2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

[scoreboard]

I would guess the NCAA since they are being sold on the NCAA webpage.

I believe the hosts set the price as they bid on the right to host. They have to guarantee the NCAA a certain amount of money. This happens for the regionals as well. I purchase 4 seats. If I get club level, like last year, it will cost me $200 more than last year! If I'm wrong someone please correct me.
Who is the host this coming year?

 

[Sean Pickett]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

Yea that is absurd. 45% increase in 4 years.

I have tracked Frozen Four ticket prices since 1990, except for 1992 (for which I was unable to find the prices), when the package price was $50. Since then the lower bowl prices have increased 480%. I have put my Frozen Four Ticket prices on a spreadsheet if anyone is interested. On the right I have included the year-to-year price change and the overall price change since 1990. Four times there were price decreases between FFs and twice there was no increase. There was a lot of volatility from 1999 to 2004 but since then prices have increased every year except 2012.

Sean

 

[satyking]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

I forget what Priority I am ..... will they be sending me an e-mail with that info on it

 

[steven22]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

I forget what Priority I am ..... will they be sending me an e-mail with that info on it

They sent out an email September 8th with info including your priority number.

Also included in the email was this:

If you need to update your email address, please submit the change to mensfrozenfour@ncaa.org and include your name, your previous email address and your current email address.


Hope this helps.

 

[mookie1995]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

I'll be a buyer at $175... There should be some end seats open to the General Public after people with priority points are done...

mookie's guessing you've been to the united center? what's it like in the upper deck there?

 

[RaceBoarder]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

mookie's guessing you've been to the united center? what's it like in the upper deck there?

It's not horrible.

Sightlines are solid. You are somewhat back from the ice, but don't feel like you're a mile back. It is kinda steep. Press Boxes are between 315-320 so those sections have fewer rows on the topside. There are 4 SRO "Bar" areas in the corners that are actually really good areas to watch the game from. They are about 5 rows up.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

It's not horrible.

Sightlines are solid. You are somewhat back from the ice, but don't feel like you're a mile back. It is kinda steep.

Spot on. And IMHO the payoff in sightlines makes the steepness well worth it.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

NCAA Customer Service: 800-208-0048​

As I've posted many times in the past, the front line phone people at Customer Service are friendly, hardworking and generally can offer solutions. I strongly encourage anyone with questions/difficulties to contact them.

That said, I spent 20 minutes on the phone with Customer Service last night on the question of ticket limits. (per account holder) The information remains highly classified. My rep poured through her materials, read the NCAA website posts backwards and forwards, & consulted a supervisor. Nothing. Very frustrating.

The cat finally gets out of the bag this morning at 10:00 AM. When someone learns the answer -- 4 tickets vs. 8 tickets -- please post.

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

I'll be a buyer at $175... There should be some end seats open to the General Public after people with priority points are done...

I think it's a real possibility that a lot of the high-priority folks used to sitting down low may opt for the lower priced tickets this year. You can bet I'll think twice and three times before spending that much on tickets in the lower bowl. Priority applications this month could be a rush to secure cheap seats rather than good lower bowl seats. If that is the case, they're going to have a hard time selling lower bowl tickets to the general public/walkup at these prices if that is the majority of the inventory left over. Or lower priority folks are going to say eff it and not get seats now and wait to see what teams are playing before committing this much money this early. An empty building would serve them right.

It will be interesting to see how things play out. I finally got a priority high enough to sit in the lower bowl and now I feel like I'm being squeezed out and I don't like it. At some point money isn't the issue.

Curious to hear what the high-priority folks are opting for.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

The Lottery is Officially Open. Level 20, You're On The Clock!​

A Priority Ticket Holders Tab has been added to the NCAA Web Page. Remember, you log into the system with your e-mail address. Based on past experience, it's easy to create a new password. Or, if you have your password from last year handy, so much the better.

Everyone: After you complete your purchase, please post your location. No need for specific seat numbers. But Section and Row info would be very helpful. Also, please take a moment and post any observations that your fellow fans might find useful.

We've done this for many years on USCHO. For those that follow you in line, it makes navigating through a sometimes puzzling process much easier. Just as importantly, it helps all of us understand the results. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

No one on the Board purchased tickets on Day One? Seriously? Not a good start...

