🏈 Bronco's organization takes season tickets away from holders (resale marketers.) Should UA follow?

[TerryP]

The Denver Broncos have developed a new strategy for dealing with season-ticket holders who don’t use their season tickets. The Broncos have rescinded their rights.

According to the Denver Post, the team took away roughly 400 season tickets based on electronic tracking of the resale market. The team calls it an appropriate “weeding out” of the season-ticket base aimed at putting “more tickets in the hands of Denver Broncos fans.”

Some customers are upset, questioning the process of identifying that season-ticket holders did not use their tickets once in 2016 and arguing that no warning was given regarding the possible loss of season-ticket privileges.

The Broncos have a 75,000-person waiting list, so they can afford to eject those who may be selling tickets to fans of the visiting team and ensure that true Broncos fans get the seats.

Broncos take season tickets from those who sold theirs in 2016

 

[UAgrad93]

I wouldn't have a problem with UA implementing this practice with a few tweeks though. Set some criteria, 3-4 year consecutive practice of selling all tickets, a type of warning given before the season, etc.
I can see season ticket holders selling for various reasons and that is their right. I have sold my seats before because of a band competition for my daughter, opening weekend of bow season and it being a crappy game. I once sold my ticket package for the entire year because of some family issues. I vowed never to do that again because of the bitching and moaning I received from the person that bought the package. I'll continue to buy and use as often as I am able.

 

[OldPlayer]

For the most part, teams don't know if a ticket has been sold, only if the ticket was used to enter the game (although the NFL does have a program where you can resell via their online service). In other words, if I sell my ticket to Bob, Alabama doesn't know if it's me or Bob entering the stadium. I'm sure some fans buy the season tickets (you have to buy the whole season, per seat) simply to get a single game (LSU, Auburn). They may sell a few games and leave a few games unsold. Is that wrong?

 

[TerryP]

I find myself wondering how much this has to do with Stubhub vs Ticketmaster (since they have an agreement in place with the NFL for a few hundred million.)

I do like the idea of the NFL Ticket Exchange and what UA could do to tweak their process.

I wouldn't have a problem with UA implementing this practice with a few tweeks though.

Are meth heads better at a game than fans who've can't handle their alcohol? :devil:

 

[rammerjammer]

I wouldn't have a problem with UA implementing this practice with a few tweeks though. Set some criteria, 3-4 year consecutive practice of selling all tickets, a type of warning given before the season, etc.
I can see season ticket holders selling for various reasons and that is their right. I have sold my seats before because of a band competition for my daughter, opening weekend of bow season and it being a crappy game. I once sold my ticket package for the entire year because of some family issues. I vowed never to do that again because of the bitching and moaning I received from the person that bought the package. I'll continue to buy and use as often as I am able.

I'm with you. With all the electronic crap this day and age they can monitor it, but I can count on one hand how many tickets I have sold in the 15 years I have been in Tide Pride. I have given away more tickets than I have sold. (lower tier teams).How could that be monitored? I agree, it sucks to have different folks sitting around you every game knowing that they are buying from scalpers, when you yourself, would put the tickets to good use. I have been on the waiting list for extra tickets for years, but no luck. I refuse to pay 10k to by-pass the list in order to get 2 more tickets. Either way there is a happy medium somewhere. Question is, will this become the new norm for high demand tickets/teams?

 

[TerryP]

I agree, it sucks to have different folks sitting around you every game knowing that they are buying from scalpers, when you yourself, would put the tickets to good use. I have been on the waiting list for extra tickets for years, but no luck.

Is the majority of the fans' anger from wanting tickets to post-season games and seeing those being sold to fans of other schools/teams?

 

[UAgrad93]

I find myself wondering how much this has to do with Stubhub vs Ticketmaster (since they have an agreement in place with the NFL for a few hundred million.)

I do like the idea of the NFL Ticket Exchange and what UA could do to tweak their process.

Are meth heads better at a game than fans who've can't handle their alcohol? :devil:

It's bad when you have a parent that was an English teacher and you use the wrong tweak/tweek!!

