Make the food and drink free at TCF

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fmlizard said:
I agree. Other than the limited stuff Gopher Points gives (people with more will have to chime in) there really isn't anything that comes with being a season ticket holder besides having the same chair for every game. So why not just buy games ala carte on Stub Hub and skip the ones with crap weather?

There needs to be some creativity put out there to incentivize:

People to get season tickets and pay the donation fee instead of just going to a broker site on gameday
Students to show up, particularly at 11 am.

I remember how crucial being Subway Row of the Game at the Dome a couple times was to my college budget! They just passed stacks of coupons and got like 10 each time. I think that Subway is one of the only businesses still there in Dinkytown from my college days, so free food is survivable. They have been doing the 10 cents off gas thing on the tickets and calling it a day for too long. It's lazy marketing.

McDonalds has higher margins on food than most fine dining establishments that cost way more. I think folks underestimate the cheap cost basis of many ballpark foods.
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The student scholarship oar thing (that is pretty cool) is one of those incentives.
 

Does every season ticket bought pay the same donation?
 


ethomasp31 said:
Does every season ticket bought pay the same donation?
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I don't see how free food would ever be really practical or possible, especially for all attendees. But why not give season ticket holders a "credit card" that gives a substantial discount on concessions and souvenirs bought at games. I know the Twins do something like this for their season ticket holders.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Also not on the map is the designation that the south sliders are far superior to the north sliders.... just as humans.
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I've heard that the Gophers were thinking of going to the north sideline later in the year for some games....or maybe that was a dream I had. Have they had that seat gift since they moved to the Bank? If they did away with the gift, would the prices all be about $330 for season tickets, or was the gift tied into the ticket price? I'm just trying to understand the history of their ticket price structure.

I have to admit, I enjoy watching games on television. Part of that is that I'm in my 50's now, and also when growing up we had Viking season tickets, so I've seen a lot of games in person. I would never get Viking season tickets again, but would consider Gopher season tickets. College athletics are easier to get behind, especially when the team is good. Hopefully, we can find meaningful incentives for the game day experience to make it rewarding to be a season ticket holder. Merchandise and concession discounts, opportunities to get tickets before they are available to the public, Gopher Illustrated subscriptions, admissions to tailgating or after game parties....give the people who have been loyal fans something that means something. Help those fans feel some ownership of the program. Maybe a brick at that stadium, or a card that says you are Goldy Booster that gives you rewards throughout the community.
 




As stated earlier, once the athletic department bids out the contract, they have pretty much lost the ability to run any promotions without the approval of said vendor.

Giving out free food is poorly thought out and just isn't going to happen.

Can you imagine the amount of times you will have to get up and down for people coming through the aisle. Fans loading up on food to take home with them. Your neighbor asking you to bring them back a hot dog with mustard, onions and jalapeños while you r are headed to the restroom.

Free **** for everyone!
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
You mean the donation?

I don't think there is a donation / non donation line as far as benefits goes.

<b>I do get to feel superior to other Gopher fans</b>...
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Well done. Close to perfect. If you would have remembered to say “fans” it would have been pure gold.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


salzie said:
I wasn't trying to suggest it was a good option
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No worries. I have a thing against watching people eat Subway. From airplanes, co-workers in their cubicle, to my brother who has to eat it as fast as he can and then burps really loud as he’s throwing the wrap in the furthest away trash can, and misses. I have issues.
 



HopHead said:
I don't see how free food would ever be really practical or possible, especially for all attendees. But why not give season ticket holders a "credit card" that gives a substantial discount on concessions and souvenirs bought at games. I know the Twins do something like this for their season ticket holders.
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They do this. You get like $5 off $25 at Mariucci, The Barn and TCF. I think. It doesn’t apply to alcohol and I rarely get more than popcorn to eat at games.
 

