Nonni is on point here.  I am not a season ticket holder, have to 
battle to get in the door and have been shut out of games I wanted to 
attend.  I don't always agree with all the decisions but I think the 
athletic department under Patrick Nero and now Blake James with Joe 
Roberts working with the donors has done an excellent job of raising 
revenue.  However if Maine is to compete at the National level in 
Hockey that we have all become accustomed too, more money is needed.  
And as Nonni stated the hockey program also is the driving force on 
raising revenue for the entire sports program.

Talk of a bigger arena, until someone can shell out the dough, is just 
that talk.  And think of how long it takes to get off the island with 
5,000 fellow fans and try and ad another 2,000 to that!  The reality is 
the size of the arena is just about right.  Sure it would be nice to 
have 6,000 in a new arena with no obstructed views, but that is not in 
the foreseeable future.

Maine's hockey team is counted on to raise revenue for all sports and 
the day that tickets are plentiful will mean that the team is faltering 
and will have a direct impact on the other sports.  Talk about pressure 
to stay on top, the Maine Hockey Team is the cash cow and for the good 
of the athletic department we must hope that continues to be the case.

As always Nonni thanks for the reality check!  People need a reminder 
that the good old days weren't always that good.  In 1983, my senior 
year, the hockey team won exactly ONE game in the ECAC and lost to 
Colby!  But there were plenty of seats!

Bob Fitta '83
On Jun 23, 2006, at 2:59 PM, Nonni Daly wrote:

