Probably the wrong word but from a cost perspective, going to a division 1 football game in the big 12 for $25 is pretty damn inexpensive.
AD letter and higher ticket costs
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Probably the wrong word but from a cost perspective, going to a division 1 football game in the big 12 for $25 is pretty damn inexpensive.
I was just busting balls, I knew what you meant. That said, the ultra-cheap tickets also isn't what most fans are paying. It would be one thing if we were talking about the real cheap seats going away but we're probably talking about pretty significant across-the-board increases. And this news comes just a week or two after the big celebration of these massive Big 12 per-school payouts.
What's the cap on tickets per donation right now? I wonder if that gets decreased.
But that is SRO. You can go to an NFL game SRO for essentially the same price:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/29-stan...catid=8&tm_link=artist_msg-0_0C004C6ADE0882F9
That is inside a state of the art, climate controlled NFL stadium for $29 - no standing on a the side of a frozen or soggy hill. I agree that $25 isn't expensive, but when you compare Cyclone Football to the NFL for essential the same money it isn't exactly underpriced either.
JP is good at this sort of thing. The letter stopped the rumor about reseating Hilton ... next year. It also started a lot of conversation like this thread. JP is probably using our responses as part of his research. Ultimately, he is going to make a market-based decision with long-term growth in mind. I don't think he will "stick it to" MBB fans now just because he can, but will set the course for gradually increasing donation levels and ticket prices.
Just my opinion, but I think that FB tickets are going to go up by $50 a ticket across the board and MBB tickets closer to $100 a ticket. Then next year, they'll up the donation levels for MBB so that you have to give more to get into the parquet and center court upper level. I'm guessing that there will be very few sections in Hilton where a donation of some sort isn't required.
Lets really look at this $4 million question. Its not all going to come from ticket sales. Football can't go up more than $50 per ticket because ISU didn't go to a bowl game last year and more than likely not make it again this year. In 2015 there will be an increase in seat and also Lux boxes which are a major money maker. There will also be more room for ad space and increased concession sales due to higher attendance. Men's basketball can take a major jump around $75-$100 for the year given the amount of home games ISU plays which helps justify that kind of increase. Women's basketball could get a slight bump as well given the product on the floor every year and ISU's track record of 10k+ for home game attendance.
This won't all come from ticket sales alone, but higher donation levels, more luxury boxes to sell, and higher concession volume.
This won't all come from ticket sales alone, but higher donation levels, more luxury boxes to sell, and higher concession volume.
Doubt that season tickets will go up by $50 a ticket. We generally only get 6 games in our season ticket package versus other schools getting 7 and sometimes 8 games in a season ticket package. And Pollard has done the neutral site thing to us a couple of times as well. If you start charging high prices for those wedge seats in the corners they will be empty. Now is not the time to jack ticket prices up. Fill the stadium first. The wedge seats should remain priced the same as the previous end zone seats. And keep ticket prices the same for the rest. If you do look to raise prices in the future you should do so at $25 per ticket at the max. When ISU starts making Major Bowls and winning consistently then further increases might be possible. But we just had a 3 win season last year. Our AD likes to move Saturday games to Thursdays and late season games to night time for monetary reasons at the expense of fan comfort. Eventually, many fans will just say screw it and purchase the games they want to attend rather than season tickets. It would be cheaper. And you could choose the games you want.
We really need to "buy" another home game if we are going to make those kind of season ticket price increases.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I think they'll go more for the ticket sales as the guarantee. Concessions are just a bonus at that point, and too variable to really count on.
I agree that basketball probably jumps that way. For that, they really need to get a quality noncon game or two every season.
Women's tickets won't increase. The letter specified football and MBB.
Something to think about, maybe CPR and CFH go to a few more lunches and dinners for donations... When dealing with a $4M at ISU in the Big 12, it won't really be that many increases as the fan base is at an all time high as well which means maybe a few more donors step up in giving.
Something to think about as well, the economy isn't in the same place as the mid or late 90's and student loan levels just keep going up and up. Those are things that have to be considered as well. Some people who are younger in the fan base may have some sweet jobs, but most might not have much extra to keep paying for increasing ticket costs.
Something to think about as well, the economy isn't in the same place as the mid or late 90's and student loan levels just keep going up and up. Those are things that have to be considered as well. Some people who are younger in the fan base may have some sweet jobs, but most might not have much extra to keep paying for increasing ticket costs.
That is the reason a lot of people buy tickets. I bought them because they were $25 a ticket. At $40 a ticket I probably would not have bought tickets. Recent grads have student loans, rent/mortgages, rings/weddings, kids/kids on the way. Raising those ticket prices pushes out the under 30 crowd that the AD has been trying so hard to get to games to become lifelong season ticket holders.
