U ticket office offering BT home opener tickets vs. Iowa for 40% off

[BleedGopher]

Wow, ticket sales must really be bad for the U. I just received an e-mail that the U will offer a Black Friday sale of BT home opener tickets versus Iowa for up to 40% off.

I fear what will happen next year.

Go Gophers!!

 

[Bad Gopher]

I start to fear what'll happen next year too, Bleed. I and my group will probably renew, but it's not a sure thing - and we're GopherHole loonies! What about more casual fans who'll be pushed over the edge by the mandatory donations, etc? I hope it turns out better than our fears, but the prospect of the Barn turning into the Morgue is stunning. If that happens, they'll have killed the unkillable golden goose.

 

[Rouser]

I'm probably in the minority, but the re-seating plan will help me. I have been a ticket holder for about 8 years and its impossible to move up. I am looking long term.. my goal is that in 20 years to be one of those old farts with good seats. During that time, attendeance will ebb and flow but its still gopher hoops. If I can get a head start on better seasts this summer, perfect.

 

[BarnBurner]

Wow, ticket sales must really be bad for the U. I just received an e-mail that the U will offer a Black Friday sale of BT home opener tickets versus Iowa for up to 40% off.

I fear what will happen next year.

Go Gophers!!

The expectation that Tubby would revive the Barn has not happened. The atmosphere is as bad as it has been in my 20 years of attending.

 

[howeda7]

The expectation that Tubby would revive the Barn has not happened. The atmosphere is as bad as it has been in my 20 years of attending.

I pray that the new AD will kibosh the re-seating plan, make student tickets free and move the student section to better the atmosphere.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

Beating scUM, tOSU and IU will bring the barn back...ticket prices have nothing to do with it if we are winning at home against quality opponents and going to the dance every year the place would be packed. Frankly, if Tubby can't take this athletic team and produce an exiting brand of BB and win 22 games then I am all about replacing him. We have a great nucleus of guards on this team with more to come...give me a coach that likes to run, press and run some more and lets get it on!

 

[jamiche]

There is no great time to do this but you at least want to implement it when people are feeling good about the program and optimistic about its future. That isn't now.

 

[station19]

I pray that the new AD will kibosh the re-seating plan, make student tickets free and move the student section to better the atmosphere.

And dump those stupid in game-promos.

Stop counting beans and start promoting.

 

[scher215]

Beating scUM, tOSU and IU will bring the barn back...ticket prices have nothing to do with it if we are winning at home against quality opponents and going to the dance every year the place would be packed. Frankly, if Tubby can't take this athletic team and produce an exiting brand of BB and win 22 games then I am all about replacing him. We have a great nucleus of guards on this team with more to come...give me a coach that likes to run, press and run some more and lets get it on!

And how many of that nucleus stay without tubby? I'd bet very few do.

 

[bga1]

There is no great time to do this but you at least want to implement it when people are feeling good about the program and optimistic about its future. That isn't now.

You are exactly right. (who posts under your name on the OT? ) My guess is that their plan is to bore forward hard with the premium seating until part way into the BigTen season. If things go badly, we may all get a letter that states they still think it's a great plan but they are delaying it because of economic conditions. If we are having a good season they go for it. The next big event is the seat selection in May so they have until April to postpone.

 

[bga1]

And how many of that nucleus stay without tubby? I'd bet very few do.

We aren't going to fire Tubby. That's not happening. But the probable answer is - most all of them would stay. Transferring and starting over is not fun.

 

[bga1]

I pray that the new AD will kibosh the re-seating plan, make student tickets free and move the student section to better the atmosphere.

You can't make student tickets free on a 40,000 student campus. However, I do wish the students could be at the bottom of one of the long sides of the court. That's not going to happen until there is a new arena though. This one is not build for it.

 

[howeda7]

You can't make student tickets free on a 40,000 student campus. However, I do wish the students could be at the bottom of one of the long sides of the court. That's not going to happen until there is a new arena though. This one is not build for it.

