UND vs. Penn St. Nashville 2020-21

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

5 hours ago, nodak651 said:

Does Penn State have a hockey message board?  Can't really find anything online, which is surprising given their attendance.

The fans are just learning hockey lingo, so their hockey message board shouldn't be too far away.

[CarpeRemote]

4 hours ago, siouxforce19 said:

Not sure about message board but they have some bloggers I would call moderately clueless... but I do remember when this rumored game started to pick up steam, I think they were excited to play traditional power as opposed to their normal non conference schedule of Atlantic Hockey opponents. 

I googled Roar Zone - that’s the name of their student section, and some things come up. 

http://theroarzone.wixsite.com/theroarzone

Their rink is a recent gift and cost 88 million for construction and another 12 million was donated to the program for incidentals. Even though PSU is a football school I think they lead the nation in attendance to all sports combined. 

Went D1 in maybe 2013 and dove right in. 

I admire their love of sports but they are a hard group to get behind with that damn electric lion roar every couple of minutes. Not a perfect comparison but think Eagles and Flyers fans. 

[SiouxFan100]

5 hours ago, GFSioux4ever said:

There will be more than Vegas!

Agree

i am thinking between 12,000 and 13,000

[Siouxperfan7]

12 hours ago, SiouxperDave said:

I'll guess 10,000 Sioux fans.

 

9 hours ago, SiouxFan100 said:

Agree

i am thinking between 12,000 and 13,000

I get that the Vegas game was more than just the game for people.  Lots to do in Vegas.  But it was sold out 20 months prior to the game and it sold out quickly.  There are many people who missed out on the Vegas game who heard stories of all the UND fans around town, of the awesome pre party outside the arena, and the unbelievable atmosphere at the game.  There are many people who missed out on Vegas that are itching to be a part of a destination game.  Nashville isn't just a town with a couple country bars and the Opry anymore.  It's becoming a go to tourist destination of its own.  Through the allure of being able to play in a 17000+ NHL arena and being a part of packing that place out, I think you are going to get a lot of fans there.  I don't care who we are playing.  Doesn't matter.  The Nashville game will sell out. 

[tnt]

1 hour ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

 

I get that the Vegas game was more than just the game for people.  Lots to do in Vegas.  But it was sold out 20 months prior to the game and it sold out quickly.  There are many people who missed out on the Vegas game who heard stories of all the UND fans around town, of the awesome pre party outside the arena, and the unbelievable atmosphere at the game.  There are many people who missed out on Vegas that are itching to be a part of a destination game.  Nashville isn't just a town with a couple country bars and the Opry anymore.  It's becoming a go to tourist destination of its own.  Through the allure of being able to play in a 17000+ NHL arena and being a part of packing that place out, I think you are going to get a lot of fans there.  I don't care who we are playing.  Doesn't matter.  The Nashville game will sell out. 

Don't see that happening unless Penn State brings 5000 plus fans.

[GoalieMask]

Destination Games work (and UND will sell 12,000 to 15,000 tickets) because it is all about timing and advanced planning.

Vegas worked because it was guaranteed that on October 20, 2018 you will see UND playing hockey.    Same goes for the game at Madison Square Garden.  When you play in a regional or Frozen Four there is a "chance" UND will be there but it's never a guarantee.   Some don't want to make an investment in the risk of "what if?"   The odds are better that UND will be playing in St. Paul every March and that is why that is a destination for so many fans year over year.   But when it comes to NCAA tournaments, it's never a given until a week or two before.

Tell us when we need to be in Nashville and the green people will make it happen.

 

 

 

[SiouxFan100]

42 minutes ago, GoalieMask said:

Destination Games work (and UND will sell 12,000 to 15,000 tickets) because it is all about timing and advanced planning.

Vegas worked because it was guaranteed that on October 20, 2018 you will see UND playing hockey.    Same goes for the game at Madison Square Garden.  When you play in a regional or Frozen Four there is a "chance" UND will be there but it's never a guarantee.   Some don't want to make an investment in the risk of "what if?"   The odds are better that UND will be playing in St. Paul every March and that is why that is a destination for so many fans year over year.   But when it comes to NCAA tournaments, it's never a given until a week or two before.

Tell us when we need to be in Nashville and the green people will make it happen.

 

 

 

I agree about the planning. Nashville is a destination that is attractive to many. The certainty of the date, place and available of reasonably priced tickets will allow me to plan and recruit others to make this truly a destination first - then topped off by the game. There might be folks in my party that wouldn't even want to go to the game but would come for 3 or four days to hang out. Most of my potential group would not be coming from North Dakota. Most of my group are not currently UND hockey fans but would go to the game. 

I don't know how many UND fans will be there but I would think more than Vegas.

15,000 might be on the high end but 8,000 is certainly too low. This is assuming that the team performance hasn't taken a nose dive - not worried about that.

