Price increase coming!!

In response to a few posts above, there is no question that the costs are making me look at alternatives.

Case in point. My brother and I both live a considerable distance from Knoxville, but we are wanting to get together this fall for a brothers weekend. For us, it wasn’t so much the airfare and ticket prices, but the hotel prices anywhere close to campus were astronomical. Well over a grand per night. And the Graduate price was so ridiculous it was just plain silly. Multiple thousands per night.

So, we’re meeting in Boston to watch Red Sox-Yankees. Staying at a great hotel in Boston for much, much cheaper.

Agree! Hotels are cut throats on game weekends.
 
In response to a few posts above, there is no question that the costs are making me look at alternatives.

Case in point. My brother and I both live a considerable distance from Knoxville, but we are wanting to get together this fall for a brothers weekend. For us, it wasn’t so much the airfare and ticket prices, but the hotel prices anywhere close to campus were astronomical. Well over a grand per night. And the Graduate price was so ridiculous it was just plain silly. Multiple thousands per night.

So, we’re meeting in Boston to watch Red Sox-Yankees. Staying at a great hotel in Boston for much, much cheaper.
Hotels are the biggest issue for me. So much so that it isn’t worth buying tickets anymore. Living in Shelby County, you have to go for 2 nights. As you said, downtown hotels well north of $1000 per night and decent outlying hotels are $400 minimum. Can afford the tickets but the other stuff is a killer especially for a retiree.
 
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This average person doesn’t have to wait two more years. I’m out now, I’m priced out.
I was curious what we paid since we bought two seats in Section U a few years ago.
Cost by year:

2023 $4043
2024:$5143
2025:$5863
2026 projection; $6500

That’s a 62% increase.

For comparison, we bought tickets with a group in a private box at the Mercedes Benz stadium in a couple of weeks for our season opener. $315 a seat- roughly $200 less per seat vs a home game @ Neyland in our seats.

And, we too are priced out going forward.
 
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In response to a few posts above, there is no question that the costs are making me look at alternatives.

Case in point. My brother and I both live a considerable distance from Knoxville, but we are wanting to get together this fall for a brothers weekend. For us, it wasn’t so much the airfare and ticket prices, but the hotel prices anywhere close to campus were astronomical. Well over a grand per night. And the Graduate price was so ridiculous it was just plain silly. Multiple thousands per night.

So, we’re meeting in Boston to watch Red Sox-Yankees. Staying at a great hotel in Boston for much, much cheaper.
Yanks - Sox for cheaper, fighting for the playoffs?!?!

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Hotels are the biggest issue for me. So much so that it isn’t worth buying tickets anymore. Living in Shelby County, you have to go for 2 nights. As you said, downtown hotels well north of $1000 per night and decent outlying hotels are $400 minimum. Can afford the tickets but the other stuff is a killer especially for a retiree.
Drive. An. Hour. Away.
 
Drive. An. Hour. Away.
Sure, I love staying in BF Egypt and eating at Hardee’s. (And I don’t want to drive to Cookeville after a night game.) No thanks.

Better idea-Stay.home.and.watch.it.on.the.big.screen. Don’t have to drive anywhere. Save lots of money on tickets, hotels and meals. And I don’t have to put up with the rubes and drunks in the stands. Big screen looks better all the time.
 
Sure, I love staying in BF Egypt and eating at Hardee’s. (And I don’t want to drive to Cookeville after a night game.) No thanks.

Better idea-Stay.home.and.watch.it.on.the.big.screen. Don’t have to drive anywhere. Save lots of money on tickets, hotels and meals. And I don’t have to put up with the rubes and drunks in the stands. Big screen looks better all the time.
Well you basically live in Mississippi (or Arkansas*), so I’d calm down on the BF Egypt talk

*I’m fine with TN letting the cesspool of MEM being donated to either state.
 
It's a lot of money, no doubt. Our 4 will be around $7,000 next year. When you factor in 3 games that are basically worthless, that makes the big/decent game cost around $450/ticket/game. Keep that in mind when you think season ticket holders are "gouging" on the secondary market.
That's 2 trips to the Caribbean for me 😀
 
…and if you’ve bought a ticket to a sporting event or concert in the last 10 years, this is some of the least shocking news ever.

I’ve been part of a Braves season ticket group for 20 years and our tickets have gone up 40% the last 5 years. None of this is happening in a vacuum.
And the Braves suck this year
 
Neighbor with no UT ties has a step son he would like to go to UT so he asked if I might know anyone not going to a game that would sell him tickets to take the boy. $350 and up to see ETSU or New Mexico State!!!! I do not like where college sports is heading. I had Dr. Spiva for Econ 101 so understand supply/demand. I just would not think demand for those games would warrant such a price.
 
