Everyone at UCONN involved with FB needs to read this

[John]

Right, but I think price is used as an excuse when it isn't the real reason. Sure, some people sit in the endzones instead of paying $100/seat donation. Sure some people sit in the $100/donation seats instead of the chairbacks at $325 or $650 a seat donation. So price matters. But I don't think there are a lot of people that WANT season tickets that DON'T buy them at all because of price.

I offered to buy tickets for young alums that couldn't afford them, and basically all I heard was crickets. Mostly I think that people generally feel that their TIME is too valuable to be spent putting in the effort to watch a pedestrian product. There are all kinds of broke-ass people that can scrape up enough money to go out every weekend drinking. Cause they WANT to. It all comes down to desire - and we need to inspire that.

I don't think it's the price of just the tickets, it's the price of the experience. Parking, concessions, etc. It adds up.

 

[J187Money]

You're right, but there's more to it than that. There are also a good number of fans that know (with a schedule like this) they can get tickets to every game in the parking lot and save money on most of the games. They want to go to every game, they don't care about season tickets. Some people here think they aren't "real" fans, or at least aren't as "valuable". But as long as they are buying tickets and showing up, they matter. I believe sell outs matter more than season tickets. Sell out a season or two, and we can argue that there aren't enough seats. Also, sell out a few seasons, and then people will have more reason to buy season tickets. As long as tickets are cheaper in the parking lot and on the secondary market, people who routinely go to games aren't going to be pressed to buy season tickets.

Agreed. But the tickets are cheap and in many cases free in the secondary market or parking lot. And people still don't go. I only care about gate also. But you are far overestimating the parking lot trade. Maybe 200 regulars a game buy tickets that way?

 

[whaler11]

You can't sell out games without a large season ticket base. There isn't a single program on the future schedules who is moving 5 figures of single game tickets.

The parking lot trade further enforces that face value is out of whack with the market.

JMoney may be right that lowering them may prove a mistake because for many games you literally can't give them away.

 

[Dooley]

I don't want to tell you how many games I brought extras from our season ticket group to games last year and I could not give them away. For free. And this was after a week or more of asking everyone I knew, including people who I very literally haven't seen in years, if they wanted to go. For free (food and drinks included in the FREE price of admission).

 

[J187Money]

I don't think it's the price of just the tickets, it's the price of the experience. Parking, concessions, etc. It adds up.

Yes. But if you just want to go to the game it can be done for 35 bucks. Park across the street and go to the game. Plenty of people do that. If you can't enjoy yourself without $75 bucks worth of food and beer yes it's a problem.

It's like saying I don't like going to the movies because popcorn costs $8 and a soda costs $5. If I wanted to see the movie I could avoid those expenses and go to a matinee and spend like $7 total.

People don't like losing.

I took my son to the Super Bowl when the Packers beat the Steelers. Heard lots of grumbling from the Steelers fans that paid $2,500+ a ticket plus travel to watch them lose. Didn't hear a Packer fan say anything about the expense. Because they won. If the Steelers fans thought they would lose most of them wouldn't have even bothered.

I do feel for families with small children who couldn't care less about the game because that is just wasting money. But for an individual person that has a job, I just don't buy that the prices are the problem.

 

[J187Money]

I don't want to tell you how many games I brought extras from our season ticket group to games last year and I could not give them away. For free. And this was after a week or more of asking everyone I knew, including people who I very literally haven't seen in years, if they wanted to go. For free (food and drinks included in the FREE price of admission).

Exactly. There aren't enough fans. End of story.

 

[CTMike]

Price is just one piece of the value equation... Maximize the value people get out of attending. Winning sure helps a ton. But price of tickets, concessions, parking, merch, game day experience are all factors too. Let's improve all of those.

 

[SubbaBub]

You can get around the price. As others have said there are plenty of discount and free tickets our there. It really only affects season ticket sales.

The biggest issue is entertainment value for the time commitment. It has to he seen as worth the effort. Schedule has a lot to do with this as does the game day experience both on and off the field. Tradition is another, but we don't have that generational depth and as Michigan is finding out, you can't live on tradition alone.

