PSU TicketCity Sales - Who To Believe?
by Kunk on Dec 15, 2011 4:07 PM EST
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PrintLet me start by saying that I hate the fact this FanPost stems from a tweet by Darren Rovell, but it's true. In between tweets featuring long division calculations and other mundane "sports business" factoids, he hits home with this:
Penn State hasn't even sold 3,000 tickets to the TicketCity Bowl. The business fears of not taking them were justified.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) December 15, 2011
I think the natural reaction that Rovell shares above probably resonates with most people. Nobody here needs to be reminded why. But bowl ticket sales info is always a muddy picture that a 140 character tweet will never fully explain. Here's an excerpt from a PennLive article that Rovell likely gets his info from:
As of Wednesday afternoon, Penn State had sold less than half the 6,500 tickets it was alloted for the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas, Texas on Jan. 2.
"We’re pushing 3,000 real hard, and we’re still getting a lot of traffic from alums in the Dallas-Fort Worth area," said Bud Meredith, Penn State’s Director of Ticketing Operations. "Right now, our hope is to get 4,000 sold out of the total allocation."
About 500 of the 6,500 tickets have been reserved for the marching band.
So PSU has sold about half of their allotment, an allotment, mind you, that is fully bought and paid for so the bowl committee ain't care. If PSU doesn't sell them, it's their loss. Rovell provides no comparisons to other bowls in its class or any context of ticket sales in the short history of the TicketCity Bowl. Who needs context? To say that the "slow" start to the sale of PSU-allotted tickets proves business fears were justified is the lazy conclusion. I'm not saying it's absolutely wrong, but it doesn't explain everything.
Fortunately, there is some information out there that may shed some light on why PSU sponsored ticket sales have been slow and if the rest of the tickets are selling at all.
First, there's PSU's ham-fisted attempts to sell the tickets through GoPSUSports.com. Here's what you see when you get to the purchase site:
What the heck is "Stadium via Phone" anyway? And that seating chart? Yeah, that's not what the Cotton Bowl looks like. OK, maybe it's just a weird error. Let's say we want 4 tickets, here's what we see:
Oh great, Section AWAY s 310-313. Clearly, the purchaser has no idea what seat they will get and are paying $75 for that right. Sounds like a swell deal. And don't go thinking those numbers correspond to a range of sections in the stadium. Here's the real Cotton Bowl seating chart:
Mind you, the red sections are being sold on the TicketCity Bowl website for $75. Are those the sections you will get if you purchase from PSU's allotment? A reasonable assumption, but ultimately unclear. Furthermore, the $75 level are the most expensive seats available. If you're a more frugal PSU fan, you can easily get $50 or $25 seats or even the famed 4 Tix, 4 Dogs, and 4 Sodas for $99 deal. And guess what: you'll actually know what seats you are purchasing! A novel idea in sports marketing! Wonder if Darren Rovell knows...
Anyway, if you're interested, go check out the Bowl website to look around at the various sections and see what is available. There is a nice interactive map to see what specific seats are still left. Upper deck end zone sections are "unavailable", so I'm guessing those sections were never even for sale, and wouldn't be for sale regardless of what teams were playing. Corner sections are pretty sparsely populated at this point. However, several prime sections behind the respective benches are either unavailable or completely full. And there are still 17 shopping days left to gobble up your tickets.
I don't think anyone in their right mind thought the 102,000 seat Cotton Bowl would be full for the 2nd run of a terribly named bowl in Dallas, no matter who was playing. But it looks like the TicketCity Bowl will not sink to new depths of ACC Championship Game (or Pitt home game) emptiness, as Rovell implies with his lazy tweet.
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The Seating Chart
The lack of a real seating chart is due to the fact that you don’t get to pick your seats from the Penn State allotment. From my experience the system works thus: The first few days after the announcement no tickets go out while they see what kind of response they get. Then at some appointed cut-off time, they dole out tickets to all those who have purchased them, using Nittany Lion Club points to assign seats: more points, better seats. After that, it is a free for all with the school sending you the best seats available at the time you purchase the tickets. Removed from all of this initially are the Band tickets, the family and school tickets, and the tickets they make available to students (leftovers of which go back into the main pool).
I’ve always bought through the school, but it seems like this year it would make more sense to go through the bowl if you want to pick your seats, or get cheap seats. Actually if you want cheap seats the secondary market seems to be the place to be, which could also be contributing to the slow sales.
I am a Penn State Nittany Lion, and I played for the legendary Joe Paterno, and more importantly, I am a man because of it. - Lavar Arrington
I see what you did there...
I’ll tell you why. Because we’re talking about Joe Freaking Paterno here.
-Jitterbug
by leeharvey418 on Dec 15, 2011 4:38 PM EST up reply actions
I don't see what I did there..
I woulda been at this game, but the calendar hosed me. Gotta work Monday. Too bad.
