Ticket Line Procedures

[jy3]

like french rage said, not everyone knows about the ticket exchange or this board. of course someone could pass the www onto the frosh...

[Eric \'01]

The Line at Lynah can't be like the K-Ville at Duke, mostly because K-Ville makes the students stay outside before every game for the entire season, which is fine if you're in North Carolina in the winter, but not in Ithaca.

Cornell should follow what Penn does for men's basketball.  Yes, Penn Basketball isn't a national powerhouse like Big Red Hockey, but there are lots of similarities:  big student body, small group of intensely loyal fans (and larger group of 'facetimers'), small arena, and teams always at the top of their leagues.

"In order to reserve spots in the line, fans will need to collect a bracelet with their group at a time and place that will be announced by www.PennAthletics.com sometime during the coming week -- the athletic department is keeping the place secret until then. The first to reach this undisclosed location will get the first choice of seats at the Palestra on Saturday night."

http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/3db505f5d814a

[melissa]

check out today's sun online - definitely an enjoyable read!!! note - there are 4 or 5 articles on the line and the chaos. apparently many people are now realizing that Gene's excessive gel use has affected what brain cells he has.:-P

[Al DeFlorio]

"From everything I've heard, the kids here have been pretty pleased with the process," said Nighman.
::rolleyes::

[Will]

I'm quite interested in responding to each of these articles, though for different reasons.  I'm sure others will do the same.

[Cornell Fan]

Al DeFlorio wrote:

"From everything I've heard, the kids here have been pretty pleased with the process," said Nighman.
::rolleyes::

Better get to your office then and check the old email machine, Gene...

[gtsully]

Holy.  Crap.

I don't even know what to say, since I wasn't even there, but it really sounds like most of you guys got screwed... hard.  All I can do is hope that you all somehow get into that rink for every home game and show these face-timers how to be true fans.  Sadly, it apears that this abomination will be used primarily to build support for a new rink, while the greater problem will still be ignored.

One great year and athletics is trying to turn us into BU West...   ::yark::

[Adam \'01]

There's a key point being forgotten by some people arguing that occasional empty seats are a reason not to expand Lynah or build a bigger rink.  The fact is that ALL the empty seats are already paid for.  If you choose not to use your tickets, shame on you, but Athletics has already collected your money.  Could Cornell pre-sell another 1,000 or so more seats to townies or students?  Absolutely.  

Sure, some games will still have no-shows....that's a fact of life when it's February, and cold outside, and mid-terms are approaching, and lowly Vermont (etc.) is in town.  But from an economic point of view, it simply doesn't matter.  Athletics can SELL the extra tickets because of market demands and this should be the most important point in favor of expanding the rink or building a new one.

[Cornell Fan]

I went to the ticket office a few minutes before they opened at 10 this morning to inquire if there were any extra season tickets, and I was turned away.  I think they actually had a couple left, but supposedly there was some waiting list signed by ~20 people who were turned away on Friday that they are going to give priority to for these seats (another sham, considering I never saw or heard about this list being circulated).  So there is pretty much no more hope of getting student season tickets unless you were already on this list.

On the brighter side, I could see Gene in the office through the window frantically trying to check his email, and he seemed pretty on edge. ::flipb::

[CUlater]

It would be a mistake to limit each person to one ticket.  Too many people have other things they must attend (for example, classes or, in my case one year, the LSAT in Syracuse).  "One person, one ticket" should only be a fallback if there is a serious scalping problem.

As for the line, in the late 80s, we slept outside Lynah (before the Fieldhouse was built), in a rough line, for a few days before the doors opened.  Public Safety (now the Cornell Police) maintained a list and would, fairly randomly, do line checks to make sure everyone was there.  If you weren't there, you got dropped from the list.  The last line check was usually around midnight, IIRC.  The night before the sale, they let us into Lynah, comparing our student ID to the list and as we entered, they gave us a colored ticket, corresponding to our class year.  We slept on the rink the night before the sale (I remember huddling around a radio listening to Roger McDowell of the Mets giving up a game-winning home run to Terry Pendleton of the Cardinals to finish off the Mets' chances in 1987) and then the next morning, the sale began, with seniors going first.  If you weren't inside Lynah the night before, you could not "cut" and had to wait until the freshman chose their seats.

