Orange Bowl ticket sales going poorly

[nelsonmuntz]

The best traveling fan base in the ACC and WVU are not going to sell half their allocation. VTech is whiffing badly. Each of those three schools is going to write a check for over $1MM to play a postseason exhibition game.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/12/14/orange-bowl-ticket-sales-going-poorly-for-both-teams/

Why do we even have these games? The schools get killed financially, or just get wounded on the dozens of other bowl games where smaller ticket allocations are not sold out. Why bother? Every dollar for a ticket guarantee is a dollar that could be spent on the school or at least reduce the funding needed from the state.

 

[freescooter]

Largely a self inflicted wounds. In the distant past, going to a bowl was a reward for an excellent season or at least for winning your conference. Now it is a reward for mediocrity. How many 6-6 or 7-5 teams are bowling this year? How many 6thor 7th place teams? How excited are people going to be about spending a few thousand buck to go to someplace like Birmingham Alabama to watch a 6-6 team play a 7-5 mid-major? Add to that the BCS nonsense. At one time several bowl games potentially had an impact on the national championship. Now only one matters. the BCS has actually devalued its own games. What difference does it make who wins the Orange Bowl? or the Cotton Bowl?

Finally you have the schedule. When every bowl took place between roughly Christmas and New Years, it was relatively easy for people to take time off and incorporate the trip into their holiday plans. By re-scheduling a bunch of games in relatively distant locations for the week AFTER the holidays, when the whole work world is getting back and cranking up after the Christmas Holidays, lots of folks either can't, or more likey don't want to take even more time off just as things are ramping up again in their real lives.

 

[mattp]

even the Gator bowl has two 6-6 teams. that used to be a major bowl, now it hosts two teams with a combined losing record against 1A opponents. who gives a flying crap if Urban Meyer will be coaching against his old team when both teams are garbage. as much as a lot of people think we should eliminate some of the lousier bowls, i'm starting to see very little difference between the BCS bowls and the beef o brady. at least the lesser bowls still generally put in the team that deserves to be there rather than who's more popular

 

[1999.2004.2011]

This is the exact reason for a playoff. The amount of money lost by all schools involved (except for the bowls of course), especially state schools (funded with taxpayer money) should all push for a playoff system where money wont be lost on useless bowl games

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Clemson hosting West Virginia for a first round playoff game would sell out in 30 minutes, even at double the normal ticket price. TV rights would be 3x all the bowls combined. And every nickel would go to the schools, instead of these stupid bowl committees.

 

[BHusky]

The BCS bowls are a joke and some are run by very unethical people as we have come to find out.

I think it is ridiculous how the bowl mandates that teams purchase such a high amount of tickets which are priced at face value. Quite honestly, unless it is the championship game or a major school (i.e., size or tradition), then it is a huge challenge to sell your allotment. Then factor in the ticket agencies who are selling the same tickets for a fraction of the price and it makes it even more tough for the schools. The Orange bowl has tickets online for less than $30 and I bet those same seats through participating schools are noticably higher because of what the bowls made them pay for them.

Last year we got completely screwed with Oregon/Auburn fans having to buy additional bowl tickets to get priority seating at the NC game. Then dumping them for next to nothing in the secondary market. Tough for UConn to sell a $100 ticket that is on Stubhub for $10.

 

[FDNY99]

I have no sympathy for the Orange Bowl after we got sent to Fiesta and Stanford went to the Orange last year. I bought my tickets through UConn for the Fiesta bowl...BUT I think people who went through StubHub to fit trip into a budget were VERY smart! Anyone at that game will tell you here were a LOT more UConn fans there than the school sold tickets. Think of how many more fans we would have had if we had gone to the Orange Bowl.

 

[businesslawyer]

I have no sympathy for the Orange Bowl after we got sent to Fiesta and Stanford went to the Orange last year. I bought my tickets through UConn for the Fiesta bowl...BUT I think people who went through StubHub to fit trip into a budget were VERY smart! Anyone at that game will tell you here were a LOT more UConn fans there than the school sold tickets. Think of how many more fans we would have had if we had gone to the Orange Bowl.

You're really mad at the Orange for taking an 11-1 team over an 8-4 team? Because it was inconvenient to us? A bit harsh, don't you think?

 

[06029]

The best traveling fan base in the ACC and WVU are not going to sell half their allocation. VTech is whiffing badly. Each of those three schools is going to write a check for over $1MM to play a postseason exhibition game.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/12/14/orange-bowl-ticket-sales-going-poorly-for-both-teams/

Why do we even have these games? The schools get killed financially, or just get wounded on the dozens of other bowl games where smaller ticket allocations are not sold out. Why bother? Every dollar for a ticket guarantee is a dollar that could be spent on the school or at least reduce the funding needed from the state.

Correction. VT will not write a check. The ACC covers the costs of the tickets.

 

[FDNY99]

Not mad at all...I was going either way. I guess I should have said I have no sympathy for any BCS bowls and ticket sales. If selling tickets and making money are the main reason you're in business it makes sense to maximize your product...which means taking the geographically closer school over the school that is known for it's horrendous fan base travel for bowl games. Besides we were being picked by everyone and their brother for the Orange Bowl last year for that exact reason.
Is the BE the only AQ conference that doesn't foot the bill for unsold BCS bowl tickets?

 

[Adios]

With the way the economy is going, I wouldn't be surprised if the bowl system becomes a thing of the past and a playoff is actually established.

 

[huskysupporter]

Tell me about it. I sold two $200 seats for $75 each today.

