Season Ticket Holder Discussion Thread: Pt 3

[McJadeddog]

The only way out of this circus is for him to sell. He has proven he isn’t interested in getting rid of the OBC.

Agreed. It is blatantly obvious to anybody who cares to look for more than 2 seconds, that Katz has no interest in putting together an actual professional organization. The only real solution I can see is that he either sells the team, or gives up control entirely to somebody else (maybe his son eventually?). Until that point, we will be stuck with the OBC forever, and therefore will have a losing franchise. Katz staying => OBC staying => the team keep losing.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Were you at the Thursday morning breakfast when BN dropped Tobias Rieder's name out there?

I ask because I was the one who asked about Cyber Monday sale and it was Stu McDonald who took responsibility for it.

I'm not a STH. I just follow these kinds of things. I have a casual interest in how these things are marketed and conducted. I've followed this org since the WHA and I just like to observe more than just what takes place on the ice. The overall workings of the org give more of an impression of its incompetence.

I also follow pricepoints quite a lot, league wide, and years ago I was involved in an initiative lobbying the Oilers to do a favor to fans after the last lockout. I noted for them that many other teams were doing some goodwill gestures and deeds to get the fans back, or "Welcome back fans" as the Oilers put it. To that end they relented and released 1000 gallery seats for 8games that season at a price afairc around 27bucks/ticket. You could buy as many as 1-6 per game and all 8games if you wanted. I bought 6 games and that's the last season in which I attended multiple games.

That's the last time I recall the Oilers have put some tickets on sale price. But this Cyber Monday thing was much different in that all bowl seating, upper and lower was 40% off. I've never seen that occur here before.

 

[Soundwave]

Agreed. It is blatantly obvious to anybody who cares to look for more than 2 seconds, that Katz has no interest in putting together an actual professional organization. The only real solution I can see is that he either sells the team, or gives up control entirely to somebody else (maybe his son eventually?). Until that point, we will be stuck with the OBC forever, and therefore will have a losing franchise. Katz staying => OBC staying => the team keep losing.

Katz is not selling the team any time soon.

That doesn't mean though they can't hire a GM who'll simply say "no" to stupid ideas.

You think Tampa's management would go off and do dumb things if Mac T or Lowe were in tertiary roles of the management? They would just say "ok, thanks for the input" and not do it.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Hall for Larsson and Reinhart for the 16 when Barzal, Connor, and Chabot are still on the board are stupid moves.

It does make sense though if you thought Loui Eriksson for Tyler Seguin was a great idea.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

You think Tampa's management would go off and do dumb things if Mac T or Lowe were in tertiary roles of the management?

MacT at minimum was the #2 guy behind Chia. IIRC we also heard bout power struggles within management when last season was going down the toilet. If MacT has Katz' ear and says that we should push for Reinhart then odds are that Katz is listening closely. Outside of firing MacT, I will be of the opinion that he plays a big part of this team off the ice.

 

[Soundwave]

MacT at minimum was the #2 guy behind Chia. IIRC we also heard bout power struggles within management when last season was going down the toilet. If MacT has Katz' ear and says that we should push for Reinhart then odds are that Katz is listening closely. Outside of firing MacT, I will be of the opinion that he plays a big part of this team off the ice.

Chia's just a moron, he was always going to make stupid decisions here. The Seguin trade/logic should have been a giant red flag but too many impressed by "track record of success".

You don't need to have a freaking rocket scientist group of hockey people to realize Hall for Larsson and going all in on Lucic was stupid.

If the Oilers had even an average GM for the last 4 years, they'd probably be in pretty good shape right now.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Chia's just a moron, he was always going to make stupid decisions here. The Seguin trade/logic should have been a giant red flag but too many impressed by "track record of success".

You don't need to have a freaking rocket scientist group of hockey people to realize Hall for Larsson and going all in on Lucic was stupid.

If the Oilers had even an average GM for the last 4 years, they'd probably be in pretty good shape right now.

