"A pig gets fed but a hog gets slaughtered"...the people working on the ticket price recommendations over at The Athletic Council, namely Vice Chair Antoinette Miranda, may be treading tOSU more into the hog category. Not that most major universities aren't already, but Miranda's comment about Stub Hub in today's Dispatch was just stupid, in my opinion. To justify/defend a premium price for the michigan game being $175 per ticket in 2-3 years, she mentioned her research showed fans willingly pay more than this on Stub Hub! Of course they pay that and well above BUT it's well documented that the image of ticket brokers is about that of Congess, Personal Injury Attorney's and Manti Armstrong.
Sure, go ahead and raise all ticket prices a little more every other year or so, and like always the public will growl a little but they understand prices always go up, we have a great program and the Univerity has huge bills/debt...but big jumps and premiums at 2 1/2 times the cost and tOSU will start to see significant backlash. Nationally, average game attendance has dipped a little already and experts says as prices go up and the "at home experience" keeps getting better (HD and 3D tv etc) they expect the trend to continue. Musicians/Arrists who take heat for ticket prices have been successful at keeping the big ticket brokers as the bad guys. They rightfully dipict them as a necessary evil they cannot control and they document how much of the ticket costs goes to the broker, not the performer. Yes, many of the artists don't really care but they at least act like they do...they don't (like Miranda/OSU) align themselves with brokers or say something a kin to "we know what Stub Hub charges and if your gonna get screwed shouldn't it be by THE OSU".
I know they are probably striking while the iron is hot (12-0) but raising prices significantly in what is still a bad economy and using ticket brokers as part of your defense may be the beginning of at least a few non-sellouts at The Shoe in the future. I go to a lot of games and most mich games but I really don't mine the "at home experience" at all, especially since I live close enough to head down to tailgate and get back home in time to see kickoff. Good luck with the PR on this Miranda.
For me personally, I love the Bucks to death but I can't see a time that I can afford $175 for a ticket. $175 seems way overboard, especially considering that will push up prices on second hand markets to well over $200 for a "C" deck. No thanks, I'll tailgate and hit VC where I can actually watch the game on TV and see the numbers on jerseys. tOSU is getting a bit greedy raising ticket prices this much. Just my opinion
I agree and disagree at the same time. I agree that it can be a bit outrageous for the university to take such a drastic step. On the other hand your argument about the $200 ticket is invalid. I understand why you might feel that way, but if no one wants to buy the ticket at 200 then it will move down and down until someone buys it at a lower price. (See the NBA teams having their tickets listed on stub hub for a dime) That's the magic behind capatalism and markets. OSU is claiming that the real demand for these seats rests right around $175. If that is the case, then you won't see too much fluctuation from that price other than say M*chigan.
I agree for the most part but I think just raising them over the years without big jumps or invoking a ticket brokers ...or how much they can squeeze out of us on a game by game basis keeps OSU looking good from a PR standpoint.
D. Anthony
I use Stubhub to get great tickets to the Reds for next to nothing, because they play 81 games at home. Similarly, NBA teams have what 40 home games? In a situation where at most Ohio State has 8 homegames, you won't find below face value tickets on Stubhub for The Game and other "premium" games that the administrators decide to label.
I'm guessing Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn state(?) MSU(?). I mean do you really expect them to say hey IU is coming to town this team is a 160 dollar a ticket game. this should work the other way when youngstown state comes to the shoe the prices SHOULD drop thus leveling the field but we know how it WILL work it won't and the tickets will stay the same.
here's a scary thought other places of amusement are starting to do this. I know Cedar Point is looking into this pricing model for day tickets/parking or is about to start it this coming season.
On the flip side the San Francisco Giants have been doing this for a couple years and have seen a great success with it
We do it already here at tOSU with basketball, but again there will be a point where we go too far and I fear it's getting close. I guess we can always go back and lower tickets if/when that time comes that we piss off the fans too much. Remember what the Blue Jackets tickets used to cost. Yes, losing had a whole lot to do with that, but even before the losing became too much I know a lot of diehard who just stopped getting their tickets mostly due to cost.
D. Anthony
D-
How much do Blue jacket tickets cost now? because the couple games i went to i was paying like 20 dollars. Yes i was in the nose bleeds, but still in the building.
