Shooter: More than 5K student tickets remain for Gophers/Penn State game

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? Did all the kids who bought tickets to the Iowa game only buy that particular ticket and not a season package? I'm confused here, seems like they had ~8,000 students in attendance for Homecoming, and the lower section was 90%+ full for Nebraska (meaning ~5-6k people). Maybe I'm nuts.
 

Nebraska--There were ZERO students in the upper deck from what I could tell. It looked like the Nebraska fans had the entire upper student section with the exception of the middle section which was virtually empty.
 

^^ There were a few in the first 2-3 rows. But yes. Remember, though, that the upper deck is just a rectangle of 3-4 sections while the lower deck stretches further around the end-zone. I'd say the capacity of lower to upper is 66:33 for the student section.
 

Not to mention that the kids cram into the lower.
 



Earlier this season, I heard from a friend that sat near the student section (I believe it was the SJSU game) that the fuzz were literally questioning/checking every student for alcohol consumption that walked up from the student section. If there was any sign of underage consumption, they got a breathalyzer on the spot, and if they had been drinking, they were handcuffed and escorted out of the stadium. He witnessed it throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters. I haven't seen it ( I don't sit anywhere close to the student section), but if it went down the way he described it, I wouldn't go to a game either if I was a student. Anyone else see this going on?
 

HouseOfHagen said:
Earlier this season, I heard from a friend that sat near the student section (I believe it was the SJSU game) that the fuzz were literally questioning/checking every student for alcohol consumption that walked up from the student section. If there was any sign of underage consumption, they got a breathalyzer on the spot, and if they had been drinking, they were handcuffed and escorted out of the stadium. He witnessed it throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters. I haven't seen it ( I don't sit anywhere close to the student section), but if it went down the way he described it, I wouldn't go to a game either if I was a student. Anyone else see this going on?
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This wouldn't surprise me. UMPD is by far the most harsh of any campus I've been on. At a house part in Michigan there were tons of underage kids drinking on the lawn, and their police rolled up and just said to stay off the sidewalk. As long as you weren't being stupid and causing a ruckus, they let you be.
 

HouseOfHagen said:
Earlier this season, I heard from a friend that sat near the student section (I believe it was the SJSU game) that the fuzz were literally questioning/checking every student for alcohol consumption that walked up from the student section. If there was any sign of underage consumption, they got a breathalyzer on the spot, and if they had been drinking, they were handcuffed and escorted out of the stadium. He witnessed it throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters. I haven't seen it ( I don't sit anywhere close to the student section), but if it went down the way he described it, I wouldn't go to a game either if I was a student. Anyone else see this going on?
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I have sat near the student section since TCF Bank Stadium has opened, and I haven't noticed this. Maybe I just haven't been looking hard enough. I haven't seen much in terms of out-of-ordinary police presence.
 



DLguy said:
Not to mention that the kids cram into the lower.
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Not anymore. They give out a certain number of wristbands and you can't get into the lower bowl once they are gone.
 

Ski U Master said:
This wouldn't surprise me. UMPD is by far the most harsh of any campus I've been on. At a house part in Michigan there were tons of underage kids drinking on the lawn, and their police rolled up and just said to stay off the sidewalk. As long as you weren't being stupid and causing a ruckus, they let you be.
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Don't forget to mention the $97 biking on the sidewalk tickets they are giving out now.
 

I know this is a sore subject with some, but if we beat Indiana Saturday and they still can't get 8,000+ students at the game against Penn St., I think it is pretty obvious they need to cut down on the 10,000.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I know this is a sore subject with some, but if we beat Indiana Saturday and they still can't get 8,000+ students at the game against Penn St., I think it is pretty obvious they need to cut down on the 10,000.
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I'd agree with you if it wasn't for all the empty seats along the sidelines as well. Like, a lot of them. In a world where the BTN/ESPN deals are bringing in $27m a year for the Gophers, I really question the logic on ticket selling/pricing/etc. So many season ticket holders are corporations or ticket brokers who don't care about going and only care about selling the tickets at more than the U sold them for (respectively). It was atrocious to watch the 2 hockey games last weekend, involving a #1 ranked home team vs a #5 ranked team who has multiple national championships over the past decade and is perhaps in the top 5 of college hockey brands and see SO MANY empty seats.

