Season Ticket Prices?

[patmc16]

I was wondering what season tickets for minor league hockey are going for out there? I went to the new home of the UHL expansion Motor City Mechanics today to see what info was available. I was able to get a season ticket order form. Now, maybe I'm just being cheap (or frugal, as I call it) but I was surprised at the cost of season tickets for this first year team. The "good seats" are going for $850 for the season. The least expensive full season package is $360. Seems pretty pricey to me, but maybe I'm wrong. Since the farthest seat is about 15 rows or so from the ice at GLSC-Superior, I'd be leaning towards the cheaper seats. I'm wondering how this compares to other teams?

With this being an expansion team this year, my biggest fear is another Columbus Stars scenerio. If I put my $$ out there for season tickets, I hope they make it through the season. I know the owner in Columbus is a repeat offender crook, but I can't help but think about it when I prepare to write the check.

On a positive note, the logo is growing on me a little. When I first saw it, my first reaction was "that sucks!" I was able to see it on a puck, a hat, a t-shirt and on a home and away jersey at the arena. It's not as bad as I originally thought. I still think they could have been a little more creative, but, all in all, not too bad.

[patmc16]

Thanks for the input everyone! :(

On a better note, as of today, I am the proud owner of Motor City Mechanics season tickets.

I have to say that I am very impressed with this organization so far. Today was "pick your seat" day at the arena. Upon arriving, I was greeted at the door by the Asst. GM. She (yes, she) took me to meet the sales person who I delt with where I was given a ticket for free refreshments at the snack bar. The person I delt with was very professional on what he admitted to me was his first day. He gave a "0" pressure sales pitch and gave me the time I needed to pick the right seat for me. The owner of the team introduced himself to me and took a few minutes to talk personally to me. I was then taken on a tour of the arena, including the locker room, the coach's office and down on the "ice" (a bare cement floor right now). The renovations have already begun and it looks like it will be a quality arena for a UHL team when they are done.

If my first interaction is any indication of how the organization will be run, it is first class and I'm glad to be a season ticket holder.

GO MECHANICS!!!

[preeths]

What do Mechanics season tickets go for?

[patmc16]

There are 5 price levels. The seats immediately behind the benches and penalty boxes are the highest priced at $850 for the season. The 1st 3 rows on either side of the ice are $680. Rows 4-9 or 10, depending on the section (some have 9 rows and some have 10) are $510, as are the 1st 3 rows on the end sections. Rows 4-9/10 on the ends are $360. I read somewhere that the renovations will include increased capacity, so maybe those will change?? There are also half season packages at a little more than half of the full season prices, as well as 10 game mini plans.

I'm in the last row on the aisle (a better view of the whole ice surface) in a corner where the Mechanics will attack 2 periods ($360). The seat right across the aisle from me is $510. I've sat right on the glass at Wayne State University (my alma matter) and Detroit Lightning (CEHL) games at GLSC-Superior and I had trouble seeing a fair amout of the ice. I think I got a pretty good seat.

The benefits of a full season package include ticket exchange nights, a season ticket holder party, parking discounts, a mechanics jersey, and merchandise discounts.

[hckynu1]

$360 for a season ticket doesn't sound too bad compared to the Toronto maple Leafs - upwards to $400, just to put 1 butt in 1 seat. There are tickets under $100 but I'm sure you'll wonder why you paid it in the end. If you take your kids, don't pass the food concession. Plug their noses as you pass the popcorn, cover their eyes when you pass the team jerseys for sale and hope that they don't notice your neighbours eating or you might end up spending your month's rent!! I might be exaggerating but only just a little. Doesn't matter much, though. Tickets are almost impossible to get anyway (not that I wouldn't mind the chance to blow that kind of money -- just once!!). Oh, did I mention that the 1 butt in 1 seat only owns that 1 seat for 1 game?! Enjoy your ECHL or whatever team you have nearby. At least you'll be watching them this season, which is more than NHL fans can say!

[ksingerdd]

Hope these posts are a positive step. I remember the Falcons and was a two year season ticket holder and booster club member. Unfortunately, there was no fan base support no mater what was tried, and the tickets were $8 - $15 and only filled when we played Flint. In fact the joke was our rink was called IMA south. Crowds never exceeded more than 1000 when I was there, and that team relocated to Port Huron. I plan to attend as many games as I can, and I really hope tickets are a premium. Good luck to all !!!!!!!