There were rumblings that Oilers management prior to Chia wasn't happy with Hall. MacT flat out said he wanted a Lucic type player and then went all in on a worse Lucic in Clarkson. Say what you will about Chia, he deserves it. But I could see MacT being down with both transactions for the reasons mentioned above. Outside of advocating for Drai, what has MacT done positively as a manager to earn his keep here?

 

[Soundwave]

There were rumblings that Oilers management prior to Chia wasn't happy with Hall. MacT flat out said he wanted a Lucic type player and then went all in on a worse Lucic in Clarkson. Say what you will about Chia, he deserves it. But I could see MacT being down with both transactions for the reasons mentioned above. Outside of advocating for Drai, what has MacT done positively as a manager to earn his keep here?

If Mac T had remained GM he probably would've tried to sign Lucic (and possibly failed), but I doubt he ever would have done the Hall for Larsson trade.

You can say a lot about Mac T/Tambellini era, but they were certainly very reluctant to ship out any of the big guns. Mac T kept giving Justin Schultz second chances.

Most likely if Mac T had continued, he would've signed Demers for D help, tried to sign Lucic, kept Hall, and moved out Pouliot.

Which would've been preferable to Chia-Master-Plan.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

If Mac T had remained GM he probably would've tried to sign Lucic (and possibly failed), but I doubt he ever would have done the Hall for Larsson trade.

You can say a lot about Mac T/Tambellini era, but they were certainly very reluctant to ship out any of the big guns. Mac T kept giving Justin Schultz second chances.

Most likely if Mac T had continued, he would've signed Demers for D help, tried to sign Lucic, kept Hall, and moved out Pouliot.

Which would've been preferable to Chia-Master-Plan.

It's tough to say either way. Bottom line is that neither Chia nor MacT should be here next season, 1 has been rightfully fired, the other is like teflon

 

[Soundwave]

It's tough to say either way. Bottom line is that neither Chia nor MacT should be here next season, 1 has been rightfully fired, the other is like teflon

In the long run I think team always would've been fine had they simply committed to the four of McDavid-Draisaitl-Hall-RNH ... but they juuuuuuuust had to f*** with that and throw away a slam dunk top six at least.

 

[CanmoreMike]

Any news on that contest the Oilers ran? Haven't heard about any winners...anyone here win anything from that?

 

[McJeety McJeet]

Some excellent points/discussion brought up in this thread in the last few pages. If I had to guess if say the rumor of a 3% increase is just to come out looking like the good guys when they say there will be no increase (or that the increase will only be on DRL tickets, which are still profitable/break-even on the market).

I'm not sure if that makes any difference to me in my decision going forward, increase or not. The more I read about the cyber sale the more I realize how scummy it is. I do agree with the poster who said that these tickets are priced to perfection, in other words priced based on the team being good/great.

I think what I take issue with at this point is being lied to, IMO, by Bobby Burgers when he comes out and says getting a number 1 dman is the priority this offseason. Nevermind that it's been a priority every offseason since 44 left, they have no assets outside of McDavid or Drai to actually get one and if somehow some team was stupid enough to trade them one without either of those two the Oilers wouldn't have the cap space to complete the deal. It's pure fantasyland stuff we are used to and belongs up there with "visually better" and "expect the unexpected".

It's way more likely the Oilers have another season exactly like we just saw, next year, based on cap space and players who they can't move cause they aren't worth their contract. I don't see how they aren't paralysed for another year, buying a few bottom tier players and hoping they stick.

 

[Nonamee]

Once you go "groupon"

Since you mention it, I've never seen it indicated here before but the Oilers did indeed in fact utilize groupon to sell seats this year as well. Yet another final nail (of many) in the coffin that sealed my decision to set myself free from what is the Oilers @#$! show.

