Devils Season Ticket discussion thread - Prices being raised for 19-20

[Satans Hockey 2,037]

1 hour ago, mfitz804 said:

I posted a whole response, but instead I’m tapping out. It’s too frustrating to hear people complain about this stuff. 

I didn't think there was anything wrong with your post, it was a good balanced discussion. I don't particularly enjoy bitching and moaning myself.

I just want this team to succeed on and off the ice and it's just frustrating when I think they are making mistakes off the ice. I think my feedback and input is a lot more valuable and knowledge when it comes to that stuff than what draft picks and trades we could possibly do.

I enjoy the arena so much when it's full and the crowd is into the game, it really is a night and day experience to when it's half empty and the crowd is cranky and not having fun. I feel like these steps they took are in a direction of having the building less full instead of more full. 

Hopefully we have a bounce back season next year because if we don't and we end up with another increase after next season and Hall looks like he's gonna walk as well then we are possibly setting up for a horrible situation in terms of crowds for the 20-21 season.

[trailblazer 3]

6 hours ago, Satans Hockey said:

The team doesn't even spend remotely to the cap and you're still missing the majority of the point. I already said I'm renewing but you're missing the principle that it's ridiculous. The on ice team is the product and it's been a sh!t product for years. This is going to affect a lot of people. 

Have you sat in section 233? Can you say those seats are worth a $183 per seat increase? 

How about instead of handing out countless free tickets maybe you give me the pre-season games for free since it's half the quality of play or hell even give me the tickets at half price. 

Shero didn’t spend to cap because there was very little to acquire. Would you rather him overpay for out of prime players like Lou did in his last 5+ years with Devils?

[trailblazer 3]

6 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Gotta say, that’s not a lot to complain about. That’s just an inflation adjustment, I get that you aren’t happy with the product, none of us are. If tons of people opt out over a tiny increase, then they weren’t that interested. They are the type of fans that go like it’s a social event and the game is secondary. 

I don’t understand the obsession with hard copy tickets either. 

The complaining over not getting enough free stuff with your season tickets, maybe I can agree. Those items are relatively cheap. And one per seat probably makes more sense with the exception of the bonus tickets. 

 

EXACTLY!

[trailblazer 3]

6 hours ago, Satans Hockey said:

You can also get the fvck out of my thread and not bother reading about it then if it bothers you that much. 

Lol. Your the one that’s mad homie. Obviously a small price increase got you posting on the internet. I’m suggesting cancel your tickets and watch on your really that upset over $2.63 per ticket increase. You get mad when gas goes up for no reason? You get mad when your car insurance goes up even though your car is a year older? It’s called life. Hockey games is supposed to be fun. If your so mad cancel (but you won’t) and watch on tv

[trailblazer 3]

4 hours ago, Satans Hockey said:

I didn't think there was anything wrong with your post, it was a good balanced discussion. I don't particularly enjoy bitching and moaning myself.

I just want this team to succeed on and off the ice and it's just frustrating when I think they are making mistakes off the ice. I think my feedback and input is a lot more valuable and knowledge when it comes to that stuff than what draft picks and trades we could possibly do.

I enjoy the arena so much when it's full and the crowd is into the game, it really is a night and day experience to when it's half empty and the crowd is cranky and not having fun. I feel like these steps they took are in a direction of having the building less full instead of more full. 

Hopefully we have a bounce back season next year because if we don't and we end up with another increase after next season and Hall looks like he's gonna walk as well then we are possibly setting up for a horrible situation in terms of crowds for the 20-21 season.

Let me guess. You can manage a professional hockey team better? I mean you got people complaining over $2.63 increases. No matter what happens those people will ALWAYS find something to complain about. 

[trailblazer 3]

6 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Gotta say, that’s not a lot to complain about. That’s just an inflation adjustment, I get that you aren’t happy with the product, none of us are. If tons of people opt out over a tiny increase, then they weren’t that interested. They are the type of fans that go like it’s a social event and the game is secondary. 

I don’t understand the obsession with hard copy tickets either. 

The complaining over not getting enough free stuff with your season tickets, maybe I can agree. Those items are relatively cheap. And one per seat probably makes more sense with the exception of the bonus tickets. 

 

Just looked at the stats. We all know Devils so MUCH better in attendance after Christmas. So far this season they are running at 94.9% occupancy. So on average 5% of the building is empty on any given night. That’s pretty good considering where the Devils are in the standings. The Islanders are in 1st place and in LAST place in occupancy at 73.4%. And we have people complaining about $2.63 increase, crazy world we live in.

