football ticket prices stay the same, psd goes up

Submitted by mgoblue7 on

From the U of M athletics site, ticket prices are going to stay at $65 for this season, but they are going to increase all season ticket holders PSD, Endzones are now $75 per seat, Blue $200 per seat, Maize $350 per seat, and valiant $475 per seat, and victors $600 per seat. 

They say the PSD forms will start to arrive this week.

Nothing like asking your season ticket holders to shell out more money during the holidays.

http://www.mgoblue.com/genrel/121012aaa.html

bluebyyou

December 10th, 2012 at 2:08 PM ^

Question about the "stay at $65" comment....I take this to mean the minimum ticket price will be $65 with premium games being higher?

Those PSD's are starting to get pretty hefty.  At the high end, the Victors level, the PSD increase was 20 percent.

Section 1

December 10th, 2012 at 2:16 PM ^

As with past PSD increases, the athletic department is allowing (the rare) ability to transfer season ticket subscriptions to others at your direction.  I think a lot more people will think about splitting and sharing these costs.

The Athletic Department won't care about whether people complain or not; but I just wonder when they will reach the breaking point on PSD's in terms of ticket demand.  At some point, what with typical resale prices on StubHub, the PSD's no longer make any financial sense.

As for sending them out during the holiday season, it is customary, so people can make their donations in either calendar year for tax reasons.  Even with the deductability, I seriously question the financial sense of the rising PSD amounts.

MikeCohodes

December 11th, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^

if they do move Illinois to our division (was that ever made official?) and get the scheduling right, Michigan will play either at Northwestern or at Illinois every year (as opposed to both on the road in the same season), so they come to the state every single season. I've always found it to be significantly easier and cheaper to catch Michigan when they play in IL than when they play in MI, plus I'm usually able to score way better seats, never been higher than the 10th row at either stadium.

dothepose

December 10th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^

I'm in the blue section, thats a $75 increase per ticket. I know people will pay this and I am one of them . However at the rate these keep going up, people will eventually stop going and watch at home.

lexus larry

December 10th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^

StubHub will be the primary beneficiary.  Look at Mens Basketball.  There are TONS of empty seats, and no tickets available via the Athletic Ticket Office.  The grand experiment from the Michigan blogs on the comparative purchase costs for 2012 football tickets showed that supply will truly start to outstrip demand (with Premium Game exceptions applicable here and there).

Slippery slope zone has been entered...and we seem to be hitting the steeper portion...

msgolions

December 10th, 2012 at 9:26 PM ^

Want to take my kids to see new Crisler and Sunday Noon vs Penn State in Februrary seemed like a perfect game. No tickets available through MgoBlue (maybe single seats). Stubhub is available, but poor seats and overpriced at the moment. I will wait.

Metzger

December 10th, 2012 at 9:37 PM ^

Does anyone really pay face value for tickets to non premiere games????  I got 2 tickets to Iowa for $50 each on stub hub... 40 yard line 20 rows up.  Why wouldn't everyone do this???



I never plan on buying tickets from the Ticket office again... 

a2bluefan

December 10th, 2012 at 2:37 PM ^

Saw this coming a mile away when they sent out that glossy mailer a couple weeks ago about giving, changes in the Victors points system, etc.

Yeesh.... squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

readyourguard

December 10th, 2012 at 2:40 PM ^

META: Old man rant.

I have a hard time digesting "$65 per ticket" when, at the end of the day, I shell out $150 per ticket per game.  Call it a PSD or a License or Ransom....whatever.  What I pay out is $1800 for two tickets to 6 games.  Frankly, I think that's too high.

 

 

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 10th, 2012 at 3:13 PM ^

It's OK guys.  When the extra money starts rolling in from the new BTN contract because people in New Jersey can now watch it, I'm sure these PSDs will disappear entirely or drop to a reasonable level, since the athletic department won't need the money.  I will definitely hold my breath for that.

