Reseating Hilton?

[Bobber]

Winner winner chicken dinner! I wish more of the media saw this instead of consistently saying Hoiberg is a lock to the NBA every year. I think we all know Fred will go to the NBA but I really doubt he does it without getting ISU basketball well on its feet with a few deep tournament runs. I see the absolute soonest he would jet is when his kids are all graduated from high school and ISU basketball would be just fine even after he left.

Why would he? That's the thought I have on that. How many college coaches have ever gone to the NBA and had a happy ending? Rick Pitino....No. Larry Brown...No, Tim Floyd....No The list goes on and on. The NBA is a meat grinder for a lot of reasons. Phil Jackson is the only guy I know who's really made a long term career of it and been good at it.

Fred can live in his home town, make a million plus every year and literally be the most popular guy in town and the state forever. Why would you want to walk away from that? I wouldn't.

 

[brianhos]

I like it, I am a donor and cannot get tickets anywhere but the top row of the balcony, so instead I buy corner seats.

 

[aeroclone]

Why would he? That's the thought I have on that. How many college coaches have ever gone to the NBA and had a happy ending? Rick Pitino....No. Larry Brown...No, Tim Floyd....No The list goes on and on. The NBA is a meat grinder for a lot of reasons. Phil Jackson is the only guy I know who's really made a long term career of it and been good at it.

Fred can live in his home town, make a million plus every year and literally be the most popular guy in town and the state forever. Why would you want to walk away from that? I wouldn't.

Bingo. I don't really see why anyone views a move to the NBA as inevitable. I personally don't ever see it happening. I would guess after this year, Fred will be making in the ballpark of $2M per. The guy is an Ames native and an ISU legend already, he is home right now. He is quickly closing in on essentially having a lifetime position here, as he would have to fall pretty hard from where we are now for ISU to fire him, and I just don't ever see that happening. Sure, the NBA can pay him more, but you are on the road all the time, you are dealing with major egos, and your are pretty much always on the hot seat. Being a coach in the NBA is a never ending game of musical chairs. The guy has plenty of money already. And frankly, if he wants to become a coaching legend, I think he is in a better position to do that here. As you said, Phil Jackson is basically the only guy in my lifetime that has done that, and he spent most of his career with Jordan and Kobe to make that possible.

 

[cyrevkah]

Probably. I bet they expand the seating sections that require donations so there are fewer non-donor seats. Or they completely un-assign seats for everyone and start over by donation level, and when the regular donor seats are filled, they fill the non-donor seats with donors first, followed by non-donors getting the leftovers.

I've been in my corner balcony second row seats since the day they offered them at $99. It will be sad to see them go, but if anyone expected those to last, they were kidding themselves. Supply and demand. Those seats were cheap because ISU basketball was crap at the time.

I won't be surprised if the corner seats get raised again. I hope they'd require donation first though. Maybe make them the entry donor level. They've raised the prices for them each year with Fred (which is good), but I don't think they can go much higher with out running into the 'we can't afford it' price range. Maybe there are enough bandwagon fans to make up for that....but I would hate to not be able to go anymore.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

I don't disagree with this one bit. Everybody who considered themselves a true fan needs to at least be a $100 member to the Cyclone Club every year.

I do think it's awesome, though, how despite the athletic budget in Iowa City, we still beat their sorry ***** at least every other year.

I understand what you are trying to get at here, but we shouldn't be tying fandom to a specific price. I'm a huge ISU fan and I plan each year on spending money on season tickets, but I just can't make the donation level tickets work.

I don't mind being in "bad" seats (there are no bad seats in Hilton) for the price I pay, but don't say I'm not a real fan because I have other priorities for my money.

 

[VeloClone]

How in the world does Texas make 16 million a year from the MBB program while ISU makes 9 million? That does not make a bit of sense.

Well how about this for starters:

Hilton Coliseum: 14,384; 0 suites
Frank Erwin Center: 16,540 seats; 28 suites

How much revenue can 2,156 seats and 28 suites generate? This doesn't factor in the average wealth of a Texas grad who lives within a few hours of Austin compared to the average wealth of an Iowa State grad who lives within a few hours of Ames. Iowa State has a few wealthy grads but very few of them live close enough to go to every BB game.

 

[JP4CY]

No new donor level can put a price above those of us who suffered and had season tickets while watching the 5,000 McDermott playbook live.

