Welsh-Ryan Arena Renovation Survey
- Thread starter SteveNU
- Start date
Just got it.
Better get out your wallets, "donations" will be required for the good seats!
To be fair, it was just them feeling things out. I can't imagine there are enough deep wallets to fill out all the seats they're looking for donations for, but it's safe to say the days are gone of lower bowl for low prices.
The thing I don't get is how these "donations" could be tax deductible. Seems like an unnecessary rich person perk that the government should eliminate (and I'm an old rich person!).
Yeah, I just took their survey. Most of it was about gauging my interest in premium seating, rather than getting my feedback on needed improvements. My overall impression was that it was all about money. Now money is important, but so is having excited fans filling the seats.
The survey was fine. Go through your email and count how many "How Was Your Gameday Experience" surveys you've filled out in the past few years about Welsh-Ryan (I have 6 from last season alone). They don't need another survey to tell them that benches suck, concessions suck, bathrooms suck, etc. First 40% of this survey was the exact same stuff we've been asked about for a decade.
The last ten years are the golden era of NU hoops (at least for the under-60 set)! All those NITs!
Man, isn't this the truth?!?! The whole thing has that feeling that past WF points won't matter. Pay up and you're in!!
Also, their proposed donation points SCREAM attendance levels similar to purple, lower bowl seats throughout most of the arena.
However, it's pretty obvious this is NU's starting point in the "negotiation." I don't expect the donation levels to stay at either of the proposed rates. I think all NU's basketball-centric "big donors" are located in sections 103 and 104 (anybody disagree?), so I'd be interested to understand where they think they're going to get this new large influx of available revenue.
It's fine that prices are going to increase. They should have a long time ago. And I don't blame NU for trying to maximize its revenue on the back of its shiny new diamond.
But it's also not the fault of the fans that the school didn't invest in basketball or try to improve revenue for 30+ years. So I'm pretty uncomfortable with any attempt to even the scale with one drastic change.
In the end, we're still talking about a program that has been nowhere near an NCAA tournament. A $1000-1500 annual donation for that level of play as well as seats that can't be given away for two months of the season? Good luck with that.
NU will go with said plan until they can't due to lack of interest. Wonder where your "donation" will go while they play next season at Loyola or Rosemont. It sounds a lot like the $600 minimum "donation" required to get a spot in the west lot. Priority points be dammed.
I burst out laughing when I saw some of those suggested price levels. They're really banking on the team breaking through and making the tournament in the next two seasons.
I answered the survey. Unless CCC gets them to the DePaul early 80s winning level, it will be an empty lower bowl. It is hard getting folks to go either football or ball. Maybe an uptick in winning will work.
For other schools, they are either the only game in town or in the state. There are plenty of other entertainment options.
I told them the main problem of my game day experience was seeing all the empty purple season ticket holder seats. I assume some are held by out of towners, but there has to be more incentive (tax write off is not enough I guess) for those folks to return any tickets to NU to redistribute.
Reg pricing of donation levels, I agree they are suggesting too much.
I hope everyone on the board is having a great summer!
Pete
Reg pricing of donation levels, I agree they are suggesting too much.
I hope everyone on the board is having a great summer!
Pete
Donations required for lower bowl seats. but the minimum donation level are pretty poor but no donations for upper area on sidelines other than club boxes. And basically raising those lower level seats to say $1300 per seat or almost $100 per game. Pretty pricey. Making it a donation rather than raising the ticket prices to make it more palatable but... It was also unclear in that on one hand for some of the really high priced seats they had donations listed at say 3000 per seat but also listed 1500
Other than the tax advantage for the donation versus the ticket price, it ends up the same out of your wallet..............
$100 "all-in" per game really isn't that expensive. Granted that they have a much richer basketball history, but Illinois has some pretty outrageous required donations for premium seating that come with a minimum timeframe. Iowa is in the same ballpark.
Like the minimum donation for football tickets and parking, this seems like yet another example of NU fans calling for our programs to compete with the "big boys" then getting upset when the program's take the steps to compete.
$100 to watch MVSU? I agree the cost is reasonable for Big 10 games but the typical OOC slate NU offers is hardly a compelling value proposition!!
Would it make you feel better to think you're paying $50 for MVSU and $150 for MSU?
I've been a season ticket holder and showed up to just about every game over the past 30 years. In the words of Colonel Jessup, I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way.
I always have, and I always will donate what I can, but don't make me feel like a chump for supporting the team all these years only to get squeezed out at the first hint of some success.
No, and you're missing the point. A $1,500 surcharge on top of a season ticket price is just plan absurd, when half of the games are against the likes of MVSU, Eastern Washington, Bryant, New Orleans, Chicago State, IUPUI, and Houston Baptist (the partial OOC slate for the upcoming 2016 season).
Let's not be crazy. There's NO WAY the required donation is going to be $1500. That's pretty obviously NU's starting point. If they think a majority of the season ticket base is a group that doesn't watch their pennies, then they really don't know their market at all.
I'm not missing the point. Every school has their fair share of cupcakes that come in. Iowa has powerhouses like Regis, Stetson, Kennesaw State, Savannah State, Texas-Rio Grande Valley, UN-Omaha, North Dakota, and Delaware State coming to Iowa City to go with decent games against Northern Iowa, Seton Hall, and the traditional game against Iowa State.
My point is that it is inconsistent for fans to demand that our programs compete with the highest-level programs on one hand and then on the other hand complain when the programs take steps to do that.
"Take steps" is your key phrase. This is the first step.
When NU performs on a similar level and invests consistently at the same level as other schools, then I can accept a comparable revenue-generation package.
Until then, I expect an increase that reflects the initial step they are taking.
