WTF, is Lynah empty?!

[Jim Hyla]

I'm in favor of lower prices for 2014-15. I don't see a downside to lowering the price to the $12-$14 range. It makes more sense to me to try that after a season that has seen a  t-shirt on Senior Night giveaway.  

As an aside I'll be in section seven in Troy tonight. You'll be able to pick me out as I'll be sporting a broken nose after Neiley thanks me for posting the DQ video on YouTube.

Edit: I wish I lived two hours closer to Lynah. I'd buy season tickets and for me price wouldn't be an issue.

You can come and stay with me every weekend.:-D

[redice]

I'm in favor of lower prices for 2014-15. I don't see a downside to lowering the price to the $12-$14 range. It makes more sense to me to try that after a season that has seen a  t-shirt on Senior Night giveaway.  

As an aside I'll be in section seven in Troy tonight. You'll be able to pick me out as I'll be sporting a broken nose after Neiley thanks me for posting the DQ video on YouTube.

Edit: I wish I lived two hours closer to Lynah. I'd buy season tickets and for me price wouldn't be an issue.

For me, price is never an issue.    It's not that I'm well off.    Cornell Hockey tix are are just part of the operating expenses of my life.   I don't dwell on it; I just pay it & forget it!

Frankly, I think it's more about students loyalty to the team/the program.    When I look across the ice at all of the empty seats (in the student sections) during the opening faceoff, it's clear to me that students don't place the hockey team on a very high level of importance.    That has to affect their buying decisions as much as money.

[Jim Hyla]

It sounds like Ken Dryden might not have come to Cornell if he was a junior player being recruited today.
"It was just absolutely great," Dryden said of his Cornell experience. "I had come from playing Junior B hockey in the Toronto area in front of 150 people. To walk into Lynah Rink and 4,000 people sounding like 24,000, it was fantastic.
"We all do our best when we are doing something that seems to matter, and matter to the people around us. Hockey at Cornell mattered."
We know that hockey at Cornell matters to those of us on this forum. Let's hope it will continue to matter to generations of future Cornellians

Every single Cornell hockey player, when asked about why they chose Cornell, mentions the Lynah Faithful.  Every last one.  

Ticket prices NEED to be lowered.  I knew so many people at Cornell who didn't buy tickets because they were too expensive.  I don't think people care much about Cornell winning, as long as they aren't terrible.  
 
I wrote a letter to Schafer and CC'd it to Andy Noel about this...I seriously hope others do the same.

Let's not pound our chest too much. When Dryden was being recruited there weren't 4000 fans in Lynah. The "Faithful" was just getting started. No, he came because of Harkness, pure and simple. I've mentioned these episodes before. When he was being recruited he went to Princeton, where the coach told him he was building for Ivy and eastern championship, Ned told him he was building for a national championship. Lodboa was once talking about a player who was being recruited by Ned and worried about what to do if Ned went somewhere else. Dan said" You go where Ned goes."

Harkness made the Lynah Faithful, not the other way around. Lynah and it's atmosphere is important, everyone will tell you that Cornell has the best traveling fans base, but we can't get too big on ourselves. Without a continually winning team, and I mean an often ECAC championship winning, there won't be but the true Faithful at games. I agree that student ticket prices should be low, but that means those of us that have benefited by our exposure to Lynah, have to be willing to give back, to benefit the current students.

[Towerroad]

The special "sale" has student tickets at $13 each. Frankly, that still may be the highest student ticket price in all of College Hockey. $234 per season is also probably the highest (particularly on a per game basis) in College Hockey.

I have no problem charging non students more. Minnesota and ND charge on the order of $35. For most working fans that is a reasonable price. But it is a split market and the student price elasticity is different from the alumni/non student elasticity.

I believe that the Athletic Dept has seriously misjudged the student market as is evidenced by the open seats. For too many students, the product the Coach and AD put on the shelf is not worth the price as is evidenced by the unsold seats.

Sorry, I bleed as RED as any, but them's the facts.

[MattS]

The special "sale" has student tickets at $13 each. Frankly, that is still may be the highest student ticket price in all of College Hockey. $234 per season is also probably the highest (particularly on a per game basis) in College Hockey.

