FB "mini-packs" (3 or 4 game)
- Thread starter NWIAclone
- Start date
I don't blame it on all Pollard but they did just redo the seating privileges. IMO, the problem is that there isn't enough middle-tier donors. We have the big ones, and we have the $100 ones, and we sell the non-donor tickets well. That leaves openings in the $250 and $500 range.
When those seats are not getting sold, while the Cy's Pack and End Zone are, that leaves the open seats in the donor sections. When doing mini packs and singles, you need to sell the available seats.
I am not really sure if there's a lot the dept can do. They need to raise money, so I can't see reducing the donations. All that can really be done is to win and hope that winning sells more season tickets.
That said, I'd rather have single ticket holders sitting in donor sections to have more fans, than to have fans sitting in the corners with seas of empties in the middle...
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
It's a tough balance. I think you're on the right track here. If they were to "bump up" donors to seats above their donor level, then the incentive to donate is removed, as far as buying better seats goes.
If they sell those open seats to non-donors, then the donors are upset about seeing these folks around them.
They need to sell these seats to somebody. Thy current option seems like the lesser of the two problematic solutions. Sometimes it just doesn't go perfectly, and they've got to make the best decision they can.
There does seam to be some gaps in the seating but that is because what we did last time was re-indexing (so everyone is now paying at the correct donor level for their section).
However, we have not reseated. Right now with the original donor seats inteh middle it is almost impossible to do that either.
So we just go forward
However, we have not reseated. Right now with the original donor seats inteh middle it is almost impossible to do that either.
So we just go forward
Far be it for me to interject my opinion here, but why is the Iowa game part of this ticket package? I don't think there is much doubt that it's the most attractive game on the schedule. To me selling this game for what amounts to 33.00 seems odd to say the least.
This is a game that Iowa fans would pay 90.00 for if they managed to get a ticket thru the Iowa ticket office, and a game that ISU charged Iowa 90.00 for 2 years ago.
If I was an ISU season ticket holder and/or donor, I would be ******. I don't know what full price is for the Iowa game, but I'm sure it's higher than the other 5 games on the home schedule, and I'm sure it's higher than 33.00.
Have ticket sales tailed off that much this season?
This is a game that Iowa fans would pay 90.00 for if they managed to get a ticket thru the Iowa ticket office, and a game that ISU charged Iowa 90.00 for 2 years ago.
If I was an ISU season ticket holder and/or donor, I would be ******. I don't know what full price is for the Iowa game, but I'm sure it's higher than the other 5 games on the home schedule, and I'm sure it's higher than 33.00.
Have ticket sales tailed off that much this season?
That is one way to look at it.
The other is that you will get people to "buy" tickets for two other games they most likely wouldn't have attended.
Last year I bought my tickets for the SDSU game for $10... I think they are being aggressive to keep butts in the seats.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I think this is the most likely option.
ESPN has done some real nice reports about the options that schools/teams are using to sell tickets in the tougher economy. I think this is just one of those things we probably need in order to sell seats for NDSU and Colorado. No one wants anything to do with all that buffalo.
Getting the Jack full for NDSU and Iowa at a discounted price in this poor economy adds up to a lot when $15 parking and concessions get factored in the mix. It all works together no doubt.
Hard to say right now if the game vs Colorado will have bowl implications for the clones, but at least a pretty full house worth of tickets are already floating around. If you got kids and such and can get in the game on the cheap then the added burden of parking and food doesnt hurt so much.
pros and cons all around for his set up. They practically gave away mizzou tickets last year..and some 35,000-38,000 or so came out on a really cold night. I'd say ISU did better that way then having 20,000 show up at regular price.
Hard to say right now if the game vs Colorado will have bowl implications for the clones, but at least a pretty full house worth of tickets are already floating around. If you got kids and such and can get in the game on the cheap then the added burden of parking and food doesnt hurt so much.
pros and cons all around for his set up. They practically gave away mizzou tickets last year..and some 35,000-38,000 or so came out on a really cold night. I'd say ISU did better that way then having 20,000 show up at regular price.
All true. This is probably why several administrations have been forceed to upset some $$ money (as little as possible) in attempt to sell as many tickets as possible. Of course, they must make some estimate on potential loss vs potential gain, but I would think it would be difficult to predict.
