Where are the people to buy 15,000 more season tickets?

[dsouth]

How do we sell 40,000 season tickets? Can it be done? Where will all the people come from? According to the 2000 census there were approximately 456,000 people in the greater Des Moines area. According the Des Moines chamber info that figure is over 520,000. Central Iowa is over 700,000 people. Over 25% of the states population is within an hour's drive of Ames. Last year Waukee added over 400 kids to their school system. Forbes magazine ranked Des Moines as the 4th best city in the U.S. to open a business.

According to the 2000 statistics over 63,000 kids between the ages of 10 and 19 are at home, and nearly 3/4 or the people were between the ages of 10 and 65. (Census data http://data.iowadatacenter.org/DemographicProfiles/MetroArea/metroalldp2000.pdf)

My point is without getting buried in the statistics, the fastest growing area in the state is Central Iowa and the economy is diversified and strong. 1/5 of the population of greater Des Moines is between 20 and 45. Des Moines has been structuring itself as a place with a lot or activities. There are major employers in the financial services and insurance industries. They also recruit in states outside of Iowa. The people working there after college here have disposable income and have discretionary time, tend to be healthy and enjoy sports. This is a growing trend in Central Iowa. Projections of the states population thru 2030 is for Iowa's population to stay relatively even. People are moving from rural areas to the metro areas, and there is no reason Iowa State can't benefit from this.

ISU couldn’t sell many more season tickets than they were simply because of single game requests for tickets for the ISU vs. Iowa game. To increase much over 30,000 season tickets you have to take the Iowa game out of the equation (props to Jon Miller for mentioning thi on his show). This has absolutely nothing to do with U of I. There is a large contingent of ISU alumni in central Iowa who aren’t season ticket holders and there is a definite market to sell an additional 10,000 to 15,000 season tickets immediately.

Apologies for the disjointed rambling, but the numbers are there to absolutely reach these goals, and next year. It is simply marketing to the right individuals, and we are in the dead of winter with ISU football the topic of conversation all across the state. Be positive, these tickets aren’t going to be sold to u or I people, if they are, they will most likely be hillside seats for $150. Hillside season tickets, wouldn’t affect the ability to put more single game season tickets for sale. Have a little faith people, and buy a ticket or two and tell a friend to do the same! This is the start of something big.

 

[ISUFan22]

I can almost guarantee you two things...

- We won't sell out the season tickets.
- The ISU-Iowa game will be sold out.

 

[dsouth]

I think there is a great chance to sell another 15,000 season tickets. not even an evil sellout?

 

[DaddyMac]

Deace has laid this number down several times this week and I've heard it before elsewhere.

There are 60,000 ISU alumns living in the Greater Des Moines area

60,000

I'm one of them and have 2 tickets. One of my friends who I tailgate with is another alum and has 2 tickets. My in-laws are both alums and have 2. Another couple we tailgate with are both alums and have two tickets. That's 6 alums accounting for 8 season tickets and I'm sure we're hardly unique as a group having more than 1 season ticket per alum.

Add to that the remainder of our tailgate crew travel in from Omaha, so they're not in that 60K number. Another guy is a single who has 4 tickets. If I had to guess, I'd say that of that 60K in DSM, not even 10K get season tickets - and probably far lower than that.

Simple fact is, it's damn near disgraceful as a fanbase that we didn't blow away 40,000 season tickets years ago.

But we won't surpass 40K. However I'm really rethinking my expectation and starting to believe we'll see a fairly significant jump.

 

[ISUFan22]

I think there is a great chance to sell another 15,000 season tickets. not even an evil sellout?

Are the tickets ill-tempered? :growl5cj:

I think we'll see a good jump in sales, I would just be completely shocked if we sold out the season tickets. The people are there yet not everyone can afford them (even at the old prices) and some are not yet ready to pay that much.

Plus, very few teams sell out their season ticket allotments, I think. It would be a gigantic accomplishment for sure. One that would have Jamie Pollard smiling from ear-to-ear for months.

