2016 Seat Adjustment Process

The Seat Adjustment Process concluded yesterday.

It'll be interesting to hear if any numbers are released on renewal rates.

I'm assuming it ended with all the sections still showing as available? If so, this is a HUGE step back from year's past and an indication a lot of season ticket sales have been lost.
 


Through an email i received yesterday, the ticket office is offering one last chance to make adjustments.

"The 2016 Gopher Football Seat/Parking Adjustment Process has been completed. The Gopher Sales & Service Department has contacted everyone who has requested an adjustment to discuss possible options.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s adjustment process. If you are still interested in adjusting your seats and/or parking, please contact the Gopher Sales & Service Department at 612-624-8080.

Thank you for your continued support of Gopher Football!"
 

Through an email i received yesterday, the ticket office is offering one last chance to make adjustments.

"The 2016 Gopher Football Seat/Parking Adjustment Process has been completed. The Gopher Sales & Service Department has contacted everyone who has requested an adjustment to discuss possible options.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s adjustment process. If you are still interested in adjusting your seats and/or parking, please contact the Gopher Sales & Service Department at 612-624-8080.

Thank you for your continued support of Gopher Football!"

Well, it would be tempting to downgrade to end-zone seats and then just sit wherever you want on game day. Or just do what apparently many fans are planning to do which is scalp them. But then again, why loose out on the satisfaction of making a voluntary donation.
 

Well, it would be tempting to downgrade to end-zone seats and then just sit wherever you want on game day. Or just do what apparently many fans are planning to do which is scalp them. But then again, why loose out on the satisfaction of making a voluntary donation.

"donation". Come on.


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From Sid Hartman's column in the Strib:

• Perhaps it’s no surprise that the Vikings and not the Gophers are apparently getting all of the attention when it comes to selling season tickets this football season. While the Vikings are close to selling out U.S. Bank Stadium, the Gophers are down from 23,431 season tickets sold last year at this time to 20,142 at present. The student season-ticket sale to date is also down from 2,330 to 1,619. The Gophers will stage a promotional campaign to try to increase interest in their team.

If Sid's figures and my math are correct, that is a 14% drop in season-ticket sales, and a 30% drop in student season-ticket sales. That had better be one heck of a promotional campaign.
 

From Sid Hartman's column in the Strib:

• Perhaps it’s no surprise that the Vikings and not the Gophers are apparently getting all of the attention when it comes to selling season tickets this football season. While the Vikings are close to selling out U.S. Bank Stadium, the Gophers are down from 23,431 season tickets sold last year at this time to 20,142 at present. The student season-ticket sale to date is also down from 2,330 to 1,619. The Gophers will stage a promotional campaign to try to increase interest in their team.

If Sid's figures and my math are correct, that is a 14% drop in season-ticket sales, and a 30% drop in student season-ticket sales. That had better be one heck of a promotional campaign.

They had research, they don't think the increased donations will decrease sales.
 

For those who thought Maturi was a bad AD sent as a mole from WI to destroy MN athletics Mega tongue was far worse.
Raising prices for a product with low demand rarely works.
The low response for student tickets is puzzling.
Did the cost of their tickets go up too?
I read that WI student tickets sold out in minutes.
Something is amiss in the MN student game day experience. That could be put on Maturi.
 




Alcohol is not served at the WI stadium.
There is nothing to prevent the MN students from having the same experience outside the stadium.
The liquor laws are the same in both states.
 

Remember when people defended the ticket increases? That was funny.
 

A decent team in a brand new stadium across the highway is a huge factor. I would usually try to get outdoor club seats for the best Gopher home game, but may try to get to a Vikings game instead.

Oh, and the home schedule leaves a lot to be desired.
 

Remember when we were in the dome and all the attendance problems were caused by the dome. Remember when we were in old Memorial stadium and it was too cold. Now the ticket prices are too high. Minnesota fans are as fickle as they come. Stop blaming anything and go to the games or just don't go. your choice Stop whining about it. Plenty of good seats available in non donation area. Yes the big10 home schedule is down this year. You can't play Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin at home every year, it has to rotate. I added 2 tickets to make a total of four in zone 4. Tailgate in lot 38. Can't wait for the season to start. Go Gophers.
 



It's probably fair to say most people go to stadiums for the crowd experience, the music, the noise, etc. Same reason people pay $15 or more to go to a comedy movie instead of netflixing it.

