The Knight Pack--And I Don't Mean Grease Trucks Takeout
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2009/07/rutgers_announces_partial_seas.html
First reported by the Bergen Record, the Star-Ledger has posted the above article about Rutgers now selling the partial season ticket package due to slower than expected ticket sales.
I was among the supporters of the stadium expansion due to the number of names on the season ticket waiting list. However, the past year has made a huge difference in the economy and disposable income of most people in the state. I think as of yesterday, the state unemployment was at 9.2 percent according to a graphic on News 12 New Jersey. So, I'm not surprised thousands of people decided that discretion was the better part of valor when it came to taking the plunge on the season tickets.
If the new seats are only 35 percent filled, I'm all for selling partial plans, especially the Knight Pack, which is all of the Big East home games. The odds that even the season ticket holders are going to show up for some of the nonconference games are pretty slim. I know that I'm not likely to be able to make the Texas Southern game because of a prior commitment. And I don't hold out much hope of being able to resell my tickets for that "contest." And that is part of the problem.
With the lagging economy, it's unlikely that the season tickets all would have sold out anyway. But the nonconference schedule is so weak that it's understandable that a lot of those games will be a tough sell. And I believe some of the fault needs to go on Mulcahy's shoulders for timing the stadium expansion with a ridiculously poor schedule. The other problem is that they picked a jewel of a year to increase ticket prices. I understand, the cost overruns necessitated a jump in the ticket prices, which had been arguably slightly under priced for the market. Well now that the people in that market are being laid off or forced into retirement left and right, maybe they should drop the prices and give the people who reupped their season tickets a credit toward next year or toward basketball games or something.
One good thing that's come out of it is the expansion of the student section due to the slow sales. More students will mean more energy, especially for the games against rival schools and/or on national TV. The size of the student section has grown considerably as the school has become more competitive but it still pales in comparison to those of traditionally strong programs.
First reported by the Bergen Record, the Star-Ledger has posted the above article about Rutgers now selling the partial season ticket package due to slower than expected ticket sales.
I was among the supporters of the stadium expansion due to the number of names on the season ticket waiting list. However, the past year has made a huge difference in the economy and disposable income of most people in the state. I think as of yesterday, the state unemployment was at 9.2 percent according to a graphic on News 12 New Jersey. So, I'm not surprised thousands of people decided that discretion was the better part of valor when it came to taking the plunge on the season tickets.
If the new seats are only 35 percent filled, I'm all for selling partial plans, especially the Knight Pack, which is all of the Big East home games. The odds that even the season ticket holders are going to show up for some of the nonconference games are pretty slim. I know that I'm not likely to be able to make the Texas Southern game because of a prior commitment. And I don't hold out much hope of being able to resell my tickets for that "contest." And that is part of the problem.
With the lagging economy, it's unlikely that the season tickets all would have sold out anyway. But the nonconference schedule is so weak that it's understandable that a lot of those games will be a tough sell. And I believe some of the fault needs to go on Mulcahy's shoulders for timing the stadium expansion with a ridiculously poor schedule. The other problem is that they picked a jewel of a year to increase ticket prices. I understand, the cost overruns necessitated a jump in the ticket prices, which had been arguably slightly under priced for the market. Well now that the people in that market are being laid off or forced into retirement left and right, maybe they should drop the prices and give the people who reupped their season tickets a credit toward next year or toward basketball games or something.
One good thing that's come out of it is the expansion of the student section due to the slow sales. More students will mean more energy, especially for the games against rival schools and/or on national TV. The size of the student section has grown considerably as the school has become more competitive but it still pales in comparison to those of traditionally strong programs.
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