I think it's a real possibility that a lot of the high-priority folks used to sitting down low may opt for the lower priced tickets this year. You can bet I'll think twice and three times before spending that much on tickets in the lower bowl. Priority applications this month could be a rush to secure cheap seats rather than good lower bowl seats.

The price points are getting to be problematic, no doubt about it. But while I wouldn't want to draw sweeping conclusions based on a slow first day, I don't sense a rush to ANY price point.

If that is the case, they're going to have a hard time selling lower bowl tickets to the general public/walkup at these prices if that is the majority of the inventory left over. Or lower priority folks are going to say eff it and not get seats now and wait to see what teams are playing before committing this much money this early.

This is the greater threat, IMHO. Raise prices in a time of decreasing demand, and you're liable to wind up with:

An empty building would serve them right.

True. But depressingly enough, that result damages the entire college hockey community, not just the "greedy b@stids."

It will be interesting to see how things play out. I finally got a priority high enough to sit in the lower bowl and now I feel like I'm being squeezed out and I don't like it. At some point money isn't the issue.

Curious to hear what the high-priority folks are opting for.

Well, I'm at Priority Level 19. My take is as follows:

1. It would be fun to sit on the glass, but the price is a total deal-breaker. For those that decide that's an appropriate expenditure, Good luck and God bless. But I'm out. Same thing with Row 2.

2. At the other end of the spectrum, I'm glad those who will sit in the Upper Level pay lower prices. Receive less value, pay a lower price. It's only right. But if I'm going to travel hundreds of miles for the tournament, I'm gritting my teeth and paying for lower bowl or club.

3. What's missing so far, more than anything else, is the lack of urgency among the Frozen Four fan base. Maybe I'm in the minority, but my group has been significantly inconvenienced by the late notice on the lottery dates, and the withholding of information on pricing and ticket limits. And yet I'm not *that* distressed. I've had the thought that if we can't get organized until October 1, maybe that's OK this year. Given the declining demand, maybe a modest delay won't hurt our vantage point all that much.

Bottom Line? My early guess is that the regulars will be in Chicago. But the purchase date may be delayed in many cases. And in another significant number of cases, long timers may simply wait for better values on the secondary market. Time will tell; stay tuned.

 

[satyking]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

Hard to believe no posts on the seats or how the site worked, paper or by credit card to enter the venue etc.

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

FYI I emailed Kristin Fasbender to see if she could tell me who sets the prices but no response as of yet. Will let you know if I find out.

 

[joecct]

FYI I emailed Kristin Fasbender to see if she could tell me who sets the prices but no response as of yet. Will let you know if I find out.

A flippant response would be supply and demand. There is a break point where even the most rabid fan will say "Enough!" But people are still buying so it has not been reached.

 

[DLG]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

No one on the Board purchased tickets on Day One? Seriously? Not a good start...

The price points are getting to be problematic, no doubt about it. But while I wouldn't want to draw sweeping conclusions based on a slow first day, I don't sense a rush to ANY price point.

This is the greater threat, IMHO. Raise prices in a time of decreasing demand, and you're liable to wind up with:

True. But depressingly enough, that result damages the entire college hockey community, not just the "greedy b@stids."

Well, I'm at Priority Level 19. My take is as follows:

1. It would be fun to sit on the glass, but the price is a total deal-breaker. For those that decide that's an appropriate expenditure, Good luck and God bless. But I'm out. Same thing with Row 2.

2. At the other end of the spectrum, I'm glad those who will sit in the Upper Level pay lower prices. Receive less value, pay a lower price. It's only right. But if I'm going to travel hundreds of miles for the tournament, I'm gritting my teeth and paying for lower bowl or club.

3. What's missing so far, more than anything else, is the lack of urgency among the Frozen Four fan base. Maybe I'm in the minority, but my group has been significantly inconvenienced by the late notice on the lottery dates, and the withholding of information on pricing and ticket limits. And yet I'm not *that* distressed. I've had the thought that if we can't get organized until October 1, maybe that's OK this year. Given the declining demand, maybe a modest delay won't hurt our vantage point all that much.

