Reusse: Steep prices keeping fans away from Gophers' big three

What I really don't get is why the U of M is so hesitant to lower prices in response to declining demand. I get that a slight decrease in tickets sold with a large increase in ticket price netted them an increase in revenue early on, but now we are looking at trending towards lower total revenue with larger decreases in demand. It's not like they couldn't raise them again after lowering if we manage to pull off a great season and people start getting interested again.

IMO The people most likely to buy tickets if the price goes up after a good season would be the people who were in the seats for the good season and want to keep the good times rolling. So you lower ticket prices next year, try to make progress against 3 years of declining tickets sales and poise yourself to really take advantage if they have a strong season.

The slippery slope for U is that every year they don't address the inequity of cost of season tickets versus demand more people make the decision that they can buy single game tickets cheaper and sit literally anywhere they want for any game. That happens for a year, then those some of those people start cherry picking 5 good games, then 2 and eventually move on to other interests.

There will always be a core of gopher fans that will pay for season tickets out of loyalty and altruism, for those that rationalize their entertainment dollars, season tickets versus single game tickets keeps getting harder and harder to justify. And I really think that once you allow/encourage someone to move from season to single game tickets your rolling the dice on keeping them.

Schnauzer said:

Up until the donation seating program went in, there were some poorly attended games but with a much larger season ticket base there was enough regulars to allow for even smaller spikes in Gopher interest fill the stadium. The spectacular atmosphere for the Syracuse game is an example of that but there were other full, or near full houses in those days. I fear it has dropped off far enough now that for a full stadium, it will require a much larger spike in casual fan interest because much of the base is now gone.

Justin Gaard tweeted a few nights ago that the U was aware of the problem and they were working in it. Yet, EVERYONE agrees the problem is the donation seating prices which not only effect season ticket sales but drive up prices on single game tickets as well - and season tickets are available for renewal right now and there is no price change. So, "working on it" probably means things like more opportunities to watch the cheerleaders practice. Hard to believe it could be anything that moves the needle since the needle is related to inflated prices.

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Spot on.

My gut tells me that once someone drops season tickets, the odds of them coming back are pretty low. (unless there is a big change in financial situation). it would be equivalent to admitting you made a mistake - which nobody likes to do.

If the Gophers want to build up their fan base and season ticket base, I think it will have to be done largely with new fans - or convert casual fans to ticket-buying fans. I believe that Coyle and co. thought Fleck would have a bigger impact on season ticket sales, especially with younger fans who would go for his approach. so far, that hasn't happened. But, it could still happen.

The timing is critical. The Gophers need to have a big year - 8 or 9 wins at least and some trophy wins. If not in 2019, then 2020 becomes almost a must-win situation. The win over WI was great - but it was the last regular season game, and with a month before the bowl game, so any immediate impact was muted. I really think the Gophers need to win the bowl game in order to maintain momentum and go into the off-season - hopefully with a better marketing plan.