Season Tickets

[JFH47]

I have been a season ticket holder for over 15 years. I have seen the good, bad and the in between. I have seen reasonably priced tickets skyrocketing over those 15 years. The added seat fee instituted by Danny White was justified by the signing of Bobby Hurley and the prospect of good things to follow. It worked when we had Hurley and Oates. In this climate of the transfer portal, a dull mid west conference, a lackluster team and grim outlook makes all ticket and fees overpriced. Drastically reduce cost of tickets, seat fees and get more people back in the Arena. Since I’m venting I also suggest that they fix the internet in the Arena.

[MuchMany]

Curious what your current price per game is and what you think would be more reasonable? To me, UB basketball is still the best value ticket in town compared to the Sabres and Bills, which have actually skyrocketed.

[rma]

During the Oats years tickets were well below what they should have been. You aren't getting into a top 25 program anywhere in the country for $10 (M&T zone, cheapest ticket) a ticket. Even in rebuilding years I think we're the best value in town. Maybe you could make an argument for Bandits but you either have to pay to park or walk.

Looking at MAC schools we're right in the middle for cheapest seasons. For Big 4 we're above CC and NU (can't find Bona), and we're on the cheap side of SUNY

Ohio $100 ($60+$40)

Niagara $115 ($105+$10)

NIU $115 ($80+$35)

Akron $115 ($60+$55 or more?)

Miami $120 ($50+$70)

Canisius $130

Kent $140 ($85+$55)

CMU $145 ($95+$50)

EMU $150

Albany $175 ($100+$75)

Buffalo $175

Toledo $175 ($80+$95)

Binghamton $200 (or $165 MBB only)

Stony Brook $215 ($150+$65)

WMU $220 ($180+$40)

Ball State $223 ($169+$54, though WBB might be included with mens?)

BG $235 ($150+$85)

 

The cheapest Sabres season tickets are $1,100

12 Bisons tickets are $153, can't find a season ticket cost.

Bandits cheapest season are $230

That all being said I do have gripes about the ticketing. The cost for reserved seating in 101-105 (seats opposite the benches) is too high. Going off last year's prices of $425, the breakeven is 12 men's games (those seats go for $35 for single games). If you aren't going to women's games, you're likely better off just buying single game tickets unless you can make all of the home games.

Sometime in the past few years a $50 "donation" was added for the season tickets behind the benches. Those are the seats you want people in because they show up on TV.

Flexible tickets are the way to go and to get families to games. We had an option a few years ago that seems to have disappeared. UB is a family friendly atmosphere that isn't going to break the bank (free parking), but we need to get people in the door. Flexible tickets make it easier to get families in.

2 hours ago, JFH47 said:

Since I’m venting I also suggest that they fix the internet in the Arena.

Agreed. It seems to go in and out. Once I can connect to wifi it works but at times it's a struggle to do that.

[BrooklynBull]

9 hours ago, rma said:

11 hours ago, JFH47 said:

Since I’m venting I also suggest that they fix the internet in the Arena.

Agreed. It seems to go in and out. Once I can connect to wifi it works but at times it's a struggle to do that.

It is a campus wide issue.  I have given up and have a hot spot that I bring when I am on campus for meetings.  If you think Alumni Arena is bad for Wifi try being inside of teh stadium, even worse.

[SGBull]

Going out to dinner at a mid level restaurant costs at least 50 per person nowadays. 200 for season tickets is still cheap IMO. 

[Tee4three]

Having some sort of flex ticketing is likely the way to go but is it really worth the time? How many more people would you really get to show up or how many people that don't go to games already stop going

College basketball is such a niche sport, attendance needs to be driven by students to create an atmosphere. Once the atmosphere is created everything else will fall in place attendance wise

[RapidsFan]

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Edited February 18 by RapidsFan

[MuchMany]

Would be most helpful when having this discussion to give pricing per seat per game... 

[DaBulls99]

Comical to think UB tickets are anything but affordable. Pricing isn’t keeping people away. 

[bullsbball]

I know somebody that didn't renew because they didn't think the team would be good this year.

If you have a good product, people will attend.

