It's not like a blind man couldn't see it coming, but.....

[bjf1984]

Seats that cost a season ticket holder $112 per game ($385 for the ticket, $400 for the "donation" ...divided by 7 games = $112 per ticket per game).....

Being sold for $40 a piece......from PSU ticket office (not re-sale tickets). Just have a current student pick up the tickets.

How long will the fans continue to be played for suckers by the AD? Its worse than the ticket pricing structure of the airlines.......the "loyal season ticket holder" is going to be sitting in the seat next to folks who only paid 1/3 of the price he paid.

____________________________________

Oh.....and per game parking was raised 50%.


ALL IS WELL......Sandy hired another Associate to the Assistant Associate AD.

Her title will be:

Associate to the Assistant Associate AD in charge of:
Unified Responses to Sustained Cost Reallocations, for the Wealth of Department (U R SCRWD)

_____________________________________

I told you a-holes......I want my box painted MAUVE!! Hop to it!

If my check bounces, don't think I won't be coming after your ass!!

Every GD one of these seats will be filled with the ass of an Associate Assistant AD.....or my name isn't Sandy Barbour!





I've done it before.....I can damn well do it again!!!

=

 

[Ranger Dan]

Sandy Barbour may or may not be a great AD. She is not responsible for STEP, our tarnished national image, the poor state of our football program, etc.

 

[uscgPSU]

Don't know how accurate that is but the captions did make me laugh.

 

[bjf1984]

Good, bad or otherwise....STEP was instituted by Curley. Is that correct?

Never the less, I gave up seats that my family and I had been sitting in for more than 40 years and we haven't looked back.

I am going to be really generous and posit that STEP was part of a transition plan that Tim and Joe had attempted to put in place before Joe's retirement. The Sandusky sh!tstorm completely destroyed that plans hopes of ever coming to fruition. And here we are today.

"Good, bad or otherwise....STEP was instituted by Curley. Is that correct?"

Yes, it was. Probably - IMHO - the most poorly thought out, long-term negative action taken by the PSU AD from 1855-2010. (and it ain't hindsight if you predict it before it happens) I am certainly not giving anyone a pass for that horrendous decision.

That being said, the ongoing problems with STEP are greatly exacerbated by the spending spree mentality of the current administration.
Before it is all over, STEP, along with the "12 year old girl at the shopping mall" mentality of the current administration WILL set PSU Athletics back for a generation. Barring a HUGE long-term increase in TV money, it is inevitable.

 

[bjf1984]

Sandy Barbour may or may not be a great AD. She is not responsible for STEP, our tarnished national image, the poor state of our football program, etc.

Nope....and I never said she was.

What she IS responsible for is the systemic (and likely - given the nature of any bureaucracy - long-term) financial quagmire she is working double-time to place PSU ICA into.

It ain't my Ox being gored...since I am not the one financially supporting the ICA, but it is what it is......and it will bring about HUGE long-term damage to PSU ICA......whether folks are willing and capable of doing the math or not.

 

[towny87]

"Good, bad or otherwise....STEP was instituted by Curley. Is that correct?"

Yes, it was. Probably - IMHO - the most poorly thought out, long-term negative action taken by the PSU AD from 1855-2010. (and it ain't hindsight if you predict it before it happens) I am certainly not giving anyone a pass for that horrendous decision.

That being said, the ongoing problems with STEP are greatly exacerbated by the spending spree mentality of the current administration.
Before it is all over, STEP, along with the "12 year old girl at the shopping mall" mentality of the current administration WILL set PSU Athletics back for a generation. Barring a HUGE long-term increase in TV money, it is inevitable.

Step may have been the only way to fix how families were getting 50 yard line tickets from their dead great grandparents accounts and still benefiting from large donations from 50 years ago.

 

[fairgambit]

Good, bad or otherwise....STEP was instituted by Curley. Is that correct?

Never the less, I gave up seats that my family and I had been sitting in for more than 40 years and we haven't looked back.

I am going to be really generous and posit that STEP was part of a transition plan that Tim and Joe had attempted to put in place before Joe's retirement. The Sandusky sh!tstorm completely destroyed that plans hopes of ever coming to fruition. And here we are today.