I use StubHub a lot out here for Lakers and Clippers tickets…not this year though cuz me and a buddy split a 12 game Clipper pack….wait…what was that? Sorry, CP3 just threw me another lob pass!!!!!!
"my dad says Michigan used to be good"
What bowl is it again?
I’ll tell you why. Because we’re talking about Joe Freaking Paterno here.
-Jitterbug
by leeharvey418 on Dec 15, 2011 5:19 PM EST up reply actions
How about primoseats.com?
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world" -- Ludwig Wittgenstein
Since the PSU tickets are $75
my guess is that the allotment is sections 4-8 and 104-108, which are the best seats in the stadium.
Last time I went to a bowl game
NLC seats were in the endzone – sideline seats were reserved for Corporate Comps – sat in the 3rd row behind the team and NO ONE cheered – they just sat around chatting – it was rather dismal.
Oh were we supposed to buy through the school?
I am pretty sure we just bought ours through the website. LOL Oppsies! It’s my first bowl game so I just went through the bowls page. I wonder how many tickets they have sold all together?
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the Big Ten...or just lose the sweater vest.
You are looking at this ALL WRONG!!!
I have gone to almost every bowl game this century. Earlier with young children growing up it was not economically feasable to go unless MNC was on the line. But this year it is not that I will not want to support Penn State becauses of “the crisei”. But rather if the bowls want to screw Penn State our of our proper bowls determined by our record and who we beat on the field…… Then I do not feel the need to give them any money for tickets, pay for plane fare, get hotels, and support local eating/drinking establishments. (not to mention it is cold in Dallas, this is not Florida).. Therefore, they can draw whatever stupid conclusions they want (the media is soooo good at that) and say Penn State fans are staying away from the team?
This can be no furher from the truth, than what ESPN reports everyday…..
by dgals79 on Dec 15, 2011 5:07 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Similarly...
If this had been the Gator Bowl the 11-year-old and I were there. Would have stayed at Disney for a few days, gone up for the game, and back afterwards for a few more (cheaper after new year). Insight, we probably would have made an old-school effort and got there somehow but just in and out. Dallas and Houston (car care), ehhhhh. Like dgals said, it can be cold there. Cotton Bowl stadium, why? If it had been in Jerry World we might have considered it for that reason alone. But nothing exciting for the son. Plus, not selling an allotment is a common occurrence for bowls below the top tier anyway so this shouldn’t really be news.
*
I think maybe you're looking at this all wrong...
The Ticket City Bowl did select us even when other bowls passed us up. Wouldn’t it make more sense to go support the team, show we aren’t ashamed, and make sure the Ticket City Bowl makes enough money that the bowls that passed us up regret it enough to never think about doing it again?
^^^That would be what guarantees us better bowls in the future and making sure the other guys are crying fowl when they get passed over for us.
Next year, if we get invited to one of the bowls that passed us up, start up a very public campaign to boycott that bowl and show them what happens when they screw PSU fans.
by BNittsDeMilo on Dec 16, 2011 9:43 AM EST up reply actions
Air fare is the only reason I"m not going.
I currently can’t justify spending 800 to 900 for air fare. If there were cheap flights to Dallas, we would be there.
I just read.
Us too.
My husband has been to every bowl game since Orange Bowl (2005), and I have been to all since. He’s only missed 1 game (home/away) the last 2 seasons—but we just can’t rationalize spending $1,000 dollars on airfare and hotel. Unfortunately, it seems to be the case for alot of our friends. We usually have between 10-20 friends go to the bowl game—this year so far only 3 are going.
by Jeannine Pinaula on Dec 15, 2011 5:28 PM EST up reply actions
Same for us
We really want go to. Hotels and rental cars are cheap, but as Jeannine said, we can’t justify spending 1k on airfare for a 2 day trip.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven; that which we are, We Are - Tennyson
I'll be there.
4 tickets. Great seats. $300. Of course, it’s only 50 miles away.
by Pentimental on Dec 15, 2011 5:19 PM EST reply actions 3 recs
I'm bummed we are not going, unless of course some cheap flight appears between now and that week
Sister has her guest room ready if something happens and we can make it.
I just read.
south central Pa.
fly out of Harrisburg, BWI, Dulles, Philly or National, all are farely easy within 2 1/2 hours, philly being the longest drive by far.
Right now I’m hoping my mother wins the lotto and promises all the kids some cash. If we could have swung two tickets to Dallas for $500, we would be going. Time off work isn’t any problem either.
I just read.
I almost always go to PSU's bowl game
Not going this year because it’s in Texas. Detroit is more interesting than Texas
ESPN-The Enablers
Forget the 409 wins and 2 national championships. Joe Paterno helped mold thousands of young men into productive members of our society.
by ICEICETHATGUY13 on Dec 15, 2011 5:30 PM EST reply actions
I just had a vision of a cartoon potato statue in the front yard...
and a little bastardized Intel logo beside the front door.
I’ll tell you why. Because we’re talking about Joe Freaking Paterno here.