I have no problem charging non students more. Minnesota and ND charge on the order of $35. For most working fans that is a reasonable price. But it is a split market and the student price elasticity is different from the alumni/non student elasticity.

I believe that the Athletic Dept has seriously misjudged the student market as is evidenced by the open seats. For too many students, the product the Coach and AD put on the shelf is not worth the price as is evidenced by the unsold seats.

Sorry, I bleed as RED as any, but them's the facts.

I agree with you. The undeniable fact is that the students (and some Townies) have determined that the cost of tickets does not equal the value of the entertainment. Winning would help solve this along with lowering the ticket price.

I also believe that part of the problem is that the entertainment value to the non-diehard fan by the style of hockey the team plays is not very good. My guess is that is it easier for a casual fan to come watch a loss when the game is an exciting 4-5 loss with lots of offensive action than a 1-2 loss with lots of defense. There is a reason that pro sports leagues have become, or have tried to become, offensive minded.

[upprdeck]

I see the cost of tickets going up, the entertainment value stays the same.. still love going to the games. Started out at $60 a season now its close to $400 when you add on the post season up front.

they should get more creative, offer a multi month payment plan, create some incentive to season ticket holders, some discount on the per game cost would help.

Back in the day the tickets were $60 they were only say $5 a pop. people didnt mind missing a game, they were easy to sell because there was demand. the price was roughly the same as going to movie. Now tickets cost double a movie , the demand has dropped, tickets go onsold and every game you dont miss you eat $20 a ticket. When i was young, unmarried, never missed a game.. now the kids  have games, the tickets are pricey, you cant sell them or give them away and you can get into any game you want..  

Add on they messed up the consession stands, it cost way more to drive, the seats are still small, no skating bear, etc

[Towerroad]

Here are a few more comparisons Student Ticket Prices

RPI - $5/game
Q - Free
Ferris State - $6/game, $85/season
Providence - Free
Wisconsin - $160/season
Yale - Free
Northeastern - Free

In many cases the "Free" Student tickets are restricted to the Student Section. "Free" may imply there is some sort of Athletics fee but the marginal cost of having a season ticket is $0.

So far, Cornell appears to have the highest ticket prices in College Hockey.

[dag14]

I found a ticket to the UMass game that someone had dropped.  It was a seat in Section B with a price of $13.  The rest of us pay $18 a ticket for season tickets; students pay $13.

For reasons unrelated to Cornell hockey, I have had access to several years worth of information about the athletic department budget, and the rationale behind the spending cuts that were made in the very lean years and not reversed.  Trust me:  there is very little likelihood of ticket prices dropping.  Other than fund-raising there just are not many sources of revenue available and the university is not going to substitute hockey ticket revenue with an allotment from the operating fund that would have to come from somewhere else at Cornell.

[Chris '03]

Another data point: Michigan is $215 for the season, which is ~$12/game.

[Towerroad]

I found a ticket to the UMass game that someone had dropped.  It was a seat in Section B with a price of $13.  The rest of us pay $18 a ticket for season tickets; students pay $13.

For reasons unrelated to Cornell hockey, I have had access to several years worth of information about the athletic department budget, and the rationale behind the spending cuts that were made in the very lean years and not reversed.  Trust me:  there is very little likelihood of ticket prices dropping.  Other than fund-raising there just are not many sources of revenue available and the university is not going to substitute hockey ticket revenue with an allotment from the operating fund that would have to come from somewhere else at Cornell.

The University may be engaging in revenue maximization. In that case, charging a high price to students and having some empty seats may be preferable to a lower price and a full house. The risk of course is that this could lead to a death spiral.

If a raucous Student section is an important part of recruiting and the student section is not full then it may not help as much in recruiting which in turn leads to lower ticket sales.... This could be a classic short vs long term issue.

[ithacat]

I have no problem charging non students more. Minnesota and ND charge on the order of $35. For most working fans that is a reasonable price.

For those prices I would expect improved concessions, a scoreboard than actually showed real time SOGs and video replays, a sound system that didn't broadcast in tongues, more than worn wooden benches, and replenished rolls of toilet paper in the men's room for Saturday nights.