 

[Nonamee]

I've been a STH since 2002, and am not renewing. My decision has nothing to do with trying to drive home a point to Katz and the Oilers, but simply that it does not make economic sense to commit to 41 home games and a few preseason games at a set price, when that set price is no longer less than the market value of the tickets. There is no incentive as there used to be.

I can now pick and choose the games I want to go to (i.e. the Friday and Saturday night games that I am around for), and pick and choose what seats I want to sit in. Even if I have to slightly pay a bit more for a couple of the games, I will surely come out ahead.

Easy decision. The only way I lose is if some how, some way, the market value of tickets rises above the STH price once again. Unlikely to happen even if the team becomes a playoff team, because the STH prices are already priced for perfection, and the Oilers will not cut their prices (but rather continue to raise them).

Exactly all the above!

and

Did you see the STH prices for the last playoff run? Rhetorical, of course you did. People were getting seats below STH cost against Anaheim. I could only imagine what deeper rounds would be like when primary market seat prices were set to skyrocket. Most people simply could not afford it.

 

[Killer Z]

Exactly all the above!

and

Did you see the STH prices for the last playoff run? Rhetorical, of course you did. People were getting seats below STH cost against Anaheim. I could only imagine what deeper rounds would be like when primary market seat prices were set to skyrocket. Most people simply could not afford it.

Yes, I did see those playoff prices two years ago. Even with the new barn, and even with McDavid, and even with the excitement of playoff hockey which this City has been starved for, the market value for these tickets still settled beneath the STH prices.

This example has to be the most significant indicator that even under the most attractive of circumstances, the demand for tickets does not support the STH prices (regular season or post-season) forced upon STH. There is no benefit to being a STH from an economic standpoint.

I suppose there still remains a benefit if you are inclined to sit in the exact same seat each game. However that would be more so a personal preference. A high price to pay for such a "perk".

 

[ThePhoenixx]

I thought the first round of the playoffs was already priced in to the season ticket prices due to the state of the team over the past 15 years.

Isn't that why they're so high? This way they didn't need to be good to make the extra money.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Since you mention it, I've never seen it indicated here before but the Oilers did indeed in fact utilize groupon to sell seats this year as well. Yet another final nail (of many) in the coffin that sealed my decision to set myself free from what is the Oilers @#$! show.

I was speaking in figurative terms. Coupons, groupons, on sale. They didn't actually do a groupon. They did do the Cyber Monday which was a similar fire sale. In either instance it signals a need to get rid of unsold, increase patrons, attendance and also makes a mockery of the sellout claim. The Oilers didn't sell out this season.

 

[Oildrum]

I ran into the same issue with playoff tickets a few years ago, I made an absolute killing the first round, then vs Anaheim (who is one of our biggest rivals) it was a struggle to get my cost for tickets. Lower bowl tickets are simply too expensive at playoff costs. I know it's not about making a profit but covering my cost is nice.

I think if oil was $200 we wouldn't be having this conversation but the economy can't support the cost.

I had dinner last night with a few friends and 4 of us have seats (2 each, so 8 total), we are all going to wait to see what the Oilers are going to offer to STH's in terms of perks. If the only perk is being a STH and sitting in the same seats we are all out. I assume they have to be upping their game this year, but they continue to surprise me with how disconnected they are with the city and their fans.

 

[Simby]

All these idiots have to do, and i stress idiots, is put a minimum allowable value on the resale site and the problem is solved. The flames do this, and I have told my rep this since last year. For instance I can’t put a resale price for my flames tickets for less than I paid for them as a STH. As a STH for both the flames and the oilers I can easily say &$@“ the oilers.

But that only works if people are willing to pay the high cost price STH already pay. If people are not willing to pay that much, then STH will sell on Kijiji and stub hub for less than cost so the issue still exists. The team would lose out on Ticket Exchange commission.

 

[ibis284]

But that only works if people are willing to pay the high cost price STH already pay. If people are not willing to pay that much, then STH will sell on Kijiji and stub hub for less than cost so the issue still exists. The team would lose out on Ticket Exchange commission.

