Amber Fall

Building a new $288 million stdium was only part of the expense. With a stadium come the need for improving the infastructure. Investment in better roads, sewers, and bars.



Bar owners near the new University of Minnesota football stadium are seeking city permission to serve drinks outside their walls on game days.


Think green, drink local.

Tickets Galore Week #13

Duke at Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA
Upper Sideline 21 $42.00 each

Florida State at Maryland at Byrd Stadium in College Park, MD
Upper Sideline 312 2 $39.00
Terps are slowly in the ACC hunt.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati Football Tickets
Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 1:00 PM at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, OH
End Zone GA 116 $41.00
Bearcat mania? Terps v. Bearcats in the Orange Bowl?

Iowa State at Kansas State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, KS
Lower Corner 1 $17.00
WHY? Overpriced at $1?

Illinois at Northwestern at Ryan Field in Evanston, IL
Lower Corner 103 $27.00 each
Thrown in a blanket and you have a deal.
Google Maps link

BYU at Utah at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT
Redzone N 28 $185.00
The ticket price will keep you warm.


Washington at Washington State at Martin Stadium in Pullman, WA
End Zone Reserved 18 $15.00
More over priced than the Iowa State at Kansas State game?

Ole Miss at LSU at Tiger Stadium - Baton Rouge in Baton Rouge, LA
East Upper 643 $68.00
No comment!

Yale at Harvard at Harvard Stadium in Boston, MA
13 KK $53.00
Ticket prices top out at $77. Maybe too steep for unemployed Harvard MBA's that worked on Wall Street.

Bread for Football Redux

On the eve of the kickoff of the college football season here is a review of the top ten teams (as of early July and an update on ticket prices). This is an update of a post from July 7, 2008. The new prices are in bold.

So how much will it cost to buy a ticket to see a top 10 team? While there are many issues that influence the secondary market for tickets and these price are the "asked for" this gives a view of the level of fan support/interest.

1 Ohio State
v. Ohio
Corner 30 $114.00 each
Sideline 17 D $100.00 each

v. Michigan
End Zone 34 B $439.00 each
Corner 30 C $421.00
Other corner endzone.

Season Ticket $1699
No season tickets available

---

2 Southern Cal
v. Washington
Upper End Zone $53.00 each
Upper End Zone 16 $60.00
Exact location TBD

v. Ohio State
Upper End Zone $298.00 each
Upper Corner 12 $313.00
Sunny California, bring your sunscreen.

Season Ticket: $799
$850

---

3 Florida
v. Hawaii
Sunshine End Zone 324 $86.00 each
Upper Corner 51 $30.00
SPF 40 or better for this opening game.

v. LSU
Upper Corner 47 $251.00 each
Upper End Zone 55 $200.00
Sunshine not included in this endzone.

Season Ticket: $1225
No season tickets available

---

4t Georgia
v. Central Michigan
Upper Level Sideline 611 $86.00 each
Upper Level End Zone 320 $69.00

Not in the endzone but you may suffer a nose bleed.

v. Alabama
Upper Level Sideline 601 $208.00 each
Upper Level Sideline 602 $200.00
At the other goal line from sec. 611

Season Ticket: $990.00
$1,398.00

---

4t Oklahoma
v. UT Chattanooga
Lower Level End Zone 15 $48.00 each
Upper Level Sideline 226 $36.00
Is the rodeo in town?


v. Nebraska
Lower Level End Zone 15 $124.00 each
Upper Level Sideline 226 $133.99
If the Huskers get on a roll this could go higher.

Season Ticket: $500
No Change

---

6 Missouri
v. Southeast Missouri
Corner 5 $42.00 each
Sideline CC $27.50
But this is rivalry game?

v. Colorado
Corner 5 $101.00 each
Sideline BB $101.00 each
End Zone 8 $77.50
Your choice of cheap seats

Season Ticket: None Listed
No Change

---

7 Clemson
v. The Citadel
Upper Sideline T $35.00 each
Upper Sideline Q $8.00

v. South Carolina State
Upper Sideline T $35.00 each
Upper Sideline I $18.00
Cupcakes are cheap.

