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Schnauzer

Schnauzer

Pretty Sure You are Wrong
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I have had a spotty set of interactions with the Gopher Ticket office in the past. Some calls have gone smoothly, quickly, and have ended with expectations easily being met. Other interactions haven't gone so well. The best example of that was the last year in the Metrodome. I got the wrong location for my season tickets in the mail. When I called back to get things straightened out, it turned into a odyssey of misinformation, multiple calls, confusion, and ultimately ended up with me holding in my hands eight season tickets in two locations despite my order (and payment) for four. At one point, the mixed messages and misinformation got bad enough I asked to talk to a manager. I was told "no, the manager is busy and doesn't have time to talk to you." Instead, they took my info and said a manager would call me back. I never got that call. So, I ended up with double the number of tickets I had ordered and my attempt at being the good guy to inform them had failed.

So, why am I bringing this up now? I was just reminded of my spotty ticket office experiences when I heard this morning that the Twins are actively managing an "on deck circle" now that season ticket sales have ended. Like the Wild (with their 'warming house'), the Twins are maintaining a list of would-be season ticket holders so they can get them seats as soon as possible, and keep them under their wing in the meantime.

How did the Gophers deal with a similar situation with TCF Bank Stadium? I have two brothers-in-law that wanted to get on some sort of list for season tickets last year. They were pumped about the new stadium and were kicking themselves for not checking on it sooner. One of them called once, the other tried multiple times. In each instance they were told to just keep checking, and there was no list being maintained of people wanting season tickets. What a shame. I have read on GH that some people have been lucky enough to catch someone in the ticket office that does take their name down for some sort of waiting list. I wonder, as the shine of the new stadium wears off, how many missed opportunities there have been to keep the seats full.

Both relatives quit trying by January or so. Does anyone know if things have changed for perspective new season ticket buyers since then?
 

That is really a shame. I would think that keeping an active waiting list for season tickets would be crucial to determining fan interest, marketing, fund raising and expansion. Wouldn't this also be a key stat when Maturi files his monthly report to Bruininks?
 

I asked a similar question recently, and here is the response I received:

There was a wait list for 2009 season tickets that began once capacity was hit for assuring 2008 season ticket holders that they would receive season tickets in TCF Bank Stadium. This list began in October of 2008. People were able to be added to the list until early May 2009. Once the seat selection was completed for current season ticket holders, the people on the wait list were given a selection date and time to take part in the seat selection process. After this was completed, a wait list was not kept. Instead the hope was that those who did not receive season tickets, would purchase single game tickets when available.



For 2010 Football season tickets, a person who is not a current season ticket holder, but wishing to become one, should fill out the 2010 Season Ticket Application and send it to the Gopher Ticket Office. New season tickets will be awarded based on annual giving (any donation to the Athletic Department from November 1, 2009 – April 7, 2010) and then based on Gopher Points. This form became available in Mid January 2010.

Here is the website for that application to send in.
http://www.athletics.umn.edu/lyris/20100126footballinterest/2010SeasonFootballTicketApplication.pdf
 

Unbelievable

You'd think that there would be a person in the athletic department with one iota of sense that would come up with the idea of maintaining a wait list for season tickets and charge, oh, about $10-25 a person.

Or does that require too much common sense for it to happen?
 

GopherBen, please learn how to read. If you would have read my post, you would see that they do have a waitlist. They just start a new one each year. I am sure there are many reasons for this, but here are a few. Priority is now based on points. This process keeps those who are actually interested on the waiting list. Plus, I think everyone from last year's wait list got tickets if I remember correctly. So there isnt a large enough demand yet.

Schnauzer, let your people know this information so they can get their tickets.
 


This is a perfect example of how screwed up the whole process is. GophBen... what you described made sense to me. I let my bro-in-law know. He called the ticket office this afternoon and was told that THERE IS NO WAITING LIST FOR 2010 SEASON TICKETS. The only thing he could do is make a donation to the Golden Gopher Fund and check on the donation form that he'd like to be considered for football season tickets. There was NO MENTION of the form you linked in your post. In other words, he got a completely different story than what you shared. I just sent him the link you provided and he is going to try that. This illustrates my whole point... it doesn't seem like any two people in that office are armed with the same information, and there is not a well-known process for getting in line for season tickets. What a shame.