[Satans Hockey 2,037]

The Devils give away so many free tickets alone between the coat drive, food drive and toy drive. You can go to almost 10/11 games for free if you do all those donations. The numbers are ridiculously padded. 

Islanders aren't a good comparison because they are splitting their season between Barclays and Nassau and the Nassau games are packed and the Barclays games are not because the venue is terrible for hockey. 

Edited January 31 by Satans Hockey

[trailblazer 3]

3 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

The Devils give away so many free tickets alone between the coat drive, food drive and toy drive. You can go to almost 10/11 games for free if you do all those donations. The numbers are ridiculously padded. 

Now we gonna dispute the facts as “padded”. If people are that miserable over $2.63 and would rather have 1 gallon of gas with the ticket increase then cancel your tickets and watch on tv. I can assure you Harris and Blitzer didn’t become billionaires (which none of us are) because they are stupid. Trust the process 

[mfitz804 5,699]

6 hours ago, Satans Hockey said:

I didn't think there was anything wrong with your post, it was a good balanced discussion. I don't particularly enjoy bitching and moaning myself.

I get it. But I have a different set of circumstances and I decided I’m not really going to understand not being a STH. 

Its kind of like when my millionaire boss complains about making too much money and having to pay the taxes on it. They’ve actually accepted a 10 year annuity rather than taking a cash fee so they could spread taxes over 10 years. To me, living check to check or slightly better, the idea of being entitled to a couple hjndred thousand dollars and not wanting it is a foreign concept. 

[Satans Hockey 2,037]

10 minutes ago, trailblazer said:

Now we gonna dispute the facts as “padded”. If people are that miserable over $2.63 and would rather have 1 gallon of gas with the ticket increase then cancel your tickets and watch on tv. I can assure you Harris and Blitzer didn’t become billionaires (which none of us are) because they are stupid. Trust the process 

You can keep saying $2.63 a ticket and a gallon of gas a game but that misrepresents how much of an increase it actually is for people. Most don't have 1 seat. The exact difference from last year for my seats is $108.59 a seat. For a family of 4 that's a $434.36 increase. 

For section 233 a family of 4 had an increase of $734.40. 

For section 216 which is supposed to some of the cheapest seats in the arena a family of 4 had an increase $328.

I never said Harris and Blitzer are morons, they aren't the one's setting the prices anyway.

Edited January 31 by Satans Hockey

[trailblazer 3]

6 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

You can keep saying $2.63 a ticket and a gallon of gas a game but that misrepresents how much of an increase it actually is for people. Most don't have 1 seat. The exact difference from last year for my seats is $108.59 a seat. For a family of 4 that's a $434.36 increase. 

For section 233 a family of 4 had an increase of $734.40. 

For section 216 which is supposed to some of the cheapest seats in the arena a family of 4 had an increase $328.

I never said Harris and Blitzer are morons, they aren't the one's setting the prices anyway.

I doubt there’s many family of 4 siting up there in today’s world with all the activities kids do these days going to every single Devils game. I know I barely have time to take a sh!t with all the activities my kids are involved with. And if they are they are really hard core fans who choose to spend their DISCRETIONARY income on something they enjoy so I doubt it bothers them like you think. Everyone missing the point that this is how people choose to spend DISCRETIONARY income. If your that bothered by the increase or can’t afford the tickets, cancel your plan. Nobody is holding a gun to your head. If this is a lot of money for you, my suggestion is don’t buy the tickets. 

[Satans Hockey 2,037]

1 minute ago, trailblazer said:

I doubt there’s many family of 4 siting up there in today’s world with all the activities kids do these days going to every single Devils game. I know I barely have time to take a sh!t with all the activities my kids are involved with. And if they are they are really hard core fans who choose to spend their DISCRETIONARY income on something they enjoy so I doubt it bothers them like you think. Everyone missing the point that this is how people choose to spend DISCRETIONARY income. If your that bothered by the increase or can’t afford the tickets, cancel your plan. Nobody is holding a gun to your head. If this is a lot of money for you, my suggestion is don’t buy the tickets. 

You've said that a bunch but I already told ya it's not a deal breaker for me and I fortunately can afford it but a lot of people can't. I can still complain about a price raise and benefits being taken away even though I choose to renew. They are still selling a product and I'm posting about the product and MY PERSONAL OPINION of what I PERSONALLY believe they are doing wrong.