I just don't think we're there yet.

 

[dsouth]

"Let me tell you a little story about a man named Sh! Sh! even before you start. That was a pre-emptive "sh!" Now, I have a whole bag of "sh!" with your name on it."

in the des moines area, i would disagree with you. the average household income in the greater des moines area is 64,000 a year. that is above the state average. there are many cyclone fans that $350 a year is a lot. but 4 friends or two couples going together to buy 2 tickets could alternate games and feel a part of what is going on. there are also a lot of non-commited cyclone or hawkeyes who are sport fans that $350 isn't a lot.

 

[ISUFan22]

If you listen to JP, even he doesn't expect to sell out the season tickets. He does expect improvements in numbers though.

 

[dsouth]

I am not speaking for JP. I just think that it is real possible to do it.

 

[JRE1975]

I agree with DaddyMac, there are a lot of people out of your statistical sample that should make it more than possible to see the increase. In our tailgating group of 20 there are all season tickets and only 6 ISU grads in the group. I think we will get over 40,000.

I buy 8 season tickets and will buy 2-4 more because I usually buy that many single game tickets anyway for grandkids and people that work for me.

 

[twojman]

Remember, it is not just the price of the ticket but the total cost that really gets people. If it were not for the periphery items I would have been buying tickets since I graduated in 2000. I did share some in 2001 and that was alright.

All that being said, my friends and I are going to get tickets this year. We are probably only going to get Cy's Pack though as we are all young, not rich and have very young children. Hope to see some of you there!

 

[DaddyMac]

We are probably only going to get Cy's Pack though as we are all young, not rich and have very young children. Hope to see some of you there!

Nothing wrong with that whatsoever. All that matter is that you can make it happen. Get yourself started and you'll find it hard to give up. I wish more would do that. And it's for just that very reason that Jamie is creating more of these tiers of tickets, instead of the old flat rate.

Frankly, as much as I hear about all the Iowa fans snapping up the $150 and $195 tickets, I think they're going to be hard to come by. The $150's are hillsides and the $195 are only 8 section so a few thousand people. These ideas of 10K Iowa fans buying the cheap tickets is ludicrous because there aren't that many of them near as I can tell.

Doesn't matter how, but people need to find a way to get season tickets. It's not for everybody granted. But it sometimes amazes me how few people actually do get them. After the my last post above - I went the other direction and started thinking of the scores of ISU alumns I know who don't get tickets. I used to tailgate with 4 guys from my house, who each had two sets and no longer go. All because of family issues - and that's fine. But beyond them, I can't even count the ISU people I know who don't get tickets, how many don't even go or go the cheapest possible way they can.


I couldn't agree with you more about the total cost. I've been preaching that very thing the past couple days and getting praised and slammed for it. It's very much a factor for me as well. Fortunately, I got a jump on the taxes and that looks good, and got the word on my bonus yesterday - so it's still not a pretty financial outlook, but a hell of alot better than when I opened that form Saturday night :wink0st:

 

[cyclonenum1]

We ALL should be shooting to blow past 40,000. The cost is not excessive. Our fan base has to have some faith and put some "skin in the game".

If you are waiting for ISU to have a great football program before you will support it financially with donations and by buying tickets then we will never have a great football program.

 

[Stormin]

I live two hours away and farm. Extremely difficult to get away at times during football season. I bought season tickets for the first time. I see myself as one who is buying into what Pollard is selling. Step up to the plate and buy something. If things are that extremely tight financially, CONSIDER selling your Iowa ticket, but try to sell it to a fellow Cyclone first. There will be NO single ticket sales to the Iowa game. I really think we should send a message that we Cyclone fans WANT a great program. WE WANT great facilities. Defeatist Hawk fans want us to get all p*ssed off at Pollard and boycott buying season tickets. That would be the worst response you could do. The best response is to buy season tickets.