 

[J187Money]

You can get around the price. As others have said there are plenty of discount and free tickets our there. It really only affects season ticket sales.

The biggest issue is entertainment value for the time commitment. It has to he seen as worth the effort. Schedule has a lot to do with this as does the game day experience both on and off the field. Tradition is another, but we don't have that generational depth and as Michigan is finding out, you can't live on tradition alone.

Exactly right.

In Michigan's case, however, you could live on tradition alone. Tradition, however, doesn't pay for needless stadium expansion and all kinds of perks that probably weren't necessary. They had enough money. In UCONN's case, it isn't greed that pushes prices higher. It is necessity.

 

[Rondogg]

Season ticket holder since 2002, lots of away game/bowl games. It was very exciting in the beginning to watch this team on the rise in a major conference. Conference realignment has basically put a glass ceiling over us and margianalized our ability to be a National Power. UConn was the biggest loser in CR and there is plenty of evidence that points out a lot of the problems were our own damn fault. Until we figure it out, I will watch from home.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Right, but I think price is used as an excuse when it isn't the real reason. Sure, some people sit in the endzones instead of paying $100/seat donation. Sure some people sit in the $100/donation seats instead of the chairbacks at $325 or $650 a seat donation. So price matters. But I don't think there are a lot of people that WANT season tickets that DON'T buy them at all because of price.

I offered to buy tickets for young alums that couldn't afford them, and basically all I heard was crickets. Mostly I think that people generally feel that their TIME is too valuable to be spent putting in the effort to watch a pedestrian product. There are all kinds of broke-ass people that can scrape up enough money to go out every weekend drinking. Cause they WANT to. It all comes down to desire - and we need to inspire that.

I totally agree with this. For me I don't have a lot of extra spending cash so basically I scrap together my pennies and dimes for a year and get the best seats I can afford. My biggest problem as it stands isn't so much the price, but my work schedule. I work two jobs (one of which is retail) which makes it extremely difficult to work with in order to get the time off to attend the games. I'm currently working I switching to a different position just so that I'll be to actually purchase season tickets this year AND go to the games.

But you're right when it comes to wanting to go. There are a lot of casual fans that look at this team and think "meh why should I pay $35 to see a mediocre to bad product?" Diaco and the coaching staff, the team, and Manuel all need to work their butts off in order to spark the interest of the fairweather fans. In my opinion, so far they've been up to the challenge, but lets see how it goes onces the season starts. In the mean time, I will be talking up this team to everyone that will listen.

 

[John]

Season ticket holder since 2002, lots of away game/bowl games. It was very exciting in the beginning to watch this team on the rise in a major conference. Conference realignment has basically put a glass ceiling over us and margianalized our ability to be a National Power. UConn was the biggest loser in CR and there is plenty of evidence that points out a lot of the problems were our own damn fault. Until we figure it out, I will watch from home.

we were Hathawayed.

 

[Rondogg]

we were Hathawayed.

I agree. The self inflicted wounds I am referring to are: the litigious reaction to the original CR, the acrimonious relationship with BC, the hiring of Jeff Hathaway which led to RE leaving for Maryland, the way we lost to Louisville during the recent CR...I'm sure there are others, that's just off the top of my head.

 

[John]

I agree. The self inflicted wounds I am referring to are: the litigious reaction to the original CR, the acrimonious relationship with BC, the hiring of Jeff Hathaway which led to RE leaving for Maryland, the way we lost to Louisville during the recent CR...I'm sure there are others, that's just off the top of my head.

The PP hiring.

 

[Kgun7]

I’ve come to believe it’s not scandal that will bring down college athletics, but greed. How long can these numbers, fueled by increasingly unhappy fans, continue to skyrocket before they come crashing down to earth?

dish - not to split hairs ... but isn't the scandal driven by greed?

 

[HuskyHawk]

You can get around the price. As others have said there are plenty of discount and free tickets our there. It really only affects season ticket sales.

The biggest issue is entertainment value for the time commitment. It has to he seen as worth the effort. Schedule has a lot to do with this as does the game day experience both on and off the field. Tradition is another, but we don't have that generational depth and as Michigan is finding out, you can't live on tradition alone.

