Early thoughts on the student section(s)

[Warrior of Law]

Curious to see what others think of the split of student section.  During Saturday's game vs. K-State both ends seemed to eventually fill up, which was nice.  Last night, I would estimate that about 10-15% of the student sections were occupied, even with the tarps covering multiple rows.  Initially, I thought the idea made a lot of sense, but after implementation, I would go back to one section, and sell the tickets closer to the court assuming there is interest.

[Litehouse]

I was thinking the same thing at the Charleston Southern game.  I'm looking forward to seeing how full it will be for a really big game like Sat., but for the other 10-12 games, it seems like a lot of lost revenue by not selling those lower level seats.

[Jay Bee]

I blame the student section(s) for both of our losses

[fjm]

During big games and weekend games it will be full. The Kstate game it was full they even had to remove one of the tarps.

Anonymous eagle, whoever runs that twitter count called out the fans before the Kstate and wrongfully and it turns out many were stuck in line outside. 30 seconds into the game the student sections were full and having a great time.

The bow tie is awesome. It’ll be great on Saturday.

[brewcity77]

I like it. I know there's lost revenue, but there's so much opportunity with it. Someone mentioned the idea of upping the ante on the free shakes. When the student section goes nuts chanting "FREE SHAKE! FREE SHAKE! FREE SHAKE!" it's great. Maybe it was one of the pods that suggested offering a free small the first time, then upping the size on each subsequent trip to the line.

I also like the call and response potential. I think there will be more they can do, but until we get to conference games we won't see the full impact it can have. As there were plenty of good seats available through the picking process, I think it's fine to keep the students in premium seats.

Another bonus, the students will be more engaged if they're closer. It makes for a better student experience. If MU can afford it, I think it's all positive.

[MUEng92]

Well...even the fellow 40 something guy next to me was shouting Free Shake at the top of his lungs at the KSU game so I don't know if I'd give the students too much credit for that

[Litehouse]

Shake Shack is the only place in town that has slower moving lines than getting into the Fiserv Forum.  I tried cashing in the free shake* after K-State, and that's the last time I ever go there.

*the shakes aren't "free", you have to buy something else.

[Mr. Nielsen]

I know there's lost revenue.

I'm not sure there is. It didn't force people to move upstairs. There is plenty of seats for sale for season tickets, in lower cost sections like 102. Tons of seats in section 114, 109, 103, 120.

[brewcity77]

Shake Shack is the only place in town that has slower moving lines than getting into the Fiserv Forum.  I tried cashing in the free shake* after K-State, and that's the last time I ever go there.

*the shakes aren't "free", you have to buy something else.

I'd advise going the next day, but even if no one cashes in on the promotion, the in stadium reaction makes it worth it.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It looks bad for the cupcakes but was amazing for Kansas State. I think that's a fair trade off.

[Litehouse]

I wonder if they could make a ticket package for the lower priority games.  For this year, you could have:
Carroll
UMBC
Bethune Cookman
Presbyterian
Charleston Southern
UTEP
North Dakota
Buffalo
Southern
DePaul
St. John's
Butler

That's 12 games with great seats in Sec. 122.  Maybe combine it with seats in a different section for the other games.  Probably too complicated an not worth the trouble, but that's a lot of prime seats going empty for nearly all the games.  The bow-tie certainly helps the atmosphere for a few big games, but I think it hurts the atmosphere for the rest of the games.

[fjm]

I wonder if they could make a ticket package for the lower priority games.  For this year, you could have:
Carroll
UMBC
Bethune Cookman
Presbyterian
Charleston Southern
UTEP
North Dakota
Buffalo
Southern
DePaul
St. John's
Butler

That's 12 games with great seats in Sec. 122.  Maybe combine it with seats in a different section for the other games.  Probably too complicated an not worth the trouble, but that's a lot of prime seats going empty for nearly all the games.  The bow-tie certainly helps the atmosphere for a few big games, but I think it hurts the atmosphere for the rest of the games.

