Helping season ticket holders
by John Berkowitz on May 19, 2009 8:02 AM PDT
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PrintA number of husky fans are cancelling season tickets because of the economy not bad football. They Tyee Club came up with a program to help those who are struggling to pay for tickets this season.
In response to the recent economic downtown, the University of Washington Tyee Club announced a new program designed to provide assistance to long-time Husky football season ticket holders who are unable to maintain their accounts this season.
Initiated through a generous donation by Husky Fever, the "Dawgs Supporting Dawgs" program will provide two season football tickets to approximately 100 account-holders who were unable to renew due to financial reasons. The Tyee Club is accepting donations to expand the list of recipients through the end of the campaign, which is scheduled to conclude on July 24.
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This might just be the contrarian in me....
But is this a responsible use of our marketing power? One of the largest problems in this country, if not the largest, is people spending beyond their means. Cool, now we are ‘socializing’ that behavior…
I think losing your job....
I don’t think you can compare losing your job to spending beyond your means.
by John Berkowitz on May 20, 2009 9:39 AM PDT up reply actions
short term thinking here
What gets me about this is, as soon as they start winning they’re going to hit up the ticket holders for more money. Ticket prices will go up. Required donations will happen. Money grubbing will be back in a few years.
Why not say, if you get tickets now they’ll hold that price for ten years? You won’t be extorted for more money? Say to the folks, “if you are with us now — when we desperately need you – we will be there for you when things turn around.”
Now I’ll head back to the real world where money is not only king, but is everything.
That is how it works
It takes money to run a succesful program and rebuild Husky Stadium.
Is fund raising equal to money grubbing?
by John Berkowitz on May 20, 2009 9:42 AM PDT up reply actions
Required donations are already happening. For every season ticket there is a required donation to the Building For Excellence Fund. It is currently $75 dollars per ticket.
I guess what I was trying to say is that they could temporarily call off the required donation and freeze ticket prices for those that renew. We’re only talking about something like half the seats in the stadium right now. When they get better and start selling more tickets the new folks would pay higher ticket prices and pay the extortion fee. Just for a few years (like five or ten) then every one would pay the same price.
And by then, when they’re consistently playing for national championship, no one will complain.
But I know this is not a possibility. Clearly they aren’t interested in leaving any money on the table. And I know, as they do, that winning is really the only solution to their ticket selling and other resultant financial problems.
Yeah and that fund should be growing...
…since it’s been around for quite some time. Or is it just being put into general operations?
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
Wow, I didn't expect the negative reactions
The way I’m reading this is, only LONG time season ticket holders will have the option of receiving help. I don’t see the problem of having some better off fans help out some long time fans that might not be able to afford the tickets this year. I’m glad to see somebody rewarding long time fans for their years of support.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
I think the negative reactions are fair
One reader asked if this was a good use of our marketing power?
Very good question!
What this really is about is helping out a few people who have lost their jobs and are looking for work right now.
by John Berkowitz on May 20, 2009 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions
My fiance is part of the faculty at the UW. She’s heard me talk enough about how the finances of the UW athletic dept. work so she’s got a clue, but some at the UW don’t. She forwarded an e-mail thread last night from some faculty members decrying this “Dawgs Helping Dawgs” program, and it of course got me hot under the collar. It was clear these people had only a cursory knowledge of the program and of how the finances at the UW athletic dept. work, yet that wasn’t stopping them from spouting off a bunch of ignorant indignant tripe.
I can only presume that either:
A) They were arrogant enough to criticize how private citizens decide to spend their money, or
B) They are under some delusion that the UW athletic dept. is spending money funding this program
It was also clear that some of them have no clue that the UW athletic dept. is self-funding, and that there is absolutely no connection between the budget of the upper campus and sports. Further, it’s clear that they have no clue that the “highly paid” UW football coaches bear the responsibility of success so that their team can support almost every other scholarship sport at the UW.
There’s nothing quite like people spouting off on a subject in which they are completely ignorant to raise my hackles…
Washington State
The average citizen in Washington has a hard time seeing the positive corellation between sports and community. Out here people do anything and everything to help their teams. 76ers would never leave Philadelphia (never ever ever and they are the least favorite of the teams). Its a sense of pride and Washington citizens have a hard time putting the two together. Its not always about the money, its about the pride!
