Policy Impact on Season Tickets

Donate To GopherHole
Killjoy said:
It is clear from this string that some people here are very angry and upset about the proposed increases if Gopher football season tickets. This doesn't surprise me one bit but I am very puzzled by the lack of any discussion or awareness here of the impact that the major changes that are about to take place will have on all college athletic departments' finances.

If Minnesota does not prepare properly for this our program could be in big trouble. Fortunately, the good news is that Jerry now has the program in a good position to compete on the field. The problem is that these new upcoming financial demands, such as increased financial support for the student athletes, are going to be a challenge for Minnesota if they want to compete against Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State etc. The reality is that part of the solution is going to have to be increased ticket revenues. It is my hope that our fans will value our team as much as these other teams’ fans seem to value theirs. As a fan, I am willing to make this investment and I hope that others are also willing to do that.

One last comment, I am disappointed how poorly the University has both communicated the need and the case for it.
Click to expand...

The most rational post so far.
 

Killjoy said:
It is clear from this string that some people here are very angry and upset about the proposed increases if Gopher football season tickets. This doesn't surprise me one bit but I am very puzzled by the lack of any discussion or awareness here of the impact that the major changes that are about to take place will have on all college athletic departments' finances.

If Minnesota does not prepare properly for this our program could be in big trouble. Fortunately, the good news is that Jerry now has the program in a good position to compete on the field. The problem is that these new upcoming financial demands, such as increased financial support for the student athletes, are going to be a challenge for Minnesota if they want to compete against Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State etc. The reality is that part of the solution is going to have to be increased ticket revenues. It is my hope that our fans will value our team as much as these other teams’ fans seem to value theirs. As a fan, I am willing to make this investment and I hope that others are also willing to do that.

One last comment, I am disappointed how poorly the University has both communicated the need and the case for it.
Click to expand...

+1 to all. Well said Killjoy.
 

This has turned into quite the thread. Aside from all the bickering, some really good points have been made. It really does make me sad to see the Gophers losing season ticket holders, especially some of you that have had tickets for so long. I can't fault anyone for having to drop their tickets. For me, I fortunately can afford the increase, but it's really the principle. As I've said before, I completely understand the need to make more $...but my 1st priority would be selling the what? 15,000 seats that don't have season ticket holders in. To me, that's the low hanging fruit, not charging your die hard dedicated fans more to attend games.

For those of you that had to drop your tickets, I really hope you still come to games, take advantage of being able to get tickets at less than 1/2 of what we pay as season ticket holders. I'd hate for the U to lose good fans, and hope you still come to games!
 

Yes.

oak_street1981 said:
I have a decent amount of priority points but the arrogance of this pricing move at this time has left me very outraged and now deflated.

My initial feeling was that I would dump the tickets out of principle, especially in light of the nature of the year 2 and 3 increases, which relative to the rest of the Big Ten are insane at this point in the program's elevation.

I then considered waiting for years 2 or 3 before pulling the plug, but that may now be out.

I am now looking for a new job and that changes everything, so unless I get a real good one before 4/17 (or whenever the real deadline is) I am dumping the tickets. I know that if there is a good chance they will pull back after year one, because they are going to take a big hit from lots of angry people this year, and the market wasn't there even before this happened.

Regardless of my job/ income situation I would never pay almost $1800 a year for two tickets in 2017 that I paid $775 total for recently. That kind of money grab is not going to fly with me or anyone else other than some of the website vigilantes and zealots on Gopherhole.
This poorly though out Norwood money grab sure the hell is not going to do anything about the 6,000 empty bench seats we(and any fan around the country watching on TV) saw every game last year. Those empty seats at the Ohio State game tell the story; it was the biggest game since 1967 and the atmosphere and weather were just fine in a good hat, coat, and pair of boots.

Absent a Rose Bowl or BCS Bowl next year this is going to blow up in their faces and I can buy back into a good section equal to where I am or even better ($100 donation lower bowl) in the future with not a lot of completion from other buyers, even after sacrificing my points.

I will have more money to drive directly or fly to Chicago and get a rental car allowing me to get to numerous road games and buy tickets on the street for the home games.

The thing to remember is that Norwood did not learn from they firestorm over the North Carolina cancellation, and this is a similar arrogance related blunder that will flop, but on a much more catastrophic scale for the program.

This is a momentum killer and Minnesotans are notoriously frugal and cranky about anything they perceive as arrogant or a grab for their money. The consultants that Norwood is buying into have no idea about this Minnesota mentality and Norwood should know better by now.