If the crowd thins out and loses energy it becomes a negative feedback loop as attendees lose interest in attending again. The big screen/party looks pretty good in comparison to the cost and logistics of transportation. The AD is in dangerous territory here. We need to win, and they can't abandon the fanbase. The students need to be brought en masse.
 

Remember when we were in the dome and all the attendance problems were caused by the dome. Remember when we were in old Memorial stadium and it was too cold.... Minnesota fans are as fickle as they come.

Remember when they averaged over 50,000 people? That was in 2015 and 2009 at TCF. Remember when they went over 50,000 people at HHH? That was '07, '06 and from '87 back to '84 and again in '82. Remember when they went over 50,000 at Memorial Stadium? They did that in '68 and from '65 back to '52 and a few times before that. Went over 60,000 once at the Dome and 6 times at Memorial. The last in 1961.

Remember how the Gophers have performed in the last 50 years? Fifty years? They won a share of the Big Ten Title in 1967. They haven't won even a Division Title since then. The last time they finished as high as 3rd in the Conference was in 1975. That year their overall record was 6-5 and they finished at .500 in the Big Ten!

You say that Minnesota Fans are as "fickle as they come. You say people should just shut-up when they start suggesting that maybe in such a competitive market they might want to see that price sensitivity is a real concern.

Fickle? They're downright humanitarians.

Looking at the numbers, seems like Minnesotans just want a chance to see a team that, when i's playing fellow old school D-1 teams, wins more often than it loses. Maybe even gets to 2nd or 3rd in the Big Ten 2-3 times too. Most of those "fickle fans" have never seen a 2nd place finish. Many haven't even seen a team finish 3rd! No more whining about "but if they won this game and this team lost that game" either.

They haven't seen a team finish as high as THIRD since 1975!

Maybe instead of fickle, those of us who've been funneling money to a team that's sucks for so many years, are just plain idiots. Wonder if you've ever heard that around the office when you tell people what you spend on Gopher Season tickets every year.

Oh, if they never question it or always say "Nice job", you understand that behind your back they're never saying "Boy; at least he's not fickle!" don't you! :eek::
 

The timetable for TCF expansion to 80K has probably been pushed back a little.
 


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Remember when they averaged over 50,000 people? That was in 2015 and 2009 at TCF. Remember when they went over 50,000 people at HHH? That was '07, '06 and from '87 back to '84 and again in '82. Remember when they went over 50,000 at Memorial Stadium? They did that in '68 and from '65 back to '52 and a few times before that. Went over 60,000 once at the Dome and 6 times at Memorial. The last in 1961.

Remember how the Gophers have performed in the last 50 years? Fifty years? They won a share of the Big Ten Title in 1967. They haven't won even a Division Title since then. The last time they finished as high as 3rd in the Conference was in 1975. That year their overall record was 6-5 and they finished at .500 in the Big Ten!

You say that Minnesota Fans are as "fickle as they come. You say people should just shut-up when they start suggesting that maybe in such a competitive market they might want to see that price sensitivity is a real concern.

Fickle? They're downright humanitarians.

Looking at the numbers, seems like Minnesotans just want a chance to see a team that, when i's playing fellow old school D-1 teams, wins more often than it loses. Maybe even gets to 2nd or 3rd in the Big Ten 2-3 times too. Most of those "fickle fans" have never seen a 2nd place finish. Many haven't even seen a team finish 3rd! No more whining about "but if they won this game and this team lost that game" either.

They haven't seen a team finish as high as THIRD since 1975!

Maybe instead of fickle, those of us who've been funneling money to a team that's sucks for so many years, are just plain idiots. Wonder if you've ever heard that around the office when you tell people what you spend on Gopher Season tickets every year.

Oh, if they never question it or always say "Nice job", you understand that behind your back they're never saying "Boy; at least he's not fickle!" don't you! :eek::



yep, 50 years. to be fair, it was during the college football era of the big 2 little 8. then the NCAA change scholarships in the early 90s.....leveled the playing field for schools that valued football. we had Nils.
 

Remember when they averaged over 50,000 people? That was in 2015 and 2009 at TCF. Remember when they went over 50,000 people at HHH? That was '07, '06 and from '87 back to '84 and again in '82. Remember when they went over 50,000 at Memorial Stadium? They did that in '68 and from '65 back to '52 and a few times before that. Went over 60,000 once at the Dome and 6 times at Memorial. The last in 1961.

