Non-Season Ticket Holders, Share Your Experiences

Submitted by Seth on

So I eschewed season tickets this year and am looking into making a weekly feature out of my exploits to get into each game (except AF since I was on a different continent). Parameters will be written up later but basically 2 tickets next to each other no worse than the season tix would have been.

In order to gather the maximum data I would like anyone who isn't season ticketed to share how they got their tix, what price, what section, and what row-ish (closest 10). Break no laws.

B-Nut-GoBlue

September 14th, 2012 at 7:16 PM ^

Iowa 2006:  My buddy and I used a friends and friend of a friends student tickets.  Free.

Iowa 2012:  GF purchased two tickets from evil StubHub.  Endzone-10 yardline/corner endzone-type seats, row 45.  I think ~$125 per ticket.

Is this info. at all what this thread is about?!

soupsnake

September 14th, 2012 at 7:49 PM ^

Bought a ticket an hour before the game last week for $20 from a person on Craiglist (met downtown). Got another ticket (for my brother) from David Legwand's dad for $20 at a tailgate before the game. 

codeBLUE11

September 14th, 2012 at 7:54 PM ^

vs. Air Force

Walked down Hoover 20 minutes before the game, second scalper I talked to offered me a student ticket (Row 32) for $30, I talked him down to $25 and strutted into the stadium.

Committed

September 14th, 2012 at 8:03 PM ^

Bought 2 Saturday morning around 10. Spent $45 for both tickets. Was gunna scalp at the game but figured that $45 was a good deal. Section 9, row 29.



I did pretty well.

WojoRisin

September 14th, 2012 at 9:14 PM ^

Section 1, Row 62, $60 off of stubhub 2 days before the game. It was a single seat, but the view was the same level as what you see on tv (other side of the field, of course).

fatman_do

September 14th, 2012 at 9:50 PM ^

Back in the day, 1999, I bought a ticket for Notre Dame from a band member (before validating and at face value of something like $17) and my wife asked a band member's mom if she knew where she could find tickets and she gave her one saying she wasn't going to the game.

Paid face value or less for Minnesota (50 yard line), Indiana ($15,$0!! guy said here, you look like you need a ticket....58-0 win!!!), Rice ($5), TOSU ($45,50,$35) MSU ($40,$35,$15).  ect....

Purdue with Drew Brees in the rain is the most I ever paid. It was $75, only time in 30 games living 3hrs away I paid over face value. Most big games I stay home, but against tomato cans, always pay under $30. Never have I gone to Ann Arbor with tickets in hand. It is not scalping if you pay face value or less. Single tickets are where it is at.

Imagine taking your wife on a 3 hr drive, and not having to sit next to her during the game and she is fine with that! We have dinner afterwards and talk about the game,people, ect. Great fun.

stephenrjking

September 15th, 2012 at 11:36 PM ^

I've gone to dozens of games by buying at the gate. 1999 ND was by far the closest I've ever come to not getting in; it's not that the tix were expensive--it's that I could barely find anyone selling at all. At no other game has it been that hard.



The only games I ever paid more than face for were OSU, ND, and MSU. Plus some games I travelled to that Michigan wasn't involved in.



I often bought singles; getting a single at the gate is an automatic bargain. People don't realize how easy it is to get a seat at games like today's.



I learned to do this because my Dad took me I a game every year and almost never had a ticket in hand. He was good at it, too.

bluewave720

September 14th, 2012 at 9:59 PM ^

all your data points are belong to us.

I have been a season ticket holder for a few years but did just fine "scavenging" for about 6 years following undergrad.  I went to every home game one way or another.  Contemplating giving them up and just scavenging again.  The only problem is no guarantee for the big games.  But for the money I would save off the top for not having to donate to priority seating plus the savings for games like this, I think I should probably pull the trigger by not pulling the trigger next year.  I will be really interested to see how all this data shakes out.  

thisisme08

September 14th, 2012 at 10:13 PM ^

I've always been a sucker for tickets in hand :(

About of as small a Victors Club member as you can get and usually purchase a ticket pack or in the case of this year, just tickets to the Alabama game.  

