New arena seating = financial and emotional investment

[charcat]

With the new arena and seating donation requirements I think NU Basketball tickets just became a scarce commodity in a great venue. People are having to step up their investment to get seats and the season tickets are oversubscribed. This is the first time in decades the seating chart has been scrambled up, and new season ticket buyers and donors had the chance to pounce on the best seating if they were willing to pay up.

My impression from the seat selection that started today, is that demand for the Wilson Club seating, with the high ticket prices and food and drink in the private area is very popular. It filled up quickly and many of the donors that helped build it have priority seating. As expected.

Aisle seats filled up fast and seating behind the NU Bench was first section filling up. Large blocks of tickets seemed to have been blocked out, presumably for parents right behind the bench, and maybe athletic Dept or Administration. Still plenty of good seats if you are willing to pay up for the annual donation levels and have some season ticket seniority so you are signing up this week.

I think the new stadium will be full and it will be exciting new future for NU basketball. Less seating for visiting fans, better home atmosphere. Fans who did not want to step up for donations will be left out and fewer options than in the past.

 

[Turk]

With the new arena and seating donation requirements I think NU Basketball tickets just became a scarce commodity in a great venue. People are having to step up their investment to get seats and the season tickets are oversubscribed. This is the first time in decades the seating chart has been scrambled up, and new season ticket buyers and donors had the chance to pounce on the best seating if they were willing to pay up.

My impression from the seat selection that started today, is that demand for the Wilson Club seating, with the high ticket prices and food and drink in the private area is very popular. It filled up quickly and many of the donors that helped build it have priority seating. As expected.

Aisle seats filled up fast and seating behind the NU Bench was first section filling up. Large blocks of tickets seemed to have been blocked out, presumably for parents right behind the bench, and maybe athletic Dept or Administration. Still plenty of good seats if you are willing to pay up for the annual donation levels and have some season ticket seniority so you are signing up this week.

I think the new stadium will be full and it will be exciting new future for NU basketball. Less seating for visiting fans, better home atmosphere. Fans who did not want to step up for donations will be left out and fewer options than in the past.

can someone take some screenshots of the current map so we can see the red dots and green dots of availability? I already selected so I can't see the map anymore. But Wilson club had many seats blocked by the developmental department. And many were blocked for the opposing team behind their bench, while others were blocked behind our bench for parents, staffers, etc. It appears that they also blocked for single game tickets as well. All programs, no matter sell out or not, always keep a certain amount of single game tickets for profit. That appeared to be the case (I'd say the lower bowl had about 100 blocked just for single game sales. The block was a pattern towards the top of the 3 lower bowl sections on the north side.

 

[NJCat]

I think the new stadium will be full and it will be exciting new future for NU basketball. Less seating for visiting fans, better home atmosphere. Fans who did not want to step up for donations will be left out and fewer options than in the past.

The only niggling concern I have is that, given the $$'s required to get a seat, the season ticket holders will be older people (like myself) who are there to enjoy the game but not be rabidly into going nuts cheering. Sort of what happened to the new Yankee Stadium in baseball. Corporate types bought all the extremely expensive seats in the lower field area, and they go unused for many games. The place in noticeably quieter than the old ballpark even when full. I hope I am wrong.

 

[freewillie07]

The only niggling concern I have is that, given the $$'s required to get a seat, the season ticket holders will be older people (like myself) who are there to enjoy the game but not be rabidly into going nuts cheering. Sort of what happened to the new Yankee Stadium in baseball. Corporate types bought all the extremely expensive seats in the lower field area, and they go unused for many games. The place in noticeably quieter than the old ballpark even when full. I hope I am wrong.

Age isn’t so much the issue. It’s the level of fandom that matters more to me.

Is this a person who, if they can’t make the game, will sell their tickets to the highest bidder, or who will come onto a board like this to make sure they stay purple?

Is this a person who is emotionally invested in the team and the program, and will be locked into the game, cheering and booing with the fans around him/her? Are they decked out in purple?

And I think the point is that the $$ involved here means that the people in those seats will meet that criteria. Don’t think the “corporate” comparison with the Yankees is a good one. Welsh-Ryan is a small place. You don’t need every single fan to be screaming their lungs out for the place to be rocking.

