Athletics Announces Hockey Line Procedure

[ebilmes]

[quote Jacob '06]Sold out just fine with the old line procedures and similar prices. I think it all relates to how well the team did the year before, and last year's team didn't do that well so they won't be that popular.[/quote]

Or, enough years have passed since we've been competitive nationally (only the seniors remember the '06 run) that there's not as high interest.

I think amerks' point was that with the free sports passes this year to all undergrads, there's even more of a stark contrast between hockey ticket prices and those for other sports.

[JDeafv]

[quote ebilmes]stark contrast between hockey ticket prices and those for other sports.[/quote]

Men's hockey needs to stay in the black -- it's the only sport at Cornell that is!

[amerks127]

"I think amerks' point was that with the free sports passes this year to all undergrads, there's even more of a stark contrast between hockey ticket prices and those for other sports."

ebilmes is exactly right.  it's almost like we'd talked about it before.

[hockeychick470]

Thanks.  I was surprised that they hadn't announced a specific game they would do the drawing during like they have the past few years... especially with homecoming this weekend

[Jacob '06]

[quote amerks127]"I think amerks' point was that with the free sports passes this year to all undergrads, there's even more of a stark contrast between hockey ticket prices and those for other sports."

ebilmes is exactly right.  it's almost like we'd talked about it before.[/quote]

From I believe '02-'05 every sport except hockey was free with your student ID. It has only been the past couple of years that you have had to pay for other sports b/c athletics screwed up and didn't submit their paperwork to the SA to get funding. Like I said, they used to sell out the hockey tickets with other sports free easily. It has a lot more to do with the popularity of the team than the cost.

[amerks127]

You are reiterating our argument.  At no point do we disagree.  In fact, I agree with you that the reason the team isn't selling out is because of the relative mediocrity we have witnessed over the last few years coupled with higher prices during an economic downturn and a confusing line process.  We tried to make that case in "Lamenting the Criminalization of the Lynah Faithful."  As ebilmes correctly stated, only seniors (and those of us who watched games before arriving at Cornell) remember the '06 run.

Because the team was popular, Athletics could run the line and charge $234 for season tickets (though I seem to recall older students telling me that ticket prices were not that high back in the '02-'06 era).  Now that the team isn't doing as well, the fact that athletics charges for hockey, when it could easily charge for bball or lax, becomes all the more apparent.  There will be up to 150 unsold student tickets this season.  Therefore, the process will have to change.  The purpose of the line is defeated because supply exceeds demand.

With the current success of sports teams, it is all the more egregious that student hockey fans bear the burden of funding the athletic department, in terms of students paying for games.  Hockey prices should drop while the cost of other sports should increase.

[imafrshmn]

Would it behoove Athletics to discount the ticket prices a little bit this year--say, to $200-- to make sure the season tickets get sold out?  Or, would it be too costly in terms of reducing some of the appeal of the product?  These things, I don't know.  What I do know is that if we aren't packing Lynah rink this year every game, the Faithful traditions and values will suffer.

[Townie]

[quote amerks127]Because the team was popular, Athletics could run the line and charge $234 for season tickets (though I seem to recall older students telling me that ticket prices were not that high back in the '02-'06 era).[/quote]
There was also the issue of SA funding, which stopped a few years back.  Athletics increased hockey ticket prices to offset that loss in funding.

[CowbellGuy]

People keep talking about this non-sellout business like it's a novel thing. Undergrad season tickets haven't sold out for the last 3 or 4 years.

[imafrshmn]

[quote CowbellGuy]People keep talking about this non-sellout business like it's a novel thing. Undergrad season tickets haven't sold out for the last 3 or 4 years.[/quote]

Last 2 years.  '05-'06 was definitely sold out, but it was easier to do it with a couple hundred less seats available. edit: actually, the number of seats for students hasn't been changed by the renovation.

[billhoward]

[quote imafrshmn]Would it behoove Athletics to discount the ticket prices a little bit this year--say, to $200-- to make sure the season tickets get sold out?  Or, would it be too costly in terms of reducing some of the appeal of the product?  These things, I don't know.  What I do know is that if we aren't packing Lynah rink this year every game, the Faithful traditions and values will suffer.[/quote]

Cornell's hockey season ticket price is high if you're trying to make ends meet as a student. It's also a rounding error in your tuition/room/board. It's less than a lot of other schools charge. I'd be that dropping the price $35 or so wouldn't necessarily flex the supply/demand curve enough to both sell out the season ticket allotment and fill the seats.

If you dropped the price ridiculously low, to $49 for the season, Lynah would sell out, and then a lot of casual fans wouldn't come because they didn't have a lot invested in those tickets.

[amerks127]

The numbers were (secretly) picked prior to the game, and they will be released be on Monday.  I was told that all three numbers were "pretty high."

[French Rage]

[quote amerks127]
Because the team was popular, Athletics could run the line and charge $234 for season tickets (though I seem to recall older students telling me that ticket prices were not that high back in the '02-'06 era).[/quote]

Not even close to that amount in that era, I remember them being even less than half that, somewhere in the $110 range.

[oceanst41]

[quote French Rage][quote amerks127]
Because the team was popular, Athletics could run the line and charge $234 for season tickets (though I seem to recall older students telling me that ticket prices were not that high back in the '02-'06 era).[/quote]

Not even close to that amount in that era, I remember them being even less than half that, somewhere in the $110 range.[/quote]

I am pretty sure my first set of season tickets ('03-'04) was $106, including the shirt.

[Trotsky]

IIRC, my first set of season tickets cost $32.

Of course, that was back when the dollar wasn't toilet paper...