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Season ticket renewals.


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I'm wondering about two subjects which were not discussed in the e-mail yesterday:

 

1. I had heard that one benefit to be offered season ticket holders was the ability to purchase one additional ticket for the Siena game per season ticket before they were offered for single game sales.

 

2. No mention of parking. I assume roughly the same plan as for football?

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Parking is a great question. I did not purchase a parking plan last year, but I was planning on doing it this year. Since there is no mention of it - maybe the season ticket plans includes parking this the increase in price? I doubt that is true, but it would probably make sense.

 

No mentioned on the $iena game in the email at all that I saw.

Edited by godanesgo99
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Parking is a great question. I did not purchase a parking plan last year, but I was planning on doing it this year. Since there is no mention of it - maybe the season ticket plans includes parking this the increase in price? I doubt that is true, but it would probably make sense.

 

No mentioned on the $iena game in the email at all that I saw.

 

As statefan suggested..I think parking being some sort of fundraising club status seems likely..especially because it is for football. But it's surprising they didn't really provide much information about it in the email..especially because it was an option last year.

 

And did anyone notice the directions to log-in and purchase the tickets were actually the instructions to purchase football season tickets?

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In the football ticket packet, it mentioned free parking @ Dutch with a $100 donation to the "new" Great Dane Athletic club. It did not say if the $100 donation would cover free parking for Basketball also or IF another $100 donation would be required???

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Also for comparison, LAST year's tickets at Stony Brook, which sold 85% capacity

 

Center Court $280 ($230 + $50 donation)

Sideline $225

Corners $175

Endzones $150

VIP Lounge(includes food & beverage) SOLD OUT

Courtside (includes food & beverage) SOLD OUT

 

Not doubt these will go up next year too

 

I don't think our facility is half as nice as theirs. I get you have to pay to get, and I begrudgingly accepted and up my football package by 1 but this better NOT be a normal practice.

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  • 2 weeks later...

After three emails, the last of which was simply "HELLO?" I finally got a response from ticket sales about parking with more information coming:

 

Ilya-

We should have something out to you today. Parking information is being mailed out along with invoices Monday next week. We will email you the same information once finalized this afternoon.

I can confirm there are changes to the parking configuration as SEFCU lot will now be a donor based parking lot for football and basketball. Donations to athletics in addition to your season tickets will generate points for you and provide ranking. These points will allow you access to benefits such as parking. A $500 contribution guarantees you SEFCU parking. Donors of $100-$499 will be added to a list and will be contacted for parking once we allocate remaining spaces. These donors will also be granted a spot in Dutch which could potentially be upgraded to SEFCU pending availability. Becoming a donor is of course welcomed however completely up to the individual. Money raised will go towards our athletes and facilities.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions. More information will once again come in the mail in addition to an email that I’ll send to you later today.



I'm pretty disappointed. Especially because to get a decent parking spot even in dutch parking lot + men's tickets you're spending $310/yr (not to mention the $10-20 spent on food/candy/drinks at each game). To sit in an arena that is VERY long in the tooth and needs a major overhaul. I might be okay paying that if I knew that we were already in the design phase of a renovation...but for all we know SEFCU won't be touched for another 10 years.

Sucks even more that long-time season ticket holders such as myself and others here are being relegated to the bottom of the totem pole in favor of big wigs with big cash. $500 for parking in the VIP lot? I'm not paying $710/yr for MID mid-major basketball. We're not even a mid-major powerhouse despite our AE success.

People can say I'm cheap but I'm pretty disappointed with all of this. I'd be fine if they raised VIP parking from $60 (I think that's what it was) to $100 or so...but $500. No way, Jose. And the dutch lot should be $20 tops for the year. $100-$499? No. Just no.

Edited by Eli
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How many parking spots are in the VIP lot?

If I had to guess, based on Google satelite imagery, around 250-260. One row seems to be around 35 spots and there are 6 rows if you don't count the one on the outside edge with handicap spaces.

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If an X dollar donation..$100 or $500..makes you eligible for parking for both football AND basketball..instead of $100/$500 for football and another $100/$500 for basketball..then it certainly makes it all much more reasonable..and perhaps a 'deal' even before looking at the value that contributions provide to the program.

 

How much was parking in Dutch for basketball? There were 14 home men's games this past season..so $100 per year would work out to just about $7 per game. That's not even factoring in women's games..or the benefits of a tax deductible gift.

Edited by Phoenix
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Also FYI to any alumni in the GOLD era, there are reserved season tickets in the 300 section available for $18.44 a seat (max 2) after a $100 donation to the Great Dane Athletic Club, which I did. (I'm not even local, but good to have anyway)

Edited by UA'08
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I think there is a legitimate gripe here...combined with the significant double digit % increases in tickets prices (for basketball and football) for a product that as currently presented doesn't sell out begs the question if this approach is the correct one. I guess time will tell! Instead of filling the arena and givings folks an incentive to come (bang for your buck) we have policies being implemented that will (I believe) actively discourage the community from coming out, hurt attendance and atmosphere (home court advantage). Additionally, there has been no communication regarding upgrade plans for an aging facility that is quickly falling behind such peers as SBU, Bing, UMBC and even perhaps UVM. Granted, UVM's timeline isn't clear but at least they have a plan...we have zip.

 

Who raises prices to an extreme degree (personal opinion) for a product that is in limited demand? Brown still can't get a contract renewed after 5 NCAA trips...Benson is batting a solid .200 right now with me. His leadership IMO over the first two years is questionable at best. Proof will be in the pudding but I fear he's lost his mind.