STEP? Did you mention STEP? Pull up a chair, grab a beer, and let me tell you my experience with STEP..........

 

[fairgambit]

Step may have been the only way to fix how families were getting 50 yard line tickets from their dead great grandparents accounts and still benefiting from large donations from 50 years ago.

That is one of the biggest myths about STEP. Did some of that happen? Yes, but it was a very small percentage. I could go into chapter and verse about STEP, as I have many times, but it always raises my blood pressure and ruins my day. Suffice it to say STEP was poorly thought out and poorly implemented.

 

[bjf1984]

Step may have been the only way to fix how families were getting 50 yard line tickets from their dead great grandparents accounts and still benefiting from large donations from 50 years ago.

Those were few and far between - in fact nearly non-existent......and EASILY corrected without the implementation of the STEP abortion.

In fact, the procedures had already been in place to eliminate the "grand-fathering". Did some folks in the ticket office look the other way in specific instances? I am not aware of any instances (and I am aware of a lot of instances were the procedures WERE followed) but it is possible there were a handful of cases, but I know that for the most part that was not the case....and easily correctable by just following the procedures that were already on the books.

That fallacy was used by the folks in ICA to try to "sell" the STEP program. And it was bogus.

There were - at the time STEP was implemented - a handful of folks who were exempt (grand-fathered) from the NLC "required contributions".....but those folks had already been moved to the least desirable seats, and could have easily been dealt with by just requiring the NLC contributions.......it didn't require the stadium-wide redo that was STEP.

I won't even get into the plethora of issues surrounding STEP implementation.....it was beaten to death at the time.


__________________________

STEP was implemented for one reason:

GREED overcame both COMMON SENSE and LOYALTY (and the ability to understand a spreadsheet).
Ohio State put in a "STEP-like" program, and some knucklehead at PSU thought it would be an easy source of free revenue.
Who ever made those decisions was HORRIBLY wrong.....on multiple fronts.

 

[Ten Thousan Marbles]

Step may have been the only way to fix how families were getting 50 yard line tickets from their dead great grandparents accounts and still benefiting from large donations from 50 years ago.

I appreciated your comment, but the first three responders to it have convinced me that you are all wet.

So, tell me, what else are you all wet about?

 

[Victor E. Bell]

This is news to me. When I had tickets my understanding was that the only ticket legacy allowed was to a surviving spouse. Either they had a separate set of rules for certain people or this changed when I wasn't paying attention (which is frequently).

 

[fairgambit]

Those were few and far between - in fact nearly non-existent......and EASILY corrected without the implementation of the STEP abortion.

In fact, the procedures had already been in place to eliminate the "grand-fathering". Did some folks in the ticket office look the other way in specific instances? I am not aware of any instances (and I am aware of a lot of instances were the procedures WERE followed) but it is possible there were a handful of cases, but I know that for the most part that was not the case....and easily correctable by just following the procedures that were already on the books.

That fallacy was used by the folks in ICA to try to "sell" the STEP program. And it was bogus.

There were - at the time STEP was implemented - a handful of folks who were exempt (grand-fathered) from the NLC "required contributions".....but those folks had already been moved to the least desirable seats, and could have easily been dealt with by just requiring the NLC contributions.......it didn't require the stadium-wide redo that was STEP.

I won't even get into the plethora of issues surrounding STEP implementation.....it was beaten to death at the time.


__________________________

STEP was implemented for one reason:

GREED overcame both COMMON SENSE and LOYALTY (and the ability to understand a spreadsheet).
Ohio State put in a "STEP-like" program, and some knucklehead at PSU thought it would be an easy source of free revenue.
Who ever made those decisions was HORRIBLY wrong.....on multiple fronts.

Absolutely agree.

 

[towny87]

Those were few and far between - in fact nearly non-existent......and EASILY corrected without the implementation of the STEP abortion.

In fact, the procedures had already been in place to eliminate the "grand-fathering". Did some folks in the ticket office look the other way in specific instances? I am not aware of any instances (and I am aware of a lot of instances were the procedures WERE followed) but it is possible there were a handful of cases, but I know that for the most part that was not the case....and easily correctable by just following the procedures that were already on the books.

