Evil Genius Brandon to jack Bball Ticket Prices at Crisler
As Brian wryly commented yesterday about phase two of the Crisler renovations
The renovations will be completed just in time for no one to be able to afford tickets.
There are some details over at the Detroit News on this (Link:) coming Crisler highway robbery at the hands of evil genius Dave Brandon.
The headline says it all:
Michigan fans to pay more for prime seats at Crisler Center
Some of the details:
Season-ticket holders looking to reserve seats in the lower bowl and eastern and western portions of the upper bowl facing center court will have to pay anywhere from $50-$7,500 per seat in what athletic department officials call a "personal seat donation" to secure their spot for the 2012-13 season and earn points for priority seating.
Points are given on a matrix of factors, including alumni status, varsity letter status, donations to the university, and consecutive years of holding season tickets.
However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that heavy hitters in donations will basically snap up all lower bowl and sideline seats not given to students. And they only go back in years of season tickets to 1992-1993 (ironically, the middle of the Fab Five era/debacle.) Held tickets since the 80's or before? That's nice . . . so what.
A bone is thrown to those who can't afford a "personal seat donation:"
There are several sections in Crisler exempt from the new policy: Sections 201, 202, 208 through 220, 226 and 227.
And just where might those sections be, you ask? You don't have to be a genius to figure out that those sections are upper bowl seats behind the baskets.
I don't know what to say. I'll always be a Michigan fan, but pretty much from more and more of a distance.
February 29th, 2012 at 1:20 PM ^
It's not the tennis balls and softball helmets, it's the travel and buildings for those sports. Last week, softball spent a week in Florida; this week it's four days in California (ed: actually, they're still in Florida and probably didn't come back to school, so that negates airfare next week). Imagine booking a vacation for a twenty(ish) member family, and you can see how pricey that can get. Even going at $200 a ticket, that's $8,000 in airfare; staying at a decent hotel in Clearwater will run at least $150 a night, and coaches and the trainer get their own rooms. On the low end, that's $12,600 for lodging, and each girl eats about $40 per day. Assuming the coaches have the same budget, that's now another $5,600. We're over $26,000 we haven't even talked about getting a bus to the airport and around Clearwater.
That's one team at one tournament, and we didn't bring up grounds crews, student managers and, of course, new buildings that have to be built every so often. Michigan has 29 different teams, and the profits all have to come from football, basketball and hockey.
February 29th, 2012 at 1:23 PM ^
A top-notch program costs a ridiculous amount of money to run. If you even calculate how much money Michigan spends on intramural facilities and sports, you'd be astounded.
February 29th, 2012 at 1:32 PM ^
I don't have 3&O in front of me, but didn't Bacon say it costs $100k to feed the football teams appetite for tape each year?
Also included in those expenses is entertainment, which I didn't touch on. Some nights that might be a $1 DVD from RedBox getting played in the coaches room, but they do get movie tickets, tickets to local sporting events, team shuttles to local malls, ect.
February 29th, 2012 at 7:54 PM ^
At 6 dollar a gallon possible, what will all the corporate interest be with no one to sell your shit products too? I know this is all drastic and i get the supply and demand pyramid so please don't preach to me. Lets get real, I'm sure no expense is spared as allowed for rev producing teams. As it shouldn't be. But if those non rev sports are in cali maybe they should reschedule. Lets be honest, save a few adamant parents and players no one gives a shit enough to purchase tickets in droves to a softball game. Is my right to a fair price at a football game taking importance over other sports? Guaranteed.
As it should. Thats the free market system is it not? I have nothing against other sport, but with so much money coming in, don't tell me some fiscal restraint and fundraising aren't another unexplored avenue.
February 29th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^
I hope you all know that the same thing is going to happen to Yost. As soon as the season ends they will be doing renovations to the seating. There will be Loge boxes and the current "club seats" will be changed. There will be a PSD for seating.
I am a member of the Victor's Club, I am in the President's club, and I have club seats in football and hockey. I go to games. Many don't, and one can find the club hockey seats mostly vacant despite the fact that they are "sold out". What the University needs to do is to have a way for people to tell them they will not be going to the game and those tickets can be released for re-sale. Since the tickets are "dontated" back to the University for re-sale, we could even get a tax donation out of it for whatever the ticket is sold for.
I would gladly do this rather than putting them on stu hub. I would rather see the box office open an hour before the game to release the tickets for the game for public/student purchase. I think that would be fair. No one will change the fact that those who give the most money will have the most access and best seats. What can change is how to keep those seats from being empty.
February 29th, 2012 at 2:13 PM ^
We want to be Leaders? Best? Well that costs money, and if we want to have LAX, Soccer, new facilities for all, etc. The money has to come... And those that can pay should support the University. I don't find anything wrong with a high PSL for front row courtside basketball seats in Ann Arbor. It makes great sense to me.
I understand it is at the expense of some, esp. those that have supported Michigan basketball in the non-glory years... But this is all a reality.
We either embrace it, or we have a POS stadium like ND or we have to start selling naming rights.
February 29th, 2012 at 2:16 PM ^
Here is the online brochure with the seating chart
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/1fbc98e8?hq_e=el&hq_m=266010&hq_l=2&hq_v=1def057529#/1fbc98e8/8
February 29th, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^
Even though I crab about it, these seat license fees seem reasonably fair. Next year is an outlier, being half price. But if I lived in the area, I could see paying an extra $100 - $200 per seat for the season. That adds $6 - $12 per seat, per game, which is what it is. If you split a pair of tickets with a friend, that would make it affordable enough. The reality is, unless people are coerced and goaded into contributing, many won't give to the athletic department.
Of course, I would love to have tickets in the $500 seats, but that would never be in the cards for me. Even if I had the discretionary income, I just don't think I could justify another grand a year in expenses for the privilege of going to games.
There was one post above which I really resonate with: the need for people to be able to donate some tickets back to the university for resale. It isn't a matter of being refunded, but a matter of making sure that Crisler (or Yost, in the example of the above post) is actually full.
Which means you may have a four-figure donation ahead of you in ADDITION to the price hike.
February 29th, 2012 at 4:05 PM ^
February 29th, 2012 at 4:47 PM ^
He was the perfect guy to take care of the Michigan bball program during its down days. He was always upbeat (excited about winning an NIT) and talking about how next year would be better... I'm glad he turned out well at Harvard and this whole Jeremy Lin thing is helping to boost his stock.
February 29th, 2012 at 9:53 PM ^
As fans, we can't have it both ways. We can't bitch and moan about the lack of practice facitlity and the state of Crisler Arena and then bitch and moan about ticket pricing after they build & renovate and the team gets better because of it.
You can't have the best facilities in the nation and add M & W Lax and pay Mattison 800k and charge $30/game for football, $15/game for football & hockey,and not have lux boxes, or have PSDs.
Bill Davidson, Steve Ross and Fred Wilpon can't pay for everything all the time, people.