Is the U elitist and geared toward the rich? Are Gopher tickets expensive or cheap?

[highwayman]

Are U Athletics geared toward the rich? Are Gopher tickets expensive or cheap?

I went off topic in another thread and I apologize. Let's pick it up here. I responded to the following posts with my following post:

It's good that they do a little something for the students. The football experience at the U has been catering to rich alumni for many years.

Catering to the rich?

I had the same reaction, but didn't reply. We are on the low-end of catering to "the rich", here in self-loathing, passive-agressive Minnesota. We want success, but we hate those who succeed. We want a bigger, better program, but we don't want any income generation that caters to "the rich".

We have one of the cheapest season tickets in the BCS. We have some of the lowest seat licenses in the BCS. Our athletic department has to pay back the U for scholarships.

It takes money to make money. We are nowhere near wealthy, but we consider every dime we spend on Gopher football as an INVESTMENT in the future of this program--our GLC membership, the season tickets, the seat licenses, the $50 a month to the stadium fund. We even "sponsored a hole" at the GLC golf event for the ridiculous price of $200--that money went to the promotional films budget, the "Webisodes". A pair of sideline passes go for a couple hundred bucks at auction. Try that at Michigan, Notre Dame, or even Iowa.

We do this so that "voila!" the students can have a place to tailgate--yup, your money goes to that, too.

Sorry, didn't want to hijack this thread, but this elitist BS is ridiculous. I am excited for the students, and excited for the future of Gopher football. I am in favor of anything (legal) that helps this program succeed--anything. I hope we can cater the sh!t out of "the rich".

That was followed by this:

Say what you want, but I can go to a Timberwolves game cheaper than a Gophers basketball game, and I can go to a Vikings game cheaper than a Gophers football game. Tickets aren't cheap, tailgating is expensive, parking is restrictive...what used to be cheap entertainment is now too expensive for a lot of people to do more than once or twice a year.

It's funny to me that my earlier comment would be construed as class jealousy. I'm not rich, but I'm as conservative a Republican as you'll find, and I'd like to be rich as much as anybody. I guess I'll just invest in lottery tickets, sit on the floor of my shanty, and hope for the best.

A quick analysis:
We will leave out private boxes, etc. as all teams have those. Per game, Gopher tickets are a base $39, with general seating seat licenses bringing some seats to $54, $75, and $111. I don't know what our average price is. Help here? Parking is generally $25 per game.

If you have 4 tickets in the $250 license area, your contribution level is met for parking two blocks away...and it's tax deductable. Also, I mentioned my $50 per month stadium contribution ($600 a year), which almost meets the thousand, and is also tax deductable. Is this also part of the discussion?

Vikings tickets are for 10 games, two of which are meaningless exhibition games. Don't hate me, but I think those games don't count. If the NFL went to 9 regular season home games, you think ticket prices would stay the same? According to multiple sources, the range is $29 - $103, average ticket price $77 for 10 games. Throw out the exhibition games and it's $97 per game. Parking is generally $20.

You may go to it on T-Wolves; a vastly inferior product, the Wild; a middling product, and the Twins; a good to superior product. I did my part...I realize the Twins have a massive amount of ticket plans.

In the end, I would like to have a discussion on "value" as much as "cheapness".

 

[supadupafly]

highwayman - i strongly agree with everything you wrote here. nicely said and laid out.

to answer the question you posed. no, the U of M is not elitist. and no they do not simply cater to the rich. if you are a guy or gal who considers themself an "average joe/jane" kind of person, there is no reason why you should not support the U of M. U of M sports tickets are one of the best bangs for your buck in town. and i would rather spend my sporting dollars and any money i might have available to donate in support of my home state flagship university and college athletes than towards a bunch of vastly overpaid professional hired guns, many of whom do no live here during the off-season, or are at times in trouble with the law.

p.s. your 2nd, 3rd and 4th sentences pretty much hit the nail on the head in terms of the annoying attitude so many native minnesotans seem to have towards life -- and sports -- in general. and yes, i am a native minnesotan, so i have no problem calling some of my fellow minnesotans out.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

I spend about $350 a year to go sit in the 5th row in the lower deck at Gopher football games and tailgate. That includes food, beer, gas and parking. It's worth every penny.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

IMO, Gopher football has always been a bargain. I can remember the 4/$44 tix including a dog and coke during the last few years at the damn dome.

Tickets could be $5 and still many folks would stay home as Gopher football is irrelevant(sp) to them.

For us outstate folks, the price of a ticket is not the major expense.

 

[everybody knows my name]

Holy crap. Do you see what you just did, Highwayman? You took an offhand remark from a complete stranger and turned it into an extended socio-psycho-politico rant. You're insane.