That fallacy was used by the folks in ICA to try to "sell" the STEP program. And it was bogus.

There were - at the time STEP was implemented - a handful of folks who were exempt (grand-fathered) from the NLC "required contributions".....but those folks had already been moved to the least desirable seats, and could have easily been dealt with by just requiring the NLC contributions.......it didn't require the stadium-wide redo that was STEP.

I won't even get into the plethora of issues surrounding STEP implementation.....it was beaten to death at the time.

It had to still be going on or I must have known the only 50 people to still be riding off the backs of their previous family members donations -

Was Bud Meredith a big supporter of Step - I would find that hard to believe .................

 

[bjf1984]

This is news to me. When I had tickets my understanding was that the only ticket legacy allowed was to a surviving spouse. Either they had a separate set of rules for certain people or this changed when I wasn't paying attention (which is frequently).

You are correct.

 

[fairgambit]

This is news to me. When I had tickets my understanding was that the only ticket legacy allowed was to a surviving spouse. Either they had a separate set of rules for certain people or this changed when I wasn't paying attention (which is frequently).

When STEP came in there was the opportunity to transfer the seats to anyone, but the fee was steep. I may be wrong, but I believe it was $600.00 per seat in my section. Now, for 4 seats, that was $2,400.00, which is bad enough, but there was more. The person you transferred them to had to have at least the same number of Nittany Lion Club points as the person making the transfer, which, in my case would have required my daughter to make a sizable contribution in the year of the transfer. What really pissed me off was, by surrendering my seats, a stranger could take them and pay no transfer fee at all. In effect, they penalized loyalty. What a bunch of crap.

 

[bjf1984]

It had to still be going on or I must have known the only 50 people to still be riding off the backs of their previous family members donations -

Was Bud Meredith a big supporter of Step - I would find that hard to believe .................

If someone was doing that it was CLEARLY against the rules of the NLC program. Rules that had been in place for DECADES.

So - worst case scenario - you (PSU ICA) just follow the rules.

I don't know of ANYONE who was able to rig the system.....but maybe you do (actually, I'd be interested in finding out who may have done that. My guess is that anyone who rigged the system did it by having a "buddy" inside the department - because it was CLEALRY not within the parameters of the system. If that is the case, there is no reason why their "buddy" couldn't still be rigging the system for them under STEP). I am aware of several situations were folks tried to rig the system - and the system worked as it was supposed to.

Situations like having kids continue to send in checks for the NLC Dues and Ticket costs (once a parent was deceased)...and having the checks returned because the "deceased's name (obviously) was not on the account (or even that the "deceased" had been tagged as such through notification to the University). I know that the ticket office returned checks in other instances where the funds for the NLC donation and ticket costs came from accounts not in the registered members name (even when the registered member was still alive).
The ONLY folks who were exempt from the annual NLC donation were those who's season ticket history pre-dated the inception of the NLC point system......but those folks were few and far between/they had been relocated to the least desirable seats/AND the issue could have been dealt with by simply notifying them that NLC contributions WOULD be required going forward.

Bottom line...ICA's propaganda regarding STEP was pure 100% bullshit
(like the "We are moving the Student Section further away from the field"....into the least desirable, least "sellable" seats....."so that they will be louder". Anyone else remember that nice piece of propaganda? The nonsense that was put out there regarding STEP was CR and CDW-worthy nonsense).

 

[fairgambit]

It had to still be going on or I must have known the only 50 people to still be riding off the backs of their previous family members donations -

Was Bud Meredith a big supporter of Step - I would find that hard to believe .................

You may have. I know for certain that the numbers were small, but I can't recall the details. Even if they were 1,000 or 2,000, that is still a small number in a 100K seat stadium. There was no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.

 

[towny87]

I appreciated your comment, but the first three responders to it have convinced me that you are all wet.

So, tell me, what else are you all wet about?

