Old Ticket Prices

[HRE Otto IV]

I have a collage of old tickets that I used to make a 44. Out of curiosity I checked the ticket prices.

The section I used to sit in was upperdeck sidelines. Now those tickets cost $225 each for the season. Back in:

2002 we had 6 games and it cost $140 for the entire season. Most games were about $25 each with the FCS game at $10. The product is way worse now so how do you explain an increase of 60% in 12 years?

2003 we had 7 games costing $185. Most games were about $25 each and the ND game was almost $40. We didn't play an FCS so that coupled with the extra game and ND explains the $45 increase. Even with the extra game those tickets were about 80% of this year's 6 game schedule.

2004 we only played 5 home games. Games were up to $30 each with FSU being $44, so the total cost was $160. Not sure why the price per game went up $5 a game. Maybe it was because the prior years were under priced? Despite the 20% increase vs the prior years, those tickets were 75% of today's price.

I had prior years as well but those above were the most recent in the collage. If you notice those are all pre TGD. I have to think he is largely to blame for the out of whack prices. The prices have been pretty steady the last few years. So that means the price hike happened during the GRob years, which were the worst in program history.

 

[UnknownOrange]

While I'm not a huge fan of current pricing -- this was also 12-14 years ago. Price goes up for a lot of stuff. Movies were like $6 in 2002.

I understand the frustration and am hoping for a change

 

[DoubleDee]

Pic of collage? I like the idea.

 

[blizz]

I'm not an economist but have you adjusted for inflation? If thats a no go I think a solid fallback (and I learned this hanging out on this board) is the ole piss-off-the-donors-index.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I'm not an economist but have you adjusted for inflation? If thats a no go I think a solid fallback (and I learned this hanging out on this board) is the ole piss-off-the-donors-index.

Not sure how accurate online calculators are but from the one I found:

2002 $140 would be $187.50 today.

2003 $185 would be $245 today. However there were 7 games, all of which were FBS games. If you take away 2 OOC FBS games and add in an FCS game, the price goes down to $150-$155 which is $200-$205 today.

2004 $160 would be $205 today. However there were only 5 games so you need to add an FCS game. That puts the price up to about $175 which is $225 today.

Tickets were a steal in 2002. In 2003 they were cheaper than today. In 2004 they were about the same as today. However demand has gone well down and the product is a lot worse. That should drive prices down not have the 2004 price be the same as the 2016 price.

 

[ssmorol]

I think my cable bill was about $40 back then too...wow have things changed!

 

[chugg21]

Imagine that our prices are still near the very bottom for P5 programs. Believe that same seat at a powerhouse would cost double.

 

[MSOrange]

I understand the frustration also but I think you have to consider the cost of running the athletic department has gone up. The ACC money obviously helps but it's not enough to fund the whole AD.

 

[CusefanATL]

I understand the frustration also but I think you have to consider the cost of running the athletic department has gone up. The ACC money obviously helps but it's not enough to fund the whole AD.

the frustration is that we have lost our fan base because of bad product.

look what the mavericks did when Cuban took over.

 

[OrangePA]

Not sure how accurate online calculators are but from the one I found:

2002 $140 would be $187.50 today.

2003 $185 would be $245 today. However there were 7 games, all of which were FBS games. If you take away 2 OOC FBS games and add in an FCS game, the price goes down to $150-$155 which is $200-$205 today.

2004 $160 would be $205 today. However there were only 5 games so you need to add an FCS game. That puts the price up to about $175 which is $225 today.

Tickets were a steal in 2002. In 2003 they were cheaper than today. In 2004 they were about the same as today. However demand has gone well down and the product is a lot worse. That should drive prices down not have the 2004 price be the same as the 2016 price.

What about labor costs? What about infrastructure improvement costs? What about food/beverage costs? What about utility costs?

The cost of the ticket is based on a lot of things.

The notion that SU Football tickets are expensive - by any measure - is not accurate in my opinion.

Just to give you an idea of ticket prices. I just went to the last Phillies game of the year. For two tickets and parking it cost me $245.00.

 

[Millhouse]

What about labor costs? What about infrastructure improvement costs? What about food/beverage costs? What about utility costs?

The cost of the ticket is based on a lot of things.

The notion that SU Football tickets are expensive - by any measure - is not accurate in my opinion.

they should be maximizing revenue based on what people are willing to pay. you don't price based on some fixed cost for how much it costs to turn the lights on.

it's obvious that some seats are too expensive seeing as how no one ever sits in them

 

[HRE Otto IV]

What about labor costs? What about infrastructure improvement costs? What about food/beverage costs? What about utility costs?