(Please note that though I am generalizing in my comments, obviously not ALL Washington citizens feel this way…just seems to be the majority and it seems to be the mind set of those who are in charge. Please correct me if I am being to general)
As a generalization, I think it’s true. I don’t think the difference is huge, but I do think the Pacific Northwest draws and encourages a slightly different mindset than other parts of the country. Given the abundant natural beauty here and the wealth of options for people to get out and enjoy nature, there’s less of a reliance on sports to be a major source of entertainment in people’s lives. And this area probably attracts more people that are not big fans of big time sports.
All that said, it’s important to note that the difference really isn’t that big – this area isn’t that much different than any other region in terms of supporting sports. Most places support winners, and this area has supported winning teams very well, and as recent attendance for the M’s and Huskies proves, we don’t totally abandon losers either.
All very good points
but I will disagree that there is more to do in the Northwest than there is to do in the Northeast (and trust me when I say that I do not like it here all that much). I will agree that the people who migrate to Seattle would most likely have a different view on life than someone who spends their whole life in the Northeast though.
Penn State draws 110,000 for games and 130,000-150,000 for tailgating that stretches further than the eye can see…its truly amazing. The support that Penn State receives is out of this world. My main point though is that minus the true sports fans there is very little support for the professional/college teams in Seattle. There are more people who dont understand why gov’t pays for stadiums then there are in most other places. Thats why stuff doesnt get passed in legislature and yet they keep getting elected. There is nothing anyone can do to fix the mindset of these people but its disheartening as a true fan of all Seattle sports to see our state run college football team not get money to fix a stadium that is falling apart as well as let our NBA team walk out of the door. The state gov’t refuses to acknowledge the benefits financially and culturely that sports play in the state of Washington and that hurts.
Either way this was a complete ramble on many points…sorry, its early.
Well, economically it’s actually a net loss for communities on most professional sports stadium subsidies, so the “value” comes down to culture and civic pride. And yes, I agree that in the PNW, the average citizen is less obsessed with sports than elsewhere in the country, but I don’t think the difference is huge.
And while I don’t want to get in a pissing match about the quality of different parts of the country, the diversity and quality of outdoor activities you can do within a day’s drive of cities like Seattle, Portland and Vancouver is unparalleled anywhere else within North America.
With regard to Penn State, keep in mind the population density on the East Coast is much higher than the PNW. People who went to Penn State or grew up Penn State fans are more tightly clustered geographically than UW alums and fans, so it’s easier for them to fill their 100,000 seat stadium. If the PNW had the population density of the East Coast, I have no doubts that the Huskies could consistently draw 100,000 (assuming we were back to being a bowl team on a consistent basis).
No pissing match here...
and you know I have said many many times i am not a big fan of Philly but do not underestimate what we have in a days drive (6 hours driving)…Boston, Killington, NYC, Baltimore, DC, Pittsburgh, Beach, Mountains of West Virginia (which by the way is the CRAZIEST place on earth!), Gettysburg, countless museums, fishing, tubing, skiing, hiking, etc…because, like you said, we are so densely populated there is more than enough to do in a days drive. But again, I would still be far happier living in the West Coast than hot humid Philly. Just dont disregard what we have here too either.
How crazy is this, just thought of it…If you wanted to you could get a slice of NYC pizza, Philly Cheesesteak, Seafood from Baltimore, and then end your day with a tour of the Smithsonian in DC. WOW, never thought of that before. Still hate the East Coast though…
As a friend of mine once said...
Boston is great…the only problem is the Bostonians.
by John Berkowitz on May 22, 2009 9:44 AM PDT up reply actions
HAHA
that seems to be the word on the street.
I don’t really have a problem with it, as long as their is some kind of caveat in place stating that those who receive help are actually on the hook for buying season tickets in the future, and that they don’t just take the money and run after a season or two.
I also don’t think it really matters whether they’re doing this because some season ticket holders need the help or because the team was 0-12 last year and ticket sales are lagging.
Of course they wouldn’t have to do this if the team won 10-plus games every year, and of course they’ll have to raise ticket prices in the future. What scenario can anyone envision where ticket prices to a popular and successful attraction don’t increase occasionally? The objective is to put people in the seats. These donations are voluntary. What’s the big deal?
Am I reading this all right...
Are we seriously demonizing the act of helping others…If you can afford to help and want to then why not be allowed that opportunity. I think this is great forward thinking by the Tyee Club. My hat is off to those who are willing to help out others in need.
Dawgs helping Dawgs, its a beautiful thing!
I know I would...
…hate to lose years of priority seating due to losing my job.
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
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