Some may not like the truth but here it is:

The stadium will be ghost town in three years if this plays out without major bowl wins and trips to Indianapolis. Maybe they can sell/ give away 25,000 student tickets cheap to make up for the rest of us. That would actually be fine with me but it will never happen.


This is by far the most thoughtful an coherent post to date.
Click to expand...
 

GopherLady said:
This has turned into quite the thread. Aside from all the bickering, some really good points have been made. It really does make me sad to see the Gophers losing season ticket holders, especially some of you that have had tickets for so long. I can't fault anyone for having to drop their tickets. For me, I fortunately can afford the increase, but it's really the principle. As I've said before, I completely understand the need to make more $...but my 1st priority would be selling the what? 15,000 seats that don't have season ticket holders in. To me, that's the low hanging fruit, not charging your die hard dedicated fans more to attend games.

For those of you that had to drop your tickets, I really hope you still come to games, take advantage of being able to get tickets at less than 1/2 of what we pay as season ticket holders. I'd hate for the U to lose good fans, and hope you still come to games!
Click to expand...
Thank you! That's been my gripe with this the entire time. If the demand is there, charge more. The market dictates it. However, you're sitting there with thousands of unsold seats every game and you make little to no effort to fill those seats. They aren't trying to fill the Big House here. They couldn't even draw 50k for Iowa. Sell those seats. Gopher season ticket holders make up a small, small percentage of the state's population, less than 1%. Maybe try and tap into the 99% before you risk losing any of the 1%.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
Thank you! That's been my gripe with this the entire time. If the demand is there, charge more. The market dictates it. However, you're sitting there with thousands of unsold seats every game and you make little to no effort to fill those seats. They aren't trying to fill the Big House here. They couldn't even draw 50k for Iowa. Sell those seats. Gopher season ticket holders make up a small, small percentage of the state's population, less than 1%. Maybe try and tap into the 99% before you risk losing any of the 1%.
Click to expand...

You articulated what I was thinking very well. This, time 1000 ^^^^!
 


My wife and I now have 4 tickets. We go to almost every game and tailgate. This has become part of our fall entertainment and we enjoy those days together. We will keep 2 of the 4 tickets and continue going to almost all of the games. The other two tickets We gave to family or friends. Those extra two tickets are now more than we want to spend on give away tickets and we I'll be giving those up. We continue to look forward to the college football season and seeing many of the friends that we have made over the years. Go Gophers.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Thank you! That's been my gripe with this the entire time. If the demand is there, charge more. The market dictates it. However, you're sitting there with thousands of unsold seats every game and you make little to no effort to fill those seats. They aren't trying to fill the Big House here. They couldn't even draw 50k for Iowa. Sell those seats. Gopher season ticket holders make up a small, small percentage of the state's population, less than 1%. Maybe try and tap into the 99% before you risk losing any of the 1%.
Click to expand...

Ditto! Sadly, with the Vikes in town I don't think the fanbase will improve for longterm consistency. The state has a tendency to follow elite teams and bandwagon, but the staying power probably won't be there. I hope I'm wrong!!!!
 



If this new pricing plan had been put in place next year or the year after, on the heels of a huge season it would have had a chance to succeed. If Norwood had allowed the Jerry Kill impact to continue to expand and upgrade the program one or two more levels this huge price increase might have been they way to go.

Unfortunately Norwood and PrexyK (thank you Wren) overplayed their hands after a mid level bowl (and one more bowl game loss), and whole plan will go down in flames with anything short of what we used to call a BCS Bowl Game appearance next year.

The comment from Oddstack about the Vikings was important and relevant. This Viking Stadium is a huge deal and will suck all the money out of the market for the next 5-10 years, even if the Vikings do not win big. I have been a Vikings fan over the years, mainly due to the old teams of my youth, then Anthony Carter, Moss, and Petersen but the Gophers have always trumped that for me. Even the Metrodome could not fully extinguish my passion for Gopher Football, even though Brewster almost did. Thankfully the night of the Northern Illinois debacle at TCF I knew the Brewster days were soon over, as I stood on the Sally's patio after leaving early.

I am not sure if a remedy as simple as getting rid of an overmatched blowhard clown like Brewster will be available to fix this horrible mess Norwood has created. Hiring Brewster set the program back five or six years. This gouging of the fanbase may set the program back 15 years, as many of these ticket buyers are never going to come back.

If I was looking to invest several thousand dollars in football tickets today, I would buy some decent Vikings tickets, and maybe a seat license that I can re-sell and go to town on the secondary ticket market. The new stadium is going to create demand on a scale never seen before, and it the team keeps Petersen happy and with Zimmer in charge there will be wins.

