Nadine Babu STrib blog: Gophers Need to Dig out of the Slumping Ticket Sales Hole

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I knew Basketball was down I didn't realize they were that far down. If this years team plays up to expectation they will be able to bring some people back I would think. When I was a student from 1996-1999 basketball and hockey tickets were tough to get but they were practically giving away football tickets and still couldn't get people to show up.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I knew Basketball was down I didn't realize they were that far down. If this years team plays up to expectation they will be able to bring some people back I would think. When I was a student from 1996-1999 basketball and hockey tickets were tough to get but they were practically giving away football tickets and still couldn't get people to show up.
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I didn't either, that's why I was shocked that public sales had gone down 2000, that's a lot of revenue, and home court advantage. I think it's been at such a steady decline, we just compare to the previous year, which is why I got numbers on Tubby's entire tenure. And with football at a 4 year low (for a conference game, not even NC)...we're not in a good place.
 

Iceland12 said:
Didn't agree with all of it, but agreed with a whole lot of it. Click on it, it will be worth your time. Best thing she's written in quite awhile, IMHO.
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Lets not over think this subject. Nadine did a fine job on this article. The bottom line is tickets are like many other products we buy. If you want to be the first or must have it, buy it at full price instead of waiting for the sale. If you want to wait for clearance, you run the risk of not getting what you want. As the retailer selling tickets, you offer convenience for same seats every week thus providing the feeling of ownership and being able to build a community with those around you. I have heard from many that they should get a deal or a gift for their purchase of full price product. I agree this would be something to consider going forward, the ideas Nadine had about bringing guests to non conference games is a good one. I have also heard of people calling the ticket office wanting refunds or adjustments to the price of their tickets. Like any retailer, you only get a refund for the lowest price at the time of the return if it is on sale or clearance, women know this concept best. In the case of tickets, you should get relocated to the seat on sale and forfeit your full price seat. A wining record and conference wins will make this whole discussion go away.
 


Tubby's team play an ugly, non-entertaining style of basketball. Went to the Final Four last year with friends who still have season tickets and realized how far we are
down watching these elite teams. UK fans really disliked Tubby. Games are hard to get to with the start times set by TV. I love the Barn, but it has lost all of it's energy.
The game last year against one of the ND teams was the worst. We deserved to lose. Some better non-conference match-ups would help.

Cue the Tubby is god response.......................with excuses.
 

The obvious solution of "just win", though flippant, is correct. Win and attendance will improve. But what's the biggest ingredient in wins? Talent. And talent doesn't want to go where there's no show. So we need to first recruit fans then the talent will come and with it, wins. And more fans and more talent and more wins. In the past too-many years we've been in the opposite spiral. Yes, it's hard to battle years of losing and the competition for fan and media attention in a saturated-with-sports-attractions market -- but that's what needs to be done. That Teague is puzzled by the sinking attendance is a good sign. He cares about it enough to research it. It may take gimmicks and promotions for now to re-interest fans but to arrest the decline and start back uphill they are essential to return UM to Big 10 competitiveness.
 

beavergopher said:
Tubby's team play an ugly, non-entertaining style of basketball. Went to the Final Four last year with friends who still have season tickets and realized how far we are
down watching these elite teams. UK fans really disliked Tubby. Games are hard to get to with the start times set by TV. I love the Barn, but it has lost all of it's energy.
The game last year against one of the ND teams was the worst. We deserved to lose. Some better non-conference match-ups would help.

Cue the Tubby is god response.......................with excuses.
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Tubby's offense is so hard to watch. It will get easier with the progression of Hollins at the point. NIT was a glimpse.

Football needs a signature win in conference play earlier in the year. We have already lost to our biggest rivalries this year. Big Ten scheduling has not helped at all.

0-3 starts are bad for business. Going back to 2002 the Gophers have started 2-1 seven times in conference play. That builds momentum and sells tickets. 0-3 the last two years.
 

Joel Maturi's legacy is what we're dealing with here. Only a buffoon of his magnitude could "lead" us to where we are now. I literally get a bit sick to my stomach every time I think of him still being over at the U pulling in about four times more money than he was ever worth as our AD.
 



Right on with the B1G scheduling. All or nothing for our rivalry games. Iowa loss killed the buzz the football team was creating.
 

Indi1006 said:
Joel Maturi's legacy is what we're dealing with here. Only a buffoon of his magnitude could "lead" us to where we are now. I literally get a bit sick to my stomach every time I think of him still being over at the U pulling in about four times more money than he was ever worth as our AD.
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He certainly drove these legendary and powerful football/basketball programs into the ground. Shame on him. All it took was Maturi to reverse decades of non-stop basketball and football Big Ten and national championships.
 

beavergopher said:
Tubby's team play an ugly, non-entertaining style of basketball. Went to the Final Four last year with friends who still have season tickets and realized how far we are
down watching these elite teams. UK fans really disliked Tubby. Games are hard to get to with the start times set by TV. I love the Barn, but it has lost all of it's energy.
The game last year against one of the ND teams was the worst. We deserved to lose. Some better non-conference match-ups would help.