Sure you can. Just because they're free doesn't mean there's an unlimited number. Florida doesn't charge its students for basketball tickets. They're distributed via a lottery. But if you don't show up, you lose yours. That's pretty good incentive right there. You get the students who really want to be there filling those seats. And they become future season ticket holders/donors. But we're too worried about the temporary loss of $$ from the current tickets to think long-term.

 

[Ope3]

Re-seating

I pray that the new AD will kibosh the re-seating plan, make student tickets free and move the student section to better the atmosphere.

There is absolutely zero chance that the plan will get scrapped. None. The train has left the station.

 

[Mulligan]

I pray that the new AD will kibosh the re-seating plan, make student tickets free and move the student section to better the atmosphere.

Agree with the free student tickets, but where are you going to move the students? Into the seats where you'd lost all sorts of money, not just through ticket sales, but you're also upsetting the people who donate. Nice to castigate bean counters and folks with no vision, but this is money you're being pretty free with.

One, the Barn will never get back to the atmosphere it once had. There are thousands fewer seats. Also, TV timeouts, IMO, just kills whatever emotion starts to build. Ya, the promotions are dumb, but it's sitting there for two or three minutes without any action that is the killer.

Start winning more games, and you'll see a big improvement. Start hitting outside shots, force turnovers, and avoid stretches of absolutely awful basketball, and you'll see a big improvement.

 

[row19gopher]

I'm also in the minority...looking forward to reseating. I've had season tix for about 20 y and have seen very little improvement in seats. I enjoy college basketball and if that is what it takes to improve my seats, that is what I will do. I've spent a lot more money in worse ways with nothing to show for it (ie stock market). Unfortunately, it is all about money these days.

 

[Gold Vision]

I've only been to the Fairfield game this year, but there were far less promotions this year than last year. More band, cheerleader, and Goldy than in the past few years.

 

[howeda7]

Agree with the free student tickets, but where are you going to move the students? Into the seats where you'd lost all sorts of money, not just through ticket sales, but you're also upsetting the people who donate. Nice to castigate bean counters and folks with no vision, but this is money you're being pretty free with.

One, the Barn will never get back to the atmosphere it once had. There are thousands fewer seats. Also, TV timeouts, IMO, just kills whatever emotion starts to build. Ya, the promotions are dumb, but it's sitting there for two or three minutes without any action that is the killer.

Start winning more games, and you'll see a big improvement. Start hitting outside shots, force turnovers, and avoid stretches of absolutely awful basketball, and you'll see a big improvement.

I'm not sure. I know there are logistical nightmares to moving them. But even allowing just the first few rows baseline to baseline on one side to be students would make a huge difference. I know those are the prime real estate and it's tough to do, but other schools do it. I guess I just sense that there's not even any thought put into this by those in charge and it stops with 'well that would be too difficult.' Also, if you ever are going to make a change, this re-seating fiasco is the time to do it. Doing it down the road would be even more painful.

 

[howeda7]

There is absolutely zero chance that the plan will get scrapped. None. The train has left the station.

I don't know the particulars, maybe you are right. But considering we have a new President and likely a new AD who didn't sign off on this, I have to think the chances are not 'zero' especially if things go poorly this season.

 

[Gold Vision]

I'm not sure. I know there are logistical nightmares to moving them. But even allowing just the first few rows baseline to baseline on one side to be students would make a huge difference. I know those are the prime real estate and it's tough to do, but other schools do it. I guess I just sense that there's not even any thought put into this by those in charge and it stops with 'well that would be too difficult.' Also, if you ever are going to make a change, this re-seating fiasco is the time to do it. Doing it down the road would be even more painful.

Part of it is the setup of the arena and the raised court. Students like to stand up. If you put them in the front rows, they are going to block everyone behind them. Places like the Breslin Center are setup with this in mind with around 10 rows lower than the rest of the seats behind them.

