UConn basketball fans decry ‘outrageous’ new ticket prices

[Aluminny69]

UConn basketball fans decry ‘outrageous’ new ticket prices

SPORTS//UCONN UConn basketball fans decry ‘outrageous’ new ticket prices. Athletic director responds: ‘I do hear them’ Mike Anthony/David BorgesApril 21, 2022 Connecticut and Providence tip off in a sell-out arena in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, i...

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[CONN78SEJ]

UConn basketball fans decry ‘outrageous’ new ticket prices

SPORTS//UCONN UConn basketball fans decry ‘outrageous’ new ticket prices. Athletic director responds: ‘I do hear them’ Mike Anthony/David BorgesApril 21, 2022 Connecticut and Providence tip off in a sell-out arena in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, i...

docs.google.com

Gov Lamont needs to make these ticket prices tax deductible.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The root of all this can be found in a topic forbidden on this board.

 

[VaConnFan11]

I think some people forget that College Athletics is a business. The goal of every business is to maximize revenue. Prices will continue to go up until the demand slows down. The average person will eventually get priced out. It is the sad state of just about all sport's leagues.

 

[Beemer]

Here's a thought- I'm sure that like any department there is a lot of waste. Before sticking it to the fans, how about making a serious effort to investigate and reduce costs wherever possible.

Oh hell no that is too much like real work.... /sarcasm

 

[sun]

Sure the fans are paying too much.
And there's probably a lot of reasons for it.

But the students are also required to fund much of the UConn athletic expenses through hidden fees.

Each UConn student pays $2000/year for sports

A CT Mirror article states that UConn students pay over $2000/year to fund intercollegiate athletic programs. And since students need to borrow the money it becomes student loan debt. With CT having a budget surplus, why shouldn't the state of CT pay the costs through the general fund? UConn...

the-boneyard.com

 

[SVCBeercats]

Here's a thought- I'm sure that like any department there is a lot of waste. Before sticking it to the fans, how about making a serious effort to investigate and reduce costs wherever possible.

Oh hell no that is too much like real work.... /sarcasm

OK! All this money must be judiciously used. So when is the next absolutely needed team trip to Italy? Geno's homesickness must be helped. Talk about a waste of money.

 

[sun]

OK! All this money must be judiciously used. So when is the next absolutely needed team trip to Italy? Geno's homesickness must be helped. Talk about a waste of money.

"The trip is being funded through private donations."

UConn women's basketball team heads to Italy for exhibitions

UConn women's basketball team heads off on 10-day tour of Italy for exhibition games

www.usatoday.com

"The team is taking a trip to Italy this month, allowing them to start practicing two months before everybody else."
And UConn also had a lot of new players on the team that year.

Italy Trip Gives UConn Women’s Basketball Bonding Time On and Off The Court

The Huskies are headed on a team trip to Italy for four games in August.

www.theuconnblog.com

 

[fireford]

In case we've forgotten where a good chunk of this money will be going to the tune of $11M:

Kevin Ollie, former Uconn men’s basketball coach, wins arbitration case - Sports Illustrated

They ruled that the school improperly fired the former men’s basketball coach and must pay him more than $11 million.

www.si.com

 

[CTrefugee]

UConn basketball fans decry ‘outrageous’ new ticket prices

SPORTS//UCONN UConn basketball fans decry ‘outrageous’ new ticket prices. Athletic director responds: ‘I do hear them’ Mike Anthony/David BorgesApril 21, 2022 Connecticut and Providence tip off in a sell-out arena in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, i...

docs.google.com

Does not seem out of line to me. $800 for two people doesn't buy much entertainment these days. This is especially true for sports.
In addition, Gampel is not exactly a big arena.

 

[visitingcock]

Comparison:

GAMECOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET PRICE INCREASE
Floor Seating (78 seats)	Increase from $470 to $565	Increase from $31.33 per game to $37.67	Average increase of $6.34 per game
Premier Seating (292 seats)	Increase from $270 to $325	Increase from $18.00 per game to $21.67	Average increase of $3.67 per game
Lower 1 (3,338 seats)	Increase from $70 to $200	Increase from $4.67 per game to $13.33	Average increase of $8.66 per game
Lower 2 (4,424 seats)	Increase from $70 to $100	Increase from $4.67 per game to $6.67	Average increase of $2.00 per game
Upper Reserved (876 seats)	Increase from $45 to $85	Increase from $3.00 per game to $5.67	Average increase of $2.67 per game
Upper GA (5,776 seats)	Increase from $45 to $55	Increase from $3.00 per game to $3.67	Average increase of $0.67 per game

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

The root of all this can be found in a topic forbidden on this board.

Actually, the root of it in UConn's case is pretty simple. Revenue - costs equal large negative number, where can we increase revenue. A lot of the costs are fixed, salaries (which are both a significant part and (IMHO) too large in college athletics), athlete support including scholarships, etc. In some schools endowments and gifts cover a lot of expenses, of course, but UConn (and Rutgers, and in certain ways, Arizona) are not the only schools to be losing money on athletics, passing those expenses on through ticket prices, student fees, and in some cases taxes.