And i do agree with you that they are about to hit that point of going to far. eventually i know that soon college football/basketball and the NFL venues will start to look like NBA arenas because they have out priced their fans. and the Fans said Screw it i don't need you i have a 80in HDTV, my couch, food that doesn't taste like garbage and cost me my firstborn child, and my own bathroom. i know that doesn't have the same the game day experience but it's still pretty good.
Their first few years you had to pay OSU football type pricing just to be in the building...last year I got great seats for $40... They got out of line with their seat license rates and overall ticket pricing and then they crashed mostly from all the losing..doubt OSU has the big issue with lots of losing, but I think the backlash will finally be significant soon.
D. Anthony
There is one simple message fans can send if this truly spins out of control like we all fear it will and that's not to pay these prices. Stay home and enjoy the games from the comfort of your own living room. Or go to your favorite bar and run up a tab that will still only be half the ticket price. Support the school in other ways buy merch donate to scholarship funds. I know it's cliched and if you give up your tickets there will be five others willing to take your place. A half empty stadium sends a message.
Its soon going to be rich mans ticket leaving the guys who bust our ass to make a living who live and breath buckeye sports out in the cold. I for one won't mortage my house for season tickets for any sports. Does that make me any less of a fan of the school? Hell no.
Let's face it....Urban and Co. are getting paid...so the University needs to make up for it (please don't try to tell me OSU makes up for it in other ways for the staff's salary....it's has to be made up somehow...period). Not to mention the economy is not the best and money needs to come from somewhere. I'll be staying home unless I can still get my 29A tickets for $79 like it's supposedly going up to...from $70. If it goes up to $175 or what ever above...I'll be enjoying the games at home in front of my 52 inch.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
No, no...This isn't to pay Urban and Co... The football program has zero problem paying for itself by a long way. This is all about trying to pay down the 2.4 billion dollar debt for the rest of the University that can't pay for itself.
D. Anthony
No, no... This isn't to pay some university debt... this is to pay for the other two-dozen non-revenue sports fielded by Ohio State Athletics. The Athletic Department does send a lot of cash back to the university (contributions to the recent library renovation as one example), but OSU is not raising ticket prices to pay for non-athletic expenses.
Fair enough but Football indirectly pays for the library thing which helps free-up the University to spend on their other things/debt what have you. The more football makes on tickets the more this indirect helping pay/donate whatever library stuff etc. it is connected in some fashion. It's just like politics, it is politics. :)
D. Anthony
To pay for the library thing? Really?
The glorious thing about tOSU is that they are a public institution with all of their information, including financial, open to the public.
Yes, the athletic program makes a donation back to the university in years in which it sustains a profit (most), and in some instances they have pledged support to university projects such as the library.
Did you ever think that maybe the athletic department is paying for the rennovations to the shoe, or WHAC, or softball field, of baseball complex, or jesse owens, or the new tennis center, or the future Covelli Center, or the new digs the basketball team is getting, or the increase in operating costs for Coach Meyer...
No? Yeah, none of those seem logical...damn the university for raising ticket prices to cover educational costs. It's all that bow tie wearing guy...
I think this is a bit of an over reaction...I went to OSU and love that the football program can support so many others. If you read my response to the previous post you'll see I was saying the tickets pricing was not being raised to cover Urban and Co...there are bigger and more important things to pay for. Just saying don't pretend that football isn't paying for those other "things"...I think you have a problem with me using "thing", like I was demeaning them, which was not the intent.
D. Anthony
My problem wasn't the use of "thing" but rather your belief that we are raising ticket prices to cover university costs instead of athletic costs, that is simply not true. The athletic department is spending money like its water, and that is good for all of our programs but when we outspend our revenues, we need to generate more from a guranteed source, football tickets.
The athletic department's donation/gift back to the university has and will continue to remain relatively flat, while they will pick and choose major projects to participate in such as the library.
As I stated above, there are no less than 7 siginficant construction projects the athletic department has undertaken or plans to undertake in the next decade. These are capital expenditures that show up as a line item on annual budgets year in and year out for the next couple decades. That's a significant chunk of annual expenses dedicated to capital expenditures past, current, and future. That doesn't take into account other operating expenses for the athletic department that continue to rise, the most being the football staff's salary. You could name off any number of employee related costs, the list goes on and on.
My problem is the notion that football supports the university and their debt, that is absurd.
Exactly what I was trying to point out above. Thank you for putting it so clearly.
