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Re: UNH Wildcats 2013-14 Season Thread
I truly believe that Darius is much closer to having it right than most others on this board when it comes to ticket prices and the positive karma from having a Tuesday night pre-Thanksgiving faculty/staff free ticket giveaway (having no real revenue loss as a result). It might lead some to ask about season tickets after watching their students in action on the ice. If Freak states one more time that ticket prices have gone up, and that we have the least value versus other programs, I am going to blow a head gasket. My center ice tickets have gone down about 6 dollars per ticket per game this year from last. We have 20 games for ~380 dollars this year versus 18 for 460ish last year. It might be best to give Freak his 12 dollar standing room tickets and if he can wear a pink hat while standing and if he sits down he should have to pay another 12 dollars for a seat. UNH might check tickets of people going down aisles and not allow the Snively 65's of the world to game the system. Most other schools have this policy and it seems to keep the bargain hunters from sitting in prime seating.
If you are not happy with the product or the price, do not come to the games and do not cheer for the team. If you have good seats, there will be someone who would be happy to have those seats as it is my understanding that we have added several hundred new ticket holders as a result of the price drop this year. I am tired of reading how our athletic department is taking us for every last cent. The value versus prior seasons is very noticeable to those sitting in my section. The student fees cover far more of the athletic budget than ticket sales and we might be grateful that we have a hockey and football team that has consistently participated in their respective NCAA tournaments.
For comparison purposes with hockey east schools and other top programs we play this year, here are the game prices for a lower bowl between the face off circles seat:
BC $25
BU $28
Merrimack $25
Vermont $22
Maine $23-$50
UMass Amherst $18.75
Providence $12
UMass Lowell $17
Northeastern $20
Notre Dame $16-25
Minnesota $35
Colorado College $35-$40
UNH ~ $19
I would love to pay less money than I do, but I believe I am getting better value now than at any time over the past few decades with the new pricing structure. I think it might be wise to dramatically reduce the number of televised games to increase ticket sales as those on the margins would be far more likely to come to games if not on TV and I believe the school gets little or nothing from the televised games. As a regular attendee, it is better for the flow of the game and the time to complete the game without the TV timeouts. It might make more sense to televise games when we are completely sold out for the season. It would be nice to play Maine, BC, BU and Notre Dame four times each at home to sell out the house, but that is not how the schedules are drafted. It should be apparent to those attending regularly that January home games are sparsely attended and it must make sense to even the biggest whiners on this site to discount these games to increase the attendance. I buy tickets because I am invested long-term in our consistently excellent hockey program. There are very few that have been as exciting and competitive for such a long period of time. I thank all of the other long-term season ticket holders for staying the course and keeping UNH as either the number one or number two attendance leader in Hockey East since the Whittemore Center opened.
Let us all hope that the team finishes the first half well and has a terrific second half and another NCAA berth.
I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones.
I truly believe that Darius is much closer to having it right than most others on this board when it comes to ticket prices and the positive karma from having a Tuesday night pre-Thanksgiving faculty/staff free ticket giveaway (having no real revenue loss as a result). It might lead some to ask about season tickets after watching their students in action on the ice. If Freak states one more time that ticket prices have gone up, and that we have the least value versus other programs, I am going to blow a head gasket. My center ice tickets have gone down about 6 dollars per ticket per game this year from last. We have 20 games for ~380 dollars this year versus 18 for 460ish last year. It might be best to give Freak his 12 dollar standing room tickets and if he can wear a pink hat while standing and if he sits down he should have to pay another 12 dollars for a seat. UNH might check tickets of people going down aisles and not allow the Snively 65's of the world to game the system. Most other schools have this policy and it seems to keep the bargain hunters from sitting in prime seating.
If you are not happy with the product or the price, do not come to the games and do not cheer for the team. If you have good seats, there will be someone who would be happy to have those seats as it is my understanding that we have added several hundred new ticket holders as a result of the price drop this year. I am tired of reading how our athletic department is taking us for every last cent. The value versus prior seasons is very noticeable to those sitting in my section. The student fees cover far more of the athletic budget than ticket sales and we might be grateful that we have a hockey and football team that has consistently participated in their respective NCAA tournaments.
For comparison purposes with hockey east schools and other top programs we play this year, here are the game prices for a lower bowl between the face off circles seat:
BC $25
BU $28
Merrimack $25
Vermont $22
Maine $23-$50
UMass Amherst $18.75
Providence $12
UMass Lowell $17
Northeastern $20
Notre Dame $16-25
Minnesota $35
Colorado College $35-$40
UNH ~ $19
I would love to pay less money than I do, but I believe I am getting better value now than at any time over the past few decades with the new pricing structure. I think it might be wise to dramatically reduce the number of televised games to increase ticket sales as those on the margins would be far more likely to come to games if not on TV and I believe the school gets little or nothing from the televised games. As a regular attendee, it is better for the flow of the game and the time to complete the game without the TV timeouts. It might make more sense to televise games when we are completely sold out for the season. It would be nice to play Maine, BC, BU and Notre Dame four times each at home to sell out the house, but that is not how the schedules are drafted. It should be apparent to those attending regularly that January home games are sparsely attended and it must make sense to even the biggest whiners on this site to discount these games to increase the attendance. I buy tickets because I am invested long-term in our consistently excellent hockey program. There are very few that have been as exciting and competitive for such a long period of time. I thank all of the other long-term season ticket holders for staying the course and keeping UNH as either the number one or number two attendance leader in Hockey East since the Whittemore Center opened.
Let us all hope that the team finishes the first half well and has a terrific second half and another NCAA berth.
I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones.
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