 

[Agclone91]

Well how about this for starters:

Hilton Coliseum: 14,384; 0 suites
Frank Erwin Center: 16,540 seats; 28 suites

How much revenue can 2,156 seats and 28 suites generate? This doesn't factor in the average wealth of a Texas grad who lives within a few hours of Austin compared to the average wealth of an Iowa State grad who lives within a few hours of Ames. Iowa State has a few wealthy grads but very few of them live close enough to go to every BB game.

Those 2,156 extra seats don't matter when they're not filled. 2013 attendance averages:

Iowa State: 13,393
Texas:10,945

The suites are probably a big reason, and I agree with your thought about wealth of graduates.

 

[1100011CS]

I understand what you are trying to get at here, but we shouldn't be tying fandom to a specific price. I'm a huge ISU fan and I plan each year on spending money on season tickets, but I just can't make the donation level tickets work.

I don't mind being in "bad" seats (there are no bad seats in Hilton) for the price I pay, but don't say I'm not a real fan because I have other priorities for my money.

You can donate but still get the corner seats which is exactly what I do (and brianhos apparently). The seats I would get in the 'donation area' would probably be worse (or not much better) than my corner seats right now. I'm hoping for a re-seating and then I would go for the donation level seats.


EIDT: I'm not saying you *should* donate. It's your money obviously and you have to prioritize. I get it. Just pointing out the option.

 

[Kickedinthenuts]

There is 0% chance that we will add suites to Hilton. It's just not practical to retrofit the arena. Reseating Hilton is only about giving higher donors an opportunity to get better seats. Based on current rules, there is a high likelihood that someone could be giving $500 - $1,000 per year and sitting in prime lower level center court seats. I know of recent basketball ticket holders that give at the $12,500 level and sit in the lower level corner behind the baseline. Not terrible seats, but not anywhere near what their donation level would qualify them for.

It's nice that ISU lets donors sit in the same seats for eternity, but by doing so they miss out on millions of dollars of revenue. With the level of excitement in ISU basketball at a decade-plus high, and people paying $500 and up for a single ticket to see KU this season, there is no better time for the athletic department to capture more of that revenue.

The risk is that you alienate a large portion of your fanbase, but it takes far more $500-$1,000 donors to make up for the very few that can afford a $12,500 annual donation. Let's be honest, this is a business and Pollard has to make the right business decision here. I would expect that once this is announced, donors will respond to the challenge. I also think JP has done a great job at keeping affordable options available to fans. Those season tickets in the upper corners will still be around, but instead of $99 they will be $129 or $149. That is still a bargain, and with KU coming to town every year any season ticket holder can likely sell their ticket for nearly the full cost of season tickets.

 

[Tri4Cy]

I would say hold off for a bit. A little soon to be reseating right as we've had some success, especially if you move some that were in it for the long haul in the bad years.

JP feels comfortable talking about it because Hoibergs agent is currently talking life time contracts....duh :yes:

 

[cyrevkah]

There is 0% chance that we will add suites to Hilton. It's just not practical to retrofit the arena. Reseating Hilton is only about giving higher donors an opportunity to get better seats. Based on current rules, there is a high likelihood that someone could be giving $500 - $1,000 per year and sitting in prime lower level center court seats. I know of recent basketball ticket holders that give at the $12,500 level and sit in the lower level corner behind the baseline. Not terrible seats, but not anywhere near what their donation level would qualify them for.

It's nice that ISU lets donors sit in the same seats for eternity, but by doing so they miss out on millions of dollars of revenue. With the level of excitement in ISU basketball at a decade-plus high, and people paying $500 and up for a single ticket to see KU this season, there is no better time for the athletic department to capture more of that revenue.

The risk is that you alienate a large portion of your fanbase, but it takes far more $500-$1,000 donors to make up for the very few that can afford a $12,500 annual donation. Let's be honest, this is a business and Pollard has to make the right business decision here. I would expect that once this is announced, donors will respond to the challenge. I also think JP has done a great job at keeping affordable options available to fans. Those season tickets in the upper corners will still be around, but instead of $99 they will be $129 or $149. That is still a bargain, and with KU coming to town every year any season ticket holder can likely sell their ticket for nearly the full cost of season tickets.

The $99 seats were $149 THIS year. That's why some of us are hoping they won't raise them too much more. They've raised them each year Fred has been here and have only raised the lower bowl this year.

 

[Kickedinthenuts]

The $99 seats were $149 THIS year. That's why some of us are hoping they won't raise them too much more. They've raised them each year Fred has been here and have only raised the lower bowl this year.

