Flames sellout streak quietly ends last night

[The Familia]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Good for you?

The cost of attending is really just the ticket and transportation ($6 total to take the train). Everything after is your own choice, so don't cry about the Flames taking all your money when it seems the real problem is your own lack of willpower.

Will power? What are you talking about? Of course it is my own choice. Usually a drink and a bite to eat enhances my enjoyment of the game. I shouldn't be gouged to enjoy that aspect.

[Jbo]

Cost of a beer and dog at the dome is about the same as any arena I have ever been to, hockey or otherwise

[Fire]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

Cost of a beer and dog at the dome is about the same as any arena I have ever been to, hockey or otherwise

It's still gouging, they know the fans have no choice but pay up if they want to eat/drink at the dome. You would probably see happier and louder fans if they knew they weren't being raped at the concessions.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Fire

It's still gouging, they know the fans have no choice but pay up if they want to eat/drink at the dome. You would probably see happier and louder fans if they knew they weren't being raped at the concessions.

Getting gouged on food and drink at sporting events is a fact of life, and it ain't gonna change.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

With regard to the rights to season tickets, I recall years ago you could acquire the rights from someone for a price, depending on the seats. Immediately after the Flames won the SC in '89, some of the rights to the lower bowl and choice 2nd level seats were selling for very hefty prices i.e. in the many thousands of dollars. Then when the "Seven years in the Wilderness - Young Guns Era" came along, you could acquire the rights to those same seats for nothing by just paying the ticket price.

However, because of the significant growth in the population, the rise in the Canadian dollar etc. it may be futile to wait for that to happen today. Also, I believe the trading in rights is much more restrictive today. Does anyone know the official policy of the Flames on the trading of rights?

The tax department later got involved by tracking down STH holders who sold for a profit and got their pound of flesh.

I held on to mine for far too long and couldn't sell them so I gave the rights back to the Flames.

Now with all the games on TV and the ability to get tickets for the games you want, I have no desire to be a STH again.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Fire

It's still gouging, they know the fans have no choice but pay up if they want to eat/drink at the dome. You would probably see happier and louder fans if they knew they weren't being raped at the concessions.

Fans are more than willing to pay the price. It's not as if they are doing this everynight and most likely view this as a cost of going to games.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Fire

It's still gouging, they know the fans have no choice but pay up if they want to eat/drink at the dome. You would probably see happier and louder fans if they knew they weren't being raped at the concessions.

I would say the beer prices are, but otherwise, I pay about $13 for food and a pop. It's really only a dollar or two more than lunch at a mall food court would cost.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Dion

Fans are more than willing to pay the price. It's not as if they are doing this everynight and most likely view this as a cost of going to games.

Are most fans willing to pay the price? What percentage of people eat or drink at the game?

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Fire

Are most fans willing to pay the price? What percentage of people eat or drink at the game?

Compared to most bars and restaurants downtown the beer and food prices at the dome are competitive. It's shocking how much the bars and restaurants are charging for food and drink these days in Calgary. At the dome I can eat a rotisserie chicken dinner complete with vegetables and salad for well under $20. Beer at $8.50 per 20oz is shockingly inline with a lot of bars I otherwise would be going to before the game.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

At seat relocations I have seen little opportunity for improvement the past few years within the same price range. And stepping up a price level, not insignificant, the sight lines don't warrant the additional expenditure.

The 2nd bowl seats available are not the best

I was able to move up 8 rows and more towards center ice this year in the same price point 2nd level. You have not seen similar improvements?

[heep223]

It's really simple.

They can raise prices to whatever people are willing to pay...at some point people will be unwilling to pay. Beer at hockey games has very low price elasticity. The "rent" or premium they charge on a beer at the dome currently is a dollar fifty or two dollars, hardly gouging IMO. I would guess they could charge $10 for a beer right now and most people would still pay. If you feel like you're living up to your own sense of worth and moral principles by not attending a hockey game and/or not drinking beer at said game, all the more power to you. Consumers vote with their dollars.

But frankly, and with all due respect, nobody cares.

Originally Posted by Fire

You would probably see happier and louder fans if they knew they weren't being raped at the concessions.

lol, = drunker

[saillias]

I'll keep on going back to the dome as long as I can get that malt ice cream

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by Fire

It's still gouging, they know the fans have no choice but pay up if they want to eat/drink at the dome. You would probably see happier and louder fans if they knew they weren't being raped at the concessions.

Maybe Nenshi will take up the concession gouging cause as well.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by heep223

It's really simple.

They can raise prices to whatever people are willing to pay...at some point people will be unwilling to pay. Beer at hockey games has very low price elasticity. The "rent" or premium they charge on a beer at the dome currently is a dollar fifty or two dollars, hardly gouging IMO. I would guess they could charge $10 for a beer right now and most people would still pay. If you feel like you're living up to your own sense of worth and moral principles by not attending a hockey game and/or not drinking beer at said game, all the more power to you. Consumers vote with their dollars.

But frankly, and with all due respect, nobody cares.



lol, = drunker

Have you seen the latest attendance numbers? People are already deciding to stay home and watch the game while enjoying their $2 beers. Of course it's not all about the concessions, but a lot of people are not feeling it's worth the cost or hassle to go to games in person.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Fire

Have you seen the latest attendance numbers? People are already deciding to stay home and watch the game while enjoying their $2 beers. Of course it's not all about the concessions, but a lot of people are not feeling it's worth the cost or hassle to go to games in person.