South Carolina
Upper Sideline T $225.00 each
Upper Sideline B $189.00
Probably the same seats as above and now is the time to cash in.

Season Ticket: $669
No season tickets available

---

8 West Virginia
v. Cincinnati
Lower Level Green Zone $71.00 each
Upper Level Gold Zone 203 $75.00 each
Another ticket that may go up in value.

v. Auburn
Upper Level Orange Zone $148.00
Lower Level Green Zone $188.95
Upper deck, corner.

Season Ticket: $760
No season tickets available

---

9 Louisiana State

v. Troy (2nd appearance)
South 420 $50.00 each
West Upper 619 $43.00
v. North Texas
South 420 $50.00 each
East Upper 639 $40.00
South Belt teams do not sell tickets.

.v Georgia
West Upper 611 $255.00 each
East Upper 637 $230.00
Thought the price would be higher.

Note: Appalachian State at LSU Football $74. Is this an opening day premium or respect?
Now $57.00

Season Ticket: $600
No season tickets available

---

10 Texas
v. Florida Atlantic
Upper Level Sideline 102 $57.00 each
Upper End Zone 114 $19.00
Again South Belt teams do not sell tickets.

v. Oklahoma
Lower Level End Zone 31 $284.00 each
Upper Endzone Texas $259.99
Far and away the most expensive ticket for the Longhorns.

Season Ticket: $599
No season tickets available

---

**Prices from StubHub.com 7/8/08
Updated 8/26/08

Conclusion: In most cases waiting will bring more supply and lower prices.

Gropher Hole

One of life's lesson's that we all eventually learn is that who we are it only minimally effected by the object we surround ourselves with. You can be forgiven if you were deluded in thinking that wearing a varsity lettermen's jacket would be you instant key to the cool click in high school. Fortunately as expressed in New TCF Bank stadium: Back to the future there is no fantasy that a new stadium (featuring the DQ Club Zone) will reverse the state of the football program.

"It won't guarantee victories or sold-out attendance once the shine wears off, but Gophers officials believe it is a large chip in the ever-expanding arm's race of college athletics."

Will students and alumni know how to act at their own, we are not simply renters stadium? I would be great to see if UM (the other, other UM) fans can revive past traditions lost in the move to an off campus location and create new traditions. Will students appreciate TFC Bank Stadium in ten years when there is no recall of how bad it was back in 2008?

An interesting history of University of Minnesota football stadiums including a guest appearance by Lou Holtz as part of the story.

Pac 10 Game of the Week 2008

Game of the week rules: looking for the most intriguing (not always the most important) game, home conference games only, every team must appear at least once.

Monday, September 1
Tennessee at UCLA
The Vols will be heavily favored but the trip west is never easy.
Saturday, September 6

BYU at Washington
BYU starts building their BCS case.
Saturday, September 13
Ohio State at USC

Oklahoma at Washington
The Sooner should win this but this is a long trip and will have no bearing on winning the Big 12
Saturday, September 20

Georgia at Arizona State
The Bulldogs can finally earn some frequent flier miles

Boise State at Oregon
BSU is two years removed from a BCS berth. For the Ducks a win here can help their case for roses next January


Thursday, September 25
USC at Oregon State
Pac 10 Thursday night?

Saturday, September 27

Fresno State at UCLA
Pat Hill looks like a truck driver not a football coach.
Saturday, October 4

Oregon at USC

Saturday, October 11

Arizona State at USC
Measuring tape game as ASU played Georgia

Saturday, October 18
California at Arizona
Jockeying for position in the standings

Saturday, October 25
Notre Dame at Washington
Can Ty save his job with a win here?