Here's my point, which you completely missed because you're an obnoxious windbag: a Gophers football game used to be something that almost everyone could afford to attend. It used to be a cultural experience. That's changed for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest is that every aspect of the cost of attendance has increased at a rate far (far!) greater than inflation. I could tick off a long list of ways that the experience has gotten more expensive, but I really don't think you're going to dispute the cost side of the argument.

I'm not some sniveling liberal who hates other people for being successful, and I never accused the U of being elitist or snobby. It pisses me off that anyone would mischaracterize me that way. I recognize that college football is big business now and has to be run like a business. But here's something that I understand, and I'm not sure you do: to be successful in business you have to do more than maximize your revenue at every opportunity. You also have to expand your appeal.

But I perceive that for years, every change in pricing and access at major U sports has made it more exclusive. Opening up a street for student tailgating is the first move in years to go the other way. I applaud the U and the city of Minneapolis for the initiative.

I'm a genuine fan, ever since I was nine years old and Lou Holtz was the coach. I always looked forward to bringing my little boys to Gophers games (I have four sons) and passing on my love for the U. But what do I have to offer them now? A lot of things that we can't afford, and occasionally a game on ABC or ESPN.

 

[everybody knows my name]

Here's my last observation, and then I'm done, quit, finished. It seems to me that the athletic department's revenue strategy for the last few years has been to take more and more money from fewer and fewer people. I don't think that's sustainable.

 

[RedPoo]

Here's my last observation, and then I'm done, quit, finished. It seems to me that the athletic department's revenue strategy for the last few years has been to take more and more money from fewer and fewer people. I don't think that's sustainable.

Without wading into the specifics (because except for this instance I don't know much of them) this seems to be true at least for parking/tailgating. With the limited amount of space near the stadium where tailgating is allowed, there is going to need to be some pricing disincentive to maximize revenue and keep people from flooding the areas, but from my own eyeball observations these first two years they've definitely tended more towards keeping prices high at the expense of filling the lots, where they could probably drop them down a bit and get some more people in there without hurting the bottom line. But that's just one very small part of the equation that's being discussed.

 

[grunkiejr]

Here's my last observation, and then I'm done, quit, finished. It seems to me that the athletic department's revenue strategy for the last few years has been to take more and more money from fewer and fewer people. I don't think that's sustainable.

Not to get political but that sounds an awful lot like Dayton's strategy for Minnesota.

 

[tjgopher]

Here's my last observation, and then I'm done, quit, finished. It seems to me that the athletic department's revenue strategy for the last few years has been to take more and more money from fewer and fewer people. I don't think that's sustainable.

Well, just be glad you're a supporter of the Gophers. Go try to be a season ticket holder in decent seats with a decent parking spot at Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, or even Iowa State. It doesn't get much cheaper than Gopher football.

If by unsustainable you mean we don't have enough rich people who are interested in ponying up big bucks, you might be on to something. All of those other schools - including Iowa State - outdo us in program-driven, sport-specific annual private athletic fundraising because they have more passionate supporters who have deep pockets.

 

[CrocShots]

Parking is free if you park in the dinkytown neighborhoods and walk. Just sayin'

 

[tjgopher]

a Gophers football game used to be something that almost everyone could afford to attend. It used to be<b> a cultural experience. </B>

When did it used to be a cultural experience for the general populous of the state? The 1960s? Let's be honest, Gopher football hasn't been a "cultural" experience as a mainstream event for at least three decades. Sure, for a lot of us die-hards it is a great experience. But, for the casual guy? Unfortunately, not. Lots of stuff has changed since the 1960s. Not just Gopher football.

 

[highwayman]

Holy crap. Do you see what you just did, Highwayman? You took an offhand remark from a complete stranger and turned it into an extended socio-psycho-politico rant. You're insane.

Here's my point, which you completely missed because you're an obnoxious windbag: a Gophers football game used to be something that almost everyone could afford to attend. It used to be a cultural experience. That's changed for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest is that every aspect of the cost of attendance has increased at a rate far (far!) greater than inflation. I could tick off a long list of ways that the experience has gotten more expensive, but I really don't think you're going to dispute the cost side of the argument.

I'm not some sniveling liberal who hates other people for being successful, and I never accused the U of being elitist or snobby. It pisses me off that anyone would mischaracterize me that way. I recognize that college football is big business now and has to be run like a business. But here's something that I understand, and I'm not sure you do: to be successful in business you have to do more than maximize your revenue at every opportunity. You also have to expand your appeal.

