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2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

J.D. said:
you from there originally?

by the way, isn't it odd that so many tix are still available through the ncaa? figured at this point it would all be through places like stub hub etc.
Click to expand...

with their partner Ticketmaster they are trying to get Stubhubs business
I am going to hate if in like Pittsburgh the arena is virtually full and their are many empty seats at center ice lower bowl
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

I think the fact that this FF will have a much better known field of teams will help that.
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

J.D. said:
you from there originally?

by the way, isn't it odd that so many tix are still available through the ncaa? figured at this point it would all be through places like stub hub etc.
Click to expand...

Not at all, it’s a natural evolution, with cataclysmic events in 2005 and 2010.

Looking at the history:

2000 (Providence), 2001 (Albany): last times FF was in a “small” rink. Tickets were hard to get, many folks who wanted tickets were unable to get them. There was a healthy, even lucrative secondary market. Scalpers saw FF tickets as a good investment. Fans of specific teams saw FF tickets as a no-risk purchase; if their team made it, they have a ticket; if their team didn’t make it, they could sell it at face price, or more. In fact it was risky not to buy tickets; if your team did make it, you either couldn’t get tickets or you’d pay a huge markup.

2002 (St. Paul), 2003 (Buffalo), 2004 (Boston): Good locations and teams kept demand fairly brisk. Some cracks in the armor appeared in Buffalo, where scalpers weren’t doing well. Tickets were available at face or below.

2005 (Columbus): Combination of so-so location and bad luck of having four distant teams from the same conference, a couple not having large traveling fan bases was disaster for the scalpers; premium seats at face or below. Some fans of specific teams got badly burned; they literally were not able to give their tickets away and had to eat them.

2006 (Milwaukee), 2007 (St. Louis), 2008 (Denver), 2009 (Washington): Nice locations, mix of teams. Milwaukee particularly benefited from success of Wisconsin, but scalpers weren’t investing as much and fans of specific teams who had gotten burned in Columbus no longer saw FF tickets as a no-risk purchase. In fact, they had discovered that if their team made it, they could probably get a ticket on the secondary market at a reasonable price.

2010 (Ford Field): Incredibly stupid decision by NCAA basically killed what was left of the secondary market. No reason whatsoever to buy a ticket ahead of time, except habit, and some long time attendees boycotted or attended and were turned off.

2011 (St. Paul), 2012 (Tampa), 2013 (Pittsburgh): Reasonably successful, but “lottery” started to look more like a “pre-sale”. Fewer investor/scalpers, very few fans of specific teams bought tickets as a hedge. Movement to tiered pricing eliminated one of the benefits (better seat at single price) of buying ahead of time.
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

The only "non traditional" locale that worked was Tampa. That FF was fantastic.
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

CLS said:
Not at all, it’s a natural evolution, with cataclysmic events in 2005 and 2010.

Looking at the history:

2000 (Providence), 2001 (Albany): last times FF was in a “small” rink. Tickets were hard to get, many folks who wanted tickets were unable to get them. There was a healthy, even lucrative secondary market. Scalpers saw FF tickets as a good investment. Fans of specific teams saw FF tickets as a no-risk purchase; if their team made it, they have a ticket; if their team didn’t make it, they could sell it at face price, or more. In fact it was risky not to buy tickets; if your team did make it, you either couldn’t get tickets or you’d pay a huge markup.

2002 (St. Paul), 2003 (Buffalo), 2004 (Boston): Good locations and teams kept demand fairly brisk. Some cracks in the armor appeared in Buffalo, where scalpers weren’t doing well. Tickets were available at face or below.

2005 (Columbus): Combination of so-so location and bad luck of having four distant teams from the same conference, a couple not having large traveling fan bases was disaster for the scalpers; premium seats at face or below. Some fans of specific teams got badly burned; they literally were not able to give their tickets away and had to eat them.

2006 (Milwaukee), 2007 (St. Louis), 2008 (Denver), 2009 (Washington): Nice locations, mix of teams. Milwaukee particularly benefited from success of Wisconsin, but scalpers weren’t investing as much and fans of specific teams who had gotten burned in Columbus no longer saw FF tickets as a no-risk purchase. In fact, they had discovered that if their team made it, they could probably get a ticket on the secondary market at a reasonable price.

2010 (Ford Field): Incredibly stupid decision by NCAA basically killed what was left of the secondary market. No reason whatsoever to buy a ticket ahead of time, except habit, and some long time attendees boycotted or attended and were turned off.

2011 (St. Paul), 2012 (Tampa), 2013 (Pittsburgh): Reasonably successful, but “lottery” started to look more like a “pre-sale”. Fewer investor/scalpers, very few fans of specific teams bought tickets as a hedge. Movement to tiered pricing eliminated one of the benefits (better seat at single price) of buying ahead of time.
Click to expand...

