Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

I'm guessing most of the empty seats are corporate - so the employees of said companies never paid for the tickets. The only way to fill these unused seats is to sell SRO's and let people take these seats during the games (a better way would be to have the companies themselves surrender the unused tickets as punishment for leaving their seats unoccupied repeatedly).

As far as SRO goes, it's a ridiculous deal since the cost of these tickets is only a couple bucks cheaper than assigned seating is (at least it was the case when the U actually offered single game tickets for assigned seating a few years ago - I believe now the only tickets offered to the public are SRO). So basically to get in, you either have to buy on the street or go the SRO route - and then grab an empty seat a few minutes after the game starts and run the risk of being booted out when the actual seat holder shows up (since people come in notoriously late to Gopher games).

Beyond that, getting season tickets is a costly and difficult process. Either you go on the wait list (which is at least 2000 people deep I think) which drops only a dozen or so per season, or you go the donation route. The latter approach is really the only way to get season tickets anytime this century, and it requires a minimum donation of $500(?) per season on top of the cost of the ticket. I don't know about the rest of you, but forking over what amounts to $50 per game to see college hockey is *'ing ridiculous. Add in the time it takes to drive to / from campus in heavy traffic (particularly on Fridays) and the $10 it costs to park, and this pretty much becomes a no-brainer for most people. Why pay $60 per game + gas/travel time when you can watch it on a big screen in the comfort of your home on FSN?

Then there's the fact I could spend the same amount of money and go to a Wild game instead and see hockey at the highest level. If I'm going to blow $50+ per game, that route makes a lot more sense than going to Mariucci, doesn't it?

You can go to a Wild game for $50? Lucky(in Napolean Dynamite voice)! I can't get Blackhawks tix in the nosebleeds for that any more. All the fair weathers have come out of the woodworks in Chicago and the ticket brokers have plenty of fibs with lots of extra cash who are willing to pay a lot to leach onto the Hawks now that they're good.

Didn't know that you had so many corpie tickets nor how much you have to "donate" to buy tickets. I have two Saturday tickets at the KC in the 200's row B on the blueline that I have to donate $25 each seat per season. So that's $50 total for the whole season. I have 4 Friday tickets in row A of the 200's in the corner that don't cost anything additional.

All I was taking umbrage with was the notion that there's so much to do up there that people aren't going to the games. They're not going to the games coz the current product isn't worth the cost or additional effort that it would take to secure a corpie seat. Same thing happens here and everywhere else(except Lambeau where there IS in fact NOTHING ELSE TO DO).

[HoosierBBall_GopherHockey]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

Ok, let's do it. I've bolded your idiotic questions.

(For reference, my questions earlier were realistic questions for real Minnesota fans in case anyone was wondering)

I did make an honest attempt at answering your questions as I knew they were realistic, but I do not claim to have the hockey knowledge that some have on here, nor do I have the quick wit, which, as this thread shows, is clearly more necessary for uscho.

[Turk 77]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

The Gophers are going to be 0-0 in this year's NCAA tournament.

And thats still better than SCSU

[MadCityRich]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

And we don't claim VarsityWisconsin or UW 14.I'll agree to disregard RinkPig if you disregard our two? Deal? You can even pick out one more bad apple if you have one.

RinkPig = vw = uw14. I'll bet you a 12 pack that posts from these "guys" are coming from the same address....his parent's address.

[Bakunin]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

You can go to a Wild game for $50? Lucky(in Napolean Dynamite voice)!

Looking at ticketmaster, you can get lower level corner seats for some games (as long as you buy a pair of them) for $52.50 apiece before the fees. After the fees, the seats cost around $60 - which is still very reasonable for a lower level seat at an NHL game. Note: these tickets include a voucher for a brat and a drink (or a bud light), and the seats are normally $85. I'm guessing it's a special to get people to go to lower-demand games.

Didn't know that you had so many corpie tickets nor how much you have to "donate" to buy tickets.