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Stay in Sevierville drive back road to Knoxville. Been doing that since 1991. Hotels don't jump bc of a game there.
It’s an option, done it a few times. Lucky to live in the TRI, so normally don’t stay anyway. But for some games, it’s really nice to go and stay in Knox. But over the years, that’s gotten further and further away from campus when we did do this.

We did the stay in Seviervulle option last year for one of the day kickoff games, stayed at Margaritaville and met some other Vol fans with the same idea. Great time and great people. But not something I’d do every home game because that’s expensive too and I hate the drive and traffic after a game.

That’s the part I miss about the game day experience at Neyland. Always finding and meeting other cool people to tailgate and have a good time with. Feels like that’s getting stamped out slowly with the way tickets are being bought and sold. And the hotels - well - I’m still trying to figure out who can just fork over thousands for a one/two night stay in Knoxville.
 
I really miss those $5 tickets during the Dooley era. Just imagine how expensive they will be if after the SEC this year. If we keep winning at this rate, no telling how high they will go.
 
Yanks - Sox for cheaper, fighting for the playoffs?!?!

giphy.gif

When you look at the whole package? Yes.
-Tickets are around the same.
-Using miles for airfare, so a wash.
-And a great 4-Star hotel I’ve stayed at in Boston before is MUCH less…let that sink in.

And I’ll be standing on top of the Monster.
 
Yep. I believe demand actually drops as people make other plans, don't prepare to come, just say I'll watch from home, etc. As those people drop from the demand pool, the price falls for that single event as kickoff nears. No one wants to "waste a ticket" so a buyer's market develops.

I get that people are being priced out and that's sad for tickets but it's also sad for houses, vehicles, etc also. I get it. There are different pressures and factors for all markets that make prices rise and fall.

I suppose my biggest issue with this is the same with the criticism of the NIL and Spyre changes. It's DEFINITELY not good for traditional college athletics but it is the reality. High demand for tickets leading to high prices DEFINITELY prices out some fans who'd like to attend but it's just the reality of the game now.

And I really don't get the notion that is implied that the Vols "aren't winning enough for the tickets to cost so much." As though if we'd won a Natty last year folks would HAVE more money to spend on tickets???? Nah, they'd still be priced out.
The people priced out are priced out regardless like you say. But there are people like myself who think the prices are eclipsing the results. If I’m paying elite program prices, which we are, I’d like to see some elite program results, and we ain’t there yet.

At this point people are paying for the neyland experience. I get it, there’s nothing like it that I’ve experienced in the athletic realm. The realistic people aren’t paying $350 a ticket to think they’re gonna watch UT thump Georgia.
 
Y’all keep saying this but the stadium continues to be full
Some of you are losing touch with what average truly is. Many here are more fortunate than they like to realize. The govt says the average family income for Tn is 67K. In today’s economy if you’re making that you might be bringing home 4500-4700 a month. Throw in a house payment, a few car payments, groceries, insurance, etc. The “average” person can not afford the 1000-1500 to blow on the fan experience in neyland.
 
What, did anyone really think that 20 million from Adidas would help allay costs? Or the money from Food City? Does anyone harbor any illusions about that anymore?

I'll keep saying it. Danny White is at the forefront of squeezing every last dime from every last revenue source - and fans are, for UT, a revenue source. They'll squeeze the fans just as hard as they can, and until the renewals indicate otherwise, they'll keep right on squeezing. It's just business. White just wants as much as he can drag out of people before they quit going - and then he'll replace those fans with more affluent fans who can continue to absorb the price increases. He's not a native Tennessean, he's not an alumnus, he's not someone who's from here or will stay here when he's done. He isn't going to wring his hands saying "how do we make this easier for our fans?"

It's just the current job on his resume, and the more he wrings out of everyone, the more he'll be celebrated by people who evaluate college sports solely by revenue.
Yeah this is it right here unfortunately. I've met the guy several times. Total salesman from head to toe. Can't argue with the state of athletics right now. We're in a good place, but they better start bringing home some titles if they're going to even attempt to justify stuff like this.

If the average ticket price is $460 (google AI estimate) then they're raking in a $45,000,000 haul every single home game, and that's before you buy a single $20 Mich Ultra or a lukewarm, $10 dog. White is a numbers guy. Numbers guys foam at the mouth when they see revenue potential, and what has better potential than loyal, die-hard, lifelong fans? They're going to pay. Even if it's just one game a year they can afford now, they'll pay, and there's enough of them to cycle in and out without a problem.

Tennessee isn't hurting for cash, so when they embarrass themselves and ask the fans to buy new goalposts, they need to be told that those goalposts can be pulled out of the river and stuck somewhere else.
 
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