You're right on target with your analysis, in my view. One other dynamic to consider. Attendance at all live sports events is facing increased pressure from the "in home" and "sports bar" experience. Even the vaunted NFL is concerned.

That said, I'm paying $1,000 for tickets to treat my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson(a budding mite player) to their first frozen four. And that's one of the reasons for selecting a first-time site like Philly.
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

PuckLuck81 said:
The NCAA blew it scheduling this event the same weekend as The Masters. This is the most watched golf event on the calendar every year and where most of the viewing public will be tuning in on Thursday and Saturday. Why they don't schedule the Frozen Four on the same weekend as the men's basketball tourney is beyond me. Schedule the semi's on Friday night and the Championship game on Sunday afternoon. Make it an NCAA Championship weekend and capitalize on the basketball interest vs trying to run away from it!!! Trying to create a "hockey weekend" will never work because there is just not as much interest in Men's college hockey as there is in Men's college basketball or football. Embrace the NCAA basketball Final Four - don't hide from it!!!
Click to expand...

The Master's is no where near the competitive draw for the Frozen Four as the NCAA Basketball Tournament even between days.
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

Got another TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE! email from the NCAA this morning for all sessions and individual games. Must be a real hot ticket lol
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

Hope that is the case as it was in Tampa, but there was no beer garden in Pittsburgh!
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

Good news, the weather has finally perked up in the Philly area. It looks like close to 60 today with bright sunshine and and a warming trend through the week. I'm not an advocate of long-range forecasts but the trend looks good(mid-sixties) The region has finally started to green up.
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

hobeydog said:
Good news, the weather has finally perked up in the Philly area. It looks like close to 60 today with bright sunshine and and a warming trend through the week. I'm not an advocate of long-range forecasts but the trend looks good(mid-sixties) The region has finally started to green up.
Click to expand...

Good to hear. Sun sounds nice! BTW, it look like the Sioux pre-game gathering will be at the ballpark after all. And thanks for posting the local knowledge!
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

sterlippo1 said:
Can't believe I didn't know that about Tampa . I was really thirsty. Didn't know you could leave the arena to have a beer and get back in
Click to expand...

It was set-up just outside the arena, so you never left, as the area was roped off and there were two or three beer tents set-up. Would be nice if they did this everywhere just to get fresh air, though it was also a smoking area too, so fresh air was hard to find depending upon your vice!;-)
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

Arena holds 19,000+, about 1,000 more with standing room. I went to the Wf Arena website and tickets were available for all games
Doesn't the championship game usually sell out?
 
Re: 2014 Frozen Four Info Thread

CLS said:
Not at all, it’s a natural evolution, with cataclysmic events in 2005 and 2010.

Looking at the history:

2000 (Providence), 2001 (Albany): last times FF was in a “small” rink. Tickets were hard to get, many folks who wanted tickets were unable to get them. There was a healthy, even lucrative secondary market. Scalpers saw FF tickets as a good investment. Fans of specific teams saw FF tickets as a no-risk purchase; if their team made it, they have a ticket; if their team didn’t make it, they could sell it at face price, or more. In fact it was risky not to buy tickets; if your team did make it, you either couldn’t get tickets or you’d pay a huge markup.

2002 (St. Paul), 2003 (Buffalo), 2004 (Boston): Good locations and teams kept demand fairly brisk. Some cracks in the armor appeared in Buffalo, where scalpers weren’t doing well. Tickets were available at face or below.

2005 (Columbus): Combination of so-so location and bad luck of having four distant teams from the same conference, a couple not having large traveling fan bases was disaster for the scalpers; premium seats at face or below. Some fans of specific teams got badly burned; they literally were not able to give their tickets away and had to eat them.

2006 (Milwaukee), 2007 (St. Louis), 2008 (Denver), 2009 (Washington): Nice locations, mix of teams. Milwaukee particularly benefited from success of Wisconsin, but scalpers weren’t investing as much and fans of specific teams who had gotten burned in Columbus no longer saw FF tickets as a no-risk purchase. In fact, they had discovered that if their team made it, they could probably get a ticket on the secondary market at a reasonable price.

2010 (Ford Field): Incredibly stupid decision by NCAA basically killed what was left of the secondary market. No reason whatsoever to buy a ticket ahead of time, except habit, and some long time attendees boycotted or attended and were turned off.

2011 (St. Paul), 2012 (Tampa), 2013 (Pittsburgh): Reasonably successful, but “lottery” started to look more like a “pre-sale”. Fewer investor/scalpers, very few fans of specific teams bought tickets as a hedge. Movement to tiered pricing eliminated one of the benefits (better seat at single price) of buying ahead of time.
Click to expand...

Wait, what happened in 2010?
 
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