[grlhockeyfan]

The UHL tickets in my area are pretty cheap.....I was just looking at them yesterday and the most expensive seats are $680 for a full season and the cheapest seats are $200 for a whole season. I'm leaning more towards a partial plan though because we can't go to every game.

[ksingerdd]

Now that the NHL is going forward with the lockout, it will be interesting to see if the media will turn a focus to the non-NHL hockey that usually doesn't get too much coverage in our market.

[patmc16]

I'm not counting on it. I could be wrong, but I don't remember the Detroit Vipers, who were new in 94/95, getting a bunch of extra attention during the last strike or lockout, or whatever it was. I think it will be up to the teams to market themselves very heavily as an alternative while the NHL is out. The Vipers did back then, with an ad campaign along the lines of "There IS real, professional hockey in Detroit." If they expect the press in major cities to do it for them, they will probably miss out on any increase in fan levels.

[Global-Hockey]

The minor league teams in the Detroit area will not get anymore coverage now, than when they did before. Newspapers are run by advertising dollars and perks the reporters get. The Vipers never paid for an ad in publications. The Vipers used trade offs. By that they would give tickets to the papers or magazines (I know, because I covered the games for the magazine) in exchange for space and yes coverage. The Flint Generals were probably the cheapest team and hardest to deal with. They wanted the press to pay for the games they watched. No reporter is going to go to a game to cover it, and be expected to pay to get in the door (And we are talking a National Publication, not some online sports wanna be thing). The Muskegon PR director and broadcaster elected to do his interviews with the press with a toothpick in his mouth as he played with it with his fingers. So the bottom line is, Most minor league team PR people are what I call "Hung up on their own self importance" and with that kind of attitude, they turn off the press from covering them. These teams would get more coverage if they had more professional PR people, and not the owners sons wife who needs a job and has no idea of what she is suppose to do. I will follow that up by also saying, there are a lot of good PR people out there as well who know what the press needs and wants. They provide clear and detailed press releases, they make players available, the ownership is on site and is eager to promote their teams. The amount of press coverage depends on how the team treats the press and if the team does any advertising in the publication.

[HockeyFan2]

Crowds never exceeded more than 1000 when I was there

Well there area is poor support
I think the arena gave Motor City a pitch about the millions that come through the doors
I wonder if that arena will even keep the ice fit for hockey
The tickets prices are too high to boot

I do not see this Team surving in that area
Sorry but??
All three of the new Teams this season in the UHL have higher ticket prices and that will be their down fall

Who will survive after the first season, take your pick
NHL lock out wil not help. NHL fans do not go see the lower levels of hockey like the UHL

[ksingerdd]

That problem with the PR was not only in Flint, but there always seemed to be good crowds there when I was part of the Falcons booster club. The owner of the Falcons felt that the booster club should of handled the PR. There was an actual position, but anytime we thought we had an idea, the finances weren't there to back us up. Now with the lockout, the Mechanics and other teams need to start running ads to let people know they are around. Also it would be helpful to get some kind of radio broadcast deal to broadcast the games with a powerful enough station so fans could hear them, which was not the case with the Falcons. I also agree with you about the ticket prices. No they are not as high as some, but it is still minor league, and they are going to have to prove their worth. It will be interesting to see if the owners of the Mechanics will be willing to spend the money it will take to be a success.

[patmc16]

[quote="HockeyFan2
Well there area is poor support
I think the arena gave Motor City a pitch about the millions that come through the doors
I wonder if that arena will even keep the ice fit for hockey
The tickets prices are too high to boot

NHL fans do not go see the lower levels of hockey like the UHL[/quote]

I would really like to know what your story is. Why do you have such an ax to grind with GLSC, Motor City, and the UHL? Maybe you got kicked out of the arena (you did mention police being called in before), or maybe you are a former player who is bitter about not being able to perform at the UHL's level, or maybe you are a part of the Afr clan who is afraid of a franchise being successful where the Falcons failed???? :? In a previous post you supported the IHA, a league that hasn't proven a single thing other than that there were some survivors of the IIHL fiasco. The UHL may not be the NHL, no one is claiming it is, but it has over a decade of history of proven product.