> Bob -- that wasn't my point -- the REALITY of the situation was my 
> point.  Things change over time -- both you and I have been around 
> long enough to see that.  Do I like it?  Not a whole lot of it.  Do I 
> approve?  Same answer.  But, it costs a lot to keep that department 
> going, to support the number of sports and to comply with all the 
> PC-ness of the world we live in.  Do I like that?  Nope.  And, I am 
> not trying to be an apologist for the Athletics Department, either.  
> There's always plenty there for all of us to carp about.
>         But, REALITY has nothing to do with trying to keep anyone OUT 
> -- it has everything to do with what it costs to maintain a program 
> that speaks volumes for the University of Maine, promotes it country 
> wide -- as well as offering as many other programs as possible to 
> appeal to the students who might want to attend school here and also 
> be involved in athletics.
>         In 1983, when I moved back to Maine, I walked into the ticket 
> office and bought a pair of season tickets -- no wait, no list, no 
> donor preferences, no nothing.  That changed and it is never going to 
> be the same again -- unless mediocrity overtakes the program and they 
> open the doors to find out that no one cares.  People have been driven 
> away -- yes.  Would they return?  Who knows?  I just know, from work 
> on different support boards on campus how costly it is to maintain all 
> these programs and how much the hockey revenue makes a difference. 
>         They have to milk the only cow they have, Bob.  I'm sure you 
> understand that.
> Nonni 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Bob Woodbury
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 2:12 PM
>> Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: New Sky Boxes
>>
>> I think you made our point for us very well, Nonni (I was told that 
>> every night, when the doors to the Alfond are locked after a men's 
>> hockey game, the department is $100 grand to the good -- yes, hockey 
>> undoubtedly is the cash cow.). It's about the money. The every day 
>> fan, the people who came to Orono from all over the state to buy 
>> tickets and support the program when it was Division III and a 
>> fledgling Division 1 (or even played outdoors down by the river), 
>> doesn't have it and therefore, isn't welcome.
>>
>> Nonni Daly wrote:
>>> C'mon, friends.  It's about a whole lot more than the "every day 
>>> fan" or the "money" -- it's based on the fact that the whole 
>>> university isn't properly funded, let alone the Athletic 
>>> Department.  After all, we have this grandiose UM System, of which 
>>> only one is truly a "university" -- but we have a chancellor who 
>>> makes over 200 grand a year, which makes us big-time, doesn't it?  
>>> Pretentions usually only cost money, lots of money.                  
>>>     Unfortunately, athletics cost money -- just do the math on all 
>>> the scholarships ... starting with 63 in football alone, which has 
>>> no female counterpart and skews all the Title IX numbers.
>>>         And, we have nineteen Division I sports, and compliance with 
>>> Title IX and all the other touchy-feeley, PC goodies.  All of this 
>>> costs money.  To be in the NCAA, a school must support 14 Division I 
>>> sports -- which ones do you want to cut?  And, be careful now, will 
>>> you be "in compliance"??
>>>         I was told that every night, when the doors to the Alfond 
>>> are locked after a men's hockey game, the department is $100 grand 
>>> to the good -- yes, hockey undoubtedly is the cash cow.  You balance 
>>> the budget and figure out how to support some of the cash cows and 
>>> which sports to cut ... and you will all be heroes, excepting for 
>>> the people who will complain about what you've done.  Meantime, if 
>>> you want Maine Hockey and some of the other sports, you gotta bite 
>>> the bullet and suffer the skyboxes and dasher ads and the other 
>>> income-producing solutions.  
>>> Nonni   
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Bob Woodbury
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 1:03 PM
>>>> Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: New Sky Boxes
>>>>
>>>> I don't go anymore, either. I work nights and the nights vary from 
>>>> week to week. I live in Winslow so I'm not driving all the way up 
>>>> there, hoping to get a standing room ticket. I'm also 68 and 
>>>> standing up the entire game went away about 3-4 years ago. The 
>>>> every day fan is no longer welcome at the Alfond. It's all about 
>>>> the money now.
>>>>
>>>> Chesley Family wrote:
>>>>> Now you know how I felt when they turned so many regular admission 
>>>>> seats into season ticket seats and I could no longer call the 
>>>>> Monday before a game and get seats.  And I could always get 
>>>>> tickets, even for BU and BC and UNH.  It was a real shame I 
>>>>> thought to change it for the sake of the dollar.  Now this is just 
>>>>> another step in the same wrong direction in my way of thinking. 
>>>>>  
>>>>> It's pretty clear that the Athletic Dept. feels that they can make 
>>>>> more money with the sky boxes just like they could with season 
>>>>> ticket seats.  It's too bad that it's so much about the money and 
>>>>> not so much about who gets to go to the games.  I mean, let's face 
>>>>> it,  not everyone can afford a sky box or even season tickets for 
>>>>> that matter.  And not everyone lives close enough to Orono for it 
>>>>> to be reasonable to invest in them.  I used to go to about 5 or 6 
>>>>> games a season.  And a lot of other people did too.  So in the 
>>>>> course of a season a LOT more different people were able to go to 
>>>>> a fair number of games.  Now it's primarily the same group of fans 
>>>>> for every game.  I just don't think that it's right.  Especially 
>>>>> since the University is primarily funded by the citizens of the 
>>>>> state. 
>>>>>  
>>>>> And there was much more and better fan support before they turned 
>>>>> almost the whole arena into season ticket seats.  Yes, having the 
>>>>> balcony as the student section is a great idea and there is plenty 
>>>>> of good support from them but the rest of the arena is pretty 
>>>>> quiet compared to the days that I would go with my son and sit in 
>>>>> 000 in front of the press box and next to the band.  I miss those 
>>>>> days. 
>>>>>  
>>>>>  
>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>> From: Adam Parker
>>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2006 9:26 PM
>>>>>> Subject: New Sky Boxes
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't know if anyone else has seen this, but the University has 
>>>>>> announced they are going to add more skyboxes below the current 
>>>>>> ones:
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=136171
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> My issue is that these new sky boxes are going to be at the 
>>>>>> expense of the seating below.  They are going to eliminate some 
>>>>>> seats, including some season ticket holders.  Those season ticket 
>>>>>> holders (which could include me) will be moved to other parts of 
>>>>>> the arena or told that there isn't a spot for them, and they will 
>>>>>> just lose their tickets.
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> First, I have an issue with losing my tickets because they want 
>>>>>> to provide more seats for suits who may or may not show up for 
>>>>>> each game.  Second, I personally think my seats are excellent, as 
>>>>>> I can see the entire ice and nobody is in my way (I'm raised up 
>>>>>> enough so that I can see over everyone).  I don't want my seats 
>>>>>> that I've held for 3 years now taken away from me, only for me to 
>>>>>> be placed in a spot in the arena where I am not going to see as 
>>>>>> much of the game or have such good sitelines.
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> Has anyone heard more about this?  Any news on how this will be 
>>>>>> handled or which seats will disappear?  Any thoughts?
Bob Fitta
Director of Advertising
Harvard Magazine
617-496-6631