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Process to become a STH?

goalsequalvictory

Registered User
Apr 28, 2013
464
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First off, this is a great site, google gave me a gem with this one, looking forward to reading and participating during the rangers playoff run, and hopefully celebrating a cup win! (Doubt it happens, but wouldn't that be nice :) )

I'm not sure if there is a thread about this, I looked back a few pages and tried the search function, but couldn't seem to find much, and the Rangers website is great on the perks, but has little to no information about the actual process. If this is in the wrong place, mods please move it, and accept my apologies in advance.

Anyway, I've been thinking for a while now about potentially going in for a set of season tickets, and finally decided that I'm not getting any younger, and money dosen't mean anything in the afterlife, so why not spend it now and enjoy it. I've decided to take the plunge for the 2013-2014 season, and seem to be confused about how the process works. I'm looking for three tickets in total.

Logically, I'd just go online, look at a seat map, pick what seats are avalible, and then put in my credit card. Sadly, it dosen't seem to be that easy. I'm looking for preferably upper bowl due to price concerns(Looking to pay under $100 per ticket per game, and I think I'm priced out of downstairs at that level). From what I'm reading, it seems like those seats are a hot commodity, and as a newbie STH it's going to be difficult(if not impossible) to get upper bowl seats. I like the second row for $90(Probably my ideal seats if I could choose), do I have any chance in hell at getting 3 together there, or am I dreaming? Ditto for the $73 section directly behind it.(I'd take the $50 seats, but I'd like to be a bit closer to the ice if possible, and I'm willing to spend the cash to do so)

How does the whole process work? Once I fill out an online "application", do I get contacted by someone? I know that I have to put down a deposit sooner rather than later, but once I put down that deposit, I don't know what seats I'm getting? Will I know at least what section/price category I'm going to be paying for before I commit myself to putting down a deposit? Or, is the deposit refundable if it turns out I'm going to be stuck with $250 seats in the lower bowl that I really can't afford? If I call the subscribers office instead of doing it online, is that a better option?(Get a deposit in and figure out my options all in one go instead of playing email tag).

Finally, what's the resale market look like? While I'm planning to be at most of the games, I can't do 41/41 simply because I have a life outside Rangers hockey, plus I travel a decent amount for work, and can't plan that around hockey. Is it usually fairly easy to get face or higher for tickets, or am I going to take a bath on games that I can't make it to? Obviously a saturday vs NJD is going to be higher than tuesday night against FLA, but overall, how's the market look?

One final stupid question: Playoffs. I know that you have first right of refusal on playoff tickets for your seats, but, if I sign up for next year now, any chance at all that I could get playoff tix for this year(in some random seat, obviously not where I'd end up full time since that's not even known yet), or at this point am I stuck with stubhub?(Pretty sure I'm SOL, but it's worth a shot).

Thanks so much in advance for your answers and advice, although it might not seem like much, it's very helpful!
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Call up the Garden and tell them you are interested. They'll take your info down and perhaps a deposit. Odds are you'll likely have to spend your first season in the lower bowl, as the cheaper seats are sold out.

The resale market for seats under $100 is very strong. You should have very little trouble breaking even on the games you can't attend...and with a little effort you can make a few bucks.
 
You won't get to choose your seats until September when the upgrade/relocation process is complete. I lucked out and got a seat in 224, but its a single.
 
broadwayblue said:
Call up the Garden and tell them you are interested. They'll take your info down and perhaps a deposit. Odds are you'll likely have to spend your first season in the lower bowl, as the cheaper seats are sold out.

The resale market for seats under $100 is very strong. You should have very little trouble breaking even on the games you can't attend...and with a little effort you can make a few bucks.
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Guessing that means that over $100 isn't quite as good?
Cheapest seats in the lower bowl are $114, which while over $100, isn't a deal breaker if it's only one season. Is it usually doable to move after one season?
 
Dangleberry said:
You won't get to choose your seats until September when the upgrade/relocation process is complete. I lucked out and got a seat in 224, but its a single.
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I'm sure the single makes things alot easier, 3 is going to be a disaster compared to a single or even 2. Good to know that some people get lucky!

I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what's up, I'll report back.
 
goalsequalvictory said:
Guessing that means that over $100 isn't quite as good?
Cheapest seats in the lower bowl are $114, which while over $100, isn't a deal breaker if it's only one season. Is it usually doable to move after one season?
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goalsequalvictory said:
I'm sure the single makes things alot easier, 3 is going to be a disaster compared to a single or even 2. Good to know that some people get lucky!

