Idea

[Suterman]

The NIT crowds were great. It really makes a difference having the seats full with fans that want to be there. I was thinking for all of the thousands of people that have tickets but don't show up, is there a way to get those tickets to people that want to go for free. Say if you know you can't make it to a game, email the ticket office and make your tickets available for free? If people knew there was a pool of free tickets available might that not increase the attendance substantially? Just a thought.

 

[Pepperman]

That won't work. For the same reason why if you have extra money you're probably not going to send it to me or anybody else?

 

[HawksAndChiefs24]

In theory, it's an outstanding idea. Realistically, there's just no way. I'm not bashing your idea because I honestly have no idea how to fix the attendance issues. All I know is we will need our fans to show out in a rowdy way in the future to give this team the home court advantage it deserves. I realize 6 o clock games are hard and I have no room to talk living in KC and only being able to make 2 basketball games a year. I just think it needs to become more of a priority and the marketing of the program needs to be better. Not necessarily just fridge magnets but specials for group outings, increased presence in local businesses, etc. I sincerely hope the athletic department isn't too cheap to offer these types of ticket donations and price cuts for bulk purchases. CHA is big enough we don't need to be charging face value for every ticket unless it's a big game.

I'm sure a lot on here who live closer are more educated than I am on how they are currently marketing the program. Does anyone have any insight on what they are currently doing in this regard and any ideas on how to improve attendance?

 

[showtime641]

I think it can all come down to who are we playing and when are we playing. Game time is huge and if we're playing rio grand Valley there's not a big draw.

I'd love to see a free ticket giveaway to some games that aren't filling up but that's a slippery slope as people could just wait for tickets to become free. Idk, Its tough but I do see a lot more excitement and energy around the basketball program so I'm optimistic it will fix itself naturally with results on the court.

 

[cidhawkeye]

The university would slap a $15 processing fee on this.

 

[Pepperman]

Here is one way it might work - I know the Iowa Cubs considered something like this (but I don't think they implemented it) because they have a similar problem with the best seats being all sold to corporations and most of the time they go unused.

Anyway, let's say you have tickets for a game and you KNOW for sure nobody is going to attend. As long as you tell the University 48 hours in advance, they can place those tickets back on the open market. IF, and only IF, those tickets are purchased by somebody else, then the University refunds half of the original price back to your account as the original owner of that ticket.

Play with the percentages or required advance notice, but I think this might work and in theory it SHOULD be able to be fully-automated?

 

[hoffmkr]

The biggest problem is the breakdown of weekday versus weekend games. With the number of Weekday games, many of your fans from Des Moines/Quad Cities, Dubuque, etc won't get season tickets. This drives down demand for season tickets leading to more "Donors" versus rabid fans.
The painful way to adjust this is to offer 2 sets of season tickets. Weekday and Weekend season tickets. Make the Weekend season tickets 2X the cost of Weekday tickets. Give students free Weekday tickets and charge for weekend. However, don't raise single game prices on Weekend games. Also lower prices for children tickets during the week.
This will result in more individual tickets sold on weekends versus donor tickets while bringing in more students during the week.
Give season ticket holders on each plan the option to buy 1-2 games from the other schedule as priority.

 

[DanL53]

I think it's time to consult professional event promoters. Clearly the NCAA has televisioned game attendance into a threatened species. Both with weird game times and an easier way to watch games.

I have a feeling it will come down to how can we expect people to pay so much for what has become a less valuable product?

And! An online site where season ticket holders can offer up single game tickets for same or lower price to anyone interested. No contact, all on the up and up, managed by the U of I and buyer picks up tickets at the window before the game. I don't think there is anything like that now, is there?

 

[BGHAWK]

I always try my best to get them to someone. I'm not always successful, but I do try. I'm pretty sure season ticket holders know someone that would like to use their tickets, but it must just be too much trouble for them. Not surprising.

 

[nychawkeyes]

All the pro leagues have a way for season ticket holders to sell off tickets via guaranteed sites. Would not be hard to do this at Iowa.

Also. Reset Carver, get the students on a side. The energy will never hit Hilton levels until this happens.

Sedge.

I think it's time to consult professional event promoters. Clearly the NCAA has televisioned game attendance into a threatened species. Both with weird game times and an easier way to watch games.

I have a feeling it will come down to how can we expect people to pay so much for what has become a less valuable product?

And! An online site where season ticket holders can offer up single game tickets for same or lower price to anyone interested. No contact, all on the up and up, managed by the U of I and buyer picks up tickets at the window before the game. I don't think there is anything like that now, is there?

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

I like it. If you can't use the tickets make them available for someone who can. Better than sitting in the trash can at your house because you can't use them.

 

[Pepperman]

Also. Reset Carver, get the students on a side. The energy will never hit Hilton levels until this happens.

I don't think the energy can ever hit Hilton levels though - arena is just different and not great for noise. But I do take your point and I totally agree that the students should have the first 6-7 rows and then a section behind the basket. If we had to take a row out so the major donors can sit down the whole time from row 9 on back, so be it.