Yeah, it's terrible. Many of the seats between the bluelines are corporate (think gold M seats on tv that are often empty). The donations are done because the U can get away with demanding them - when you have a season ticket wait list a couple thousand deep that moves like 10 spots per year, obviously, some of these people will get sick of waiting and will just pony up the $$$ to get seats now. I don't think it's worth the cost, and many others don't either - so despite the fact we are clearly devout fans who have followed the team for many years, we aren't in the building. I used to attend a few games a year, buying SRO's to 4 games or so - but I thought it just wasn't worth the cost / hassle to do that. I could go to a game at any other school in the country for less than this and not be forced to deal with the SRO bull**** of moving from seat to seat when the idiotic late-arriving morons show up to claim them. As Brent mentioned before, you could go up to Houghton when UW plays there, and you could probably land 3 tickets in a great seating area (between the bluelines) for the same cost as a single ticket at Mariucci + parking.

All I was taking umbrage with was the notion that there's so much to do up there that people aren't going to the games. They're not going to the games coz the current product isn't worth the cost or additional effort that it would take to secure a corpie seat. Same thing happens here and everywhere else(except Lambeau where there IS in fact NOTHING ELSE TO DO).

Cost, limited ticket availability, having to deal with SRO or scalpers, traffic, and parking are all huge factors. Other entertainment options are certainly there as well, but I would consider them to be a secondary factor in all of this. Most of the people who would go to a Gopher game are primarily hockey fans. A musical in downtown Minneapolis isn't going to dissuade them from going to a hockey game. So the real choice being made is whether or not they want to attend a hockey game - if they do, then it's whether or not to go to Mariucci, the X, or a local high school game. The other source of competition is ironically the Gophers being on tv - while the contract generates money for the U, it also keeps a lot of people at home. Why deal with all the issues I named when you can comfortably sit at home, drink, and watch the team on a huge tv?

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

Looking at ticketmaster, you can get lower level corner seats for some games (as long as you buy a pair of them) for $52.50 apiece before the fees. After the fees, the seats cost around $60 - which is still very reasonable for a lower level seat at an NHL game.

Yeah, it's terrible. Many of the seats between the bluelines are corporate (think gold M seats on tv that are often empty). The donations are done because the U can get away with demanding them - when you have a season ticket wait list a couple thousand deep that moves like 10 spots per year, obviously, some of these people will get sick of waiting and will just pony up the $$$ to get seats now. I don't think it's worth the cost, and many others don't either - so despite the fact we are clearly devout fans who have followed the team for many years, we aren't in the building. I used to attend a few games a year, buying SRO's to 4 games or so - but I thought it just wasn't worth the cost / hassle to do that. I could go to a game at any other school in the country for less than this and not be forced to deal with the SRO bull**** of moving from seat to seat when the idiotic late-arriving morons show up to claim them. As Brent mentioned before, you could go up to Houghton when UW plays there, and you could probably land 3 tickets in a great seating area (between the bluelines) for the same cost as a single ticket at Mariucci + parking.

Cost, limited ticket availability, having to deal with SRO or scalpers, traffic, and parking are all huge factors. Other entertainment options are certainly there as well, but I would consider them to be a secondary factor in all of this. Most of the people who would go to a Gopher game are primarily hockey fans. A musical in downtown Minneapolis isn't going to dissuade them from going to a hockey game. So the real choice being made is whether or not they want to attend a hockey game - if they do, then it's whether or not to go to Mariucci, the X, or a local high school game. The other source of competition is ironically the Gophers being on tv - while the contract generates money for the U, it also keeps a lot of people at home. Why deal with all the issues I named when you can comfortably sit at home, drink, and watch the team on a huge tv?

And here I thought you were just crappy fans.

I have similar frustration where the Hawks are concerned as I can no longer justify going to the few games a year that my son and I would go to. We've been priced out unless we want to sit at the top of the UC.

I used to buy a few games in the 200's for $65 a seat. Now, all of those tickets were gone before the general public on sale date and to buy those on eBay or from a broker is at least $200 per ticket. Our entire family can go to two Badger games for the cost of one Hawks ticket. Just can't justify $400 for one NHL game. I buy Centre Ice and get the entire season on my big screen for $150 or whatever it is.