When you're paying more money for less perks and a product that isn't good and besides last year hasn't been good for many years with the fan base we have it's setting up for the building to have even less season ticket holders. 

We won't end up seeing how this affects the team until next year but I've seen a bunch of people who posted that they already opted out.

The team sent the email out at 8:20pm last night for a reason. They knew they were going to have a long day of phone calls and emails after sending it out. 

[trailblazer 3]

3 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

You've said that a bunch but I already told ya it's not a deal breaker for me and I fortunately can afford it but a lot of people can't. I can still complain about a price raise and benefits being taken away even though I choose to renew. They are still selling a product and I'm posting about the product and MY PERSONAL OPINION of what I PERSONALLY believe they are doing wrong.

When you're paying more money for less perks and a product that isn't good and besides last year hasn't been good for many years with the fan base we have it's setting up for the building to have even less season ticket holders. 

We won't end up seeing how this affects the team until next year but I've seen a bunch of people who posted that they already opted out.

The team sent the email out at 8:20pm last night for a reason. They knew they were going to have a long day of phone calls and emails after sending it out. 

So if you are that upset. Cancel. Not sure what to tell you. Compared to the homeless person sleeping on the streets last night your problems are insignificant in the real world. If your biggest problem is your hockey tickets went up in price, be thankful. 

[Satans Hockey 2,037]

11 minutes ago, trailblazer said:

So if you are that upset. Cancel. Not sure what to tell you. Compared to the homeless person sleeping on the streets last night your problems are insignificant in the real world. If your biggest problem is your hockey tickets went up in price, be thankful. 

You've posted once since Dec of 2017 yet came out of lurking to say the same thing over and over and over again. Now I see why you lurk to begin with. 

Nobody is forcing you to read my posts and you can go right back to lurking. 

I'm glad your solution to things is pay it or cancel but this is a discussion board about the Devils and what the team does but thanks for the first world problems comment, real insightful.

Edited January 31 by Satans Hockey

[DevsMan84 1,495]

I have been following this on both here and on HF boards since last night.  It is quite amazing the different responses that are being provided between the two boards lol.

I will say this; for me, personally, getting season tickets have never been worth it.  While the cost is not the issue for me, it is the time that is invested in actually schlepping to the arena and back and getting home late on a weekday game after an already long day at work.  Ten years ago I went to about 20 games.  This year I will end up going to be about 5-6.  I just would rather watch from my couch these days on my nice 4K big-screen TV and when the game is done I can just go up to bed.  Plus I am not an autograph hound and stuff like meet and greets are not all that important to me.

In regards to the Devils giving away tickets and destroying ST value, I can definitely see that.  Frankly I think ownership is in the tough spot with that.  Take a look at that ticket thread over on HFboards.  The posters there destroy management for making ST too expensive and have stated the yearned for the days of JVB ownership when he was literally giving away tickets (I have even some posters call him and Eric K a "genius").  However, at the same time they then attack the current management for giving away free tickets to put butts in the seats and destroying ST value.  They literally can't win with our fans.

From what I saw on social media last night, most of those saying they are cancelling are doing it for either 1 of 2 reasons; either they just simply don't have the time for it or the perks are just too small.  I have only seen a couple outside of here and HFboards say they are cancelling simply because of the price increase.  Then you gotta figure those who every year say that the Devils have them at their final straw only to not go through with actually cancelling their plans.

These are your tickets and it is up to you if you want to cancel or not.  I don't think your gripes are invalid but I don't think they are as bad as you make them to be.  I will say though that those perks are crap and the 1 per account rule is beyond stupid.  lol so there's that.

[trailblazer 3]

22 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

You've posted once since Dec of 2017 yet came out of lurking to say the same thing over and over and over again. Now I see why you lurk to begin with. 

Nobody is forcing you to read my posts and you can go right back to lurking. 

I'm glad your solution to things is pay it or cancel but this is a discussion board about the Devils and what the team does but thanks for the first world problems comment, real insightful.

 Because the facts are you only have 2 options: Renew or cancel. Does complaining about it make you feel better?