Do you have to pay the donation every year? Or is it like the seat license at US Bank stadium? You buy it once and then you own the rights to buy tickets for that seat.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Do you have to pay the donation every year? Or is it like the seat license at US Bank stadium? You buy it once and then you own the rights to buy tickets for that seat.
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Every year, the pic I posted is the price for this year for every seat.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Every year, the pic I posted is the price for this year for every seat.
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How much were the season tickets before they started forcing you to give that gift? Is there a tax break for the U or season ticket holders by making it a gift rather than just a flat price for the season ticket holders? I think i've read on here that the gift can no longer be used as a deduction?
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
They do this. You get like $5 off $25 at Mariucci, The Barn and TCF. I think. It doesn’t apply to alcohol and I rarely get more than popcorn to eat at games.
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Wow. I've been a season ticket holder for over a decade and I never knew about this perk. How does a person use it?
 

ethomasp31 said:
How much were the season tickets before they started forcing you to give that gift? Is there a tax break for the U or season ticket holders by making it a gift rather than just a flat price for the season ticket holders? I think i've read on here that the gift can no longer be used as a deduction?
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I don't remember the past prices.

Republicans nixed the tax break..... never forget.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Every year, the pic I posted is the price for this year for every seat.
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Then that's stupid. That just means the actual cost of the season ticket is the "price" plus the donation, that's the real price.

The Vikings USBank stadium seat license method is far superior.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
They do this. You get like $5 off $25 at Mariucci, The Barn and TCF. I think. It doesn’t apply to alcohol and I rarely get more than popcorn to eat at games.
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Has anybody ever tried to capitalize on this deal? Can you imagine the looks on the people's face at the concession stand when you ask them to give you the "season ticket holder deal"? I'm willing to bet most of them don't even know about it. Their slow pace would grind to an even slower pace (or halt) as they would have to ask the supervisor in charge how to ring up the $5 discount. UGH!
 

Gophers_4life said:
Then that's stupid. That just means the actual cost of the season ticket is the "price" plus the donation, that's the real price.

The Vikings USBank stadium seat license method is far superior.
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Vikings tickets are WAY more expensive and have way more pricing tiers. I'm sure the reason initially was to give season ticket holders a chance to deduct part of the ticket prices as a gift. It seems doing that is no longer an option. I was wondering if there was a tax incentive for the U to keep the pricing structure as is with the gift rather than just having a flat fee. Maybe the U could have a system for new season ticket holders (and current ones for that matter) to pay the gift and then that gift is good for three years. Then maybe have a season ticket price that is discounted over time. What I mean is if you have had season tickets for 5-10 years you get a 7% discount on your season tickets, 10-15 years gets you 10% off your season tickets, 15-20 a little more and so on. The last idea is a way to keep the season tickets, and the other way is to get people to buy season tickets. They set the price for the season tickets anyways, so as demand goes up the regular price would go up. Give season ticket holders a Gold Card or Maroon Card that gives them discounts for concessions or merchandise at the stadium and maybe other venues around town. Maybe even for travel. Maybe the color of the card would depend on the size of their gift, and also give larger discounts depending on the card you are given. You want to make it attractive to buy season tickets, but also keep the season tickets. I would think the U athletic department would have people who are able to find some incentives to make this attractive.
 

GopherJack said:
Has anybody ever tried to capitalize on this deal? Can you imagine the looks on the people's face at the concession stand when you ask them to give you the "season ticket holder deal"? I'm willing to bet most of them don't even know about it. Their slow pace would grind to an even slower pace (or halt) as they would have to ask the supervisor in charge how to ring up the $5 discount. UGH!
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Give season ticket holders a Maroon Reward Card that they hand to the person to swipe to get a new price. It's not like this is something new in sales.
 

ethomasp31 said:
I'm sure the reason initially was to give season ticket holders a chance to deduct part of the ticket prices as a gift.
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That's fine and well, but at the end of the day the true cost is the true cost. And it looks to me that they're looking for a MINIMUM of $60/game (true cost) for any kind of decent seats.

For someone who has no family tradition of going to games, and has no access to a tailgate ...... you're asking for $60/game, so that they can spend the time and hassle to drive down, find parking (and like spend more $$$ on it), walk to the stadium, and sit likely farther away/have less of a view/vantage point on the action than they can get at home for zero cost (in any sense)??? And that doesn't include concessions, waiting in line for the bathroom, or if you have to bring the whole family to the game (4x cost for four seats). And it doesn't factor in that two of the games will be weekday nights, one will be a Sat night (non-ideal timing for most people), or that weather might suck.


To me, it's very, very easy to see why this is broken.

These types of prices are basically just for people who really, really care about going to the stadium for the game, because of family traditions and/or access to tailgating. That's really who the stadium is for, beyond students of course.
 