When STEP came in there was the opportunity to transfer the seats to anyone, but the fee was steep. I may be wrong, but I believe it was $600.00 per seat in my section. Now, for 4 seats, that was $2,400.00, which is bad enough, but there was more. The person you transferred them to had to have at least the same number of Nittany Lion Club points as the person making the transfer, which, in my case would have required my daughter to make a sizable contribution in the year of the transfer. What really pissed me off was, by surrendering my seats, a stranger could take them and pay no transfer fee at all. In effect, they penalized loyalty. What a bunch of crap.

leveling the so called "playing field" vs penalizing loyalty - I guess townys can see things different

I had been trying for 20 years to get decent (lower level between the 35's) season tickets on my own and in my name and couldn't afford it - I find it strange that Step allowed that for the first time ever........

Yet the old guard psu fans cried foul and step was too expensive - lol

 

[WestSideLion]

What's often overlooked is that this system creates a ton of accountability for the coaching staff and AD. For it to work, psu needs a winning product.

The stakes are too high to let the program whither on the vine for long. Franklin - and to a large extent Barbour - are on the clock.

Their seats aren't warm today, but come 2017, if psu's product isn't excellent, then they're in trouble.

 

[bjf1984]

You may have. I know for certain that the numbers were small, but I can't recall the details. Even if they were 1,000 or 2,000, that is still a small number in a 100K seat stadium. There was no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.

FG - I believe the numbers you cited were the numbers for folks exempt from the NLC annual dues (folks who pre-dated the NLC point system). And all they needed to do was to start requiring those folks to make the annual donation - like everyone else.

That is different, I believe, from what Towny is talking about - folks being able to "inherit" NLC points......that was not provided for under the NLC system (again, unless someone was rigging the system)

 

[BBrown]

leveling the so called "playing field" vs penalizing loyalty - I guess townys can see things different

I had been trying for 20 years to get decent (lower level between the 35's) season tickets on my own and in my name and couldn't afford it - I find it strange that Step allowed that for the first time ever........

Yet the old guard psu fans cried foul and step was too expensive - lol

Even after the south endzone went up you still couldn't get seats?

 

[fairgambit]

leveling the so called "playing field" vs penalizing loyalty - I guess townys can see things different

I had been trying for 20 years to get decent (lower level between the 35's) season tickets on my own and in my name and couldn't afford it - I find it strange that Step allowed that for the first time ever........

Yet the old guard psu fans cried foul and step was too expensive - lol

You are missing the point. After 40 years you could have walked in and taken my seats with no transfer fee. My daughter had to pay. Penn State preached loyalty and it was nothing more than bullshit. Beyond that, as I said, my seats sat empty for at least 4 years, so those townys you speak about chose not to take advantage of my cheapness. I will add that in the years I had my seats, I always, always gave more than the required donation, often much more. In addition, I bought tickets to away games, donated to all manner of Penn State causes (blue band, liberal arts, scholarships, etc), and attended just about any Penn State event, near or far, that I reasonably could. Most of the people I know who gave up their seats due to STEP did the same. Now, other than THON, I have not donated to Penn State in the past 5 years and rarely set foot on campus. Geeze, this is making me crazy. I talked in my post Saturday about barely caring that we lost and this STEP bullcrap is one of the reasons. I need a beer.

 

[bjf1984]

leveling the so called "playing field" vs penalizing loyalty - I guess townys can see things different

I had been trying for 20 years to get decent (lower level between the 35's) season tickets on my own and in my name and couldn't afford it - I find it strange that Step allowed that for the first time ever........

Yet the old guard psu fans cried foul and step was too expensive - lol

Towny - as you probably know - I am in that same situation.

But, just because STEP would make it easier for me to get "premium seats" doesn't make it right.

It is wrong on so many levels, that it is simply impossible to go over it all on a message board (and its been beaten to death before).

Certainly one of the most impactful issues is that the "old" point system was probably the best system ever devised to maintain a consistent, reliable, increasing level of funding to ICA (and I say that with the knowledge and experience that that system DID NOT benefit me personally)......and that was destroyed with STEP.

That is even before we get into the whole "loyalty" and all that other "softer" stuff.


I'll leave it at that.

