Frozen Four Tickets - Priority Purchase Process

[mookie1995]

You were also mid priority right? I think I was around October 22 and we got club ends

Oct 18

[paulfb]

wow, surprised to read this. mookie went and bought on 18 oct and there were a lot available. he was able to do his usual along the rail in the top level on the corner. always feel that those are the best seats for hockey.

For the second straight year, we have top level, first row, aisle seats. No knuckleheads standing up all the time in front of us.

[dxmnkd316]

You were also mid priority right? I think I was around October 22 and we got club ends

[mookie1995]

wow, surprised to read this. mookie went and bought on 18 oct and there were a lot available. he was able to do his usual along the rail in the top level on the corner. always feel that those are the best seats for hockey.

[pgb-ohio]

Thanks for the additional history and information.

[dxmnkd316]

It was even closer than that. They came within one 50-50 penalty call of winning the title. The play happened right in front of me, and could easily have been a non-call. No Q Power Play? I say the Gophers close it out.

Back to the subject at hand. "Gopher Optimism" as a full explanation occurred to me. I also wonder if the Minnesota fanbase has finally moved forward from the BTHC controversy.

Ohio State wasn't particularly excited about the BTHC. We do miss the CCHA Rivalries. Fortunately we still have an annual series with Bowling Green. At the same time, the transition to the BTHC was accomplished with reasonable calm.

In contrast, the comments I was getting from Minnesota friends were just off the charts. One guy even believed the University of Minnesota should drop out of the Big Ten altogether, and lead an effort to re-assemble the original WCHA. Obviously that one is bat **** crazy. The guy did back off. But this shows how deep the Anti-BTHC sentiments ran. If that nightmare is finally over, good for you guys. A full Mariucci is good for college hockey. As is a full X.

I'll leave the Badger thing alone. But I agree that a "trend" is no sure thing. Still, the strong demand this Fall raises the question. Renewed interest in the Frozen Four would be a very good thing. We can hope.

The answer to the bolded question is actually pretty straightforward. I was talking with a buddy about it over the last week. The Big Ten has become as good, maybe better (top to bottom), than the old WCHA. It's extremely debatable either way, so I'm not really going to get into it. But given that last year's final KRACH had six of the Big Ten teams in the top 13 (including #1-7 strength of schedule) and the other team now looks to be world killers... That's objectively a very high performing conference.

I also think it's just a general die-off of the olds who a bunch of krampuses about the whole thing. They've been replaced and backfilled by newer fans who never knew the WCHA. The Gophers play Michigan, Wisconsin, and a handful of MN teams every year. I'd even say there's a healthy rivalry between the goofs and at least PSU and Notre Dame. For a while there was a pretty decent back and forth with OSU. Maybe these are not universally recognized, but it's not like playing teams from the CCHA back in the day where it was once in a blue moon.

I don't think any team was excited about the BTHC that was in the WCHA or CCHA. At least as far as the fanbases are concerned. I also don't think it was all because the BTHC for Minnesota fans. There was a massive realignment at Mariucci (in 2012, after the BTHC was announced in 2011 but before the first season) that I think actually sent more fans over their limit than anything. I had been on the waiting list for season tickets for around a decade with almost zero movement. Once the seating realignment happened, that waitlist went from 20+ years to them calling me several times in the off-season to buy season tickets. it was a collective series of turds all in a row. Olds crying about the WCHA and then getting kicked out of their seats that have been in their families for literally decades.

I think the vast majority of Minnesota fans didn't get overly butthurt about the conference realignment. There are some people who are still mouth-frothy about it. But whatever, which fanbase are you really a part of? The Gophers or the WCHA? Anyways....


I agree though, renewed interest is good. Very good.

[pgb-ohio]

I think this year's demand is so high because to goofs came a period from winning the title. You can see it in Mariucci too. Far more full.

It was even closer than that. They came within one 50-50 penalty call of winning the title. The play happened right in front of me, and could easily have been a non-call. No Q Power Play? I say the Gophers close it out.

Back to the subject at hand. "Gopher Optimism" as a full explanation occurred to me. I also wonder if the Minnesota fanbase has finally moved forward from the BTHC controversy.

Ohio State wasn't particularly excited about the BTHC. We do miss the CCHA Rivalries. Fortunately we still have an annual series with Bowling Green. At the same time, the transition to the BTHC was accomplished with reasonable calm.

In contrast, the comments I was getting from Minnesota friends were just off the charts. One guy even believed the University of Minnesota should drop out of the Big Ten altogether, and lead an effort to re-assemble the original WCHA. Obviously that one is bat **** crazy. The guy did back off. But this shows how deep the Anti-BTHC sentiments ran. If that nightmare is finally over, good for you guys. A full Mariucci is good for college hockey. As is a full X.