 

[wildcat229]

Age isn’t so much the issue. It’s the level of fandom that matters more to me.

Is this a person who, if they can’t make the game, will sell their tickets to the highest bidder, or who will come onto a board like this to make sure they stay purple?

Is this a person who is emotionally invested in the team and the program, and will be locked into the game, cheering and booing with the fans around him/her? Are they decked out in purple?

And I think the point is that the $$ involved here means that the people in those seats will meet that criteria. Don’t think the “corporate” comparison with the Yankees is a good one. Welsh-Ryan is a small place. You don’t need every single fan to be screaming their lungs out for the place to be rocking.

I selected my seats in person at the ticket office yesterday and had a brief conversation waiting for my time slot. Among other things discussed, I got the impression that with the new arrangement, they would be monitoring attendance, especially in the WC and 108 sections, identifying 'wrong colors" and perhaps enacting (unspecified) sanctions or penalties. Seems to me the technology to do this easily exists today. Single game tickets would probably be in the upper corners (208,210,218,220). They will be discussing whether holders of 6 tickets can get two parking passes like football, but no where near a decision.

 

[willycat]

With the new arena and seating donation requirements I think NU Basketball tickets just became a scarce commodity in a great venue. People are having to step up their investment to get seats and the season tickets are oversubscribed. This is the first time in decades the seating chart has been scrambled up, and new season ticket buyers and donors had the chance to pounce on the best seating if they were willing to pay up.

My impression from the seat selection that started today, is that demand for the Wilson Club seating, with the high ticket prices and food and drink in the private area is very popular. It filled up quickly and many of the donors that helped build it have priority seating. As expected.

Aisle seats filled up fast and seating behind the NU Bench was first section filling up. Large blocks of tickets seemed to have been blocked out, presumably for parents right behind the bench, and maybe athletic Dept or Administration. Still plenty of good seats if you are willing to pay up for the annual donation levels and have some season ticket seniority so you are signing up this week.

I think the new stadium will be full and it will be exciting new future for NU basketball. Less seating for visiting fans, better home atmosphere. Fans who did not want to step up for donations will be left out and fewer options than in the past.

Sounds like they are following the west lot allocation criteria. Those with big bucks can just pony up the cash and push long time season ticket holders out. Maybe this could have been avoided if one or two thousand more seats were part of the arena.

 

[Sec.112]

With the new arena and seating donation requirements I think NU Basketball tickets just became a scarce commodity in a great venue ...

... Fans who did not want to step up for donations will be left out and fewer options than in the past.

Scarce ticket availability with very little access for a casual fan ... already.

Gee, who could have seen that coming?

 

[DaCat]

Sounds like they are following the west lot allocation criteria. Those with big bucks can just pony up the cash and push long time season ticket holders out. Maybe this could have been avoided if one or two thousand more seats were part of the arena.

Now we finally discover the root cause of the bitching about the seating... Parking.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

Scarce ticket availability with very little access for a casual fan ... already.

Gee, who could have seen that coming?

Well...the days of having our home games be road games will be long over!

 

[NURoseBowl]

Well...the days of having our home games be road games will be long over!

. . . and I, for one, won't miss that a bit.

 

[NURoseBowl]

I selected my seats in person at the ticket office yesterday and had a brief conversation waiting for my time slot. Among other things discussed, I got the impression that with the new arrangement, they would be monitoring attendance, especially in the WC and 108 sections, identifying 'wrong colors" and perhaps enacting (unspecified) sanctions or penalties. Seems to me the technology to do this easily exists today. Single game tickets would probably be in the upper corners (208,210,218,220). They will be discussing whether holders of 6 tickets can get two parking passes like football, but no where near a decision.

Good info, 229. Interesting; thanks.

 

[hdhntr1]

I selected my seats in person at the ticket office yesterday and had a brief conversation waiting for my time slot. Among other things discussed, I got the impression that with the new arrangement, they would be monitoring attendance, especially in the WC and 108 sections, identifying 'wrong colors" and perhaps enacting (unspecified) sanctions or penalties. Seems to me the technology to do this easily exists today. Single game tickets would probably be in the upper corners (208,210,218,220). They will be discussing whether holders of 6 tickets can get two parking passes like football, but no where near a decision.