Cue the Tubby is god response.......................with excuses.
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I have to disagree with UK fans disliking Tubby. I've been at the last 2 Final Fours and wear MN stuff - so many Tubby conversations arise. The consensus was - he's a nice guy, ran a clean program, they respect him, they like him - but they sure are glad we have him. I wouldn't say they dislike him.

I just got an interesting email from someone that read my blog:

OK - you'll love this. You could buy 5 different "3 packs", go to 15 games and miss only 2 non-conference games, and save either $364 (with better seats than our season tickets) or $514 on 2 tickets (depending on which "Pack" you pick - the one for $70 or $90). Holy cow!! Even the $70 ticket pack seats are equal to our current season ticket seats. Sorry, Gophers - I don't think I'll be renewing my basketball season tickets next
year. :(
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I can't tell you how many people I know that have already dropped their season tickets - and there are so many more looking at options like this ^^^
 

beavergopher said:
Right on with the B1G scheduling. All or nothing for our rivalry games. Iowa loss killed the buzz the football team was creating.
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Depends on whether you're a glass half-full or glass half-empty person. I'd rather look at it as, hey, let's beat Iowa to start the season and that'll really create some extra buzz about the Gophers.

Ditto for Gopher hoops opening with Michigan State on New Year's Eve. Instead of fretting about opening the season against a national power, let's go out and beat 'em and create (or increase) the buzz.
 



Nice job, GopherLady. You made a lot of very good suggestions. I assume our new AD logs onto GopherHole when he gets to his office in the morning and and it is the last site he looks at before he jumps into bed at night. Let's make something happen here, Norwood. That's what we are paying you for.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Depends on whether you're a glass half-full or glass half-empty person. I'd rather look at it as, hey, let's beat Iowa to start the season and that'll really create some extra buzz about the Gophers.

Ditto for Gopher hoops opening with Michigan State on New Year's Eve. Instead of fretting about opening the season against a national power, let's go out and beat 'em and create (or increase) the buzz.
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Plus, these are things we have no control over. Just like timing - would I love all 2:30pm and 7pm football games, YES! Is it the U's fault we have so many 11am games? No.

I agree, SS - had we have beaten Iowa, there would have been so much excitement surrounding the team. There was a lot even starting out 4-0 - but getting a trophy win, would have kept up.
 

A Strib blog/column that uses facts and data to help draw its conclusions and recommendations? Well wonders never cease! Some 'colleagues' of yours should take note, even if you are just a guest blogger.

But in all seriousness, nice job GL. I love your idea to keep Season Ticket holders feeling valued. After all, us season ticket holders can be the U's best advertisements if we're going around telling our peers how much we enjoy being a season ticket holder. I know I pitch to people all the time the benefits of getting your own permanent seats.

I was a Milwaukee Bucks season ticket holder for 2 years, and they worked pretty hard to retain me one year, offering some very nice giveaways for renewing customers, and even offering season ticket holders to a Suite for part of the game to chat with other season ticket holders, ticket reps, and enjoy the game and some free drinks/food for a quarter. It worked well on me, and I re-upped. The following year (strike-shortened season) the ticket office was not very communicative or willing to keep ticket holders engaged with the season and I decided to drop off. Now, I love Gopher football exponentially more than NBA basketball, but the point is the little things count sometimes. Extra attention and little perks are nice. And they keep people coming back.

Why not have certain games where "Season ticket holders from Sections X to Y, are welcome to come on up to the DQ Club Room for some snacks and beverages, and a chance to get your free Media Guide autographed by former Gopher greats Ron Johnson and Cory Sauter"? Something like this could run all season, covering different sections over the year, and maybe having different Gopher greats in attendance. This could run 2 hours prior to gametime, or perhaps even during the game. Not expensive, and something that engages ticket holders to show up.

More than any of this though, winning will help create more demand for tix. Right now its fairly cheap to scalp in or go StubHub (or even thru the U) that it dissuades many from investing in season tickets, especially when fans can almost sit whereever they want due to low attendance.
 

All that makes sense. You wouldn't believe the number of people who mentioned things as simple as the T-Shirt and Media Guide. I'd like the Media Guide myself.


Gopher Bandanna Guy said:
A Strib blog/column that uses facts and data to help draw its conclusions and recommendations? Well wonders never cease! Some 'colleagues' of yours should take note, even if you are just a guest blogger.

But in all seriousness, nice job GL. I love your idea to keep Season Ticket holders feeling valued. After all, us season ticket holders can be the U's best advertisements if we're going around telling our peers how much we enjoy being a season ticket holder. I know I pitch to people all the time the benefits of getting your own permanent seats.