 

[RS9999X]

The best traveling fan base in the ACC and WVU are not going to sell half their allocation. VTech is whiffing badly. Each of those three schools is going to write a check for over $1MM to play a postseason exhibition game.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/12/14/orange-bowl-ticket-sales-going-poorly-for-both-teams/

Why do we even have these games? The schools get killed financially, or just get wounded on the dozens of other bowl games where smaller ticket allocations are not sold out. Why bother? Every dollar for a ticket guarantee is a dollar that could be spent on the school or at least reduce the funding needed from the state.

20 of the bowls pay more than $1.2 million per team.

These range from the Belkin (Louisville), Meineke and Liberty (Cincy) which pay $1.7 mil per team and the Pinstripe (Rutgers) paying $1.8 mil to the $18 mil a team BCS bowls. Adding Houston and Boise gives the Big East a chance to keep those middling bowls.

11 of the 15 pity bowls are in warmer weather (no snow issues) where pro football is scarce.

Do I agree they'd do better as home stadium bowls scheduled from 12/8 - 12/23 before the quality bowls kick off? A UConn game yes likely. The problem with exam weeks, cold weather, kids home for the Holidays. Would FIU (8-4) Marshall (6-6) do better at either home instead of Beef O Brady St Pete's?

 

[TRest]

20 of the bowls pay more than $1.2 million per team.

These range from the Belkin (Louisville), Meineke and Liberty (Cincy) which pay $1.7 mil per team and the Pinstripe (Rutgers) paying $1.8 mil to the $18 mil a team BCS bowls. Adding Houston and Boise gives the Big East a chance to keep those middling bowls.

11 of the 15 pity bowls are in warmer weather (no snow issues) where pro football is scarce.

Do I agree they'd do better as home stadium bowls scheduled from 12/8 - 12/23 before the quality bowls kick off? A UConn game yes likely. The problem with exam weeks, cold weather, kids home for the Holidays. Would FIU (8-4) Marshall (6-6) do better at either home instead of Beef O Brady St Pete's?

The real question is why is there a bowl featuring FIU vs Marshall? Did either/both win their conference?

 

[mattp]

they're playing because someone wants to host the game. you have to stop thinking of bowls as a reward or accomplishment and realize they're just exhibition games(and that includes BCS bowls). like Rocky versus Hulk Hogan (aka Thunderlips) in rocky 3. theoretically the towns make money from visitors and usually $ some is donated to various charities. i hate how they claim these big payouts, but if you subtract the required ticket allotments the payout is generally reduced to pretty close to zero. $1.2 million sounds great until the school eats 10k tickets at $100 a pop. now you're down to $200k which won't even cover team travel expenses.

 

[Husky68]

Not mad at all...I was going either way. I guess I should have said I have no sympathy for any BCS bowls and ticket sales. If selling tickets and making money are the main reason you're in business it makes sense to maximize your product...which means taking the geographically closer school over the school that is known for it's horrendous fan base travel for bowl games. Besides we were being picked by everyone and their brother for the Orange Bowl last year for that exact reason.
Is the BE the only AQ conference that doesn't foot the bill for unsold BCS bowl tickets?

Quote from BL you are responding to:
"You're really mad at the Orange for taking an 11-1 team over an 8-4 team? Because it was inconvenient to us? A bit harsh, don't you think?"

You said what you mean: "I have no sympathy for the Orange Bowl ..."

BL responds to his own version of what a poster says, taking parts of sentences or making up what you were thinking - like here being "mad at the Orange" or "Because it was inconvenient to us?". Only someone being disingenous would take "no sympathy" and turn it into "really mad" (not just mad but reaaaaaaaally mad), "bit harsh". I had no problem understanding that you were "Not mad at all ...".

 

[businesslawyer]

Quote from BL you are responding to:
"You're really mad at the Orange for taking an 11-1 team over an 8-4 team? Because it was inconvenient to us? A bit harsh, don't you think?"

You said what you mean: "I have no sympathy for the Orange Bowl ..."

BL responds to his own version of what a poster says, taking parts of sentences or making up what you were thinking - like here being "mad at the Orange" or "Because it was inconvenient to us?". Only someone being disingenous would take "no sympathy" and turn it into "really mad" (not just mad but reaaaaaaaally mad), "bit harsh". I had no problem understanding that you were "Not mad at all ...".

Is English your second language? "Not really mad" means not actually mad. There was no reason to read "really" as an adjective modifying FDNY's word "mad." And, since FDNY seems capable of having discussions with me, you don't find it sad that you have nothing better to do with your time than to take personally something that he didn't read as an attack and I didn't mean that way?

What a long off season this promises to be.

 

[husky91]

I've gone to the Orange Bowl 4 years in a row. The game blows, the stadium is 1/3rd filled, the half time acts blow except this year is Train, who is a good band.

In all seriousness, with the exception of the BCS Champ and The Rose, every other bowl is stupid. Maybe the Sugar because you can get banged up on Bourbon before and after. And possibly Alamo just because of how awesome a party area the Riverwalk is.

The best traveling fan base in the ACC and WVU are not going to sell half their allocation. VTech is whiffing badly. Each of those three schools is going to write a check for over $1MM to play a postseason exhibition game.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/12/14/orange-bowl-ticket-sales-going-poorly-for-both-teams/

Why do we even have these games? The schools get killed financially, or just get wounded on the dozens of other bowl games where smaller ticket allocations are not sold out. Why bother? Every dollar for a ticket guarantee is a dollar that could be spent on the school or at least reduce the funding needed from the state.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The real question is why is there a bowl featuring FIU vs Marshall? Did either/both win their conference?

No, but ESPN will pay the sponsor a decent rights fee and FIU and Marshall are willing to guarantee 5k tickets for the privilege of playing each other. Eliminate all the bowls.