People here in Madison complain about a $2 per seat rate increase. We have it pretty good imo.

[Bakunin]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

And here I thought you were just crappy fans.

Ha. As luck would have it, some of the worst fans happen to be the ones with tickets to the games. Those of us who have a reasonable amount of hockey knowledge *and* who would make noise in the arena are usually watching at home or at one of the local bars in a massive raucous group. I've also heard that they no longer offer season tickets to students for both games of every series - now students must pick Friday or Saturday games. I don't know if this is because there's higher student ticket demand than before, or if the U is reducing the student seating in order to sell more season tickets and pocket more money (student rate is somewhere in the $10-15 per game range, while the general public must be $35-40).

I have similar frustration where the Hawks are concerned as I can no longer justify going to the few games a year that my son and I would go to. We've been priced out unless we want to sit at the top of the UC.

Sounds sadly familiar. Maybe the U will have to start catering to the fans more with the team struggling, but I doubt it'll happen. I can't imagine tons of people are excited to renew season tickets with a donation to see a team finish in the middle to lower tier of the WCHA three years straight.

I used to buy a few games in the 200's for $65 a seat. Now, all of those tickets were gone before the general public on sale date and to buy those on eBay or from a broker is at least $200 per ticket. Our entire family can go to two Badger games for the cost of one Hawks ticket. Just can't justify $400 for one NHL game. I buy Centre Ice and get the entire season on my big screen for $150 or whatever it is.

This leads me to wonder just how sustainable the professional sports business model is. TV technology has progressed to the point that most people now have a 42" flatscreen with HD capability. We have either reached the point - or are very close to it - where other than the "in person atmosphere" of a sporting event, the home viewing experience will match the one at the stadium - from its best seats. I think many more people will ask the same question as many of us Gopher fans have already asked: why go to the games and pay $x for the ticket(s), $y for the parking, and $z for the concessions when we can stay home and see it on a kick*** tv for $0 with none of the hassle?

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

This leads me to wonder just how sustainable the professional sports business model is. TV technology has progressed to the point that most people now have a 42" flatscreen with HD capability. We have either reached the point - or are very close to it - where other than the "in person atmosphere" of a sporting event, the home viewing experience will match the one at the stadium - from its best seats. I think many more people will ask the same question as many of us Gopher fans have already asked: why go to the games and pay $x for the ticket(s), $y for the parking, and $z for the concessions when we can stay home and see it on a kick*** tv for $0 with none of the hassle?

And unfortunately, that is the point where they will charge, and receive, more for Centre Ice and probably put games, including college, on PPV instead of free TV. The ******** will get their money one way or another.

[Slap Shot]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

I know Bakunin has pretty much already addressed this, but I typed up a response this morning and never got around to hitting submit....

All I was taking umbrage with was the notion that there's so much to do up there...

This is the comment that piqued my interest:

Not true....In Rodensota, Wild Hockey is King...Gofer hockey is dependent on whether or not they are relevant...

My response to Blackheart was not an attempt to slam any other program or fanbase. The fact is that besides BC there isn't another another Div I hockey program with an arena this size at a school that is Div I in all sports (meaning even more competition), that charges as much as it does, that also resides within the same metro as 4 major professional franchises. To that you can add in the serious draw of HS hockey. I realize that they don't all play at the same time, but there's only so much money to spend during the year in a bad economy (local youth hockey participation isn't down in MN because the Gophers aren't winning), especially when there are legitimate athletic altervatives. Gophers games sell out, but the corpies aren't attending nor making sure that their unused tickets get to true fans. It stinks but the fact is there is a combination of extenuating circumstances (economy, W-L, local competition, corporate seat holders) that contribute to the local situation that can't be said to be the same everywhere else. Is it what it is, but I don't think it's fair to portray the fans as bad.

