WBB ticket holder attendance - Printable Version
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WBB ticket holder attendance - Cooter - 11-18-2021
Hello from first time poster. Always appreciate reading thoughtful posts on this forum. Apologies if this question has been asked in the past - but it seems we have many season ticket holders for WBB that don’t use them, leaving Maples empty and relatively quiet. Has anyone considered a program where unused tickets are offered to others who may want to attend? Local kids, clubs, etc? Just curious…
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - BobK - 11-18-2021
https://gostanford.com/news/2017/6/9/athletics-stubhub.aspx
Here's one.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - WBB fan - 11-18-2021
(11-18-2021, 10:55 AM)Cooter Wrote: Hello from first time poster. Always appreciate reading thoughtful posts on this forum. Apologies if this question has been asked in the past - but it seems we have many season ticket holders for WBB that don’t use them, leaving Maples empty and relatively quiet. Has anyone considered a program where unused tickets are offered to others who may want to attend? Local kids, clubs, etc? Just curious…
For a first post, that's an excellent question. There are threads that are not about this topic per se where this question has come up. It's a real problem. Even tho there are ways for unused tix to be passed on -- maybe not so easy now with the electronic tix, or maybe easier, who knows -- few people seem to take advantage of that. And so, as you note, the seats go unused, which is really sad. Something definitely needs to be done to encourage season ticket holders to take steps to have butts in their seats, if not their own, then someone else.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - crackpot - 11-18-2021
Yup. If you try to buy seats in my section, you can't.
On Tuesday night, there were 2 people (including myself) in my row of 16 seats. I think at the Texas game there were 4 or 5. I don't get it.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - Cooter - 11-18-2021
It’s such an odd dynamic. Love that people are committed enough to buy season tickets, but the team may actually suffer from non-use. I wonder if we leave points on the table without more of a “sixth man”.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - oldalum - 11-18-2021
Season ticket seats can be donated back to Stanford online until some interval before the game (2 hours? one day?--I don't know); those donations are eligible for charitable deduction on taxes if one itemizes. Presumably Stanford can re-sell those seats, but I suspect the late demand for those seats is not great.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - M T - 11-18-2021
I wonder how many of those tickets were bought as an investment for selling them off, or giving them to business associates.
If you've got season tickets and always in the same spot, take a few pictures of the opposite stands. It might be interesting to see how many tickets are used by the same fans, game after game, versus how many sit unused, and then have different people game after game.
I had a couple of years of season tickets to WVB, and though it is a small sample, there were quite a few tickets that got rarely used, and then when they were, different people showed up. But, there were a few people around us that were there for 3/4 of the games.
(By the way, Bob, we're lucky to have you!)
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - WBB fan - 11-18-2021
With the new electronic ticket system, it should be pretty easy for Stanford to keep track of when season tix are being used. Could they set up a system to communicate with people who seldom use their tickets, sending a polite message along the lines of, we love having you as a season ticket holder but if you can't come to games, did you know that you can donate your tickets back etc., there are also ways that you can sell them, etc. Just a thought.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - 81alum - 11-19-2021
The problem in my section is pretty simple--the aging of the hardcore WBB fans. There are always 4-5 people who show up in my row every game, and the rest show up sporadically. When they do, they are very, very old and even have issues getting up and down the steps. These are people who were hardcore fans in the 1990s in the aftermath of the first two championships and the Title IX changes. Sometimes their children or grandchildren use the tickets--but not often. But even though their physical abilities have become limited, they remain hardcore fans in their hearts and do not want to relinquish their tickets. They intend to come more often but oftentimes health issues or transportation issues get in the way.
