Anybody going to the reseat discussion Dec. 11?

[Pony ^]

I've been going every single game since I graduated a few years ago and attended all the Garland games and a few road games here and there. They are going to price me out and I will tell them to shove that money up their [deleted].

They will lose all good, loud fans that actually care and Moody will become Jerry World Jr.

[SMU Section F]

I've been going every single game since I graduated a few years ago and attended all the Garland games and a few road games here and there. They are going to price me out and I will tell them to shove that money up their [deleted].

They will lose all good, loud fans that actually care and Moody will become Jerry World Jr.

If they go through with this (and it's as bad as some expect), the vindictive part of me really hopes they do lose a lot of dedicated fans. But on the other hand, it'll really suck if/when the team fades a little and we're right back to where we were four years ago. I'm conflicted.

Sadly, I probably won't have the balls to let my tickets go in protest and I'll just keep renewing and sit up on top of the A/C vents if that's where they put me.

All that said, I'm holding on to faith that they will actually handle this well. The fact that they sent a "warning" letter does not help my confidence though...

[SMU1523]

I did talk to my ticket rep yesterday and he did say that the seat reshuffle is not going to be as big of a deal as people are thinking. I sure hope it won't be.

[GiddyUp]

Express your opinions to [email protected]

It's just too soon to do this. We don't even have a program yet.

[NastyStang]

What's the ticket rep supposed to say?

I promise you its every bit of bad as people are speculating. I've heard from more than few informed people.

[hoop]

Anyone who bought season tickets this year for the first time already paid the new donation levels. They had to turn people away for the Hall of Fame Club at $2500/seat + the price of the tickets.

[Grant Carter]

I suppose I do not understand the reason to get all pissed off before they release the information and we see what they are proposing.

[hoop]

I suppose I do not understand the reason to get all [deleted] off before they release the information and we see what they are proposing.

It's Ponyfans - the default position is [deleted] off

[Blunt Pony]

$5K donation per Loge seat + ticket.

You have got to have very little going on in your life if you sign up for this program. Seriously??

[RGV Pony]

Yeah, just chillin

[OhioBrownFan]

Seems to me there are enough seats to go around if you can get rid of the ticket brokers. Also, I am confused on why this relocation system needs to take place anyway. Sometimes in life, you snooze, you lose, even if you are a fat cat. Those that don't have the seats they yearn for were probably not keeping up with the program at the time anyway. Keep the prices where they are until something is actually accomplished. Right now the only legimigate reason I can imagine that would justify any increase in ticket prices would be if we needed the money to pay Coach Brown and if that is the case sign me up!

Not going to lie, SMU easily has the smallest amount of ticket brokers as I've seen at a place. Brokers are a necessary evil, the Texas Rangers have representatives that only deal with brokers as do all professional teams. And 90% of colleges work with brokers, they need them to sell out the crap games and when the team isn't great. Professional teams know it, colleges are quickly realizing it. The job of the school is to sell all inventory and create a good environment. Their job is not to predict future success of the team and program, or how a season is going to play out. Like I said, Michigan tried to do that with their football tickets 2 years ago. OSU/UM tickets were $450 face for any remaining inventory. They ended up selling for about $100 on game day. This year, nobody bought the single games at those prices and Michigan had to slash them. They didn't sell out and it's an embarrassing fall considering the athletic department was the gold standard for athletic departments 10 years ago. Sorry to rant, pretty passionate on this stuff. There's a very fine line that needs to be walked. And that line was crossed badly with this year's price increase yet alone another steep price hike when the team hasn't done jack really. I think most of us agree that it's heading in the right direction but absolutely nothing of value has been accomplished so far.

[smusportspage]

Yea I can see your point as far as the ticket broker side of things. I just don't get the relocation thing. Maybe I will when it is spelled out for me.

[Pony ^]

The folks in the middle blue sections that are paying good money, but the minimum donations are the one's that will get screwed. Some good fans in those areas.

[DiamondM]

I'm going.

There is a fine line here. I love that people are jumping on the band wagon, and pricing to that improved market is one thing, but SMU cannot afford to alienate many long time season ticket holders for a short term money grab based on 1 NIT season and the hope and prayer that SMU can sustain the momentum. There has to be a reward for sticking through through the lean years.

Mark Cuban said it best in his blog last year:

2. Know who your long time fans/customers are.

The delta between sell out and empty is typically 5k fans. You have to know who your ongoing season ticket holders are and respect and appreciate them. You can not do enough to reward them. It is hard to personally respond to 5k or more account holders, but it is something you have to work at. The greater the renewal rate the fewer the tickets you have to sell next year. Fans know when you care. You can’t fake it. It is hard work, but it has to be done. Know your customers and treat them like gold.

3. Price to the market, not to maximize revenue.

The sports industry is changing. TV is becoming a growing revenue source while ticket sales are a declining percentage of total revenues of TV sports. IMHO, it is far more important to know the price points that will enable you to fill the arena than to know the price points that will max out your total revenue. Why ? Because winning matters. It is important to have fans in the stands. They impact your winning percentage. And personally, I believe that winning increases long term profitability.

It is also because fans know the pricing trends of your tickets better than you do. THey know how to use travel sites to get best pricing. They know how to use ticket sites to get best pricing. Teams try to be democratic when it comes to game pricing. Thats an inefficiency that some fans and many ticket brokers know how to take advantage of. We hired a full time Data Analyst to continuously examine and review online pricing for us. It has resulted in us changing pricing for 7k season tickets for this coming year.

[smusic 00]

According to a source, there are 200 'longtime' (4yr+) season ticket holders and they will be grandfathered in to their seats. So don't worry about alienating them. Plus, as Grant pointed out, nobody (even the ath dept) knows exactly how this is going to work yet. That's why they are seeking input. But, yes, premium seat holders will pay substantially more per seat.