Value of Season Tickets

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go4manager

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This has been brewing in my head all season, and today did me in. While I love having modest turnouts at TCF this season, students (NH game especially) included, the value of season tickets has been tossed on the ground and stomped on by the Athletic Dept.

Every home game this year, we have had a promotional opportunity of purchasing a $10 ticket to the game, totaling $40 thus far. Pro-rated to this point we have spent $157 on each season tickets. I'll preface by saying my season tickets will be renewed because we have great seats, and it's my way of giving to my Alma matter. However, for 10-15k casual season ticket holders with mediocre seats, specifically first-year holders, why on earth would they ever renew? If season ticket prices remain constant, I would be shocked if we don't lose 10k+ holders. next year has a much better home B1G slate at which they can sell more regular priced tickets...the majority to visitor fans.

Students pay $92 for their season tickets. Coach Kill has been in Northrop Mall every Friday handing out free tickets. Big Ten packs sold at $12 a game. If I'm a student I'm not renewing.

What the U of M thought was a great idea to get butts in the seats may have been a nice quick fix, but I see it having a huge dip on next season especially if we don't find 2 B1G wins and a bowl birth. I'd like to hear others especially first year holders on the likelihood of renewal given the diminished value of our tickets...
 

My parents enjoyed those cheap tickets the first two games of the year. They are now season ticket holders. I completely understand your point and frustration. For some groups though, the strategy of Kill, Teague, and company worked out exactly as planned. If you do choose to drop your season tickets I hope you continue to attend games because regardless of how well the Gophers are playing at the time, it's tough to imagine a better way to spend a saturday afternoon than at TCF Bank.
 

Your post doesn't make sense to me. Like you said, with Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska coming to town next year, the season tickets are going to be worth much more.

So...what's the problem? Nobody buys season tickets to see New Hampshire and Western Michigan. Nobody.
 

The promotional prices are something I try not to think about. I also haven't thought about the street value of the tickets, if the ticket office is selling them for $10, are the scalpers taking $5?

I don't know if the brokers are going to buy up the seats like they did two years ago even with Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Penn State on the schedule. I don't think those seats will be worth more than face value considering the local demand.

I'll likely keep my seats next year. I like college football and being able to buy away game tickets, but I can understand why some will bolt knowing they will be able to buy their seats at a 1/3 of the price on the street.
 

go4manager said:
This has been brewing in my head all season, and today did me in. While I love having modest turnouts at TCF this season, students (NH game especially) included, the value of season tickets has been tossed on the ground and stomped on by the Athletic Dept.

Every home game this year, we have had a promotional opportunity of purchasing a $10 ticket to the game, totaling $40 thus far. Pro-rated to this point we have spent $157 on each season tickets. I'll preface by saying my season tickets will be renewed because we have great seats, and it's my way of giving to my Alma matter. However, for 10-15k casual season ticket holders with mediocre seats, specifically first-year holders, why on earth would they ever renew? If season ticket prices remain constant, I would be shocked if we don't lose 10k+ holders. next year has a much better home B1G slate at which they can sell more regular priced tickets...the majority to visitor fans.

Students pay $92 for their season tickets. Coach Kill has been in Northrop Mall every Friday handing out free tickets. Big Ten packs sold at $12 a game. If I'm a student I'm not renewing.

What the U of M thought was a great idea to get butts in the seats may have been a nice quick fix, but I see it having a huge dip on next season especially if we don't find 2 B1G wins and a bowl birth. I'd like to hear others especially first year holders on the likelihood of renewal given the diminished value of our tickets...
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One addition - the 2nd game there was an email sent out to all the Gopher alums (but anyone could use it) and it gave out 2 free tickets for the game.
 


akgopher said:
The promotional prices are something I try not to think about. I also haven't thought about the street value of the tickets, if the ticket office is selling them for $10, are the scalpers taking $5?

I don't know if the brokers are going to buy up the seats like they did two years ago even with Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Penn State on the schedule. I don't think those seats will be worth more than face value considering the local demand.