[Satans Hockey 2,037]

21 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

In regards to the Devils giving away tickets and destroying ST value, I can definitely see that.  Frankly I think ownership is in the tough spot with that.  Take a look at that ticket thread over on HFboards.  The posters there destroy management for making ST too expensive and have stated the yearned for the days of JVB ownership when he was literally giving away tickets (I have even some posters call him and Eric K a "genius").  However, at the same time they then attack the current management for giving away free tickets to put butts in the seats and destroying ST value.  They literally can't win with our fans.

From what I saw on social media last night, most of those saying they are cancelling are doing it for either 1 of 2 reasons; either they just simply don't have the time for it or the perks are just too small.  I have only seen a couple outside of here and HFboards say they are cancelling simply because of the price increase.  Then you gotta figure those who every year say that the Devils have them at their final straw only to not go through with actually cancelling their plans

I never cared about JVB nor did I ever think Eric was doing a good job and I don't think Weber is any better.

I definitely understand your point about getting home late, that's a valid concern. When we have overtime/shootouts there are always season ticket holders around me that leave because the next train doesn't come from awhile. Thankfully I don't live that far away but I drive so I'm usually home right after the post game radio show is wrapping up. 

I get that the vouchers are for a good cause, I donate myself every year but the way they setup the games is a joke. They currently have it setup that you can bring a free coat and then get a free ticket to the food drive game, bring 2 cans to that and get a free ticket to the toy drive game and then get another set of free tickets. It should at least be setup that vouchers are only given out for games that aren't additional voucher nights. Make people pay for each voucher night game so they are still getting 2 games for 1 with a small donation. 

Also the fact that you had to only give 2 cans for 2 free tickets was a joke and I saw way too many people doing that. I commented about it back when it was going on. It used to be a 10 can minimum and it should still be. 

From what I've seen on social media and elsewhere the main reason is that people know they can get cheaper tickets via the secondary market plan so the perks aren't worth it because the tickets don't have any real value. I saw one person had their tickets go up over $600. It's hard to blame people for opting out when everyone knows you can get in cheaper with the secondary market plan. Especially when the team sucks. 

9 minutes ago, trailblazer said:

 Because the facts are you only have 2 options: Renew or cancel. Does complaining about it make you feel better?

It's a discussion board.

Edited January 31 by Satans Hockey

[mfitz804 5,699]

From my experiences on this board and elsewhere, it seems like a big part of having season tickets is complaining about your season tickets. 

53 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

In regards to the Devils giving away tickets and destroying ST value, I can definitely see that. 

You could also argue that it enhances a STH's experience. They aren't giving the tickets away because they're generous. They're giving them away so they aren't playing to a half empty arena. More butts in the seats equals a more lively crowd, which I think is in everyone's interests. 

That said, if you are buying season tickets with the plan to sell games you don't want to go to, then I can see where there might be an argument. 

[trailblazer 3]

34 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

From my experiences on this board and elsewhere, it seems like a big part of having season tickets is complaining about your season tickets. 

You could also argue that it enhances a STH's experience. They aren't giving the tickets away because they're generous. They're giving them away so they aren't playing to a half empty arena. More butts in the seats equals a more lively crowd, which I think is in everyone's interests. 

That said, if you are buying season tickets with the plan to sell games you don't want to go to, then I can see where there might be an argument. 

Spot on 

[Satans Hockey 2,037]

1 hour ago, mfitz804 said:

From my experiences on this board and elsewhere, it seems like a big part of having season tickets is complaining about your season tickets. 

You could also argue that it enhances a STH's experience. They aren't giving the tickets away because they're generous. They're giving them away so they aren't playing to a half empty arena. More butts in the seats equals a more lively crowd, which I think is in everyone's interests. 

That said, if you are buying season tickets with the plan to sell games you don't want to go to, then I can see where there might be an argument. 

I don't remember a ton of complaining on this board about having season tickets, from my experience there aren't many season ticket holders on here which is why hf boards always has more discussions about this sort of thing. 

I've also noticed that not all the free voucher games are even in that full. Since they are free in the first place there always ends up being a lot of people who simply just don't show up because they didn't pay for them in the first place so if something else comes along or the weather is bad it's an easy thing to skip. 

I think a good amount of the arena is simply priced wrong and the secondary market reflects that. Even when the team was good last year the prices still aren't what they should be. I'd much rather have the arena be full with the appropriate pricing structure than see the team give away countless freebies. 