For instance, a massive overhaul of the stadium (even though mostly financed privately) and paying up to get Collins while paying off Carmody?
Plus, how exactly would NU invest money that it doesn't have? Quite frankly, a $1,500 minimum donation would probably be on the lower-end of P5 conference basketball programs and is also a "step" toward generating the kind of revenue required to annually compete at the highest levels.
Given that NU has been and is at the "lower end" of Power 5 schools performance-wise, it needs to build interest before it builds revenue. And let's face it, we aren't talking about boatloads of money for NU here. Assume that there are 2,000 seats which require "donations". This would only bring in a couple million dollars if all sold out, a pittance in the grand scheme of things (NU had the budget to pay Carmody a million dollars not to coach, so the money is there). Let's see the place sold out and electric before we start to jack up the cost of entry.
Case in point: new Yankee Stadium. The old stadium was a tough place to play because the fans were so passionate. The Yankees jacked up the ticket prices for the new stadium, and the good seats have been largely empty as the passionate fans are priced out of them. The Stadium is noticeably quieter than the old one. Most of the good seats are sold to corporate buyers who use them for client entertainment. I fear the same might happen at WRA.
For reference, schools will reportedly get $32.4MM each from its new BTN conference, which will increase to $47MM in 2017-2018. That's money that has to fund the entire Athletic Department's programs (scholarships, travel, etc.). An incremental "couple million dollars" is hardly a drop in the bucket, especially when the whole idea is to create a recurring stream of revenue.
I like that we're suddenly comparing NU to other P5 conference teams when it comes to revenue. You'll have to show me the other schools who have a similar win pct., history, enrollment and attendance in a similar market.
The one thing I do know is that NU has similar money.
What I find surprising about your position is that you seem to hold people out here responsible for some pretty reasonable requests as they try to adjust to "playing with the big boys." In the meantime, you have no problem with NU as it obviously tries to play catch up after operating the revenue around its basketball program for decades like a high school booster club.
If NU had raised its past ticket prices responsibly and incrementally, while requiring any kind of donation like every other school does, it would not be trying to make for a minimum of ten years of lost revenue. If the $1500 plan were adopted, it's pretty obvious NU would compound its original stupidity and risk losing a small percentage of its microscopic STH base. They should be building the support, not trying to bring it back in a couple years.
Once this is said and done, the last thing I want to see is even fewer fans in November and December 2018, and more visiting fans in January and February.
I don't "have" to show you anything, but I have already and will do so again. Iowa football has a $10,000 minimum donation for a lot equivalent to the west lot, $6,000 for the equivalent to the east lot, and $2,500 for the equivalent of the golf course lots. Iowa basketball seems on roughly similar terms without the same top level. The option to purchase parking at Penn State doesn't even kick in without a $1,000 minimum donation and $2,500 in a reserved lot. The football powerhouse that is Rutgers requires a $2,500 minimum donation to park in its west lot equivalent. Even more powerful Indiana offers "complimentary reserved space parking" for a donation of at least $3,500. Even though we've been extremely competitive with them on the field, Nebraska's equivalent of the west lot will run you $5,000 annually. Need more examples?
NU gets the same exact amount of money as other B1G schools from the BTN and ESPN contracts. However, NU doesn't have NEARLY the same donation base precisely because we've gone without minimum donations for years now.
If we're going down this road, at least answer the question I asked. Then we can talk about the incredibly long list of differences in the market demand and potential revenue of NU basketball compared to historic programs like Penn State football, Indiana basketball, Nebraska football and even to a lesser extent Iowa sports and Illinois basketball. I'm surprised you forgot OSU.
I'm hoping all those complaining don't kick in for the premium seats. Makes it easier for me to upgrade.
What was your question?
I notice you focused on PSU football, Indiana basketball, and Nebraska football while overlooking examples that don't fit your narrative (Indiana football, Rutgers football, etc.).
OK, let's take a look at your Indiana example since it supposedly doesn't fit my "narrative." Let's look at all the fabulous prizes you can get for Indiana football if you donate.
* 4 season ticket maximum (details in italics. Trust me you don't need details for IU football season tickets)
* Opportunity for "Football Reserved Area Parking Permit"
Grand total ... $100 donation. If I donate $3500, I get the next level of parking.
Now how does that compare to the NU basketball plan?
Also, in case you missed it, there is not a separate plan for IU football. It's under a single umbrella, and anybody with half a brain understands football is not driving that revenue.
Let's not forget the other sport-specific plans.
* Penn State basketball tix - courtside ... $420 - no plan
* Nebraska basketball - $1000 max donation with plenty below $250
* Iowa basketball - $2500 for Premium seating with the club memebership ...next level $600
* How about a similar market ... DePaul - $240 midcourt - no donation
At least now you have some relevant information as you pretend you're comparing apples to apples with similar marketplaces.
* 4 season ticket maximum (details in italics. Trust me you don't need details for IU football season tickets)
* Opportunity for "Football Reserved Area Parking Permit"
Grand total ... $100 donation. If I donate $3500, I get the next level of parking.
Now how does that compare to the NU basketball plan?
Also, in case you missed it, there is not a separate plan for IU football. It's under a single umbrella, and anybody with half a brain understands football is not driving that revenue.
Let's not forget the other sport-specific plans.
* Penn State basketball tix - courtside ... $420 - no plan
* Nebraska basketball - $1000 max donation with plenty below $250
* Iowa basketball - $2500 for Premium seating with the club memebership ...next level $600
* How about a similar market ... DePaul - $240 midcourt - no donation
At least now you have some relevant information as you pretend you're comparing apples to apples with similar marketplaces.
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