I'll likely keep my seats next year. I like college football and being able to buy away game tickets, but I can understand why some will bolt knowing they will be able to buy their seats at a 1/3 of the price on the street.
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Scalping value also at a low - what drove my post. 4 of my friends got decent seats for $30 total...for a 4-1 team on Homecoming. Another friend had to get rid of 2 - got $5 each from scalper. I don't remember the value ever being this low...and the product on the field isn't nearly as bad as it's been...
 

Even without these deep discounts, you could have easily purchased tickets off of stub hub and/or off the streets for cheaper than a season ticket would cost. I think you have to look at season tickets as a partial donation to the athletic department.
 

I go back and forth on this. I ticks me off that I pay so much for my season tickets, then others pay $10. On the other hand, it's more fun for me if the stadium is full and loud, and I get the hope that people will come once and decide to come back. So I do think the discount tickets are worthwhile for the occasional game where we know nobody is going to pay full price. But you do that once a year. Every home game? No. No more for the rest of this season.
 

We always renew our two season tickets and don't look back. We love going to Gopher games and can't imagine it being different. We greatly value our season tickets and realize the UM has to do what it can to sell tickets. The Twins did it this year and the T-Wolves have been for years.

Its our part in being involved in Gopher football and help making it the best that it can be.
 



The ticket office shouldn't sell single game tickets to next year's Nebraska game. Make the Husker fans buy a season ticket if they want to go to the game.
 


I also go back and forth on this. If your talking football value, then the season ticket is probably not worth what I pay. I have four seats in the $250 seating section. These seats are together, so a few times each year I get to take my daughter and husband to a game. That time together is a great time. We tailgate every game. Usually 3-4 hours before the game and 1.5 to 2 hours after each game. I am with a great tailgate group and we have a great time. I belong to the GLC. I attend the button hook social when they are offered. You get a little insight into the program and get a little more familiar with the entire operation that is Gopher football. I have attended the UNLV and Iowa games on the road so far this year. Again, great time. You put everything together and I am getting my money's worth. I love Gopher football. It is more than the 3 hour game that is played 12 weeks a year. Do I hope we get to the point that we are winning on a regular basis. YES, I do. I will be there for all the home games regardless of what the record shows. JERRY, JERRY, JERRY. SKI-U-MAH.
 

dlw4gophers said:
I also go back and forth on this. If your talking football value, then the season ticket is probably not worth what I pay. I have four seats in the $250 seating section. These seats are together, so a few times each year I get to take my daughter and husband to a game. That time together is a great time. We tailgate every game. Usually 3-4 hours before the game and 1.5 to 2 hours after each game. I am with a great tailgate group and we have a great time. I belong to the GLC. I attend the button hook social when they are offered. You get a little insight into the program and get a little more familiar with the entire operation that is Gopher football. I have attended the UNLV and Iowa games on the road so far this year. Again, great time. You put everything together and I am getting my money's worth. I love Gopher football. It is more than the 3 hour game that is played 12 weeks a year. Do I hope we get to the point that we are winning on a regular basis. YES, I do. I will be there for all the home games regardless of what the record shows. JERRY, JERRY, JERRY. SKI-U-MAH.
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dlw4gophers, you nailed it. For me, it's much more than just the three hours at the game. I can't wait to spend the 4 hours driving to Madison Friday night with my Dad, going to dinner with him on State Street, watching us upset UW and then driving back together. If it wasn't for Gopher football, I wouldn't have that 1.5 day together with just him and I. That time won't be there forever for us, and I love that Gopher football is the impetus for making it happen.

Go Gophers!!
 



I feel bad for my sons, who feel bad for me - watching me suffer through season after season of losing Gopher football. That said, I will still renew my tickets for many of the reasons stated above - supporting the program, making a day of it pre- and post-game, etc.
 

Gopherprof said:
Your post doesn't make sense to me. Like you said, with Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska coming to town next year, the season tickets are going to be worth much more.

So...what's the problem? Nobody buys season tickets to see New Hampshire and Western Michigan. Nobody.
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I now know the difference between hyperbole and bullsh!t. Nothing. Nothing.
 

