Satans Hockey Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 While the Dream Camp may be been a stride in the right direction, that does not make up for this debacle of situation. I do not think these events constitute going "well beyond what other teams do for their season ticket holders". These events are the norm these days for alot of franchises. I am sure the season ticket reps/Fan Experience team will get bombarded with emails and calls regarding this blatant disregard for their season ticket holders. Exactly, an "open practice" as a "benefit" is a joke when you use to be able to go to south mountain arena for free anytime you wanted. I don't know about every single team but I'm pretty sure that most NHL teams let fans into their practice rinks to watch practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Exactly, an "open practice" as a "benefit" is a joke when you use to be able to go to south mountain arena for free anytime you wanted. I don't know about every single team but I'm pretty sure that most NHL teams let fans into their practice rinks to watch practice. Well the real benefits are the autographs/player meet and free food there. But yeah, it's particuarly bad that they aren't having open practices in Newark, to help cultivate the local fanbase more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Look at our attendance our entire existence. The fans dont excuse and appreciate not being appreciated. Every time I hear criticism of the Devils people excuse it because it is just "Lou is just being Lou" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck the Duck Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 The open practices at South Mountain were great, but I don't think most teams have them anymore. I know the Rangers don't do it on a consistent basis, although they have it a couple of time per year, which is still more than us. Also, as a Yankees and Giants season ticket holder (and PSL owner), I can tell you first hand that they don't offer you squat with your season tickets. My friend is a Rangers season ticket holder and, save one event per year, they don't have anything like we get (food and beverage credits, free team autograph events, BBQ's and skates, and additional prizes). I don't know what the Carolina Hurricanes or teams like that do, but the Devils go beyond the norm for teams in the NY metro area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 It would be interesting for someone to do a research paper on what every team offers its season ticket holders, and in relation to prices. Ironically the more you can charge for tickets, probably the less likely you are to offer 'extras'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj241 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) It would be interesting for someone to do a research paper on what every team offers its season ticket holders, and in relation to prices. Ironically the more you can charge for tickets, probably the less likely you are to offer 'extras'. I've done my share of research on what other teams give and we get more than most teams. And it's not about prices. If you consistently sell out (Canadian teams, Rangers, etc), they don't need to offer anything because they'll have the support. It's the teams that need to get people to buy tickets that offer more "perks". As for the scheduling of the events, my father spoke to Eric, who is the VP of the Experience Team and don't be so quick to blame them. He's very open and willing to talk to people, as some of you who frequent HF know...reach out to him. Also, they didn't have to offer you anything for the late notice. Regardless of whether or not you like Michael Jackson, they were trying to offer you something else to make up for the miscommunication. Edited March 30, 2012 by cj241 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neb00rs Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) Apparently, Cam has some great shootout move. Edited March 30, 2012 by ben00rs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj241 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 As for the awards next week, that's an event that has always been held during the day at the end of the season. I'm sure there's been posts on this forum about it, so you could at least gauge when it would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) I've done my share of resarch on what other teams give and we get more than most teams. And it's not about prices. If you consistently sell out (Canadian teams, Rangers, etc), they don't need to offer anything because they'll have the support. It's the teams that need to get people to buy tickets that offer more "perks". As for the scheduling of the events, my father spoke to Eric, who is the VP of the Experience Team and don't be so quick to blame them. He's very open and willing to talk to people, as some of you who frequent HF know...reach out to him. Also, they didn't have to offer you anything for the late notice. Regardless of whether or not you like Michael Jackson, they were trying to offer you something else to make up for the miscommunication. It's a combination of late notice and the move from a weekend date to a weekday date. This left a lot of people who had this as a perk scrambling as believe it or not people still work these days and had to re-arrange their schedules to fit this in. This is why people are pissed about this as many cannot make it now and one of their perks is gone. I do not care if the Devils give more perks out than other franchises, they made a deal with their customers and now they are giving them a bum deal. This explanation you are giving is weak. If you take your Devils Generals hat off for a second and look at it from many STH's point of view, you would understand their fustration at this. Edited March 30, 2012 by DevsMan84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj241 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) It's a combination of late notice and the move from a weekend date to a weekday date. This left a lot of people who had this as a perk scrambling as believe it or not people still work these days and had to re-arrange their schedules to fit this in. This is why people are pissed about this as many cannot make it now and one of their perks is gone. I do not care if the Devils give more perks out than other franchises, they made a deal with their customers and now they are giving them a bum deal. This explanation you are giving is weak, but I am not surprised as it is coming from a member of one of their free marketing agents aka the Generals. Hold up... #1, I never got the first email OR the second email and only found out about it because I'm part of a forum. #2, I couldn't attend the event because I had work today, so don't think I wasn't annoyed by the scheduling. I understand where people are coming from. They