The cost of the ticket is based on a lot of things.

The notion that SU Football tickets are expensive - by any measure - is not accurate in my opinion.

Just to give you an idea of ticket prices. I just went to the last Phillies game of the year. For two tickets and parking it cost me $245.00.

I wasn't complaining about the cost of SU tickets. I think they are a good deal. I was making an observation on the old tickets, which were an even better deal. What doesn't make sense to me is that the deal has gotten worse despite the lower demand and poor product.

Shouldn't all of those costs rise proportionally with inflation? Why would they go up at a higher rate?

Food/beverage costs should be recouped via the price for the products not the tickets.

I think that section (304) for $37.50 a game is a little expensive given the product. It probably should be at $33.33 a game. That isn't a huge difference though. For a family of four that is $100 a year.

IMO all sports tickets are out of whack. I think there is an industry wide problem. Most teams are not at an optimal tickets price for revenues IMO. In addition, you need people in seats to help your team win. These teams are making millions of dollars off of TV. Ticketing is no longer the primary source of income. So why not make sure you are at 90% capacity in lieu of an extra few bucks. Sports are communal, taking advantage of the fans and being greedy is not good.

 

[Millhouse]

Sports are communal, taking advantage of the fans and being greedy is not good.

yes, a lot of the value someone gets out of a ticket comes from other people being there.

they should talk to the bills about how they did it. when i was a kid, they'd get 20,000. they stunk but lots of bills teams stink. now people go because other people go

 

[OrangePA]

they should be maximizing revenue based on what people are willing to pay. you don't price based on some fixed cost for how much it costs to turn the lights on.

it's obvious that some seats are too expensive seeing as how no one ever sits in them

I am no economist but I wonder how you price tickets based on what folks are willing to pay.

I think you price tickets based on your set costs and your required margins and probably what other comparable programs charge.

And, then you hope your team plays well enough to draw fans.

You can't adjust ticket prices during the season - based on performance - in either direction - for any number of reasons. And, what I have noticed is that many of the fans who buy season tickets in the expensive areas don't show - not because of cost but because of performance.

I remain convinced that attendance in Syracuse is a function of performance on the field. When the team starts to play well and demonstrates an ability to win every week the fans will come back.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I am no economist but I wonder how you price tickets based on what folks are willing to pay.

I think you price tickets based on your set costs and your required margins and probably what other comparable programs charge.

And, then you hope your team plays well enough to draw fans.

You can't adjust ticket prices during the season - based on performance - in either direction - for any number of reasons. And, what I have noticed is that many of the fans who buy season tickets in the expensive areas don't show - not because of cost but because of performance.

I remain convinced that attendance in Syracuse is a function of performance on the field. When the team starts to play well and demonstrates an ability to win every week the fans will come back.

I agree that the product is the biggest problem. I think we can get back to the McNabb era type of teams. However the place still won't sell out. Back in the McNabb days we only got 48k a game. And that was a different time. Not every game was on TV so you had to go to watch the team. Since not every game was on TV the school had more control over start times (fewer nooners). HD didn't exist back then so the home experience wasn't as good.

Look at next year's schedule. If we had a McNabbesque team IMO we would see:

FCS team 42k
MTSU 42k
CMU 45k (assuming parents weekend)
BC 45k
Pitt 45k
Wake 50k (one of the 3 ACC games would be homecoming and get a bump)
Clemson 50k
Average 45.5k

That is still a lot better than we have now but it is far from a sell out. Which is why IMO it would be best to have 44k capacity. In the good years we sell out. In the mediocre years we get 40k which is 90% vs only 80% of current capacity.

 

[OrangePA]

I agree that the product is the biggest problem. I think we can get back to the McNabb era type of teams. However the place still won't sell out. Back in the McNabb days we only got 48k a game. And that was a different time. Not every game was on TV so you had to go to watch the team. Since not every game was on TV the school had more control over start times (fewer nooners). HD didn't exist back then so the home experience wasn't as good.

Look at next year's schedule. If we had a McNabbesque team IMO we would see:

FCS team 42k
MTSU 42k
CMU 45k (assuming parents weekend)
BC 45k
Pitt 45k
Wake 50k (one of the 3 ACC games would be homecoming and get a bump)
Clemson 50k
Average 45.5k

That is still a lot better than we have now but it is far from a sell out. Which is why IMO it would be best to have 44k capacity. In the good years we sell out. In the mediocre years we get 40k which is 90% vs only 80% of current capacity.