The U needs to lower season ticket prices for both students (marginal effect on attendance, look at student sections nation-wide struggling to bring kids in on-time for games), and implement a program that rewards fans for attendance and punishes them for not attending. This should be mainly targeted at the folks looking to make a buck off tickets bought at season ticket prices (lower than face value each) and selling them for at/above face value on the streets. In their mind, they don't need to sell 100% of them to make a profit, just enough of them to cover the initial investment. That's great for them as entrepreneurs, but the U has a different mission. Empty seats means people not buying fan guides, concessions, gear, and paying for parking. It also means a reduction in the real audience (as opposed to what they claim), which hurts how many advertisements they can sell and at what price. It hurts the brand of the experience - empty seats don't yell or cheer or participate in Gold Outs (heh..). It hurts recruiting as kids think that even for big games the area doesn't support the team. It's an opportunity cost in building other potential life-long (paying) fans by giving them away to charity organizations/HS programs/little leagues, etc.

SO... they need to take back control of their product. Change the calculus for the ticket brokers by making it clear that they will be revoked the next year if they don't sell the seats. If they balk, recognize that your face value is too high to fill the stadium given the product on the field. Change the calculus for the companies who buy the seats but can't find people to fill them (which is pathetic considering companies usually give the tickets away for free). Yes, 40k seats at an average of $50/game (face value), 7x a year represents $14m in opportunity - you don't want to screw up what you got going. But there's a heck of a lot more at stake. Give ticket holders a 1-game waiver if they miss. This excuses real people (and even brokers/corp holders) for when they travel/have a wedding/etc and can't find someone else to go in their place. Miss more than that? Sorry, the U will find another person to sell to, even if it means lowering the price.

This is just my take.
 



afurry91 said:
Not anymore. They give out a certain number of wristbands and you can't get into the lower bowl once they are gone.
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Yeah but it's not very hard to enter with 5 friends, take their 5 wristbands back up to the concourse, give them to 5 more friends, and let them in. Not that anyone's ever done that before.
 

fryguy22 said:
Yeah but it's not very hard to enter with 5 friends, take their 5 wristbands back up to the concourse, give them to 5 more friends, and let them in. Not that anyone's ever done that before.
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So you have done it successfully? If that's the case then good for you. I thought they made you put the thing on your wrist but I guess not.

It has been much less crowded this yearning the lower bowl I have noticed which is a welcome improvement for me. I get there 45 minutes early to have a decent view. Not to share it with some drunk frat boy that shows up 5 minutes before kick off and crams 5 of his buddies into a row with two seats left. The number of d-bags who did this for the Syrcause game last year was astounding. Being able to actually stand up and not have to twist sideways has been a relief this season.
 

I know this shouldnt be that big of a deal but the game is 30 bucks. All student conference games are that amount individually. I would be more than willing to pay that money for a big rivalry game but for Penn St? Id rather not. Students can find tickets for half the price on facebook groups designated for people selling individual games off of their season pass. I know other schools cost more and we have a lot of momentum going but at the end of the day students like myself can save 10-15 bucks using a facebook group. For conference games that are not considered rivalries the U should put the price down to $20. I will be in attendance but that will be from buying the ticket from someone else and having some "fun money" for later that night.
 


rya241 said:
I know this shouldnt be that big of a deal but the game is 30 bucks. All student conference games are that amount individually. I would be more than willing to pay that money for a big rivalry game but for Penn St? Id rather not. Students can find tickets for half the price on facebook groups designated for people selling individual games off of their season pass. I know other schools cost more and we have a lot of momentum going but at the end of the day students like myself can save 10-15 bucks using a facebook group. For conference games that are not considered rivalries the U should put the price down to $20. I will be in attendance but that will be from buying the ticket from someone else and having some "fun money" for later that night.
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rya241, I don't blame you. Curious if the student body in general is excited about the football team/program now? The student section has been great this year and as an alum I am really glad that you guys have the opportunity to enjoy a good product in a great outdoor on campus stadium.
 

Gold Vision said:
Awesome, I hate sidewalk bikers.
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It's a little different on campus with 20' wide sidewalks in almost every area. If bikes aren't zipping through but merely riding through safely and slowly to avoid dismounting, it shouldn't be a big deal. This video (around 5:00 and beyond mark) shows that it works, quite easily and safely. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3KjoEduHsI
 


The student section wasn't full, but it was energetic against Nebraska. We need some momentum (not in terms of games, but in terms of seasons). We keep playing meaningful games into November, the section won't fill up this year, but the students who do show up will have a good environment. Once we string a couple of good seasons together, word starts to spread that there is a fun atmosphere and a competitive team, and the upperclassmen are able to convince their friends that they should buy tickets. This year's seniors did not have their drivers licenses yet the last time the Gophs went .500 in conference play. The freshmen were still pysched about getting their own locker in middle school at that time. Brick by brick, we need to sustain some success.
 