I agree, but I firmly believe this would go along way in supporting price levels. I’d assume the majority of resales are on that Ticketmaster site. When I sell or buy I don’t even consider other options anymore myself....Kijiji the trust/ shady factor and stubhub the US$ factor

They are making it harder to post on those sites as well by preventing the ticket print (which they had to go back on because it caused a shit show). FYI flames still have no problem letting print PDFs for all games at the start of the season. The oilers are trying to control the prices in the secondary market (by selling to sth at basically market cost and above and trying to go with phone/scan tickets ) and its backfiring.....

 

[madmutter]

But that only works if people are willing to pay the high cost price STH already pay. If people are not willing to pay that much, then STH will sell on Kijiji and stub hub for less than cost so the issue still exists. The team would lose out on Ticket Exchange commission.

Even dropping the ticket exchange fees would help to make economic sense of being a season ticket holder. When you’re paying ~10% fee to post and ~15% fee to buy it really ruins the equation. If I can’t go to a game and am happy selling it for $100 per seat someone has to be willing to buy it for ~$130.
Ticketmaster is a near criminal organization and the OEG are in cahoots with them.
At the end of the day though, nobody wants to watch a loser with no hope and that’s why they’re going to have a major drop off in renewals. The high prices, fees, difficulty selling xtra tickets, limited perks, not-new arena, big jump in playoff prices, tone deaf management, etc are all logical arguments to not make an emotional purchase. Being a fan is emotional and this team makes us feel frustrated more often than excited because more often than not hope for this team gets you burned.

 

[Simby]

A particularly alarming issue I noted early this season was that games against Washington and Pittsburg were selling at or below STH cost after ticket exchange fees. If you aren't making a profit off of those 2 games, you know you're not going to be able to sell lesser games at a good price.

 

[T-Funk]

A particularly alarming issue I noted early this season was that games against Washington and Pittsburg were selling at or below STH cost after ticket exchange fees. If you aren't making a profit off of those 2 games, you know you're not going to be able to sell lesser games at a good price.

Careful, people will rip on you for profiting off 5% of your tickets, and losing money on the other 95%

 

[Barrsy]

Out of curiosity, what did the generous folks at the OBC/OEG give out for fan appreciation night?
Because you know, they are so appreciative.

 

[Simby]

Careful, people will rip on you for profiting off 5% of your tickets, and losing money on the other 95%

haha so true! I always use the Washington and Pittsburg games myself but I check ticket prices throughout the years out of curiosity, especially Pittsburg since it used to be priced really high.

 

[rboomercat90]

If Mac T had remained GM he probably would've tried to sign Lucic (and possibly failed), but I doubt he ever would have done the Hall for Larsson trade.

You can say a lot about Mac T/Tambellini era, but they were certainly very reluctant to ship out any of the big guns. Mac T kept giving Justin Schultz second chances.

Most likely if Mac T had continued, he would've signed Demers for D help, tried to sign Lucic, kept Hall, and moved out Pouliot.

Which would've been preferable to Chia-Master-Plan.

You’re guessing what he’d do to further you’re Chiarelli narrative again. Stop beating this horse, it died in January. He can’t hurt you anymore but others here still can.

You have no idea what Mactavish would have done. Mactavish was his very own level of awful too. What we do know about his plans was that after he traded Peron they were rumours circulating everybody was on the block and the Oilers were open for business. Nicholson after a weekend of those rumours went on national tv on a Monday to announce he was now working in hockey ops and that none of the Oilers core players were going to be traded. That was a clear indication Mactavish had been stripped of his powers because of something he wanted to do. Who knows what he had planned if it caused an immediate restructure of the front office.

Chiarelli was awful and he lost his job for it. He was accountable for how he performed, he was fired. Let it go now. Leave it at that. To use Chiarelli’s incompetence to prop up the guy that failed before him doesn’t help anything.