Apple Cup moving to Qwest?

My gut feeling is that I don’t like it. Will my UW season tickets get me tickets at Qwest every other year? Do they sell tickets separately every year? I love Husky stadium, and I like traveling to Pullman when possible to mingle with the WSU fans in their own stadium.

So while the money is good for the schools, what’s the upside for the fans, particularly those from eastern Washington?

…no more apple cups at Husky Stadium! Are you kidding me!

Emwood brings in a young energetic coach to supposedly bring Husky football back from the abyss and then sellout the fans for some dollars. What kind of a message are they sending? There is no way the 70+K that fill Husky stadium for the AC gets into qwest. So much for tradition, ugh!!!!

It’s the second worst idea I’ve heard this spring, the first being a state income tax.

Jack

Don’t you guys think this kind of makes Husky Stadium LESS relevant . I mean here we are in the middle of this campaign to try and get the place renovated and now THIS! The timing couldn’t be worse.

So who cares about Martin Stadium? I think coug fans will think less of it when the Apple Cup will no longer be played there.

When your season ticket base drops below 50,000 you can’t use the Qwest/Kingdome facility is too small excuse anymore. With the construction of Qwest you also can’t use the argument anymore that Husky Stadium is the superior venue for football.

When you are trying to concince the state to give you $150 million you can’t turn your back on Qwest giving you an extra $1.2 million year to host the game which would be the case for UW.

Qwest can seat more than it’s current capacity for a special event like the Super Bowl….that may be part of the pitch.

Martin Stadium is a terrible venue in December for a football game because of weather. It is a dangerous drive for everyone involved. Since most Cougar fans live in Seattle anyway it makes sense for the Coug’s to move at least their half of the series to Seattle.

The combination of Boeing as a corporate sponsor, Qwest as a venue, and the television rights really adds up to quite a chunk of change that you cannot ignore in an economy like this.

The fans on both sides won’t like it initially.

I think the Cougars are giving up a lot more than the Huskies in this one.

For Oklahoma-Texas and Army-navy. Those are two pretty big rivalries that seem to flourish on a neutral site every year. I realize tradition is a big part of it, but if it means I never have to go to Pullman again, I’m all for it.

It’s telling that more Coug fans are in favor of this than Husky fans. And the downtown Seattle bar business could use the jolt.

Nick Link

If they do move it to Qwest it does become a defacto hme game for Washington every year.

So I guess tradition and on campus games don’t mean anything?

They will never split…they will alternate years as the home team.

With the Pac-10 having 9 conference games, inevitably the Huskies will have to play 5 road games every other season. Just looking at the schedule, the 2010 Apple Cup is a road game, so instead of a 4/5 home/road split it’ll be go 4/4/1 home/road/neutral. The flip side, of course, is that instead of years having a 5/4 home/road advantage it will (again), be 4/4/1.

Not a huge difference, but it’s something.

Let’s face it, now a days, it is all about money. But so far nobody is looking at the BIG picture. If you move the Apple Cup to Qwest, the chances of moving all home games to Qwest increases greatly. Once that happens you can kiss money good bye. It’s a well known fact that the UW’s take at Qwest would far less than at Husky Stadium.

So my question to you: Is two Million dollars per year worth the risk of losing the tens of millions that is brought in at Husky Stadium for far less money at Qwest Field. Of course this is great for First and Goal, think of the extra income that would be brought in from 5-7 Husky home games each year.

Listen to reason, listen to history, Qwest Field will make us the Minnesota Gophers of the Pac10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Year after year it’s voted the best venue in college football, why, because of it’s prime location on the shores on Lake Washington with those picturesque views of Mt. Rainier. I don’t think it’s ever lost that number one position even though the stadium is falling apart.

If the newspaper article linked to in the original post is to be believed, then tickets would be split between the schools. Last paragraph:

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Qwest Field would be considered a neutral site, with a designated home team each year but the seating split between the schools, according to the source.