Thanks for the clarification. I wouldn't think there's much upside to continuing to raise those ticket prices. Another option would be to reduce the number available.

The biggest issue in the premium seats is that seat quality does not align with donor level. It's a slippery slope to change the rules for long time donors, but when they aren't paying a market price for their seats but can keep them forever it discourages new donors from buying tickets because they can't get quality seats. With the level of interest in ISU basketball, reseating needs to be done now.

As we've seen with football ticket sales supporting the SEZ, a rising tide floats all boats. More donors = more money = more Hoiball.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

The $99 seats were $149 THIS year. That's why some of us are hoping they won't raise them too much more. They've raised them each year Fred has been here and have only raised the lower bowl this year.

I'm planning on paying $175 for my corner seats next year. Not a huge deal, but will probably buy a few less clone cones for my son.

I think what they need to do with the donation levels is give everyone with their current seats the chance to up their donation to the new set amount, then if you can't you'd get moved. I'd be fine with this if they even made some of the corner seats donation. Then I'd at least get to choose to keep my seats through a donation or move to a non-donor section.

 

[Gunnerclone]

I think the media forgets Iowa state is more than just a job and pay check to CFH. The guy grew up seeing games in Hilton and being a ball boy. The guy got his education at Iowa state, the guy wore the colors of cardinal and gold. CFH is Iowa State. Iowa and more specifically Ames area is home to CFH. Being corn fed and Iowa bred as he is, and a lot of us here are for that matter, money is nice but there are much more important things in life like family. Iowans know this to be true and media often forgets this. Iowa state is freds family not just a pay check. Loyal son forever true, hoiberg will fight that battle through.

They don't forget, they are just ultimate ichiban trolls.

 

[ajk4st8]

I wouldn't mind if my ticket price doubled. But we have the super cheap upper deck seats

 

[swarthmoreCY]

The risk is that you alienate a large portion of your fanbase, but it takes far more $500-$1,000 donors to make up for the very few that can afford a $12,500 annual donation.

I know what you are saying, but do those numbers support it? How many 12.5K donors do we have? Imo there are enough potential $500-$1000 level donors out there in comparison to the $12.5K group that the elasticity does not support alienating the former.

 

[VeloClone]

There is 0% chance that we will add suites to Hilton. It's just not practical to retrofit the arena.

If it doesn't happen it has less to do with practicality and more to do with not being able to get the support to make it happen. Just before the Wells Fargo Arena plan got off the ground, they floated a plan that would have enclosed the inner concourse with suites/club seating and turned the vomitories around so the balcony would exit directly into the outer concourse. It couldn't get approval. It was critical to happen at that point so Hilton could stay competitive in the touring concert scene. Hilton had a great reputation in the touring world and could have weathered the loss of some business due to the population center being in Des Moines, but it couldn't overcome the huge disparity of seating inventory as well (currently over 1,000 seats). The change would have negated the seating capacity difference and afforded some higher priced suite ticket sale options. Now all of the promoters and touring acts have become comfortable with WF so that ship has sailed.

It could still be done, but it would be a long row to hoe to get any where near back to touring show relevance. It would also require the AD to recognize how concerts could help pay the bills and get people on staff who could make it happen. The Sukup facility has taken away a lot of the potential athletics practice/concert day conflict that existed before. Those conflicts were a large part of the reason that the AD succeeded in taking over Hilton in the first place.

 

[swarthmoreCY]

I know what you are saying, but do those numbers support it? How many 12.5K donors do we have? Imo there are enough potential $500-$1000 level donors out there in comparison to the $12.5K group that the elasticity does not support alienating the former.

ISU MBB tickets are relatively cheap. If fans thought of the cost of season tickets as a way to assure the existence of having a good program rather than going to that home game, it is very, very cheap. In other words even though the price of season tickets is for 16 home games, that is really the only way fans can contribute to ISU MBB even existing, let alone at a high level. How much would you pay per year to keep ISU MBB at the level it is? I would give Jamie 1000k for tickets if the alternative was GMac basketball or no ISU basketball.

 

[Kickedinthenuts]

I know what you are saying, but do those numbers support it? How many 12.5K donors do we have? Imo there are enough potential $500-$1000 level donors out there in comparison to the $12.5K group that the elasticity does not support alienating the former.

Anybody have a football program handy? IIRC there are a lot.