GopherVotary said:
The ticket office shouldn't sell single game tickets to next year's Nebraska game. Make the Husker fans buy a season ticket if they want to go to the game.
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My guess is they will tie the Nebraska single game tickets to one of the non-conf games so that if their fans are going to buy them they also have to buy a seat for a lesser game (now that we have gotten rid of that pesky North Carolina game we have 4 crappy non-conf games to pick from).

Don't think the discounts will have a major impact on the overall season ticket numbers but I think it may get some of those fringe fans or fans with really tight budgets to rethink their renewal and go the single game route instead. Personally I would rather see the athletic department do what they can to get butts in those seats instead of letting them sit empty at the base price.

Someone else mentioned that you have to look at the season ticket price as a donation to the department of sorts and I think that is 100% correct.
 

My tradition is with my son. He was never a kid who played with toys, from the time he was two he's had a ball, bat, or stick in his hands. He fell in love with the Big Ten, over professional sports, because of the consistency of the same teams playing against each other in all sports. As a preschooler I'd find him watching a tennis match or softball game on the B10 Network. We have gone to games together for the past 5 years and traveled to Iowa and will go to Madison together, as well as to other sports events.

That said GL, noted something about the free tickets to alumni that rubs me wrong. I grew up a huge Gopher fan, always identified with the program and even envisioned myself attending the TC campus. I was a student during the Dark Ages of the Twin Cities campus experience. I balked at attending the TC campus when it came time to choose a college because of the kids I knew who enrolled there telling me how sterile it was and how so many were living in Roseville, Richfield, NE, or even Uptown. I saw that environment when I visited the campus as a prospective student. Yudof came aboard during the end of my college years. I chose the Duluth campus. I graduated and started getting the University newsletter, my diploma said University of Minnesota, and I started giving to the University of Minnesota early in my professional career. I even remember one fundraising call that was obviously a work study student on the TC campus telling me that the University sees us all as one family. Then came Gopher points and hearing about email offers like GL is alluding to. Last year I think I gave three times, and I made sure all of my giving went to the Duluth campus.

So I'm a bit torn about keeping my seats or getting a discount on the street, growing up a big Gopher fan and having a son who loves going with me, and the other side of me that feels a bit alienated by the process, especially as a one time donor to the entire University system.
 

Only in Minnesota would this topic even be talked about.
 

Ski U Master said:
Only in Minnesota would this topic even be talked about.
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It is only going to intensify as the option of putting those discretionary dollars towards watching the Vikings play in TCF and later in what will likely recognized as a top five stadium in the world in regards to fan experience becomes a reality.
 

We complain when attendance is poor and the atmosphere is lacking and then we complain when the athletic department does something to improve it.

The value of season tickets is guaranteeing you will have seats (the same seats) to every game for a fixed cost. If you're a person who doesn't find value in that then just go ahead and buy single game tickets.

Personally I applaud the athletic department for doing everything they can to sell out the home games with home team fans and create an atmosphere.
 

akgopher said:
It is only going to intensify as the option of putting those discretionary dollars towards watching the Vikings play in TCF and later in what will likely recognized as a top five stadium in the world in regards to fan experience becomes a reality.
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Well told.
 

stevedave23 said:
We complain when attendance is poor and the atmosphere is lacking and then we complain when the athletic department does something to improve it.

The value of season tickets is guaranteeing you will have seats (the same seats) to every game for a fixed cost. If you're a person who doesn't find value in that then just go ahead and buy single game tickets.

Personally I applaud the athletic department for doing everything they can to sell out the home games with home team fans and create an atmosphere.
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Agree 100%. STH also accrue Gopher Points and I believe get priority for other events at TCF (like U2). The season ticket is more than just admittance to the game, it's up to the ticket holder to determine whether those other benefits add up to the cost of the ticket. If it doesn't, speak with your wallet and give up the season tickets for single games. Don't complain when the Gophers eventually get good and you can't get in though.
 

stevedave23 said:
We complain when attendance is poor and the atmosphere is lacking and then we complain when the athletic department does something to improve it.