I was a Milwaukee Bucks season ticket holder for 2 years, and they worked pretty hard to retain me one year, offering some very nice giveaways for renewing customers, and even offering season ticket holders to a Suite for part of the game to chat with other season ticket holders, ticket reps, and enjoy the game and some free drinks/food for a quarter. It worked well on me, and I re-upped. The following year (strike-shortened season) the ticket office was not very communicative or willing to keep ticket holders engaged with the season and I decided to drop off. Now, I love Gopher football exponentially more than NBA basketball, but the point is the little things count sometimes. Extra attention and little perks are nice. And they keep people coming back.

Why not have certain games where "Season ticket holders from Sections X to Y, are welcome to come on up to the DQ Club Room for some snacks and beverages, and a chance to get your free Media Guide autographed by former Gopher greats Ron Johnson and Cory Sauter"? Something like this could run all season, covering different sections over the year, and maybe having different Gopher greats in attendance. This could run 2 hours prior to gametime, or perhaps even during the game. Not expensive, and something that engages ticket holders to show up.

More than any of this though, winning will help create more demand for tix. Right now its fairly cheap to scalp in or go StubHub (or even thru the U) that it dissuades many from investing in season tickets, especially when fans can almost sit whereever they want due to low attendance.
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Gopher Bandanna Guy said:
A Strib blog/column that uses facts and data to help draw its conclusions and recommendations? Well wonders never cease! Some 'colleagues' of yours should take note, even if you are just a guest blogger.

But in all seriousness, nice job GL. I love your idea to keep Season Ticket holders feeling valued. After all, us season ticket holders can be the U's best advertisements if we're going around telling our peers how much we enjoy being a season ticket holder. I know I pitch to people all the time the benefits of getting your own permanent seats.

I was a Milwaukee Bucks season ticket holder for 2 years, and they worked pretty hard to retain me one year, offering some very nice giveaways for renewing customers, and even offering season ticket holders to a Suite for part of the game to chat with other season ticket holders, ticket reps, and enjoy the game and some free drinks/food for a quarter. It worked well on me, and I re-upped. The following year (strike-shortened season) the ticket office was not very communicative or willing to keep ticket holders engaged with the season and I decided to drop off. Now, I love Gopher football exponentially more than NBA basketball, but the point is the little things count sometimes. Extra attention and little perks are nice. And they keep people coming back.

Why not have certain games where "Season ticket holders from Sections X to Y, are welcome to come on up to the DQ Club Room for some snacks and beverages, and a chance to get your free Media Guide autographed by former Gopher greats Ron Johnson and Cory Sauter"? Something like this could run all season, covering different sections over the year, and maybe having different Gopher greats in attendance. This could run 2 hours prior to gametime, or perhaps even during the game. Not expensive, and something that engages ticket holders to show up.

More than any of this though, winning will help create more demand for tix. Right now its fairly cheap to scalp in or go StubHub (or even thru the U) that it dissuades many from investing in season tickets, especially when fans can almost sit whereever they want due to low attendance.
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Totally agree. I actually thought I put that into my blog, but I missed it from my notes - to give out 1-2 club room passes/season for people. You have to buy everything there, so it costs nothing.

I just received these two tweets:

@Gundy_Ryan: @NadineBabu our group had tickets for 10 years and those that dropped were never contacted as to why. Good piece!
@cylinen: great writeup, my parents hung it up this yr after 30+ yrs due to new pts system ($$$) and underacheiving/frustrating teams
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If you win, the casual fans show up. It may sound simple, but it's true. There are only about a dozen examples of this in the Twin Cities alone.
 

CP Gopher said:
If you win, the casual fans show up. It may sound simple, but it's true. There are only about a dozen examples of this in the Twin Cities alone.
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She's not talking about the casual fans. She's talking about rewarding season ticket holders.
 

GL - those two tweets you received are disappointing. Gotta retain those kind of loyalists. I hope I have the stamina, patience, and wherewithal to make 30+ years happen.
 

I don't need the DQ Club, free T-Shirts to support a Gold out or $10 tickets. I buy my season tickets because it gives me the same seat close to the action every week for Big Ten football. Some of us Gopher fans are just that way - just saying.
 


Parski1 said:
I don't need the DQ Club, free T-Shirts to support a Gold out or $10 tickets. I buy my season tickets because it gives me the same seat close to the action every week for Big Ten football. Some of us Gopher fans are just that way - just saying.
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You're not the problem. The problem is the people who aren't there. Just like in politics. It is the people at the margins who get all the attention.
 

Parski1 said:
I don't need the DQ Club, free T-Shirts to support a Gold out or $10 tickets. I buy my season tickets because it gives me the same seat close to the action every week for Big Ten football. Some of us Gopher fans are just that way - just saying.
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The problem is you and the rest of us in here that feel the same way are a very small portion of the fanbase and ticket buying public.
 


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