Parking has never been a real issue for BB. FB yes but BB? Especially with only 7K seats. Two lots have what 1500 to 2 k spots for 7K seats.

 

[ubercat]

I've never liked to park in the lots for basketball games at Welsh-Ryan. They squeeze in the cars, and charge you for it. I've had good luck parking in the nearby side streets, although it's good to get there at least an hour before tip.

 

[Alan Smithee]

I've never liked to park in the lots for basketball games at Welsh-Ryan. They squeeze in the cars, and charge you for it. I've had good luck parking in the nearby side streets, although it's good to get there at least an hour before tip.

Though parking on the side streets, at least on the west side, involves more of a detour without a gate to the west lot. On the other hand, walking through that lot is a lot less hazardous than it used to be in the winter. The lot itself is very nicely done.

 

[GOUNUII]

With the new arena and seating donation requirements I think NU Basketball tickets just became a scarce commodity in a great venue. People are having to step up their investment to get seats and the season tickets are oversubscribed. This is the first time in decades the seating chart has been scrambled up, and new season ticket buyers and donors had the chance to pounce on the best seating if they were willing to pay up.

My impression from the seat selection that started today, is that demand for the Wilson Club seating, with the high ticket prices and food and drink in the private area is very popular. It filled up quickly and many of the donors that helped build it have priority seating. As expected.

Aisle seats filled up fast and seating behind the NU Bench was first section filling up. Large blocks of tickets seemed to have been blocked out, presumably for parents right behind the bench, and maybe athletic Dept or Administration. Still plenty of good seats if you are willing to pay up for the annual donation levels and have some season ticket seniority so you are signing up this week.

I think the new stadium will be full and it will be exciting new future for NU basketball. Less seating for visiting fans, better home atmosphere. Fans who did not want to step up for donations will be left out and fewer options than in the past.

GULP. I just picked out my seats. Now trying to figure out how I can get NU the dollars without Mrs. GOUNUII finding out I spent THAT much .

Any ideas out there?

GOUNUII

 

[DaCat]

GULP. I just picked out my seats. Now trying to figure out how I can get NU the dollars without Mrs. GOUNUII finding out I spent THAT much .

Any ideas out there?

GOUNUII

Bitcoin!

 

[hdhntr1]

I've never liked to park in the lots for basketball games at Welsh-Ryan. They squeeze in the cars, and charge you for it. I've had good luck parking in the nearby side streets, although it's good to get there at least an hour before tip.

Same here. I ponied up for parking this year because you really have to know Rosemont to get get free parking

 

[Sec.112]

Still quite a few good seats to be had out there at midcourt.

For those of you hoping to get in the first level, still PLENTY of opportunities in the two sections on either side of the Wilsons.

Actually good locations behind the visitors bench also.

 

[willycat]

Well...the days of having our home games be road games will be long over!

You really think that the old purple seat crowd won't still dump them to the visitors, really? Ditto with the scalpers.

 

[willycat]

Now we finally discover the root cause of the bitching about the seating... Parking.

Your right. Now long time NU BB fans and season ticket holders can and will lose their seats to some Johnny come lately with deep, deep pockets. That's exactly what happened in the lots for football. Enjoy.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

You really think that the old purple seat crowd won't still dump them to the visitors, really? Ditto with the scalpers.

I guess we'll find out soon, won't we.

 

[its_the_sauce]

Your right. Now long time NU BB fans and season ticket holders can and will lose their seats to some Johnny come lately with deep, deep pockets. That's exactly what happened in the lots for football. Enjoy.

If there truly are existing STHs that end up getting shut out of the new arena please post the details. Guessing we'll be hearing lots of crickets.

 

[winnetkat]

If there truly are existing STHs that end up getting shut out of the new arena please post the details. Guessing we'll be hearing lots of crickets.

There are existing season ticket holders?

Seriously, at one point I was within striking distance of 1% of the NU's total season tickets. I'm delighted that anyone -- even Willy -- could somewhat plausibly argue there isn't going to be room for us all now. Hello Wildcat Nation!

 

[ubercat]

Though parking on the side streets, at least on the west side, involves more of a detour without a gate to the west lot. On the other hand, walking through that lot is a lot less hazardous than it used to be in the winter. The lot itself is very nicely done.