Everyone below Directors ($12,500) can buy up to four, Directors can buy up to eight. If you want more than your level allows, you have to make a prorated contribution. Like for Cardinal ($500), it's $125/seat.
I hope it's not $100 increase :shocked:
I could see the donation requirements going really high and the parking really increasing as well.
I could see the donation requirements going really high and the parking really increasing as well.
I brought this up in a long post about why the SEZ might not be a great investment and was universally ridiculed and my post was labelled as nothing more than trollish fiction, but it was hardcore message board Cyclone fans responding, not the average/casual fan that fills Jack Trice every Saturday.
The bottom line is you can't spend $30M plus on a stadium renovation and not increase season ticket prices, but if you raise ticket prices and fail to put a good product on the field, all you've done is spent $30M to see your stadium 20% empty each Saturday.
I think the SEZ project is a massive "All In" gamble by JP, he just taxed the hell out of the ISU fan base for decades - and he did it based on three years of data that happened to coincide with the biggest win in ISU history and back to back bowl games. Can ISU sustain that type of success on the field? If not, what has changed so much since 2010 (when season average attendance was 45K) to suggest that ISU fans will pay more money for the same product?
Also, if you're going to do a major stadium renovation, why would you ever schedule a home/home with Arkansas State? Pay them to come to your stadium and use the seats you're adding.
Do they not teach supply and demand at Iowa? If they do, then study up and you'll recognize why Iowa State is increasing ticket prices. Pretty much the exact opposite of what you just posted. But thanks for sharing! Now let the adults talk and go play with the other kids ok.
I got the letter yesterday, glad I had read the MBB thread about it to soften the blow a little... We've been asked to increase our donation level to the NCC by 10x since we became members in 2003. And did it. Then it was 110% (done that several times, too). Season ticket prices have nearly doubled in that time (I think reserved, donation seats were $199 in 2003), we now have two more than we did when we started. We gave more in contribution alone this year than the entire bill in 2003 (four seats plus NCC donation - I should note two were @ 1/2 price for the under 30 deal; but even at full price, it would have been just a little more than our 2014 contribution.)
I wanted to do some comparison, since "we have to pay for this new construction." Baylor's seats, in a brand new, $250M stadium, range from $200-300. $300 gets you a chair-back seat, $250 a bench back, and $200 a bench (that we're currently paying $375 for plus another $40 for the cushion/back.) I would argue the demand for our (soon to be) 61k seats is much higher than the 45k in Waco, which is definitely a part of the cost. But all of the difference? They have wealthily donors? Yep, but I believe we do too. Other schools season tickets aren't as high as ours. From what I found in a quick search, KSU is @ $355 (I didn't see a donation requirement, I'm sure there is one.) TTU @ $199 + donation, which varies by seat level, topping out at $370/seat (just edging our cost per seat, 15-20 yards closer to mid-field.) I picked those three, mainly b/c their relative success recently is higher than ours, and the seats are still cheaper.
Rant over. I know I'll get plenty of the, "if you don't like or can't afford to, you shouldn't go." And I should never sit down in the stadium. And I've forgotten the rest of the rules...
I wanted to do some comparison, since "we have to pay for this new construction." Baylor's seats, in a brand new, $250M stadium, range from $200-300. $300 gets you a chair-back seat, $250 a bench back, and $200 a bench (that we're currently paying $375 for plus another $40 for the cushion/back.) I would argue the demand for our (soon to be) 61k seats is much higher than the 45k in Waco, which is definitely a part of the cost. But all of the difference? They have wealthily donors? Yep, but I believe we do too. Other schools season tickets aren't as high as ours. From what I found in a quick search, KSU is @ $355 (I didn't see a donation requirement, I'm sure there is one.) TTU @ $199 + donation, which varies by seat level, topping out at $370/seat (just edging our cost per seat, 15-20 yards closer to mid-field.) I picked those three, mainly b/c their relative success recently is higher than ours, and the seats are still cheaper.
Rant over. I know I'll get plenty of the, "if you don't like or can't afford to, you shouldn't go." And I should never sit down in the stadium. And I've forgotten the rest of the rules...
Before the days of the 9 game conference season the price increases were easy to do. In the year that ISU played Iowa and had an extra home game they could raise the overall price while keeping the per game price the same. On the years with one less home game they could keep the overall price level and raise the per game price. This allowed the ability to in any year to spin it as keeping the price "the same as the previous year" while still stepping the price up incrementally.