I bet some students are holding off on buying up tickets until after this weekend. If we can get a W against IU, I am sure campus will be buzzing more than usual about football. That should sell a few more, I'd think. If the U marks down the price and markets the crap out of it, you could draw more students.
 

As a student I agree 100%. I have no problem with charging $30 for premium and rivalry games, specifically regional ones (Iowa, UW, UM, Nebraska). These are the games that most students who aren't die-hard fans will want to come to, at least at this point where the program is now. Many students have friends who are visiting from those close regional schools and want to attend so they can talk trash to each other. How many PSU students are from MN and vice versa? PSU should be $20 at most! The die-hard student fans of the team are gonna show up regardless of who we play because they love the team and the game. As was stated above, until we can create an atmosphere in which TCF Bank Stadium is THE place to be on campus saturday morning The U needs to do all they can to market the game and get students there and the student tailgate lot has been a huge improvement this year in getting students to the game. All that being said, a winning team is still the ultimate draw and if we can be 7-2 going into PSU I can almost guarantee the campus will have the type of buzz that it had for Syracuse last year.
 

nokomismod said:
rya241, I don't blame you. Curious if the student body in general is excited about the football team/program now? The student section has been great this year and as an alum I am really glad that you guys have the opportunity to enjoy a good product in a great outdoor on campus stadium.
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There is definitely more excitement this year. I have noticed people making it more of a point to arrive closer to or before kickoff vs. the end of the first quarter. But it definitely has been more fun when compared to last year. If we could squeak out 7-8 wins this year and get a bowl victory I would guess the excitement and atmosphere at the start of next year would be electric. I think the next step is to be more lenient on the student tailgate lots. Nobody wants to go because of undercover cops and the restrictions. Not sure if that'll happen but if it did we could truly start having an insane atmosphere for football games.
 

From my experience, Alabama charges $5 a game and UCF $0. They have a lottery kind of thing and a first come first served policy, respectively. If we want students to go to the games (and I definitely do), why are we charging so much?? Alabama has a "transfer" charge if you try to sell them. The students don't receive paper tickets, it gets put on your ID which you swipe going into the game. That way they know who isn't going and suspend you from getting tickets. And they are monitoring if you leave early due to Nick Saban's outburst after their Arkansas game.
 

Except for a handful of schools, Alabama and nearly every other major, and most minor schools, has paid for their stadium years, maybe decades ago. Seriously, if the Legislature wanted to pay-off the debt of TCF, the U wouldn't have a problem with that at all. Except keeping extra Sconnies and Hawkeyes from sitting in the student section they could lower the charge to zero or a couple of bucks a game.

Can't say where I'd fit on that solution. Then the question becomes should the State take on more debt or should there be "user's fees" for the people actually attending games, not just the couple of bucks on yearly fees. Think we should concentrate on selling Student Season Tickets which at about $10-12 a game isn't exactly price-gouging.

Don't have an answer. Just know that it's encouraging that we've had some students on here actually talking about going in to see the game instead of "just give us a damn place to party".

Which certainly isn't our problem.
 

Schools are always adding to stadiums, building new practice facilities, etc. I get your point but I think the main reason many majors have their bills paid is that they have more big-time boosters.

I think season tickets for the students would probably help. I don't have the answer either but they need to figure out a way to get the students there. They help create the environment which helps the team on the field, helps sway the recruits brought in, etc. I just think 8,000 students at $5 is better than 2000 students at $20 or $30. Then make it difficult or very expensive for students to sell the tickets for our rival games.
 

Are there data on how many UM students attend Vikings games? If so, have they been polled to see if they also attend Gopher games? If they attend only Vikings games, have they been asked why? In the Big10 only UM and NW (and they have poor attendance) compete with the NFL for fans. And in Minneapolis it's just a walk from one stadium to the other. I'd like to know what effect this has and if anything could be done to attract them to our program.
 

FanSinceTheFifties said:
Are there data on how many UM students attend Vikings games? If so, have they been polled to see if they also attend Gopher games? If they attend only Vikings games, have they been asked why? In the Big10 only UM and NW (and they have poor attendance) compete with the NFL for fans. And in Minneapolis it's just a walk from one stadium to the other. I'd like to know what effect this has and if anything could be done to attract them to our program.
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1. I doubt a ton go to Vikings games. NFL tickets are pretty expensive.

2. What could be done to attract Vikings fans to Gopher games? Tolerate an all-out party atmosphere, because that's what NFL football is.
 

The question MIGHT SOON BE:

What can be done to attract Gopher Fans to Viking games?:)

If the Vikes keep playing the way they are they won't have the problem of fitting 65k STH into a 51K seat stadium; no extra seating will need to be added in the end zone.
 

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