Buying Gopher tickets used to mean something else relative to Viking tickets. Greedy Norwood changed the rules with this recent money grab. I'll still be at every game, but not under the new terms.

Norwood picked a bad time to drive off his Gopher Football season ticket holders, and that is exactly what has happened here. This is a total betrayal, and NCAA policy changes are not our burden to bear, at least right now.
 

Word said:
I'd agree with you regarding the Vikings and Wild, but the Twins are a much better bargain than Gopher football. There are many affordable seats at Target Field. If you want to just get in the stadium, the Twins games can be very cheap (and you can bring in your own food).
Click to expand...

My wife and I went to a Twins game 2 summers ago and it cost us a cool $200 easily. We got the tickets for $40 apiece (a bargain from a friend) and they were terrible seats in the outfield. Parking was around $30. Food and beverages were around $50 or so. Food CAN be brought in but only consumed in "general" seating. That's the last Twins game we'll ever go to. Give me a Saturday at TCF Stadium any day.
 

Communication or lack there of on the part of the U seems to be a major complaint but one thing they have clearly stated is that increasing ticket prices is necessary in order to "keep up with the Joneses." Does anyone know the status of ticket prices at other B1G schools? I know there was a thread about WI raising ticket prices across the board at what I think was $3 per game next season. I think another thread mentioned Purdue lowering ticket prices but not sure if so and by how much? If anyone knows what is happening elsewhere in the B1G that would be interesting information.
 

go4rob said:
My wife and I went to a Twins game 2 summers ago and it cost us a cool $200 easily. We got the tickets for $40 apiece (a bargain from a friend) and they were terrible seats in the outfield. Parking was around $30. Food and beverages were around $50 or so. Food CAN be brought in but only consumed in "general" seating. That's the last Twins game we'll ever go to. Give me a Saturday at TCF Stadium any day.
Click to expand...

LOL, $40/ticket for terrible seats at a twins game? You got screwed. LOL, $30 for parking at a twins game? You got screwed.
 



oak_street1981 said:
If this new pricing plan had been put in place next year or the year after, on the heels of a huge season it would have had a chance to succeed. If Norwood had allowed the Jerry Kill impact to continue to expand and upgrade the program one or two more levels this huge price increase might have been they way to go.

Unfortunately Norwood and PrexyK (thank you Wren) overplayed their hands after a mid level bowl (and one more bowl game loss), and whole plan will go down in flames with anything short of what we used to call a BCS Bowl Game appearance next year.

The comment from Oddstack about the Vikings was important and relevant. This Viking Stadium is a huge deal and will suck all the money out of the market for the next 5-10 years, even if the Vikings do not win big. I have been a Vikings fan over the years, mainly due to the old teams of my youth, then Anthony Carter, Moss, and Petersen but the Gophers have always trumped that for me. Even the Metrodome could not fully extinguish my passion for Gopher Football, even though Brewster almost did. Thankfully the night of the Northern Illinois debacle at TCF I knew the Brewster days were soon over, as I stood on the Sally's patio after leaving early.

I am not sure if a remedy as simple as getting rid of an overmatched blowhard clown like Brewster will be available to fix this horrible mess Norwood has created. Hiring Brewster set the program back five or six years. This gouging of the fanbase may set the program back 15 years, as many of these ticket buyers are never going to come back.

If I was looking to invest several thousand dollars in football tickets today, I would buy some decent Vikings tickets, and maybe a seat license that I can re-sell and go to town on the secondary ticket market. The new stadium is going to create demand on a scale never seen before, and it the team keeps Petersen happy and with Zimmer in charge there will be wins.

Buying Gopher tickets used to mean something else relative to Viking tickets. Greedy Norwood changed the rules with this recent money grab. I'll still be at every game, but not under the new terms.

Norwood picked a bad time to drive off his Gopher Football season ticket holders, and that is exactly what has happened here. This is a total betrayal, and NCAA policy changes are not our burden to bear, at least right now.
Click to expand...

I have made the personal decision to stay out of ticket-gate (out of boredom and the fact that I live out of state so it doesn't really affect me - Iceland had a point), but I still disagree with some of these points. I would argue that we ARE coming off a huge season (two actually), and I feel like you're discounting the level of bowl game that we achieved.

Anyways go Gophers, and time will tell us if this was the right move or not. There's no denying the tone on this message board, but we will see if this is just a case of a vocal minority or not...you're always going to have upset portion anytime you dramatically increase prices.
 