GopherJack said:
Has anybody ever tried to capitalize on this deal? Can you imagine the looks on the people's face at the concession stand when you ask them to give you the "season ticket holder deal"? I'm willing to bet most of them don't even know about it. Their slow pace would grind to an even slower pace (or halt) as they would have to ask the supervisor in charge how to ring up the $5 discount. UGH!
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We used it and the concession employee knew about it. It may have taken an extra 30 seconds to have it applied. I didn't think it was a big deal but I'm sure some on this board would have been appalled at the inconvenience and subsequently dropped their season tickets.
 

GopherJack said:
Has anybody ever tried to capitalize on this deal? Can you imagine the looks on the people's face at the concession stand when you ask them to give you the "season ticket holder deal"? I'm willing to bet most of them don't even know about it. Their slow pace would grind to an even slower pace (or halt) as they would have to ask the supervisor in charge how to ring up the $5 discount. UGH!
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After the no water game they gave out certificates .... a few vendors didn't really know what those were.

As for the $5 off 25 ... yeah they've been confused about that too.

It stands to reason if you have that many people who don't do this thing well, being consistent is not gonna happen.
 

Gophers_4life said:
That's fine and well, but at the end of the day the true cost is the true cost. And it looks to me that they're looking for a MINIMUM of $60/game (true cost) for any kind of decent seats.

For someone who has no family tradition of going to games, and has no access to a tailgate ...... you're asking for $60/game, so that they can spend the time and hassle to drive down, find parking (and like spend more $$$ on it), walk to the stadium, and sit likely farther away/have less of a view/vantage point on the action than they can get at home for zero cost (in any sense)??? And that doesn't include concessions, waiting in line for the bathroom, or if you have to bring the whole family to the game (4x cost for four seats). And it doesn't factor in that two of the games will be weekday nights, one will be a Sat night (non-ideal timing for most people), or that weather might suck.


To me, it's very, very easy to see why this is broken.

These types of prices are basically just for people who really, really care about going to the stadium for the game, because of family traditions and/or access to tailgating. That's really who the stadium is for, beyond students of course.
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Yeah I understand what you are saying. I've sat in a few different places in the stadium and there are a lot of good seats. You have to make it fair for those fans who have been supporting the Gophers over time, but also make it more affordable for new fans who want to go and have a lot of options of ways to spend their entertainment dollars. I thought that making that gift good for three years or so might make some sense. Maybe even give the option to pay the gift over time could be an option. If they pay it upfront they get a bigger discount. They could do a better job of tailgating. I've been to Stubs and Herbs or BDubs before games and it was pretty fun. Stubs and Herbs has had a band in the back and it was pretty festive. I've also parked down by the river and there seemed to be a little tailgating. The stadium is pretty urban, so there isn't a lot of room to tailgate, plus a lot of people take the light rail since it is so convenient. Maybe they could use one of those lots as a place to have a pre/post tailgating party. Twins have family sections of seats. I'm sure if the U doesn't do that, they could with discounts for those family on concessions and merchandise as well.
 

ethomasp31 said:
Yeah I understand what you are saying. I've sat in a few different places in the stadium and there are a lot of good seats. You have to make it fair for those fans who have been supporting the Gophers over time, but also make it more affordable for new fans who want to go and have a lot of options of ways to spend their entertainment dollars. I thought that making that gift good for three years or so might make some sense. Maybe even give the option to pay the gift over time could be an option. If they pay it upfront they get a bigger discount. They could do a better job of tailgating. I've been to Stubs and Herbs or BDubs before games and it was pretty fun. Stubs and Herbs has had a band in the back and it was pretty festive. I've also parked down by the river and there seemed to be a little tailgating. The stadium is pretty urban, so there isn't a lot of room to tailgate, plus a lot of people take the light rail since it is so convenient. Maybe they could use one of those lots as a place to have a pre/post tailgating party. Twins have family sections of seats. I'm sure if the U doesn't do that, they could with discounts for those family on concessions and merchandise as well.
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Any kind of deal on the gift or something, is better than what they have now, it would seem.

I tried to put out the idea of using the fairgrounds lot as a way to build up tailgating/party/pre-game atmopshere, but it was mostly shot down.
 


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