Season ticket questions

I like to be able to say I was at win number 22 and that I stayed till the final buzzer in that Spurs game that seemed like a certain loss.

Makes me feel like I am more involved.

 

I had a partial plan last year and this is my 1st time having full season tickets (damn lockout). I just like being at the games. Unfortunately, the atmosphere isn't really great unless a rival or elite team comes to town. Watching at home is a lot more convenient, but I just like the feeling I get on game day, looking at the clock, waiting til its time to go to Toyota Center.

The gifts are cool. If you have perfect attendance, you get a team autographed ball or some other options. Since the lockout started, the Rockets have still been active with STH gatherings. They have viewing parties, draft parties, family day, etc. My favorite so far has been family day. You can win prizes and you get a ticket for a random autograph or picture with a player.

I don't miss many games. Out of 18 I had tickets to last season, I only missed 1 vs the Nuggets due to night school. 41 games plus preseason is a lot to go to, so I'm sure I'll send a couple of tickets to friends or relatives every now and then. I love how flashseats works by the way. But since there's 41 road games as well, I get to watch from home or a local sports bar pretty often too. To me, its a good balance.

 

The tradition (don't laught)

This is my first season (don't laugh) as a STH. I always wanted to say those words...season ticket holder. Commited to my team especially now when they aren't front runners. I always watched those people that get a ball in between quarters for being 10, 15, 20! Year season ticket holders.

I hope I can continue being a STH and start a tradition with my future kids. I bleed Rockets Red.

 

The tickets are through Flashseats. You don't get actual tickets unless you request them. With Flashseats, you just bring your credit card or ID and scan in at the door, then you get a printout ticket to show your seat. That's how they keep up with attendance too. I love it because all you need is your wallet, instead of keeping up with actual tickets.

The parties are for anyone who buys season tickets. You also get a free gift every year. The team autographed ball is for perfect attendance. Another great thing about Flashseats is, its also a marketplace like stubhub. If you can't make it to a game, you can list your ticket for sale for whatever price you want. Then you just send the ticket to that persons account. If you wanna give it to someone specific, like a friend or relative, you just have them sign up for Flashseats and send it straight to them. However, if they get the ticket and don't actually go, you lose your perfect attendance.

 

A1
I am passioante about the team. Of my local teams, I feel the closest ties to the Rockets over the Astros and Texans. And Dynamo. I just grew up with basketball. There is a small discount as compared to single game tickets. There are perks such as events with players and junk like that. I think the two or three biggest things they have for STH is the season opener launch party which would have been this past Saturday vs Utah. The Christmas/Holiday party in December, and the Play Day. Some years, I like the Holiday party better, some years I like Play day. Long as there is food, i'm good. The last play day they had last season, they gave out crap at the end of the day. It was a b****ing ass lawn seat thing. It's awesome. Or some bbq set, or picnic set. They also gave it out for the christmas party if I recall. Ughh, I just remember I saw myself on television on FSN on a Rockets insider. They give you a neato gift at the start of the season. Last season, it was a cooler.

A2
I don't go to every game. 44 is a lot. 41 regular, plus preseason, which cost the same as a regular season ticket. And they do count in the preseason. If you make it to every game, they hook you up with a loyalty gift. Usually, it's a team autograph ball, a gift card to some place, Vic Anthonys, or HEB or something like that. Damn, this is my fourth campaign as a STH. I've only manage to snag two basketballs, apparently, I missed a game or something in my second year. If I don't go to a game, I usually give them to my seatmate, which happens to be Dave2000. He will usually get one of his 900 cousins. My first year, we were good, so I attended probably 90 percent. My second year, maybe 75 percent.

A3
What kind of perks and incentives does the team offer? Which ones are the most attractive to you?
I like play day the best. The hell with meeting Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin. I get to jack up 3s from everywhere, Heave half court shots. The coolest thing ever was getting my photo taken with Yao in the locker room. I don't care for autographs too much, but getting a photo with the big guy was awesome. The next best might be the Christmas party. It's kinda like the playday with a meet and greet, autographs and photos, but no heaving three pointers. Actually, i think they had half the court out there last christmas party.
Do you work for the Rockets all of a sudden?