 

[SelectionSunday]

I'm in that minority with Rouser. I'm looking forward to the re-seating, for better or worse.

I find it interesting that a lot of folks say over & over how important a new practice facility is to the program, gotta' have it, they'll donate money for it (easy to say, a lot harder to do), but at the same time some of these same folks pee and moan about possibly having to pay more for their seats? What's the difference? Either way (or both), that's extra money coming into the program for the future benefit of the program.

I'm actually hoping that a lot of the people complaining about the preferred seating are ahead of me in the Gopher Points rank. The more people ahead of me that drop their seats, the more options I have to choose from when it's my turn to select. Plus, I'm not so sure getting some new blood (new fans) in Williams Arena would be a bad thing.

 

[BleedGopher]

I'm in that minority with Rouser. I'm looking forward to the re-seating, for better or worse.

I find it interesting that a lot of folks say over & over how important a new practice facility is to the program, gotta' have it, they'll donate money for it (easy to say, a lot harder to do), but at the same time some of these same folks pee and moan about possibly having to pay more for their seats? What's the difference? Either way (or both), that's extra money coming into the program for the future benefit of the program.

I'm actually hoping that a lot of the people complaining about the preferred seating are ahead of me in the Gopher Points rank. The more people ahead of me that drop their seats, the more options I have to choose from when it's my turn to select. Plus, I'm not so sure getting some new blood (new fans) in Williams Arena would be a bad thing.

I'm probably in the +$100 extra per seat along with IAM4Goldy, but the call for donations for the practice facility and the additional money for the same seats are mutually exclusive. In no printed materials have I seen that the additional money will go directly towards the building of the new practice facility or even partially. If they have communicated this then I stand corrected. But they actually haven't started the $100-500-1,000 type of brick-by-brick campaign together for the $15-20MM practice facility drive yet. They need the anchor $3-5MM corporate/big donor contributions first before they come to us for our sub $1,000 donations.

In addition, it's human nature to not want to pay more for something you are currently paying for (or in this instance, paying decades for) and now have to ante up even more in tough economic times, despite a lack of breakthrough season, despite a consistently underwhelming home non-conference schedule, etc. Just one of those factors would likely change the feeling for many being asked to give even more than we've already given.

Again, I completely understand the need to do it, I'll pay a modest $100 per ticket more at a minimum and will do it without complaint, but given the factors above, I totally understand why some people are confused on what they are going to do.

How about this...let's hope the economy improves, the Gophers make an Elite 8 run, we announce a home-and-home with KU and break ground on the practice facility all before April and we'll be in good shape!!...and sadly, the economy improving (as unlikely is that is) will probably be the most likely of these scenarios!!

Go Gophers!!

 

[Rouser]

How about this...let's hope the economy improves, the Gophers make an Elite 8 run, we announce a home-and-home with KU and break ground on the practice facility all before April and we'll be in good shape!!...and sadly, the economy improving (as unlikely is that is) will probably be the most likely of these scenarios!!

Go Gophers!!

Can we have all of this happen after seat selection so I still get my good seats and then the bandwagon and improved economy folks can jump in line behind me? Just sayin...

 

[BleedGopher]

One other thing - one scary aspect that worries me is how hard it is to bring a former season ticket holder back after they drop their tickets for a year or two. Once they get through a winter of not having season tickets, there is a strong likelihood that they see they are fine without going to The Barn every few days. Maybe they grab a few $10/ticket games during the non-conference portion, pay face or just under for the Northwestern's/Penn State's and then a tad over face for the UW/MSU's of the world - the rest they sit on their leather couches and 50+ inch HD TV's...they enjoy the experience and before we know it, a 20+ year season ticket holder is only going to half the home games, with most of those games bought at or below face on the Street. So now the U has to work extra hard to bring them back to a season ticket holder if its an option at all. Any sales person will tell you the acquisition costs in acquiring a new or former client is much more in time and money than it is keeping an existing one.