Fan friendly priced concession stands is also something the team should be looking into. It's worked extremely well for the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United and even the Seattle Seahawks started doing it this past season. More and more teams are starting to as well. People get inside the building earlier and don't mind spending money because they don't feel like they are being ripped off and the teams have been making more revenue than ever before off concessions. This is hopefully going to be the norm at all venues in the future... 

https://www.eater.com/2018/8/29/17785134/stadium-food-fan-friendly-prices-atlanta-falcons-texas-longhorns

Edited January 31 by Satans Hockey

[DevsMan84 1,495]

44 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

I don't remember a ton of complaining on this board about having season tickets, from my experience there aren't many season ticket holders on here which is why hf boards always has more discussions about this sort of thing. 

I've also noticed that not all the free voucher games are even in that full. Since they are free in the first place there always ends up being a lot of people who simply just don't show up because they didn't pay for them in the first place so if something else comes along or the weather is bad it's an easy thing to skip. 

I think a good amount of the arena is simply priced wrong and the secondary market reflects that. Even when the team was good last year the prices still aren't what they should be. I'd much rather have the arena be full with the appropriate pricing structure than see the team give away countless freebies. 

Fan friendly priced concession stands is also something the team should be looking into. It's worked extremely well for the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United and even the Seattle Seahawks started doing it this past season. More and more teams are starting to as well. People get inside the building earlier and don't mind spending money because they don't feel like they are being ripped off and the teams have been making more revenue than ever before off concessions. This is hopefully going to be the norm at all venues in the future... 

https://www.eater.com/2018/8/29/17785134/stadium-food-fan-friendly-prices-atlanta-falcons-texas-longhorns

Aren't the Devils still one of the cheaper tickets (talking about face prices) in the NHL?

Also, there are still several weekday games where you can get middle tier for $20-25ish a ticket with fees on the secondary market.  I really don't know if and how the Devils can compete with that.  At that point, it seems like the Devils would lose money at those prices.

[DevsMan84 1,495]

1 hour ago, mfitz804 said:

From my experiences on this board and elsewhere, it seems like a big part of having season tickets is complaining about your season tickets. 

You could also argue that it enhances a STH's experience. They aren't giving the tickets away because they're generous. They're giving them away so they aren't playing to a half empty arena. More butts in the seats equals a more lively crowd, which I think is in everyone's interests. 

That said, if you are buying season tickets with the plan to sell games you don't want to go to, then I can see where there might be an argument. 

It also destroys the tickets value.  It is a weird balancing act where no matter what the Devils do they will piss some portion of the fans off.

The Devils are still kind of hard to accurately gauge IMO.  Back in the day, the Devils were a powerhouse but still had trouble filling the seats due to management's refusal to do anything more than minimal marketing.  Now we have an ownership group who is willing to go balls to the wall with marketing, but have a crap on-ice product.  I would like to see how this team is when it is a contender under these owners.

[Chuck the Duck 331]

12 hours ago, Satans Hockey said:

It's not a dealbreaker for me, it's the principle. How can you justify any sort of increase when the team has missed the playoffs 6 out of the past 7 seasons and hasn't won a playoff series since 2012? And hell next year sure as hell isn't looking any better.

Plus they took incentives away, not added them. Also one of my friends in the upper 200s had his seats go up $183 per seat.

Plus people have more than 1 seat. I do and most people that I know do as well. You think a family of 4 should have their seats increased for $183 bucks a seat for the sh!tty upper 200s? It's a joke. 

My seats for next year in the defend twice balconies went up $126 each over this seasons price.   Not a huge increase, but definitely an unnecessary one.  What has this organization done to warrant such an increase?  They consistently put a losing, sub-par product on the ice.  Nothing about my game day experience has changed over the last few seasons.  The perks of being a STH keep getting worse each season.  At this point, I think I'm done and will go on the Stubhub ticket plan, which will give me better seats at a cheaper cost.     

[Kinkyisth3b3st 3,589]

6 hours ago, trailblazer said:

Let me guess. You can manage a professional hockey team better? I mean you got people complaining over $2.63 increases. No matter what happens those people will ALWAYS find something to complain about. 

I've always been curious how you have a negative reputation score. I didn't even know we could downvote things. I mean, if anyone here was going to be somehow in the minuses it's obviously you. But how does that even happen?

[trailblazer 3]

16 minutes ago, Kinkyisth3b3st said:

I've always been curious how you have a negative reputation score. I didn't even know we could downvote things. I mean, if anyone here was going to be somehow in the minuses it's obviously you. But how does that even happen?

Because we know live in a society where people are offended by the truth.