Football does help support the university in a big way. I never said it was the main life line or anything like that, but if you don't think football is huge to the school and helps support it in many big ways, you need to re-watch Gordon Gee ask Tressel not to dismiss him.
D. Anthony
I never said they don't support the university in many ways. Your argument is that the increase in ticket prices is directly correlated to an increase in athletic funding support for the university, that is not true.
I certainly understand the important role that the football program and athletic department play for the university and I never said they don't.
There wont be less butts in the seats, therefore that is closer to fair market price which is what they should sell for. Frankly, they should start selling tickets for $2k and ramp them down as it gets closer to the game, saving X amount for students.
Tickets on StubHub for premium games already go for hundreds of dollars more than their list price... university is doing nothing more than trying to cut into the scalper's profits. If you are going to resell your Michigan ticket for $600 or whatever, the university is getting almost $100 more out of the ticket then they would otherwise. It's a shame that fans who want to keep their tickets are going to pay the price, but that is just the reality of being a fan of a team this popular.
^^^This. I was just about to post the exact same thing.
If anyone thinks that the cost of premium tickets won't result in the price going up for everyone, then you are out of your mind. A season ticket holder who once sold a $70 seat to a premium game for $150, will sell that new premium seat for $200-300. This is like raising taxes on business. Guess what, it gets passed on to the consumer. In this case the consumer is the person with their ass in the seat. The only way the price does not go up for the ass in the seat is if the increased prices reduce demand. The university charging more for tickets in order to cut out stub hub is about the same as when they license their product to reduce sweat shops. It's a canard meant to gather public support while lining their wallets. Don't be so gullible Buckeyes.
BTW, I am a season ticket holder and I sent Gee an email yesterday voicing my opposition and asking if prices would be reduced for games where we play "little sisters of the poor". I'll pay $150 for my UM tickets if I only have to pay $20 to watch Miami (OH).
Kevin
OH!!!!!
Proud parent of a Senior at The Ohio State University
I sent EGG an e-mail on Tuesday evening asking him who would be the "premium" tickets. I postulated for the past decade AACC was not a "premium" program. Neither was Wisky or any other B1G school. I haven't heard back.
I'd rather see a dollar increase on food or pop before tickets but they don't do that as much because they have to pay the food service a percentage of the profit.
It has nothing to do revenue sharing with Sodexo. They don't don't raise concessions because it is a much less stable revenue stream. For you to say we want to make X million more in revenue from concessions you are then trying to predict a much more volatile consumer demand for a number of different products of which many fans will simply not purchase.
As many others have pointed out, the shoe is going to have 100,000 plus in there every Saturday whether the tickets cost $70 or $79.
In economic terms, the demand for food and pop is more elastic than ticket prices. They are more able to raise ticket prices without losing as many fans.
Haha, there you go, much more succint.
They will only stop raising ticket prices when the games stop selling out. They don't care if you or I can't afford it, someone else can and will pony up.
There were several games last year that didn't sell out.
Kevin
OH!!!!!
Proud parent of a Senior at The Ohio State University
OK. Thanks for pointing that out, but you and I both know that there are plenty of smart people at OSU and they probably have calculated out the inflection point where lower attendance with higher ticket prices is not as profitable as higher attendance with current pricing. My guess is that we aren't even close to that point and are at the high end of the demand curve and lower end of supply.
And when you say there are many smart people at OSU, I completely agree. Let's just hope that the people making this decision are not the same ones who decided against a self imposed bowl ban......
Kevin
OH!!!!!
Proud parent of a Senior at The Ohio State University
haha, nice.
They still averaged ~105k fans a game. That means, even in the games we didn't sell out, there were only a couple thousand less than capacity. And if you are getting significant amounts more money on the 100+ thousand that are attending the lost revenue from the few tickets they don't sell will be dwarfed.
And I can tell you that many of those were sold outside the gates for far below ticket price. Did that negatively affect the University, no. But don't think for a second that demand was as high last year as in previous years.
Kevin
OH!!!!!
Proud parent of a Senior at The Ohio State University
I didn't notice an uptick in scalping in the few games I was at. It's impossible for anyone to quantify or substantiate a claim that demand was down when they were selling 105k tickets a game. You are just pulling that argument out of thin air, because it's not backed up by data.