It seems to me that there is a severe lack of training for the kids that work in that office and most of them have probably learned that they don't need to double check the answers they are spewing out. My bro-in-law's quest for season tickets reminds me of my own experience a couple years back... trying to get my proper football seats. Nobody knows. Nobody cares.
 

The form which I linked is for the Golden Gopher Fund. The renewal rate is extremely high, and they dont expect very many seats for new season ticket holders. So the only people that will probably get them are those who have donated to the Golden Gopher Fund. This is all written out on that webpage I linked. Please note that there is no actual wait list. Some people have a hard time grasping this concept.
 

Me reading turrible.

"a wait list was not kept."
 

Also, this is what I got from Gophersports.com

2010 Season Ticket Infomation

To encourage private support of our program, the best football season tickets are allocated to our most generous donors. Members of the Golden Gopher Fund receive priority in the assignment of available season tickets in TCF Bank Stadium according to their annual donation. Any additional season tickets that become available for the 2010 football season will be on sale June 15, 2010. If you would like to know more about the Golden Gopher Fund please call 612-626-4653 or email us at [email protected].
 



DLGuy - You are kind of rude

First you tell GophBen to learn how to read because you wrote that there is a wait list, and then write in another post that there isn't a wait list.

While contributing to the Golden Gopher Fund can get you better seating, it is not a wait list. There doesn't appear to be a season ticket waiting list, which is something that could be beneficial to both the program for marketing and to gauge interest, and for fans wanting to get season tickets.
 

While I agree that this sure looks like its being run poorly, I think the overall premise is similar to other schools. I know that for Wisconsin, you have to apply each season (including the now mandatory "donation"). Doing so only means that the school will consider your application based on your historical giving total. Should you not receive tickets, your "donation" is not refunded to you but is added to your lifetime giving total.

It seems to me that this is what the U is doing. The problem is that they are doing a crappy job of explaining it. Also, I'm not saying that this is the right way to do things (personally, with a fan base as fickle as ours I think there should just be a first come first serve wait list to build demand over time) but I'd keep in mind that the current plan isn't as out of left field as it seems...especially since college athletic depts are funded in part by donations from fans/boosters.
 

Waiting List

They should keep a waiting list for a simple reason if current season ticket holders can't make a game that these true gopher fans would love to purchase them. I think the Wild do that with their waiting list.

There should be a page on the gopher sports web site for ONLY season ticket holders for all gopher sports (and those on the waiting list) to be able to sell or trade tickets amongst each other. I would love to trade some FB tickets for hockey or b-ball but no very few season ticket holders of those sports.
 

When in doubt, always assume the Gopher ticket office screwed up.

Hey DLguy, could you clear one thing up for me? I'd like to know how to sign up for the non-actual waiting list.
 




What I was told: I stopped by the ticket office a couple weeks ago to inquire about a football ticket waitlist. They asked that I fill out the form which DL has provided a link to. While not being an official waitlist, it sounds like once it is known how many season tickets are available for new buyers, the ticket office is going to contact people who submitted the form. The order in which people will be contacted will be based on the amount they indicated they would be willing to donate. They said they expect to begin contacting potential new season ticket holders in early June.
 

The problem with the current plan is two-fold. First, many of the ticket office employees don't know or understand it. They are sending mixed messages and it is leaving a confused group of would-be season ticket holders. Second, it really fails to keep fringe people on the hook. All the tire kickers from last fall have been flushed. They have to keep coming back to eventually get those tickets. I'm sure there are a lot of people who attended a game last fall, got hot for tickets, inquired, fell into the misinformation soup, failed to show up on any waiting list, and eventually fell off the map. Now, there is a new form as of January and thanks to the ticket office misinformation, many are not aware of it.

It could all be solved with a Wild/Twins style waiting list that is composed of people getting regular updates from the U.
 

Schnauzer said:
I have had a spotty set of interactions with the Gopher Ticket office in the past. Some calls have gone smoothly, quickly, and have ended with expectations easily being met. Other interactions haven't gone so well. The best example of that was the last year in the Metrodome. I got the wrong location for my season tickets in the mail. When I called back to get things straightened out, it turned into a odyssey of misinformation, multiple calls, confusion, and ultimately ended up with me holding in my hands eight season tickets in two locations despite my order (and payment) for four. At one point, the mixed messages and misinformation got bad enough I asked to talk to a manager. I was told "no, the manager is busy and doesn't have time to talk to you." Instead, they took my info and said a manager would call me back. I never got that call. So, I ended up with double the number of tickets I had ordered and my attempt at being the good guy to inform them had failed.