Please note that I am a casual fan - maybe 2-3 games a year. I would like to think if someone like myself would seriously attend this game that there are others like me.

[GFSioux4ever]

Depending on the size of the arena and how difficult they make it to get tickets at a decent price, I would guess 10,000 is a pretty good guess. 

[UNDColorado]

My early prediction is 12,000 UND fans and 3,000 PSU fans.

[Siouxperfan7]

6 minutes ago, GFSioux4ever said:

Depending on the size of the arena and how difficult they make it to get tickets at a decent price, I would guess 10,000 is a pretty good guess. 

Well, Bridgestone Arena currently seats 17,113 for hockey.    I would guess that there will be multiple seating price options.  So given those reasons, I would say more people would be interested in going to this even over Vegas.  10,000 will probably be the number of tickets sold in the first week they are on sale!!!

[Cratter]

5 hours ago, SiouxFan100 said:

I don't know how many UND fans will be there but I would think more than Vegas.

Thats not saying much. The Vegas arena only held 8,000.

There was more in NYC than Vegas.

[Siouxperfan7]

6 minutes ago, Cratter said:

Thats not saying much. The Vegas arena only held 8,000.

There was more in NYC than Vegas.

Let me clarify,  there will be much more interest in the Nashville game because the ability to get tickets is greater.  If you want to get tickets to the game and go, you likely will.

[cberkas]

UND would be smart to get the Predators and Vandy involved in some way, and don’t underestimate the local Predators fan base.

[SiouxFan100]

2 hours ago, Cratter said:

Thats not saying much. The Vegas arena only held 8,000.

There was more in NYC than Vegas.

Fine then!

thr bottom end at Nashville will be at least the number of UND fans that went to New York - what was that? 10,000?

nashville will be at least the New York number - never mind talking about Vegas 

[Dustin]

To me, the ideal Nashville opponent would be Wisconsin.  The Badgers are a long-established hockey rival.   They're a big-name school that could generate some casual interest outside the two fan bases (like Pred fans).  Their fans actually do travel (unlike Minny), and Madison to Nashville is not really that far (9 hour drive - half of what it would be from Grand Forks).  Plus, North Dakota and Wisconsin like to party together, even if they're cheering for opposite teams.

[UNDBIZ]

5 hours ago, Dustin said:

To me, the ideal Nashville opponent would be Wisconsin.  The Badgers are a long-established hockey rival.   They're a big-name school that could generate some casual interest outside the two fan bases (like Pred fans).  Their fans actually do travel (unlike Minny), and Madison to Nashville is not really that far (9 hour drive - half of what it would be from Grand Forks).  Plus, North Dakota and Wisconsin like to party together, even if they're cheering for opposite teams.

Have Wisconsin fans really traveled for a game since the early 2000s though?  Was always disappointed in their showing at the Xcel.

Edited November 2, 2018 by UNDBIZ
Dumb spelling

[Siouxperfan7]

1 hour ago, Dustin said:

To me, the ideal Nashville opponent would be Wisconsin.  The Badgers are a long-established hockey rival.   They're a big-name school that could generate some casual interest outside the two fan bases (like Pred fans).  Their fans actually do travel (unlike Minny), and Madison to Nashville is not really that far (9 hour drive - half of what it would be from Grand Forks).  Plus, North Dakota and Wisconsin like to party together, even if they're cheering for opposite teams.

It's going to be Penn St.  Unless they back out, which I don't see any reason they would, that will be the opponent.   The only reason it hasn't been officially announced is becuase they are just finalizing the details.  Biggest one being the date. 

[tnt]

On 10/30/2018 at 11:39 AM, OgieOgilthorpe said:

I agree with this for the most part. I understand why they did what they did (keeping it exclusive and expensive), and things worked out exactly like they were hoping for and it was a great success. I think they made the right call, and now this Vegas game is serving as a great setup for an even bigger success in Nashville. I think this Nashville game can be equally successful, but with a different style. Less exclusiveness feel, lower % of TRUE hardcore UND fans, cheaper tickets, but MUCH higher attendance. 

 

So if they sold all 7,500 tickets in 30 seconds, how many more did they miss out on? On top of that, they now have this extremely successful Vegas game spreading the hype. They have every person that attended Vegas chomping at the bit to get tickets for the next game, they have all the people that tried to get tickets and failed making sure they don't fail at getting them for this next game, and they also have all the people that didn't think about going to the game pissed that they missed out and chomping at the bit to make it to this next one. In my personal experience, I was discouraged from buying tickets right off the bat when I heard how few seats there were and knew it would be an expensive and a battle to get tickets. So me and every hockey fan I know that didn't go are already talking about going for sure to this next one. I'm sure that's a common theme for all UND fans, not just GF and ND based UND fans. 

