Soapbox Time. Students, get your butts to the games!

[HoosierDYT 1,746]

The student section has been below par this year but as I’ve said before, if you win they will come. And simply having the allure of Romeo would be huge in terms of rejuvenating our fan base


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[Scooter D 928]

Maybe this is the exact reason that during the Knight years more tickets were allocated to the alumni...they typically show up no matter what. Time to think about changing the ticketing policy?  

[Hoosierfan2017 19,858]

On February 10, 2018 at 1:45 AM, Old Friend said:

It's every game is on TV and good seats (lower bowl) cost $125.  The bad seats in that place are really bad.  Worse by far than IU because they're so much further away from the court horizontally.  You're way up AND way out.  Nice to be in the building, but the view of the floor is awful.  Having said that, the numbers are not so bad.  The Pacers have sold 85.6% of their tickets, and total attendance is > 15,547/game.    Expectations were low so season ticket sales were down, and the NBA has always been a bad "walk up" league.   Ironically, the Pacers are 9th in road attendance.  When the playoffs come, that place will be sold out.

I want to be on record as saying again the students need to get to the games at IU, but on TV, the ones who were there tonight sounded more like an IU crowd.  Nice to hear...even if the section wasn't full.  Glass should limit ticket allotment for a season....only give so many games.   We'll be good soon enough...hard lesson learned.   

What? Are you talking about Bankers Life? The arena is fantastic and so is the seating. 

[Old Friend 8,389]

1 hour ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

What? Are you talking about Bankers Life? The arena is fantastic and so is the seating. 

The arena is fantastic, but the seats up top are not good.  The place has a steep angle much like Assembly Hall, and those seats are consistently unsold for a reason.  The people who sit there end up watching the giant TV above the center scoreboard.  They'll be sold and full for the playoffs, much like IU fans and big games in Assembly Hall; but those top seats and some of the corner club seats which are over priced (and all games on TV) is a major reason the Pacers don't sell out.  

[Hoosierfan2017 19,858]

2 hours ago, Old Friend said:

The arena is fantastic, but the seats up top are not good.  The place has a steep angle much like Assembly Hall, and those seats are consistently unsold for a reason.  The people who sit there end up watching the giant TV above the center scoreboard.  They'll be sold and full for the playoffs, much like IU fans and big games in Assembly Hall; but those top seats and some of the corner club seats which are over priced (and all games on TV) is a major reason the Pacers don't sell out.  

This is from the top deck. I haven't sat up top from behind the basket, but if you're close to midcout the seats are still good. 

[HoosierX 1,445]

2 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

This is from the top deck. I haven't sat up top from behind the basket, but if you're close to midcout the seats are still good. 

I think that is dependent on your perception of good.

[HoosierX 1,445]

5 hours ago, Scooter D said:

Maybe this is the exact reason that during the Knight years more tickets were allocated to the alumni...they typically show up no matter what. Time to think about changing the ticketing policy?  

I will admit that my thoughts have changed a bit since earlier on in the thread since I have a better understanding of how the seating works now.  I went at the same time as Aaron, when all games were assigned and 2/3 of them were in the balcony.  But even then there were always a good number of people in the balcony.  So I'm coming around that the students' attendance is pretty sad.

However, one way in which my thoughts have not changed is that alumni will never fill up the balcony seats.  I've done well enough since I've left IU that if I am going to go to a game, I will pay 100-150 dollars to sit in seats that don't suck, and I think that would describe most alumni.  I could see situations where alumni wanting to bring their family would opt to sit up there, but that is not going to consistently fill it up.

Anyone know what students pay for tickets these days?  I ask because when I went they were somewhere in the range of $250 - $300 which was over twice as much as I paid for season tickets to all sports at UT (Texas) 5 years later.  Maybe the administration knows that even if the students don't show up, they will make more money allocating balcony seats to students than if they tried to sell them to the general public.

[Hoosierfan2017 19,858]

4 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

I think that is dependent on your perception of good.

I mean, if you're sitting in the top deck at a professional sporting event the seats aren't going to be great. In relative terms though I've been pleased with the view for the few Pacers games I've been to. You can still see the game and it's pretty cheap. You can get two tickets for a playoff game for under $100

[Old Friend 8,389]

1 hour ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

This is from the top deck. I haven't sat up top from behind the basket, but if you're close to midcout the seats are still good. 

Go 20 rows higher.  That's from about row 4.   You missed what I said.  Top rows, not balcony level.

[Aaron 4,147]

40 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

Go 20 rows higher.  That's from about row 4.   You missed what I said.  Top rows, not balcony level.

I just sat in the top rows of the balcony in the center for Memphis recently and its not bad. I have sat pretty much everywhere in the balcony at some point and the one spot that is truly terrible is the top 10 rows behind the basket. Everything else are decent seats in my mind (including corners and baseline high or low with them getting somewhat better the farther down the you go).

However, as I said previously the atmosphere at a Pacer game at times can be truly pathetic in a close game late which is not something IU ever deals with.

[Aaron 4,147]

1 hour ago, HoosierX said:

I will admit that my thoughts have changed a bit since earlier on in the thread since I have a better understanding of how the seating works now.  I went at the same time as Aaron, when all games were assigned and 2/3 of them were in the balcony.  But even then there were always a good number of people in the balcony.  So I'm coming around that the students' attendance is pretty sad.

However, one way in which my thoughts have not changed is that alumni will never fill up the balcony seats.  I've done well enough since I've left IU that if I am going to go to a game, I will pay 100-150 dollars to sit in seats that don't suck, and I think that would describe most alumni.  I could see situations where alumni wanting to bring their family would opt to sit up there, but that is not going to consistently fill it up.

