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BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

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Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

I was a long-time season ticket holder at WBA and the early days of Agganis when we lived on Bay State Road.

Now, distance to the arena (living north of Boston), parking hassles and time, price (CRAZY ticket prices) and the fact that I can get a high-quality stream piped right in (and I LOVE Bernie and Lenehan!) lead me to not often leave the comfort of my 80" TV on a Terrier Game night.
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

chickod said:
Well, now you're introducing another issue. In case people don't realize it, Agganis was not built SOLELY for hockey. It was built to derive general revenue from many of the other events that would not fill an arena the size of TD Garden, but would be perfect for the "smaller" size arenas. I remember attending the Chicago/Earth Wind and Fire concert there in 2009, just to mention one example. And part of the season ticket "perk" was first right of refusal for tickets to ALL events.

So I would contend that much of that uptick in attendance WAS indeed the result of the arena bump, and "people" should have understood that it would level back off in a few years. Anyone who tried to correlate the temporary increase in attendance with an increase in "popularity" of BU hockey would have been promoting a misleading narrative. Taking the arena out of the equation, we are left with the original issue - why is attendance down everywhere? And it is exacerbated here because of all the reasons that everyone above has mentioned, but IMO primarily because of the changing student demographics.
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Taking out the "bump" for the new arena... BU's hockey attendance is really not down compared to the Walter Brown Days. Now of course back then all those sellouts were capped at 3,806 but... if we could have fit 6,200 would those games have sold out? Or would they have been what we have fairly often today (a handful of games in the 4000 - 4500 attendance range which makes the arena feel fairly empty).
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

ericredaxe said:
Taking out the "bump" for the new arena... BU's hockey attendance is really not down compared to the Walter Brown Days. Now of course back then all those sellouts were capped at 3,806 but... if we could have fit 6,200 would those games have sold out? Or would they have been what we have fairly often today (a handful of games in the 4000 - 4500 attendance range which makes the arena feel fairly empty).
Click to expand...

All good points made here. IIRC, when initial plans for a new arena were discussed, there was some talk that the new arena was going to have ~10K seating capacity. I think it was Coach Parker that recommended (and got) the 6,200.
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

The demographics may have changed, but there's more of them. 32,000 BU students.

BU hockey is not Columbia basketball, it is regularly a contender, is a relatively recent national champion, and boasts top-flight talent and clearly a lot of money is put into the program.

Why, again, do we put money into the hockey program if we do not care enough to get people to watch it? It is a negative feedback loop; nobody cares, so nobody goes, so the atmosphere is worse, etc.

Yeah, the typical student doesn't come in knowing anything about hockey. I sure didn't. But the general "excitement" was enough to get me go for the first time. And the excitement of my friends dragged me a couple of more times. Which made me come to a beanpot, which got me hooked forever.

If hockey isn't going to provide an experience for the students and something for them to bond around, identify with the school, (and yes, give the school money in the future...) what is it there for? Why pour a ton of money into a program that the university in general doesn't care about?

I'm not sure that the BU student section and the atmosphere in Agganis can ever get back to how it once was. But it sure as hell should be able to do better than it is doing now.
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

Once the Asian girl who would sit in front of hot dog and Jesus graduated, there was really no reason to show up ;)
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

rewind2482 said:
The demographics may have changed, but there's more of them. 32,000 BU students.

BU hockey is not Columbia basketball, it is regularly a contender, is a relatively recent national champion, and boasts top-flight talent and clearly a lot of money is put into the program.

Why, again, do we put money into the hockey program if we do not care enough to get people to watch it? It is a negative feedback loop; nobody cares, so nobody goes, so the atmosphere is worse, etc.

Yeah, the typical student doesn't come in knowing anything about hockey. I sure didn't. But the general "excitement" was enough to get me go for the first time. And the excitement of my friends dragged me a couple of more times. Which made me come to a beanpot, which got me hooked forever.

If hockey isn't going to provide an experience for the students and something for them to bond around, identify with the school, (and yes, give the school money in the future...) what is it there for? Why pour a ton of money into a program that the university in general doesn't care about?

I'm not sure that the BU student section and the atmosphere in Agganis can ever get back to how it once was. But it sure as hell should be able to do better than it is doing now.
Click to expand...

look who's back
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

My take on the factors:
1) Less student interest due to demographics. You can barely get to Agganis from a dorm without walking by a club or some other form of entertainment. The demographic has shifted to people who like those other options.
2) Cost - I've said many times, as have others, if the tickets were $18 and food was reasonable, I would go to twice as many games as I do. Do the math, people.
3) TV/Streaming - I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it is true. Being an hour away, it sure is convenient to have the option for some of the games.
 
defkit said:
My take on the factors:
1) Less student interest due to demographics. You can barely get to Agganis from a dorm without walking by a club or some other form of entertainment. The demographic has shifted to people who like those other options.
2) Cost - I've said many times, as have others, if the tickets were $18 and food was reasonable, I would go to twice as many games as I do. Do the math, people.
3) TV/Streaming - I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it is true. Being an hour away, it sure is convenient to have the option for some of the games.
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But you spent $28 to go to Merrimack, so your complaint about price doesn’t hold water.
 
Scarlet said:
But you spent $28 to go to Merrimack, so your complaint about price doesn’t hold water.
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I don’t think you can say it does not hold water. $28 does not mean that someone won’t go at all but they still might go more of the tickets were $18.

