flatspin7 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 The Dakota Student reported today that student seating on the lower bowl will be moved from sections 108-109 to 111! That is a loss of 100 seats. The excuse given was that the students block others view of the game and the same old BS. Roger Thomas was quoted in the paper saying that..Its the best decision for everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdahl Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Don't get me wrong, I have no real opinion on the move, not being a regular game attendee at REA. However, the Dakota Student article did claim that there was no net loss of seats for students, just relocation of about 100 to the upper deck: Moving the section to 111 would cause an estimated loss of approximentaly 100 student seats in the lower level. In order to compensate, the athletic department shifted the upper level seating one section over to include to northwest upper level section which makes up the seating difference. They will also create a handicapp seating area in the upper level student section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted April 9, 2003 Author Share Posted April 9, 2003 Where would you rather sit. On the glass or in the sky? I understand that the may open up some seats up top but that is a hell of a trade. Thanks for the generosity REA(thick sarcasm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jumbo Rulz Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 I'm a student and agree 100% with Roger's decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U2Bad1 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 100 seats, big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Where would you rather sit. On the glass or in the sky? I understand that the may open up some seats up top but that is a hell of a trade. Thanks for the generosity REA(thick sarcasm) Being in the corner is better anyway (allthough being in the upper bowl would kind of suck). As a student I'd take the corner/end over centerice anyday. That tuanting factor is more in play when the opposing goalie can actually hear you 2 of 3 periods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 The view of a game from the upper at The Ralph is, in my opinion, far better than the view from the lower. Of course, as I've groused about here before, sadly, too many student have become like season ticket holders: There for the social event, not the game. I'm all for "social eventers" being in the upper (except where I sit). The knock I'd put on this is that they put the students into 111, down by UND's goalie for 2/3 of the game rather than in 106 (by the visitor for 2/3). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted April 9, 2003 Author Share Posted April 9, 2003 100 seats, big deal. It is a big deal, simply becuase of the fact that REA and the Athletic Dept had originally promised 3 lower bowl sections to the students, that didnt happen. Now they moved us into just one section. Whats next? I would not surprise me to see them move all the students into the upper bowl in a few years. Its all about money not about students. I guess it pisses me off so much because I am a hold over from the old ralph and I know what it was like to have the students be 40% of a building. The athletic dept would never have thought of taking away seats like they do in the new building. And now that they have taken the seats away you know that it is impossible to get them back. And 100 seat is a alot when you look at how fast the lower bowl seat fill up. If the doors open at 530 before a game all the real hard core fans are out side at least an hour before that. The lower bowl student section is normally completely filled by 6pm that mean now some of the people who really care about the game are not going to be able to be close to the action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndgopher Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 The new Ralph continues to screw the students and by doing so you have lost that hostile home ice andvantage you once enjoyed. The atmosphere in the old Ralph was college hockey, I feel like I'm at a professional arena in the new Ralph. Hope they can do something to change that, was much more fun to attend games before. Putting the students in the upper bowl makes no sense at all. But money talks not just in GF but everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmail Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 I think I can provide an honest opinion of the Section 108 students, as I sit directly across the aisle from them. (107 seats 19-16) I have to say I have mixed feelings about moving them. Foremost, as a parent of younger kids, I was one of those who ranted about all of the standing at the beginning. It was difficult for my children to see the game even if they also stood. Also, if we tried to stand, we caught hell from the others in our section. It was certainly a no win situation. The students in 108, however, compromised with us over the past two seasons. For the most part, they stayed seated throughout the game...seemingly to their disadvantage with the students to their left. Although they expressed courtesy to us by staying seated, it was obvious that they weren't able to see either, because of those students who refused to extend common courtesy in return. This is what pisses me off. It's a perfect example of the bad apples spoiling the whole barrel. Sitting next to the students hasn't been all that bad. The language? Yeah... it's rough some times, but my kids have learned worse from dear old dad. Derek Sheppard is a naughty word now. Standing