Sid: Gophers season tickets 20,142 at present, down from 23,431 last year

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Taji34 said:
The way it should have happened was waiting until we had a consistent 8-9-10 win team (however long that took), and at least a season off mostly, if not all, sellouts of TCF for home games.
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Getting to consistent 8-9-10 win seasons requires a football budget that can help get you there. They screwed up how they priced the stadium when it opened and tried to correct it.
 

MNfootballfan said:
I disagree. As a season ticket holder I have never looked at the schedule and thought there is no way I'm getting tickets this year. I have contemplated it when my tickets have rose 75% in about 24 months.

I'm crossing my fingers the "donation" will be reconsidered or we will be given a product that justifies me spending much more than I have in the past.
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I suspect a lot of the lost ticket holders where the newish folks.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Donations should never be mandatory. We dropped our tickets after having them for 35 years. Out of our group of friends who have tickets, only one couple continued this year. We will do the two packs, and hopefully a bowl game.
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I'd rather it be a mandatory donation that I can use on my taxes than just the same price as face value... one is clearly more useful.

The amount is another issue, but taking issue with a tax deduction in favor of not a deduction make no sense.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I'd rather it be a mandatory donation that I can use on my taxes than just the same price as face value... one is clearly more useful.

The amount is another issue, but taking issue with a tax deduction in favor of not a deduction make no sense.
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Yep, way too much fixation on the donation wording. All that matters is the total cost of the ticket and how much it has increases each year. The cost of the seat is the base plus donation, they were never separate things because both were required in order to purchase the ticket. Clearly for many season ticket holders the increase from last year to this year was too significant, the fear is that the same will happen once again next season as well.
 

The absolute deduction on your taxes is only a fraction of the tickets cost no matter how it is worded.t
 



Maximus said:
Getting to consistent 8-9-10 win seasons requires a football budget that can help get you there. They screwed up how they priced the stadium when it opened and tried to correct it.
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With the B1G TV contract $$, budget has been fine...you could argue on how it is being spent, but the budget has been fine.
 

PMWinSTP said:
With the B1G TV contract $$, budget has been fine...you could argue on how it is being spent, but the budget has been fine.
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Everyone getting the same check from the B1G (outside of MD/RUT) doesn't move Minnesota up the ladder.
 

Maximus said:
Everyone getting the same check from the B1G (outside of MD/RUT) doesn't move Minnesota up the ladder.
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Rising tide my friend. Compared to other Big 5 conferences this matters. Besides, there are plenty of programs spending less and consistently putting a winning product on the field, and vice versa. They have plenty of $$.
 



PMWinSTP said:
Rising tide my friend. Compared to other Big 5 conferences this matters. Besides, there are plenty of programs spending less and consistently putting a winning product on the field, and vice versa. They have plenty of $$.
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This is true. Remember that Kills best finish in the B1G was the season before the new ticket price increase was announced/put into place.
 

I was a season ticket-holder for a few years, but my dad had been a season ticket holder since the 70's, and I'd gone to games with him since I was five or earlier. It was extremely difficult decision to give them up, but the price kept climbing, and it was kind of a bitter pill to swallow, especially since the gap between what a season ticket-holder paid for tickets to games and what I could get them for on a secondary market just continued to widen. I made the decision to drop them, knowing I could go to every game this year anyway and save hundreds of dollars or more. It'll be sad not to see the same people I've seen every year since the stadium opened, but I feel like my hand was forced, and that this was going to have to happen some day anyway.
 

At the very least, I think Coyle will stop the further increases. Whether he reverts what's already happened is still up in the air in my mind. I'm thinking he's going to look at the pros and cons of it at the end of the season.
 

jmag21 said:
I was a season ticket-holder for a few years, but my dad had been a season ticket holder since the 70's, and I'd gone to games with him since I was five or earlier. It was extremely difficult decision to give them up, but the price kept climbing, and it was kind of a bitter pill to swallow, especially since the gap between what a season ticket-holder paid for tickets to games and what I could get them for on a secondary market just continued to widen. I made the decision to drop them, knowing I could go to every game this year anyway and save hundreds of dollars or more. It'll be sad not to see the same people I've seen every year since the stadium opened, but I feel like my hand was forced, and that this was going to have to happen some day anyway.
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I look at it a little bit in reverse. I know lots of people are dropping. I'm hoping increases will stop and/or revert. I'm hoping that having maintained my tickets will put me in a position to move our whole group to better seats at little or no cost. I've also surrendered to the fact that I have no control over season tickets not being at a discount from individual game tickets.
 



I think it's fair to say that a lot of people are basing their decision on the fact that tickets for most games are readily available on the secondary market - and often at a considerable discount from the season-ticket price.

I will just raise this question: if the Gophers become a "hot ticket" at some point in the future, (yah, I know.....), and sellouts become more common, then some of the people who have dropped season tickets could find themselves unable to purchase tickets - or forced to pay scalpers' prices for seats. So, there is some value to keeping season tickets if you want to be guaranteed of a seat in the future.

Again, I would never presume to tell someone else how to spend their money. If you don't feel that season tickets provide enough value for the cost, that is your choice and no one should criticize you for making that decision.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I will just raise this question: if the Gophers become a "hot ticket" at some point in the future, (yah, I know.....), and sellouts become more common, then some of the people who have dropped season tickets could find themselves unable to purchase tickets - or forced to pay scalpers' prices for seats. So, there is some value to keeping season tickets if you want to be guaranteed of a seat in the future.
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In theory, that's possible. But I think it is going to take multiple 9-10 win seasons before that becomes an issue.
 

It's 72 days to game #1 and we're down 14% or 3,000 tickets. Have anything to do with no Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska on the home schedule? I think schedule has more to do with Gopher football season sales than any other sports team in town.
 

