Carver Seating Plan

[mthawk00]

I'm well aware that you are not required to donate to go to a game. I've had season football tickets for over 20 years, and go to many games each year at Carver. I lost good seats and a good tailgating place because I do not donate enough to the I club. The fact that I have been a loyal customer of the Uof I for all that time was never considered. It was pure greed on the university's part, and now they are at it again. It is certainly premature to do this before Caff has had a chance to turn the program around, and I think it will make it harder to sell to recruits because I don't see alot of season tickets getting sold on this basis, hence attendance will remain down until success is achieved, and selling a half empty Carver to recruits is going to be difficult.

So what is your solution to upgrade facilities, etc. to stay competitive? This all costs money. Recruits will not go to Iowa due to poor facilities too. Why do you think the Captain wants to continually upgrade? I am glad you are a loyal hawkeye fan, but you don't have a right to seats or certain seats. If demand doesn't meet supply those "better" seats will be available to non donors.

You can call it greed, I call it the only option when upgrades are needed. Money doesn't grow on trees.

 

[IowaBanker]

It is true that a Carver reseating was announced at that time, but it was said that a donation per seat would not be part of the equation.

I don't believe this is true...and it wouldn't make sense if it was true. Why reseat the arena if per seat donations aren't a part of the equation? That makes no sense.

 

[IowaBanker]

One other point...in the early 2000s, the only way you could have a ticket to a men's basketball game in Carver was to be a season ticket holder. On top of that, in order to be a season ticket holder, you had to donate at the Golden Hawk level ($1,200 annually at that time). So the idea of per seat donations in Carver Hawkeye Arena is certainly nothing new.

 

[djwoody98]

Look, if the demand is there, it's good business. We've had an arena that is a 1/3 full. We're all hopeful that Coach Franny Mac can get the job done, but if not, poor timing.

 

[Thawki]

IowaBanker snaps everyone back in line.

Thank you, IowaBanker.

I am willing to bet that they did a study on how many people donated the proper amount in football to cover that $200+ in basketball that I assume is a "seat license" and they figured the amount that were only doing hoops was minimal. Therefore, they went forward with this.

If the numbers are as I think they are, there is no harm, no foul here.

Quit your ******** until this thing plays out. If we have the right coach, it won't be an issue for long, as was noted by the reference to the early 2000s.

A comment by Miller might be helpful too.

 

[IowaFanSince82]

I will say this though, the U of I make a KILLING on saturdays in Iowa City. If you look at all the $$ they rake in a average Saturday. I'm using my Price per ticket i get for season tickets 52$ a ticket per game.

70,000 fans @ 52$ tickets = $3,640,000 a Saturday on Tickets alone. Mind you there are higher priced tickets, so that number will easily be over 4mil a game.
$3,640,000 X 7 home games = $25,480,000 + for a total after all 7 home games!

That is just the tickets, now you have the $$ they get from Parking, Concessions, merchandise, parking passes, and several other things.

I'm glad I can write off my donation of purchasing tickets on my taxes every year and get some money back, because it is crazy how much $$ the U of I makes on a Saturday Afternoon. They say they need more donations, no they need to cut some sports and focus on the money makers and let the rest of the non-$$ making sports die out.

 

[ssckelley]

This is true, but how else do you afford to buyout guarenteed contracts and go out and hire a new coach? That kind of funding has to come from donations as you cannot expect that money to come from tax payers. Not to mention you expect these coaches to fly around the entire country to recruit the top talent to come to Iowa.

 

[doughuddl]

Re: IowaBanker snaps everyone back in line.

Thank you, IowaBanker.

I am willing to bet that they did a study on how many people donated the proper amount in football to cover that $200+ in basketball that I assume is a "seat license" and they figured the amount that were only doing hoops was minimal. Therefore, they went forward with this.

If the numbers are as I think they are, there is no harm, no foul here.

Quit your ******** until this thing plays out. If we have the right coach, it won't be an issue for long, as was noted by the reference to the early 2000s.

A comment by Miller might be helpful too.

What? Miller makes your decisions for you?

