Tweet
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
thanks for the comic relief
Originally posted by SD-STATE
-
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
goon...stop please...you aren't going to win this argument. Your name "goon" is accurately describing you as a poster right now.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
At many successful colleges, student tickets are at a premium as well. They don't just open the doors to every student at Kansas, Duke, or Kentucky. I believe these students all pay significant amounts of money.[/quote]Originally posted by 2002jack
Exactly, maybe they pay out of pocket, while we pay with our general activity fee. they still get money from students to attend the games. however, At duke, the fire marshall said they couldnt have as many students in the section because it was a fire hazard or some such reason. Well, duke was not about to take students away from the game to create an even more primeum then they all ready pay. The more students they can get closer to the court creates the best enviornment for the teams to play. Which is the way it should be. If it comes down to it when I am an alumni that its either me or a student who could get the last ticket available for the game. I would defer to the student even if i could pay more, students are what creates the great environment. Sure I love the support our alumni and big spenders give, but eliminating seats and the bleachers where the students sit are not as good as they could be for providing a home court advantage.
"The most rewarding things you do in life, are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.” Arnold Palmer
Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Ooohhh, out come the cheapshots.Originally posted by BTownJack
"The most rewarding things you do in life, are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.” Arnold Palmer
Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
I understand the whole putting a premium idea on our seats in Frost Arena and at this point it makes sense. However, maybe we shouldn't be putting a restriction on how many people we can put in Frost in the future. I understand we can remodel at any point and make adjustments when needed but let's not put too many seatback chairs in Frost. Obviously are program is not at the level that the University of Kansas is at but you never know, we could and hopefully wil be someday. I was fortunate enough to attend a game at Allen Fieldhouse a few years back through a season ticket holder. The seats we had were really good seats but they were bench style seats.Even with the season ticket I had a little over a foot of space. Essentially all of their seats are season tickets and are nearly all bench style seats. I also understand that many people like sitting in chairs with seatbacks or whatever but that may not always be the most practical seating style for us. We do need to maintain what we have for those style chairs but it might be a good idea to keep bench seating where it is now. We still need the option of packing people in Frost.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Ooohhh, out come the cheapshots.Originally posted by goon
[/quote]
I believe you were the one upthread who referred to the reasoning of those who disagree with you as "retarded."
This thread is about to get more aggressively moderated. Everybody should try to behave themselves. It's not expected that everyone agree, but it is expected that there is some degree of respect afforded those with whom you may disagree."I think we'll be OK"Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Correction, we are at the same level as Kansas, and I know we have beat them in competition this year. I am speaking of attendance numbers in my last post. GO JACKS.
Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Ooohhh, out come the cheapshots.Originally posted by goon
[/quote]
Not really cheapshots, it is just that your logic is flawed and everybody here can see it. First, the general activity fee is $22/credit which most student taking 16 credits/semester would pay around $350/semester. Second, as some of our SA people on the board will tell you, that $350 doesn't go directly to the athletic department so it's not like a student is paying $350/semester to see basketball and football games. It also covers costs such as student activities and organizations, health services and the student health clinic, student union fees, and intramural programs (and much more I would assume). I don't know if any of that is important to you goon, but to the general student body I would say it is. Needless to point out, the actual amount the AD gets from students activity fees is much less that what was stated previously in the thread.
Finally, in my opinion, that fee covers the cost of you attending a Division 1 university. It is a little lower at some of our other SD state universities and a little higher other places, but basically every college has the same fee (it just might be packaged different). As has been pointed out in other threads, the benefit of attending a D1 school is much more than added excitement around athletics (although that would be enough for most of us) and your student fee dollars allow that to happen for you at SDSU.
One more thing, I missed less than a handful of games (football, M&W basketball, and wrestling) this year, and I can maybe name one game when there were more students present than other paying attendees. Until that changes, I don't think you will see these policies or renovations change either. You use the Duke comparison all the time, but at Duke they camp out for days at a time to get their seat in the student section, I can understand why they reward those students because the students put in their effort. We have students upset that they can't find a seat ten minutes before the game after they have been enticed to get to Frost on every sign on campus - and then while present sit in the back or ends of the student section glaring at the fifty students that are actually standing up making noise. It is trendy to want to attend the WNIT games and it should be because it was a heck of a lot of fun, but until students can duplicate it for more games not much will change."I'd like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee." - Joe D.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
OK, we have a balancing act to follow here, understanding the following items:
1) Today's students are tomorrow's alumni.
Squeezing the students out too much can have negative consequences. Students may ignore basketball, saying it's an "Alumni thing." In addition, students that feel they were poorly treated during their college years will likely be apathetic alums. Finally, today's students are tomorrow's season ticket base. Don't piss them off.
2) Students are already significant contributors to the athletic department.
http://www3.sdstate.edu/ClassLibrary...port_05-06.pdf
Check out where SDSU's athletic budget comes from. 22% (approximately $1.71 million = $150/student) of the total athletic department budget comes from student fees. Ticket sales, annual giving and corporate sponsors each contribute about 10%.
3) SDSU needs to maximize revenues.
The athletic department would prefer to rely on season tickets rather than individual game sales. It's easier to sell something once instead of 15-20 times. Seats are more marketable than bleachers. Perhaps charging students a small premium ($25-50?) for preferred seating and preferred ticket access should be considered. (I would have probably signed up...)
4) Fans have higher expectations for their experience at SDSU events.
It's a trickle-down trend from the pro sports and larger colleges. Fans want nice seating and fancy scoreboards. Souvenirs and concessions are more important. Doing this takes room and money.
5) Frost Arena is a multi-purpose arena.