I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what's up, I'll report back.
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It's just more work to move $114 seats for $114 than it is to move $75 seats for $75. And it's a lot harder to move a $114 seat for $144 than it is to move a $75 seat for $105. I know first hand as I have 2 seats this season in 214, Row 1 ($125) and 3 seats in 221, Row 2 ($79.) I barely broke even selling the former and did quite well on the latter. I'll be dumping the Row 1s during the annual upgrade/relocation process this summer.
 
broadwayblue said:
It's just more work to move $114 seats for $114 than it is to move $75 seats for $75. And it's a lot harder to move a $114 seat for $144 than it is to move a $75 seat for $105. I know first hand as I have 2 seats this season in 214, Row 1 ($125) and 3 seats in 221, Row 2 ($79.) I barely broke even selling the former and did quite well on the latter. I'll be dumping the Row 1s during the annual upgrade/relocation process this summer.
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How are the $79 seats? As far as I can tell, those are going to be my $90(13% increase, ouch!) seats next year (if I can get them), and since you're keeping them it probably means you're happy.

In terms of upper bowl vs lower for resale, at least in my opinion, when you look at spending close to $250 for 2 people to see a hockey game, it's a hard sell to the average joe. $150, while still alot of dough, is a nice dinner in NYC for two with drinks, while $250 feels like a much bigger number to people. As long as I can break even though, it's OK, I just don't want to loose money for the right to go to a hockey game...
 
goalsequalvictory said:
How are the $79 seats? As far as I can tell, those are going to be my $90(13% increase, ouch!) seats next year (if I can get them), and since you're keeping them it probably means you're happy.

In terms of upper bowl vs lower for resale, at least in my opinion, when you look at spending close to $250 for 2 people to see a hockey game, it's a hard sell to the average joe. $150, while still alot of dough, is a nice dinner in NYC for two with drinks, while $250 feels like a much bigger number to people. As long as I can break even though, it's OK, I just don't want to loose money for the right to go to a hockey game...
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I can't tell you much about resale but we have $79 seats in 223 at center ice and they're very good seats imo
 
The key is to get your foot in the door and get seasons. My first season I had 4 seats in the old section 222(terrible seats) at $89 a ticket and decided to move upstairs after the first season.You should not regret being a STH as everyone I know who a STH is glad they are.
 
goalsequalvictory said:
How are the $79 seats? As far as I can tell, those are going to be my $90(13% increase, ouch!) seats next year (if I can get them), and since you're keeping them it probably means you're happy.

In terms of upper bowl vs lower for resale, at least in my opinion, when you look at spending close to $250 for 2 people to see a hockey game, it's a hard sell to the average joe. $150, while still alot of dough, is a nice dinner in NYC for two with drinks, while $250 feels like a much bigger number to people. As long as I can break even though, it's OK, I just don't want to loose money for the right to go to a hockey game...
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The $79 gallery seats are imho among the best in the house. And they are going to $82 next season...so still a great value, although it would be nice if the Rangers didn't increase prices every year as if they were required by law to do so.

I totally agree with your upper/lower bowl resale analysis. The cheaper seats are easier to move, and at a higher profit margin. And when you are faced with moving a tough game you don't have nearly the downside if you end up getting stuck. Lower bowl seats are better for people who plan on going to most of the games. Upper bowl seats are more sensible for people who need to move more games.
 
The problem with getting $114 seats for one year is that it will be considered a downgrade the following year if you want tickets in the 200 level. You can do it but you wouldn't get the opportunity to choose your new seat location until all other season subscribers have chosen their seats in the upgrade process. In my opinion it will be very difficult to get 2nd row gallery seats. I doubt too many people will be giving up these seats because they are the easiest to sell for a nice profit when you have to.
I have 4 1st row gallery seats and this year I didn't have to sell any for less than face value and sold the hot games for about $160 to $175 per ticket. Overall I did just fine. Next year the 1st row gallery seats in the corners will be $135 per game and I think it will be a little more difficult to move them at face value. You should discuss the downgrade process with a Season subscriber rep before you do it.
 