 

[hawkeyemark]

Look, if the demand is there, it's good business. We've had an arena that is a 1/3 full. We're all hopeful that Coach Franny Mac can get the job done, but if not, poor timing.

I'll use my first post here to say that I really hope they get the new seating plan right but it strikes as a little dicey. The Athletic Department obviously sees courtside premium seating as a revenue bonanza and planned this with Todd Lickliter at the helm so it obviously has nothing to do with building on a resurgence in Iowa Basketball. That alone raises a red flag with me.

We have IMO the right guy in place to build energy around the basketball program and need to do everything we can to draw people back to Carver. The students will remain away from the action and the hard-core loudest fans will find themselves pushed further back or with a greater financial obligation to get good seats.

It goes without saying that like it or not big money drives college sports. But Iowa, especially with its strong football program, doesn't lack for resources for its athletic programs. So I think we should really give some thought to whether or not we want a Lakers type atmosphere or want to risk continued large numbers of empty seats at Carver. This has the potential to get interesting.

 

[IowaBanker]

I will say this though, the U of I make a KILLING on saturdays in Iowa City. If you look at all the $$ they rake in a average Saturday. I'm using my Price per ticket i get for season tickets 52$ a ticket per game.

70,000 fans @ 52$ tickets = $3,640,000 a Saturday on Tickets alone. Mind you there are higher priced tickets, so that number will easily be over 4mil a game.
$3,640,000 X 7 home games = $25,480,000 + for a total after all 7 home games!

That is just the tickets, now you have the $$ they get from Parking, Concessions, merchandise, parking passes, and several other things.

I'm glad I can write off my donation of purchasing tickets on my taxes every year and get some money back, because it is crazy how much $$ the U of I makes on a Saturday Afternoon. They say they need more donations, no they need to cut some sports and focus on the money makers and let the rest of the non-$$ making sports die out.

While your comment might make common sense in a vacuum, it won't work due to some very well-known federal legislation on the books, commonly known as Title IX.

Title IX states that there must be gender-equity in athletic scholarships. There are 85 football scholarships alone, so that means there must be several women's scholarship sports to help create the federally-mandated balance. These sports aren't going to generate revenues, and so they are paid for with football profits (as are most of the minor men's sports, to be fair).

You can't cut women's scholarships without also cutting men's scholarships, and Iowa isn't going to start dropping sports left and right, because the Big 10 won't allow it.

Football carries the financial weight of the athletic department (along with donations), so even though it may seem obscene to some of you that football makes a ton of money, and yet the university keeps asking for private donations, it's all absolutely 100% necessary.

Folks, it's not going to change. College athletics (mostly football) is a HUGE business, and schools like Iowa need to continue to maximize their revenues.

 

[IowaFanSince82]

I know the whole Title IX situation, I just think it is BS. Why should other sports fund the one's who don't make any money.

I had a co-worker who was in sales, he didn't make any money, what do to you think the company did to him? cut his @ss because he wasn't producing $$. Its the same in the business world, why do we baby these kids.

If Tennis wants to make $$ get people to the matches, if they can't do it, then they shouldn't have it!

I know it means nothing, but I personally don't agree with title IX!

 

[hoffahawk]

I don't fault them for doing this, it's just a really bad time to do it. I work with a couple of long time bball season ticket holders that both said they are thinking about not renewing their tickets.

As another poster pointed out if the demand is there, it makes perfect sense. But the Iowa B-Ball season ticket holder has already been crapped on for the last few years when they dropped prices during the season to try and get people in the doors. Why ask those same people that are the core of your fans and have been loyal buying tickets for as long as they have to cough up more money to keep their seats? And if their main goal is to get people back to Carver it's a horrible idea and will only run off some current season ticket holders.

It just doesn't seem like the time to do it with the shape the program is in right now.

 

[JonDMiller]

This reseating project has actually been delayed a year or two...it was to have taken place before now, but the lack of success was one of the reasons why they waited. I believe they feel with a new coach, now is as good a time as any.