The ice at GLSC has been fit for hockey every time I have been there. You write about it like it is some broken down shack. It was an acceptable minor league arena before and there are renovations going on to make it better. I'm sure the ownership of Motor City has a pretty good idea of what attendance has been with other teams at GLSC and are making improvements that will attract more. It's not Joe Louis or the Palace, but those are not the type of places the UHL needs.

I am a NHL fan and I go to see the lower levels of hockey like the UHL. Of course not every NHL fan is a fan of the minor leagues, but the same can be said for every sport. That doesn't make all minor leagues bad. If they were, OSC wouldn't exist. A far majority of UHL fans are NHL fans as well. Even if the UHL's fan base is only 10% of the NHL's (I have no idea what the actual number is) that means that 10% of NHL fans will go to see the UHL. Your statement is false.

[HockeyFan2]

Richmand Ticket Prices

$545 in the Center section ($470 for minors and seniors), and $400 ($320 for minors and seniors) in End sections

Why do you have such an ax to grind with GLSC, Motor City, and the UHL? Maybe you got kicked out of the arena (you did mention police being called in before), or maybe you are a former player who is bitter about not being able to perform at the UHL's level, or maybe you are a part of the Afr clan who is afraid of a franchise being successful where the Falcons failed????

You really assume a lot

I have never been kicked out of any place
players were fighting off the ice plus more things happened at the CEHL games from what I heard even in Bay City

Do not know whom you are but if someone doesn't make an comments to your posts you get angry when they do

So what if I do not like te arena, that is my opinion A paying customer should be treated better. I read what other fans were saying so it's just not one person FYI

Maybe things were okay with the Falcons but than again they moved the Team for good reasons right??

Not Knocking the UHL or the Motor City Team just think they got took

Time will tell to see how the Team and fans will be treated there

The Arena does have to make it more comfortable for the fans to want to come back. I Just wonder how long of an arena contract was signed by the Team
.

[HockeyFan2]

Muskegon PR director and broadcaster

Has a better than you attitude . I haven't met him in person but his broadcasting and press releases do reflect that. What you mentioned just puts a stamp on my feelings about him. The Press doesn't need him.

Fury got any an attitude that needs to be ajusted. I do not consider the Organization as "fan friendly"

[patmc16]

Man, unless you are 6 years old, don't be afraid to crack open an English book once in a while!

Richmand Ticket Prices

$545 in the Center section ($470 for minors and seniors), and $400 ($320 for minors and seniors) in End sections

It's Richmond, and my end section seats were $360. That would be cheaper, wouldn't it? Besides, no one was debating your comment on prices anyway.

You really assume a lot

I assume nothing. The word "maybe" means that I am throwing out possibilities, not saying that that is the reason.

players were fighting off the ice plus more things happened at the CEHL games from what I heard even in Bay City

OK, so a junior leage in another city had players fighting off the ice? Yep, that's good reasoning to not support a different team in a different league.

if someone doesn't make an comments to your posts you get angry when they do

First of all, I haven't gotten angry at anything on this board since MK stopped posting. Second, this doesn't even make sense! I get angry when people post responses because they don't post responses???? :?
An english book is your friend, not enemy!

So what if I do not like te arena, that is my opinion A paying customer should be treated better.

Sure, you have the right to your opinion. Mine just happens to be different. The arena if fine by me. The renovations being made should only make it better. As a paying customer, I was never treated badly.

Maybe things were okay with the Falcons but than again they moved the Team for good reasons right??

No, not really. At the time the Afr clan owned both GLSC and the Falcons. Moving a team to an area with less of a fan base to draw from plus moving them to an arena that you have to pay rent to use when the other one was free are not "good reasons" in my book. I think Global knows a lot more on this subject than I do.

Not Knocking the UHL or the Motor City Team just think they got took

So did they get took because of what has happened at that arena in the past? I'm not sure that the same ownership/management is even there now. Once again, I defer to Global. If the only thing that is the same is the building and it's location, then you really can't use history to predict the future.

The Arena does have to make it more comfortable for the fans to want to come back.

What would make it more comfortable for you? If you are looking for it to be like the Palace or any other modern arena, then you will always be disappointed.