Edited by Clickclack
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I'm not local and not a season ticket holder for either sport, although I do attend a number of basketball and football games each year, so my opinion may not matter as much. This is a double-edged sword for the school and the fans. Most fans want the athletic program to grow and get bigger and possibly move all sports to CAA or even higher down the road. Well, with each of those moves, more of these types of policies will be put into place to pay for the program. Is it right? I don't know. Is it fair to those who have paid a small amount per year for good seats for 10 and even 20 years to now force them to make bigger donations for those seats or parking spots? Probably not but it is the reality of college athletics and as we grow it will only get worse. So, you either want to stay the same and be happy with that and pay the same or you want to grow the program to bigger and better heights but with a cost. I don't want any of this to come off the wrong way because I would be pissed if I lived in Albany, bought season tickets for the past 20 years with prime parking and now can't afford to do that anymore. But, this comes with the territory of wanting to have better athletics. Benson is known for his ability as a fundraiser and that is what he is attempting to do.

 

The one troubling aspect, which was mentioned by Click, is that they raised these prices for basketball with no clear or public plan to renovate SEFCU. We have all heard it is a priority but now we need to see and hear about it to know what this money is going towards.

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I'm not local and not a season ticket holder for either sport, although I do attend a number of basketball and football games each year, so my opinion may not matter as much. This is a double-edged sword for the school and the fans. Most fans want the athletic program to grow and get bigger and possibly move all sports to CAA or even higher down the road. Well, with each of those moves, more of these types of policies will be put into place to pay for the program. Is it right? I don't know. Is it fair to those who have paid a small amount per year for good seats for 10 and even 20 years to now force them to make bigger donations for those seats or parking spots? Probably not but it is the reality of college athletics and as we grow it will only get worse. So, you either want to stay the same and be happy with that and pay the same or you want to grow the program to bigger and better heights but with a cost. I don't want any of this to come off the wrong way because I would be pissed if I lived in Albany, bought season tickets for the past 20 years with prime parking and now can't afford to do that anymore. But, this comes with the territory of wanting to have better athletics. Benson is known for his ability as a fundraiser and that is what he is attempting to do.

 

The one troubling aspect, which was mentioned by Click, is that they raised these prices for basketball with no clear or public plan to renovate SEFCU. We have all heard it is a priority but now we need to see and hear about it to know what this money is going towards.

 

My biggest concern is what impact this will have on attendance. If we are selling out, great, it makes sense to do. To raise ticket prices by double digit % when you have one sellout a year (BPG) is ridiculous. Plenty of games where you have less than 50% capacity. So now lets charge more...that will get people to show up.

 

We all know with bigger aspirations comes increased cost. However, this administration has shown nothing as far as 3 year, 5 year plan for facilities or program direction. Just jacking prices...show me what SEFCU will look like in a half a decade or so...

Edited by Clickclack
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I'm not local and not a season ticket holder for either sport, although I do attend a number of basketball and football games each year, so my opinion may not matter as much. This is a double-edged sword for the school and the fans. Most fans want the athletic program to grow and get bigger and possibly move all sports to CAA or even higher down the road. Well, with each of those moves, more of these types of policies will be put into place to pay for the program. Is it right? I don't know. Is it fair to those who have paid a small amount per year for good seats for 10 and even 20 years to now force them to make bigger donations for those seats or parking spots? Probably not but it is the reality of college athletics and as we grow it will only get worse. So, you either want to stay the same and be happy with that and pay the same or you want to grow the program to bigger and better heights but with a cost. I don't want any of this to come off the wrong way because I would be pissed if I lived in Albany, bought season tickets for the past 20 years with prime parking and now can't afford to do that anymore. But, this comes with the territory of wanting to have better athletics. Benson is known for his ability as a fundraiser and that is what he is attempting to do.

 

The one troubling aspect, which was mentioned by Click, is that they raised these prices for basketball with no clear or public plan to renovate SEFCU. We have all heard it is a priority but now we need to see and hear about it to know what this money is going towards.

 

My biggest concern is what impact this will have on attendance. If we are selling out, great, it makes sense to do. To raise ticket prices by double digit % when you have one sellout a year (BPG) is ridiculous. Plenty of games where you have less than 50% capacity. So now lets charge more...that will get people to show up.

 

We all know with bigger aspirations comes increased cost. However, this administration has shown nothing as far as 3 year, 5 year plan for facilities or program direction. Just jacking prices...show me what SEFCU will look like in a half a decade or so...

 

 

 

 

Theoretically that game against LCC is supposed to increase demand . Plus if you were one of those going to that game and putting up with the crappy seats you paid something like $195 for the season last year when you include that $20 ticket. Now it is $205 per ticket for my 2 tickets this season. Not really going to cause me to stop going :)

 

As far as parking, my understanding is $100 donation gets you football and basketball parking in Dutch. Football parking separate in dutch is $50 for the season or $10 per game. I don't know the basketball parking prices for season or game. Would I prefer not to pay for parking . Of course, but if I felt that strongly about it I wouldn't. When I go to RPI hockey or the river rats at the knick I use other options. For football , I like to tailgate so it would be more a burden than it is worth to park elsewhere.

Also it seems to me that some of the people most inpatient with the level we are at are the biggest complainers any time anything increases in price.

 

As far as the guy complaining about ticket prices and spending $10 - $20 on food and candy. Give me a break. There is no concessions there I like other than Coke and beer so I get food elsewhere and even when I am home I still spend money on food. It is not that much more money to stop and get a sandwich at the deli or wings across the street than it is to eat at home. So that wouldn't stop me from going to the games either

Edited by bob87
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