Two things have made it even harder for them to attend. The ticket ushers are now often blocking direct access to the lower level on my side through the two ends--the short staircases that came in through the corners of the court by sections 9 and 13. This forces entry by walking up the steps to the mezzanine and then down the whole flight of rickety steps through the seating at the ends to descend to floor of the court, then around the corner of the court to reach lower level sections 9-10-11 etc. Instead of one short flight of stairs descending from the NE side, this become an ordeal for some. Second--and you may laugh--going to all electronic tickets is a major challenge for many seniors, who tend not to be cellphone whizzes. In short, Maples is not really set up for old people, and for WBB the fan base is old (counting myself among them.) True fans will brave these hurdles no matter how old, but aging also makes driving harder, people lose their partners and can't find someone else to attend with them, etc.
In short, the empty seats will remain until the fan base becomes younger. Of course, the alternative (for now) could be worse--unsold empty seats as opposed to sold empty seats.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - teejers1 - 11-19-2021
(11-19-2021, 08:11 AM)81alum Wrote: The problem in my section is pretty simple--the aging of the hardcore WBB fans. There are always 4-5 people who show up in my row every game, and the rest show up sporadically. When they do, they are very, very old and even have issues getting up and down the steps. These are people who were hardcore fans in the 1990s in the aftermath of the first two championships and the Title IX changes. Sometimes their children or grandchildren use the tickets--but not often. But even though their physical abilities have become limited, they remain hardcore fans in their hearts and do not want to relinquish their tickets. They intend to come more often but oftentimes health issues or transportation issues get in the way.
Two things have made it even harder for them to attend. The ticket ushers are now often blocking direct access to the lower level on my side through the two ends--the short staircases that came in through the corners of the court by sections 9 and 13. This forces entry by walking up the steps to the mezzanine and then down the whole flight of rickety steps through the seating at the ends to descend to floor of the court, then around the corner of the court to reach lower level sections 9-10-11 etc. Instead of one short flight of stairs descending from the NE side, this become an ordeal for some. Second--and you may laugh--going to all electronic tickets is a major challenge for many seniors, who tend not to be cellphone whizzes. In short, Maples is not really set up for old people, and for WBB the fan base is old (counting myself among them.) True fans will brave these hurdles no matter how old, but aging also makes driving harder, people lose their partners and can't find someone else to attend with them, etc.
In short, the empty seats will remain until the fan base becomes younger. Of course, the alternative (for now) could be worse--unsold empty seats as opposed to sold empty seats.
81Alum, you nailed it. A lot of folks in the section I sit in have the ingress/egress difficulties you highlight. It's tough. God bless them.
(And btw, I'm old, too - but I try to bring at least one kid to lower the average age of attendees).
Baez87 - Baez87 - 11-19-2021
I’ll float this idea and see what participants on this thread think about it:
How about designating a section of Maples as "The Donor Section" and inviting people to sponsor it with annual donations to the Athletic Department? The section(s) could be located high in the upper seating areas; annual donors could have brass plates with their name affixed to the seats; and supporters could take pride in the fact that they support Stanford athletic programs. On high attendance games, these seats would be available on a first come, first serve basis to all fans who wish to attend games.
And those current season ticket fans who do not attend games could have the option of having their seats relocated to the upper regions with brass plates displaying their names. The lower reserve seating could, once again, be available to fans who want to come and see games first hand. On high profile games, such as the UCON and Tennessee games of old, annual donors could have first choice of the seats that are available.
If people would be willing to give up their seats in the lower section that are now fallow, those seats could be available to current fans, groups of potentially new fans such as young local basketball players, and members of Stanford's student body who are given special promotional seats to rekindle student body enthusiasm.
What do you think? This might open up the prime seating area for games in Maples for in-person fans, create potential seating for fan promotions, and still give dedicated fans who don’t wish to attend games a tangible way of contributing to teams that play at Maples.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - Cooter - 11-19-2021
Love where this thread has gone - thanks for the insight. Who’s working the phones? :)
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - BobK - 11-19-2021
My VB tix this season were 1st Row in front of you 81. No one had a problem if needed elevator to short climb.