[gluvsave]

I would think that the lockout could only help attendance for the Mechanics in their innaugural season. Hopefully NHL fans that might come and see the UHL's product will like it and stay in the future. Alot of the appeal of minor pro hockey is the closeness to the action that you just don't get from the NHL. Plus it is affordable. The Mechanics prices don't seem too far out of line considering the cost of living in the Detroit Metro area.

In Rockford tickets start at $420 for the cheapest full season tickets-they also have 7 and 1/2 season pkgs. I pay $620 for seats 4 rows off the glass (with perks=arena club, player parties,vip parking).

[HockeyFan2]

What would make it more comfortable for you? If you are looking for it to be like the Palace or any other modern arena, then you will always be disappointed.
Well they didn't have the heat on and it was s cold. and was asked by the fans to turn some heat on ,They blasted the music was asked to turn it down, that was even ignored.
There wasn't enough fans in the seats for the cost of the heat
So many stopped going to the games with the arena's attitude
Again this was not just one fan it was several
.
By the way I was responding to the other poster comments, and they had said not matter what was done they attendence was bad.
. This is a message board not an English class so whom are you to judge
I stated the facts about the arena did not attack the UHL or the Team
From other posts I have read here on your comments to others. I really do not like your attitude and have ingnored your comments and would not directly respond to you as you seem to want to rip peolpe's comments apart as you have done mine

You have to prove your right have fun

[ksingerdd]

so now that the season has started, did you get a chance to go to any of the Mechanics games? Any impressions?

[ksingerdd]

To answer why the Falcons moved to Port Huron, we in the booster club were told that "Doc" was going to recieve a gauranteed gate, regardless of ticket sales. He also thought it would be better if he didn't own the rink so he wouldn't have to pay upkeep. Then he changed his mind and decided to build another rink near the outlet mall up there, but after not paying the contractors working on it, the construction ceased. He had also told us that if the booster club could have generated 1500 season ticket sales, he wouldn't have moved the team at all.

[patmc16]

I wouldn't expect a reply from HockeyFan2. Since he was exposed as being BigMike under a different ID all posts have stopped. We all know who BigMike is.

I have been to both home games so far (as a season tick holder, I plan on going to most of them). I would tend to agree with the comments about the volume and temperature in the arena in the past. Both were improved at the Mechanics home opener. It was a bit colder for the second game but, then again, there were far less people in the seats. I believe the first game was a sell-out, and the bodies probably raised the temperature somewhat. I don't know if they upgraded the sound system or if they just turned down the volume a little, but it was noticably better than other games I have attended there. I had no problem understanding what was being said, something I couldn't always say in the past. The only negative that I could think of from the first game is that they did fireworks indoors during the player introductions. It left a haze over the entire arena that was still there by the end of the game.

Now if they could just win a game!!!! :cry: Being the only team in the league without a point in the standings is no fun.

All indications are that Doc Afr was a total bafoon, as was his son who ran the Louisville Panthers. The skeleton of an arena that still sits next to the outlets off of I-94 in Port Huron stands as a monument to his stupidity. I would never hold the actions of the Falcons / Border Cats management against this operation.

[patmc16]

Now if they could just win a game!!!! Being the only team in the league without a point in the standings is no fun.

Well, it finally happened. The Mechanics won their first game. They beat the Flint Generals 5-3. After never leading in any of their first 5 games, they never trailed in this one. They have played better in each home game so far.

They announced tonight that they will no longer charge for parking. Over the course of the season, that will save me about $200. They have had some growing pains, but this is a positive move.

[ksingerdd]

How was the crowd tonoght? Was there a lot of Flint fans? I'm assuming it was a Motor City home game. Glad they rethought the parking charge too.

[patmc16]

In a word, small. I'm guessing there were less than 1,000. I was expecting a larger turnout from Flint then there was. I always heard that Flint packed them in at Falcons games (I never seen it for myself). I seen maybe 20 people or so cheer for Flint. There was a mixed group right by me with some for Flint and some for Motor City, but they were all together.

BTW, the winning "streak" ended at 1 game. Rockford beat them 4-1 tonight. MC's goal came on a penalty shot, which tied it at 1. I'm not sure if Rockford was wearing a 3rd jersey, but man was it ugly! Not the normal team logo (which I think is pretty cool), but a big hog's head facing forward.