Hmm yes this is true.

IMO it's because the average fan is about 2 years late to the game in terms of being a flames fan. Now that Iggy, Kipper are no longer around and the Flames "suck", people don't want to go as much. Little do they know what they're missing. I would guess in 2 years the dome will be selling out again and the season ticket wait list will lengthen. I believe it's tied to the performance of the team in a knowledgeable hockey market like Calgary, but it's delayed a few years.

Anyways I digress. Maybe the price of dome beer is a negative contributing factor on a pros and cons list (ie. should we go to the game or shouldn't we), but if the team is good then I don't think it has an effect. Maybe demand for beer is inelastic when the team is good, and elastic when the team is bad. Heh.

What should piss people off more IMO is that they continue to raise STH prices even though our payroll is last in the league. To me, that is a true gouge. Not charging an extra dollar for a beer because they have a monopoly on it.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by heep223

Hmm yes this is true.

IMO it's because the average fan is about 2 years late to the game in terms of being a flames fan. Now that Iggy, Kipper are no longer around and the Flames "suck", people don't want to go as much. Little do they know what they're missing. I would guess in 2 years the dome will be selling out again and the season ticket wait list will lengthen. I believe it's tied to the performance of the team in a knowledgeable hockey market like Calgary, but it's delayed a few years.

Anyways I digress. Maybe the price of dome beer is a negative contributing factor on a pros and cons list (ie. should we go to the game or shouldn't we), but if the team is good then I don't think it has an effect. Maybe demand for beer is inelastic when the team is good, and elastic when the team is bad. Heh.

What should piss people off more IMO is that they continue to raise STH prices even though our payroll is last in the league.

1. Star Power sells tickets. Because Kids are not educated fans, they're there to see their heroes and parents will take them, without star power ticket sales suffer. Thats fairly straightforward.

2. Cost of tickets vs. Payroll Expense is irrelevant. Its not about how much they're spending on payroll its about overall costs and pricing tickets as to what the market will bear.

Of course the Flames want the building packed every night, but a full building and a cap team was a saw-off, so a mostly full building and lower payroll is actually profitable.

Either way, there are standards that have to be maintained, they cant just lower the ticket prices because they 'suck.' If that were the case Oiler games should have been free for the last 20 years.

Oh, and the Flames dont 'suck.' Watching this team is some of the most fun I've had in years, but yes, its still ridiculously expensive to go games.

Therefore I watch games at home, I pour my own heroin into my beer and I've taught my wife to make pocket dawgs.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Locke

1. Star Power sells tickets. Because Kids are not educated fans, they're there to see their heroes and parents will take them, without star power ticket sales suffer. Thats fairly straightforward.

2. Cost of tickets vs. Payroll Expense is irrelevant. Its not about how much they're spending on payroll its about overall costs and pricing tickets as to what the market will bear.

Of course the Flames want the building packed every night, but a full building and a cap team was a saw-off, so a mostly full building and lower payroll is actually profitable.

Either way, there are standards that have to be maintained, they cant just lower the ticket prices because they 'suck.' If that were the case Oiler games should have been free for the last 20 years.

Oh, and the Flames dont 'suck.' Watching this team is some of the most fun I've had in years, but yes, its still ridiculously expensive to go games.

Therefore I watch games at home, I pour my own heroin into my beer and I've taught my wife to make pocket dawgs.

I agree with everything in your post, particularly the part about your wife making pocket dogs.

All I'm saying is that I don't think attendance is tied to beer prices, which is what quoted poster was saying. Also yes the average fan right now thinks that the Flames suck. CP is not the average fan.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

Does anyone know the official policy of the Flames on the trading of rights?

It was a huge pain when we tried. We had originally setup our game packs in '03 under the company name of one of my friends. He was a contractor and was going to write off the tickets. (He never did.) It took a lot of convincing to remove the company name and put my name (which had been the contact person all along) into the primary account holder.

The main reason we did this was so that more than one person would be listed on the account; so if I wasn't at the game and somebody needed tickets re-issued, it could be done.

They might be more approachable now that ticket sales are down a bit.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by ken0042

It was a huge pain when we tried. We had originally setup our game packs in '03 under the company name of one of my friends. He was a contractor and was going to write off the tickets. (He never did.) It took a lot of convincing to remove the company name and put my name (which had been the contact person all along) into the primary account holder.

The main reason we did this was so that more than one person would be listed on the account; so if I wasn't at the game and somebody needed tickets re-issued, it could be done.

They might be more approachable now that ticket sales are down a bit.

They're still a giant pain. My rep basically told me to just have another person set up as a secondary contact. The tickets are in my name, but another person pays for them, gets all the emails, etc.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by The Familia

Good, I'm happy the dome is not selling out anymore. I vowed after the last lockout that I wouldn't give a dime of my money to this league. I have kept that primise and have only attended one game since the lockout and only because it was a work event. Perhaps others are beginning to realize the cost to attend a game is outrageous and not worth it. Tired of my hard earned money going to a money hungry league of greedy billionaire owners and entitled millionaire players. When you consider tickets, parking/transportation, beer, food, maybe a souvenir, you are looking at minimum $150-200 a person.

So you're not supporting hockey, but you're logged into a website whose primary thing is to discuss the sport? Makes sense.