 

[ChiTownLion]

Thought they studied how our BigTen peers priced tickets and found that PSU tickets were pennies on the dollar compared OSU/UM/UW/etc.

I suppose you could say our demographics are a little different and supply is enormous (107,000 seats), but I remember being surprised that PSU had been leaving so much money on the table at the ticket office for so many years.

Some could also maybe argue that BTN revenues should alleviate some of that pressure from our season ticket holders, but I don't see prices going down anywhere. Not trying to say our pricing is good or bad, just putting it in perspective with our peers. Maybe I can dig up that old article that compared the pricing of all competing schools.

 

[fairgambit]

Thought they studied how our BigTen peers priced tickets and found that PSU tickets were pennies on the dollar compared OSU/UM/UW/etc.

I suppose you could say our demographics are a little different and supply is enormous (107,000 seats), but I remember being surprised that PSU had been leaving so much money on the table at the ticket office for so many years.

Some could also maybe argue that BTN revenues should alleviate some of that pressure from our season ticket holders, but I don't see prices going down anywhere. Not trying to say our pricing is good or bad, just putting it in perspective with our peers. Maybe I can dig up that old article that compared the pricing of all competing schools.

I always said I was willing to pay more, and so was just about everyone I knew that had season tickets, but STEP was a disaster. It was inflexible. It was arrogant. They turned off thousands of loyal alums for no good reason. I said I need a beer and while I don't usually drink at all during the work week, I am going out for a corned beef and a beer. This STEP stuff just makes me CRAZY!!

 

[bjf1984]

leveling the so called "playing field" vs penalizing loyalty - I guess townys can see things different

I had been trying for 20 years to get decent (lower level between the 35's) season tickets on my own and in my name and couldn't afford it - I find it strange that Step allowed that for the first time ever........

Yet the old guard psu fans cried foul and step was too expensive - lol

If the only seats you consider "decent" are those between the 35's on the lower level......then you consider 90+% of the seats inside Beaver Stadium to be "unworthy".

I would venture to guess that the average person holding those seats between the 35's and in the lower bowl had been contributing to the NLC.....AND buying season tickets....for 30 years or more. Most of those years, until they built up points, spent in those seats you consider to be "unworthy".
Probably spending - adjusting for inflation - $50,000 or more (probably a LOT more) over that time.

AND....THEY HAD BEEN DOING THAT - CONTRIBUTING AND FILLING THE STADIUM - EVERY GD YEAR, THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND BAD. IF FOR NO OTHER REASON, THAN THEY WERE REQUIRED TO IN ORDER TO KEEP IMPROVING THEIR LOCATION

Now, things were made "fairer" by allowing someone to relocate those folks who had been kicking in for decades - including filling up those seats you consider "unworthy" - and plop into those seats for $2,500.....and with no commitment to stay with those purchases year-after-year through good and bad seasons.

And that is "good" for ICA? Take a look around the stadium on Saturday.

It was idiotic.

 

[bjf1984]

Thought they studied how our BigTen peers priced tickets and found that PSU tickets were pennies on the dollar compared OSU/UM/UW/etc.

I suppose you could say our demographics are a little different and supply is enormous (107,000 seats), but I remember being surprised that PSU had been leaving so much money on the table at the ticket office for so many years.

Some could also maybe argue that BTN revenues should alleviate some of that pressure from our season ticket holders, but I don't see prices going down anywhere. Not trying to say our pricing is good or bad, just putting it in perspective with our peers. Maybe I can dig up that old article that compared the pricing of all competing schools.

If ICA ever cited such data, I think Holly Gregory must have done the study.

Penn State: Season Tickets $460 (higher for some sections) Required Donation - $100-$2,000 based on location (most from $100-$600)

Some random B1G comps (those I was able to easily access):

Michigan State Season Tickets $308 Donation - $25-$300
Wisconsin: Season Tickets - $336 Recommended (not mandatory) contributions - $0-$400 maximum based on location
Nebraska: Still uses a "NLC type" model

I know that PSU used the Ohio State figures as a justification.....and I believe the costs at OSU are significantly higher than PSU - say 20% or so more across the board.
But OSU is an entirely different dynamic - among other things, it is in the middle of a roughly 1,000,000 + population metropolis with huge Corporate interests.