Some say (on CR) that a complete reseating is needed. However an abrupt change would greatly upset those that for ages have donated and sat in section X, but would be moved back according to the revision. It seems like the least volatile option is this gradual update, understanding there will be some injustice. When PR starts winning the demand will increase enough to give the AD more leverage. :smile:
+1
Until demand is sufficiently high before the season, the AD is forced to practice price discrimination/skimming. I understand that people get ticked off, but I hope that they do not get so upset that they stop donating/buying. To me, I was willing to donate X amount, but due to environmental factors, I donated a little more (X + the price skimming).
I guess it depends on how you view your support of ISU athletics. Some consider it as investing in a corporation, expecting a dividend (wins, good seating, etc) of Y percent of their investment. I view it as a partnership, and as an "owner" if the "company" needs more capital despite low returns, I will give the company whatever I can- closing shop is not an answer.
We got "convinced" to up our level to $500 when the "only way to guarantee your parking" letter came out a couple years ago - a threat that I think few bought into at the time. The letter said that $100 and $250 donors might still get parking, and I bet a lot of them took the chance. Of course, a year later parking was no longer park of your donation ($55?)
I almost upped last year in our seat-reassignment (due to construction, not donor re-seating), but doubling the money got us seats across the isle and up 7 rows. Something about that made no sense to me...
Apparently not enough Iowa fans are interested or willing to pay $90 if Iowa is returning part of their ticket allotment. And yes, some of us do get just a little irritated at the special packages and think that just once in a while, we season ticket holders and donors could be offered at least some additional perk.
Why would anyone buy a $90 ticket for the that game when they can buy a ticket for 3 games including that one for $99? The mini-packs are seats (not hillsides) -- they may not be great seats but that can't be any worse than the corner that is the visiting section. Our ticket prices and plans have become more convoluted than airline ticket pricing. I know I found it irritating as hell when I had 4 friend from Missouri visit for last year's game and they, as visiting fans, could buy single game tickets that were smack dab in the middle of a $500 donor section. Of course they were ticket later when they found out they could have waited and bought their $60 tickets for $10.
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That's an appropriate question -- for this date. When season ticket orders go out, there's no indication (and there shouldn't be at that time) whether there will be any single game tickets or other deals available in the future. You're just told that the order form for single game tickets where available will be provided later. Besides, some of us season ticket holders already bought the $60 hillside tickets to assure we have enough tickets for those who want to attend. The 3-game mini pack for $39 more for two more games, in real seats, is bothersome to say the least.
trigger1 is on target -- season ticket holders (in our case for more than a quarter century) who aren't at the high levels of $5,000 or more, seem to be ignored. We increase our CC giving level, buy tickets and parking passes as directed, and then see non-members and others have opportunities to get better seats at much lower prices.
BTW, remember that the $1,500 CC level was eliminated. So, one at the gold level of $1,000 must increase giving 2.5 times to $2,500 to get to the next higher level. That helped with the athletic seating process, but made it harder for those higher mid-level giving folks to advance.
Also, anyone got any ideas on why they are offering these packs so early? Single game tickets probably go on sale august 1st(?) I guess.
If these packs end up in some $500 donor sections, wouldnt be wise to wait a tad longer to fill these seats with donating members 1st before offering the packs?
If these packs end up in some $500 donor sections, wouldnt be wise to wait a tad longer to fill these seats with donating members 1st before offering the packs?
well minnesota...how in the world do you grow the "cyclone fan base", when you lose ten straight games???:sad:
right now pollard and co aka cyclone tix mgr have to do whatever to sell tickets to anyone who will buy them!!
Just for the sake of comparison, Iowa has had the mini-packs on sale for at least 3 weeks, and single game tickets went on sale this past Monday.
Of course, you can't get the Michigan game in the mini-packs, and singles for the Michigan game won't go on sale to the general public until the 15th.
They're probably on sale so early this year because season ticket sales are not high enough to fill up the donor sections. They could wait, but most of the donors, especially $500 and up, probably renew early to keep or upgrade their seats -- so they have a pretty good idea by now about how many seats have to be sold as mini-paks or single game tickets, and they're getting a jump on it.
I thought what FD Cyclone meant was, shouldn't donating season ticket holders be offered the opportunity to buy some of these open seats before offering them to non-donators? But, that's not been done, ever, at least to my knowledge.