A4 This sounds crazy, but WIN.








Even if you use flashseats or not, they know if you don't go because they scan it and stuff.





tldr.

 

I have bought quarter- season and half-season tickets the past several years. To answer your questions:

(1) What motivates you to buy them? Are you super passionate about the team? Is it the discount? Is it the perks and incentives offered by the team?

Yes, I'm super passionate, that's the main thing. The discount is nice too. And I like comitting in advance to a schedule and having the same seats every game.

(2) Do you go to every game for which you buy the season (or partial season) ticket? Do you split it with friends or families? Do you sell some of them on Stub Hub (or equivalent)? Out of the tickets you buy, what % do you actually use?

My % varies a lot per season. Depends on work and my schedule. I know a couple years I didn't even use half my tickets, but the last couple years I've made most of the games.

If I don't go, I usually just give the tickets away to friends and don't bother with Stub Hub.

(3) What kind of perks and incentives does the team offer? Which ones are the most attractive to you?

They once had Daryl Morey speak to season ticket holders and do a Q&A.. That was very awesome. Other than that and discounts, I'm not aware of any incentives.

(4) Are there things the team could do to make it more likely for you to become a season ticket holder or a more regular attendee of games

More events with Daryl Morey would be sweet.

Also, small perks like "1 free beer or food item per game for season ticket holders" aren't much cost but they would go a long away to keeping ticket holders happy, I think. It would make us feel "cooler" than those 1-ticket buyers.

 

(1)This sounds corny, but its always a dream of mine to have season tickets. I've followed the time since I was 8, '90 and wanted to go to every game possible. My dad didn't really like going to games, he was just like the others, would rather just sit at home and watch on TV. I went to a few games when I started working, and got mini packages. I've been a season ticket holder since 2006-07 season. Their incentive for new STH was getting a road trip for a road game, which ended up being the then defending champs Heat in Nov. '06. Was one of the best experiences I've been to this day. I start with the nosebleeds, cheapest at $396, then moved up to the $572 seats, and now at the next level at $660.

As far as other perks/incentives? Free gifts every year before the season started, got a gym bag, cooler, 22 win streak blanket, basketball leather bound notbook folder. STH parties as Kam stated, and this offseason they had a Astros game gathering back in June.

(2) I've missed anywhere to 10 games, one year, the least I missed was 1 game because I went to Wrestlemania back in 2009. I've been fortunate to have friends get tickets with me, first 2 year, just 1, one time I had 4 other people with me, and this year I have 2 others (Kam/RowdyRicky). I literally try to go to every game, even with a late night schedule, I either switch, or even use personal/vacation time at work. The one time I finally get a shift that ends at 7pm, they have a freaking lockout... When I can't go, I'll find a way for someone to use them. I would rather sell them, but that's a risk that nobody would use it and lose out on perfect attendance, happened my first year I got tickets, and managed a way to get someone to use them since. Probably the only problem in getting tickets is when you want to go with a group of people, I usually give my ticket to whoever I got tixs with, and just buy separate tickets with my group of people.

(3)The play days they have Kam mentioned. If your one of the first 500 people to show up at the Christmas party or Play Day, your guaranteed a pic or autograph with a player. I prefer a photo, not really big on autographs. I've had pics with Mutumbo, Lowry, Brooks, Jared Jeffries, Scola, Hayes, and Yao.

(4)I'm already in, unless they become the Astros in the next few years, I'm pretty much sucked into the club, unless I just can't find anybody else to get tickets with, and just settle with a mini package.

 

If i lived in Houston i'd have season tickets, unfortunately I live about 5000 miles away so it's probably never going to happen.

 

Honestly, I like going to get tipsy and have a good time. I can watch the game at home, but the live-game watching experience has to be about much more. Like tailgaiting for football games. Season tickets are generally a good deal if you plan on going to more than a few games a year, but there are so many Monday or Wednesday night games that you know ahead of time you wont be able to make and will have to sell on StubHub.

As for the Rockets game watching experience, that is a whole other topic but Houston could do much better. Even Cleveland did a good job with the Cavs experience. The best bars/restaurants/ and nightclubs are right within walking distance to the arena. The Dallas Mavericks did a good job of Arena placement as well.