Saturday, November 1
Oregon at California
The fight for #2

Saturday, November 8
Arizona at Washington State
Arizona State at Washington
Who is staying home this bowl season?

Saturday, November 15
USC at Stanford
A long shot for an upset but…

Saturday, November 22
Washington at Washington State
Apple Cup although a good Washington apple may be juicer than this game.

Saturday, November 29
Oregon at Oregon State
State may nothing to lose and be a dangerous opponent

Saturday, December 6
USC at UCLA
The Pac 10 for better or worse is the Trojans and then everyone else and after looking at the schedule you see that most of the non-USC games are trying to find your place between USC and Stanford.

Bread For Football

2008 Preseason Consensus 7/8/08
http://preseason.stassen.com/consensus/2008.html

So how much will it cost to buy a ticket to see a top 10 team? While their are many issues that influence the secondary market for tickets and these price are the "asked for" this gives a view of the level of fan support/interest.

1 Ohio State
v. Ohio
Corner 30 $114.00 each
Corner endzone.

v. Michigan
End Zone 34 B $439.00 each
Other corner endzone.

Season Ticket $1699

2 Southern Cal
v. Washington
Upper End Zone $53.00 each
Exact location TBD

v. Ohio State
Upper End Zone $298.00 each
Sunny California, bring your sunscreen.

Season Ticket: $799

3 Florida
v. Hawaii
Sunshine End Zone 324 $86.00 each
SPF 40 or better for this opening game.

v. LSU
Upper Corner 47 $251.00 each
Sunshine not included in this endzone.

Season Ticket: $1225

4t Georgia
v. Central Michigan
Upper Level Sideline 611 $86.00 each
Not in the endzone but you may suffer a nose bleed.

v. Alabama
Upper Level Sideline 601 $208.00 each
At the other goal line from sec. 611

Season Ticket: $990.00




4t Oklahoma
v. UT Chattanooga
Lower Level End Zone 15 $48.00 each
Is the rodeo in town?

v. Nebraska
Lower Level End Zone 15 $124.00 each
If the Huskers get on a roll this could go higher.

Season Ticket: $500

6 Missouri
v. Southeast Missouri
Corner 5 $42.00 each
But this is rivalry game?

v. Colorado
Corner 5 $101.00 each
Sideline BB $101.00 each
Your choice of cheap seats

Season Ticket: None Listed

7 Clemson
v. The Citadel
Upper Sideline T $35.00 each
v. South Carolina State
Upper Sideline T $35.00 each
Cupcakes are cheap.

South Carolina
Upper Sideline T $225.00 each
Probably the same seats as above and now is the time to cash in.

Season Ticket: $669

8 West Virginia
v. Cincinnati
Lower Level Green Zone $71.00 each
Another ticket that may go up in value.

v. Auburn
Upper Level Orange Zone $148.00
Upper deck, corner.

Season Ticket: $760

9 Louisiana State

v. Troy (2nd appearance)
South 420 $50.00 each
v. North Texas
South 420 $50.00 each
South Belt teams do not sell tickets.

.v Georgia
West Upper 611 $255.00 each
Thought the price would be higher.

Note: Appalachian State at LSU Football $74. Is this an opening day premium or respect?

Season Ticket: $600

10 Texas
v. Florida Atlantic
Upper Level Sideline 102 $57.00 each
Again South Belt teams do not sell tickets.

v. Oklahoma
Lower Level End Zone 31 $284.00 each
Far and away the most expensive ticket for the Longhorns.

Season Ticket: $599

Question to think about with the secondary market for college football tickets: Does the big must see game depress the price of other games on the schedule?

**Prices from StubHub.com 7/8/08

Plenty of Room in the Back

St. Petersburg in December? Click here to learn more!

