Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A Better Idea for Hoops Tickets


Yesterday the Tulsa World reported that Oklahoma State will be moving to a select ticket policy for Oklahoma State basketball…..maybe…..if things go like they want them to? Let's not even go that far ok? Better idea time.
 The policy, which limits certain premium games to season tickets holders, appears to have been highly successfully for the football team. I say appears because I’m not sure what data they have to suggest the winning football team didn’t play the main role in the increase. It’s easy to sell season tickets coming off 10 win seasons. I think we’ll learn a lot about the select policy for football after this year’s team craps out for the second season in a row.

Basketball caries differences that vary significantly from the football team, most of which get rehashed every year on Orange Power. Season tickets take more trips to Stillwater, more late nights with school in the morning, more gas, more money and more time. Burdening people with tickets against Eastern Kentucky on church night in the fall isn't going to draw a crowd out no matter how many Bedlam tickets they get. It’s the wrong incentive and there is a better option to push the revenue growth Mike Holder craves and the track team needs.

In 2010 the San Franscisco Giants started using software developed by QCue to manager their ticket prices dynamically. Tickets are set at a base price before the season starts and every day the prices goes up or down based on wins, losses, the weather, the price relating to other sections, what tickets are selling for on line, the opponent, and other data. Revenue jumped twelve percent the first season the Giants used the software. Some form of the software is now used in a large portion of pro sports and is spreading to the college game.

A truly dynamic pricing model allows Holder to achieve all his goals. He can reward our season ticket holders with the base price of tickets, grow the fanbase with affordable low demand tickets, reduce the impact of ticket scalpers and generate even more revenue from Bedlam, KU, Baylor games. This would also eliminate the random free and reduced ticket announcements we’ve seen from the ticket office the last few seasons that has to upset folks who bought their tickets.

The current model places a huge emphasis on winning and the expectation of winning. Anyone want to bet on consistent year over year production from Travis Ford? Dynamic seats are the better way to go.

Want to read more about this?


Fangraphs

Michigan tickets

QCue

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