On the other hand, college football is far more popular now than it was then.

And, we are now in the ACC.

And, we have opposing teams that are truly high profile coming to Syracuse.

I am confident that we will fill the Dome when we get back to a national level of performance.

 

[bevosu]

This was a December 2015 article......

College football attendance drops for fifth straight year, but at slower rate

 

[Millhouse]

I am no economist but I wonder how you price tickets based on what folks are willing to pay.

I think you price tickets based on your set costs and your required margins and probably what other comparable programs charge.

And, then you hope your team plays well enough to draw fans.

You can't adjust ticket prices during the season - based on performance - in either direction - for any number of reasons. And, what I have noticed is that many of the fans who buy season tickets in the expensive areas don't show - not because of cost but because of performance.

I remain convinced that attendance in Syracuse is a function of performance on the field. When the team starts to play well and demonstrates an ability to win every week the fans will come back.

i don't know how they're coming up with required margins considering that seats are priced so wildly different from each other and for different games

it's not like the bench at the 50 costs more to install than the bench in the upper deck

if you do cost plus pricing across the board, we'll have much fewer people. we'd do better between the 20s though.

you try to maximize revenue and if you can't break even, you get out of the business

 

[Ish88888]

Our PSLs are the biggest problem, AKA the "donation". Season ticket holders try and recover this component of the ticket when selling and people aren't going to pay 80-120$ for any product, good or bad. Condense the preferred, donation seating for the next 2 years. Something that should have been done immediately following the GROB era.

 

[Cusefan95]

I am no economist but I wonder how you price tickets based on what folks are willing to pay.

I think you price tickets based on your set costs and your required margins and probably what other comparable programs charge.

And, then you hope your team plays well enough to draw fans.

You can't adjust ticket prices during the season - based on performance - in either direction - for any number of reasons. And, what I have noticed is that many of the fans who buy season tickets in the expensive areas don't show - not because of cost but because of performance.

I remain convinced that attendance in Syracuse is a function of performance on the field. When the team starts to play well and demonstrates an ability to win every week the fans will come back.

I largely agree with this - two issues with "pricing to fill seats for a 2-10 team" is that in Syracuse you literally can't give tickets away to fill the stadium for a 2-10 team...and then if/when performance on the field gets substantially better, raising prices to what true market value should be is impossible because you've conditioned your fans to ridiculously low pricing.

 

[PoppyHart]

You can't adjust ticket prices during the season - based on performance - in either direction - for any number of reasons.

Ummm, why not?

 

[OrangePA]

Ummm, why not?

Okay here is one example.

Say that the team is projected to win nine games in 2017.

And 3,000 fans buy seats in the 200 level for $35 per game.

And for whatever reason the team loses the first six games and the season is lost.

So, the University announces that the 200 level seats will go for $10 per game.

What does the school do for the fans who bought the same tickets for $35 per game??

You can't treat different fans differently based upon performance on the field during the season.

 

[Millhouse]

Okay here is one example.

Say that the team is projected to win nine games in 2017.

And 3,000 fans buy seats in the 200 level for $35 per game.

And for whatever reason the team loses the first six games and the season is lost.

So, the University announces that the 200 level seats will go for $10 per game.

What does the school do for the fans who bought the same tickets for $35 per game??

You can't treat different fans differently based upon performance on the field during the season.

airlines do it

 

[690West]

Okay here is one example.

Say that the team is projected to win nine games in 2017.

And 3,000 fans buy seats in the 200 level for $35 per game.

And for whatever reason the team loses the first six games and the season is lost.

So, the University announces that the 200 level seats will go for $10 per game.

What does the school do for the fans who bought the same tickets for $35 per game??

You can't treat different fans differently based upon performance on the field during the season.

If you buy a jacket for $100, and 2 weeks later, based on many different factors, that jacket goes on sale for $75, you don't get a rebate. You bought the jacket for $100 based on the information you had at the time. Now, you could gamble and wait to see if it goes on sale. It could also go up in price if you wait. Real time supply/demand adjustments would be fantastic.

 

[MSOrange]

If you buy a jacket for $100, and 2 weeks later, based on many different factors, that jacket goes on sale for $75, you don't get a rebate. You bought the jacket for $100 based on the information you had at the time. Now, you could gamble and wait to see if it goes on sale. It could also go up in price if you wait. Real time supply/demand adjustments would be fantastic.

Exactly, where I live, the Kansas City Royals have implemented dynamic pricing for single game tickets for at least the past two seasons.