Right, I'm pulling it out of thin air because it doesn't fit your arguement. Fact is that there were several games that were not sold out. You can find proof of that in the very same forums from back during the season. That is not the norm at OSU. I'll give you a guess what that means. Demand=Down.
i personally saw many scalpels selling game tickets for less than face value during several games. I am sure that there are many here who will back that up. But then again, how would I know. I only go to every home game.......
Kevin
OH!!!!!
Proud parent of a Senior at The Ohio State University
And there will be more empty seats this year too (it's not like everyone can afford $175 for "premium" or even $79 per "regular" ticket). Oh well...we'll never know unless we look it up as public record...as someone pointed out above...have fun getting that;-)
I'm not saying ALL the ticket sales are going to pay coaches...it's all relative. It will end up going back to the University...but it won't be known exactly how or where it's coming from...unless you look it up...and again...good luck finding out the truth about all that. I'm not insinuating that OSU is shady....or anything like that. As someone else pointed out...it's politics...we as the public won't ever know for sure...where it's coming from or going to.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
I'm not sure what constitutes a sellout, but looking at home game attendance over the last several years, they've pretty much all been over 105,000. All but UCF this year, which was like 250-300 people short of 105,000. I know PSU in 2011 didn't "sell out" beforehand - I actually got tickets on Ticketmaster for that one. They still drew 105,493 for that game. But with consistent game attendances, the term "sellout" could be splitting hairs or overly technical. They're getting 105,000 in the 'Shoe on Saturdays, and even if someone got the tickets for below face value, the person they got it from had to get the ticket from somewhere. I strongly doubt they got them from OSU. If they did, then that could be a sign. But if they got them from a scalper, or StubHub, where you can get a good deal a few hours before kickoff from sellers who will lower their price just to get rid of their ricket, then somebody paid face value beforehand.
Class of 2010.
I usually try to make a trip to a game every year, but admittedly, the current price makes it hard to do it. Paying 70 for a pair of tickets(which I can rarely get them at face value) a tank of gas for the round trip, beers for tailgating or buying drinks at VC or something like that prior to the game, food, and parking adds up to quite an expensive day.
Game day experience is awesome, but is it worth the 300+ bucks it costs for me to do it? The older I get, the less I think it is .
I gotta agree with BTALBERT25 on this...ticket prices+ gas + food+ the possibility of lodging as well = way too much money for myself and my son and its only going to get worse not better
Battles are sometimes won by generals; wars are nearly always won by sergeants and privates. Football is no different, the guys down in the trenches win the games, not the coach.
Make that another who agrees with BT. It usually costs me over 300 easily...I used to go at least two times a year. No longer...
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
I know there are people that are going to StubHub to get tickets for $125-150-175+, but it isn't the vast majority of us. I would like to know what the percentage of the 105k+ people in the stadium are paying that for a game ticket. Us season ticket holders are, based on President's and Buckeye Club fees, but Joe public. They are making it seem that 95,000 people are paying over 150 for a ticket to see AACC shit its pants in the Shoe. I call Bullshit. Serious bullshit.
We will all have butt hurt even before we sit on those bench seats at the games... Another reason to spend more money on of those OSU butt pillow/seat cushions.
D. Anthony
The only way I could get on board with "premium" price games (e.g. Nebraska, scUM, or big OOC opponent) would be if they decreased the price of all of the "non-premium" games (e.g. Miami (Ohio), UAB, Toledo, etc). Not that they'd do that...
I think for premium games: between $100-$130 face value
Non-premium: around $50
Sure, this would be great but it doesn't make them the money they are looking for.
D. Anthony
It still would make them more money. As much as they know they can? No, but if they make it 50 and say 150, then its a loss of 20 per bad game and 80 per good game. Most likely, there will be more 150 games than 50 games, and it induces more people to buy these tickets.
It is my sincere wish that "butt hurt" be removed from the lexicon of sports. It makes me cringe every time I see it.
I second that.
Funny, I totally agree Pam...but it seams to bring attention to a post...I originally titled this post "Ohio State and Stub Hub" but didn't get a response for an hour. I edited it to "Ticket Butt Hurt" and people paid attention. It's become an effective hot button word for some reason. :). Us guys are weird.