I think the NBA needs to do several different things. Here are a few things Id like to see-

-More or mostly weekend/Thursday night games.
-Add some sort of tournament. Maybe preseason or midseason. But nothing compares to the overall experience of traveling somewhere and watching a crazy single elimination basketball tournament.

As for season tickets, I almost think the teams need to cut back on offering so many and focus more on game day specials for tickets like Guys night out, family night, Church night, whatever. Those games always do well even if every game has some different theme.

 

Without a doubt, the biggest "perk" for being a STH is priority seating for the playoffs.

I cannot believe no one else has mentioned that,,,probably because we suck,, so you forgot,,shame on you Dave2000 and Kam! That is and always will be my top reason for getting STH. And in the NBA, the playoff season is a whole different ballgame.

Second to that is priority seating for seeing the best teams. I definitely became a season ticketholder in the '90s because it was nearly impossible to get a Jordan ticket without being a STH (that was before online buying options became reliable and available).

Lastly, and this I learned after becoming a STH, I huge "perk" for me is becoming friends with all the people around you in your section. Going to a sporting event knowing who you are sitting next to and enjoying seeing them and sharing a common bound is the best way to see a game. Sitting in different seats each time you go to a game is not nearly as fun an experience.

 

I don't know Heyp, when you're not making the playoffs, it is kind of hard to enjoy that perk. I would have to say that when the All Star game was here, I was VERY happy to be a season ticket holder. I was able to buy my tickets, as well as additional tickets (which I sold for a nice profit), and am looking forward to doing the same in a few years when the game is back here. When we were making the playoffs, it was nice being able to purchase the playoff tickets, and I look forward to doing that again soon. I have to say though, I had a great time at the All Star game. It (obviously) wasn't a once in a lifetime experience, but I am/was very glad I attended.

To answer Carl's questions:

(1) What motivates you to buy them? Are you super passionate about the team? Is it the discount? Is it the perks and incentives offered by the team?

I just have a great time at the games. I used to just go, get my nachos, free drink, and relax. Now I've moved up from my free drink to beer, and am enjoying myself much more! I'm sure it also helps that I've become a die hard fan over my 8 years as a STH, and want to do all I can to support my team. The discout obviously helps, but to be honest, if I wasn't a season ticket holder and just "cherry picked" the games I wanted to attend, I could probably save money in the long run by going to less games overall. Buying the season tickets basically forces me to go to the game, and after each game, I am happy I went. Of course, there are always a few exceptions. The perks and incentives are definitely one of the reasons I continually renew. Over the years, the prizes/giveaways have gotten considerably worse. I just took a trip to NY this past weekend and actually used a great Rockets luggage bag I got as a gift for being a STH 4-5 years ago. It's amazing to think it's gone from that to a blanket/tools for the grill. That is definitely one thing that has gotten on my nerves. I remember they had a STH party at Dave & Buster's one year. The players were walking around with their families playing games, you could meet them, take pictures, and get autographs. Now, you have to be one of the first 500 at an event to get to do either of those things, and it's just one person versus the entire team. At that Dave & Buster's event I actually won a team autographed picture for beating 2 players and 3 other people at the basketball game they have there. Nowadays, they don't do anything close to that anymore. So, the perks and incentives are nice, but they're definitely not what they used to be.

(2) Do you go to every game for which you buy the season (or partial season) ticket? Do you split it with friends or families? Do you sell some of them on Stub Hub (or equivalent)? Out of the tickets you buy, what % do you actually use?

I try to go to every game, but something always seems to come up. Working in the tax field, it gets really busy for me after the 1st of the year, so I usually end up missing a few games. Last year I wanted to keep my perfect attendance alive so I game away some tickets on here for free. All I asked was that the person go to the game. Turns out, they didn't, and that ruined my perfect attendance. I do sell some games on FlashSeats. Last year I sold my tickets to the Heat game for a considerable profit. It worked out because I had other plans, otherwise I definitely would have gone. I probably use about 80% of my tickets. The other 20% are usually sold/given away.

(3) What kind of perks and incentives does the team offer? Which ones are the most attractive to you?