But I perceive that for years, every change in pricing and access at major U sports has made it more exclusive. Opening up a street for student tailgating is the first move in years to go the other way. I applaud the U and the city of Minneapolis for the initiative.

I'm a genuine fan, ever since I was nine years old and Lou Holtz was the coach. I always looked forward to bringing my little boys to Gophers games (I have four sons) and passing on my love for the U. But what do I have to offer them now? A lot of things that we can't afford, and occasionally a game on ABC or ESPN.

Wow. I feel bad for offending you. I did not mischaracterize you, nor make a rant. I quoted what you said. I did not change it, or criticize you for it. I laid out what I said and what you said and wanted people to give their opinion on value vs. cost for Gopher football. I never said that you hated those who were sucessful, I said I didn't want to hear the "catering to the rich" stuff again. In general, Minnesotans hate other's success, and relish in their failures, and I can't figure that one out.

As for access, you will not find another program in the BCS that is as accessable as this one. An average Joe can go to a Friday football luncheon for $20 and talk to the Coach, a player, and the AD without having to be an big-hitter.

I have been a fan since I was about 9, and a season ticketholder for about the last 13. I support all fans who support the U. Major sports aren't like the knothole days anymore, but to expect to take four kids at once on the cheap...well that went away 20 years ago.

tjgopher sums it up best

Well, just be glad you're a supporter of the Gophers. Go try to be a season ticket holder in decent seats with a decent parking spot at Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, or even Iowa State. It doesn't get much cheaper than Gopher football.

If by unsustainable you mean we don't have enough rich people who are interested in ponying up big bucks, you might be on to something. All of those other schools - including Iowa State - outdo us in program-driven, sport-specific annual private athletic fundraising because they have more passionate supporters who have deep pockets.

I apologize again if you took this personally. I just want to know if your preceptions have a basis, just as much as I want to know if mine do.

I ain't psycho, just a rabid Gopher fan.

 

[GopherVotary]

you will not find another program in the BCS that is as accessable as this one.

That is absolutely not possible. Show me the link.

 

[highwayman]

That is absolutely not possible. Show me the link.

Thanks for that one. Show me the link that it is not among the most accessable.

I did find out that there are 29,983 season tickets in the "Gopher Points" pool. That number does not include suites (700 seats), Loge seats (300), 300 indoor Club seats, and 1250 outdoor club seats. Those 2550 seats are first come-first serve and have no bearing on either Gopher points. All 2550 seats are sold out for all games for 2011. That accounts for 32,533. We was both right, in a way.

 

[grunkiejr]

Parking is free if you park in the dinkytown neighborhoods and walk. Just sayin'

This is true. Paying for parking is optional. There are so many other options if going cheap is your objective.

 

[GopherVotary]

I did find out that there are 29,983 season tickets in the "Gopher Points" pool. That number does not include suites (700 seats), Loge seats (300), 300 indoor Club seats, and 1250 outdoor club seats. Those 2550 seats are first come-first serve and have no bearing on either Gopher points. All 2550 seats are sold out for all games for 2011. That accounts for 32,533. We was both right, in a way.

Wrong. Last year, the loge boxes and outdoor club seats sold out, but the suites and indoor club did not. This year, only the loge boxes have sold out.

https://www.goldengopherfund.com/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=7B4A31EF-495D-4298-9A1F-5D994172E248&menu_id=76422189-3317-4256-AC69-F9B3D97652B1

 

[TAW]

FWIW - I have been a season ticket holder for Wisconsin football (21 consecutive years + student/post student). My corner endzone seats (still on the side, but every kick either end looks good) do not require a seat license, although those five seats away across the aisle require $250/seat. I pay $294/seat, plus $42/seat for seatbacks, for seven games. [My brother pays $400/seat (I think), plus the $294, for much better seats.] I could buy parking from a local private college or private home for about $20/game, but would not have great tailgating. Luckily, I hang out with donors who get me into decent parking/tailgating for $15/game.

So, the average fan could get into CR for about $62/game, assuming you don't want primo seats and also assuming you were a season ticket holder from way back. I took my kids to games for many years and my BIL now does the same. Someone wanting new season tickets ponies up $500-$1000 without a guarantee of tickets (renewal rates are high).

Yes, Minnesota games are a bargain and, I would say, accessible to a large number of people. You just have to have those games be a priority. There were many years when the kids were small that we debated dropping at least some of our four tickets, but the enjoyment we got from the games (it was/is a family event for us) pushed that expenditure near the top of the list.

Minnesota needs to push Gopher tickets to that position, IMO, and then these arguments won't take place.

 

[Iceland12]

Well, just be glad you're a supporter of the Gophers. Go try to be a season ticket holder in decent seats with a decent parking spot at Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, or even Iowa State. It doesn't get much cheaper than Gopher football.