In addition to athletic events, Frost is used to host events such as Festival of Cultures, State FFA Convention, and graduation. Changing the dimensions and capacity of Frost may make hosting certain events harder. Graduation is the top concern here, especially if SDSU continues to have large graduating classes (unless we move graduation back outdoors when the new football stadium is done).
6) SDSU needs to be respectful of the market.
Outside of SDSU, the Brookings area is still dominated by working-class people. SDSU needs to ensure that atheltic events are still affordable for the typical family. Having the three-game package is good (and also allows for people to transition into full-season ticket holders).Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Let's not be ignorant to the fact that the student sections bleachers were changed out for a reason. The old wooden bleachers in all sections are in need of constant repair. So the new student section isn't just to "look pretty". Those bleachers were a lawsuit waiting to happen so the decision to change them out was a smart one. Smaller student section should equal more demand for students to show up regularly and early for games. It's unfortunate that too many students are apathetic and show up one or two times a year, and then get pissed off because the student section is full and they have to sit somewhere else. I'm proud to say I attended every men's and women's basketball game for six years and sat in the same spot in the student section for every game. Why did I do that - one, because I wanted to support the other athletes on campus and two, I liked my seats and showed up early to get them. So I guess I can't buy into arguments being made on this thread. Yes, students are valuable. Yes, season ticket holders are valuable. But until the students start showing up enmasse for EVERY home game and show the athletic department there is a need for more student seating the effort should be made to sell as many season tickets up front to collect that guaranteed money.I updated my signature for the first time in six years.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Since the state contributes 31% (more than any other source) shouldn't there be a section set aside for those that contribute to those state fundsOriginally posted by NightHawk78
I updated my signature for the first time in six years.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
I agree Catch em. I been a season ticket holder for a number of years. I make annual donations and do a GIK. I sat by Coach Cunningham at the Illinois State game and I said to him that it would be nice if every game was attended like the one on Saturday. The alumni, students, and Jackrabbit Club members are all important. There are students complaining now. I did not here a single complaint at any of the games this season when at 15 minutes prior to tip-off there were not more than 25 people in the student section. If they want to squawk, then start showing up all the time from Midnight Minus Two until the post season.Originally posted by CatchEmAllComment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
1bunnies, the hardcore students in the student section complained that the student turnout was usually pathetic. There was also a thread in the Smack section about the poor level of student involvement in SDSU athletics.Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Here's my take on the whole deal:
1) It's an absolute outrage that the issue with the southwest exit steps of Frost Arena has gone on as long as it has. Ultimately, blame is attributed to the people of the State of South Dakota who, through their legislators, have failed to provide a sufficient maintenance budget to keep all of the BOR colleges (not just SDSU) properly maintained. To the extent that the Board of Regents and the SDSU Administration haven't pushed the deferred maintenance issue, some degree of responsibility also devolves to those two entities.
2) Students have it very good in Frost Arena at SDSU. The old wood bleachers had to be replaced--I think they were the original, 1973 bleachers that were showing their age. At the time, the athletic department made the decision to keep the students in the lower-level, courtside bleachers rather than moving to bleachers on the ends like in many, many other institutions (such as Kansas and Tennessee, to pick two examples of arenas I've been in this year). The students at SDSU are much closer to the action than Jayhawk or Volunteer students are. I think that decision was a good one--as an alumni and donor, I want to see the students have a large section of prime seats down in the lower level of Frost. That's what they have. Also, remember that the student section replacement was planned while we were still D-II, still playing our old NCC rivals. Crowd control was becoming more and more of a serious concern. My impression (just that--I haven't been told anything by anybody, this is just my theory) is that the SDSU administration didn't want to have the problems controlling our crowd (read: student section) that some of our other old NCC foes had. You can think of it as 2006 SDSU students being punished because of the idiocy of 1999 and 2000 Augie students if you want, but I'm sure that preventing thrown-rabbit incidents was a factor in creating the current seating configuration of the building.
3) Leaving aside the capacity limitation caused by the steps problem, Frost Arena's upper level isn't as good as it could be, seating-wise. There are some reserved seats, down front at the ends, which are basically unusable, as you can't see the full floor from those seats. That was a bad initial design, and really probably never should have been built that way. But, we're also dealing with a building that was designed in the early '70s. The bleachers on the upper south side and the upper end bleachers have the same problem with front row end seats being obstructed-view. Additionally, the upper south side seating needs to be raised to allow people up their to sit and watch the game while also allowing the students in the lower courtside student section to stand the entire game, should they wish to.
4) The Athletic Department wants to get up to around 4,000-season-tickets in order to be financially competitive in D-I. Since I understand that there is currently an inventory of about 2,100 chair-back seats in Frost, another 1,900 chair-backs need to be installed, as people are less likely to purchase season tickets for bleacher-style seating. That's why they're talking about replacing the upper-level south side bleachers with chairback seats. With luck, they'll take care of the obstructed-view issue of the low seats on the ends, as well as the issue of not being able to see the whole court when the student section is standing when they finally get around to replacing those bleachers.
I could go on, but the fact is that whatever you do in Frost Arena, there will be people who will be happy and people who will complain.
For the past three years, we haven't had to worry about Frost Arena's seating capacity being insufficient. Now, with the emergence of the women's program, we do. I see that as, overall, a good problem to have."I think we'll be OK"Comment
-
Re: Frost Arena Capacity?
Easier solution - CatchEm All ArenaOriginally posted by CatchEmAll
Git'r done and donate some of your money for a change
We...ARE...STATE!
SOUTH...DAKOTA...STATE!!Comment
Comment