Well, I think Kam/Dave/Ricky did a good job of answering the question about what is offered, but as far as most attractive to me? I would have to say that I truly appreciate getting things like vouchers for free food/drinks, as well as free game tickets. Things I know I'll use. Sure, I like getting a free gym bag, and it's very nice, but I'll probably never use it. I'm sure if you search, you can find a thread I made in the classifieds selling a ton of items I received over the years, that should give you a good idea of some of the things you get. Heck, I still have my Rockets paint can I got at one event.

(4) Are there things the team could do to make it more likely for you to become a season ticket holder or a more regular attendee of games?

Well, unfortunately, either way I'll probably be a STH, but giving better items (like I mentioned above with the luggage bag vs. the blanket/bbq set) or maybe more "useful" items (like vouchers for food/drinks) would definitely make me a happier STH. Obviously more promotional games (good giveaways like bobblehads, replica jersies, etc.) would get more people out there, but these aren't really a big deal to me, although I do try to get them whenever I'm going to be at the game. More special events would be nice. What I mean by this is....when they were at the Summit they had an event where the first 50 people at the doors with their faces painted would get autographs from 2 players. Well my ex and I were at the door a few hours before they opened. Of course, I ended up with Moochie Norris and some other crappy player, but the experience was great, and I would definitely do that again. They also used to have more events during timeouts/halftime that would involve the fans. Now we get to watch 70+ year old people dance. I give them credit, they're good, but if you were to ask me what would get me to the game...opportunities to go on the court and win items or watching people dance, I'm sure you can guess what my response would be. Finally, the parking is definitely one thing I wish they could/would do something about. I understand it is downtown, but paying $20/game to park in the garage or $5-$10 to park elsewhere just gets on my nerves. I usually try to get there early enough to get free parking, but it's usually the person tagging along that slows me down. I wish we could get free parking in the garage, or at least some type of discount.

Overall, I am very happy to be a STH. There are things that I dislike, but my passion and enjoyment while I'm at the game definitely outweighs them, and I do appreciate all of the other incentives/perks, I guess I just got spoiled my first few years.

We definitely need to put together a ClutchFans even before a game (whenever that may be). I was lucky enough to meet Kam/Dave/Ricky at the Astros event, but would like to meet some others as well. Actually, maybe it could just be somewhere like BW3 or the 360 Sports Bar for a road game. First we need a season though....

Pugs

 

A couple of things I forgot to mention. 1st, season ticket holders also get first dibs at all star game packages. If the all star game is here in 2013, STH get a chance to buy their tickets first, if I'm not mistaken. Also, if the Rockets play a sorry/mediocre team, there are plenty of seats to move down to. Last season I tried to move down to lower bowl at halftime at every game. I only got denied two or three times.

Another perk depends on whether you pay in full or pay in payments. Since I paid in full back in March, I got to meet Clyde and Robert Horry before a game last season and take a picture with them and the 2 trophies in the bar area behind the Rockets' bench (Baseline Bar?). Also, they throw in a few other things for paying in full, such as concession credits, upgrade vouchers, meet and greets, etc. The concession credit depends on where you sit; the more expensive your seat is, the more of a credit you get. For my seat, I get a $50 credit which will probably last me 4 or 5 games. I got 5 upgrade vouchers for this season (if we have one). The vouchers are first come first serve, so to use it you have to show up early. They upgrade you to a random seat in the lower bowl.

Oh yeah, shout out to Pugs for letting me know about the Designated Driver thing to get a free soda.

 

Totally off topic, but fellow STH holders feel my pain, if they come to an agreement today, Im gonna get wasted, which is a rarity for those who know me.

As far as the Playoff priority, the perks is nice, since you get STH pricing for the first round and go up a little bit for each round, but a lot less than they do for the public.

 

Injuries waiting to happen.

They have a renewal point system. I have to check my mail when i get home.

 

Kinda see what your proposing, but the only issue I have with that, is the business people that get season tickets, gives them clients that only go just to go to the game and doesnt know jack about team, moreso now since Yao retired.

You already know how much we bicker about those business people in the lower section, with the yearly threads that you can bank on seeing one created every year.