If by unsustainable you mean we don't have enough rich people who are interested in ponying up big bucks, you might be on to something. All of those other schools - including Iowa State - outdo us in program-driven, sport-specific annual private athletic fundraising because they have more passionate supporters who have deep pockets.

This seems a good summary. Everybody knows my name is right about the tickets costing more but "jumped the shark" about it being elitist.

Gopher Season Tickets and even single game tickets are still on the low end in the Big Ten. They are also more expensive then the Dome. A simple case of supply and demand. All the "4 for $40" and $10 upper decker deals are gone because there aren't 44,000 buyers chasing 62,000 seats. Heck, the days of Wren and Loon being happy about 19,000 people to see SWLA because they only wanted "true fans there" are hopefully long gone too.

Heck, we bought 8 extra upper deck season tickets for 4/5 years to treat friends to Gopher games. Those were good for my friends for sure but not for the U. A lot of people who would never go the Gopher got to see some games. Sorry those days are gone, but glad TCF is here, and you don't have to be one of the 7700 to get in either!

 

[everybody knows my name]

This seems a good summary. Everybody knows my name is right about the tickets costing more but "jumped the shark" about it being elitist.

Lord Almighty, I never said anything about elitist! That's something that Highwayman attributed to me that I never said or even alluded to. Elitism is an ideological issue - My whole point was that the athletic department is squeezing an ever smaller group of fans for more and more money and in doing so they aresqueezing out small-time fans like me by raising prices for everything under the sun.

I never tried to make a political or ideological statement here - that was all Highwayman.

 

[jovs]

I went off topic in another thread and I apologize. Let's pick it up here. I responded to the following posts with my following post:





I had the same reaction, but didn't reply. We are on the low-end of catering to "the rich", here in self-loathing, passive-agressive Minnesota. We want success, but we hate those who succeed. We want a bigger, better program, but we don't want any income generation that caters to "the rich".

We have one of the cheapest season tickets in the BCS. We have some of the lowest seat licenses in the BCS. Our athletic department has to pay back the U for scholarships.

It takes money to make money. We are nowhere near wealthy, but we consider every dime we spend on Gopher football as an INVESTMENT in the future of this program--our GLC membership, the season tickets, the seat licenses, the $50 a month to the stadium fund. We even "sponsored a hole" at the GLC golf event for the ridiculous price of $200--that money went to the promotional films budget, the "Webisodes". A pair of sideline passes go for a couple hundred bucks at auction. Try that at Michigan, Notre Dame, or even Iowa.

We do this so that "voila!" the students can have a place to tailgate--yup, your money goes to that, too.

Sorry, didn't want to hijack this thread, but this elitist BS is ridiculous. I am excited for the students, and excited for the future of Gopher football. I am in favor of anything (legal) that helps this program succeed--anything. I hope we can cater the sh!t out of "the rich".

That was followed by this:



A quick analysis:
We will leave out private boxes, etc. as all teams have those. Per game, Gopher tickets are a base $39, with general seating seat licenses bringing some seats to $54, $75, and $111. I don't know what our average price is. Help here? Parking is generally $25 per game.

If you have 4 tickets in the $250 license area, your contribution level is met for parking two blocks away...and it's tax deductable. Also, I mentioned my $50 per month stadium contribution ($600 a year), which almost meets the thousand, and is also tax deductable. Is this also part of the discussion?

Vikings tickets are for 10 games, two of which are meaningless exhibition games. Don't hate me, but I think those games don't count. If the NFL went to 9 regular season home games, you think ticket prices would stay the same? According to multiple sources, the range is $29 - $103, average ticket price $77 for 10 games. Throw out the exhibition games and it's $97 per game. Parking is generally $20.

You may go to it on T-Wolves; a vastly inferior product, the Wild; a middling product, and the Twins; a good to superior product. I did my part...I realize the Twins have a massive amount of ticket plans.

In the end, I would like to have a discussion on "value" as much as "cheapness".

My families Vikings tickets have been in the $130 range for years. That includes spending $130 for the preseason games. The gophers are much cheaper, no comparison. I remember paying $15 for tickets at the Metrodome and sitting anywhere you wanted in the upper deck.

 

[Mustang Mountain Man]

Nothing Elitist About Gopher Football ticket arrangements

I think in general the ticket prices are neither cheap, nor expensive. Their are plenty of options to watch Gopher Football, including buying game day viewing on the Internet for a whopping couple of bucks.