Anyone know what students pay for tickets these days?  I ask because when I went they were somewhere in the range of $250 - $300 which was over twice as much as I paid for season tickets to all sports at UT (Texas) 5 years later.  Maybe the administration knows that even if the students don't show up, they will make more money allocating balcony seats to students than if they tried to sell them to the general public.

I think this is precisely what it is and what I have been saying. Nobody wants the balcony seats so you might as well sell them to students who may or may not use them then let them be unsold.

This will be a great discussion to re-visit in a couple years if students keep not showing up once we get good but based on precedent that will not be the case (05-06 , 07-08, 11-12, 12-13 and 15-16 were the years we were either hyped or became good by the end and each time students filled the seats when this happened) and right now no one else wants them especially in the balcony.  

[Magnanimous 4,399]

1 hour ago, Aaron said:

I think this is precisely what it is and what I have been saying. Nobody wants the balcony seats so you might as well sell them to students who may or may not use them then let them be unsold.

This will be a great discussion to re-visit in a couple years if students keep not showing up once we get good but based on precedent that will not be the case (05-06 , 07-08, 11-12, 12-13 and 15-16 were the years we were either hyped or became good by the end and each time students filled the seats when this happened) and right now no one else wants them especially in the balcony.  

I had been saying for a while (pre-Scott renovation) that IU should get rid of the balconies and make AH a steep horseshoe, keeping the banners low on one end and rounding out the other to be even with the lower sidelines. It would be a steep and very intimidating end akin to what Maryland has, and that could be the student section. 

The balcony at AH truly is terrible, but fortunately it is hard to tell when it's empty on TV due to the lighting.

[KB0 827]

I don't know how anyone can say the balcony at Banker's Life is a worse seat than the balcony at AH. The AH balcony seats, are truly horrid. There isn't really a bad seat at Banker's Life and I've sat in the last row before. 

[Aaron 4,147]

Everyone deserves blame for last nights atmosphere which was beyond terrible. Students really didn't show up but there were almost as many seats open in the non student sections as well.

Also no one made much noise or stood at all even when the game was close later in the second half which is very unusual in similar circumstances. I have never seen an atmosphere this bad save for PSU, Rutgers and cupcake games. I understand Illinois is not good but last night was one of the first times in IU history where I was thoroughly disappointed in the entire crowd in every way given what my expectations were.

I have been one of the people defending the crowd in this thread but there was no defense last night.

[ElectricBoogaloo 4,291]

7 minutes ago, Aaron said:

Everyone deserves blame for last nights atmosphere which was beyond terrible. Students really didn't show up but there were almost as many seats open in the non student sections as well.

Also no one made much noise or stood at all even when the game was close later in the second half which is very unusual in similar circumstances. I have never seen an atmosphere this bad save for PSU, Rutgers and cupcake games. I understand Illinois is not good but last night was one of the first times in IU history where I was thoroughly disappointed in the entire crowd in every way given what my expectations were.

I have been one of the people defending the crowd in this thread but there was no defense last night.

...And it was Valentine's Day. People are out trying to get laid. Much better result than watching a free throw apocalypse. 

[Magnanimous 4,399]

I think the GA policy needs to be revamped. It encourages a "show up early or don't show at all" mentality. The students sitting in the lower 25 rows are usually lining up several hours before tip-off, so the most fanatic fans who also are likely willing to skip class to get good seats. Students who aren't able/willing to line up that early know they're going to be sitting in the cheap seats, and we're not back yet to the point where regardless of record or opponent, just being at an IU game is good enough. 

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,092]

...And it was Valentine's Day. People are out trying to get laid. Much better result than watching a free throw apocalypse. 

I never needed a made up holiday to try to get laid(and succeed a few times :) )

 

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[pumpfake 3,914]

1 minute ago, Iugradman said:

The student body composition has changed and these kids don’t grow up being exposed to IU basketball. When I was at IU I had classes with a lot of kids from the NYC and Chicago metro areas or overseas. It is all about that out of state tuition money. The changed demographics combined with two decades of mediocrity generate apathy in the fanbase. A lot of blame to go around, starting with Myles Brand. 

My guess is that you are correct.  Whatever the reasons, Don Fisher let 'em have it again last night during the game.

[Hoosierfan2017 19,858]

25 minutes ago, Magnanimous said:

I think the GA policy needs to be revamped. It encourages a "show up early or don't show at all" mentality. The students sitting in the lower 25 rows are usually lining up several hours before tip-off, so the most fanatic fans who also are likely willing to skip class to get good seats. Students who aren't able/willing to line up that early know they're going to be sitting in the cheap seats, and we're not back yet to the point where regardless of record or opponent, just being at an IU game is good enough. 

I'll admit that I've done this before. I didn't have the time to consistently lineup 3-4 hours before tipoff, so knowing I would end up sitting in the balcony had an effect on my decision whether or not to go. I've had friends who did show up hours beforehand who still were stuck in the balcony because so many people held spots for other people and let them cut later on. It just isn't a good system. I liked it much better when the seats were mostly assigned and you got 1 or 2 GA tickets. 

[Hoosierfan2017 19,858]

5 minutes ago, Iugradman said:

The student body composition has changed and these kids don’t grow up being exposed to IU basketball. When I was at IU I had classes with a lot of kids from the NYC and Chicago metro areas or overseas. It is all about that out of state tuition money. The changed demographics combined with two decades of mediocrity generate apathy in the fanbase. A lot of blame to go around, starting with Myles Brand. 

Definitely a lot of east coast and suburban Chicago kids at IU now. They tend to be more wealthy than in-state kids, so they can easily afford season tickets. I think it's a good strategy for the university as a whole, but it hurts the athletics. The kids didn't grow up with connections to IU sports so they only show up for the big games.