Bottom Line? My early guess is that the regulars will be in Chicago. But the purchase date may be delayed in many cases. And in another significant number of cases, long timers may simply wait for better values on the secondary market. Time will tell; stay tuned.

Also a 19 and was hoping to have guidance from the 20's Last year they alerted me to the availability of club seats which were best seats ever
Hopefully someone will post today- Chicago is a great location but will it be hurt by cost and violence in city. Somewhat concerned how to leave arena to get back to hotel.

 

[Badgers1]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

Also a 19 and was hoping to have guidance from the 20's Last year they alerted me to the availability of club seats which were best seats ever
Hopefully someone will post today- Chicago is a great location but will it be hurt by cost and violence in city. Somewhat concerned how to leave arena to get back to hotel.

Also was hoping for some help as have a group of 8 and unsure if will need to wait for our 2nd priority level to order the next 4 as that's an 8.

Might be discussion for different thread, but also unsure of how we plan to get to and from the United Center. Were looking at staying around Michigan Ave and from what I've read taxi's aren't real easy to grab after the games. Especially we have one person in our group that doesn't get around to quick anymore! I saw something about a United Center Express bus, but has anyone taken that and wondering the ease of getting on after the games and if it is just for fans headed to/from the game. Have been in Chicago many of times for Cubs games which is easy travel, but only to United Center a couple times and years ago.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

I find it hard to believe I'm the first, but I got 4 tickets in section 226 (Club - directly behind goal), row 1 yesterday at right around 10:00. It actually wasn't finalized until some time later (30-40 minutes, I think). Just as in previous years, every time you look at a section and try to go back, you have to verify that you are not a robot. This time, instead of trying to decipher some odd looking code, you have to select a series of pictures that meet a given criteria (i.e. "select all photos that contain a storefront"). Very annoying, but par for the course these days.
Center ice club seats not available.
Center ice lower bowl very very limited (between 2 and 3 of the last rows available only for sections between the blue lines).
Lower bowl end sections mostly available, but not completely.
Upper bowl almost completely available.
In almost all sections I checked, there appeared to be blocks of seats not even on the chart. The shapes don't always match the appearance on the seating chart from the United Center website. Unfortunately just like in Tampa I couldn't find a seat view locator on their site like they have on the arena sites in Pitt, Phil, and Bos.

Ticket limit (for the highest priority, at least) is 8. I can't imagine it will be much different for the rest unless they start running out of tickets more quickly than expected (unlikely).
The prices are as quoted earlier that someone got from the NCAA website.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

Also was hoping for some help as have a group of 8 and unsure if will need to wait for our 2nd priority level to order the next 4 as that's an 8.

Might be discussion for different thread, but also unsure of how we plan to get to and from the United Center. Were looking at staying around Michigan Ave and from what I've read taxi's aren't real easy to grab after the games. Especially we have one person in our group that doesn't get around to quick anymore! I saw something about a United Center Express bus, but has anyone taken that and wondering the ease of getting on after the games and if it is just for fans headed to/from the game. Have been in Chicago many of times for Cubs games which is easy travel, but only to United Center a couple times and years ago.

Doesn't sound too bad, but probably could be easier, like if they actually built the arena near an L-train stop...
http://www.unitedcenter.com/venue/directions-parking/

 

[RaceBoarder]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

Doesn't sound too bad, but probably could be easier, like if they actually built the arena near an L-train stop...
http://www.unitedcenter.com/venue/directions-parking/

I understand how frustrating the parking situation can be at the UC. It's far from ideal.

I've actually found that valet parking at the West End Bar & Grill (http://westendwestloop.com/) and using their shuttle is quite convenient for Hawks games. The Frozen Four should be no different. The bar is a 15-20 min walk from the UC.

 

[Laker Dude]

Re: 2017 Frozen Four Ticket Purchase

I understand how frustrating the parking situation can be at the UC. It's far from ideal.

I've actually found that valet parking at the West End Bar & Grill (http://westendwestloop.com/) and using their shuttle is quite convenient for Hawks games. The Frozen Four should be no different. The bar is a 15-20 min walk from the UC.

Is it possible to get to the UC from downtown by train/subway?