D. Anthony
Butt Hurt isn't a bad thing....as long as you don't look at it that way. It's a figment of speech...not to be taken literally (most times), and definitely not as a negative reference unless used in that context (and if you take it that way when it's not in a negative reference...then you're not seeing the humor in it). We all want to attend Buckeye games but your wallet's going to feel the hurt more...right? Which most men have a wallet in their back pocket...insinuating a hurt butt...just saying. The English language can be observed in different contexts. It all depends on how you perceive it to be. I'm not sure why our society is so sensitive over words these days....it's not like he said anything that comes out and says anything negative...so I don't understand why it was brought up...??? It's not like you hear or see Butt Hurt all over the TV or elsewhere. Cast away all the DVs you want...but my opinion is spot on.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
You guys know that I don't chime in often on things, but when I do it gets a little wordy. Few things get me going like this, so I will try to be brief.
First of all - StubHub prices. Sure they get top dollar for some of the premier games, but they do not get premium prices for all the seats in the stadium. I have not done the research, but I would venture to guess that they resell less than 10% of the tickets for any OSU game. Most attendees are indeed the original purchasers, many of whom would never dream of paying the exorbitant prices that StubHub gets for some of the seats. Also, when you want to compare prices from StubHub, please don't forget the 'dog' games of which tickets are selling for half face value.
Next - the overall business of college football. Dennis Dodd was just referenced in todays Skully. His premise is that technology is starting to trump the physical game day experience. While OSU wants to ID StubHub as the competition (pricing wise), their real competition is technology. Driving up prices even more will lead to many more regular ticket holders dumping their tickets, or maybe not even buying their tickets in the first place. OSU athletics is healthy, but they are not immune to ills that are affecting college athletics as a whole. Someone needs to really look at this and make sure these price increases will not decapitate the golden goose.
Next - Higher prices on tickets just make the whole attending the game thing just that much more expensive. I don't know how long TTUN has had tiered pricing, but I suspect it was in place in 2009 when this happened: 2009 OSU/TTUN I know, many of you will say that anything like this is not possible in Ohio Stadium, but the same thing could be said about TTUN Stadium in 2005. Raising ticket prices for a 'premier' game only increases the chances of something like this happening. I know that many of the people I sell my tickets to when I can not attend will balk at a price tag of 150 per seat. It won't be hard to find someone from another hot team to buy (not that I would ever do that, I know many who would). And, let's say for the sake of argument that both OSU and TTUN show up with 4+ losses for that game. Anyone want to pay 150 to see that game? Not even TTUN fans will pony up that kind of money for a game like that.
Next - Fan quality changing. I know there are a lot of you who can not stand to have quiet fans at a game. You know, the ones who sit on their hands and constantly complain about the fans in front of them standing. Look for them to be on the increase with this 'tiered' pricing scheme.
OK, this is a big one. Athletic Council Vice Chair Antoinette Miranda who was quoted in the Dispatch article also sits on the Office of Equity and Diversity at OSU. That's right, she is a big player in making sure that there is a level playing field for all OSU students, faculty, admins, etc. Yet, she is behind a pricing scheme that will create an elitist fan base for game attendees! Talk about irony!!!! And, she can not even see what she is doing with the Athletic Council on pricing is counter productive to her efforts in the other office. I would suggest you write to her directly: miranda.2@osu.edu In fact, write to everyone you know as soon as possible - the discussion on this is set for next week. I implore 11W to tackle this with a feature getting most of us on board to voice our opinions on this with the people who make the decisions. Whether you are for this or against it I urge you to write - it is your only recourse before anything is enacted.
Alex, Jason, Johnny, better yet - Ramzy? Can any of you tackle this before the weekend? Our voices need to be heard.
If I understand you correctly, wealthier fans = quieter fans?
I'd like to see the evidence you have to back that up. I don't know where I sit on the economic scale but I can afford those tickets without an issue and I leave the shoe every Saturday with a horrible headache and no voice from screaming until I can't anymore
There is a popular myth going around that the older the crowd, the more quiet the crowd. I say 'myth' because I am a part of that crowd (age 60) and I know that I am not quiet, but I do sit next to many old folks who are pretty darn quiet. I am also drawing from many posts on here during the season about the older fans who are too quiet during game (lots of complaints in many threads). Now, the older crowd is the population that is more able to afford higher prices for tickets. You and I may fall outside those demographics, but the bottom line is that younger families have a harder time affording large ticket expenditures (pun intended). When you figure in contributions to the University (through the Buckeye Club or Presidents Club) in order to get the opportunity to purchase season tickets, along with the cost of the tickets you are easily in excess of 5K per year (that figure is going up because the donation level just got increased as well). At what point will people just say enough and cut back on both tickets and donations? I don't want to see that happen, but we may because not every fan is as fanatical as you and I.