MLaw06

December 10th, 2012 at 3:16 PM ^

I really wonder how people have this much disposable income.  For an average Michigan family, this is a huge hike... (and if their income isn't high, then they'll probably take the standard deduction and don't even get any deductibility from this).

UM2k1

December 10th, 2012 at 3:28 PM ^

This from mgoblue.com has me somewhat concerned:

Michigan Athletics will continue its tradition of no paid display advertising in the Big House on football Saturdays

Does this mean that unpaid advertising (such as some company does something for us, we provide advertising for them in the stadium) will be present?

Section 1

December 10th, 2012 at 3:53 PM ^

And there are the StubHub banners on the support pillars  beneath the concourses.  I am guessing that they are not paid advertising by StubHub but are instead intended and regarded as informational; for the benefit of potential ticket sellers and buyers.  That's the way that I look at them.  They don't bother me very much.

The thing is now, I just look at StubHub advertising as totally ironic; there is no demand that justifies the PSD's.  It is an increasingly senseless gesture to support the team with season ticket subscriptions and current-rate PSD's.  Better, and now smarter, to shell out @$300 a ticket for MSU or OSU on StubHub (along with perhaps @$30 a ticket for other games) and skip the PSD.

lexus larry

December 10th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^

also have advertising on the pillars.  To me, the Marathon Oil is a head scratcher, and the PNC Bank should just be presented on the ATM's (which they already are).  No need for those to be on the pillars, too.

We're still not the gaudy mess so many other stadiums/HD scoreboards are (though Crisler and Yost are rapidly approaching NBA/NHL advertising densities), so we have that going for us.

FieldingBLUE

December 10th, 2012 at 9:16 PM ^

Love that spot because it was so close to the PSDs without needing one.

All told, this is a $50 extra cost since we lost the mandatory $100 to activate priority points but now have a $150 PSD every year.

Factor in the $75 per seat at 7 home games and the per game price is $75.71. Not bad, especially with 2 premium games this year.

Honestly, the 2014 and 2015 schedules aren't looking too shabby for the home slate.

saveferris

December 10th, 2012 at 4:01 PM ^

I've had my seats in Section 39 for over 15 years and I grandfathered in at no PSD when they instituted the plan.  Now they're hitting me up for $75 bucks for my two seats this season.  I'll probably pay it this year because the home slate is pretty good, but I am going to have to seroiusly consider whether it's worth it to me to keep them for 2014 and beyond.

Mattinboots

December 10th, 2012 at 4:09 PM ^

My guess is the face value of tickets may increase. Season ticket holders, we know that the price of each ticket was less than that on the face, but I think that was to augment our PSDs, not 100% in all cases of course, but at least a bit. So I wouldn't e surprised if the stated value on the ticket is higher than last year.

k1400

December 10th, 2012 at 5:38 PM ^

In years where the home schedule is good, I don' t mind a whole lot.  So that pretty much means every other year I'm going to be pissed.  Even more so now that ND is off, and a long term solution for a quality replacement doesn't exist.  The home and home with Arkansas, while nice, does not cut the mustard.

Any chance conference expansion/realignment/musical mass chaos chairs will shuffle our home schedule a bit?

wolves5umd

December 10th, 2012 at 7:28 PM ^

It's a shame that season ticket holders have to absorb such a price increase.  Maybe if they take seats away from the student section that never shows up and sell more tickets at normal price with a PSD this wouldn't happen like this.

ZB75

December 10th, 2012 at 8:10 PM ^

I agree 100%.  Its almost better to just use stub hub or scalpers anymore.   I will bitch and moan about this, but when it comes time, I will pay it becasue I dont want to lose my seats.  I like knowing that i have tickets to every game rather than wondering from week to week where my tickets will come from. 

michigandadof4

December 10th, 2012 at 8:26 PM ^

Now that the kids are playing travel soccer and hockey saw the writing on the wall that would miss too many games and probably not be able to sell the tickets.

So far we have kept our season hockey tickets because it took us forever to get 4 seats together.  With no NHL it has been easier to get rid of the tickets we can't use this year.