They are nice seats…but for a $2500 per seat “gift” and $1500 per seat ticket price.
Mark Harlan needs to go.
1 Like
I went to that presentation a while ago. I can see why they are trying to generate funds, if they can get wealthy ticket holders to pony up, I don’t blame them.
Those prices were way out of my ability to pay up.
3 Likes
Every year I tell the ticket reps that they are going to price people out. And they always say “98% renewal rate”. Yeah, but sooner or later that bubble will burst. And the ones who won’t be able to afford it are the most rabid fans, not the empty seats you see on game days when the temperature is below 50 degrees.
Many say that our ticket prices are a bargain, but that is part of the reason we sell out. When they are no longer a bargain, the place won’t fill up.
5 Likes
I can remember when the only time we sold out the stadium was for TDS. The rest of the time we had a pick of the stadium for seats. Those days can always return - even if we are winning.
1 Like
I am shocked–shocked! that they are not selling like hotcakes.
1 Like
That was always the bottom line plan as anyone who filled out that embarrassing push poll they conducted 4 or 5 years ago could see. They didn’t care what the results of that were. They were going to make a high end area where it wouldn’t be much different from sitting in one’s living room while displacing the long term SEZ fans.
I don’t know exactly when they’ll see the break in the Q/P curve, but it’s hard to believe it isn’t close.
1 Like
I get the angst over price increases, I grump about how much my tickets have gone up as well. But I also know that it seems like the market can bear much higher prices and premium options. I know folks at a number of tech firms here in Utah who have been chomping at the bit to get access to suites or loges for Utah Football for a long time.
The only thing that seems to be dragging such purchases this year is uncertainty around the impact of the pandemic on this season. I know that suite renewals for our company for several venues around town are in limbo as they wait to see what we happen for the various seasons.
I also know that some are awaiting a better look at what the suites and loges final physical details are going to look like before they make a final decision. I fully expect that RES will continue to have sellouts for the foreseeable future, especially given how robust the local economy is. When folks are willing to drop $500K for a small bungalow in Sugar House I’m sure that $4-5K for football tickets is not that big a stretch.
3 Likes
Why? Cuz of the SEZ project?
2 Likes
At current interest rates that’s a couple of month’s worth of house payment for that house. That’s not a good trade off for most.
1 Like
Maybe they’re treating it like an engagement ring. Two month’s salary.
1 Like
All I hear in my head is Suze Orman yelling, “You are DENIED!”
1 Like
Lots of cash buyers or folks with a huge down payment in the market these days so I don’t think that affects them. And given the size of bonuses some of my coworkers got this year $5K for a season ticket is no big deal. Also I used to deal with premium seat holders for a couple of NHL teams when I worked at Ticketmaster before I moved to Utah. It was common for folks to drop $15, 20, 25K for a suite for one game! Big companies that want to make a splash for visiting VIPs are not shy about throwing money at popular events.
1 Like
Well the best seats in the south endzone this year were going for $15,000 a seat.
$10,000 of that was a donation to the construction fund.
The next best seat was going for about $10,000.
The U’s treatment of those who’ve been sitting in the south endzone for decades is what has most of us annoyed. (But I blame Chris Hill, this project is his).
In the end I will have seats that are far worse than where I’ve been sitting for 38 years, and we’ll pay quite a bit more, and we’re in the “cheap” seats.
2 Likes
Yup! It really sucks! Like many other things here in Utah right now there are plenty of folks coming in loaded with cash willing to drop a pile of money to buy what they want. Every year I know that I am getting closer to being priced out of my spot. Eventually I will wind up watching all of the games from home.
Totally understandable if you’ve sat in SEZ for many years.
I went to the presentation and I took issue with the seats not having a better field view than what I feel I already have in the NW corner of the NEZ. I also think the U missed an opportunity to create a more special fan experience with the amenities tied to the club and premium sections. The suites looked awesome.
To me the inexplicable thing is that the field view is so bad, especially at the lower levels. Making that worse, the big scoreboard, which would make the bad view easier to take, is behind the seats, which are…very expensive. Somebody was not thinking well.
1 Like
I guess it depends on what view you want.
I enjoyed watching the games from the south endzone field when I was on staff.
As someone who has spent his entire life watching the Utes from the endzone view, I hate sideline seats.
I will say those in the expensive seats will probably spend a lot of time in their fancy indoor spaces. The south endzone is cold.
1 Like
I had a chat with a guy from the Athletic dept today about the premium options in the SEZ. They are now down to my level of CC membership which is about the 3rd lowest so they are getting to the end. He let me know that the window at this level won’t be open very long and they will soon open up to the general public. I’m not sure if that means that sales are good or not. I took it as if CC members or their friends don’t jump in now there may not be another chance. Could just be hype. I will say that there seems to be a lot of corp cash in the market looking for places to spend so I don’t think seats will last long. I could be wrong of course.
Actually, that is quite common to see premium seats with a higher price in renovated stadiums. Utah has done a nice job with theirs. For goodness sake, you can simply look at the structure in the north end zone at Utah State. Down a level from Utah but expensive compared to the rest of the stadium. As an alternative, we could hope for cheep seats by the thousands in the end zones outside the sidelines on bleachers with 14 inches allotted to a seat like they do in Provo. Ever sat in the seats allotted to Utah there, the awful pie shaped spot on the west side of the north end zone? I would not trade our stadium for theirs with their many, many cheep crummy seats. Love the new stadium we have.
3 Likes
If Harlan can stop the forced game’s with byu and move on he can stay as long as he likes. Granted he needs to keep scheduling Florida Arkansas LSU Baylor and Houston like teams where Utah recruits talent.
2 Likes