 

[Ole]

There are two arguments here in my mind.
Is the U elitist, no way, it's a cheap ticket, very easy to get, very affordable gameday if you are looking to go to a game cheaply.
That said, I would hope top contributors and boxholders, rich alums are taken care of in every way possible to add money to the program, our contributions are way down as is, no need to make Maturi's job any harder for him, he's in over his head as is.

However to me the more important part is who the gameday experience and atmosphere is catered towards. It is without a doubt and cannot be argued with that our gameday atmosphere has been completely messed up by catering to an older crowd, which by default often is the richer crowd.

The U from day 1 of the new stadium has sacrificed potentially growing the fanbase by making the experience appeal to students/young alums/young casual fans.

Instead it has vomited out a bland, quiet, and distanced gameday.
Tailgate lots sit half empty, partying students are seen as an undesirable entity, and quite a few fans sit on their hands during the games,arrive late /leave early, and nobody says anything.

Make it a party, drop the tailgate lot prices until every spot is full, get a spot for students to congregate and party near the stadium, and watch the droves of wild and loud young people slowly become gopher fans, who then grow and become wild and loud rich gopher fans, and make donations to support the future of the program.

What part about this plan is not right on?
How does Maturi/ the U NOT get this?

 

[eker0016]

I think in general the ticket prices are neither cheap, nor expensive. Their are plenty of options to watch Gopher Football, including buying game day viewing on the Internet for a whopping couple of bucks.

A little off topic, but how do you do this? I don't have cable and I investigated this in years past. If you are abroad the B10 will let you stream, but not if you are stateside. ATDHE is really your only other option as far as I have found. I would gladly pay a few bucks for an internet stream instead of having to go to the bar/find a pirated stream.

 

[RodentRampage]

Students are the engine in the stands. IF the student section is dead, it dampens the whole stadium. If you want to get more alumni with deep pockets donating to the athletics department, we need to have the students engaged, because those rich alumni were once students.

 

[corcoran1]

This philosophy comes directly from the people who have make minnesota football what it is, reliably bad. They want $15 fishing licenses, and $10 gopher tickets and then they bitch about why the fishing is not what it used to be and the Gophers don't win. if anything the U Admin has been way to receptive to this kind of noise.
These folks make three or four times what they made in the 60's but their whole frame of reference about what stuff should cost is lost in time. They pay four or five times what they used to pay for a house or car, but activities should cost the same. They just need to pay the money and quit whining.
They should be bitching about the Gophers performance not the prices which are very competitive.

 

[DLguy]

Regarding the tailgate lots. For the most part, these all sell out. I tailgate in the lots across from the Mariucci loading dock. Those are less than half full until about 30 minutes before the game. Then everyone else shows up and just parks and walks to the game. No reason to drop tailgate prices if they sell out. Hopefully more people start to tailgate and make the event more than just the game.

 

[1983]

"Here's my last observation, and then I'm done, quit, finished. It seems to me that the athletic department's revenue strategy for the last few years has been to take more and more money from fewer and fewer people. I don't think that's sustainable."

To begin, Highwayman is a friend of mine and is a good dude, he is informed.

The above quote is an acceptable observation. The the fact is the athletic program is dealing with an impossible situation with other departments and the administration. Check with parking services, one the wealthiest and most powerful departments, why the parking lots are not full.

 

[everybody knows my name]

Oh, thanks. I'm glad to know that one of my opinions is acceptable. Thanks for that.

 

[Ole]

"Here's my last observation, and then I'm done, quit, finished. It seems to me that the athletic department's revenue strategy for the last few years has been to take more and more money from fewer and fewer people. I don't think that's sustainable."

To begin, Highwayman is a friend of mine and is a good dude, he is informed.

The above quote is an acceptable observation. The the fact is the athletic program is dealing with an impossible situation with other departments and the administration. Check with parking services, one the wealthiest and most powerful departments, why the parking lots are not full.

Ok then, simple, add another item to President Kaler's list of things to straighten out.
Don't tell me the lots are full "right before kickoff", the media and catering services got prime tailgate parking in Northstar last year for one of the games. 50-100 cars lined up and parked before the lot even opened to the tailgaters.
Other times I would be running in with 5 minutes before kickoff from Northstar to the stadium through relatively empty lots. Those spots are either not sold, or not being used which is hard to believe.

If it's honestly a politics issue at the U then someone needs to be straightened out, hard. Tailgate lot money is the athletic program's rightfully, and every single spot should be sold to promote a gameday atmosphere that will help rile up the masses and expand the fanbase.

 

[CrocShots]

Tailgate lot money is the athletic program's rightfully, and every single spot should be sold to promote a gameday atmosphere that will help rile up the masses and expand the fanbase.

Party on Wayne: