Shockers vs UAB Ticket Special

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

We need to keep in mind two things:

1) Anyone remember seeing how many people showed up for the WSU/LSU game in Baton Rouge? This game will far exceed that.
2) I think the promoter is reserved in their expectations as they knew going in what kind of interest this game would bring. Even at $25 avg ticket 10,000 people breaks them even. If you can break even with UAB, imagine what a game with Texas, Oklahoma, or a Colorado might bring. And when that game goes well, who knows.

[SubGod22]

I've heard bad reviews from people who sat up top for other events. Not just the Tulsa game.

[SubGod22]

We need to keep in mind two things:

1) Anyone remember seeing how many people showed up for the WSU/LSU game in Baton Rouge? This game will far exceed that.
2) I think the promoter is reserved in their expectations as they knew going in what kind of interest this game would bring. Even at $25 avg ticket 10,000 people breaks them even. If you can break even with UAB, imagine what a game with Texas, Oklahoma, or a Colorado might bring. And when that game goes well, who knows.

I did the same math a bit ago. Not sure what the average ticket price will actually be, but that's the number I chose as well. If the season starts well and we're undefeated or have one loss to Purdue or something, then I could see 11 to 12k. UAB still plays a part in the draw, especially considering some of the ticket prices. The economy sucks and people are feeling it. I work in a bank and hear all about it and feel it myself. I'll be pleasantly surprised if we can hit 13k for this. But I agree that a break even game with UAB could be a good thing.

And a game against a regional BcS team would almost definitely sell out. Not only the buzz from a BcS team being in town but the opponent having fans and a fan base close enough to travel would be a good thing. 0klahoma would be a fun one. Especially considering the recruits we've both gone after.

[ShockTalk]

Apparently few here understand sales and what draws people to buy. As strange as it sounds, you can have a mediocre product, but if it has sizzle, it will sell.

Had we not played Tulsa last year, were playing them this year, and the game was not part of the ticket package, the game would have probably had close to the same number attend as it did last year. Tulsa is not better than UAB, but they have sizzle.

But we did play Tulsa last year and some did not have a positive feeling about IBA. Now we are asking all WSU fans to support a game that does not have near the sizzle of Tulsa, regardless of their personal experience with IBA (not the game itself), pay extra for your tickets, and show up in numbers as large as the Tulsa game.

To me it is a risky way to gage how WSU fans will support a special game at IBA. Personally, had we not been going to play Colorado this year at PR, I think a game with them would have drawn more attention than UAB. There would have been fan interest with a BCS program, even if they may not be that good this year or as good as UAB.

[SubGod22]

Apparently few here understand sales and what draws people to buy. As strange as it sounds, you can have a mediocre product, but if it has sizzle, it will sell.

Had we not played Tulsa last year, were playing them this year, and the game was not part of the ticket package, the game would have probably had close to the same number attend as it did last year. Tulsa is not better than UAB, but they have sizzle.

But we did play Tulsa last year and some did not have a positive feeling about IBA. Now we are asking all WSU fans to support a game that does not have near the sizzle of Tulsa, regardless of their personal experience with IBA (not the game itself), pay extra for your tickets, and show up in numbers as large as the Tulsa game.

To me it is a risky way to gage how WSU fans will support a special game at IBA. Personally, had we not been going to play Colorado this year at PR, I think a game with them would have drawn more attention than UAB. There would have been fan interest with a BCS program, even if they may not be that good this year or as good as UAB.

Bingo

[WuShock Reaper]

We need to keep in mind two things:

1) Anyone remember seeing how many people showed up for the WSU/LSU game in Baton Rouge? This game will far exceed that.
2) I think the promoter is reserved in their expectations as they knew going in what kind of interest this game would bring. Even at $25 avg ticket 10,000 people breaks them even. If you can break even with UAB, imagine what a game with Texas, Oklahoma, or a Colorado might bring. And when that game goes well, who knows.

1. A.

Yeah, I remember I was there. About 100 shocker fans showed up versus 2,000 LSU fans. I think I paid about $25 plus $7.50 service fee for a total of $32.50 per ticket. We sat three or four rows behind the shocker bench. Marshall was so exicited with the last second win, sidenote - I swear Garrett Stutz looked me right in the eye before he nailed the three-pointer to win the game, after the game Coach Marshall invited us to the locker room to meet the players so we started jumping over the rails to go visit the team before security started going nuts with our behavior, but we didn't care. Hell we just won so it was going to take more than a few Barney Fifes to stop 100 "Woop-Ass" Shocker fans.

1.B.

CenturyLink Center seats about 12,500 for basketball games. Here's a reminder on how many attended the IBA game with Tulsa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3xF_WTPQf0

We may not have sold-out the game, but you have to admit that was a pretty good turn-out. Plus, I don't get this: "There were people around us that left in mid-game, and they were frowning". Why would anyone in their right-mind would leave at halftime with the score 37-35 is just plain weird.


2.A.

Again, the promoter is on the hook for $250,000 ($125K UAB and $125K WSU) we just have to show-up. I plan on showing up for the game with my other 9 family members and cheering, and clapping, and screaming as loud as I can to support our team. Would I rather play Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Indiana, etc at IBA. Yeah, I guess, but UAB is a pretty good team and has had a lot more NCAA tournament success then we have had over the last five years. So I don't know why people are turning their noses on them this year. That's just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.


2.B.

Now I do hate to admit this but, I do agree that a lot of tickets will sold if we do well in Puerto Rico. Last year, we were 8 and 2 going into the Tulsa game. I am sure a lot more tickets were sold the week before the game. This will happen again, particularly if we are 4 and 0 or 3 and 1.

Again, these are my thoughts.

Go Shockers!!!

[WstateU]

+1

I didn't see a single person leaving that building with a frown. There were a lot of people bitching leading up to the game, but when game day arrived it all stopped. After the game everyone was smiles. Only a couple posters came back to complain about their seats after the fact, IIRC. Mainly those posters were jaded about their seat assignments and not the seats themselves (and I don't blame them, some people got hosed but that's the nature of an imperfect system).

I was initially a hater but I am now a convert. IBA is GREAT for WSU basketball!

+ Bazillion +

[dregn]

I don't get all the complaints about the upper level seats. To me they were much more comfortable than Koch Arena for a person 6'2". They are steep and don't have a lot of foot space, but due to the steepness there is plenty of knee room. In Koch I'd have plenty of foot room if my knees weren't smashed against the chair in front of me. I enjoyed the IBA experience even being stuck 3-4 rows from the top and would definitely go back and even sit in the upper levels for events other than WSU basketball.

[WstateU]

I don't get all the complaints about the upper level seats. To me they were much more comfortable than Koch Arena for a person 6'2". They are steep and don't have a lot of foot space, but due to the steepness there is plenty of knee room. In Koch I'd have plenty of foot room if my knees weren't smashed against the chair in front of me. I enjoyed the IBA experience even being stuck 3-4 rows from the top and would definitely go back and even sit in the upper levels for events other than WSU basketball.

+ 2 Bazillion

[ShockTalk]

1. A.

Yeah, I remember I was there. About 100 shocker fans showed up versus 2,000 LSU fans. I think I paid about $25 plus $7.50 service fee for a total of $32.50 per ticket. We sat three or four rows behind the shocker bench. Marshall was so exicited with the last second win, sidenote - I swear Garrett Stutz looked me right in the eye before he nailed the three-pointer to win the game, after the game Coach Marshall invited us to the locker room to meet the players so we started jumping over the rails to go visit the team before security started going nuts with our behavior, but we didn't care. Hell we just won so it was going to take more than a few Barney Fifes to stop 100 "Woop-Ass" Shocker fans.

1.B.

CenturyLink Center seats about 12,500 for basketball games. Here's a reminder on how many attended the IBA game with Tulsa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3xF_WTPQf0

We may not have sold-out the game, but you have to admit that was a pretty good turn-out. Plus, I don't get this: "There were people around us that left in mid-game, and they were frowning". Why would anyone in their right-mind would leave at halftime with the score 37-35 is just plain weird.


2.A.

Again, the promoter is on the hook for $250,000 ($125K UAB and $125K WSU) we just have to show-up. I plan on showing up for the game with my other 9 family members and cheering, and clapping, and screaming as loud as I can to support our team. Would I rather play Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Indiana, etc at IBA. Yeah, I guess, but UAB is a pretty good team and has had a lot more NCAA tournament success then we have had over the last five years. So I don't know why people are turning their noses on them this year. That's just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.


2.B.

Now I do hate to admit this but, I do agree that a lot of tickets will sold if we do well in Puerto Rico. Last year, we were 8 and 2 going into the Tulsa game. I am sure a lot more tickets were sold the week before the game. This will happen again, particularly if we are 4 and 0 or 3 and 1.

Again, these are my thoughts.

Go Shockers!!!

You were 1 of 100 "woop-ass" Shocker fans at Baton Rouge and 10 of your family members are going to the UAB game. You are to be commended for being a top-notch Shocker supporter. My question to you is, "Do you believe all Shocker fans are as passionate of fans as you and your family?" If not, please don't look at them as such. People don't care what the promoter is on the hook for. A promoter may use bad judgement or he may be a risk taker. Maybe he only plans to win more times than he loses. It is WSU's athletic department that needs to be careful when hooking their wagon to just any set of horses. Again, we have no idea what the expectations of the promoter and WSU are for attendance to this game. Obviously, they both want it to be a sell out, but what is expected may be much less. I don't know.

I don't get all the complaints about the upper level seats. To me they were much more comfortable than Koch Arena for a person 6'2". They are steep and don't have a lot of foot space, but due to the steepness there is plenty of knee room. In Koch I'd have plenty of foot room if my knees weren't smashed against the chair in front of me. I enjoyed the IBA experience even being stuck 3-4 rows from the top and would definitely go back and even sit in the upper levels for events other than WSU basketball.

If venue experience is not a positive by some or a few, not most, even a game against Tulsa could draw less the next time around. Particularly if the fans must pay extra for that game. Maybe some had more of a problem with steepness and not foot room.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I don't get all the complaints about the upper level seats. To me they were much more comfortable than Koch Arena for a person 6'2". They are steep and don't have a lot of foot space, but due to the steepness there is plenty of knee room. In Koch I'd have plenty of foot room if my knees weren't smashed against the chair in front of me. I enjoyed the IBA experience even being stuck 3-4 rows from the top and would definitely go back and even sit in the upper levels for events other than WSU basketball.

Agree. The Pepsi Center here in Denver is steep and there's not a lot of leg room, but that's how these big arenas are. Maybe it's just that Wichitans are used to CKA or the Coliseum, I don't know. At any rate, it's a fact of life of having a brand new, big time arena. Get used to it. Whether it's IBA, the Pepsi Center, the Ford Center, Qwest, United, whatever--they are all like that. Appreciate what you have--a large, REALLY nice facility that your out of town visitors won't laugh at. I'm coming back to Wichita for Thanksgiving and bringing my girlfriend with me--we're going to the WSU game Friday night and the Thunder game Saturday night. You can bet the family farm I wouldn't be entertaining her like that if you still had the Coliseum.

[shockmonster]

1) Anyone remember seeing how many people showed up for the WSU/LSU game in Baton Rouge? This game will far exceed that.

I've heard ad nauseum that we have such high expectations at WSU for our program. Now we're comparing our line of success to LSU's putrid fanbase? Some people on here aren't being consistent.

[ShockerFever]

Im busy and cant respond to everything now, but Rocky Mountain pretty much hit the nail on the head. Do people still fail to grasp the concept that at the tops of big arenas you aren't gonna have the greatest seats? Do people not grasp the concept that you aren't gonna get your perfect Koch experience at a completely different arena?

Just had to get that out there

[ShockTalk]

Agree. The Pepsi Center here in Denver is steep and there's not a lot of leg room, but that's how these big arenas are. Maybe it's just that Wichitans are used to CKA or the Coliseum, I don't know. At any rate, it's a fact of life of having a brand new, big time arena. Get used to it. Whether it's IBA, the Pepsi Center, the Ford Center, Qwest, United, whatever--they are all like that. Appreciate what you have--a large, REALLY nice facility that your out of town visitors won't laugh at. I'm coming back to Wichita for Thanksgiving and bringing my girlfriend with me--we're going to the WSU game Friday night and the Thunder game Saturday night. You can bet the family farm I wouldn't be entertaining her like that if you still had the Coliseum.

You make a good point. I'm sure IBA is very much like most other similar arenas. It may just take some WSU fans, particularly those very fond of Koch, more time to get use to those special games held at IBA. In the meantime, don't expect all of them to just flock in, just because (in their minds anyway).

[SubGod22]

And again, A LOT of the complaints I've heard about seating in the upper deck of IBA have come from people who WEREN'T THERE FOR THE TULSA GAME! If upper seating is as bad at IBA as it is at other arenas, I won't be sitting in the upper bowl at any of them if I do attend an event I guess. Too many friends have had negative reactions to the upper bowl for me to waste my money there. I know some of you were fine with it, but nobody I know personally enjoyed their time up there. And many on here seem to have the same experiences from themselves and others.