The only thing odd about the UConn price increases might be how the mandatory donations work, which I don't know. Donations here in Arizona give you seating priority, but you don't pay a donation when you buy your tickets, as you used to, due to tax laws. They rolled the old "donation" into the seat price and count the entire ticket cost towards your priority points which I "think" they figure separate from donor levels.

 

[DrummerDee]

I don't see a problem with the prices. We will be season holders again. Damn, you can't go to the movies for much less than that.

 

[JJTB]

Maybe Edsall will help defray some of the cost. After all, coach 2 games over 2 seasons and earn over 2 million?

 

[Zinethar]

You need to remember that the coaches salaries you read about do not come totally from the State salaries. Last time I knew Geno's official salary was $500K, not a small amount to me but little to what he made. The rest came from donors are other outside compensation.

 

[Zinethar]

I totally understand feeling screwed after having it good for a while. I wish I could go often enough to warrant season tickets so I checked the prices to see what the fuss was all about. I may have misunderstood that the season tickets cost separately for the 2 locations which had identical prices so I assumed to have both venues you had to pay that amount twice. That would mean for the best tickets in the house the total/seat would be $4700 (court sideline) or it seems the average season number of games would be 15 (it was 13 this season not counting playoffs due to schedule changes) That comes out to $313.73/game. Not really in my price bracket for all but a rare ticket. Mid level seats would be $616 (lower sideline - what I would normally want) or $41.07/game about half of what I'd have to pay for most entertainment tickets. On a budget - Upper reserved w/seatback are $388 or $25.87 to see the best college women's team in America - to me a real bargain. Of course your Mileage and budget may vary and most people would buy more than 1. I've only ever been to one live game at the Mohegan Sun and had 4 tickets that cost me over $200 a pop! It was worth it to me to finally see a live game experience (fortunately the casino wound up picking up the whole package for me .

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I totally understand feeling screwed after having it good for a while. I wish I could go often enough to warrant season tickets so I checked the prices to see what the fuss was all about. I may have misunderstood that the season tickets cost separately for the 2 locations which had identical prices so I assumed to have both venues you had to pay that amount twice. That would mean for the best tickets in the house the total/seat would be $4700 (court sideline) or it seems the average season number of games would be 15 (it was 13 this season not counting playoffs due to schedule changes) That comes out to $313.73/game. Not really in my price bracket for all but a rare ticket. Mid level seats would be $616 (lower sideline - what I would normally want) or $41.07/game about half of what I'd have to pay for most entertainment tickets. On a budget - Upper reserved w/seatback are $388 or $25.87 to see the best college women's team in America - to me a real bargain. Of course your Mileage and budget may vary and most people would buy more than 1. I've only ever been to one live game at the Mohegan Sun and had 4 tickets that cost me over $200 a pop! It was worth it to me to finally see a live game experience (fortunately the casino wound up picking up the whole package for me .

For one of the best teams in America - fans of some other teams might quibble with saying "the" best - I don't think the charges are unreasonable, particularly for a team in the Northeast. Rutgers - which was never anywhere near as successful as UConn - was expensive 10 years ago; for good seats that we had, about 7 rows behind the bench, in the range of about $300 for a season, around $25 per game.

However, our floor seats at Arizona, the entire row - are $450 per seat for the season, about $30 a game. Very reasonable value, I think.

As to your comment about the prices over $100 per game, you are correct - the occasional concert, because we liked being towards the front on the floor. Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Elton John the performers. Over $500 a seat for the concerts we attended - but less than one a year, not a season. We did some floor seats (it is 3 rows deep) for a couple Phoenix Mercury games and they were pricy, season tix for those seats are not in my budget, although other sections are not so bad.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

When something reaches your ceiling...don't buy it. And yes...someone will buy the tickets even if you don't. Problem is people will go into debt to buy it, cry broke...and blame someone else. I've always been able to meet my needs. My wants? Not so much. But, no complaints here.

 

[CTBballfan243]

UConn is not in a P5 conference. UConn does not make P5 media rights $$$$. UConn needs money to be able to compete with the top programs in country. If UConn Nation want their athletic programs to compete in big time athletics then you have to step up and put your money where your mouth is and pony up the $$$$. It’s really a simple concept.

 

[FairView]

I wish I was in the front row and the tickets were free. But the top women's basketball program in the world costs money. I think the tickets are an amazing value. I may eventually get to the point where I can't afford them after retirement, I'll see fewer games as a treat. That's the way everything is in life. If the market can't support the cost, UConn will need to adjust, but I don't think cost will keep season ticket holders away.
Go Huskies.

 

[Monte]

You need to remember that the coaches salaries you read about do not come totally from the State salaries. Last time I knew Geno's official salary was $500K, not a small amount to me but little to what he made. The rest came from donors are other outside compensation.

Geno's present contract goes for 5 years(2020-2025) for a total of

$15, 000,000.

 

[CTrefugee]

Before Geno, I recall people asking me why I would go to school in Alaska. He and Calhoun put UCONN on the map. Geno has kept it there.

 

[cwaduke]

Unfortunately, I have seen my last husky game. Way too pricey for average people

 

[DrummerDee]

And yet, most fans think nothing of drving through Starbucks or DD for that 5 dollar cup of coffee every day.