So, why am I bringing this up now? I was just reminded of my spotty ticket office experiences when I heard this morning that the Twins are actively managing an "on deck circle" now that season ticket sales have ended. Like the Wild (with their 'warming house'), the Twins are maintaining a list of would-be season ticket holders so they can get them seats as soon as possible, and keep them under their wing in the meantime.

How did the Gophers deal with a similar situation with TCF Bank Stadium? I have two brothers-in-law that wanted to get on some sort of list for season tickets last year. They were pumped about the new stadium and were kicking themselves for not checking on it sooner. One of them called once, the other tried multiple times. In each instance they were told to just keep checking, and there was no list being maintained of people wanting season tickets. What a shame. I have read on GH that some people have been lucky enough to catch someone in the ticket office that does take their name down for some sort of waiting list. I wonder, as the shine of the new stadium wears off, how many missed opportunities there have been to keep the seats full.

Both relatives quit trying by January or so. Does anyone know if things have changed for perspective new season ticket buyers since then?
Click to expand...


I called early in the spring of 2009, I think I had received some sort of literature on it, and paid a fee of $10.00 to have my name put on the list and that is all it took. After a few weeks I was given a date and time to pick my tickets either online or by phone. Sorry to hear about your situation.
 

It isn't my situation. It is an issue for people trying to get season tickets NOW.The list you were on was the waiting list formed after they had wrapped up season ticket transfers from the dome. I believe most people on that list did get season tickets and that situation isn't related to what is being described here. In fact, I got on the same list to add a 5th ticket to the four season tickets I had brought over from the metrodome.
 

(1) After a long absence from posting, I'm back. :) (2) I'd listen to DLGuy, as he know of which he speaks. Trust me. -Joe
 

jthiegs said:
(1) After a long absence from posting, I'm back. :) (2) I'd listen to DLGuy, as he know of which he speaks. Trust me. -Joe
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone doubts that. I agree, DLGuy is correct. That isn't the problem though.
 

This shouldn't be hard.

1) Require $25 donation to GopherFund to be eligible for season tickets.
2) If there are no season tickets to be had, put people on waiting list instructing them that priority is based on cumulative donations to Gopher Fund.
3) Send out reminders every 6 months, notifying people of their place in line and reminding them to contribute to Gopher Fund to improve standing.
 

This is what happens when you have college interns answering phones in the ticket office
 

Sounds like a reasonable plan.

ChemEGopher said:
What I was told: I stopped by the ticket office a couple weeks ago to inquire about a football ticket waitlist. They asked that I fill out the form which DL has provided a link to. While not being an official waitlist, it sounds like once it is known how many season tickets are available for new buyers, the ticket office is going to contact people who submitted the form. The order in which people will be contacted will be based on the amount they indicated they would be willing to donate. They said they expect to begin contacting potential new season ticket holders in early June.
Click to expand...

This seems like a reasonable plan.

I agree with the folks at the ticket office neither being trained/marketing this plan very well it seems nor communicating this "list" well at all.

Martin G.
 

Anybody have the link to the form to request a seat upgrade/change if available?

thanks!
 

Donovan said:
Anybody have the link to the form to request a seat upgrade/change if available?

thanks!
Click to expand...

Here's the URL:
http://www.gophersports.com//pdf8/670690.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=8400

Excerpt of instructions from the ticket renewal instructions email:
"Included below is the season ticket/parking request form. If you would like to request a change in season ticket location or parking location, please complete the form and return it to the Gopher ticket office. Make sure to include your name and your customer number on this form.

Season Ticket/Parking Request Form (PDF, 2.1 MB)

Any customer that does not renew on-line will be sent their renewal invoice via mail in early March.

If you are interested in purchasing additional season tickets and/or parking passes, please complete and return the same form. Please email this form to [email protected] or mail it to:

Gopher Ticket Office
Attn: Football Upgrade "
4 Oak St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
 

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