No the Pete isnt too big

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I know many of those seats are bought by Pittsburgh corporations. It seems they're just not being used and the corporations, for some reason, just don't bother promoting them. I don't know why.

That just simply isn't true. For example, for the Florida State game, looking at the seat map of what is available in section 109, which is a club section, that section has 264 seats in it. As of right now, 91 of those seats are sold, which means that 173 seats, or 66% of them, are unsold.

And if you looked at the seat map for games in the past, that is not unusual. There have been a lot of games this season where the club sections are some of the lowest sections in terms of percentage sold in the lower level. Right now for the Florida State game probably half of the club seats overall are still unsold. So when you see all those empty club seat, yeah, sure, some number of that is no shows. But most if it is that the seats never sold in the first place.

 

[Franb]

That just simply isn't true. For example, for the Florida State game, looking at the seat map of what is available in section 109, which is a club section, that section has 264 seats in it. As of right now, 91 of those seats are sold, which means that 173 seats, or 66% of them, are unsold.

And if you looked at the seat map for games in the past, that is not unusual. There have been a lot of games this season where the club sections are some of the lowest sections in terms of percentage sold in the lower level. Right now for the Florida State game probably half of the club seats overall are still unsold. So when you see all those empty club seat, yeah, sure, some number of that is no shows. But most if it is that the seats never sold in the first place.

And those seats sell for $145-$170. No wonder they are unsold and unoccupied.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

And those seats sell for $145-$170. No wonder they are unsold and unoccupied.

I think what they do is they say that if you buy those seats as a season ticket you have to donate (I don't know what the actual number is, so this is an illustration) $1000 per ticket to sit there, so they add $50 per ticket to "cover" the donation amount.

Because if they didn't do that, what would be the incentive for people to buy season tickets and pay the donation when they could just buy the same tickets for all the individual games and not pay the donation?

 

[4Mark_Marty]

I think what they do is they say that if you buy those seats as a season ticket you have to donate (I don't know what the actual number is, so this is an illustration) $1000 per ticket to sit there, so they add $50 per ticket to "cover" the donation amount.

Because if they didn't do that, what would be the incentive for people to buy season tickets and pay the donation when they could just buy the same tickets for all the individual games and not pay the donation?

When I had club seats in the early to mid 2010s, there was a $1500 donation per seat. I don’t know what it is now.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I think what they do is they say that if you buy those seats as a season ticket you have to donate (I don't know what the actual number is, so this is an illustration) $1000 per ticket to sit there, so they add $50 per ticket to "cover" the donation amount.

Because if they didn't do that, what would be the incentive for people to buy season tickets and pay the donation when they could just buy the same tickets for all the individual games and not pay the donation?

And this is because those foul line sections are a terrible value because they are priced the same as midcourt. It needs to be tiered, especially as you go higher up on the foul line section. I sit one section over, on the baseline, and its such a better value than the clubs especially since Im one of the first few rows. If you told me I could get seats in the foul line sections (which are club) but in one of the upper rows for the same price I'm paying where I'm sitting now, I wouldn't do it. I like being close to the court.

 

[Franb]

I think what they do is they say that if you buy those seats as a season ticket you have to donate (I don't know what the actual number is, so this is an illustration) $1000 per ticket to sit there, so they add $50 per ticket to "cover" the donation amount.

Because if they didn't do that, what would be the incentive for people to buy season tickets and pay the donation when they could just buy the same tickets for all the individual games and not pay the donation?

Couldn't find numbers for this season, but last season those seats averaged about $35 per game, and the "donation" was either about $50 and $100 per game. I believe they make the seat price artificially low because there is tax on the ticket price, but not on the other fee. Adding the ticket and fee together is still a good bit less than individual game tickets, and I can't see anyone paying the single game ticket prices.

 

[Upg bobcat]

For what it's worth, I was driving through the DC area and listened to the game on VT radio network. The VT announcers had very complimentary things to say about the Pete. They consider it one of the top facilities in the ACC.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I think it's about 25% too big. If this wasn't a major city with its own arena, I would feel differently because then you'd consider it being used for other forms of entertainment as well. But it's tough to say a building that has been 25% - 50% full for the better part of a decade isn't too big; you can't go by just one game, in my opinion (especially one that wasn't even a sellout).