So many are staying home wvb WBB mbb due to Covid. Hard to judge why some are absent this year
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - 81alum - 11-19-2021
(11-19-2021, 03:49 PM)BobK Wrote: My VB tix this season were 1st Row in front of you 81. No one had a problem if needed elevator to short climb.Were they blocking off the staircases on either end of the Lower Level for volleyball the way they are for WBB?
So many are staying home wvb WBB mbb due to Covid. Hard to judge why some are absent this year
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - Farm93 - 11-19-2021
(11-18-2021, 05:24 PM)WBB fan Wrote: With the new electronic ticket system, it should be pretty easy for Stanford to keep track of when season tix are being used. Could they set up a system to communicate with people who seldom use their tickets, sending a polite message along the lines of, we love having you as a season ticket holder but if you can't come to games, did you know that you can donate your tickets back etc., there are also ways that you can sell them, etc. Just a thought.I have had a similar thought about football, and think it should be used for football, men's hoops and women's hoops.
But who could realistically fill the stands? Most people in the area that really want to go even sporadically to Stanford events can afford to buy tickets. Most ticket holders would probably give unused tickets to friends and co-workers if anyone in their network had expressed interest Stanford sports. The pool of interested locals interested in plowing through Bay Area traffic to attend a campus sporting event is just not that deep, but there is a group that shows up to campus almost every day that likely would LOVE to attend a Stanford event. The prospective student tour group families are on campus and likely would LOVE to do it.
It would be nice is if the AD could electronically collect unused tickets and then give them to prospective students on those tours. Almost every day we have hundreds of people taking tours of campus. What a sweet treat if those kids, and their parents, could catch a WBB/MBB or FB game for free thanks to Stanford season ticket holders.
As I have recently been taking campus tours for colleges around the USA, I know most of the tours just stroll around the outside of buildings, through the student union and perhaps a library lobby. That's it. Then most families head back to the hotel to wait for the AM flight back home or to the next college stop.
How sweet, and memorable, would it be to put prospective students in those seats? And as many kids now are OBSESSED with trying to establish their level of engagement with the school I am confident the families would at least go through the QR Code readers.
RE: WBB ticket holder attendance - crackpot - 11-19-2021
(11-19-2021, 06:31 PM)Farm93 Wrote:(11-18-2021, 05:24 PM)WBB fan Wrote: With the new electronic ticket system, it should be pretty easy for Stanford to keep track of when season tix are being used. Could they set up a system to communicate with people who seldom use their tickets, sending a polite message along the lines of, we love having you as a season ticket holder but if you can't come to games, did you know that you can donate your tickets back etc., there are also ways that you can sell them, etc. Just a thought.I have had a similar thought about football, and think it should be used for football, men's hoops and women's hoops.
But who could realistically fill the stands? Most people in the area that really want to go even sporadically to Stanford events can afford to buy tickets. Most ticket holders would probably give unused tickets to friends and co-workers if anyone in their network had expressed interest Stanford sports. The pool of interested locals interested in plowing through Bay Area traffic to attend a campus sporting event is just not that deep, but there is a group that shows up to campus almost every day that likely would LOVE to attend a Stanford event. The prospective student tour group families are on campus and likely would LOVE to do it.
It would be nice is if the AD could electronically collect unused tickets and then give them to prospective students on those tours. Almost every day we have hundreds of people taking tours of campus. What a sweet treat if those kids, and their parents, could catch a WBB/MBB or FB game for free thanks to Stanford season ticket holders.
As I have recently been taking campus tours for colleges around the USA, I know most of the tours just stroll around the outside of buildings, through the student union and perhaps a library lobby. That's it. Then most families head back to the hotel to wait for the AM flight back home or to the next college stop.
How sweet, and memorable, would it be to put prospective students in those seats? And as many kids now are OBSESSED with trying to establish their level of engagement with the school I am confident the families would at least go through the QR Code readers.
I love this idea.