This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Excellent insight. Earlier buyers were grabbing the aisle seats and leaving the middle seats behind. No doubt upcoming buyers will benefit from this information. Well done!
Two possibilities:
1. You're just messing with us; or
2. This lottery had a winner after all, and that would be you.
Hoping for the latter.
Everyone has their own crystal ball, but I absolutely expected this. Over the years the NCAA has used tournaments in St. Paul and Boston as an opportunity to push up the price. IIRC the primary price point in Philly was $230. For it to move up $10 per session in Boston is no surprise.
For me, it's the two extreme price points that are surprising. They just don't mesh with the Frozen Four Fan Base. Asking $600 for glass seats for our tournament strikes me as a ludicrous mismatch. Certainly our crowd includes some well-funded individuals, but those folks have upscale packages available to them. And while I don't want overgeneralize, most of that crowd will be more comfortable in the suites than the glass.
In contrast, most of us are in the lottery because we hope to parlay a loyal purchasing history into better seats. We're price sensitive, and are hoping some "sweat equity" will keep our overall costs in line. Anyone who can painlessly drop $300 for a single ticket probably isn't going to bother slogging through the priority process. Again, not wanting to overgeneralize, but that sort of fan will just call the ticket broker and "pay what it takes."
Now about the $160 nosebleed seats. To me, the decision to include that price point is more political than economic. It's as if the NCAA wants to send a "we feel your pain" message to those who have been objecting to the ever-increasing prices. But for Priority Holders, it's a meaningless gesture. Let's walk through it. The buyer has been attending the FF annually for years; it's always one of the highlights on his sports calendar. Maybe THE highlight. He's willing travel hundreds of miles. He's willing to take multiple days off work. He's spending hundreds of dollars on the trip. Part of that is spent on apparel and momentos before the first puck is even dropped. Those items must be purchased right away because he can't take a chance that the good stuff will sell out early. There's your typical FF Priority Holder. And the NCAA thinks that type of fan wants to sit in awful nosebleed seats to save $45? Please.
Good Upper Bowl seats at a savings, yes. But Bad Upper Bowl seats? Most of the regulars would rather skip a year than make that purchase. Some wind up on the secondary market. Some stay home and watch on TV. Some get disgusted and drop out permanently. The $160 seats are for the one-and-done fan, period.
Of course the lower price WILL benefit local buyers on a budget, who just want a taste of the action. But from an economic perspective, why do this? The tournament will almost certainly sell out either way. Why leave money on the table? The NCAA has repeatedly shown that very little is sacred if there's money to be made. The only answer I can think of is political compromise. Why do I say that? If the NCAA truly wanted to do something meaningful for it's most loyal FF fans, it would return a blue line section or two to the Public Allotment. But that would require a real financial sacrifice. Not happening. But hoping to avoid some portion of the PR hit caused by higher prices, a token gesture is made.
Put another way, the NCAA is willing to reach out and do something for the one-and-dones, but not the core FF Fan Base. That hurts a bit.
My two cents.
You're not alone, and it's an annoying glitch to be sure. But rather than fight that battle, just use the information in this thread and proceed to the ordering process. Yes, the e-mail gives you a direct link to the log-in. But you can get the same info and accomplish the same thing with this link:
www.ncaa.com/championships/icehockey-men/d1/tickets-hospitality
One more click -- on your Priority Level -- and you're at the login page. Best of luck.
Two possibilities:
1. You're just messing with us; or
2. This lottery had a winner after all, and that would be you.
Hoping for the latter.
The key phrase being "Center Ice."
The key phrase being "Center Ice."
Your location should have been included on the Best Seats Still On The Board list. Personal bias negatively impacted my objectivity on this, if only a little. For me, once Row 5 of the Balcony is in the rear view mirror, the oxygen gets a little thin for my taste. But the Center Ice location is definitely a selling point. You did well. FWIW, there are probably comparable seats still available in Section 316.
Note that Priority 15s can officially join the fray Friday morning...Best Seats Still On The Board
9/30/2014
Obviously this information is going to become dated pretty quickly. But I'm hoping it will be helpful for several days. Even if the exact seats mentioned are gone, the idea is to give you a fairly specific idea of where the best values are. If I can help a few posters streamline their searches -- and avoid some portion of the burdensome security -- it will have been worth it.
Also, let me send out a quick additional thanks out to "Priority 18." He sent me a second e-mail Sunday evening with this type of information. It was helpful and appreciated.
Lowest Row
Row 3 in Loge 5, Loge 8 and Loge 19
Are There ANY Tickets in the Lower Bowl on the Sides?
The best answer is no. But some may find Loge 20 appealing. In comparison to all of the other available Lower Bowl sections, it is somewhat "around the corner." The Top Rows (23-26) were available. Note that none of the analogous sections in the other three corners of the building - Loges 4, 9 or 15 -- were available to the public.
EDIT: It's worth noting that the Loge 20 seats are at Club Level height. For some that may make these seats the elusive diamond in the rough.
Scout's View Seats
Best Selection is in Loge 5 & Loge 19. Mostly Open. Choose Row according to taste. The other Scout's View sections, Loge 8 & Loge 16, have a better view of the Team Benches. Most likely that is why they are more picked over. Still a good number of seats to choose from.
Bruins Shoot Twice Seats
Just an educated guess at best, but maybe the top Eastern seed will shoot twice at this end. If that's attractive to you, go with Loge 5 or Loge 8. Obviously no guarantees.
Row One Balcony
Still available in the Balcony Corners, Selling for $205. Best options IMHO are Sections 305, 312, 320 & 327. Tons of seats, including Row One, are open in Sections 306, 321 & 326.
**FWIW, Section 320, Row 1 was my Second Choice.** Still wondering if I did the right thing.Ultimately I decided to stay downstairs. But from a value perspective, a good argument can be made that the front row balcony seats are the best remaining option. I've only been to the Garden a handful of times, but IIRC steepness of the seating (or lack thereof) is something of an issue. Sit in Row 1, it becomes a non-issue. Again, FWIW.
Best of luck to all buyers.
You grabbed my "Silver Medal" seats; good for you.
Be sure to post your opinion of this vantage point after the tournament. Heck, I may come upstairs between periods to check out the view for myself! They do sound good. Sounding even better, given this report from a veteran Garden fan.
Hoping a future buyer will search on the $600 seats, selecting Best Available, then report back.
Need some local input on this one. In most rinks I'm fine with looking through the glass, but I suppose it can vary. Anyone have Garden-specific info?
But I don't actually know what the Garden uses. Anyone?It's still very early. So far, I'm sticking with my first impression: Fewer good seats than Philly 2014, but rather similar to Pittsburgh 2013. But before making a final judgment, let's see what those at the lower priority levels have to choose from.