The demand is there no doubt. Even if prices are high for this game, I think they'll sell 20,000 tickets no problem...and honestly, that's probably without even including Penn State fans. Look at the 2016 championship game...there were what, 19,500 tickets sold for that game and that was a last minute purchase and trip for a lot of those people? If you can plan this out over a year in advance, you're going to get A LOT of people in those seats. Plus I honestly think Penn State probably has a stronger following than the goofs do currently. Not only that, but I bet they'll get a decent amount of alum making the drive to Nashville with how many thousands of them are scattered throughout the Mid-western workforce. 

If cow state can get 18,000 fans for a regular season game or whatever their brick barn holds, I bet UND can easily get 20k down to Nashville for an epic weekend game no problem. I know I'll be there! 

 

 

Don't see those kind of numbers at all.  There were tons of people trying to sell their tickets before the Las Vegas game, and many of them had to keep decreasing their prices.  People talk high prices for the game, but the game price was a very small cost in the scheme of things when traveling to Vegas, especially since the airlines around the area jacked their prices. 

[Siouxperfan7]

37 minutes ago, tnt said:

Don't see those kind of numbers at all.  There were tons of people trying to sell their tickets before the Las Vegas game, and many of them had to keep decreasing their prices.  People talk high prices for the game, but the game price was a very small cost in the scheme of things when traveling to Vegas, especially since the airlines around the area jacked their prices. 

11348 people attended the game in Madison Square Garden.  Some were BC fans, but not a lot.  So lets conservatively say there were 10,000 UND fans there.  Given the success of that game as well as the high demand of the Vegas game, It's not too crazy to think that the next destination game in Nashville will surpass the New York game.  Remember, fans were given like a week (with the presale) to buy tickets.  When they were out, that was it.  The game in Nashville will sell likely 8,000-10,000 tickets in the first week!!  Then fans will have over a year to decide it they want to go.  It's really simple.  More fans will have the opportunity to go, so more fans will go.

I also think that you underestimate the number of Penn St fans that will make the trip.  There are more Penn St Alum that you think.  Sure they are new to the D1 hockey world, but if I was a Penn St. fan, I would think it was pretty cool that the biggest hockey program in college asked my team to play a game this big.  I could see 2000-3000 Penn St fans making the trip.

[Dustin]

2 hours ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

It's going to be Penn St.  Unless they back out, which I don't see any reason they would, that will be the opponent.   The only reason it hasn't been officially announced is becuase they are just finalizing the details.  Biggest one being the date. 

I know that it’s Penn St.  I just saying that, ideally, I think Wisconsin would have been my #1 choice for this type of game.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

3 hours ago, UNDBIZ said:

Have Wisconsin fans really traveled for a game since the early 2000s though?  Was always disappointed in their showing at the Excel.

I don't see what a spreadsheet has to do with any of this.

[tnt]

2 hours ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

11348 people attended the game in Madison Square Garden.  Some were BC fans, but not a lot.  So lets conservatively say there were 10,000 UND fans there.  Given the success of that game as well as the high demand of the Vegas game, It's not too crazy to think that the next destination game in Nashville will surpass the New York game.  Remember, fans were given like a week (with the presale) to buy tickets.  When they were out, that was it.  The game in Nashville will sell likely 8,000-10,000 tickets in the first week!!  Then fans will have over a year to decide it they want to go.  It's really simple.  More fans will have the opportunity to go, so more fans will go.

I also think that you underestimate the number of Penn St fans that will make the trip.  There are more Penn St Alum that you think.  Sure they are new to the D1 hockey world, but if I was a Penn St. fan, I would think it was pretty cool that the biggest hockey program in college asked my team to play a game this big.  I could see 2000-3000 Penn St fans making the trip.

Don't doubt more fans will go, I just don't see 20,000 UND fans wanting to go.   I'm guessing there will be at least some empty seats. 

[siouxgrad]

31 minutes ago, tnt said:

Don't doubt more fans will go, I just don't see 20,000 UND fans wanting to go.   I'm guessing there will be at least some empty seats. 

Well, if 20,000 want to go there may be some upset fans since Bridgestone Arena only holds 17,113 for hockey.

Was able to make it to Winnipeg, the outdoor game in Omaha, NYC and Las Vegas.

Next stop....Nashville.



 

[UNDBIZ]

51 minutes ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

I don't see what a spreadsheet has to do with any of this.

*Xcel

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

14 hours ago, Dustin said:

To me, the ideal Nashville opponent would be Wisconsin.  The Badgers are a long-established hockey rival.   They're a big-name school that could generate some casual interest outside the two fan bases (like Pred fans).  Their fans actually do travel (unlike Minny), and Madison to Nashville is not really that far (9 hour drive - half of what it would be from Grand Forks).  Plus, North Dakota and Wisconsin like to party together, even if they're cheering for opposite teams.

If UND/The Ralph continue to make this work, I would like to see us play Wisconsin in Chicago. That should draw a crowd.