The bolded portion is spot on. Convenience is the name of the game for everything now. I don't go to Fenway. Costs too much, is uncomfortable, and is a difficult drive (from Franklin, MA). I can watch every game in glorious HD on my 55" set, while drinking my own, superior beer, at less than half the price. It's a damned tough sell. I will go to a Pawsox game for $10 tickets, $2 parking and slightly cheaper beer. I go to Gillette for the Pats once every two years or so, and I live 15 minutes away from it. It's a hassle, and while I enjoy it, shelling out about $200 for the ticket, parking and concessions doesn't provide a good value over watching in HD with friends at home, or at a sports bar.

As a student, I went to every UConn hoops game, almost every soccer game and many football games. I went to every Kansas home hoops games for three years and 90% of the football games. Why? It was cheap, it was fun and it was easy. Often you can walk to the event. They need to make it incredibly easy to get to the Rent from Storrs, and from anywhere else.

 

[whaler11]

I have not been to a Giants game since I got Red Zone and that is turning down free tickets, a great tailgate set up where I do no work and someone else driving.

 

[whaler11]

So if you read this thread.... any questions on the sanity of people building huge stadiums or expanding old ones?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I use to keep hamburgers and hot dogs etc. in the freezer for my nephews to have in case they get hungry when they come over to hangout or crash. Problem was/is they were too inconvenienced to take the cover off the grill, fire it up, cook... They prefer things that can be microwaved or placed quickly in the toaster oven, or even order delivery.

 

[J187Money]

So if you read this thread.... any questions on the sanity of people building huge stadiums or expanding old ones?

I think it is facts and circumstances based. If we were in the B1G we would have Wisconsin/PSU/Michigan/MSU/Nebraska coming in regularly, and there is 0% chance that isn't a sellout, even if we expand to 50-60K seats. But to expand without a conference deal? I can't see it. I think we have to have the money ready and say we will build it IF you take us. Otherwise we are just wasting money. You can make the argument that we already made the investment and to not invest more would be to throw away the initial investment, but if I were running that business I wouldn't take the chance. Since I'm a taxpayer and I think taxes are already too high? Go for it. At least I'll feel better

 

[Nostical]

What all these posts are basically saying is that it's all about desire. I agree. And the degree of that desire is a function of "buzz". Hardcore fans already have the desire to attend the games. They'll make the time and find the money. Who we need to engage are the casual fans, fans perhaps of football generally, college in particular or UConn especially--but simply aren't that diehard. And we need to get to them early in the season because casual fans without a real reason to attend won't sit through the howling cold of November games---unless there's a palatable buzz about the program. That's true of most events. Whether its a lecture, a concert-- whatever. If the speaker is controversial or a bit famous, more folks will seek out the event. If the concert performer is a headliner and it's well publicized, it will likely be an attendance success.

We need a buzz to envelop UConn football. That starts with the coach. Great start. Probably the best ever at creating interest simply from his style and demeanor. Now what we need is a bunch of wins, an exciting brand of football and a few star players---and the Rent can become the place to be on Saturdays. Advertising and promotion must be juiced up. It goes without saying that our venue needs to be inviting. The Rent gets better every year. Tailgating is excellent--but hours need to be extended. Parking is adequate and access is convenient. Concessions could be improved. Marching Band is excellent but could be better utilized. I don't mind the Kiss-cam and the ads. They pay the bills. But folks need to be in their seats. The place looks empy and disengaged when people are standing in the alcoves and end zones--sorry Chin. And lets be careful about video board replays of controversial calls. They become much more problematic as greater amounts of alcohol are consumed. A bad call that costs us the game may give rise to unnecessary roughness penalties in the stands. Not sure the folks that control things want to sanction that. Maybe smartphones can help.

There are lots of good ideas around. We can grow this program. We have the people in place today in positions of authority and influence that are vastly superior to what we had a few short years ago. So, despite that cautionary tale from Michigan, I'm actually optimistic about the Huskies situation--even before a power 5 conference affiliation is even factored in.

