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Season Ticket Pricing/Plans Thoughts for 2015-2016?

TrueRU

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Feb 4, 2004
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This has been brought up in different threads in the past, but what should RU do for season ticket pricing for this coming year? With a very small amount of account holders (rumored to be around 800 total for perhaps around 2000 seats), I think RU needs to get creative and smart to try and get more seats sold. Sure, the games will be sold against the top B1G teams, but the OOC games were a nightmare in terms of folks in the building/tickets sold.

My first thought in this is that they need to offer a family zone for affordable season tickets, and that should be the entire 300 level (which is almost always empty now). Make these $150/ticket for the season. I bet you'd see folks buy it for that price and it would actually get folks in the building. Even if they don't make all the games, at least seats are sold for something.

Then, for the 200 level (not sure what they are charging now), you go to something like $200 or $250 per seat, and require some type of donation (possibly scaled to how close you are in the 200 level) as part of it.

Then, for the 100 level, you have your top level seats which require donations and cost more (not sure again of the price they charge now).

And in addition to season tickets, just as football has done, get some mini plan offers out there too. Perhaps something like the following.
5 game pack: 3 OOC and 2 B1G games
8 game pack: 4 OOC and 4 B1G games

What does everyone think?
 
300 level ticket buyers understand that they can sit in 200 level seats 5 minutes into most games. Yellow jacketed staff do not nothing to stop the 300 to 200 migration. Getting down into the 100 level takes a higher level of evasiveness and, for whatever reason, is done better by visiting team fans who play dumb and figure they have nothing to lose trying to score courtside seats.
 
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Need to get butts in the seats no matter how it's done especially in the OOC games.

I would have the Marketing Dept reaching out to every Youth Hoop League in NJ setting up RU Hoop Days

There should be 15-20 buses full of kids at every one of these games.

It's better than having empty seats.
 
Need to get butts in the seats no matter how it's done especially in the OOC games.

I would have the Marketing Dept reaching out to every Youth Hoop League in NJ setting up RU Hoop Days

There should be 15-20 buses full of kids at every one of these games.

It's better than having empty seats.

Im with you but RU has their reasons I guess. Maybe they don't want to devalue the seats loyal customers hsve paid for,
 
To be brutally honest and this is coming from a life-long Rutgers fan ... giving away (free) Rutgers hoops tickets for weeknight games is difficult, even to family, co-workers, and friends who are "OK with" Rutgers. Extremely difficult to friends who are ardent college hoops fans (mostly because they expect "non-compelling" games (game's outcome never in-doubt)). Even with a Scarlet parking tag thrown in. Giving away weekend games is a much easier task.
 
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I bought 300 level corners for $149 per seat 2 years ago. Maybe went to 3 games. Would do it again as "support" but pricing was not available last year.
 
MrT

I agree which is why I suggest giving them to Youth Leagues for a bus ride to the game.

That group has no built in loyalties for the most part and in many cases has never seen a college game.
 
Perhaps for weekend games. How many weekend home games does Rutgers play in a season? Maybe a half dozen. Probably promotional efforts better spent getting Rutgers students into the seats ... Pre-game hot dog and soda, or giveaway t-shirts/caps.
 
I have a neighbor who works in the Athletic Dept and he gets them for us.

Has told me many times they give 3-4000 away for most games.
 
Reminds me of part of my youth living in an apartment building in West New York, NJ in the 1950s. There was a young man who lived in the building who worked in the Public Relations Dept at Madison Square Garden. Many, many times he gave hands full of complimentary tickets to my Dad and/or uncle and other adults. You name it, we went to it - hockey, pro basketball, college hoops, boxing, wrestling, circus, dog show, whatever. Most often the tickets were "opening night". MSG wanted newspaper reviews of their events to mention that the event opened to a full house. Of course, it helped when the complimentary tickets were not handed out "last minute", but for some events that didn't matter -- we hustled to get to Rangers, Knicks, Ringling Bros circus. Funny thing ... getting the free ducats didn't build up any long term love affair with MSG and its events. Haven't been to MSG in years, except for Big East hoops that includes Rutgers.
 
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I bought 300 level corners for $149 per seat 2 years ago. Maybe went to 3 games. Would do it again as "support" but pricing was not available last year.

That's what I did, too. I think I went once, maybe twice.

I will say, with no disrespect to the current squad, Sanders and Freeman might just be worth the price of admission.
 
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That's what I did, too. I think I went once, maybe twice.

I will say, with no disrespect to the current squad, Sanders and Freeman might just be worth the price of admission.

Those two might just be the main reason I buy season tickets this year. If both of these kids turn out to be All-B1G caliber players at some point, I would enjoy watching that development over the next few years.
 
Quick summary for football tickets--
Full season tickets are $305
Young alumni (those who graduated in the last five tears) can get season tickets ,as well as
Graduate students and Rutgers staff at all campuses can get season tickets for $193
FREE tickets are available for all children ages 12 and under for the Washington State game
FREE tickets are available for kids in Kindergarten through Eighth grade for the Maryland game
Discount tickets are available for the following groups and games--
Norfolk State--$15 tickets for youth football players,family/friends,staff, and coaches
Washington State--Teachers,First Responders,Rutgers students' parents and family
Kansas--Rutgers alumni, Health Workers, YMCA members and staff
Nebraska--Military (both current personnel and Veterans)
Maryland--Boys and Girls Scouts
 
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Out of curiosity, how much are season tickets for court side seats?

And our season ticket prices for football are very inexpensive.
 
The Georgia Tech reference is a good one, because RU does not list "benefits" like this at all for season ticket holders. All of the things listed there would be nice touch.
 
The other thing about that list of benefits is that none of them cost the University a ton of money. A watch party? You're talking maybe a grand to do free burgers, hot dogs and turn on the RAC scoreboard. A season ticker holder basketball clinic with Eddie Jordan and the staff? Seriously how awesome would that be! I'd like to play HORSE against Eddie! That just costs time. I also love the cheap women's basketball season ticket offer. What a great way to boost the Women's ticket base. I'd love to send these to someone at the university. Would have sent them to Drew Robinson, but not sure who has taken over Fan Services.
 
The Georgia Tech reference is a good one, because RU does not list "benefits" like this at all for season ticket holders. All of the things listed there would be nice touch.

GTech requires seat donations of $125 to $650 (in addition to season ticket cost of $360) for all basketball seats except the upper level end court.

The benefits that GTech provides are fairly equivalent to the benefits that Rutgers' donors receive: http://rutgers.uberflip.com/i/349994-r-fund-donor-benefits
 
RFund is specific for Athletic Donations, not for just Men's Basketball Season tickets and quite frankly the RFund benefits are not comparable at all. You have to donate $3,000 just to see basketball practice. My point in this is that based on a semi-educated guess, there are about 1,000 season tickets in an 8,000 seat arena (that might be generous). There doesn't seem to be any rise in it and from what I've read on the board, a good deal of current ticket holders are either decreasing or giving up their tickets.

Isn't the old business 101 adage, it's easier to keep an existing customer than find a new one? In the famine times of Rutgers basketball, perhaps it's something that should be looked at, especially when the cost isn't that high for the warm and fuzzy feeling a season ticket holder would get.
 
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