I personally wrestle with the cost every year and ultimately keep renewing my season tix even though I only make half the games. If the price went up much though I’d be more likely to opt out... so price does play a factor at some level.

With that said, I can’t predoct how much more full the stadium would be if tickets were $18. I’d guess moderately, but not significantly more.
 
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Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

Tonight’s ticket price is $23. For a seat in a high end area and rink in a major metropolitan city. He went to Merrimack and spent $28. For a subpar hockey viewing experience in a suburb far outside the city. He has said in the past that he parks on the street in Brookline so he doesn’t have to pay to park in the garage. Does one NEED a beer? Ok, the way they’re playing tonight could drive one to drink I admit, but you think concessions are high? Don’t buy them. That’s what is going to get them to lower prices, if that’s even possible. Could they do more, like offer family packages? Sure. But pricing at Agganis is not in the stratosphere high above all other schools. It’s almost 2019. People here are looking for mid 1990s pricing.

If you think season tickets are high, don’t renew. You can walk up and buy a ticket to each game with no problem it seems these days. You just won’t sit in the same seat each game. If that doesn’t matter to you, then that’s a way for you to justify not renewing. Just don’t come here to vent if you want to go to, say, a BC game and there aren’t tickets available. A season ticket guarantees you a seat.
 
Scarlet said:
Tonight’s ticket price is $23. For a seat in a high end area and rink in a major metropolitan city. He went to Merrimack and spent $28. For a subpar hockey viewing experience in a suburb far outside the city. He has said in the past that he parks on the street in Brookline so he doesn’t have to pay to park in the garage. Does one NEED a beer? Ok, the way they’re playing tonight could drive one to drink I admit, but you think concessions are high? Don’t buy them. That’s what is going to get them to lower prices, if that’s even possible. Could they do more, like offer family packages? Sure. But pricing at Agganis is not in the stratosphere high above all other schools. It’s almost 2019. People here are looking for mid 1990s pricing.

If you think season tickets are high, don’t renew. You can walk up and buy a ticket to each game with no problem it seems these days. You just won’t sit in the same seat each game. If that doesn’t matter to you, then that’s a way for you to justify not renewing. Just don’t come here to vent if you want to go to, say, a BC game and there aren’t tickets available. A season ticket guarantees you a seat.
Click to expand...

In the mid 90’s games weren’t streamed online and tv’s sucked. There wasn’t Netflix or a lot of other entertainment options either.
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

You know what a great buzz this BU team with it’s exciting new leader is generating when on the day and night of the home opener the board is focused on ticket prices. It’s amazing how this board is basically turned into a social outlet. The actual team and games don’t really mean much. Now if you want to talk about ticket prices relate it more to what kind of entertainment you are getting for your money. Answer is “not much”.
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

Scarlet said:
Tonight’s ticket price is $23. For a seat in a high end area and rink in a major metropolitan city. He went to Merrimack and spent $28. For a subpar hockey viewing experience in a suburb far outside the city. He has said in the past that he parks on the street in Brookline so he doesn’t have to pay to park in the garage. Does one NEED a beer? Ok, the way they’re playing tonight could drive one to drink I admit, but you think concessions are high? Don’t buy them. That’s what is going to get them to lower prices, if that’s even possible. Could they do more, like offer family packages? Sure. But pricing at Agganis is not in the stratosphere high above all other schools. It’s almost 2019. People here are looking for mid 1990s pricing.

If you think season tickets are high, don’t renew. You can walk up and buy a ticket to each game with no problem it seems these days. You just won’t sit in the same seat each game. If that doesn’t matter to you, then that’s a way for you to justify not renewing. Just don’t come here to vent if you want to go to, say, a BC game and there aren’t tickets available. A season ticket guarantees you a seat.
Click to expand...

$23 is the discounted season ticket price. Actual price for the general public was $27 plus Ticketmaster fees. (I know because I kept checking Ticketmaster to see if there was a chance that my tickets might sell)... alas there were hundreds of available seats.

No one does not NEED a beer, but lets be real.. for most, having a dog and a beer at the game is kind of part of the experience isn't it?

I've thought many years about not renewing, but no the price point has not gotten to that point yet... you are missing my point though which is that at some level price plays a factor. If the season ticket price went up by much, it would likely drive me to opt out. You are correct that one could get a ticket for any game (even the BC game), but at this point I still like having my seats and view it as sort of a donation to the school.
 
I didn't buy tickets this year because I thought hiring Albie as the head coach was a bad decision. How's the team doing so far?
 
Re: BU Terriers 2018-19: Albie in Charge

Jofa said:
As far as the team they look disinterested.
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Well, at the risk of getting excoriated for going down this same rathole again, that's not abnormal with high-end players in October. These guys are thinking about the NHL long-term. I would imagine everyone else has noticed (as I have) that they play better 1) against better competition, and 2) when the games mean more. Witness last year's post-season run. The problem with this approach these days is that the PWR can destroy a team before they get rolling and the season progresses. I thought Jake let in a couple of soft goals also. It might be true that he feels as though he has to carry the team, but he also just might have trouble focusing, also. And, to piggyback on the whole attendance discussion, the joint is not exactly jumping with excitement.
 
chickod said:
Well, at the risk of getting excoriated for going down this same rathole again, that's not abnormal with high-end players in October. These guys are thinking about the NHL long-term. I would imagine everyone else has noticed (as I have) that they play better 1) against better competition, and 2) when the games mean more.
Click to expand...

1) Mankato and Providence say hi. 2) ok I will tune back in, in March
 
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