I accept the older the crowd the quieter the crowd complaint, but I don't necessarily buy the older the crowd, the wealthier the crowd, the quieter they are. I can afford my two tickets because my wife and I don't have kids yet and our expenses are fairly limited which allows us to get the tickets.
I just don't think it is fair, one way or the other, to say you are more of a fan because you CAN afford it, or because you CAN'T.
I don't think anyone really is saying because you have more money and can afford to donate to the school and get premium seats that you are a better fan than anyone else. Ohio Stadium is not the only sports venue where people complain about "blue hairs" getting the good seats, being quiet, and also telling other people to sit down. A buddy of mine always joked that at Rupp Arena the rich donors don't stand up during games because they can't get out of their wheelchairs and that they are quiet becuase you can't hear them through their oxygen masks.
While that certainly doesn't apply to all fans who have season tickets, it applies to a large percentage of them. They've got a ton of money and they donate it to the school to buy the tickets. His aunt donated 6 figures to UK and got seats 4 rows off of the court. She then donated a 7th figure and got seats on the court in a folding chair. She's not a quiet lady by any stretch, but she's older, is a widow and has a ton of money.
This kind of ticket sales goes on anywhere that a program is a big deal. Ohio State football, UK basketball, Bama football, and the list goes on and on.
I agree with some of your points. What many fail to understand is that while that student paid half price for their ticket, the blue hair paid 3 or 4 times face value for theirs including memberships, donation+ tickets. If half the stadium is season tickets holders who pay 3 times face value, that means their 50,000 seats equal that of 150,000 normal seats. I'm not a math major, but anyone can see that season ticket holders have a major impact on revenue well beyond face value for their tickets.
Kevin
OH!!!!!
Proud parent of a Senior at The Ohio State University
I'm still upset over this but looking back at it, I have a 50" 1080p plasma TV, a leather recliner and a minifridge filled with whatever craft brew beer I want to drink as well as liquor bar with all the rum and whiskey I can handle. OSU can raise their prices as much as that want, I'll be just fine.
I guess we expect the athletic department to fund itself? I mean what did we all expect when we sit here and gawk at how urban is traveling the country meeting w every recruit, when we applaud that we have the highest paid asst coaches in the B1G, brag about how awesome our facilities are.
I know it is hard for a lot of fans to understand we are the lifeline and we are the revenue for the football program. I'm not saying it is our duty or responsibility as fans to shovel money into the Program but I find it humorous that a lot of you who spend countless hours a week analyzing every move the team makes simply close the wallet and get grumpy about our money hungry university for raising ticket prices. Diehard fans that won't support their team financially?
I don't like higher ticket prices, hell I had an all access pass for 4 years and was PAID to watch the game from the sidelines, I don't like not getting paid for watching the buckeyes.
However, I recognize the path our program is taking and the revenue it's going to take in order to be the best. I might bitch a bit more, I might sneak an extra flask in with me, but count me in for my two season tickets at $79 a piece, and $175 to watch scUM. I wouldn't miss the memories I've been a part of in the shoe for the world, especially not for $9 a head.
I'm with you as far as getting tickets for myself. However, the reality is that only a few tickets are sold at higher prices, like the ones at StubHub. Indeed, many tickets sold on StubHub are sold below face value (maybe not at OSU, but around the country). My fear is that you can only raise ticket prices so high without impacting attendence. Maybe OSU won't hit that cieling, but with the current trend (see the Dennis Dodd article) it is still a possibility. And, will you be just as happy to have $175 tickets for two teams sitting at 7-4 before the game is played? For me the answer is obvious - I would not want to miss that game. But, there will be a point in time when people just don't want the expense and will stay home to watch the game and sell their tickets. Read what Dennis wrote about MSU. Just several years ago it was never thought that an MSU/Iowa game would have empty seats in Sparty stadium, but here they were this year with plenty of empty seats. And, I never want to see the day when TTUN invades Ohio Stadium like we invaded theirs in 2009. I just think that the tiered pricing scheme gets us closer to that possiblity.
You and I may be content to purchase tickets at whatever price OSU charges, but the real bugaboo is what do the students and recent graduates do with increasing prices and so many alternatives to watch a game? If you don't get them into the stadium within 10 years of graduation, you will never get them into the stadium. That is what concerns me. The long term.
