On Campus Blog

Is U of M ticket bundling causing waste?

Kroll-U2
Kroll (Alex Friedrich / MPR News)

Here's a new twist to my story on the main MPR News site about student dissatisfaction over a University of Minnesota ticket-bundling policy that requires some students to buy football tickets in addition to sports such as hockey.

A University athletic official says such ticket packages are supposed to reward fans who buy season tickets to multiple sports -- by giving them a discount as well as first dibs on hockey and basketball tickets.

But law student Joe Mahoney says he only has enough time for one sport -- so those football tickets will gather dust.

Kroll this afternoon forwarded me an email from Anthony Nixon, who may have a problem worse than Mahoney's:

... Add my voice to the list of people upset about this policy. I have been a die hard hockey fan all 4 years I've been here and buy both nights each year. [My note: Hockey games are usually played in sets of two, and season tickets are available for all Game 1 or Game 2 matches of the season.]

I also buy football season tickets usually as well. This year, I have both nights of hockey and also as a side effect have 2 [sets of] football tickets. This policy is awful and penalizes hockey (and basketball) fans like myself.

(The bold type and italics are mine.)

An Athletics Department officials said the move was just a way to reward fans who bought multiple

You can read my story here.