Talk to both people that have been to a Devil Ray's game and you hear that the green velvet turf looks as bad in person as on television (see Red Sox or Yankee fan for their opinion). Now to the same venue will come the TBD Bowl from St. Petersburg, Florida. This game will pit a team from the Big East against a member of C-USA and is the creation of the fine folks at Disney Sports, "... ESPN. The network’s other bowls: Las Vegas, Hawaii, Armed Forces, Papajohns.com and New Mexico." Or the WeHaveAHoleInOurCalendar.com Bowl and this will pull enough ratings to justify the expense. On the positive side it is in the east (better for Big East and 1/3 of CUSA fans) and is in a warm weather city. December 21 is a Sunday so this game should be the counter programming to the NBC NFL game.

An interesting quote form the article about prior Tampa are bowls, "... the defunct Cigar Bowl, held in Tampa from 1947 to 1954." How does Blunt Bowl sound?

Choice By Default

The Problem--Thin Crowd
The Solution--Comb It Over


Donald Trump was forced by his creditors to sign over partial ownership in one of his Atlantic City casinos because his was behind on the repayment of the debt owed on the property. The Comb over King came on television and announced the transaction as a great triumph. Many of us would have been humbled by the failure of our enterprise to meet the financial obligations that we had planned on but in the world of spin failing is really winning. John Swofford, ACC commissioner may need to spin the future of the less than successful league championship game. In reaction to recently announced scheduling conflict between a proposed USF v. Rutgers on December 4th and the ACC Championship game on December 6th, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio is looking to make USF football a priority at Raymond James Stadium (behind the NFL).

The ACC is contracted to play in Tampa in 2008 and 2009 with the game moving to Charlotte for 2010 and 2011. The lot for the ACC is either playing third fiddle at Raymond James Stadium or pull a Trump and claim victory when the game is moved to heart of ACC basketball country.

As for USF, using Raymond James Stadium is an excellent financial move as an on campus facility would run from $55 million at the low end like UCF ( video) or $288 million indoor Gopher palace. The other option of moving to Tropicana Field a baseball stadium with all the charm of a 1987 Toyota Camry and yes the turf looks just as bad in person as it does on television. If the Bulls can get more games with the energy of the 2007 game against WVU they can make quite a name for themselves in the Tampa By region.

A Gopher Money Hole?

Worthy Defense

Despite the tent the Pontiac Astek deserved to die.

The Daily Aztec writes an excellent rebuttal to the recent move by the University Senate to abolish the school's football program. The opinion piece points out the value of football as a promotional tool and as a point of difference from the other 20 California State University campuses without D1 football.

Want proof of football's promotional value? Name four other CSU system schools?

Fresno, San Jose, and ummmmmm.

One more question: What conference are the Aztec's in?

Me neither.

From UCF--Stadium Building for Dummies

One of the reasons, probably the main reason that college tuition cost have consistently risen faster that the inflation rate, is that those running the institution do not look for way to cut cost enough (the other related reason is the availability of student loans but that's another story.) College administration add feature, programs and buildings without looking at the costs that will be incurred down the road. If you buy a car for $20,000 and only leave yourself room in the budget for gasoline, the cost of maintenance will come as a great shock to your finances.

President John Hitt showed unusual savvy in building UCF's new on campus stadium as Mike Thomas explains in Steeled against naysayers, UCF stadium rocks. John Hitt dared to ask the question, "How can we do this more cheaply?" Opting for the use of steel rather than concrete was a major part of the cost savings and while that would not due for an NFL palace Penn State's Beaver Stadium has the same erector set look and few seem to notice (the product in on the field).

Another refreshing idea is, "They didn't spend a dime of taxpayers' money. Funding comes from contributions, naming rights and stadium revenues." Keeping costs low means keeping the state government , as much as possible,out of the process by not going the Tallahassee for the money is a big plus.

John Hitt should take his frugal ideas for building a stadium and sell them to other university presidents as anything he will charge is better than their current failed financial management. Or for free we can summarize: Keep costs under control.

Now how will the Golden Knights beat the Longhorns.
See the stadium here.