Tiered pricing had absolutely nothing to do with the take over of the shit house in 2009. That happened because Tressel curb stomped that program for damn near a decade straight and everyone knew that scUM was about to get their bell rung again. It was embarrassing for scUM and it won't happen at tOSU, and it certainly won't happen because we put in a tiered pricing scheme.
I mean, it is a valid concern that tOSU is pricing itself out of attendance, but we honestly aren't even close to reaching a threshold or point where people are going to stay at home. There is still a shortage of student tickets every year, students will still gobble up all of the tickets. There is a waitlist for season tickets, that list will continue I assume. Any conference game is basically sold out of single game publicly available tickets immediately, with a smattering of single seats available.
We may play in front of, ONLY 103k for the first couple of non-conference games, generally how it is regardless of ticket prices.
Again, I don't want to pay more for tickets either. To argue that it is going to lead in a decline in attendance, create an environment where scUM is a majority in the stadium, and scare fans away from supporting the team is really predicting the worse and to me, a really unfathomable situation for tOSU. We are not Michigan State, scUM, or any other B1G school.
How much actual profit comes in from ticket gate though? Urban's salary is coming from corporate sponsorships, private donors, and TV revenue, not ticket gate. I know a lot of the big league sports actually take a loss or break even for operating costs on game day, but the lucrative TV money and corporate sponsorships are what bring the profits to the franchises. Granted at a place like Ohio State they have far more seats to put butts in, but I'm not sure after all is said and done they are making giant profits from ticket gate.
I don't think that's a reason to raise ticket prices though, because in my opinion, they'll never make a huge profit from ticket gate. They are seeing that at 70 bucks per ticket they'll get over 100,000 every time. Why not push it to near 80. For Michigan games, they'll have over 100,000 paying 150 or 175 anyway. 100,000 at 79 bucks per ticket will make more than 105 at 70, if they can push that price point up some, they'll do it.
Anyway, if they really want to make a profit, they should just sell beers for 9 bucks a pop.
Assuming that as you stated, corporate sponsorships, private donors, and TV Revenue pays for Urban's salary and (assumably) all of Ohio State's coaches...
Concessions are contracted and there for do not use department resources beyond facilities...
Ushers work for free...
ROTC cleans the stadium after the game for free...
Majority of police, sans tOSU, are actually provided via public service...
Let's say including student ticket pricing into general sale pricing, every ticket provides $60 in revenue multipled 105,00 times...each game creates approximately $6.3mil in ticket revenue for the athletic department.
I think it is a pretty safe assumption that football game ticket sales are quite profitable for the university, especially when coaches salaries are paid for by all the corporate sponsors and such.
A $9 increase per ticket creates approximately $1mil per game more in revenue, before the premium game pricing. That one premium game has the opportunity to generate up to $10mil in extra revenue alone.
That is a huge revenue generator for the department, if not the biggest. It is also the only fairly non-elastic revenue stream the department has that they can generate such revenue by increasing the price without truthfully jeopardizing the demand.
I didn't realize they had free labor for cleaning and ushering or that they didn't foot any of the bill for the cops on game day. I have seen CSC personnel on the field on game day before so the contract out some of the minor security.
I was speaking on what I know about professional teams who don't have the luxury or slave labor on game day and actually have to pay money for those services.
I think you vastly over estimate the cost of labor. They do pay for CSC Security, and to be generous, lets say there are 500 CSC security guards, that get paid $20 an hour, for 10 hours of security for the game. That is only $100k. Let's say they put another $200k towards police, and facilities workers also cost $100k. That is but a fraction of the revenue from tickets alone. Even including electricity, water, gas, and all related utilities, that is another $100k. I could keep going, but my point is the cost of operating the stadium is more than covered by ticket revenue alone, and ticket revenue is one of the biggest sources for Ohio State.
I'm not vastly over estimating it, just didn't realize how much free labor Ohio State had. Didn't realize they didn't pay for people to clean the place up, or that ushers were free etc. I know when I was working a lot for CSC here in Cincinnati we had a ton of people on game day for Bengals games working, but we they were doing the ushering, some of the ticket taking, security behind the ticket takers, people on the field, in the suites, outside of the locker rooms etc. The Bengals and Reds also had to deal with an usher and ticket taker union that had employees that had to be used as well. There's contracts for all the stuff I'm sure, but those aren't things like concessions that add revenue, it's just a cost that brings nothing back.
