Tickets unsold, seats unfilled?
As reported by the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the student section in McKale is not filling up like it used to. Tickets are going unsold, seats remain empty and people are getting pissed off.
"What it is, is up to the student section," Lute Olson said. "We can't keep people from being here because students aren't using their seats."
Coach Olson isn't happy the place isn't full, people from town aren't happy they can't go to a game, and if you've ever tried to get a student ticket to a men's basketball game, I'm sure you aren't happy either. (Remember the ticket "riot" of 2002?)
I tried to get a ticket to the UNLV game just before the winter break. As I had been hearing, tickets were not selling out so plenty would be available starting the morning of the game - all you have to do is call or show up with your CatCard. So, as I was instructed to do by my friendly neighborhood McKale Center Ticket Office employee, I made the call. And made the call again and again, hitting redial about 30 times. Busy every time. I figured I had missed out, and tickets were instantly sold out.
As I ventured down towards campus to do some laundry later that morning, I figured I'd stop by the ticket office to give it one last shot. (It turns out parking is a bit of a problem on the UofA campus, and naturally, every metered spot around McKale is reserved on game days.) So I sat in my car, and called once again. Busy, busy, busy. "All ticket office employees are serving other customers at this time" is about how the recording goes. That's hard to believe when there isn't a soul waiting at the ticket windows.
After finally getting through - 'victory is mine' I thought - the ticket office voice mail picked up. I gave up at that point.
Going through the newspaper the next morning, I expected to read how crazy McKale Center was for last night's game. But lo and hehold, the student section had once again gone unfilled.
Now, I will admit that UofA students can, at times, appear to be less than die hard fans. The Zona Zoo frequently empties before halftime at football games if the Wildcats aren't winning. But the problem is not the students, it is the ticket purchasing process.
So I offer this solution. Forget registering your pass, forget calling in. (I suspect the road block for many is the confusing process you must go through to get a ticket.) Why not just have a good old-fashioned line up. If you buy a Zona Zoo pass, you earn the right to line up for a game. I was able to get into a handful of games last year because of this. If you show up at a reasonable time, you get in. If you show up 10 minutes after tip-off, you don't. It's simple.
"What it is, is up to the student section," Lute Olson said. "We can't keep people from being here because students aren't using their seats."
Coach Olson isn't happy the place isn't full, people from town aren't happy they can't go to a game, and if you've ever tried to get a student ticket to a men's basketball game, I'm sure you aren't happy either. (Remember the ticket "riot" of 2002?)
I tried to get a ticket to the UNLV game just before the winter break. As I had been hearing, tickets were not selling out so plenty would be available starting the morning of the game - all you have to do is call or show up with your CatCard. So, as I was instructed to do by my friendly neighborhood McKale Center Ticket Office employee, I made the call. And made the call again and again, hitting redial about 30 times. Busy every time. I figured I had missed out, and tickets were instantly sold out.
As I ventured down towards campus to do some laundry later that morning, I figured I'd stop by the ticket office to give it one last shot. (It turns out parking is a bit of a problem on the UofA campus, and naturally, every metered spot around McKale is reserved on game days.) So I sat in my car, and called once again. Busy, busy, busy. "All ticket office employees are serving other customers at this time" is about how the recording goes. That's hard to believe when there isn't a soul waiting at the ticket windows.
After finally getting through - 'victory is mine' I thought - the ticket office voice mail picked up. I gave up at that point.
Going through the newspaper the next morning, I expected to read how crazy McKale Center was for last night's game. But lo and hehold, the student section had once again gone unfilled.
Now, I will admit that UofA students can, at times, appear to be less than die hard fans. The Zona Zoo frequently empties before halftime at football games if the Wildcats aren't winning. But the problem is not the students, it is the ticket purchasing process.
So I offer this solution. Forget registering your pass, forget calling in. (I suspect the road block for many is the confusing process you must go through to get a ticket.) Why not just have a good old-fashioned line up. If you buy a Zona Zoo pass, you earn the right to line up for a game. I was able to get into a handful of games last year because of this. If you show up at a reasonable time, you get in. If you show up 10 minutes after tip-off, you don't. It's simple.
posted by mike destasio at 10:24 AM
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