One of the problems is that you have to give them a $250/ seat non-refundable deposit. If you don't like what they have to offer, they hold your money until you spend it on some sprt of plan. I know of no other business that takes a deposit without guaranteeing that you can purchase what you want.
 
lhg39 said:
One of the problems is that you have to give them a $250/ seat non-refundable deposit. If you don't like what they have to offer, they hold your money until you spend it on some sprt of plan. I know of no other business that takes a deposit without guaranteeing that you can purchase what you want.
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Eh, not really much of an issue. If you're planning on becoming a subscriber and know you will most likely have to start out in the lower bowl there's not much to worry about. $250 is basically the cost of 2 tickets. If that's too steep a price they probably don't want people wasting their time.
 
Is the entire 200 section sold out? If I wanted to try to get 1 ticket there would that be doable or highly unlikely?
 
SA16 said:
Is the entire 200 section sold out? If I wanted to try to get 1 ticket there would that be doable or highly unlikely?
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Basically yes. Singles can be had usual right before the season starts as they shuffle the seats there a few singles available sometimes even center ice.
 
lhg39 said:
One of the problems is that you have to give them a $250/ seat non-refundable deposit. If you don't like what they have to offer, they hold your money until you spend it on some sprt of plan. I know of no other business that takes a deposit without guaranteeing that you can purchase what you want.
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Thats actually less than I was expecting to pay as a deposit, so good news there.

1 season in the lower bowl is doable, and it looks like I’m going to end up going that route. Are the less expensive lower bowl tickets usually available($114-132), because if I’m going to be stuck in $200 seats that’s going to be a problem. I can stretch the budget to $114, that’s doable, $200 per game times 3 tickets times 41 games is close to $25,000, which is a ton of money to drop on hockey tickets, especially when the resale market is a disaster.

It sounds like it’s usually fairly easy to “upgrade†to the upper level after your first season?
 
lhg39 said:
One of the problems is that you have to give them a $250/ seat non-refundable deposit. If you don't like what they have to offer, they hold your money until you spend it on some sprt of plan. I know of no other business that takes a deposit without guaranteeing that you can purchase what you want.
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How can they guarantee that you will be offered the seats you want? If you want $53 seats, but nothing opens up, what are they supposed to do?
 
patnyrnyg said:
How can they guarantee that you will be offered the seats you want? If you want $53 seats, but nothing opens up, what are they supposed to do?
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As far as I can tell, they don't guarantee anything, which is what makes this whole process an annoying one.
 
goalsequalvictory said:
Thats actually less than I was expecting to pay as a deposit, so good news there.

1 season in the lower bowl is doable, and it looks like I’m going to end up going that route. Are the less expensive lower bowl tickets usually available($114-132), because if I’m going to be stuck in $200 seats that’s going to be a problem. I can stretch the budget to $114, that’s doable, $200 per game times 3 tickets times 41 games is close to $25,000, which is a ton of money to drop on hockey tickets, especially when the resale market is a disaster.

It sounds like it’s usually fairly easy to “upgrade†to the upper level after your first season?
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If you really want to get in for next season, go for it. But I think it will be interesting to see how many people keep their tickets after we see those bridges for the first time. It may be worth it to wait an extra year, but it's entirely up to you.
 
Dangleberry said:
If you really want to get in for next season, go for it. But I think it will be interesting to see how many people keep their tickets after we see those bridges for the first time. It may be worth it to wait an extra year, but it's entirely up to you.
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Yeah, that's the wild card... I've seen them in other arenas and they aren't horrible(I go to the game to watch the ice, if I'm going to watch it on TV, I'll do that at home and save the $$$), but they have potential to annoy many who like the views/gardenvision/etc.

I'll give them a call today and see what's up, say I decided to get a half season plan for 2013-14, does that still allow me to relocate after the first season(upgrading to a full season in the upper bowl), or do those operate on a different spectrum?
 
patnyrnyg said:
How CAN they guarantee anything? If the turn-over is very low, then what are they supposed to do?
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What they should do is when you put down a deposit, you identify what sections you're willing to have, and then if they can't meet your request, you get a refund, with the stipulation that prime seats(upper bowl), are going to be difficult to get, and you may end up with nothing at all. If they have the seats that you said you would take, and you don't take them for whatever reason, you loose the deposit, but you don't loose a deposit if they can't give you what you want. That seems fairer then the current system, but at the same time would loose money for MSG, so they'd never do it.
 
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