Ohio State doesn't have to deal with all of that if as you say the Ushers are free, the police are on duty and there on the public's dime, and ROTC students clean the place up for free after the games. Obviously, with that in mind there really are no labor costs for game day and their ticket gate is a much larger source of revenue than that of professional teams.
Well the point was that even if all of those that I said are free, or at least heavily discounted, are full cost that is still only another $500k-$1mil extra, which is being extremely liberal in labor and operating costs. That still leaves $4-$5mil in ticket revenue after gameday labor and operating costs are accounted for.
wow
"There is a force that makes us all brothers, no one goes his way alone, all that we send into the life of others comes back into our own." -WWH
Plus we only have 7 home games for the next few years instead of 8. That's gotta be a couple million each year we lose without a 8th home game
Wherever you are, there you be!
Most likely the long term plans are not projecting any more 8 home game seasons. Tops will be 7, and they have to pick certain games to designate as 'premium' and make up for the entire amount lost from the reduced home schedule. Season ticket (full price) will increase from $560 for 8 games to $630 for 7 games in '13 and '14, then $670 in '15 and '17, and $649 in '16 (only one premium game).
It sucks that ticket prices are going up by that much. But here's the thing. This is the same argument I use anytime I hear somebody blame fast food restaurants for America's obesity:
Ohio State football is a business. It is a revenue sport - it's goal is to make money. And make money they do. For every home game, 105,000 fans file into the 'Shoe to see the game. Why does this happen? It's all about the experience. Ohio State is a premier program that wins a lot of games, and the stadium experience is tremendous with the band, the students, and just the general electricity in the air with a premier team. Because of this, people are willing to pay the price asked for tickets. So far, OSU has not charged an amount that has created a situation where they struggle or fail to get 105,000 fans in the stadium. I remember when I first started really going to most games in 2001, face value ticket prices were around $40 (give or take a few bucks either direction, I don't remember exactly how much tickets were). Prices went up progressively to $70, and people are still filling the 'Shoe. That tells OSU right there that people are willing to pay at least that much for the experience, and probably more. And some will complain about the prices going up to $79, but you can be sure that when the Buckeyes welcome Buffalo to the 'Shoe to start the season, there will be 105,000 butts in the seats. And that shows that OSU can raise ticket prices - because people will still come. If you have a major problem with ticket prices going up, the best message you can send is to not buy tickets. It's kind of like people that say McDonald's should change their menu to be healthier. They're doing well with their current business model, so they're going to continue to sell what they sell. OSU is doing well by providing a great gameday experience that some people are willing to pay a lot of money for, so they're going to keep raising prices as long as all of the seats have butts in them for home games. When they charge a price where they can't sell out the stadium anymore, prices will come down. That's the best message you can send them about their prices going up - don't buy them. There's no point in complaining about it if you do buy them, because you're reinforcing their ticket price increases when you do that.
Class of 2010.
I just threw up a little bit in my mouth after reading that....wait ok I'm good.
"There is a force that makes us all brothers, no one goes his way alone, all that we send into the life of others comes back into our own." -WWH
It could actually make it easier to get tickets directly from Ticketmaster for a lot of the games instead of depending on stubhub or even buying from people directly. I know last season I had the option to buy from ticketmaster for several games where most years it's really hard to get tickets for any of the games. NOW, the question is, was the reason economic in nature? Was it because of the horrible 2011 season? Are people just tuning into to more Buckeye games on their awesome TV's. 2013 will answer a lot of those questions of course. It could be really hard to find tickets again unless you go after them after market.
If there are tickets for several games available on Ticketmaster for a nobody like me again, well That will be telling. Honestly, it's just not worth it for me to spend 70 or 80 bucks and drive 130 miles to Columbus to see Buffalo. Game day experience is awesome, but again this year will be telling. This is supposed to be the year that we really compete(not saying I believe that, just the general opinion) If they have complete sell outs for all the games, no matter who they are playing a nice increase is warranted in my opinion. If they have empty seats, which last year had empty seats, then they'll have to be concerned . We have fewer home games on the horizon, and attendance is in decline all over college football. Raising prices may not help any. Of course, that could be why they are hell bent on scheduling out of conference games against good programs too. 3 non conference home games against quality teams from other conferences will put butts in seats.