Seems to me that I’ll be spending more money for tickets for the AC, assuming my Tyee points have enough priority for the UW to even offer me the opportunity to buy.

Of course, the article doesn’t say a 50/50 split, so maybe the home team will get a 70/30 or 80/20 split. But it seems to me that it means 50/50 since it will be considered a neutral site.

Maybe this seems like a good idea when the team sucks (thanks, Ty) and we can’t put more than 45K butts in seats at Husky Stadium. But what happens when we win and pack the stadium every other year for the apple cup. What’s the economic difference in a)money made from ticket sales, b)money made from concessions c)money made from product sales? It probably doesn’t beat $4M ($2M each year), but what’s the price tag to sell out on tradition?

Who will set the ticket prices? The schools or First & Goal, Inc.? If it’s First & Goal, you can bet good money that ticket prices will be high enough that they make a tidy profit above the $4M plus costs the game will cost them each year. Does anyone know what it costs to operate Qwest for a day? We don’t really think that First & Goal plans on making their profit from concessions, pre- and post-game activities in the event center, and selling Seahawk paraphernalia, do we?

Lastly I echo the other comments when I say that I think that this is the start of the slippery slope to moving all games from Husky Stadium to Qwest.

Another point. This would mean that my kids will never get to experience an Apple Cup like I experienced in Pullman in 1992. The most miserable cold I have ever been in my life, coupled with one of the most miserable Husky performances, and a long drive home in the snow.

But a completely priceless experience I would repeat in a heartbeat, and one my kids are sick of hearing about. :)

Horrible memory (I even forgot to bring a heavy jacket) / priceless memory.

If UW plays WSU at Qwest every year, we’ll probably never lose another Apple Cup.

Wouldn’t you think this diminishes the value of this vital contract?

that would suck

KOMO news last night at 11:00 was reporting a possible six-year $10M deal, with each team getting about $1.5M per year. Story was mostly about fan disagreement, and no other terms/ticketing were discussed.

I hate it, actually.

To summarize:

1) If I were a Cougar, I could only like this deal if I lived locally, or were eager to sell out for cash. And if counted amongst the former, I would therefore not be a student, and likely not be a loyal Martin season ticket holder (i.e. screw you guys).

2) As a Dawg, I’d have to be so pessimistic about the future of Husky Stadium that I’d believe it could never sell out, and that the renovation would never happen (if we’re playing at Qwest, what would be the point?). That ought to really help in recruiting.

3) As a Tyee Dawg, I’m going to see my seats downgraded for the Apple Cup, and pay dearly for the privilege. Do you think they’ll prorate my season tickets/donation to cover the Qwest cost? Unless Qwest charges NYYankee prices, can any of you MBA’s explain how (using equivalent management techniques) an entity (UW) can maintain a superior profit margin by leasing another facility instead of using one they already own?

4) If I were a non-Tyee Dawg, well, I suppose I could always get scalped tickets from the Cougars who won’t make the trip. Good luck, guys and kiddies.

5) When it’s the Thanksgiving holiday, the weather sucks, there’s little or no cover, and the game starts at 8:00 PM (because the Pac-10 sold FOX all the scheduling authority), why wouldn’t I pass on the venue and watch the game at home with my family gathered ’round? Remember how much fun last season those 2nd-halfs were against ASU and UCLA?

6) So it all comes down to the almighty buck. Tradition is for schnooks and whiners. After the resistance breaks down, it’ll be easy to just move the entire home schedule to Qwest. Then we’ll make lots of money and can sell off that Montlake property for a really scandalous profit (while maintaining a piece for our favorite patrons). Ticket sales?—we’ll just use the NBA model.

Like Steve Kelly said the other day, get used to it; it’s the future, it’s all about money. OK, so just push my rocking chair into the corner where I can kvetch to myself, and won’t bore the kids with stories about sell-out crowds in the darkest days of the Jim Owens era, etc…

It was the only show in town…things have changed.