I wouldn't bet on this being a trend. OTOH, perhaps I'm underselling Wisconsin's demand. Twin Cities are a massive hotbed of filthy badger fans.

anyways. Guess we'll find out in April.

I'll leave the Badger thing alone. But I agree that a "trend" is no sure thing. Still, the strong demand this Fall raises the question. Renewed interest in the Frozen Four would be a very good thing. We can hope.

[dxmnkd316]

Completely agree on the strong support from the Gopher fanbase. But this year's demand breaks a pattern that has held true for over a decade.

All true and all relevant. But keep reading.

Demand for Tampa 2016 was very soft. Quite honestly we want back to Florida too soon after 2012. But those of us who support the Frozen Four year in and year out got very lucky with an impressive North Dakota turnout both days. If not for the UND fans, 2016 attendance would have been a major embarrassment.

Spot on, and perhaps your single most important observation. Even in one the two top Hockey Hotbeds, demand in the Lottery was soft. Eventually the arena filled in nicely. But lottery participants all got tickets.

Correct. And even more to the point, there was no Ticket Lottery at all.

Strongly agree on both counts. For some reason, people are sour on traveling to Buffalo. The rest of us just to have accept that, I guess. But great wings; great donuts; Niagara Falls; Toronto an easy commute. Plus the tournament itself. How does anyone manage to have a bad 4 day weekend?

Here's the thing. Along with Boston, The Twin Cities is the other College Hockey Hotbed. But St. Paul 2011 & St. Paul 2018 were just like Boston 2015 and Boston 2022. No problem getting tickets in the Lottery, but eventually the arena filled in nicely. And that's been the overall pattern from 2011 through 2023.

2024 is almost sold out already? If the reports are accurate. meaning that there are only a small handful of tickets left, this is the first time that lottery ducats have sold so well since at least Washington DC 2009.

Demand was simply more intense in the preceding era. Many times the public allotment sold out, with lots of Priority Holders never offered seats. Those who were able to purchase assumed that they could always get there money back from other buyers, if their plans changed. But the secondary market softened considerably along the way; which in turn made priority holders more reluctant to purchase tickets in the first place.

Boston 1998; St. Paul 2002; Boston 2004 & Milwaukee 2006 were all very tough tickets. Other tournaments from that era weren't quite as coveted. Still, Public Tickets from those tournaments usually sold out during the lottery process. If we're really returning to the old level of demand -- at least in St. Paul & Boston -- that's a big deal. At least to me.

I think this year's demand is so high because to goofs came a period from winning the title. You can see it in Mariucci too. Far more full.

I wouldn't bet on this being a trend. OTOH, perhaps I'm underselling Wisconsin's demand. Twin Cities are a massive hotbed of filthy badger fans.

anyways. Guess we'll find out in April.

[pgb-ohio]

I had the November 1 presale date. The sale started at 3, but I wasn’t able to login until the evening. When I did, there were about twenty single seats available. Nothing available with two seats next to each other. The Ticketmaster site was glitching out and wouldn’t let me buy any of the seats available. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to buy tickets.

I greatly appreciate your reply, and am sincerely sorry about your poor results.

But as per an earlier comment I made, don't give up. If you really want to go, there will be tickets available on the Secondary Market. Including on the USCHO Ticket Board.

[pgb-ohio]

...Minnesota is always going to be an easy sell for starters. Minnesota fans make up a top three team (in terms of jersey sightings) almost every year I've gone. Without the cost of travel and a potential frozen four team this year, it's no surprise tickets are hard to get.

Completely agree on the strong support from the Gopher fanbase. But this year's demand breaks a pattern that has held true for over a decade.

Couple that with a resurgent Wisconsin, Duluth potentially being a contender, a new St Thomas fanbase, a North Dakota that always shows up for travel plus they are likely going to be in the mix this year. Then you add in Mankato, SCSU, and BSU fanbases and you kind of have a massive demand.

All true and all relevant. But keep reading.

Travel to Florida isn't cheap and combined with a number of people not wanting to travel to Florida for political reasons, I don't think it's a surprise if I'm being honest.

Demand for Tampa 2016 was very soft. Quite honestly we went back to Florida too soon after 2012. But those of us who support the Frozen Four year in and year out got very lucky with an impressive North Dakota turnout both days. If not for the UND fans, 2016 attendance would have been a major embarrassment.

Boston was a bit low in terms of demand if I'm being honest. It filled in nicely though.

Spot on, and perhaps your single most important observation. Even in one the two top Hockey Hotbeds, demand in the Lottery was soft. Eventually the arena filled in nicely. But lottery participants all got tickets.

Going back to Pittsburgh, there was still a huge number of people not willing to travel during the pandemic. So no surprise there.

Correct. And even more to the point, there was no Ticket Lottery at all.

for whatever reason, buffalo wasn't received well by the fans (I loved my time there).

Strongly agree on both counts. For some reason, people are sour on traveling to Buffalo. The rest of us just to have accept that, I guess. But great wings; great donuts; Niagara Falls; Toronto an easy commute. Plus the tournament itself. How does anyone manage to have a bad 4 day weekend?

then we're back to St. Paul. I don't remember how high or low demand was for this or any prior F4s though.

Here's the thing. Along with Boston, The Twin Cities is the other College Hockey Hotbed. But St. Paul 2011 & St. Paul 2018 were just like Boston 2015 and Boston 2022. No problem getting tickets in the Lottery, but eventually the arena filled in nicely. And that's been the overall pattern from 2011 through 2023.

2024 is almost sold out already? If the reports are accurate. meaning that there are only a small handful of tickets left, this is the first time that lottery ducats have sold so well since at least Washington DC 2009.

Demand was simply more intense in the preceding era. Many times the public allotment sold out, with lots of Priority Holders never offered seats. Those who were able to purchase assumed that they could always get there money back from other buyers, if their plans changed. But the secondary market softened considerably along the way; which in turn made priority holders more reluctant to purchase tickets in the first place.

Boston 1998; St. Paul 2002; Boston 2004 & Milwaukee 2006 were all very tough tickets. Other tournaments from that era weren't quite as coveted. Still, Public Tickets from those tournaments usually sold out during the lottery process. If we're really returning to the old level of demand -- at least in St. Paul & Boston -- that's a big deal. At least to me.

[dxmnkd316]

Wait, there are only a few dozen seats left?

[JAM]

In general I agree. And you're probably correct this time as well.

But what's different this time is the NCAA has literally registered people for a pre-sale. Even if it's out of character, wouldn't they want to have something available for those buyers? Or at least there's a non-zero chance they'd want that?

JAM: After you go through the pre-sale, please let us know how it works out.

I had the November 1 presale date. The sale started at 3, but I wasn’t able to login until the evening. When I did, there were about twenty single seats available. Nothing available with two seats next to each other. The Ticketmaster site was glitching out and wouldn’t let me buy any of the seats available. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to buy tickets.

[dxmnkd316]

I 100% agree they are holding back tickets for schools.

Minnesota is always going to be an easy sell for starters. Minnesota fans make up a top three team (in terms of jersey sightings) almost every year I've gone. Without the cost of travel and a potential frozen four team this year, it's no surprise tickets are hard to get.

Couple that with a resurgent Wisconsin, Duluth potentially being a contender, a new St Thomas fanbase, a North Dakota that always shows up for travel plus they are likely going to be in the mix this year. Then you add in Mankato, SCSU, and BSU fanbases and you kind of have a massive demand.

Travel to Florida isn't cheap and combined with a number of people not wanting to travel to Florida for political reasons, I don't think it's a surprise if I'm being honest.

Boston was a bit low in terms of demand if I'm being honest. It filled in nicely though.

Going back to Pittsburgh, there was still a huge number of people not willing to travel during the pandemic. So no surprise there.

for whatever reason, buffalo wasn't received well by the fans (I loved my time there).

then we're back to St. Paul. I don't remember how high or low demand was for this or any prior F4s though.

[pgb-ohio]

OK, OK. I'll go with you guys. I'll join your guess that nothing's being held back for the imminent pre-sale.

At The Same Time: It's 100% certain that they're holding back tickets for the participating schools. Highly likely that some tickets are being held back for corporate friends that aren't specifically spoken for at this time. Sometimes certain tickets are only available if you buy a travel package. None of those things are reflected on the current Ticketmaster seating chart. We don't know why particular seats aren't available, only that they aren't currently for sale.

The issue I was actually trying to address is: How did we get from best seat availability in years, to the highest demand in years? If the answer is simply robust sales in the Upper Midwest, then my only comment is "Congratulations."

But I can't help but wonder if there's more to story. Maybe post-pandemic, fans have decided they want to get back in the game? Maybe the event is finally starting to attract a new generation of fans? Something else?

We've both been around a long time. You know as well as I do that many years have gone by since the Frozen Four has been a tough ticket in the Priority Lottery. That includes a couple of stops in St. Paul. If demand is really bouncing back, that's an awesome pleasant surprise. And given the rather hefty price increase this time, it's even more surprising.

I don't have a stake in any particular theory. I would just like to better understand what's going on.

[dxmnkd316]

Zero chance they're holding. Every one of the people I know (Minnesotans) aren't waiting for their priority to come up. They're asking friends with higher priority to buy to ensure they get seats.

it makes absolutely zero sense to hold anything back ever. Like, ever ever. You are in the business to sell tickets not placate potential new customers at the cost of your oldest. Especially when I'm guessing the turnover of new customers matches that of typical businesses.