 

[fairgambit]

If the only seats you consider "decent" are those between the 35's on the lower level......then you consider 90+% of the seats inside Beaver Stadium to be "unworthy".

I would venture to guess that the average person holding those seats between the 35's and in the lower bowl had been contributing to the NLC.....AND buying season tickets....for 30 years or more. Most of those years, until they built up points, spent in those seats you consider to be "unworthy".
Probably spending - adjusting for inflation - $50,000 or more (probably a LOT more) over that time.

AND....THEY HAD BEEN DOING THAT - CONTRIBUTING AND FILLING THE STADIUM - EVERY GD YEAR, THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND BAD. IF FOR NO OTHER REASON, THAN THEY WERE REQUIRED TO IN ORDER TO KEEP IMPROVING THEIR LOCATION

Now, things were made "fairer" by allowing someone to relocate those folks who had been kicking in for decades - including filling up those seats you consider "unworthy" - and plop into those seats for $2,500.....and with no commitment to stay with those purchases year-after-year through good and bad seasons.

And that is "good" for ICA? Take a look around the stadium on Saturday.

It was idiotic.

Before I head out I wanted to agree with your post, especially the part about filling the stadium year after year. That's exactly what I did with my 4 seats. In nearly 40 years I think I missed 3 games. I was there, regardless of the crappy opponent, regardless of the weather, regardless of the costs. Not only that but, being from Pittsburgh, for many of those years I drove up on Friday and stayed until Sunday, spending thousands every year in the State College area for hotel rooms, food, etc. That's one of the reasons I'm now so happy I've given up my seats. I've saved tons of money since STEP and I get to watch the games in the comfort of my home. I suppose for that I should be grateful.

 

[towny87]

Even after the south endzone went up you still couldn't get seats?

sure I could get end zone seats -

Towny - as you probably know - I am in that same situation.

But, just because STEP would make it easier for me to get "premium seats" doesn't make it right.

It is wrong on so many levels, that it is simply impossible to go over it all on a message board (and its been beaten to death before).

Certainly one of the most impactful issues is that the "old" point system was probably the best system ever devised to maintain a consistent, reliable, increasing level of funding to ICA (and I say that with the knowledge and experience that that system DID NOT benefit me personally)......and that was destroyed with STEP.

That is even before we get into the whole "loyalty" and all that other "softer" stuff.


I'll leave it at that.

So how is it that the "old guard entitled money" who all have a hell of a lot more money than I ever will were the ones complaining that step was too expensive when that was the first time ever I could afford and bought season tickets lower level at the 40.

 

[Columbus_Lion]

Look at the demographics of how far alumni need to travel. NYC, DC alumni need to drive 5+ hours. I have to drop $1,500+ for one game when you add tickets, hotel, fuel, food, beverages. For a college football game? no thanks

 

[towny87]

If the only seats you consider "decent" are those between the 35's on the lower level......then you consider 90+% of the seats inside Beaver Stadium to be "unworthy".

I would venture to guess that the average person holding those seats between the 35's and in the lower bowl had been contributing to the NLC.....AND buying season tickets....for 30 years or more. Most of those years, until they built up points, spent in those seats you consider to be "unworthy".
.

Ahhhh yes.................................. the grumpy old geezers that tell you sit down and stop cheering

sorry if I don't feel bad for buying their seats................

 

[bjf1984]

sure I could get end zone seats -



So how is it that the "old guard entitled money" who all have a hell of a lot more money than I ever will were the ones complaining that step was too expensive when that was the first time ever I could afford and bought season tickets lower level at the 40.

I never said a damn thing about it being "too expensive".

I'm talking about it being financially idiotic for the long-term health of ICA.

It also was incredibly "wrong" on so many other levels (loyalty, replacement of student sections etc etc etc etc)

I NEVER said it was "too expensive".

You're barking up the wrong tree.

 

[bjf1984]

Ahhhh yes.................................. the grumpy old geezers that tell you sit down and stop cheering

sorry if I don't feel bad for buying their seats................

