2025 Athletics Update

[CapnCy]

Serious question here - What the **** more do you need?

I go to bb and fb games to watch bb and fb.

I guess I don't understand all these people who need more than that. I hear "we need to enhance the experience", the experience is watching and cheering on your favorite to a win.

I'm with you. I do like the video boards and such for replays and all that (sometimes I try to remember the 90s and how we watched replays in the south 'ligutbulb" video board...but we did!)

I guess "fan experience" is also subjective. Like for me. I hate when I got to a game at Hilton and basically can't treat someone to a clone cone cause the line is halfway around the arena or anything at JTS is a half a quarter in line. Would love some new contracts with companies that could figure out service and revenue.

 

[JK4ISU]

You are comparing two totally different things here. Creighton sits in a city of over a million people, with no football to take money from the program. The city of Omaha also passed a $216 million dollars bond issue to pay for part of the arena, another $291 million was brought in from private indivuals and business. Their arena is much like Wells Fargo in Des Moines, owned by the city, and Creighton plays there games there. Compare that to ISU and Hilton, owned by the university, not the city of Ames. I suppose ISU could cut a deal to play all their games in Des Moines and get a cut of the gate and food sales, but how many people would want that?

CHI Health Center Omaha - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When they played in the old Civic Auditorium, they were in the same city and could only sell about 6,000 season tickets. They are in a bigger metro, but they only have 4,000 undergrads and the drive from the suburbs downtown isn’t much different than Ankeny to Ames and if you work downtown, you have to do it twice to get to weeknight games, if you have to get your spouse/kids. Will ISU get a publicly funded arena like Creighton has? Not in a million years. That doesn’t mean we should throw up our hands and do nothing for the next 30 years. As I’ve said several times, I don’t expect anything to be done as long as there is no fall off in ticket sales. All I’d really like is the ability to buy a decent sandwich when a BB game falls during a mealtime.

 

[JK4ISU]

Fair concept, but raising prices will decrease some demand. The current price is $250 a game. What do u think it should go to?

I don’t have the faintest idea. What I know, is that there is excess demand at current prices for premium seating and when there is excess demand, the price should rise. The AD has all the data and could raise the prices sequentially until they get closer to equilibrium.

 

[JK4ISU]

Are you willing to pay more for more amenities?

You said you hadn’t been in 30 years. A good chunk of the price increase is inflation. Most of the rest is paying for an increase in the cost to fund a program at the highest level. TJ is probably making nearly $2.5 million more, adjusted for inflation, than Orr was getting in 1993. The staff and facility costs are much higher

So, either you don’t want to watch top ranked high major basketball, or you’re wanting high amenity seats at low amenity prices

I’m not willing to pay a lot more for amenities and I don’t want something for nothing. I’m a Victory donor sitting in Captain seats. What I want is for the ticket prices to go up sufficiently high that I can buy lower bowl seats. Whatever that price is, I’ll pay it. Oh, the amenity I’d like is a decent sandwich at the concession stand.

 

[cytor]

Just get rid of wrestling, it's weird anyways.

David carr would like a word with you.

 

[1SEIACLONE]

When they played in the old Civic Auditorium, they were in the same city and could only sell about 6,000 season tickets. They are in a bigger metro, but they only have 4,000 undergrads and the drive from the suburbs downtown isn’t much different than Ankeny to Ames and if you work downtown, you have to do it twice to get to weeknight games, if you have to get your spouse/kids. Will ISU get a publicly funded arena like Creighton has? Not in a million years. That doesn’t mean we should throw up our hands and do nothing for the next 30 years. As I’ve said several times, I don’t expect anything to be done as long as there is no fall off in ticket sales. All I’d really like is the ability to buy a decent sandwich when a BB game falls during a mealtime.

ISU is not going to build a new state of the art arena for basketball, we are not UT. They will do the improvements, that are planned, but if you think that it will turn out like Creighton's arena, you are going to be disappointed.

 

[JK4ISU]

ISU is not going to build a new state of the art arena for basketball, we are not UT. They will do the improvements, that are planned, but if you think that it will turn out like Creighton's arena, you are going to be disappointed.

That’s what I said. “not in a million years.”

 

[kirk89gt]

https://iowastatedaily.com/290345/news/athletic-department-budget-team-revenues-ticket-sales-and-more/#:~:text=Women's%20sports%20expenses%20increased%20from,by%20gender%20were%20%2452.99%20million.

Womens basketball needs to cut some expense. $4mil negative

If you add up all of the non “profitable”sports, I get ~$22MM. CW said it on W&B and I tend to agree…….D1 athletics is now officially a business and needs to start being treated as such and we need to stop acting like it isn’t. I get Title IX, tradition, etc. but how can you continue to operate something that isn’t at least cost neutral and be subsidized by those that are profitable?

Unfortunately there is a day of reckoning coming for college athletics, and that may include accounting transparency to see what we, the fans, are funding ……

 

[Mr.G.Spot]

I don’t have the faintest idea. What I know, is that there is excess demand at current prices for premium seating and when there is excess demand, the price should rise. The AD has all the data and could raise the prices sequentially until they get closer to equilibrium.