Also, in another thread, somebody said that students don't show up because they don't have good seats. That argument could only be used if the students actually showed up and actually knew where they sit.

[RapidsFan]

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Edited February 18 by RapidsFan

[BrooklynBull]

5 hours ago, RapidsFan said:

Buffalo Bills - $550/8 games = $68.75 per seat

Not for long.

[John]

1 hour ago, BrooklynBull said:

Not for long.

How about the Sabres tickets. Some of the tickets for the game last night were over $200 and have talked to people about the food prices that are atrocious. Talking to some friends who would like to take their kids and would be spending close to a thousand dollars. On another note both Sabres and Bills with their crazy salaries these players have been reading their press notices and have not put in the effort to perform. Our family has long ago stopped going to these games because of the crazy prices. We will continue going to college games for now. Go Bulls!!

[yussi1870]

On 11/13/2023 at 7:47 AM, BrooklynBull said:

It is a campus wide issue.  I have given up and have a hot spot that I bring when I am on campus for meetings.  If you think Alumni Arena is bad for Wifi try being inside of teh stadium, even worse.

I think it’s improved this year. Last year on wifi in the arena it would kick me out whenever my phone went to sleep. This year it’s keeping me logged in.

[clodney]

On 11/15/2023 at 9:01 AM, John said:

How about the Sabres tickets. Some of the tickets for the game last night were over $200 and have talked to people about the food prices that are atrocious. 

Sabres have like the 3rd lowest ticket prices in the NHL. They even offered $21 per ticket pricing on Okposo's 1,000th game night, yet there were still over 4k empty seats. Maybe they sold out the cheap tickets and nobody was willing to pay for higher priced seats, but the problem isn't the ticket pricing. The problem is that Buffalo doesn't have the economy to support 2 major pro teams. 

[promotherobot]

On 11/14/2023 at 10:33 PM, DaBulls99 said:

Comical to think UB tickets are anything but affordable. Pricing isn’t keeping people away. 

DING DING! We have a winner!

[promotherobot]

On 11/15/2023 at 9:01 AM, John said:

How about the Sabres tickets. Some of the tickets for the game last night were over $200 and have talked to people about the food prices that are atrocious. Talking to some friends who would like to take their kids and would be spending close to a thousand dollars. On another note both Sabres and Bills with their crazy salaries these players have been reading their press notices and have not put in the effort to perform. Our family has long ago stopped going to these games because of the crazy prices. We will continue going to college games for now. Go Bulls!!

Obviously you don't attend many professional sports events. That's what those things cost. They actually cost even more in any other city than Buffalo.

[John]

6 hours ago, promotherobot said:

Obviously you don't attend many professional sports events. That's what those things cost. They actually cost even more in any other city than Buffalo.

 

We do not very often but for 15 plus years we did as a family. It really doesn’t matter what it costs in other cities because we live here. No knot of how anybody spends their income but we look at our discretionary income spent on the overall cost and the entertainment value and money allocated to family needs. But again different strokes for different folks.

[squire17]

I doubt that ticket prices are deterring attendance at UB sporting events. We had season ticket center court b-ball seats about 10 rows from the walk-around which came to about $7.50 per game. That’s not including the women’s games. But if that kind of expense is  too much, there are high school games that provide entertainment for even less 💰. I wonder what tickets cost at Texas A&M. It just fired the football coach but will pay him $75 million with no contingencies. Crazy…or sickening? Maybe both.

[John]

2 hours ago, squire17 said:

I doubt that ticket prices are deterring attendance at UB sporting events. We had season ticket center court b-ball seats about 10 rows from the walk-around which came to about $7.50 per game. That’s not including the women’s games. But if that kind of expense is  too much, there are high school games that provide entertainment for even less 💰. I wonder what tickets cost at Texas A&M. It just fired the football coach but will pay him $75 million with no contingencies. Crazy…or sickening? Maybe both.

I agree. I am not talking about local college tickets. We have been season ticket holders at UB for 15 plus years and have attended some of the other local teams over the years. When Niagara,Bona and Canisius had their really exciting years we went to several of their games also.