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

I think it's about 25% too big. If this wasn't a major city with its own arena, I would feel differently because then you'd consider it being used for other forms of entertainment as well. But it's tough to say a building that has been 25% - 50% full for the better part of a decade isn't too big; you can't go by just one game, in my opinion (especially one that wasn't even a sellout).

It's the 7th biggest in the ACC. Not really out of line, and it will sell out when we're good. We sold out a Miami game last year as soon as it became clear it was a team that could make the tournament (and Miami doesn't bring the WVU/ND bandwagon fans and who we have minimal rivalry history with.)

Fwiw, other major conference arenas over 10,000 fans (2022-23 season):
Big 12, 9 of 10
Big 10, 12 of 14
Big East, 10 of 11
PAC 12, 10 of 12
SEC, 12 of 14

It's nothing like the Heinz Field problem, where a half empty stadium and open air architecture undermines the atmosphere. Our big games can be very loud mostly thanks to the Zoo.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

It's the 7th biggest in the ACC. Not really out of line, and it will sell out when we're good. We sold out a Miami game last year as soon as it became clear it was a team that could make the tournament (and Miami doesn't bring the WVU/ND bandwagon fans and who we have minimal rivalry history with.)

Fwiw, other major conference arenas over 10,000 fans (2022-23 season):
Big 12, 9 of 10
Big 10, 12 of 14
Big East, 10 of 11
PAC 12, 10 of 12
SEC, 12 of 14

It's nothing like the Heinz Field problem, where a half empty stadium and open air architecture undermines the atmosphere. Our big games can be very loud mostly thanks to the Zoo.

Yeah, I definitely don't think it's problematic or anything. But I don't think 12,500 would be the capacity if they were building it today - maybe like 9,000 or even 8,000.

Like with the Bryce Jordan Center, for instance, that's the biggest arena between Pittsburgh and Philly, and they've gotten some pretty big acts to play there, have hosted Monday Night Raw when wrestling was popular, etc. I have to imagine a lot of these colleges in the middle of nowhere (which is probably the case for most of them) take that into consideration, as opposed to building strictly to perceived basketball demand which having the PPG Arena would allow us to do.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Yeah, I definitely don't think it's problematic or anything. But I don't think 12,500 would be the capacity if they were building it today - maybe like 9,000 or even 8,000.

Like with the Bryce Jordan Center, for instance, that's the biggest arena between Pittsburgh and Philly, and they've gotten some pretty big acts to play there, have hosted Monday Night Raw when wrestling was popular, etc. I have to imagine a lot of these colleges in the middle of nowhere (which is probably the case for most of them) take that into consideration, as opposed to building strictly to perceived basketball demand which having the PPG Arena would allow us to do.

I also dont think the BJ Center would have been built that big if it were built today. Or at least they would have built as a basketball arena and not with a weird hockey rink setup but no rink. For years, I thought it had an ice surface because its configured as a hockey arena. Both the Pete and BJC would be 8K-9K if built today. If PSU really wanted it bigger for 4-5 concerts per year then they could do what Texas did.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I also dont think the BJ Center would have been built that big if it were built today. Or at least they would have built as a basketball arena and not with a weird hockey rink setup but no rink. For years, I thought it had an ice surface because its configured as a hockey arena. Both the Pete and BJC would be 8K-9K if built today. If PSU really wanted it bigger for 4-5 concerts per year then they could do what Texas did.

I'm not familiar with what Texas did, though Google tells me it goes from 10k for basketball to 15k for concerts. Regardless, the point is that Penn State would at least have an arena capable of getting to 15k, while Pitt wouldn't have to worry about that. Like, Metallica played at Penn State in 2018 - that town isn't getting that show in a 9,000-seat arena. Bands will sometimes play smaller venues (Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL, Mohegan Sun in CT, etc.), but those shows are typically an expensive ticket. Nobody big is rolling through a random college town to play something under 15kish. I do realize this only happens a few times per year, so maybe it might not be as pivotal as I'm making it seem.