 

[BamaFan334]

From the outside looking in, of course I would love this to happen. It's awful to me that a student or alumni is not able to support his/her team from the stadium in the form of season tickets unless you have deep deep pockets. I got on the waiting list before I even started going to school at Alabama because I knew the chances were slim I'd ever get them, so might as well go ahead and get in line. There is nothing more that I hate about this whole thing than people selling their allotment just for profit. I completely understand life happens and sometimes you just can't go, especially with kids, so selling them here or there is just life. They can EASILY find out those just selling each year, and not utilizing the tickets. These brokers get them as well, and jack the prices up leaving empty spots on Saturday's. Nothing pisses me off more than hearing a game is sold out, yet seeing empty patches throughout the stadium because people couldn't afford $500 a ticket. I think this is a good idea in efforts of keeping people honest and finding ways to get tickets into the hands of true fans and supporters. My next door neighbor is from around Tuscaloosa and his sister gets tickets as a Tide Pride member, way high up in the stands. They are a bunch of dumbass rednecks that try and profit off every game. I inquired about two to a Middle Tennessee or Chattanooga type game a couple years ago so I could take my daughter and that bitch told me $85 a ticket for upper upper deck. I would have no issues blowing the whistle on people like this, when I, an actual alumni can't get tickets unless I unload $10,000 to jump the line and backdoor my way in. Unfortunately those are the steps I'm taking, and will do anything I can to get in that stadium on a regular basis and cheer on the best team, program, and school in this country. With me saying that, it also has me wondering if the money hungry marketers at Alabama will just continue to keep demand high and that money rolling in.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

The whole ticket thing is a joke....so many tickets sold on secondary sites....a pisser..
And premium tickets...Bama need be careful....Nick wont be there forever...and when they have sold their soul to the devil....a bunch of fans may look like empty seats......1500$ for my 2 this year....thats the cost of a really nice HDTV....complete with a close bathroom and frig full of cold beer....

 

[TerryP]

It's bad when you have a parent that was an English teacher and you use the wrong tweak/tweek!!

I not only sympathize, I empathize with you having done the same.

 

[alagator]

I inquired about two to a Middle Tennessee or Chattanooga type game a couple years ago so I could take my daughter and that bitch told me $85 a ticket for upper upper deck.

Doesn't that about cover the Tide Pride donation (divided by number of games available) and the face value of the ticket?

 

[rammerjammer]

@TerryP , I really can't say in regards to post season. This year was the first time I have ever had enough points to get post season tickets. I was on the second option for SECCG tickets and had the opportunity for the Washington game. I passed on both in order to go to Tampa. ( I sat in the nosebleeds) I remember reading a few years back for the post season games the allotment for the schools is really low in grand scheme of things (Corporate/TV etc). Knowing that going in, I don't think fans are too pissed in regards to post season. Most everyone I speak with feel the same as sentiments expressed on here. Do away with all those (most) looking to make a profit and allow the true fans to enjoy the experience.

I'm with 50+, what happens when Saban retires and we are not competing every year? Is this going to go the way of NASCAR, who sold their soul to the corporate devil and can't fill the stands? They now cover seats with sponsors names and paint them different colors to make it look like the stands are full? It can happen and then what do you do?

 

[TerryP]

And premium tickets...Bama need be careful....Nick wont be there forever...and when they have sold their soul to the devil....a bunch of fans may look like empty seats

On the other hand, even during the Shula/Price/fRan/DuBose years there were tens of thousands on the waiting list to get those tickets.

 

[BamaFan334]

Doesn't that about cover the Tide Pride donation (divided by number of games available) and the face value of the ticket?

Maybe, but it's not my responsibility to cover your dues. Especially since you can pull those tickets for $30 each lower level from a hundred different other sources. I was basically asking them out of convenience and doing them a favor and helping with a little money back for a shitty game. I consider that greed to pull that shit on someone you know to cover your expenses knowing you're selling every other game and the LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A&M, and even Ole Miss games will more than make your money and donation back. My entire point of that was that there people out there each and every year that get these tickets and sell them off to make money rather than support the program. The whole "business" argument is fine, but I also think loyalty is what has made Alabama a great institution and program, so you gotta get these types of folks out of the cookie jar. Let ME donate and reap the benefits by raising another generation of Alabama fans and hopefully students around the aura and tradition of a Saturday in Tuscaloosa. After all, I donated my time and money in the classroom, and now to the athletics department and Culverhouse, so I feel a little entitled to the opportunity. I know Florida State offers their graduates the opportunity to buy season tickets.

 

[TerryP]

There's a few things FSU does that's a bit unique. For one, you can actually sell your tickets through your account directly to Stubhub.

Florida State offers their graduates the opportunity to buy season tickets.

There are limits there. I want to say it's a max of two.

There's also the issue of FSU still seeing ticket sales increase while Alabama is one of the few SEC programs that consistently sells out.

