Patriot Bowl seats for Season Tix holders

[doccomet87]

I just recieved my season tickets for 2007. I bought 5 for my family. I can't believe that our tix for the Patriot Bowl are in section 129 at Browns stadium. Aren't the Zips considered the home team for this? As such I would think the tix for season ticket holders would be in a better location than goal line/corner. Who else is going to fill the seats between the twenties? If this is the way they treat season ticket holders trying to get their kids excited about the Zips, I'm not sure I'll still be a tix holder by the time they want to fill the new stadium. On a side note, they split my 5 tix for the season at the Rubber bowl 3 and 2, 9 rows apart, I guess I'll just leave my 11,9 and 6 year old kids to fend for themselves while I sit with my wife.

[ZachTheZip]

I've commented on this in other threads, so in summary, the seats suck. I think all it means is that they are expecting a large walk-up crowd of Clevelanders, which is unlikely. I am really concerned as to where they put the AK-Rowdies. It would make sense to stick them in the Dawg Pound or behind the team benches. I have a funny feeling that they will be placed near a corner of the stadium or in the nosebleeds.I'm sure everybody will have ample opportunity to move to better seats once it becomes apparent that attendance is not as high as some officials have far too optimistically predicted.

[Bleacher Bum]

I think it's technically sponsored by the Cleveland Athletic Commission or something like that, I'm probably wrong. But the way I've been hearing it lately is that it is NOT a home game for the Zips. It's a "Bowl-type" game at a neutral site. It just so happens Akron is about 30 minutes from Cleveland. I guess we should just be glad the game is included in our season ticket packages since apparently it's not a home game anymore.

[BZip_08]

The reason I'm guessing that they stuck the above season ticket holder in the corner is pricing. Pricing between the 40s is at $45 a seat. Just a hunch. Then again, I looked on ticketmaster and I could still get seats in section 109 row 10. Somehow I think a lot of students are going to end up with great seats... if they come actually.(I'll be at the Indians game... whoops, my scheduling skills are lacking)

[zen]

wait... if you are a season ticket holder (for the UofA) and this isnt' a UA home game, then obviously they aren't going to throw us in the best seats. They just don't think like that. Why should we give away sold seats when we can sell them?

[Captain Kangaroo]

We're in $25.00 seats. The "primo" seats are going for a lot more than that. And, I'm sure a lot of those are already taken by sponsors.An interesting scenario would have been for the season ticket package to include the option to "upgrade" your $25.00 standard seat to something better.For a family of four on the Akron $120.00 Family ticket plan, you're getting 4, $25.00 seats to the Army game at Browns Stadium. That means it costs $20.00 COMBINED for the four of you to see every other game at the Rubber Bowl this fall. How can anyone complain about that?

[Kangaroo Craig]

We're in $25.00 seats. The "primo" seats are going for a lot more than that. And, I'm sure a lot of those are already taken by sponsors.An interesting scenario would have been for the season ticket package to include the option to "upgrade" your $25.00 standard seat to something better.For a family of four on the Akron $120.00 Family ticket plan, you're getting 4, $25.00 seats to the Army game at Browns Stadium. That means it costs $20.00 COMBINED for the four of you to see every other game at the Rubber Bowl this fall. How can anyone complain about that?

Good point. Plus, there is not a bad seat in that place. I have upper deck, west endzone season tickets for the Browns and those seats are as good as anything the Rubber Bowl has to offer. Don't worry folks, you will be happy with your seats.

[Zipsrifle]

It seems to me the issue here isn't with the seating, but rather that some feel UA has pushed their die-hard fans aside in hopes for more money. We'll have to see what happens in later years, but I'm sure this is part of the deal UA had to agree with to be in the Patriot Bowl. Though I would have liked better seats, the Patriot Bowl is out to make money, and giving the best seats away to people who would be coming to the game anyway is not going to make you money. We all know that attendance will be sparce, so the cheap seats will be the more exciting areas to sit. And as many have mentioned, just move to better seats as the game goes on. Don't get me wrong, I would have liked better seats too. At least UA is trying to improve it's image with higher profile games.

[Zipgrad01]

I understand that the patriot bowl wants to make money, but do they honestly believe people are going to fork over $45 a ticket to go watch Akron play Army? Most of these people are the same folks that won't drive 30 minutes to watch Akron play for $10. Season ticket holders should have gotten the better seats because most other fans coming to the game will probably buy the lessor priced tickets. Not saying we need to be on the 50, but the 30 would probably do. That still leaves a few sections of lower bowl tickets on each side of the field for sponsors and people from the general public that want really good seats. I am sure that would have been plenty.Now...if the MAC wants to start a "MAC vs BCS Bowl" where they bring in a decent team from the Big Ten, SEC, Pac 10, Big 12, etc... then people would be more willing to fork over the cash. Honestly, who wants to pay $25-45 a seat to watch Army?

[zen]

Lets see what happens on game day. If the primo seats are sparse, then you are right. But even if they are, I can still get in the heads of the people who run the Patriot bowl, and I know they wont care. Akron (and for that matter, Army) season ticket holders already paid for their tickets, and the patriot bowl gains nothing from them except concession sales. Why take away the chance to sell expensive seats to others, even if it means only half of them have sold?

[doccomet87]

not to be arrogant, but the season ticket holders are also often the donators of additional monies to the university athletic department, and I can only speak for myself, but the nicer they treat me in these decisions the more I usually give. It is short sighted to think of money only generated by ticket sales and not by other contributions made by alumni and season ticket holders.

[Captain Kangaroo]

If you're complaing about getting $25.00 seats to the game at Browns Stadium included in your season ticket package, then I don't think anything will ever satisfy you.As I described above:

For a family of four on the Akron $120.00 Family ticket plan, you're getting 4, $25.00 seats to the Army game at Browns Stadium. That means it costs $20.00 COMBINED for the four of you to see every other game at the Rubber Bowl this fall. How can anyone complain about that?

The only possible mistake the University could have made here is to not give the season ticket holder the option of paying an extra $10.00 or $20.00 per ticket to sit nearer to the middle. And if they did that...everyone would have still chosen the $25.00 tickets anyhow.Man...it isn't like they stuck anyone in the upper-level. I don't get it...

[doccomet87]

I respectfully disagree, the eating of 100 bucks (5tixX20extra for the upgrade) by UA would probably have nettted them an extra thousand in my giving this year. Its not about being never being satisfied, but when you are donating between 3 and 5 grand a year and the school stiffs you over $100 for better seats at a nice venue, it shows where you rank, and again seems shortsighted. If you think other universities don't do this for their contributing alumni and season ticket holders then you haven't done your homework.

[Zipgrad01]

I think you miss the point a little. I am not complaining about getting $25 seats, nor do I think I should receive $45 seats. I guess my gripe is why are there $45 seats to begin with? This is really going to hold back ticket sales. I can see where the very good seats would be $25 and then work down from that number. Like I said in an earlier post...if we had a Big Ten or SEC school, fine. Army? People aren't typically going to spend $45 a pop to go watch Akron play Army. In my opinion it is just bad economics. You have to realize what a customer will pay for a product and I think history has shown that $45 is way too high for an Akron game unless they are playing a big time opponent. I believe the lower ticket prices would raise sales enough to more than cover the revenue they will lose from having the $45 tickets.To make this event successful, they need a large crowd in the first few years. If tickets are affordable and the product on the field is decent I think the crowd builds every year because business would repeat even if their main school isn't playing. I would go up next year to watch, say.... Miami (Oh) play Air Force. I would pay $25 for really good seats, but no way I fork out $45.

[g-mann17]

What you all seem to be missing is that this is not a University run function. The commission overseeing the Patriot Bowl gave each school an alotment of tickets for students and season ticket holders. It's out of the University's hands on what seat you get if you are a student or season ticket holder. So don't take it personally. If it was a University controlled function you would have had the best seats possible. Unfortunately it is controlled by a third body. It sucks for season ticket holders but it's good for the team because (hopefully anyway) people who normally wouldn't watch Army vs Akron are going to get to see a great game.

[Zipgrad01]

You are absolutely correct that it isn't the university sticking us, it is a 3rd party. However, my comments are geared towards the 3rd party more so than a dig at the university. Saying that, I believe the university should have pushed for my original comment. Season ticket holders should get seats from the 30 on down on each side. That still leaves 20 yards of "mid-field" tickets if you will on each side for the sponsors or general public wanting to buy premium seats. I think that is more than plenty, especially at a hefty $45 per ticket price. We may end up seeing filled corners and end zones with an thinly filled middle.

[g-mann17]

Well if there are empty seats near me I will invite you all to come on down.

[Zips Win!]

For a reserve season ticket holder, what is UA charging for an extra ticket to the Army game?