[thebrain]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

This leads me to wonder just how sustainable the professional sports business model is. TV technology has progressed to the point that most people now have a 42" flatscreen with HD capability. We have either reached the point - or are very close to it - where other than the "in person atmosphere" of a sporting event, the home viewing experience will match the one at the stadium - from its best seats. I think many more people will ask the same question as many of us Gopher fans have already asked: why go to the games and pay $x for the ticket(s), $y for the parking, and $z for the concessions when we can stay home and see it on a kick*** tv for $0 with none of the hassle?

This is one of the reasons for the NFL blackout rule. I could see more leagues going this way or the way of a tape-delay. More so the tape-delay.

[Timothy A]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

Nope. I must admit your creativity is astounding though.

1. Solid goaltender, but not worthy of playing every game. Doesn't steal too many games anymore like he did his freshman year. Should have split time all season with Patterson, who is an equally capable goaltender, especially when Lucia said he screwed up with the goaltending situation last year in not putting Patterson in enough.
2. It seems to be a general consensus among us Gopher fans that while Schroeder is a great player, he is a playmaker that needs great players around him to finish what he starts. He had Stoa last year, a natural goal scorer that took a lot of Schroeder's passes and scored. Schroeder clearly plays well at WJC's as well when he has a great supporting cast. This year, although Cepis is a good player and Budish is up-and-coming, both lack the skill and finishing ability of a Stoa-type player.
3. It's generally accepted that Fischer has been by and large a terrible disappointment in all four of his years at the U, although he has played better as of late, which isn't saying a whole lot.

Allow me to correct myself...
1. He's an umotivated, untalented spoiled rodent sieve.
2. Aright, he's not too bad.
3. He's an umotivated, untalented spoiled rodent.

Hey, 2 out of 3 right isn't too bad for just typing out of my ***! That percent is right in line with the save percentage range of Kaptain Kangassroo. Does that mean I'm an unmotivated, untalented, spoiled BADger poster? Enjoy yourselves....

[WisconsinWildcard]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

[QUOTE=Bakunin;4666387](student rate is somewhere in the $10-15 per game range [QUOTE]

Us "students" at the KC have it much better than that. It is a little over $5 a game for us (buying both Friday and Saturday night). Unfortunately, I still do not think we sell out student tickets every year and most of the time, our third deck is empty unless we are playing a highly ranked team (I hate fans that only come to those games! I think you should support your team every week).

How is the student attendence up there? Does it improve greatly depending on who you play? Also, I hear they check student IDs in the student section there...true? I would like to go to a game in the student section there sometime but if that is the case, I think I would be hardpressed to find a student willing to give me their ID

[WeWantMore]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

Us "students" at the KC have it much better than that. It is a little over $5 a game for us (buying both Friday and Saturday night). Unfortunately, I still do not think we sell out student tickets every year and most of the time, our third deck is empty unless we are playing a highly ranked team (I hate fans that only come to those games! I think you should support your team every week).

I'm pretty sure we do sell out, at least that's what the ticket website said. Like you said though, the 3rd tier usually isn't full. Man, I wish I had that sort of cash, where I could spend over $100 on tickets and then not use them.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

Man, I wish I had that sort of cash, where I could spend over $100 on tickets and then not use them.

Perhaps you could take some economics lessons from the football student section, maybe they'll tell you their secret about how they can blow $500 on football tickets that they don't care about.

Frankly, I'd take it easy on students who don't use their tickets for the 300 level. I've seen the view from those seats. You can't even see the near side goal from most of them. Actually, forget that... isn't the student section "general admission" now?

[WeWantMore]

Re: Gophers-Badgers: Not Good Enough for Mariucci

Frankly, I'd take it easy on students who don't use their tickets for the 300 level. I've seen the view from those seats. You can't even see the near side goal from most of them. Actually, forget that... isn't the student section "general admission" now?

Yeah, I guess I understand not wanting to sit in the way back of the 300 level, the view isn't great from back there, still don't like seeing it empty though.

It is general admission now, first come first served get the best seats.