Back in the long time ago, before I had my own disposable income my Dad would sometimes come across tickets at work that vendors had access too and we would purchase them for face value.

Like I said I'm a sucker for tickets in hand and could simply not stomach the 3 hour drive south without having sometime tangible in place. 

st8champ90

September 14th, 2012 at 10:27 PM ^

Hoping to score two on stubhub or outside the stadium for $50 or less total. Hopefully sideline seats! I have never waited so long to buy. Any suggestions on buying right outside the gate??

st8champ90

September 14th, 2012 at 10:31 PM ^

My best experience scavenging was when I was in high school. I was a teammate of Tyrone Wheatley and we used to go to the games with him on recruit tickets absolutely free! We got to go on the field before the game and even went into the locker room after the games to meet the players. I still have a program from 1991 signed by Wheatley, Desmond Howard, Elvis Grbac. Great memories!

5th and Long

September 14th, 2012 at 11:08 PM ^

Bought 2 tickets for SDSU game off of Umich Ticket site.  $70/each.  Bought them less than a month before the game and flew in with my 4 year old so he could see his first game.

 

Level Section Row   Seat(s)   

----- ------- ----- ----------

1     3       25    18-17 

 

this was our view

 

....he fell asleep in the 3rd.

WingsNWolverines

September 14th, 2012 at 11:24 PM ^

Off MgoBlue the Ohio St game. 59 each plus a 4.00 charge so 122. 30 each for the EMU game 2009 for 64.00 I think and last year 2011 Minnesota for 75.00 from Mgoblue and Notre Dame which ended up costing me 150.00 Section 27 row 39. Greatest game I've ever been to with the best seats I've ever sat in. I stood all game of course lol I think my OSU tickets were Section 30 or something like that. my EMU seats were endzone row 64. Great view of the whole stadium. As for Minnesota 40 yard line seats opposite side. Those were 75.00 each.

The Shredder

September 15th, 2012 at 12:08 AM ^

2008 vs NW. It felt like a cold bath outside and DOOM lingered in the air. $5 for two tickets.5mins before kick off. Section didn't matter since it was a half full stadium and everyone was depressed. It was a magical game I will always try to forget but never will. 

blue_in_kazoo

September 15th, 2012 at 1:06 PM ^

Section 24, Row 40, right on the 40 yard line.  Two seats at $65 apiece on stubhub purchased the night before and printed at home.  Great deal for the seats, and stubhubwas very easy.  I'm sure I could've had seats for $25 each if I bought them outside the stadium, but these seats were worth the price.

 

rdlwolverine

September 18th, 2012 at 4:02 PM ^

Seth

I haven't read through all the comments, so I don't know if someone else has pointed this out, but up until ticket sales for a game conclude you can check the actual sales prices on stubhub.  Just log in to stubhub and act like you want to sell some tickets to the particular game.  Before you set your ticket price, you can observe all actual sales on Stubhub for that game, including the section, row, date of sale, and purchase price.

This won't tell you whether you are better off buying on Stubhub versus Craigslist or Hoover Street, but it will give you an excellent basis for comparison with a season ticket purchase.

SaltyWolverine

September 18th, 2012 at 8:35 PM ^

I just bought 4 tickets for Illinois next to each other in sect. 15, row 30 directly from MGoBlue for $75 each (face value) plus $6 in fees for each ticket. I opted to receive the tickets by mail, which was the same price as will-call.

Seth

September 24th, 2012 at 8:31 PM ^

Just to update-- for AF I didn't get to go because I was in Israel; for UMass I found free tickets just outside the stadium. The guy offered me one, and I had nobody else with me but asked for usefulness what I could pay him for both, and he was like "I'd give 'em both away." So I gave him $20 for the second one and we had a little bit more bench space to share.