 

[whaler11]

I think it is facts and circumstances based. If we were in the B1G we would have Wisconsin/PSU/Michigan/MSU/Nebraska coming in regularly, and there is 0% chance that isn't a sellout, even if we expand to 50-60K seats. But to expand without a conference deal? I can't see it. I think we have to have the money ready and say we will build it IF you take us. Otherwise we are just wasting money. You can make the argument that we already made the investment and to not invest more would be to throw away the initial investment, but if I were running that business I wouldn't take the chance. Since I'm a taxpayer and I think taxes are already too high? Go for it. At least I'll feel better

I meant across sports in general, not Rentschler specifically.

But in East Hartford We'd sell out a bigger building for 5-6 Big 10 teams we'd see on average one or two a year.

Maryland was just here.... didn't
really need any excess capacity that day. Rutgers?

The risk of being in the Big 10 is that UConn has an Indiana level program and you wouldn't need the 40k capacity that exists now if they go 4-8 every year.

I agree though - build it and see what happens - the state is already a fiscal nightmare what's a few hundy million more.

 

[Doggie Style]

You know, I really appreciate this thread. I have had discussions about the high ticket prices before with posters like Whaler and such, and we're clearly on the same side of that issue. But I didn't realize that the majority of this board feels "brutalized" by the high prices. I felt bad in a way that I am a "3 game package" guy instead of a season ticket guy, because I have a one-income family. And as most of you know, I would remove a testicle for this school.

Consider this: We are the most fanatical of all the UConn Husky fans by about 1,000x! If we have a hard time stomaching the ticket prices, how on earth are we supposed to draw the casual fan?!? How on earth are we supposed to draw the family of 4, where the two kids grow up even more passionate about the team and school than their parents were?!?

This is the short-sighted behavior that will crush us over the long term as a program. I hope that someone from the administration is lurking...

Dan u r spot on. This is your best post yet IMO

 

[J187Money]

And as silly as this seems - people LOVED when Danny O was great, because he was "ours" - if Arkeel can step up and be a nationally recognized NFL caliber player from Ansonia - it will go a LONG way to bringing buzz back to the rent.

 

[Doggie Style]

You can't sell out games without a large season ticket base. There isn't a single program on the future schedules who is moving 5 figures of single game tickets.

The parking lot trade further enforces that face value is out of whack with the market.

JMoney may be right that lowering them may prove a mistake because for many games you literally can't give them away.

C'mon Whaler... Tell me that you don't remember the 85-86 Adams Division playoffs here in Hartford??? You could not GIVE Whaler tix away that year until the Whale went on a SICK run starting in March and created "Whaler Mania!!" When we Bit*h slapped the Div Champs in the Nordiques that year in the first round. This was much like the 95' Lady Husky run as well as our NIT run which started this party back in the late 80's! These events changed the dynamic of fan support in this fair weather fan base here in CT!! At that point the Whale only really sold out when the Bruins/Rangers/Maybe the Isles and Flyers came to town depending on the day of the week. That run created a desire for access to see the winner that was the Whale, who was always the underdog until that time. We all know what happened with Claude "" Lemieux in double OT of game 7 at the Forum so lets move on. Anyway, It created a hype that everyone here in CT wanted to be a part of. I will admit that I was truly Blessed as a child, to be in a position where my family owned season tix from start to finish of the Whaler years here in CT. However, I STILL slept out for playoff tickets for both the Nordiques series as well as the Canadiens series that year! Why was that? Because I wanted to be part of the hype and be part of something special. I ended up selling those tix for face value to friends who wanted to go and those days were some of the last times the Civic Center shook to its core during an event due to the fan excitement. Long story short, make the tix affordable now and enjoy the return on investment when we get out of this $how of a conference and those people who enjoyed their experience prior, will be willing to anti up down the road. My point is this.... We really don't have any right to charge a $1500 seat donation prior to buying 4 chairback seats to the casual fan based on our performance and conference situation. As a result, most of our games look empty and generally like to those watching our game on tv. We need to make these events more accessable to the family of 4+ so that we can build our fan base to where we need it when we get into the B1G. Then we can jack the $$ and people will then b able to justify paying large prices to see B!G time schools over Tulane and Memphis.