could have canceled the event all together, but they didn't. Again, speak to Eric as he's more than willing to explain things. #3, Just because I'm a general doesn't mean anything. I more than speak my mind most of the time, but they didn't have to offer any of us that option just because of late scheduling notice. I'm a full season ticket holder who COULD NOT use this event...my hat is off, you can read what I wrote on HF about how pissed I was. Don't use the "Generals" thing and throw it in my face. Edited March 30, 2012 by cj241 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) Hold up... #1, I never got the first email OR the second email and only found out about it because I'm part of a forum. #2, I couldn't attend the event because I had work today, so don't think I wasn't annoyed by the scheduling. I understand where people are coming from. They could have canceled the event all together, but they didn't. Again, speak to Eric as he's more than willing to explain things. #3, Just because I'm a general doesn't mean anything. I more than speak my mind most of the time, but they didn't have to offer any of us that option just because of late scheduling notice. I'm a full season ticket holder who COULD NOT use this event...my hat is off, you can read what I wrote on HF about how pissed I was. Don't use the "Generals" thing and throw it in my face. And just because you are ok with missing it doesn't mean others were not pissed about missing it due to the late scheduling. They also cannot cancel an event they PROMISED to STH as one of their rewards so stating that they put this on as a favor is beyond silly. They screwed up and anyone with half a brain can see that. Them even offering a weak offer of the fake Michael Jackson show is them admitting they screwed up. However you suggesting that they didn't have to offer anything in return reeks of something the Devils PR staff would put out. Edited March 30, 2012 by DevsMan84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj241 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 And just because you are ok with missing it doesn't mean others were not pissed about missing it due to the late scheduling. They also cannot cancel an even they PROMISED to STH as one of their rewards so stating that they put this on as a favor is beyond silly. They screwed up and anyone with half a brain can see that. Them even offering a weak offer of the fake Michael Jackson show is them admitting they screwed up. However you suggesting that they didn't have to offer anything in return reeks of something the Devils PR staff would put out. Where did I say I was "okay" with missing it? Since you continue to insult me, we're done here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Where did I say I was "okay" with missing it? Since you continue to insult me, we're done here. I've done my share of research on what other teams give and we get more than most teams. And it's not about prices. If you consistently sell out (Canadian teams, Rangers, etc), they don't need to offer anything because they'll have the support. It's the teams that need to get people to buy tickets that offer more "perks". As for the scheduling of the events, my father spoke to Eric, who is the VP of the Experience Team and don't be so quick to blame them. He's very open and willing to talk to people, as some of you who frequent HF know...reach out to him. Also, they didn't have to offer you anything for the late notice. Regardless of whether or not you like Michael Jackson, they were trying to offer you something else to make up for the miscommunication. This part certainly looks like you are excusing their poor handling of their event. If you were as outgraged as you claim to be, then you should be upset with that terrible offer too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Well the real benefits are the autographs/player meet and free food there. But yeah, it's particuarly bad that they aren't having open practices in Newark, to help cultivate the local fanbase more. Would make sense, wouldn't it? But that's all Lou. He probably hated the fact that fans could walk in and watch practice in the South Mountain days. So now that the Devils own their own practice rink, it's just another way for Lou to keep everything under wraps. Wait until Lou is gone and I'll bet this changes and you'll see a lot more open practices. Re: the topic at hand: I'd be FURIOUS if I was a season ticket holder over this. Absolutely FURIOUS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Dan 56 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Would make sense, wouldn't it? But that's all Lou. He probably hated the fact that fans could walk in and watch practice in the South Mountain days. So now that the Devils own their own practice rink, it's just another way for Lou to keep everything under wraps. Wait until Lou is gone and I'll bet this changes and you'll see a lot more open practices. Re: the topic at hand: I'd be FURIOUS if I was a season ticket holder over this. Absolutely FURIOUS. Yeah, I was going to say something similar. Things will be very different when Lou is gone. We'll see the end of the whole iron fist super secrecy. As for the topic, I'd say I'm more disappointed than furious. I mean, it seems pretty obvious that most of your fanbase probably works during the day on weekdays. As for the offer for next Wednesday for the awards, yeah I guess that's enough notice to get out of work for a few hours and check it out, but my friend who teaches (and paid for season tickets for the benefits) can't do that. She was looking forward to this for a while. Again, it just feels like it was thrown together very poorly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Dose Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Well. . . I was going to come in here and talk about what a good time I had, but it doesn't look like this is a thread about that. If you were as outgraged as you claim to be, then you should be upset with that terrible offer too. Well the offer isn't so horrendous on its own merits. Cirque de Soleil is very popular and expensive (I guarantee tickets on stubhub are not going to be just ten or twelve bucks). BUT, the group of people who are big into watching the Devils' practice and getting their autographs probably doesn't have a ton of crossover with the people who love watching acrobats and people on wires dance to Michael Jackson hits. This event probably, truly is a nightmare to schedule without impeding on the team. But if it's that hard, maybe they should try something else. The preseason BBQ seems to always work fine. The equipment sale always pisses some people off (though not always for very good reasons). The team awards are basically the same every year, so that one is fairly easy to manage for the fans. Any other ideas for getting fans access to the