Cragg on Ticket Prices

[quote="Proud Alumn" post=376677]Maybe a new Belmont Arena can be used for non-BE games instead of CA, but it would be a disaster to use it instead of MSG. A major step down. It's not just the arena, it's the middle of Manhattan location that is valuable. I'm all for using a different arena than CA, which is an embarrassing place for us to use as a home court. But we should never think about abandoning MSG.[/quote]

I don't understand why everyone wants to jump off ship in regards to MSG. a full loud MSG is an awesome place to be. I often take out of state guests to MSG to see st john's games. it has instant name recognition. I live outside the tristate area now so the new Belmont arena would be harder for me to get there.
 
Its a matter of simple arithmetic. If it takes 10,000 fans to break even, having games there that would draw 7,000 fans would result in an economic loss that the school cant afford.
 
Put a good product on the floor and MSG will be fine. Last year they only played 4 games at MSG but they all sold more than 16K tickets including Providence and SHU, neither of which are the guaranteed crowds of some of the schools we're talking about.
 
[quote="austour" post=376697]Put a good product on the floor and MSG will be fine. Last year they only played 4 games at MSG but they all sold more than 16K tickets including Providence and SHU, neither of which are the guaranteed crowds of some of the schools we're talking about.[/quote]

Was surprised that Providence is an on campus game tonight. A weekend afternoon game at MSG would draw a lot of PC fans too. I know it did last year.
 
[quote="Tonyinfairfield " post=376702][quote="austour" post=376697]Put a good product on the floor and MSG will be fine. Last year they only played 4 games at MSG but they all sold more than 16K tickets including Providence and SHU, neither of which are the guaranteed crowds of some of the schools we're talking about.[/quote]

Was surprised that Providence is an on campus game tonight. A weekend afternoon game at MSG would draw a lot of PC fans too. I know it did last year.[/quote]

Yeah thats true but if tonight annoys Cooley and makes his blood boil a bit then I'm all for it!
 
Cragg & Co **dramatically** increased the season ticket prices this year in the lower bowl at MSG.They decided to make this genius move right after our head coach was fired and when most experts were predicting (correctly) that we would be 9th or 10th in the Big East.

Guess what happened? Empty seats in the lower bowl at MSG and a far higher percentage of Seton Hall/Villanova fans than in years past.

Cragg thought he still was at Duke, he's finally realizing he's not.
 
[quote="Moose" post=376704][quote="Tonyinfairfield " post=376702][quote="austour" post=376697]Put a good product on the floor and MSG will be fine. Last year they only played 4 games at MSG but they all sold more than 16K tickets including Providence and SHU, neither of which are the guaranteed crowds of some of the schools we're talking about.[/quote]

Was surprised that Providence is an on campus game tonight. A weekend afternoon game at MSG would draw a lot of PC fans too. I know it did last year.[/quote]

Yeah thats true but if tonight annoys Cooley and makes his blood boil a bit then I'm all for it![/quote]

And it clearly did annoy Cooley, based on his referring to CA as a “bandbox.” So I say, let’s schedule PC every year at CA!
 
[quote="richard A Steinfeld" post=376695]Its a matter of simple arithmetic. If it takes 10,000 fans to break even, having games there that would draw 7,000 fans would result in an economic loss that the school cant afford.[/quote]

Sure they can.. Raise the ticket prices. That's what would happen. Do you think Cragg came here to play in CA or Belmont. ? It's MSG with ticket prices as high as they can be..
 
I don't mind playing a bunch of games at Carnesecca. When we have any type of momentum that place can be difficult for opponents. Nova, Uconn, Georgetown, a few out of conferences games (preferably against high majors) and the Hall (now) are the locks for me. And, yes, I think we should keep playing Prov on campus.


[quote="Moose" post=376704][quote="Tonyinfairfield " post=376702][quote="austour" post=376697]Put a good product on the floor and MSG will be fine. Last year they only played 4 games at MSG but they all sold more than 16K tickets including Providence and SHU, neither of which are the guaranteed crowds of some of the schools we're talking about.[/quote]

Was surprised that Providence is an on campus game tonight. A weekend afternoon game at MSG would draw a lot of PC fans too. I know it did last year.[/quote]

Yeah thats true but if tonight annoys Cooley and makes his blood boil a bit then I'm all for it![/quote]
 
I totally agree. We need MSG long term as we market ourselves as NYC's team. The major programs across the US find a way to play there. Once we have a solid team the crowds will come. Faith will be rewarded!
 
[quote="redstorm89" post=376689][quote="Proud Alumn" post=376677]Maybe a new Belmont Arena can be used for non-BE games instead of CA, but it would be a disaster to use it instead of MSG. A major step down. It's not just the arena, it's the middle of Manhattan location that is valuable. I'm all for using a different arena than CA, which is an embarrassing place for us to use as a home court. But we should never think about abandoning MSG.[/quote]

I don't understand why everyone wants to jump off ship in regards to MSG. a full loud MSG is an awesome place to be. I often take out of state guests to MSG to see st john's games. it has instant name recognition. I live outside the tristate area now so the new Belmont arena would be harder for me to get there.[/quote]


MSG is great! But when SJU isn't great we have no home court advantage, as the opposing teams fans show up in good numbers. This is when The Lou is great. Teams aren't as comfortable on campus as they are with MSG. Big East teams play at MSG every year for the tourney, there is comfort in the arena for them. They want to play their best on the big stage. I feel that's one of the reasons Cooley loves games at MSG
 
MSG is our biggest asset...I think we should play as many games as we can there no matter the cost....so many bball fans and SJU grads out there that will jump on band wagon when we start winning.....
 
It’s time to bring back the MSG only ticket package.
Stop forcing Carnesecca arena on the fans that can neither attend nor want to. This will help increase the fan attendance at MSG and bring more fans. The best seats will still go to those choosing the entire season.This will bring in more fans from New Jersey, Connecticut and the boroughs.The school will see a rise in attendance and lose only a small amount of season ticket holders. Most fans will want to hold on to the complete package to keep their seats..
It’s time the school puts its big boy pants back on again..
 
Last year I bought the red storm pass
It was a good deal

They did away with it. They always used to have msg package
 
Mike Cragg Said: We will definitely look for creative home games as we do want to maximize fan experience and fill the stands more in 2020-21.”

For many years I have been blessed to sit in great seats at Carnesecca Arena and MSG due to the extreme kindness and generosity of a close friend who is an Alum and has held season tickets since 1972. The decision to raise ticket prices this year forced him to move his MSG seat location to a less desirable spot to manage the cost of his package. When he goes to games and sees the large patches of empty seats in the prime sections of the Garden he used to occupy, it leaves a bad taste. This has made him consider dropping his tickets altogether after almost fifty years of loyal fandom.

With all due respect to Mr. Cragg, if he wants to begin to fill seats again next season then I believe he needs to start by reaching out to his loyal longtime ticket holders and make amends for giving them the shaft this season. He misjudged the market, but more importantly he neglected to take care of his regulars and ultimately it has shown up in the many empty seats at both MSG and Carnesecca.

Going forward the team will hopefully improve, but if you do not understand that loyal fans need to be taken care of in bad times, as well as good, then all you will get are people showing up if and when you are a big time winner. This works well at Duke, but at SJU in the middle of NYC the dynamic is very different.
 
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