I know you're a better and more thoughtful person than that.....but everyone else may not

I didn't want to get back into this.....but a lot of newer fans probably just don't know.

________________________________________

Here is the typical guy who was sitting in those 40 yard line seats in 2009 (all dollar figures adjusted for inflation):

- Started out kicking in $500 per year to the NLC - and wasn't even able to BUY SEATS - because he didn't have enough points to move up the waiting list. But contributed anyway.
- After 8 years or so of contributing WITHOUT the ability to purchase seats (approximately 80 accumulated points) was able to buy 4 season tickets in the end zone (seats that are "unworthy")
- For the next ten years, kicked in $500 + $1800 in ticket costs per year for 4 seats.
- Contributed, and filled the stadium, EVERY year...because it was required to keep his seats - and was happy to do it

- After ten years, was able to upgrade to corner end-zone seats (more of those "unworthy" seats)
- Continued that for 10 years

- Was finally able to actually purchase "worthy" seats....after kicking in $51,000 dollars, and filling the stadium for decades - even the games in the rain against Brown, Bowling Green and Rutgers.

- Over the years got to know the folks around him. Football games became a mini-homecoming of sorts with "the group".

Now....here comes STEP. Time to "be fair".....

and some jackwagon, johnny-come-lately is gonna kick in an extra $1,000 one year and plop down into those seats. Some jackwagon who - when things go bad - will drop out whenever they want, and jump back in when things are going better. And all those other "freeloaders" have to be relocated?

That is the "new fair"? Symptomatic of our society I suppose.


And that doesn't even begin to discuss the long-term detrimental effects on the revenue stream to ICA. Which, even if no one gives a rat's ass about "being fair".....is a huge, colossal FUBAR on the part of ICA.

 

[Still in State College]

I am not a STEP fan but I did see a need for it. A friend had tickets from the 70's on. He gave the minimum every year and had good seats. When STEP came he chose to drop out. PSU did not take away his seats after many years. He just wasn't willing to pay the new rate.

STEP while poorly implemented did not take anyone's seat.

PSU might have done better in adjusting donation levels slightnd having different price points for tickets throughout the stadium. I know that this doesn't help those that use the NLC donation as a right off but it would help the perception that fans have about the pricing.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

You are missing the point. After 40 years you could have walked in and taken my seats with no transfer fee. My daughter had to pay. Penn State preached loyalty and it was nothing more than bullshit. Beyond that, as I said, my seats sat empty for at least 4 years, so those townys you speak about chose not to take advantage of my cheapness. I will add that in the years I had my seats, I always, always gave more than the required donation, often much more. In addition, I bought tickets to away games, donated to all manner of Penn State causes (blue band, liberal arts, scholarships, etc), and attended just about any Penn State event, near or far, that I reasonably could. Most of the people I know who gave up their seats due to STEP did the same. Now, other than THON, I have not donated to Penn State in the past 5 years and rarely set foot on campus. Geeze, this is making me crazy. I talked in my post Saturday about barely caring that we lost and this STEP bullcrap is one of the reasons. I need a beer.

If I had $5 for every time I have read your sad story I could pay my NLC donation.
At some point you either move on or you don't. Clearly, you don't.
Your daughter could have had very similar (probably even the same) seats if you would have just moved on.
Keep beating the dead horse though.

 

[psuro]

I did not read all the posts, but let me offer this thought:

If you don't like it, simply leave. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to be here. Going to PSU games, is not a necessity. It's a luxury. And, like anything else that is a luxury item, you have to decide for yourself if you want to part with your hard earned cash to keep doing it.

If you don't then great - thanks for the support to date.
If you do - the shut the f*ck up, pay your money, and show up.

But - enough with the whining, b*tching, bellyaching and unnecessary drama. You know what the prices are, you know what the issues are, and you should be mature enough to make an educated decision if this luxury item is something you wish to hold onto.

It's really not all that complicated.

 

[nits74]

Seats that cost a season ticket holder $112 per game ($385 for the ticket, $400 for the "donation" ...divided by 7 games = $112 per ticket per game).....

