[GoMarquette.com] Men's Basketball Season Tickets Available For $99

[bma725]

Wow .. these things are selling extremely well:

MU on their facebook page: "We're now up to 832 season tickets sold in the new $99 price level... 167 more to reach our goal of 999. "

Last year the base was something like 13,000 plus or minus.  An extra 900*20 .. will push a new attendance record, although there may not be the # of sellouts versus two top BE teams. 

Pretty amazing in a recession year.

I don't think that's necessarily the case.  A lot of what is making the $99 seat sell so well is that people in the $275 and $450 sections are deciding the slightly better seats aren't worth the extra expense.  So the amount of tickets sold is around the same, but the revenue is lower. 

For example, last year my brother that lives out of town picked up a set of seats in what is now the $99 section in early August and was able to get Row F.  Those same seats have been unavailable since very early on in the seating process, but the slightly more expensive seats in the corner and on the sides still have a ton of seats available that weren't available last year at this time.

[mu_hilltopper]

The $64k question is how many of the $99 tickets are being purchased by new accounts.   I think that number is high, like 75%+.   I think "downgrading" does happen, but I believe it's the exception and not the rule.

I'll see what I can find out.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The $64k question is how many of the $99 tickets are being purchased by new accounts.   I think that number is high, like 75%+.   I think "downgrading" does happen, but I believe it's the exception and not the rule.

I'll see what I can find out.

The other question, which is literally impossible to answer, is the forgone revenue.  How many new people purchased at $99 that would have purchased at $250 but have now settled at the lower rate.  In this economy, it's probably a low number but that also goes into the equation.   It would be very interesting to know how many of the $99 purchasers were at a higher price point last year....remember that for every one that is, you have to land 2.5 of the $99 folks to make that revenue just for the $250 purchasers.

[mu_hilltopper]

True dat.

Two things.  There's no guarantee that MU won't bump it from $99 next year back to $180.  In which case, it could be considered a loss-leader.   Get them in the door, hope they buy something at the higher rate next year.  (Cough, cough, just like those DirecTV promotional deals, 3 months at a great rate, then whammo.)

Second is .. new folks who bought in at $99, love going to games, and realize how crappy their seats are, so upgrade next year.

[bma725]

The $64k question is how many of the $99 tickets are being purchased by new accounts.   I think that number is high, like 75%+.   I think "downgrading" does happen, but I believe it's the exception and not the rule.

I'll see what I can find out.

I think the number of previous season ticket holders that transferred into those sections is a lot higher than you'd think, just based upon how it looked during reseating.  Seats that were available for new accounts at this time last summer were gone within the first week of reseating, and by the end of the reseating process the best seats available were several rows worse than what was available the previous year.  And that's without any new accounts being able to select seats.  Certainly a good portion of it is new accounts, but this has been a very strange year.  Good seats are still available in the center sections of the upper level, but you have to go to the last row in the endzone to get anything.

[ChicosBailBonds]

True dat.

Two things.  There's no guarantee that MU won't bump it from $99 next year back to $180.  In which case, it could be considered a loss-leader.   Get them in the door, hope they buy something at the higher rate next year.  (Cough, cough, just like those DirecTV promotional deals, 3 months at a great rate, then whammo.)

Second is .. new folks who bought in at $99, love going to games, and realize how crappy their seats are, so upgrade next year.

Actually not an apples to apples example.  A promotional deal like DIRECTV uses (your example) is to lure someone from another provider (i.e. cable, DISH Network, etc) so they're not canibalizing their own revenue from their own customers....in other words, it's new found revenue because you didn't have it when they were paying Time Warner monthly.  You get them over on a promotional offer.  It's when you start cutting into your own customer revenue streams where it gets tricky and that's what MU is doing now....potentially.  Unless they have a policy where it's for new season ticket purchasers only as a promotional first time offer.

[Henry Sugar]

I think the number of previous season ticket holders that transferred into those sections is a lot higher than you'd think, just based upon how it looked during reseating.  Seats that were available for new accounts at this time last summer were gone within the first week of reseating, and by the end of the reseating process the best seats available were several rows worse than what was available the previous year.  And that's without any new accounts being able to select seats.  Certainly a good portion of it is new accounts, but this has been a very strange year.  Good seats are still available in the center sections of the upper level, but you have to go to the last row in the endzone to get anything.

Wouldn't this imply that Marquette was actually driving in more revenue with the higher priced seats?  I thought that part of this was because MU was allowing people to purchase additional tickets, and lower bowl folks were snapping up some extras.

The lower bowl price sensitivity is far more inelastic, and that has to be where the bulk of the revenue is.  Upper bowl buyers are a lot more price sensitive.

I bet that MU ended up driving more revenue by allowing people to buy more lower bowl tickets, and the $99 deal helps offset people that were likely to drop.

[bma725]

Wouldn't this imply that Marquette was actually driving in more revenue with the higher priced seats?  I thought that part of this was because MU was allowing people to purchase additional tickets, and lower bowl folks were snapping up some extras.

Yes and no.  Lower bowl folks were snapping up extras, but on the opposite side you had people leaving the other sections upstairs.  Seats in the center and corner sections that were taken at this time last year are in many cases still available today for a new season ticket holder.

[reinko]

Does MU get a cut of the beer/food/merch sales too?

More butts in the seats = More money $ in concessions

[🏀]

Does MU get a cut of the beer/food/merch sales too?

More butts in the seats = More money $ in concessions

Nope.