team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Would make sense, wouldn't it? But that's all Lou. He probably hated the fact that fans could walk in and watch practice in the South Mountain days. So now that the Devils own their own practice rink, it's just another way for Lou to keep everything under wraps. Wait until Lou is gone and I'll bet this changes and you'll see a lot more open practices. Re: the topic at hand: I'd be FURIOUS if I was a season ticket holder over this. Absolutely FURIOUS. Ah, I was wondering why they would allow it in the past if Lou was so dead against it. I guess the fact they didn't own the arena had everything to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Ah, I was wondering why they would allow it in the past if Lou was so dead against it. I guess the fact they didn't own the arena had everything to do with it. Absolutely. Lou couldn't shut down South Mountain, its a public rink- the Devils had no say there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devs82fan Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Well. . . I was going to come in here and talk about what a good time I had, but it doesn't look like this is a thread about that. Well the offer isn't so horrendous on its own merits. Cirque de Soleil is very popular and expensive (I guarantee tickets on stubhub are not going to be just ten or twelve bucks). BUT, the group of people who are big into watching the Devils' practice and getting their autographs probably doesn't have a ton of crossover with the people who love watching acrobats and people on wires dance to Michael Jackson hits. This event probably, truly is a nightmare to schedule without impeding on the team. But if it's that hard, maybe they should try something else. The preseason BBQ seems to always work fine. The equipment sale always pisses some people off (though not always for very good reasons). The team awards are basically the same every year, so that one is fairly easy to manage for the fans. Any other ideas for getting fans access to the team? tell us how it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCdevil Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Absolutely. Lou couldn't shut down South Mountain, its a public rink- the Devils had no say there. That's just not true. The rented out the rink for practices. They could have closed them if they wanted to. In fact, they did quite often. The amount of people who came to them didn't make it worth it though. At AmeriHealth, they would need to staff all of the potential entrances to the arena with security and they are not willing to do it. That's one of the reasons why they don't open practices all of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Would make sense, wouldn't it? But that's all Lou. He probably hated the fact that fans could walk in and watch practice in the South Mountain days. So now that the Devils own their own practice rink, it's just another way for Lou to keep everything under wraps. Well they did ban open practices under Herb Brooks time as coach. As soon as he was gone it was reinstated. I've heard that there are no open practices due to insurance reasons. (The reason being that anyone can slip into the Prudential Center from the practice rink and the hiring of added security for the practices was cost prohibitive.) Giving the reports of the Devils financial difficulties, I could see that is being factual. Of course, I can also see it as the "reason" for Lou to have closed practices. Edited March 31, 2012 by Rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 That's just not true. The rented out the rink for practices. They could have closed them if they wanted to. In fact, they did quite often. The amount of people who came to them didn't make it worth it though. At AmeriHealth, they would need to staff all of the potential entrances to the arena with security and they are not willing to do it. That's one of the reasons why they don't open practices all of the time. Really? Well then I stand corrected. I didn't know the Devils had any authority to close the rink while they practiced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCdevil Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Really? Well then I stand corrected. I didn't know the Devils had any authority to close the rink while they practiced. No worries. Didn't mean to come off so aggressive. Just realized it when i read it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck the Duck Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 That's just not true. The rented out the rink for practices. They could have closed them if they wanted to. In fact, they did quite often. The amount of people who came to them didn't make it worth it though. At AmeriHealth, they would need to staff all of the potential entrances to the arena with security and they are not willing to do it. That's one of the reasons why they don't open practices all of the time. You are 100% correct. Just because South Mountain was a pulic rink, didn't mean the public got access to the Devils practices. This isn't about Lou being a tyrant. The Devils no longer have open practices because of the security reason stated above and since there is no money to be made from an open practice, they stopped having them when they moved to the Rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Pig Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) tell us how it was I'm not Devils Dose, but I'll jump in and say I thought it was a really fun event. Watching the practice from just behind the glass was great, although my feeling is that this particular "practice" was really more of an exhibition than anything else. Seemed like a slightly more focused version of the pregame warmups to me, as opposed to what I would imagine a true practice session to be like. (Although the truth is I don't know anything at all about it, so I could be totally wrong.) I'm not really much if an autograph hound, but I thought that part of the day was handled about as well as it possibly could have been. It was really easy to see who was located where, and which lines were likely to be worth your while and which ones you weren't likely to get through given the time allowed. I enjoyed chatting with other fans in the few lines I did stand in, and I came away with a lot more autographs than I really expected to going in. Mostly I just wanted to have Marty sign my copy of his book, which I got, but on top of that I also managed to get Zubrus, Salvador, Volchnekov, Elias, Lou, and the whole coaching staff to sign my jersey. I totally understand the frustration people feel over the scheduling and all, but as an attendee, I have nothing but good things to say about it. Lots o' fun. Edited March 31, 2012 by Brick Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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