GopherHomer said:
I have made the personal decision to stay out of ticket-gate (out of boredom and the fact that I live out of state so it doesn't really affect me - Iceland had a point), but I still disagree with some of these points. I would argue that we ARE coming off a huge season (two actually), and I feel like you're discounting the level of bowl game that we achieved.

Anyways go Gophers, and time will tell us if this was the right move or not. There's no denying the tone on this message board, but we will see if this is just a case of a vocal minority or not...you're always going to have upset portion anytime you dramatically increase prices.
Click to expand...

I know it's counter-intuitive, but raising the price a lot of time puts a higher value on the event or service. Being in the banking business, whenever we introduce a fee or different rate, it creates awareness and often times INCREASES overall revenue and usage.

The same thing goes for football (and I've seen this); when we were in the metrodome, we had the 4-tickets, 4-hotdogs, and 4-cokes for $40. It was a great deal, but cannibalized business. People viewed our Gophers as a glorified high school game (during the Brewster years it was), and you did not get the engagement that you did at other campuses. Of course I could find a place to spend my extra money that I'm putting down for Gopher Games, but if the overall experience improves, I'm excited about that.
 

bottlebass said:
LOL, $40/ticket for terrible seats at a twins game? You got screwed. LOL, $30 for parking at a twins game? You got screwed.
Click to expand...

I agree, that's why I'm not going back. I've never felt that way at a Gopher game since J.K has come on board. Remember this was 2 or 3 summers ago at the Twins game and there wasn't an empty seat in the house.
 

GopherHomer said:
I have made the personal decision to stay out of ticket-gate (out of boredom and the fact that I live out of state so it doesn't really affect me - Iceland had a point), but I still disagree with some of these points. I would argue that we ARE coming off a huge season (two actually), and I feel like you're discounting the level of bowl game that we achieved.

Anyways go Gophers, and time will tell us if this was the right move or not. There's no denying the tone on this message board, but we will see if this is just a case of a vocal minority or not...you're always going to have upset portion anytime you dramatically increase prices.
Click to expand...
I don't think 8-5 seasons with bowl losses qualify as huge. Remember, everything had to break right with Sparty in order for the U to end up in Orlando. It could have easily been San Diego or Jacksonville. If last season was the high water mark, ticket sales are in a world of hurt.
 

go4rob said:
My wife and I went to a Twins game 2 summers ago and it cost us a cool $200 easily. We got the tickets for $40 apiece (a bargain from a friend) and they were terrible seats in the outfield. Parking was around $30. Food and beverages were around $50 or so. Food CAN be brought in but only consumed in "general" seating. That's the last Twins game we'll ever go to. Give me a Saturday at TCF Stadium any day.
Click to expand...

That was no bargain given to you by your friend with the tickets. I have had outfield seats since the first year and we have always paid $20 (good seats btw). You can park for $6 and not walk very far (if that isn't an issue?). Yes, the food and beverages cost a lot, but if you want to give it one more try...you can do it for a fraction of what you paid.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I don't think 8-5 seasons with bowl losses qualify as huge. Remember, everything had to break right with Sparty in order for the U to end up in Orlando. It could have easily been San Diego or Jacksonville. If last season was the high water mark, ticket sales are in a world of hurt.
Click to expand...

If nothing else, it speaks to how bad we have been in recent history that we are even willing to debate whether a season in which we go 4-4 in the Big Ten is a "huge" season.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
If nothing else, it speaks to how bad we have been in recent history that we are even willing to debate whether a season in which we go 4-4 in the Big Ten is a "huge" season.
Click to expand...

Well, it was 5-3, but I get your point - it was a pretty ho-hum season. A couple trophys, but nothing much else going on.
 

Old Goph said:
Well, it was 5-3, but I get your point - it was a pretty ho-hum season. A couple trophys, but nothing much else going on.
Click to expand...

I think the 4-4 season referenced is 2013. Something to remember about 13, they took away a possible loss by cowardly running away from UNC.
 

Old Goph said:
Well, it was 5-3, but I get your point - it was a pretty ho-hum season. A couple trophys, but nothing much else going on.
Click to expand...

I was talking about 2013. Someone earlier said we were coming off of two huge seasons. I still don't think 5-3 is a huge season (at least when that 5-3 includes us blowing a lead to extend a losing streak against our biggest rival), but I definitely don't think that a .500 B1G season qualifies. At most, we are coming off of one huge season.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I think the 4-4 season referenced is 2013. Something to remember about 13, they took away a possible loss by cowardly running away from UNC.
Click to expand...