This is something that is taking place all across the country in both FB and MBB...not saying it doesn't stink for some people, and there is a risk Iowa is taking, but it's how its done now

 

[sioux34]

This is a terrible idea. They need to make major cuts in the price of season tickets, not raise prices. They would net much more revenue if they cut season ticket prices in half. This seems amazingly short sited of Barta.

 

[hawkeye12345]

Some people fail to understand basic economic principals.

If there are 15,000 seats at Carver and you charge $1 per ticket you make $15,000 per game.

Now if you charge $500 per ticket you only need 30 people to buy tickets and still make the same amount per game. In fact, if you have less people at the game your margins are going to be higher due to decreased expenses (security, labor, etc.) but you also run the risk of losing out on ancillary purchases such as concessions, parking and swag.

Somewhere there is an economist running a myriad of calculations in order to determine how they can maximize profit. If that means charging more per ticket and have less people at the game then so be it. As many people have pointed out in this thread, it's about making money.

Many intangibles that need to be dealt with here such as fan loyalty, continued success of the program, risks of losing players / coaches and support staff, goodwill just to name a few.

Not everyone can sit in the first row.

 

[hawkeye12345]

This is a terrible idea. They need to make major cuts in the price of season tickets, not raise prices. They would net much more revenue if they cut season ticket prices in half. This seems amazingly short sited of Barta.

Average attendance in the worst year in Iowa basketball history was 9,550 per ESPN. We can probably guess that the numbers were inflated and just say that 8,000 attended Iowa home games (on average). I don't know what the actual figures are.

Public season tickets cost $266 for an average of $15.65 per game.

If we average 8,000 fans next year, we will generate $2,128,000 for the year in ticket sales. If we cut the prices in half and average 15,000 fans we actually reduce revenue to $1,995,000 for ticket sales. Obviously this figure will fluctuate based on average attendance from last year and actual attendance next year but the premise is still the same. Cutting prices doesn't always equate to higher revenues.

 

[jshawks]

So what is your solution to upgrade facilities, etc. to stay competitive? This all costs money. Recruits will not go to Iowa due to poor facilities too. Why do you think the Captain wants to continually upgrade? I am glad you are a loyal hawkeye fan, but you don't have a right to seats or certain seats. If demand doesn't meet supply those "better" seats will be available to non donors.

You can call it greed, I call it the only option when upgrades are needed. Money doesn't grow on trees.

After having some time to vent and now think about it in the clear light of day, I have to admit that while I do not like it...it is most likely a necessary evil. I still think it is a poor business decision to do this now, before Caff has had a chance to really turn things around. Had this happened after he has realized some success here at Iowa I think it would not only have been easier to swallow, but would have been expected.

 

[mthawk00]

This is a terrible idea. They need to make major cuts in the price of season tickets, not raise prices. They would net much more revenue if they cut season ticket prices in half. This seems amazingly short sited of Barta.

Ticket price is somewhat irrelatvant. When your team is as bad as Iowa has been people won't go no matter the price. I work at a company where tickets are given away alot and people wouldn't take them. $20 a game or $10, if the product is horrible you aren't buying.

People are acting like if you don't donate you cannot go, which is simply not true. You just can't get the best seats in the house. Seems fair to me.

 

[Tolson]

Here is the link to the actual plan of the new seating at Carver.

University of Iowa Official Athletic Site :: Iowa

 

[HawKCP]

This is true, but how else do you afford to buyout guarenteed contracts and go out and hire a new coach? That kind of funding has to come from donations as you cannot expect that money to come from tax payers. Not to mention you expect these coaches to fly around the entire country to recruit the top talent to come to Iowa.

This!

Be careful what you wish for.

It's funny how the same fans who were adamant about firing a coach with a sizeable buyout...and begging to open up the checkbook for Bruce Pearl...who were asking for the previous basektball coach to be fired as well...and have been complaining about the basketball facilities...etc. etc. etc. etc...are complaining about ticket prices going up.

This is akin to the inevitability of those claiming nationalized healthcare as a fundamental human right when they start to complain about the ridiculous tax hikes that we will be faced with in order to finance this.

Folks...money has to come from somewhere so when you continue to demand that organizations impacting you spend, spend, spend...be prepared to spend, spend, spend yourself because you are the ones funding them.