I wouldn't have any issue, however, if my tickets went up a little to help subsidize student tickets (preferably general admission).

[ScrewBUHarvardtoo]

Section A and B have been as strong as ever this year, but yeah they had to give section D and E tickets to townies. I spoke with a person in the ticket office and they said this year they had a record number of sophomores who had tickets their freshman year not renew. They do need to lower the prices though, especially if we miss the NCAA tournament again. A strong run though (and after what Yale pulled off last year I'm not counting out anything) and interest will be back

[Chris '03]

I found a ticket to the UMass game that someone had dropped.  It was a seat in Section B with a price of $13.  The rest of us pay $18 a ticket for season tickets; students pay $13.

For reasons unrelated to Cornell hockey, I have had access to several years worth of information about the athletic department budget, and the rationale behind the spending cuts that were made in the very lean years and not reversed.  Trust me:  there is very little likelihood of ticket prices dropping.  Other than fund-raising there just are not many sources of revenue available and the university is not going to substitute hockey ticket revenue with an allotment from the operating fund that would have to come from somewhere else at Cornell.

The University may be engaging in revenue maximization. In that case, charging a high price to students and having some empty seats may be preferable to a lower price and a full house. The risk of course is that this could lead to a death spiral.

If a raucous Student section is an important part of recruiting and the student section is not full then it may not help as much in recruiting which in turn leads to lower ticket sales.... This could be a classic short vs long term issue.

On the bright side, the student price hasn't changed in a while: http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,132452,132686#msg-132686 http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,131245,131452#msg-131452 http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,126926,126926#msg-126926

[Towerroad]

I found a ticket to the UMass game that someone had dropped.  It was a seat in Section B with a price of $13.  The rest of us pay $18 a ticket for season tickets; students pay $13.

For reasons unrelated to Cornell hockey, I have had access to several years worth of information about the athletic department budget, and the rationale behind the spending cuts that were made in the very lean years and not reversed.  Trust me:  there is very little likelihood of ticket prices dropping.  Other than fund-raising there just are not many sources of revenue available and the university is not going to substitute hockey ticket revenue with an allotment from the operating fund that would have to come from somewhere else at Cornell.

The University may be engaging in revenue maximization. In that case, charging a high price to students and having some empty seats may be preferable to a lower price and a full house. The risk of course is that this could lead to a death spiral.

If a raucous Student section is an important part of recruiting and the student section is not full then it may not help as much in recruiting which in turn leads to lower ticket sales.... This could be a classic short vs long term issue.

On the bright side, the student price hasn't changed in a while: http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,132452,132686#msg-132686 http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,131245,131452#msg-131452 http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,126926,126926#msg-126926

Over the course of 10 years the student price more than doubled. Is the product twice as good as it was in 03-04?

[Chris '03]

I found a ticket to the UMass game that someone had dropped.  It was a seat in Section B with a price of $13.  The rest of us pay $18 a ticket for season tickets; students pay $13.

For reasons unrelated to Cornell hockey, I have had access to several years worth of information about the athletic department budget, and the rationale behind the spending cuts that were made in the very lean years and not reversed.  Trust me:  there is very little likelihood of ticket prices dropping.  Other than fund-raising there just are not many sources of revenue available and the university is not going to substitute hockey ticket revenue with an allotment from the operating fund that would have to come from somewhere else at Cornell.

The University may be engaging in revenue maximization. In that case, charging a high price to students and having some empty seats may be preferable to a lower price and a full house. The risk of course is that this could lead to a death spiral.

If a raucous Student section is an important part of recruiting and the student section is not full then it may not help as much in recruiting which in turn leads to lower ticket sales.... This could be a classic short vs long term issue.

On the bright side, the student price hasn't changed in a while: http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,132452,132686#msg-132686 http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,131245,131452#msg-131452 http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,126926,126926#msg-126926

Over the course of 10 years the student price more than doubled. Is the product twice as good as it was in 03-04?

Back then, the SAFC(?) subsidized the prices. Every undergrad paid something like $2 of their activity fee towards athletics ticketing. Once they screwed up and didn't apply for funding on time, they had to pass the cost on to the students directly.  Enter $13 hockey tickets and students having to pay for football and lax.