The value of season tickets is guaranteeing you will have seats (the same seats) to every game for a fixed cost. If you're a person who doesn't find value in that then just go ahead and buy single game tickets.

Personally I applaud the athletic department for doing everything they can to sell out the home games with home team fans and create an atmosphere.
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I'm with you on this!! ^^^^^
 

stevedave23 said:
We complain when attendance is poor and the atmosphere is lacking and then we complain when the athletic department does something to improve it.

The value of season tickets is guaranteeing you will have seats (the same seats) to every game for a fixed cost. If you're a person who doesn't find value in that then just go ahead and buy single game tickets.

Personally I applaud the athletic department for doing everything they can to sell out the home games with home team fans and create an atmosphere.
Click to expand...

+1
 

I am torn as to renew my season ticket package or not. I would still go to games but just buy tickets for the games I really want to go to. The price per game seems to be way, way cheaper than season tickets. I am not an alum but just like the Gophers and always have. So I don't have that sense of loyalty to the U that a graduate of the U might have. My wife keeps telling me to renew because we have really good seats. We usually only go to the early games and once hunting season starts we are in the woods or fields. Then we just give our tickets to others we know.
 

stevedave23 said:
We complain when attendance is poor and the atmosphere is lacking and then we complain when the athletic department does something to improve it.

The value of season tickets is guaranteeing you will have seats (the same seats) to every game for a fixed cost. If you're a person who doesn't find value in that then just go ahead and buy single game tickets.
Personally I applaud the athletic department for doing everything they can to sell out the home games with home team fans and create an atmosphere.
Click to expand...

Spot on. Season tix will increase.
 

Keep opposing fans out of TCF Bank Stadium and grow a new generation of Gopher fans

We must do all we can to put Maroon and Gold fans in all of the seats. We need to grow the next generation of loyal Golden Gopher football fans. Those of us who bleed Maroon and Gold and already have season tickets should not gripe because other seats are being sold at a fraction of what we might think is fair value, or are given away. If you care about this football program, then you will support everything we need to do to put 52,000+ Maroon and Gold fans in the seats, regardless of short term revenue considerations. Or would you rather increase short term profits and see 1/3 of the stadium filled with red (Nebraska / Wisconsin / Ohio State), yellow (Iowa), or green (NDSU)? When necessary, give away tickets to the students. I believe we have done that, and should continue to add rain, sunshine, and fertilizer to these young Golden Gophers, with our long term objective of turning them into season ticket holders after they graduate. I don't feel at all bad that I purchased season tickets for my son and that his classmates are getting in for free. Keep opposing team fans out of TCF Bank Stadium.
 

I could care less that others are getting into the games by paying less (or nothing at all) than me. I love everything about Saturdays in the fall, and season tickets to Gopher FB is still one of the best values in town.

I hope the U continues to do everything possible to fill the stadium outside selling more tickets to visiting teams. If a discounted ticket gets someone to come, enjoy the game, and hopefully get excited about coming back, then it's well worth it. I tend to enjoy the atmosphere of the games a lot more when TCF is full and rocking. Did any of you seriously look around the stadium at the Syracuse game when everyone was standing and loud and wish that 7,000+ of those seats were empty so that you felt like your ticket was holding value a little more?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have the place packed with all season ticket holders, but if we have to sell tickets at a discount or give them away to students for now to fill the place, I say do it. The only way I would be disappointed is if, come Friday, when Jerry is out on campus, and no one shows up. I am encouraged that there are consistently long lines of students, as it shows students want to go to the games. Hopefully they buy season tickets next year.
 

Maybe we should do what the Lutherans do and have a "free will offering!"
 

highwayman said:
I now know the difference between hyperbole and bullsh!t. Nothing. Nothing.
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What the hell are you talking about? Do people buy season tickets for the crappy games? Of course not! They buy them so that they can get good seats for the games that matter. Nobody thinks to themselves, "Gee, I want to make sure I get good seats for the New Hampshire game. Better renew my season tickets!"

Season tickets get you the best seats (the $10 tickets are the worst seats in the house. Not terrible, but not good) for the best games (Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State).
 

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