This is accurate. I was referring more to the neighborhood streets just to the East of WR.

 

[willycat]

If there truly are existing STHs that end up getting shut out of the new arena please post the details. Guessing we'll be hearing lots of crickets.

Well I personally know of one, who's had Season tickets for about 30 years behind the west basket, who is being priced out. I expect there will be more and let's not forget that the average fan who came to two or three games a season will be totally shut out. To bad, as this could have been fixed by keeping the seating capacity the same or maybe even increasing it a bit.

 

[ubercat]

Have her talk to Turk.

 

[its_the_sauce]

Well I personally know of one, who's had Season tickets for about 30 years behind the west basket, who is being priced out. I expect there will be more and let's not forget that the average fan who came to two or three games a season will be totally shut out. To bad, as this could have been fixed by keeping the seating capacity the same or maybe even increasing it a bit.

Sorry but that story makes no sense. A 30 year STH would be picking this week in group 1 even without any donation. Looking at the current seating chart hardly any non-donation seats have been chosen. Your friend could be sitting center court in the first row on the non-donation seats for $350 each. My gut tells me those would be awesome seats.

Your friend might have reasons for not renewing but being priced out is not one of them.

 

[willycat]

Sorry but that story makes no sense. A 30 year STH would be picking this week in group 1 even without any donation. Looking at the current seating chart hardly any non-donation seats have been chosen. Your friend could be sitting center court in the first row on the non-donation seats for $350 each. My gut tells me those would be awesome seats.

Your friend might have reasons for not renewing but being priced out is not one of them.

That's what the lady told me and yes I'm pretty sure that it might be a money thing as well.

 

[DaCat]

That's what the lady told me and yes I'm pretty sure that it might be a money thing as well.

If money's the issue, start a GoFundMe campaign to raise the $350. Probably raise it in less than 1 hour if the story is compelling. A 30-year ticket holder should be able to enjoy the new arena and more NCAA teams after all those years of frustration.

 

[willycat]

If money's the issue, start a GoFundMe campaign to raise the $350. Probably raise it in less than 1 hour if the story is compelling. A 30-year ticket holder should be able to enjoy the new arena and more NCAA teams after all those years of frustration.

I just e-mailed the person to see what the plans are for next season.

 

[EagerFan]

Being priced out of seats is different from being priced out of the arena. As a case in point, the seats we've had for almost 40 years now cost $3500.00, which is not quite a simple shift of one decimal point. I can't afford that kind of extortion. That doesn't mean I can't afford to get seats in the arena, just that I can't afford seats that I sat in for decades.

 

[willycat]

Being priced out of seats is different from being priced out of the arena. As a case in point, the seats we've had for almost 40 years now cost $3500.00, which is not quite a simple shift of one decimal point. I can't afford that kind of extortion. That doesn't mean I can't afford to get seats in the arena, just that I can't afford seats that I sat in for decades.

Sorry to hear that long time ST holders are being squeezed out. It sounds a lot like parking passes for FB.

 

[Sec.112]

I got "priced out" of my seats also. They were damn-near perfect seats.

But I agree with EagerFan. I think fans need a bit of reality check if they think $16/ticket (the per-game ST price last year) was going to continue over the long haul. It's been that price for an awfully long time, and I always considered it pretty generous of NU. They should have raised those costs a LONG time ago. It's laughably below any definition of the market rate - other local teams / other B10 teams / severely-discounted NBA / Chicago area.

Fans HAD to know at some point a reality price was going to set in.

Did NU go overboard with the high-end pricing? I'd argue they did. But in reality, if they sell the Wilsons and 108s, they had the market.

However, there are PLENTY of seats in other reasonable price ranges as well as the $20 cost.

No offense to your friend, Willy, if there are other circumstances surrounding the finances. I'm just typing here.

 

[Catreporter]

I got priced out too but I'm happy I was able to remain in the lower bowl of a state of the art arena. Willy is a big Cubs fan so I wonder what he thinks of the prices they are charging there now. Better team, better facilities, bigger bucks. That's the way it goes now in sports.