Fair statements. I think they should extend the JTC on both ends. Required capex might not be appropriate now, but there is demand, you are correct.

 

[StPaulCyclone]

Fair statements. I think they should extend the JTC on both ends. Required capex might not be appropriate now, but there is demand, you are correct.

If there is a wait list, I do think they should extend the JTC.

 

[Mr.G.Spot]

If there is a wait list, I do think they should extend the JTC.

It wouldn't surprise me if the wait list is 100-150 people.

 

[aeroclone]

Per the NCAA, FBS schools must sponsor 16 sports.

That's where we are at right now, so I don't think cutting sports is an option for us.

Is this the same NCAA that tried to say you can't prohibit NIL and lost that, and tried to restrict transfers and lost that, and tried to resist direct payment and is losing that, and says that years played in JuCo count against eligibility and is about to lose that?

I don't think there is a single NCAA enforced rule right now that couldn't be tossed out with a good legal challenge.

 

[FinalFourCy]

I’m not willing to pay a lot more for amenities and I don’t want something for nothing.

Didn’t you post the following?

“Yes, when there are price increases and no enhancements for any but the biggest donors, the value goes down. I got MBB tickets in 2021 when we moved back to Ames. I hadn’t been in Hilton in over 30 years. The first game was like stepping back in time. The only changes were Johnny’s, a better scoreboard, and clone cones.“….”it would be nice to have better amenities, though.”



Seems like you want more amenities AND a reseating.

 

[alarson]

Is this the same NCAA that tried to say you can't prohibit NIL and lost that, and tried to restrict transfers and lost that, and tried to resist direct payment and is losing that, and says that years played in JuCo count against eligibility and is about to lose that?

I don't think there is a single NCAA enforced rule right now that couldn't be tossed out with a good legal challenge.

At the end of the day, the NCAA is the schools.

The schools could simply vote to remove these requirements if they so chose.

Not like it'd be the first time they watered down requirements for D1 members, for example the minimum attendance requirements for FBS programs.

 

[aeroclone]

At the end of the day, the NCAA is the schools.

The schools could simply vote to remove these requirements if they so chose.

Not like it'd be the first time they watered down requirements for D1 members, for example the minimum attendance requirements for FBS programs.

And in that case, are there more schools out there with money to spare that are happy to throw some to non revenue sports, or are there more schools out there in our situation that are struggling to come up with the cash to fund FB and MBB.

I'm guessing the latter is more common, so support to change rules allowing schools to drop more non revenue sports may be an easy hurdle to clear.

 

[JK4ISU]

Didn’t you post the following?

“Yes, when there are price increases and no enhancements for any but the biggest donors, the value goes down. I got MBB tickets in 2021 when we moved back to Ames. I hadn’t been in Hilton in over 30 years. The first game was like stepping back in time. The only changes were Johnny’s, a better scoreboard, and clone cones.“….”it would be nice to have better amenities, though.”



Seems like you want more amenities AND a reseating.

Yes, the first statement about value is true about any product. If you buy a gallon of milk one week for $2 and the next week it is $3, the value has declined. I also said that more amenities would be nice and they would be. I’m also not expecting any and my ticket buying is in no way contingent on it. This whole thread started with debates about the need for more revenue. I started commenting that more revenue could be gleaned from higher ticket prices for premium seating because of excess demand for those seats. I think they should reprice the tickets so there is not excess demand and I will buy them or not depending how high the price is, someone will buy them and revenue will increase. Now I read the brochure and see the seats I’m eligible for and I can’t buy them, which is irritating. I am not in favor of reseating without price increases, because it just shuffles people around and defeats the purpose of generating higher revenue.

 

[Remo Gaggi]

Keep buying those powerball tickets. You just never know …

 

[FinalFourCy]

Yes, the first statement about value is true about any product. If you buy a gallon of milk one week for $2 and the next week it is $3, the value has declined.

Lol, no. Stop with this nonsense

We’re not talking about a huge price increase in one week. We’re talking 30 years.

List the goods and services that have not gone up in 30 years.

Complete ********

 

[Stevetasker]

Just get rid of wrestling, it's weird anyways.

Its Ok to admit you were afraid of the wrestlers when you were in school.

 

[JK4ISU]

Lol, no. Stop with this nonsense

We’re not talking about a huge price increase in one week. We’re talking 30 years. A

List the goods and services that have not gone up in 30 years.

Complete ********

It doesn’t matter how large or small the price increase is, if the marginal benefit from the good remains the same and the price goes up, consumer surplus (total benefit to the consumer) goes down. It is simple economics. I was replying to a comment by a person who said it was getting harder to justify the cost. Again, simple economics, if the price elasticity of demand is nonzero, people at the margin will exit the market. I don’t think that 20% increase in donations and 7% increase in ticket prices is irrelevant and it’s happening over one year and not 30. I don’t think the price elasticity of demand is 0. Therefore, I was commiserating with the person who may be on the margin because they may choose to not buy tickets next year. I’ve also advocated for large increases for premium seats in numerous posts. Just because lots of things have gone up in price over 30 years doesn’t mean that any price increase for anything is justified. Not everything has gone up over 30 years. e.g. TVs, computers.