-Jitterbug
by leeharvey418 on Dec 15, 2011 5:33 PM EST up reply actions
Hm... where did you go in Texas?
I live in Houston and have frequented Dallas quite often. I’ve also hung around Austin and San Antonio. Having grown up in Cleveland and visited Detroit a few times, I’m quite astonished you feel that way about Detroit/Texas
Austin, & San Antonio
It didn’t look like there was much to do in Dallas. Detroit- & Dallas was a hyperbolic reference. I mean, you can go watch people get shot in Detroit, or watch….. well, it’s Dallas!
ESPN-The Enablers
Forget the 409 wins and 2 national championships. Joe Paterno helped mold thousands of young men into productive members of our society.
by ICEICETHATGUY13 on Dec 15, 2011 6:03 PM EST up reply actions
I didn't think I would...
But, it isn’t so bad around here. The opportunities for kid’s sports are amazing and the parental politics are hysterical. There is a party every Friday and Saturday night in my neighborhood. One of my neighbors owns his own fishing show (Bass Champs) and throws a Super Bowl party every year that is sponsored by Hooters. Yes. You can imagine.
The house I bought would have cost about $2.5 million on Long Island where I was, and was under $400,000 here. They Cheney cheat when they hunt, but, hey, there aren’t many trees in certain areas. Watching the cognoscenti “church” on Wednesday, cheat on Thursday, “drunk up” on Friday and Saturday, and repent on Sunday is actually humorous. Lather, rinse, repeat. Kenneth Copeland and his G5 and Citation X and intersecting runway airport are about 5 miles away. Now put your hand on the computer and send me $10. *
*Any religious references are offered as satire only, do not reflect the opinions of management, and may not resemble any persons living or dead. We now return you to our regularly scheduled program of trolls, polls, and legal appeals.
Sounds like a John Cougar Mellencamp song type life!
Compared to where I live, there was always tons to do when we visited my sister. Lots of stuff to do with kids and somewhere to hear live music any night of the week is always a plus for me, since I would be able suppliment my income by playing a handful of times a month.
I just read.
"Detroit is more interesting than Texas"
Texas has lots of good Mexican food though.
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
Franco Harris:
"If I had to choose today between the moral integrity and character of Joe Paterno and the politicians and commentators criticizing him, I would pick Joe Paterno, hands down, no contest every time."
So does Detroit, if you know where to look.
I’ll tell you why. Because we’re talking about Joe Freaking Paterno here.
-Jitterbug
by leeharvey418 on Dec 17, 2011 1:33 AM EST up reply actions
Houston Alumni Association
Has already received about 250+ requests for tickets from the local alumni base and I would imagine the Dallas alumni association are already getting their tickets too. They’re getting allotments from elsewhere other than the main PSU allotment.
Central Texas (Austin) Chapter
Got their tickets through the school. Dallas went through the bowl directly.
Do internet trolls live under internet bridges?
Follow @stp147
Rovell's tweet makes no sense
Is he saying that bowls were scared away by Penn State because Penn State fans wouldn’t go?
That's what he's saying.
The other plausible reason that ticket sales might be abnormally slow (if they are – I don’t know statistics off-hand) is because we’re playing in a lower level bowl game rather than where the team was supposed to be selected.
@JPosnanski - I saw a girl crying tonight. When I asked why she said: "Because everybody lost."
#OccupyESPN
by Adam Collyer on Dec 15, 2011 8:35 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
VT, too.
And they’re ELITE!
365 beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days. Game on.
http://www.blognamedbrew.blogspot.com/
by Tailgate Shogun on Dec 16, 2011 10:13 PM EST up reply actions
"Is he saying that bowls were scared away by Penn State because Penn State fans wouldn’t go?"
The business fears of not taking them were justified.
I take “business fears” to mean at least three things:
1. scared sponsors for TV and stadium ads
2. PSU fans not wanting to go
3. Opposing team and even casual fans staying away because of the catastrophe.
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
Franco Harris:
"If I had to choose today between the moral integrity and character of Joe Paterno and the politicians and commentators criticizing him, I would pick Joe Paterno, hands down, no contest every time."
You only need to buy thru the university
When it’s the Rose Bowl or another big name bowl when tickets are in crazy demand, both from the schools and from the general public and you don’t want to get hosed on the price. It’s easy to get tickets for this game from other sources for a better price AND pick your seats. Why would you go through the school?
The stats are misleading. We’ll see how well the tickets sold when we turn on the game and half the stadium is blue.
If we all go in on a chartered flight, does that make it cheaper? Or does someone have a pilot friend to fly us there?
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven; that which we are, We Are - Tennyson
Dont know if
Im going to go or not, but, fuck it, bought tix anyway, short money, why not?
Why is Tim Curley still employed by the University?
you have inspired me
I offered my cousins in Houston and Dallas two tix if they wanna go.
"my dad says Michigan used to be good"
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