The point Bama has a waiting list, and has had one for decades, makes the comparison to FSU ... well, not the best.

 

[UAgrad93]

According to a Jan '15 article by Forbes, the waiting list at BAMA is 32,000+ with only 1.5% coming off each year.

 

[BamaFan334]

There's a few things FSU does that's a bit unique. For one, you can actually sell your tickets through your account directly to Stubhub.


There are limits there. I want to say it's a max of two.

There's also the issue of FSU still seeing ticket sales increase while Alabama is one of the few SEC programs that consistently sells out.

The point Bama has a waiting list, and has had one for decades, makes the comparison to FSU ... well, not the best.

My point was that they atleast offer their graduates the opportunity. Alabama just says, go get in line. Do you think Alabama should be preferential to it's alumni or just allow whomever to get them? I see it as just because a guy signed up before I was capable (age wise) that it should not trump me actually going to the school and helping fund the improvements and success of the university, which is the starting point to anything that has the script A on it. My parents raised me to be a Georgia fan, so I was not brought up through the ranks like so many on this board, therefor I'm at a disadvantage time wise due to this.

I guess I don't know what to think, because a lot of these folks that didn't go to the school have been fans for as long as I am old and contributing, and I don't think you bump those people, but I definitely think you should track those selling their tickets each and every year and bump them. They aren't selling in efforts of spreading the joy and offering a gameday experience to more fans, they are doing it for the money. Easy enough to watch eBay and Craigslist and track these folks, it really is quiet simple. I'm a little sour grapes I guess, but I enjoy my football and don't mind paying if I'm given the opportunity. $10,000 is a little steep for me at the moment, but say $5,000 is something I would do this second given the opportunity. I really want to raise my kids on these Saturday's in Tuscaloosa and understand why we are all so damn crazy, it means a lot to me.

 

[UAgrad93]

My point was that they atleast offer their graduates the opportunity. Alabama just says, go get in line. Do you think Alabama should be preferential to it's alumni or just allow whomever to get them? I see it as just because a guy signed up before I was capable (age wise) that it should not trump me actually going to the school and helping fund the improvements and success of the university, which is the starting point to anything that has the script A on it. My parents raised me to be a Georgia fan, so I was not brought up through the ranks like so many on this board, therefor I'm at a disadvantage time wise due to this.

I guess I don't know what to think, because a lot of these folks that didn't go to the school have been fans for as long as I am old and contributing, and I don't think you bump those people, but I definitely think you should track those selling their tickets each and every year and bump them. They aren't selling in efforts of spreading the joy and offering a gameday experience to more fans, they are doing it for the money. Easy enough to watch eBay and Craigslist and track these folks, it really is quiet simple.

I get my tickets thru the letterman club. I'm limited to 2. The cutoff date for receiving 2 or 4 was at one time if you lettered before '81 you got 4 and after got 2. A lot of our old lettermen receive 4 at face value and pass to family or sell. I see it as a right of passage for getting my brains beat in!!

 

[BamaFan334]

I get my tickets thru the letterman club. I'm limited to 2. The cutoff date for receiving 2 or 4 was at one time if you lettered before '81 you got 4 and after got 2. A lot of our old lettermen receive 4 at face value and pass to family or sell. I see it as a right of passage for getting my brains beat in!!

Passing them down to your children is what it's all about, so I actually encourage that. Selling them, not so much if you make it a yearly habit. Not many of us can afford to come to town every single weekend, so it's understandable here and there, but selling the entire bundle for profit year after year is what I would like to see go away. Yeah man, the lettermen deserve it as they're the ones that built the program on the field and a lot to do with the financial success. Some fat fuck sitting behind a computer charging outrageous prices never having stepped foot on campus, not so much.

 

[OldPlayer]

I get my tickets thru the letterman club. I'm limited to 2. The cutoff date for receiving 2 or 4 was at one time if you lettered before '81 you got 4 and after got 2. A lot of our old lettermen receive 4 at face value and pass to family or sell. I see it as a right of passage for getting my brains beat in!!

I'm one of the group that can get 4. I can't get to all the games so I sell some to other A Club members or their friends. I'm not in it to make a fortune, just cover the cost. I also donate some tickets to soldiers out of Ft. Benning. Sometimes they take their family and sometimes it's a group of soldiers. I try to have a butt in my seats whether I'm there or not.

Don't worry uagrad93, your time for getting 4 is coming. Maybe you just need a few more post-playing surgeries to qualify.