Did the players really serve pizza in Line today?

[The Snapshot]

I couldn't afford tickets until I got out of school...

I have season tickets now, I waited 4 years to get them.

Typical spoiled season ticket holder - too good to stand in the Student Rush line.....

[Kovy27]

I couldn't afford tickets until I got out of school...

I have season tickets now, I waited 4 years to get them.

Typical spoiled season ticket holder - too good to stand in the Student Rush line.....

LOL. I did that for years when the Pens couldn't fill the arena. I still blame Eddy O.

[Ossa]

To be honest, that's 500 tickets that they could have sold to people in the season ticket waiting list.

I understand the concept of Student Rush, it was great when the Pens were not filling the building in the early 2000s...However, they have over 10k people in the waiting list line that would love to have their season tickets.

But they do offer presale tickets and mini packages to people on the wait list. They don't completely ignore these people.

ok? However they could sell 500 season ticket packages....

If they did that then that's 500 less single game tickets available for each game. There's a reason why they cap season tickets. They are only doing this type of student rush three times this year, and they are for weekday games against opponents no one really cares about.

[Idoit40fans]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

[stopper40]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

It makes perfect sense. They're thinking long term here. Today's student rush are tomorrow's season ticket holders. It's not like they're doing it for every game.

[Rylan]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

Its an investment to get a demographic that is typically poorer into games and hopefully in the future will procure season tickets as the current holders die off or when the team has an inevitable downturn and will need the fans it earns during winning seasons to continue buying tickets.

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

Its an investment to get a demographic that is typically poorer into games and hopefully in the future will procure season tickets as the current holders die off or when the team has an inevitable downturn and will need the fans it earns during winning seasons to continue buying tickets.

It also helped keep the sell out streak alive last year. I love student rush as an idea even when its a sold out situation, they have been doing since I was in high school in the late 90's and probably earlier. And the Pens claim it was only a few hundred per game which isnt a big deal.

I havent been to many games this year as work travel is times two, dropped most of my tickets to coworkers, but in the recent past the overall sentiment I have just read doesnt matter anyways as it was being used to fill hundreds if not more of unsold lower bowl seats as it seemed they were priced too high and were not selling. Not sure what its like this year I havent been able to pay much attention.

[Idoit40fans]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

It makes perfect sense. They're thinking long term here. Today's student rush are tomorrow's season ticket holders. It's not like they're doing it for every game.

Yesterday's student rushers are today's people sitting on the waiting list.

[shoeshine boy]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

did you think that every seat in CEC (or any other arena for that matter) is occupied by STHs? it doesn't work that way. the real question is, how many STHs are actually just ticket brokers who do nothing but re-sell the tickets at a premium?

[Idoit40fans]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

did you think that every seat in CEC (or any other arena for that matter) is occupied by STHs? it doesn't work that way. the real question is, how many STHs are actually just ticket brokers who do nothing but re-sell the tickets at a premium?

If I thought it worked that way, I obviously wouldn't be talking about giving the additional tickets to people willing to buy them. You need to think before you post.

[Kovy27]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

did you think that every seat in CEC (or any other arena for that matter) is occupied by STHs? it doesn't work that way. the real question is, how many STHs are actually just ticket brokers who do nothing but re-sell the tickets at a premium?

Ticket would be sold at 50+ dollars instead of 25 or whatever they charge. 500 seats, 250 to the public, 250 to people on the waiting list.

[shoeshine boy]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

did you think that every seat in CEC (or any other arena for that matter) is occupied by STHs? it doesn't work that way. the real question is, how many STHs are actually just ticket brokers who do nothing but re-sell the tickets at a premium?

If I thought it worked that way, I obviously wouldn't be talking about giving the additional tickets to people willing to buy them. You need to think before you post.

and you need to lighten up and not complain about "why are they giving out tickets if there's still a STH waiting list?" you specifically questioned why they weren't going to people on the STH wait list not why they're not going to the general public. it's called "good PR", btw.

[Rylan]

Technically speaking student rushers are also people willing to buy tickets.

[FrozenNuts]

The complaints of student rush in this thread is absolutely ridiculous. 500 tickets every once in a while to let some poor college kids get a change to go to a pens game. Many of you took advantage of this in the past, whether or not the team was good is irrelevant. It is a community outreach program intended to show the good will of the organization. You super fans are the worst.

[Idoit40fans]

Student Rush may have been good PR for them, but that is not why they did it. Whether the team was good or not is absolutely relevant. I couldn't care less about it, it doesn't affect me, but I don't understand why they do it.

[Rylan]

I am explaining it. It is an investment to gather future fans. The good PR is a side effect of growing the consumer base. But by keeping the student rush, they are constantly capable of growing the brand through a demographic that is rich in potential. It is a long term goal rather than the short term of STHs.