 

[EagerFan]

As it turns out, I bought next year's season tickets today. It was a bit of a snafu as apparently the website doesn't work with Chrome, but hey who doesn't have at least three browsers installed? On the positive side, I was on the phone with NU until I got it working so I could see available seats. As I was considering a couple of locations, someone else picked one of them so the real time aspect was cool.

I'll have to wait a while to sit in the seat(s) and decide how I really feel about it all. I've moved up to the 200 level, but I'm hopeful they will be almost as awesome as the old ones.

I was a park on the street kind of guy until recently when I found myself unable to get to conference games until 10-15 minutes before start time and the icy, snowy hikes got to be too much.

 

[willycat]

I got priced out too but I'm happy I was able to remain in the lower bowl of a state of the art arena. Willy is a big Cubs fan so I wonder what he thinks of the prices they are charging there now. Better team, better facilities, bigger bucks. That's the way it goes now in sports.

Yep,I've been a Cubs ST holder for over 30 years and a fan for more years then I care to think about. I've gone along with there price increases and have been able to keep my very good seat location. However I'm thinking that might change and soon as next season. That's when they are redoing the upper deck and putting in a restaurant/bar and my seats will likely be included in that club configuration and require me to purchase the same seats for a much higher price and that's not counting actually joining the club and it's cost. Still think NU could have still had these high end pricing but could have accommodated long standing fane with more less pricey seats, if they had left the capacity the same or even increases it a bit. Guess we will see.

 

[Sec.112]

... That's when they are redoing the upper deck and putting in a restaurant/bar and my seats will likely be included in that club configuration and require me to purchase the same seats for a much higher price and that's not counting actually joining the club and it's cost ...

Yes, three new "clubs," right? That's going to drastically change things even more.

It wasn't that long ago that seats that now go for $250 were $80.

Once again, I'm not sure I can blame them. Scalpers were getting the price. Why not cut out the scalpers?

But I think the Cubs, NU and most major sports organizations have one thing in common. They are following this trend to set prices that prohibits the casual fan to attend somewhat regularly ... to bring a kid.

Long-term - 10-20 years - I think you're going to see the effects. Drastically reduced interest kills where it REALLY hurts ... TV ratings.

 

[EagerFan]

As far as the Cubs go, don’t they still scalp their own tickets, or did they stop that?

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Yep,I've been a Cubs ST holder for over 30 years and a fan for more years then I care to think about. I've gone along with there price increases and have been able to keep my very good seat location. However I'm thinking that might change and soon as next season. That's when they are redoing the upper deck and putting in a restaurant/bar and my seats will likely be included in that club configuration and require me to purchase the same seats for a much higher price and that's not counting actually joining the club and it's cost. Still think NU could have still had these high end pricing but could have accommodated long standing fane with more less pricey seats, if they had left the capacity the same or even increases it a bit. Guess we will see.

Get Whits Sox ST’s they will be better than the Cubs in 3-4 years. You can tailgate in the lot, park way closer, and the cost of both the tickets and parking are way less. Not to mention, food you can actually eat, and most fans actually know more about the game than they do about the bars surrounding the stadium. ST’s can purchase preferred parking without a donation, there are not many pot holes in the lot, the stadium seats more than 7200, there are few fans in ND gear, and players coming through the system are not 2 stars. Problem solved Willy.

 

[willycat]

Get Whits Sox ST’s they will be better than the Cubs in 3-4 years. You can tailgate in the lot, park way closer, and the cost of both the tickets and parking are way less. Not to mention, food you can actually eat, and most fans actually know more about the game than they do about the bars surrounding the stadium. ST’s can purchase preferred parking without a donation, there are not many pot holes in the lot, the stadium seats more than 7200, there are few fans in ND gear, and players coming through the system are not 2 stars. Problem solved Willy.

Sox better then the Cubs by 2021? Don't be so sure, since the Cubs will still have Bryant, Rizzo, Contreras, Schwarber, Russell, Baez, Almora, Hendricks and Quintana and probably Darvish. Is it also possible that tickets and parking is cheaper is because almost no one goes to their games? Also spoken like a true ill-informed Sox fan, insinuating that the sox fans know more about baseball then the north siders is just plain false. But enjoy yourself at "taxpayers park". while the Cubs continue to contend and outdraw the Southside's by millions.