Ohio State to raise ticket prices?

[Mike80]

ok, how about this then, not every seat should be the same price

On the outside I agree, but as long as they have demand for the last few seats in C deck that is similar to that in the first few rows of A deck, and they do, why should they go to a tiered-system?

 

[buckeyesin07]

yes, I've been to games like 06 Michigan, 10 Miami, 05 Texas and a few others all at face value

Those are all great games, and if you got tickets at face value, I think you've been really lucky. But I'm still not sure why you're complaining--you seem to only go to an average of one game per year, according to your post. Even if the university doubles the price of the tickets, that's an extra $150/pair for each face value pair you buy, or an extra $12/month. Hardly anything to get really worked up about.

 

[dav713]

I saw them for sale on ticketmaster (single seats) the day before the game

FYI, the away team gets an allotment of tickets to sell. When they don't sell their allotment, the tickets get dumped onto ticketmaster a day or two before the game. I got a sweet set of four section AA row 1 tickets a few years back against OU by checking ticketmaster the day before the game. The away team's unsold tickets may have been what you were seeing.

 

[TheStoicPaisano]

takes out a lot of out of state alums, like my dad

we were barely able to afford to go to one game, and we weren't traveling all the way there for a [Mark May] game either..

There's absolutely no reason to enter an alumni lottery now, that was one of the benefits, having the chance to buy Michigan tickets at face value

If I may ask, where did you get your tickets? Alumni lottery always has a good chance of pulling a crappy game. Scalping will always and forever be a part of every game, if the face is 70 or 79 or 175.

This coming from a 28 y.o. out-of-state alum who hasn't paid face since graduating in 2006. It's always below (go see Buffalo for $30) or above (see Michigan for $300).

I just don't see $9 as something to get up in arms about. The premium games are a larger hike, but it's rare those tickets bleed out to the public, so there will probably be not much of a change in dealing with a scalper.

 

[Zurp]

I don't remember the specifics very well, but back in the second-half of the '90's, and into the 2000's, the Indians' tickets were pretty expensive (for a baseball game). A friend of mine got season tickets and then sold all but a few games to friends, so I used to go to a few games with decent seats, for about $25 a seat. That was when they sold out something like 400 games in a row.

Now that they struggle to get 5,000 people to watch the games, I can probably buy tickets for under $10.

It's supply and demand. When demand exceeds a finite supply, prices go up. If prices were to be "locked" for any reason, you'd end up with a black market economy (scalpers), actually charging more than what the items are worth. Would you rather pay $60 for a ticket, or would you rather the scalper buy the ticket for $40, and then sell it to you for $75?

About the only thing that will decrease the price of tickets would be a few years of losing records, with no apparent "light at the end of the tunnel". If that's what you want, become a Browns fan.

 

[Bucknut24]

It's not the $9 hike I give a crap about, it's the premium $50 Hike

 

[Mike80]

So don't go to the premium games and instead go to the games that are only $9 more...

but to expand upon 07's point, $50 over a 12 month span is less than $4.25 per month extra.

 

[BigWoof31]

Interesting move. But certainly not something that is dynamically different from top tier programs nationally.

Would be interested to see who is designated as premium games by season:

My $.02

2013:
Iowa and Wisconsin

2014:
Michigan and Virginia Tech (maybe UC?)

2015:
Wisconsin and either MSU or PSU (possible OOC team too).

2016: (ouch)
Michigan and Illinois/Purdue?

2017:
Oklahoma and ?

 

[Mike80]

Interesting move. But certainly not something that is dynamically different from top tier programs nationally.

Would be interested to see who is designated as premium games by season:

My $.02

2013:
Iowa and Wisconsin and Ped State

2014:
Michigan and Virginia Tech (maybe UC?)

2015:
Wisconsin and either MSU or PSU (possible OOC team too).

2016: (ouch)
Michigan and Illinois/Purdue?

2017:
Oklahoma and Ped State and Wisconsin ?

FIFY

Even with the sanctions, I'd imagine Ped State will likely be a premium game no matter what.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

yes, I've been to games like 06 Michigan, 10 Miami, 05 Texas and a few others all at face value

Consider yourself lucky then. The amount of money you saved by paying face for those games should more than make up for the increase in face value for future games. I couldn't find a ticket for less than $250 against Texas, and I needed 8 (ended up swallowing 3 of those not including mine). I had to buy season tickets from a teacher before the 2006 season with the idea of selling the lesser games for at least face value and maybe making a profit off of some bigger games....all with the intention of going to Penn State and Michigan. Well the tickets ended up in the corner of D deck where nobody wanted to pay face value and I took a huge loss.

How about not going one year, then going the next. The money you saved by not going should make up for the extra cost in tickets the next year.

 

[BigWoof31]

How about not going one year, then going the next. The money you saved by not going should make up for the extra cost in tickets the next year.

Good suggestion.
What helped me in the past was to team up on tailgates with other families.

As opposed to spending 100-200 dollars to throw a tailgate party at the game of my choice (usually Auburn), we treat it as a potluck where everyone brings something and it's 100% BYOB.

Helped to shave alot of money of overall cost of that saturday.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

So your gripe is that it's going to cost more to see the better games, and you feel like you deserve the right to be able to pay....let's say....$70 for tickets to the Michigan game. Well, you and everybody else. But there are only 100,000 some seats for that game, so a lot of us are going to be left out. What makes your desire to see that game cheap any more important than mine or anybody else s?

 

[JBaney45]

On the outside I agree, but as long as they have demand for the last few seats in C deck that is similar to that in the first few rows of A deck, and they do, why should they go to a tiered-system?

I don't think this is REALLY the case though. Sure some people are fine just being in the stadium (those people may opt for the cheaper options based on that) but there are plenty that would be willing to pay a premium to sit in a better section. I'd even go so far as to argue that there may be some seats not worth the 70-79 bucks (up in D deck where the field view is obscured by the wall, or way up in B deck behind a post).


I mean they tier the ticket prices for basketball games, it's not some foreign concept.

 

[Oh8ch]

It's the market.

OSU is simply attempting to capture the money that is currently flowing into the secondary market (i.e. scalper's pockets).

The complaint is that those who can afford to pay more are driving those who can not out of the market. Not perfect, but I haven't heard an argument for something better beyond "But I really want to go!".

Not to get myself packed off to the poli-forum, but you could always write to the White House and see if you can get some government help.

(And no - I don't like it either.)

 

[leroyjenkins]

paid $250 (X2) for Nebraska, and $250 for The Game. I would have loved to pay face....

I went to 3 away games last year. Da U, Nebraska, and the bowl game. Paid face for all of those. I guess we have to pay for the privilege of being in the 'Shoe!