[Idoit40fans]

You are trying to explain it, i'll give you that. How does it do that if they are leaving the same "investment" standing outside? No one has responded to me when I have said this. The same people that were "shown good faith" with the student rush program in years past are just accumulating on the waiting list. Given, there is going to be a waiting list anyway, but that can be slightly mitigated.

Funny story...I have student rushed and scalped my season tickets twice, thus paying nothing to go to the game. One other time I sold the season tickets for the sth value so I saved money and still went to the game.

[Rylan]

You are trying to explain it, i'll give you that. How does it do that if they are leaving the same "investment" standing outside? No one has responded to me when I have said this. The same people that were "shown good faith" with the student rush program in years past are just accumulating on the waiting list. Given, there is going to be a waiting list anyway, but that can be slightly mitigated.

Ok missed that part. You can never collect every potential consumer. While that would be great it isn't possible. But, in the 3 games that will be doing this current format of 500 seats, they could gather a potential of 1,500 college students.

The STH thing issue is probably a combination of things. Too many season ticket holders and you begin to ostracize the mini-plans, single games, and students by forcing them to purchase second hand or scurry to try and gather whatever is left on ticketmaster (not much, unless you have money to spend or are going alone then there is enough) or sitting at home. So they cap the amount of STH tickets.



This pic may be hard to read, but its called the Marketing Escalator Concept.

It is a constantly moving framework of the consumer base. In theory, you have to build from the ground up and are constantly trying to push people up the escalator. Heavy users will eventually step off, with medium users replacing and light users behind.

Now, if the Pens cease developing a prospect pool of fans, they run the risk of causing long term issues with fan base. A good example would be the Buffalo Bills of the early 90s. They marketed their team based on success and expanded the stadium and did all sorts of things based on the short term success of the team. Since then, the Bills have gone downhill and have never recovered from the marketing myopia created by basing everything off of short term success.

I am starting to repeat myself, bleh.

[Idoit40fans]

I want us to be realistic here. Most of the air canada center is corporate tickets. The fanbase isn't taking a hit. They're looking at adding a team. This point has nothing to do with how good Pittsburgh or Toronto is as a hockey town or a team. The demand is there or it isn't. If the team gos in the tank after Crosby and Malkin leave, everyone knows that the arena is going to be half empty, student rush or not. It does not make sense to me that they are "investing". There will be a waiting list until the team stops being a perennial contender, and then after that, there won't be a sellout streak any longer. Its as simple as that.

[Rylan]

I want us to be realistic here. Most of the air canada center is corporate tickets. The fanbase isn't taking a hit. They're looking at adding a team. This point has nothing to do with how good Pittsburgh or Toronto is as a hockey town or a team. The demand is there or it isn't. If the team gos in the tank after Crosby and Malkin leave, everyone knows that the arena is going to be half empty, student rush or not. It does not make sense to me that they are "investing". There will be a waiting list until the team stops being a perennial contender, and then after that, there won't be a sellout streak any longer. Its as simple as that.

The waiting list is a current luxury. But, I am sure there is a good number on the waiting list that will get season tickets no matter what.

As for the the demand in Pittsburgh, while I don't think a sellout streak will continue once the Penguins do take a downturn in talent I do not think that there will be as big a drop off like the early 2000s showed. The Penguins have invested a lot into the community with youth programs and other things that they should be capable of being able to generate a half decent crowd each game as long as they aren't as devastatingly terrible as they were in 2003. The investments will pay off in 10 years when my age group is in an established career. But do not sell short investing. It may seem stupid, but it most certainly is not.

[Idoit40fans]

If the high schoolers and early college people are still coming back if the team sucks in a decade, it will be because they grew up watching it. Just like the people in my generation stayed around because they grew up watching the early 90s teams. Its no surprise that Pittsburgh starts producing respectable hockey talent 2 decades after the Pens won their first cups. This city is always going to go through cycles.

[Slick, Arnold]

Student rush made sense when you just wanted to scrape some extra money out of seats that would have otherwise gone unused. It does not make sense now when you have a waiting list.

Student Rush is sponsored, it makes perfect sense. Along with the other points regarding engaging future season ticket holders and giving warm fuzzies/PR opportunities, the branding and selling of Student Rush is a creative way to deliver otherwise non-existent inventory to a partner and generate significant sponsorship dollars that certainly dwarfs the "missed" ticket revenue.

[Rylan]

If the high schoolers and early college people are still coming back if the team sucks in a decade, it will be because they grew up watching it. Just like the people in my generation stayed around because they grew up watching the early 90s teams. Its no surprise that Pittsburgh starts producing respectable hockey talent 2 decades after the Pens won their first cups. This city is always going to go through cycles.

Are you in the financial or accounting field by chance?

[Idoit40fans]

No, sales and marketing.

[Rylan]

Hmmm interesting. I will ask my sports marketing professor about this topic today in class or after class to see what she says.