One other thing that Pollard mentioned that I thought was interesting. He mentioned that some who donated back in the days when JTS was built received lifetime seats as long as they bought season tickets every year. I'm sure that there are many of those and now they have to pony up a little more. Their choice seats DO NOT require the normal NCC giving to get those seats. This sort of short sighted thinking is what has hampered ISU in the past. And continues to hamper us today. My hope is that the Cyclone Nation responds in a positive way. That they buy into this revitalization plan and buy season tickets.

 

[SilverCyclone]

... I'm 2 of the 15,000... after hearing all this cool commotion... I've decided to be a first time season ticket holder and I actuallybreside in NYC... I plan to buy 2 *350 and fly out for at least the EIU game and I WILL GUARANTEE that there will be some ROWDY Cyclone fans sitting in those seats when I'm not there...

GO CYCLONES !!! BLEED CARDINAL AND GOLD !!!
-----------------------------------------------------------
.... after being a New York Jet season ticket holder for the last 17 years.... the ISU Kool-Aid goes down much, much easier....(*trust me on this one*)...buuurrrr-ppp :baffled5wh:

 

[pulse]

Deace has laid this number down several times this week and I've heard it before elsewhere.

There are 60,000 ISU alumns living in the Greater Des Moines area

60,000

I've never had the 'pleasure' of listening to this guy, but from what I've heard, he's a pretty dim bulb. There are about 20,000 ISU grads around the Des Moines area, not 60,000. There are about 200,000 living ISU graduates, and the state of Iowa only has around 78,000 of them. These are graduates though, not fans in general. As someone said earlier, only about 6 out of 20 people he tailgates with are grads. I know season ticket holders who aren't grads either. We all know football Saturdays aren't just about a game, they are an event! Its a great way to gather and hang with friends/family that you may not normally see often. For that reason alone I think its worthwhile.

 

[CyCy]

With all these new fans with new money, why isn't our basketball attendance higher.

We couldn't sell out Kansas last Saturday with ticket prices as low as $16, yet there are supposedly thousands of new fans that are willing to spend $350 for football season tickets.

I would have more confidence in the football ticket plan if we were selling out the basketball arena for all the remaining conference games.

 

[DaddyMac]

Huh, you're right. Knew I should've double checked that fact. But it's a fair bit higher than 20K as well.

If I'm not mistaken, the "Golden Circle" (which is what he actually referred to) is considered to be all that is within an hour's drive of Des Moines. Pretty broad stroke, but it does include the metro, Ames, Marshalltown, Newton etc.

Looking at the NCC membership by county, that's easily in excess of 35K, maybe 40K. But nowhere near 60K - you're right.

But the point really stands although the math doesn't add up as nicely.

When we started tailgating - it was a couple guys from my house. At that time, I don't think any of use lived within 2 hours of each other - right Ned? (WDM, Carrol, Minneapolis, Bettendorf, Chicago/Minneapolis). It was a great reason to get together a few times in the fall and often we "hosted" a number of other guys we went to school with. You're right, it's an event and one that people really ought take better advantage of.

We're all about people help'in people here.

 

[tube1]

As someone said earlier, only about 6 out of 20 people he tailgates with are grads. I know season ticket holders who aren't grads either.

Woah! I thought all ISU fans were grads. Isn't that why our fanbase is superior to the pukeyes? Now I'm being told this isn't so? Ouch - my brain hurts.

 

[dmclone]

Des Moines is key to growth. This is why it disappoints me when people slam having that one basketball game a year at Wells Fargo. There is more money/population in the Des Moines area but ISU doesn't seem to focus on the area for some reason. Why not do more partnering with the big businesses downtown? You probably have 30K people that work downtown who make twice as much as the average Iowan.

 

[CY ST8T]

Where is the 20,000? First I'd say 5000 are going to be Hawkeyes buying tickets and reselling the extras. Then I would say at least 5000 to 10000 are going to be people who have always talked about getting tickets, but now that they are hearing Pollard's vision realize it is time to step up. and the last 5000 are going to be people who see last minute promotions for like $125 tickets in the corners of the top of the deck and such. The mixture will be both Cyclones and Hawkeye fans.