And it's not as if there is a waiting list of fans who currently don't have season tickets that will now get them. A few new season ticket holders may jump at going from what would have been seats in the Rafters to solid lower-level/first row second level type of seats, but I bet that number is much less than the folks that drop altogether.

As jamiche said, there is never a good time to do this, but we seem to have picked the worst possible time. The initial timeline was a year ago but they pushed it back due to the economy - it hasn't improved and the last two months of last season really hurt.

At least Lucia has the boys playing great and the 2013 recruiting class that we have lined up right now is loaded to help that ticket transition.

Go Gophers!!

 

[SelectionSunday]

. ... How about this...let's hope the economy improves, the Gophers make an Elite 8 run, we announce a home-and-home with KU and break ground on the practice facility all before April and we'll be in good shape!!

That sounds good, Bleed. I think most anyone here (except for the true Debbie Downers) would be thrilled with that scenario. I was probably too harsh the way I stated it, but I think what I was trying to say is, I'm willing to give the re-seating a chance. I don't want to condemn it without giving it a chance next spring. I'm crossing my fingers, like everyone else. No doubt it would behoove the Gophers to have a fan-inspiring season in 2011-12.

 

[Rouser]

I will say that if we wait until Gopher hoops is dominant, we may wait forever, just saying. It could be worse, we could have rolled this out at any point during the Monson years.. As it is, we don't have a dominant squad but we have a good team. Tubby has had good teams every year for the most part. True, the final results are not where we want them but historically speaking its probably safer to do it now when the team is decent and is bringing in decent talent, versus waiting until we are a power which may never happen. You cannot keep waiting on the economy, especially when we may be in a new economic cycle of slow growth but continued growth. So it could be years before we are where we were a few years ago...

I say now is as good a time as any to be honest. There are huge risks but those will not be mitigated by waiting if you ask me..they could be by more success on the court but thats like gambling, who knows??

 

[ruppertflywheel]

6:00 games don't help and there is a chance there could be a game any day of the week.
When it was the Thursday/Saturday format you could plan ahead. I was a ST holder for 21 years and dropped them Monson's final year. The Gophers aren't Duke, North Carolina, etc. The premium seating is a sham. It is the same with football. You will have 10,000 empty seats on Sat for Illinois.

 

[tikited]

The Gophers aren't Duke, North Carolina, etc. The premium seating is a sham. It is the same with football. You will have 10,000 empty seats on Sat for Illinois.

The assumption is that we are a "major" program, which we are not. Not even close...yet.

 

[BleedGopher]

6:00 games don't help and there is a chance there could be a game any day of the week.
When it was the Thursday/Saturday format you could plan ahead. I was a ST holder for 21 years and dropped them Monson's final year. The Gophers aren't Duke, North Carolina, etc. The premium seating is a sham. It is the same with football. You will have 10,000 empty seats on Sat for Illinois.

Ruppert, I bet we'll have closer to 20,000 empty seats on Saturday than 10,000 empty seats. Heck, for Iowa we had 4,000 empty seats that was announced (so likely closer to 6K empty seats) and that was against our rival, in mid-October with at least 10K Iowa fans there. On Saturday it will be the worst weather game we've had of the year, against a team we have little connection with in our conference, against a team that will bring a few hundred fans at best...all the while it's Thanksgiving weekend and many U students are home and not campus. I predict that we'll have about 32,000 people in the Stadium at kickoff and less than 20,000 at the start of the 4th quarter. I'll be there, and I hope I'm wrong on the attendance.

Go Gophers!!

 

[mntwinsfreak89]

So if they are distributed via lottery, doesn't that mean some students will be left out who really want to be there? And if you are gone for an exam (which I have had to do for the SDSU game this year) that means I would lose my ticket. Sounds terrible to me