There was no official "line up" time; instead, there was just a time when you would be let into Lynah, for the night, and given your number.  Everyone "knew", however, that Public Safety would keep a line list while you camped outside.  Yes, many people missed class, but order was fairly well maintained.  Also, the line checks were spaced out long enough, that once a check was made, you faced the decision of actually having the opportunity to go to class (or go home for a shower).

[melissaa]

OK. So, after exchanging e-mails with the coach on this year's line fiasco, I've been asked to compose a formal letter stating what was wrong with this year's procedure and make suggestions on how to fix it. Since I wasn't there I am hoping you all can help me out by providing me with details on what else (aside from what has already been mentioned in this thread) was problematic and perhaps giving me your best idea on how to remedy the situation for years to come. Any imput would be appreciated. As a third party I am hoping that I can write it from a less emotional standpoint than those who followed procedure and as a result came out emptyhanded.

[Bjammin 03]

Did I read that correctly. . ."less emotional?";-)

The letter idea sounds like a productive idea but it might be nice to start a new thread for that topic
b/c this one is getting quite long. :-}

[CowbellGuy]

I'd like to add my 2 cents. Athletics complains about having to pay for extended police enforcement, but they hire a band to play on Friday night? Did anyone ask for a band? Did anyone really want them there? Just annoying, if you asked me. Maybe next year they can have a massage table, too.

And speaking of making the process easier, if they insist on sticking with this inane system, why not just extend it over three weekends and assign line numbers immediately? I would think most people wouldn't go for all three, just a few hardcore people. You could probably get away with one person keeping things in order and doing line checks for the first weekend, maybe a few more for the second, and a full staff for the third. That way, there would be more gradual growth in the line, no massive original rush, and no one needs to miss any class. Oh, and make them camp outside.

If not, next year people show show up with bats and beat the crap out of people who try to cut in line. When a bunch of people show up in the hospital, athletics will be forced to maintain order properly. ::rolleyes::

[Will]

Cornell Fan wrote:

I went to the ticket office a few minutes before they opened at 10 this morning to inquire if there were any extra season tickets, and I was turned away. I think they actually had a couple left, but supposedly there was some waiting list signed by ~20 people who were turned away on Friday that they are going to give priority to for these seats (another sham, considering I never saw or heard about this list being circulated).

Actually, I think this is where Athletics actually did something right this past weekend.  As I've already stated to death here, I was in the last group of people to get tickets, rounding out at #800.  For as pissed off as we were at the time, the group of people immediately following us were really pissed, but luckily they turned that anger into a desperate hope for tickets, or at least line numbers.  Athletics had no little slips of paper with numbers over 800, of course, but when my group finally got our 'real' numbers (that is, the big pieces of paper with all the necessary student info), the group behind us got an Athletics staffperson to take down their signatures to effectively be #801, #802, etc.  While it is true that these people didn't camp out all Saturday, they did at least stay in line until Friday 9PM or so (I believe that was when my group finally went into the Ramin Room).  So if we have to go by the line (whether or not you consider the line itself to be legit is irrelevant, now), then they are the people who should get the last batch of tickets.  If there are still more tickets after that, though...I don't know what to do with those.

[Will]

Cowbell Guy wrote:

I'd like to add my 2 cents. Athletics complains about having to pay for extended police enforcement, but they hire a band to play on Friday night? Did anyone ask for a band? Did anyone really want them there? Just annoying, if you asked me. Maybe next year they can have a massage table, too.

Yeah, I agree.  The band was annoying, and I didn't even have to put up with them for long since I got into the Ramin Room late relative to, well, just about everyone.  Of course, maybe the band played for free there, perhaps in an effort to garner fans or advertise for a show or something.  (To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to them, so I don't know if they were advertising for anything.)  But, if the band did indeed get paid, screw that and put that money towards hiring more peacekeepers, whoever they may be (cops, Athletics staff, whatever).