Rossiter: UAlbany milks Albany Cup, fans pay the hefty price

The University of Albany finally got its wish, an Albany Cup home game against cross-town rival Siena in their quaint, yet electric SEFCU Arena. Much like a little child, after Siena gave the University an inch they took a mile, gouging ticket prices in the process.

On any given night an average Joe, or Jan to be politically correct, can watch a Men’s game for $12.00 – $15.00. A little pricey if you ask me, but the lights don’t stay on by themselves.

Now, if Joe or Jan doesn’t want to feel like the hunchback of Notre Dame, they could splurge for a chairback seat at the wallet-emptying price of $25.00. Or, if they wanted to mingle with the high rollers, they could max their Visa card out for one of the less comfortable than they look, courtside seats.

Full disclosure, I emptied my piggy bank on a pair of those season-long courtside seats. While the experience is unrivaled, had the schedule not included the Albany Cup, I wouldn’t have given the University half of the $1,100 price tag, which brings us back to Joe and Jan.

For the Albany Cup, if either of the two wanted to attend the game they’d probably have to forgo Thanksgiving, Black Friday and maybe even Christmas because the University has decided they are going to milk the game for every penny it’s worth.

Want a regular game ticket aka reserved bleacher seat? Be prepared to shell out 40 big ones. That’s a 166% to 233% price hike, depending on how you look at it. For a family of four, that’s a $160.00 night before the kids get rambunctious and require a trip to the snack bar. Yes, we are still talking about mid-major College Basketball at a state school and not a day at Yankee Stadium.

What’s that, you don’t want to have back pain along with an already stuffed belly on the Monday after Thanksgiving? Well for $60.00 you can plop your tush in a rock hard chairback seat. I guess the University doesn’t want you going broke over a basketball game considering the markup on this one is only 140%, how nice.

I get it supply and demand, but with prices like this, it chases many of the diehards right out of the building,  Although the school might make quite a few extra pennies off this year’s game, it could also come back to bite them in the butt.  Pushing away those unable to handle their ticket price plays right into the Siena argument of “it keeps fans out.”

UAlbany fought long and hard to have this game on their campus. What a shame that they would try and undo all that hard work to make a few bucks.

It’s another article for another day, but the game really should alternate between sites. At the very least, an effort should be made for the TU Center to be a more neutral venue.

In any case, if you can handle the up-charge, it’s going to be a great game and might even be worth the price. Tickets go on sale to the general public this coming Monday morning, November 21st.

If you don’t want to put a dent in your bank account, you can always listen to the game from the comfort of your home on Talk 1300.

The 2016 Albany Cup will be played on Sunday, November 27 at 7:00 p.m. The Women’s Albany Cup game will be played the same day in the same venue, but at 3:00 p.m.

 

-Dylan Rossiter(@ByDylanRossiter)