Remember how the Gophers have performed in the last 50 years? Fifty years? They won a share of the Big Ten Title in 1967. They haven't won even a Division Title since then. The last time they finished as high as 3rd in the Conference was in 1975. That year their overall record was 6-5 and they finished at .500 in the Big Ten!

You say that Minnesota Fans are as "fickle as they come. You say people should just shut-up when they start suggesting that maybe in such a competitive market they might want to see that price sensitivity is a real concern.

Fickle? They're downright humanitarians.

Looking at the numbers, seems like Minnesotans just want a chance to see a team that, when i's playing fellow old school D-1 teams, wins more often than it loses. Maybe even gets to 2nd or 3rd in the Big Ten 2-3 times too. Most of those "fickle fans" have never seen a 2nd place finish. Many haven't even seen a team finish 3rd! No more whining about "but if they won this game and this team lost that game" either.

They haven't seen a team finish as high as THIRD since 1975!

Maybe instead of fickle, those of us who've been funneling money to a team that's sucks for so many years, are just plain idiots. Wonder if you've ever heard that around the office when you tell people what you spend on Gopher Season tickets every year.

Oh, if they never question it or always say "Nice job", you understand that behind your back they're never saying "Boy; at least he's not fickle!" don't you! :eek::

The Gophers have struggled since the Vikings came here but no one wants to talk about that. It is hard being a Gopher fan. Hopefully, they can get to 2nd or 3rd again someday.
 

yep, 50 years. to be fair, it was during the college football era of the big 2 little 8. then the NCAA change scholarships in the early 90s.....leveled the playing field for schools that valued football. we had Nils.

Yep, that's the excuse that's often trotted out and there is something to it. The problem is that would assume that Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa and Illinois all became football "factories". Since 1981 all four have won Big Ten Championships. Between them they've won 11 titles during that period. Would have loved to have one of them. Seems more likely it has to do with the Head Coaches and recruiting failures than Swedish-Born Presidents.
 


Remember when they averaged over 50,000 people? That was in 2015 and 2009 at TCF. Remember when they went over 50,000 people at HHH? That was '07, '06 and from '87 back to '84 and again in '82. Remember when they went over 50,000 at Memorial Stadium? They did that in '68 and from '65 back to '52 and a few times before that. Went over 60,000 once at the Dome and 6 times at Memorial. The last in 1961. Remember how the Gophers have performed in the last 50 years? Fifty years? They won a share of the Big Ten Title in 1967. They haven't won even a Division Title since then. The last time they finished as high as 3rd in the Conference was in 1975. That year their overall record was 6-5 and they finished at .500 in the Big Ten! You say that Minnesota Fans are as "fickle as they come. You say people should just shut-up when they start suggesting that maybe in such a competitive market they might want to see that price sensitivity is a real concern. Fickle? They're downright humanitarians. Looking at the numbers, seems like Minnesotans just want a chance to see a team that, when i's playing fellow old school D-1 teams, wins more often than it loses. Maybe even gets to 2nd or 3rd in the Big Ten 2-3 times too. Most of those "fickle fans" have never seen a 2nd place finish. Many haven't even seen a team finish 3rd! No more whining about "but if they won this game and this team lost that game" either. They haven't seen a team finish as high as THIRD since 1975! Maybe instead of fickle, those of us who've been funneling money to a team that's sucks for so many years, are just plain idiots. Wonder if you've ever heard that around the office when you tell people what you spend on Gopher Season tickets every year. Oh, if they never question it or always say "Nice job", you understand that behind your back they're never saying "Boy; at least he's not fickle!" don't you! :eek::

Great post.
 


So buy a ticket in the non donatin section. It's $47 a game. Probably one of the lowest in the big 10.
Remember when they averaged over 50,000 people? That was in 2015 and 2009 at TCF. Remember when they went over 50,000 people at HHH? That was '07, '06 and from '87 back to '84 and again in '82. Remember when they went over 50,000 at Memorial Stadium? They did that in '68 and from '65 back to '52 and a few times before that. Went over 60,000 once at the Dome and 6 times at Memorial. The last in 1961.

Remember how the Gophers have performed in the last 50 years? Fifty years? They won a share of the Big Ten Title in 1967. They haven't won even a Division Title since then. The last time they finished as high as 3rd in the Conference was in 1975. That year their overall record was 6-5 and they finished at .500 in the Big Ten!

You say that Minnesota Fans are as "fickle as they come. You say people should just shut-up when they start suggesting that maybe in such a competitive market they might want to see that price sensitivity is a real concern.

Fickle? They're downright humanitarians.