Being sold for $40 a piece......from PSU ticket office (not re-sale tickets). Just have a current student pick up the tickets.

How long will the fans continue to be played for suckers by the AD? Its worse than the ticket pricing structure of the airlines.......the "loyal season ticket holder" is going to be sitting in the seat next to folks who only paid 1/3 of the price he paid.

____________________________________

Oh.....and per game parking was raised 50%.


ALL IS WELL......Sandy hired another Associate to the Assistant Associate AD.

Her title will be:

Associate to the Assistant Associate AD in charge of:
Unified Responses to Sustained Cost Reallocations, for the Wealth of Department (U R SCRWD)

_____________________________________

I told you a-holes......I want my box painted MAUVE!! Hop to it!

If my check bounces, don't think I won't be coming after your ass!!

Every GD one of these seats will be filled with the ass of an Associate Assistant AD.....or my name isn't Sandy Barbour!





I've done it before.....I can damn well do it again!!!

=

Anyone have a prediction as to when the first tarps will be placed over the less popular sections of Beaver Stadium during games.

 

[bjf1984]

"I am not a STEP fan but I did see a need for it"

OK....so what was the "need"? More revenue?
For decades PSU raised the NLC donation levels and ticket prices (nearly every year). And folks paid the higher rates and still packed the stadium.
If more revenue was needed....why not bump up the prices?
Is there some other "need" that I don't see?


"A friend had tickets from the 70's on. He gave the minimum every year and had good seats"

No - he didn't. At least not what was classified as "good seats" earlier in the thread.
I know the point totals that were required in the 70's 80's 90's etc. No one giving the minimum (by which, I suppose you are talking about the minimum NLC donation) had anything near "good seats" - not without DECADES of giving....in fact, they wouldn't have even been able to have the right to purchase seats for many years.
If he had "good seats" under the scenario you described, he either bribed the ticket manager or had someone pull strings for him......neither of which are relevant to the issue of moving to STEP.


"It's really not all that complicated"

No, it isn't. PSU ****ed over their fanbase in the pursuit of (what they thought would be) some quick green
It was an idiotic f&ck up on many levels.


"If you don't like it, simply leave. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to be here"

That certainly is a fair way to sum up the actions of ICA.
What folks who weren't around don't realize is that there was a "deal" in place for decades.....you guys (fans) continue to contribute each and every year, and we (ICA) will reward your loyalty. It was an agreement....and the fans held up their end of the bargain - through thick and thin.
I would proffer that that is NOT the ideal way to remain a financially viable operation.....but maybe that's just me

As I said before, I was not one of those guys. I wasn't one of the decades long supporters who got ****ed over.

But it just wasn't right.....and the inability of so many "PSU Fans" to recognize how wrong it was is more than a little disconcerting.

AND its a financial quagmire waiting to happen.....AND it was totally avoidable.
Other than that........it was a GREAT idea!!!!!!

 

[fairgambit]

If I had $5 for every time I have read your sad story I could pay my NLC donation.
At some point you either move on or you don't. Clearly, you don't.
Your daughter could have had very similar (probably even the same) seats if you would have just moved on.
Keep beating the dead horse though.

Gee, then that means you have read a lot of my posts about STEP and I'm not sure why. I didn't make the original post and I didn't add STEP into the mix, others did. Typically all posts relating to STEP are beating dead horse. If the topic comes up, I will generally relate my experience because the makeup of the Board continually changes and some may have not read my "sad story". Rather than me moving on, it would be much easier for you to either put me on ignore or simply not read the post. If you do neither, I can assure you, the next time STEP comes up, I will be here to tell my "sad story".

 

[marshall23]

Gee, then that means you have read a lot of my posts about STEP and I'm not sure why. I didn't make the original post and I didn't add STEP into the mix, others did. Typically all posts relating to STEP are beating dead horse. If the topic comes up, I will generally relate my experience because the makeup of the Board continually changes and some may have not read my "sad story". Rather than me moving on, it would be much easier for you to either put me on ignore or simply not read the post. If you do neither, I can assure you, the next time STEP comes up, I will be here to tell my "sad story".

Amazing how a loss makes folks touchy about everything!