You are talking about season tickets.
Those buyers are folks who have/had made long term commitments to Gopher football through seasons when the home schdule was just as bad.
This recent decrease is new and very troubling.
The home schedule will reduce all over ticket sales because WI and NE fans will not be taking up the slack.
But most troubling is the lack of interest by the students.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
It's 72 days to game #1 and we're down 14% or 3,000 tickets. Have anything to do with no Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska on the home schedule? I think schedule has more to do with Gopher football season sales than any other sports team in town.
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Of course this is true. It would be valuable to compare this year's numbers to those from two years ago at this time, when the Wisconsin and Nebraska games were on the road and we had Iowa at home. Those three are the keys, since they bring a lot of fans (and many buy two-packs) AND they're attractive games.

I'm not motivated to do the work, though.
 

zman said:
In theory, that's possible. But I think it is going to take multiple 9-10 win seasons before that becomes an issue.
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Or a 14-15 win season this year!

:cheer::cheer::cheer:
 

Hates Monikers said:
Of course this is true. It would be valuable to compare this year's numbers to those from two years ago at this time, when the Wisconsin and Nebraska games were on the road and we had Iowa at home. Those three are the keys, since they bring a lot of fans (and many buy two-packs) AND they're attractive games.

I'm not motivated to do the work, though.
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I've also heard that Husker fans buy season tickets to MN when coming here and sell the other games.


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MaxyJR1 said:
I've also heard that Husker fans buy season tickets to MN when coming here and sell the other games.


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That is mostly travel agencies that package those with flights, hotels, etc.
 

If we want to raise student interest in FB games we should put Lou Nanne in charge of that as well. Dude does great at everything.


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Or have his two nephews on the hockey team try to build student buzz. At least we'd look good on TV with the smoking jersey chasers they would recruit to go to games.
 


olddoc said:
You are talking about season tickets.
Those buyers are folks who have/had made long term commitments to Gopher football through seasons when the home schdule was just as bad.
This recent decrease is new and very troubling.
The home schedule will reduce all over ticket sales because WI and NE fans will not be taking up the slack.
But most troubling is the lack of interest by the students.
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I agree with you 100%. I firmly believe that very few dropped season tickets due to the schedule. How many season ticket holders buy tickets every other year based on who they are playing?
 

olddoc said:
You are talking about season tickets.
Those buyers are folks who have/had made long term commitments to Gopher football through seasons when the home schdule was just as bad.
This recent decrease is new and very troubling.
The home schedule will reduce all over ticket sales because WI and NE fans will not be taking up the slack.
But most troubling is the lack of interest by the students.
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I am not trying to make the argument that all is well, but there is a lot that’s missing in this discussion. What’s the average renewal rate for season tickets? Right now we are apparently at 86%. Typical is, I believe, 90-95% so the drop off is larger than “normal” but not a catastrophe. At that level, the revenue from the donation increases may well be a wash or even an increase. To me, the more troubling issue is that the market isn’t going to be very good for trying to replace all those who are lost. That’s how the season ticket base will shrink over time.

Sid isn’t clear (imagine that), but is he comparing final student ticket sales from last year to this year’s current numbers? More student sales will occur as kids return to campus and new sales to freshmen will also take place. I suspect that the student non-renewal rate is generally much higher than the general public since many students try season tickets once or twice and find that they aren’t that interested, don’t have time or, you know, graduate.

You either have additional information or you are guessing as to how long the people who haven’t renewed have had their season tickets. The non-renewal rate is generally higher in the first few years because people often find that season tickets don’t fit into their lifestyle or budget as they thought they might. It is a lot harder to let them go when you have many years invested in the program and have built those game days into the culture of your life. I think that’s why we see stories about people feeling betrayed and unappreciated by the institution when these issues come up whether it is donation requirements, ticket cost, re-seating or whatever. It’s harder to let the tickets go when you have a greater emotional investment in the product and for most people it takes time to build that. Those people are also likely almost impossible to get back once they are gone.

I agree that losing any season ticket sales is bad and that the numbers merit thorough analysis, but the administration certainly knew that any increase in cost was going to result in some additional losses in current season ticket holders.
 

For comparison, here are the required donations at Camp Randall,
Sections E, T and FF – $400 each
Sections D, F, S, U, EE and GG – $300 each
Sections C, G, R, V, DD and HH – $200 each
Sections B, H, Q, W, CC and II – $100 each
All others $50

For the Gophers,
Zone 1 - $800
Zone 2 - $600
Zone 3 - $300
Zone 4 - $150
Zone 5 - $100
Zone 6 - $0

I don't get it. Obviously the TCF seats are a lot wider and nicer, but you could nearly buy two 50 yard line seats in CR for the price of one at TCF!
 

badgergopher said:
For comparison, here are the required donations at Camp Randall,
Sections E, T and FF – $400 each
Sections D, F, S, U, EE and GG – $300 each
Sections C, G, R, V, DD and HH – $200 each
Sections B, H, Q, W, CC and II – $100 each
All others $50

For the Gophers,
Zone 1 - $800
Zone 2 - $600
Zone 3 - $300
Zone 4 - $150
Zone 5 - $100
Zone 6 - $0

I don't get it. Obviously the TCF seats are a lot wider and nicer, but you could nearly buy two 50 yard line seats in CR for the price of one at TCF!
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What are the prices for the actual tickets + donation by section?
 


zman said:
In theory, that's possible. But I think it is going to take multiple 9-10 win seasons before that becomes an issue.
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Completely agree...they need a few big win seasons in a row for it to catch fire. 9-10 wins and they would need to consistently win the big three trophy games. Way too many other places to spend the sports $$ in Twin Cities.
 

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