Or you could get a mini plan for $109.

And then get the BE A STUDENT tickets for $50 and literally get 10 games for $159.

[MUBigDance]

Shake shack promo Thumbs up
Duel Student section - Thumbs up - got to think big games....got to think big program...got to think what its like at its best.

Pizza Promo - I hope they get it right next time.

[Warrior of Law]

That "be a student" package is quite a deal.  I split a season package and I'm paying north of $900.  I could get as many games for a fraction of that amount, sit in comparable seats, and still have a few nickels to go to several other marquee games.  I think I just solved some budget issues...

[skianth16]

During big games and weekend games it will be full. The Kstate game it was full they even had to remove one of the tarps.

I sure hope there aren't any tarps up on Saturday.

If there are tarps up on all but 2 or 3 games this season, they may want to consider paring back the number of student seats offered. Having students on both ends can be awesome, but if they don't show up, it's not worth allocating so much space for them. It would be great to not see any tarps during conference play.

[Galway Eagle]

I sure hope there aren't any tarps up on Saturday.

If there are tarps up on all but 2 or 3 games this season, they may want to consider paring back the number of student seats offered. Having students on both ends can be awesome, but if they don't show up, it's not worth allocating so much space for them. It would be great to not see any tarps during conference play.

If there's a need for tarps for the UW game then the student section is truly terrible compared to what it was in my day.

[TallTitan34]

Obviously there will be no tarps Saturday.  Come on now.

[warriorchick]

Obviously there will be no tarps Saturday.  Come on now.

Yep. Only one small tarp for the Kansas State game. They had to remove the other 4.

And the student tickets actually sold out much earlier than in prior years. I know this due to the amount of crying I saw on the Parents Facebook page about how their special snowflakes were denied (including, IIRC, an outraged "who do I speak to about this?") post.
The key is to get the kids that bought tickets to actually  show up. And I think they will for the important games. It's hard to get excited about a cupcake game on a Tuesday night when finals are coming up.

[wadesworld]

Pepperdine does the Shake Shack promo but they do it for a Chick Fil A sandwich. I’m embarrassed for MU.

[Litehouse]

Pepperdine does the Shake Shack promo but they do it for a Chick Fil A sandwich. I’m embarrassed for MU.

Why?  A Chick-Fil-A sandwich costs $3.49 and a Shake Shack shake costs $5.29.

[warriorchick]

Pepperdine does the Shake Shack promo but they do it for a Chick Fil A sandwich. I’m embarrassed for MU.

The Bulls do Chik Fil A, too. The last time I went to a game, LeBron got us our free sandwiches.

[CountryRoads]

I wonder if they could make a ticket package for the lower priority games.  For this year, you could have:
Carroll
UMBC
Bethune Cookman
Presbyterian
Charleston Southern
UTEP
North Dakota
Buffalo
Southern
DePaul
St. John's
Butler

That's 12 games with great seats in Sec. 122.  Maybe combine it with seats in a different section for the other games.  Probably too complicated an not worth the trouble, but that's a lot of prime seats going empty for nearly all the games.  The bow-tie certainly helps the atmosphere for a few big games, but I think it hurts the atmosphere for the rest of the games.

Are they doing anything like that for the XMAS break games? It seems silly to have students on both sides during those games.

[JakeBarnes]

Are they doing anything like that for the XMAS break games? It seems silly to have students on both sides during those games.

Yes, they are.

[#UnleashSean]

Are they doing anything like that for the XMAS break games? It seems silly to have students on both sides during those games.

The be a student package.

[connie]

I like it.  I feel guilty dissing on the students for skipping weeknight games against bunnies, as I miss some of those as well (although most students live a lot closer to FF than I do).

[wadesworld]

Why?  A Chick-Fil-A sandwich costs $3.49 and a Shake Shack shake costs $5.29.

Some money is better spent than other money.