Looking at the numbers, seems like Minnesotans just want a chance to see a team that, when i's playing fellow old school D-1 teams, wins more often than it loses. Maybe even gets to 2nd or 3rd in the Big Ten 2-3 times too. Most of those "fickle fans" have never seen a 2nd place finish. Many haven't even seen a team finish 3rd! No more whining about "but if they won this game and this team lost that game" either.

They haven't seen a team finish as high as THIRD since 1975!

Maybe instead of fickle, those of us who've been funneling money to a team that's sucks for so many years, are just plain idiots. Wonder if you've ever heard that around the office when you tell people what you spend on Gopher Season tickets every year.

Oh, if they never question it or always say "Nice job", you understand that behind your back they're never saying "Boy; at least he's not fickle!" don't you! :eek::
 


$47 may be too high unless you get a free hot dog.
What will happen to the seats set aside for the students that will not be filled?
I presume a dog and pony show will be put on to induce the incoming freshmen to sign up.
Raising prices could not have come at a worst time.
 

$47 may be too high unless you get a free hot dog.
What will happen to the seats set aside for the students that will not be filled?
I presume a dog and pony show will be put on to induce the incoming freshmen to sign up.
Raising prices could not have come at a worst time.

Raising ticket prices was fine. In fact, it was overdue. Adding the "donation" (that in some cases is hundreds of dollars), that was the real mistake.

The student numbers are the real problem. Those are the people you need to get hooked in now, so they go to games in the years down the road.
 

Well, unless they suddenly change what they've been doing for the past few years, incoming freshman and transfer students will all be able to get a free ticket to the first game! So that's something?
 

People ignore the revenue side of the analysis

As a fan, I want a full stadium because it makes my experience at the game better. But all the focus on the attendance numbers loses sight of the fact that the athletic department has to serve two masters–fan experience and revenue. Sid’s blurb, and the discussion of this issue in general, doesn’t include a breakdown of the revenue side of things. Are the projected revenue numbers up or down? The bean counters are not going to be too upset by an attendance drop of 10% if revenue is up 20%.

Extreme and vastly oversimplified example–Let’s say they do a study that confirms that to sell 50,000 seats per game over the course of the season they need to have a price point where the total revenue generated per fan, including tickets, concessions, parking, etc., is $40 per person. This equates to total revenue of $2M per game. Alternatively, they could increase prices (and donation requirements) to get the per fan revenue up to $1000 per fan per game, but that would drop attendance to 3,500. This would yield total revenue of $3.5M per game. Over the course of seven home games, that’s a revenue difference of over $10M. The fan experience would certainly suffer, but could, or should, the AD bypass that additional revenue for the sake of a better game day atmosphere?
 

As a fan, I want a full stadium because it makes my experience at the game better. But all the focus on the attendance numbers loses sight of the fact that the athletic department has to serve two masters–fan experience and revenue. Sid’s blurb, and the discussion of this issue in general, doesn’t include a breakdown of the revenue side of things. Are the projected revenue numbers up or down? The bean counters are not going to be too upset by an attendance drop of 10% if revenue is up 20%.

Extreme and vastly oversimplified example–Let’s say they do a study that confirms that to sell 50,000 seats per game over the course of the season they need to have a price point where the total revenue generated per fan, including tickets, concessions, parking, etc., is $40 per person. This equates to total revenue of $2M per game. Alternatively, they could increase prices (and donation requirements) to get the per fan revenue up to $1000 per fan per game, but that would drop attendance to 3,500. This would yield total revenue of $3.5M per game. Over the course of seven home games, that’s a revenue difference of over $10M. The fan experience would certainly suffer, but could, or should, the AD bypass that additional revenue for the sake of a better game day atmosphere?

Before you discuss economics, you may want to read a link that Unregistered User astutely posted earlier today on another thread.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2016/06/20/Media/ESPN-Big-Ten.aspx

The six-year agreements with ESPN and CBS are being vetted by lawyers, and Big Ten officials hope to have official announcements for its entire media package ready by its annual football kickoff luncheon July 26.

The $2.64 billion deals with Fox, ESPN and CBS average $440 million per year and nearly triple the amount ESPN and CBS had been paying for the same programming. ESPN signed a 10-year deal worth $100 million annually in 2006 — a payout that increased to $150 million this year due to the addition of Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers to the conference. CBS paid an average of around $6 million for its current basketball-only deal..


Three times more would bring in over $60,000,000 a year for the Gophers.
 




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