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Yours is the earliest report. Others closely behind you in line report the same thing. No one has reported anything to the contrary. It's more than reasonable to conclude that the seats between the blue lines were not in this year's lottery.
Obviously the Provost had taken the trouble to return his seats to the Box Office for resale, a small act of generosity that I was impressed with, both then and now.Very helpful; thanks much for posting that.
Yours is the earliest report. Others closely behind you in line report the same thing. No one has reported anything to the contrary. It's more than reasonable to conclude that the seats between the blue lines were not in this year's lottery.
Also, it's possible that they've never been part of our formal allotment. But wait a minute. Didn't my previous post just say such seats have been obtained in the lottery? It did indeed. Here's my theory:
In the past, we've paid for seats a year in advance, but waited most of that year for specific seat assignments. My guess is that during those waiting periods, a handful of conscientious insiders have returned unneeded tickets to the NCAA for reassignment. Those returns then became the Grand Prizes in the lottery. Now, with instant seat selection, we don't have the opportunity at those returned tickets; we've picked our location before the returns occur.
I can't prove that, of course. It's just an educated guess on my part. But such things do occur in the world of sports tickets. A quick Buckeye Football story is on point:
Most Buckeye Football games are hard sellouts. At least in the past, though, it's been possible to go to the Box Office about a week in advance and inquire as to whether any returned tickets are for sale. Sometimes the answer was yes, sometimes no. When yes, the usual source was a distant visiting team that didn't sell out its allotment. One time, however, I got an absolutely sensational location near midfield. Upon arrival, I noticed that those seated next me were quite well-mannered by football standards. I didn't think too much of it; I figured that they were just longstanding season ticketholders who had "seen it all," and had become more analytical over time. At the end of the first quarter, however, the guy to my left got my attention and asked: "OK, so how do you know the Provost?"
Anyhow, my theory is that when lottery applicants have received center ice locations over the years, they got "Provost Seats."
Thanks; I think so too.
It's probably a difficult story to replicate at the present, however. With the precious few single game tickets now on Ticketmaster -- with individual seat selection no less -- those Provost seats wouldn't last long. In the old days you had to personally show up at the box office, and the entire thing was very lightly publicized. If you were in the know, odds were definitely better the old way. Probably not. IIRC, most of the Club Seats won in the lottery were near the endline. They were more or less contiguous to the other lottery seats, in this case meaning the lower bowl corners. Still, with a vantage point at a very attractive height, coupled with the additional amenities one usually gets with club seating, those seats are a win. Bagging such seats at mid-level priority was flat-out a cause for celebration.
Sadly, you're probably correct. Still, you might want to leave the door open a crack. Do check out the locations people get at the entry level in this year's lottery. In the future such seats might be worth grabbing, depending on the host city, probable participating teams, etc.
pbgohio said:
Reasonable assessment.
Understood. I suppose the only consololation is that over the years you've clearly beaten the odds. At least for this year, no one beat the odds. If that's the new normal, it is indeed a major disappointment.
yes it is!
btw- just what is it you're a pro at??
I've heard of this option from others, but never received any sort of official notice of it. Perhaps this was intended mostly for locals from Western PA. Regardless, I have multiple issues with the way this has been handled.
Best of luck with the suite!
Excellent insight. In the old days, a substantial number of low priority applicants were rejected in the lottery, to say nothing of newbies. Naturally many of those people became buyers in the secondary market. Now, those applicants are getting into the building in the first round, albeit in the nosebleed seats. Location notwithstanding, most of those buyers never move on to the secondary market. Net result: Fewer buyers and lower demand in the secondary market.
It probably doesn't play out that way. For that to happen, returns would need to occur during October. In other words, the return hasn't occurred yet during the high priority weeks, but specifically occurs during the lottery. That doesn't seem like the most likely timing from the donor's point of view. And even if the return did happen at this point, those administrating the lottery would have to make a decision to inject those seats into the system, in the middle of the game. That also seems unlikely.