Ah, more good points. Hard to believe they're not slashing ticket prices after their recent run of mediocrity and cowardice.
 

MNGoldenGophers1 said:
Communication or lack there of on the part of the U seems to be a major complaint but one thing they have clearly stated is that increasing ticket prices is necessary in order to "keep up with the Joneses." Does anyone know the status of ticket prices at other B1G schools? I know there was a thread about WI raising ticket prices across the board at what I think was $3 per game next season. I think another thread mentioned Purdue lowering ticket prices but not sure if so and by how much? If anyone knows what is happening elsewhere in the B1G that would be interesting information.
Click to expand...

Good question and point! Somebody posted that information here quite awhile back. I don't know how to search for it here though.
 

We have a group of 6 in Section 103 and we are all renewing and planning road trips to Chicago and maybe Iowa. Started looking at Chicago hotels for the Northwestern game last night.

Still a bargain this year. Won't be a bargain next year but will be close to what I think they are worth. If they hold at that rate and the team continues to improve will probably keep them indefinitely. If they jump way up from there and/or team goes way down for several year stretch I'll reassess. I'm 45, becoming an empty nester this year, and Gopher football with my wife and two other couples is by far my favorite entertainment expenditure every year.
 

Old Goph said:
Well, it was 5-3, but I get your point - it was a pretty ho-hum season. A couple trophys, but nothing much else going on.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I guess the only thing I would add would be watching Maxx Williams....that was fun.
I'd probably include watching David Cobb...that was fun.
Making a January 1 bowl and seeing the fan turnout in Orlando...that was fun.
Playing a meaningful game in November....that was fun.
Playing for the Big Ten west title....that was fun.
Winning at Nebraska for the first time since 1960...that was fun.
Watching the Big Ten's best or second best secondary....that was fun.
Myrick's kickoff return to beat Northwestern....that was fun.
First 5-3 BT record since 2003....that was fun.
Santoso's 52 yard field goal to beat Purdue....that was fun.
Scoring 51 straight points against Iowa....that was fun.
Scoring 30 straight points at Michigan....that was fun.
Having the Big Ten coach of the year....that was fun.
Discovering Dilly Bar Dan...that was fun.

But that's it! Nothing much else going on.
 



A
Maximus said:
Agreed.

I guess the only thing I would add would be watching Maxx Williams....that was fun.
I'd probably include watching David Cobb...that was fun.
Making a January 1 bowl and seeing the fan turnout in Orlando...that was fun.
Playing a meaningful game in November....that was fun.
Playing for the Big Ten west title....that was fun.
Winning at Nebraska for the first time since 1960...that was fun.
Watching the Big Ten's best or second best secondary....that was fun.
Myrick's kickoff return to beat Northwestern....that was fun.
First 5-3 BT record since 2003....that was fun.
Santoso's 52 yard field goal to beat Purdue....that was fun.
Scoring 51 straight points against Iowa....that was fun.
Scoring 30 straight points at Michigan....that was fun.
Having the Big Ten coach of the year....that was fun.
Discovering Dilly Bar Dan...that was fun.

But that's it! Nothing much else going on.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I thought we were trying to forget about all of that for the purposes of this thread. If we don't like the price, we need to downgrade the product
 

Maximus said:
Agreed.

I guess the only thing I would add would be watching Maxx Williams....that was fun.
I'd probably include watching David Cobb...that was fun.
Making a January 1 bowl and seeing the fan turnout in Orlando...that was fun.
Playing a meaningful game in November....that was fun.
Playing for the Big Ten west title....that was fun.
Winning at Nebraska for the first time since 1960...that was fun.
Watching the Big Ten's best or second best secondary....that was fun.
Myrick's kickoff return to beat Northwestern....that was fun.
First 5-3 BT record since 2003....that was fun.
Santoso's 52 yard field goal to beat Purdue....that was fun.
Scoring 51 straight points against Iowa....that was fun.
Scoring 30 straight points at Michigan....that was fun.
Having the Big Ten coach of the year....that was fun.
Discovering Dilly Bar Dan...that was fun.

But that's it! Nothing much else going on.
Click to expand...
Very fun season, and lots to build on and be proud of, but I think lots of fans feel it still isn't enough to justify these kinds of increases on season tix when the stadium is still not full on gameday. The scale of increase to ticket prices is the kind of thing you would expect after a title. Of course, if Norwood feels this is the ceiling for the program or close to it, then perhaps he is taking advantage of what he feels is his best chance to capitalize on ticket increases.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom