Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

[mookie1995]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

The 8 dollar beers ought to cover that. A revenue stream not available to our friends up Comm Ave.

our food & bev service is not in house either, i wouldn't think. outsourced like the sox do. the provider (aramark?) pays bu a set annual fee and pockets whatever they get in revenue.

[mookie1995]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

Maybe you guys should be talking about your upcoming Yale and Quinnipiac match-ups in the New Haven area. This might turn out to be a tough weekend for BU.

already assigned a 0-2-0 record for this weekend. you are not breaking any news here. but thanks.

[antioch1098]

already assigned a 0-2-0 record for this weekend. you are not breaking any news here. but thanks.

Well, good luck this weekend. I think we will see two very close games.

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

If BU hockey was overpriced 5 years ago, and its still overpriced now, that's the problem. Woo hoo, they reduced parking on BU owned lots for a BU game even if you already have tickets to it by 2 bucks! They must really care...

I should not cost double to attend a BU game than a BC one when the last time I checked they've had a bit more success in recent years up there. The problem with attendance is simple - people can find better value for their buck in a city that offers a whole lot of entertainment choices. Even if you bring in a once in a generational talent like Eichel, who will always only stay one year, it takes a little while for the buzz to get out that the kid is for real. Then once he leaves you're back to square one, charging NHL level prices for a college hockey contest.

I don't disagree that ticket pricing is on the high side (especially when you factor in the fees etc), but lets be real, we are far of NHL prices.

They sure do, but another perspective (I know this has been brought up before and that Mookie is strong at math):

$25 * 3,750 = 93,750
$18 * 6,300 = 113,400

And no, I didn't use any attendance data from the 2,000 posts relating to attendance figures. Just making a point. As I've said many times, I would go to twice as many games if the price was more reasonable.

But really, if tickets were $18 would that many more people show up?

I think Sean is correct that the teams overall performance is what is having the bigger impact on attendance. Get back to 90's type of consistency and the crowd will show up.

[mookie1995]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

I don't disagree that ticket pricing is on the high side (especially when you factor in the fees etc), but lets be real, we are far of NHL prices.

ah, because we are far from nhl hockey.

mookie finds it silly that we compare ourselves to nhl hockey, which is only the best league in the world

(of course this goes the same way if school officials want to showcase cawledge hockey as an alternative to nhl prices )

[Rover]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

our food & bev service is not in house either, i wouldn't think. outsourced like the sox do. the provider (aramark?) pays bu a set annual fee and pockets whatever they get in revenue.

But that's on BU, as they hired Aramark. They don't get to say "gee, the concessions charges are out of our hands" when they're the ones who chose that company. BU can't find anybody in house to run food and beverages?

Sean, look at this more holistically. You want to attend a BU game. You want to attend a BC game. Your kids are too young to know or care if they're playing UNH, UConn, PC, or UMass-Amherst. You just want to take the family out.

Does BU have any tickets cheaper than 20 bucks for a regular season game? They're also going to whack you for parking which BC does not. Furthermore I can't imagine we're not paying top dollar on concessions as well. All this must be factored into costs. Digging deeper, you also need to look at value. What's the difference in the product that's been put on the ice since Agganis opened between BU and BC as much as it pains us to admit?

Lastly you can get Bruins tickets for $45 on stub hub, so if you're paying $95 to go to a random game you're getting screwed. So again with the concept of value. The Bruins have a larger fan base and can command higher prices. Agganis is half empty in terms of butts in the seats most games.

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

ah, because we are far from nhl hockey.

mookie finds it silly that we compare ourselves to nhl hockey, which is only the best league in the world

(of course this goes the same way if school officials want to showcase cawledge hockey as an alternative to nhl prices )

Exactly. Rover commented that we were charging NHL prices when clearly we are not.

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

Sean, look at this more holistically. You want to attend a BU game. You want to attend a BC game. Your kids are too young to know or care if they're playing UNH, UConn, PC, or UMass-Amherst. You just want to take the family out.

Does BU have any tickets cheaper than 20 bucks for a regular season game? They're also going to whack you for parking which BC does not. Furthermore I can't imagine we're not paying top dollar on concessions as well. All this must be factored into costs. Digging deeper, you also need to look at value. What's the difference in the product that's been put on the ice since Agganis opened between BU and BC as much as it pains us to admit?

Honestly though, how many "random population" fans (who don't have an affiliation with the school) decide they want to come to a college hockey game. Very few I would think. I don't care what the pricing is, we are not going to fill the arena with general population folk. Its all about getting the alumni back to the games. Lower pricing would help some, but repeated success of the on ice product would help more.

[Rover]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

Exactly. Rover commented that we were charging NHL prices when clearly we are not.

'Scuse me, but you're comparing that to the Bruins. In fact BU IS charging NHL level prices compared to other NHL teams.

I'm not talking about random population fans. I'm talking about how pricing at the arenas affects Joe Terrier vs Joe Eagle's willingness to take his family to the game. If BU was selling out most games, I could justify high prices as supply and demand. They're not. The arena is half empty most of the time. I went to a lot of games last year pre-kiddy arrival in January even with the buzz of Eichel and a good chance at a FF run and its not like tickets to the games were tough to come by. The school is overcharging plain and simple, and fans are voting with their feet.

[Sean Pickett]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

I have updated my spreadsheet with the official home attendance (excluding exhibition games) of all Hockey East teams to include this season through yesterday, 12 December. Three columns at the right of the attendance figures show the change in attendance between last season and this season (15 to 16); between 2012-13 (BC's peak season) and this season (13 to 16); and between each school's peak attendance and this season (Peak to 16).

Season-to-season home attendance is up 2.5% overall, driven by the huge increases at UMass (just under 30%) and Providence (just over 25%), plus the lesser increases at Northeastern (almost 13%), UMass Lowell (over 6%) and Notre Dame (almost 6%). Those increases are offset largely by the decreases at Boston College (just under -11%), Boston University (just over -7%) and Connecticut (over -4%). the other four schools have had pretty stable attendance so far.

Going back to the 2012-13, which had the previous peak attendance for Boston College, UMass Lowell and Notre Dame shows a troubling trend. Since that season only Connecticut and Providence have seen solid attendance gains, with UMass Lowell, Vermont and Northeastern, surprisingly, also having gains. Boston College and Massachusetts, on the other side, both have had steep drops in attendance. BU, however, only had a small (under 2%) drop in attendance overall since then, but it has fluctuated quite a bit from season to season. In looking at season to season attendance for all 12 schools, overall it has been lower 21 out of 36 times since 2012-13. So attendance is not growing steadily, even at Providence, were it dipped last season even though it remained above the 2012-13 average (and ended four straight seasons of growth). In fact, since 2009-10, only Providence has seen four straight seasons of growth in attendance and only Northeastern and Connecticut have seen three straight seasons of growth.

Going back to each school's peak average home attendance previous to this season shows that all but 2 schools have had to deal with declining attendance. Providence is currently up just over 10% of it's previous peak average attendance, while UMass Lowell is also up a modest 3.6%. On the other side, 6 schools, including BU, have had attendance drops of over 20% since their peak average home attendance. It looks like New Hampshire and Maine have stabilized while Northeastern and Massachusetts may have reversed the trend and Boston College still appears to be trying to deal with it. BU looks like it may also be stabilizing, but until final figures are for this season it is hard to say.

Sean

[Sean Pickett]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

our food & bev service is not in house either, i wouldn't think. outsourced like the sox do. the provider (aramark?) pays bu a set annual fee and pockets whatever they get in revenue.

I asked about the change in concession menu for this season and I was told that it is not outsourced, BU owns it.

Sean

[Sean Pickett]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

Does BU have any tickets cheaper than 20 bucks for a regular season game? They're also going to whack you for parking which BC does not. Furthermore I can't imagine we're not paying top dollar on concessions as well. All this must be factored into costs. Digging deeper, you also need to look at value. What's the difference in the product that's been put on the ice since Agganis opened between BU and BC as much as it pains us to admit?

The Me+3 price for the UMass game is $15.75, as I previously stated. BU also had a few other games earlier this season with the same pricing option.

Lastly you can get Bruins tickets for $45 on stub hub, so if you're paying $95 to go to a random game you're getting screwed. So again with the concept of value. The Bruins have a larger fan base and can command higher prices. Agganis is half empty in terms of butts in the seats most games.

And I see UMass at Agganis tickets on StubHub for $15, Maine at Agganis for $14 and Merrimack at Agganis for $13. I thought we were discussing the price the venue charges for a ticket, not the re-seller market.

'Scuse me, but you're comparing that to the Bruins. In fact BU IS charging NHL level prices compared to other NHL teams.

What other NHL teams?

Sean

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

What other NHL teams?

Florida Panthers.

[Rover]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

Florida Panthers.

Islanders as well.

Sean this is not meant to be a slam at you, but for yourself and several other fans there probably isn't a price you wouldn't pay to attend a BU hockey game, and there's nothing wrong with that if you're enjoying it. However, simply look around at the empty seats the next time you're there. So, to sum up because we've gotten a bit in the weeds here:

1) BU is charging more overall (tix, parking, most likely concessions) than a more successful program up the street.
2) Fans aren't showing up most likely because of the cost/value of attending. The arena is half empty.
3) While the product on the ice argument is a good one, we're coming off a Beanpot win, HE championship, and NCAA runner up. If we can't fill the arena now, when praytell WILL we fill it?
4) BU is charging NHL level prices (not necessarily Bruins) for tickets and beer. To watch college hockey.
5) If the arena was full, supply and demand would dictate higher prices. It isn't.

When I was in school BU hockey was fun. Students were rocking out the place. 20 years later we still attend the games. Nowadays what will the student and recent grad experience be? A half filled arena charging too much money? Not a good way to build the fan base IMHO.

[Rogie21]

Re: Boston University Terriers 2015-2016 Season Thread Part the 1st

BU Terriers All Access program that aired on NESN last night is now available online.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swy4...ature=youtu.be