonconference home schedule would be SIGNIFICANTLY UPGRADED beginning this season. If I'm going to consider paying (up to) an additional $2,000 for my seats, I certainly would expect considerably less Williams Arena garbage in November & December.

Raise your hand if you really think paying $1,000 extra per seat in the lower level will significantly improve what season-ticket holders will get to see in November & December.

 

[GoGophers2005]

I agree November and December's opponents were pathetic the past couple of years. Did I really pay $30 bucks a ticket to watch Georgia State, Concordia St. Paul, SE Lousiana, and High Point? $240 bucks I spent going to those games, plus parking and Dino's Gyros.

Don't get me wrong....I am all about paying for facilities and coaches, but can someone breakdown the ticket prices for the rest of the Big Ten? I bet we find out that the UofM charges the highest season ticket price of all the Big Ten teams yet still haven't hung a banner for a Big Ten Championship since 1981.

However, according to what a previous poster attached (the assured seating pdf) it appears the majority of the lower level needs to pay a fee on top of their tickets. Has this changed over the past year?

 

[Holy Man]

If I don't want to pay the extra $2000.00 maybe Joel will give me your seats seeing as I have had mine for 35 years. What do you think?

Nothing surprises me anymore. If Joel offers my seats to you, I should probably thank him for being such a good steward and raising money for the sports program. Clearly, you are more deserving than me, a mere 20 year ticket holder, and someone more worthy and wealthy will have your seats and adding money to the coffers.

Wait, maybe we could add a few more commercials in the arena, giving the premium seat occupants more time to do their business, and giving us all a program we can be proud of. You should be happy about moving up, and I should be happy about moving out. We've done our part.

This is all working out nicely in the brave new world of college sports. We should be grateful to Joel and company for coming to us well heeled season ticket holders to foot the bill. We may never get to see a game again, but at least we will have a winner. Maybe.

Seriously, I just talked to someone who likely fits into Shik's category (and tickets in her family at least 40 years) and she said her four tickets are "bye-bye" if they slap an extra grand on the bill. Which is probably what they want.

This is bad.

 

[Rouser]

While I would like a better schedule as much as the next guy..any increases in dontations / tickets are due to one thing: Tubby Smith.

What we get for an extra $1000 is Tubby Smith. Any schedule upgrades are coincidental. I'm sure the "U" is making their moves with plenty of research. They seemed to nail the football stadium ticket process perfectly...so we'll see what happens in hoops.

 

[howeda7]

I can't blame people for being upset. However, having to make a required 'donation' along with the tickets is fairly common accross college basketball. I thought part of this whole 'points' system was that this would be waved for the long-time season ticket holders who had enough points to forgo the donation? Is that the case here or not? At minimum it appears the U has done a very poor job of communicating what is happening here.

 

[shikenjanski]

one last thought and then I promise I'm done.

I am ok with the idea that the Athletic Department needs to raise more funds. Win titles, get facilities, be competitive and blah, blah, blah. But the callousness of not communicating anything prior to sending an invoice is just plain crap.

If this is a business, which it is, why not run it like a good business? Why not treat your base, your customers, with a level of respect that is due someone who has bought season tickets since 1972?

It took me three days to put that into words and there it is. I feel much better and I won't be needing that hug after all GopherinPhilly. But stay ready, just in case.