up for a power play? You bet your ass. That's why we're there, to cheer on the Fighting Sioux. Anyway, my kids (and I) will get a better view... and I think that's great; I wont BS you. I still think it sucks for those students who tried to make it work. I truly think they gave it an honest effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fighting Sioux Fan Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 The new Ralph continues to screw the students and by doing so you have lost that hostile home ice andvantage you once enjoyed. The atmosphere in the old Ralph was college hockey, I feel like I'm at a professional arena in the new Ralph. Hope they can do something to change that, was much more fun to attend games before. Putting the students in the upper bowl makes no sense at all. But money talks not just in GF but everywhere. It's not the same attitude at the new REA and it really sucks. I sit in the upper level and there are times when I am the only person that claps and cheers, and that sucks. It was better this year than it was last year at least! Hopefully the atmosphere in that place will return to the hostile home ice it once was. I think that teams actually enjoy coming to the REA, how many WCHA teams actually have a losing record in that building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mksioux Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Corner seats are better IMO. Not only is it a better view from a hockey purist perspective, it inhibits the sightlines of others far less than where the seats were previously. The fact that students are being transferred to corner seats should not be a cause of disgust toward REA or RT. I think the students have only two legitimate gripes. First, the student seats should be in one of the south corners where the Sioux score twice. Second, the the transfer of 100 seats to the upper deck. Students should concentrate on these two issues rather than reckless criticism about how REA and RT are constantly "screwing" the students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawkota Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 agree with mksioux, the corner seats are a step up for the students and I think that they should have gotten more lower level seating - perhaps the west half of section 112. While being on the south end corners is better cause the Sioux attack twice, I don't think that was realistically going to happen. Sections 102, 103, 106 and 107 are coach's club FSC members - they are in those seats because that's where they want to be and they pay the extra $$$ to make sure. Those sections are almost always packed for home games - the vast majority are hard core fans. I'm guessing that Section 111 was the only place to move the students. It is listed on the REA website as "Not for Sale" - I don't know who used those seats but I presume it wasn't FSC members. Maybe someone here knows for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted April 9, 2003 Author Share Posted April 9, 2003 Well my gripes are that they moved the students with out contacting any one, and they took away lower bowl seats, but I really hard time believing that there no dollar signs involved in the decision. The seats in the corner are "coaches club seats" that involves a 1000 dollar donation to the fighting sioux club just for the right to buy tickets in that section. The center ice seat on the other side are "Directors/Emerald/Diamond Club seats and the donations for those range from 2500-10000! So even if they cut the people that had to be moved a deal and didnt require any more than the 1000 dollars. THat leaves 100 seats at the higher rate. If the average person buys 4 season tickets (one membership required for each order not for each seat) at $2500 that is atleast 62,000 dollars in extra donations at a minimum. (Source REA and Fighting Sioux Club) Now I am not saying that there were no valid complaints from people in the area, but this seems really fishy to me. The students in the most part (there were some that didnt but that will change over time) were sitting for most of the game and "behaving". THe movent to the corner is not a bad thing, back in OLD REA I used to sit down in the corner, but the loss of seats sucks. Lawkota-- Those seats were season ticket holders seat that had to be re-assigned to other areas of the arena. I spoke to a pissed of season ticket holder who didnt want to get moved from 111. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 I love the fact that we are being moved to the corner....however it is the wrong one. The hostile environment talked about earlier is like having a 7th man on the ice, it's what home ice advantage is all about. REA is greatly taking that away from the Sioux, all in the name of cash. Let's not forget this game is about the students...not Grand Forks. The players are our classmates. It's the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA Fighting Sioux. They need to give the students control of the entire area behind the south goal. Oh wait, that's not as profitable. (I mean that we should have the same number of seats as we did this season in the lower bowl). It's not like that place doesn't make enough money with their ridiculously overpriced concession items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mksioux Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 I agree that the best place for the students is the south end behind the goal and the southwest and southeast corners. The more seats in the lower level the better. I know that the south-end seats are higher priced than the north-end seats...but the extra money made by opening up the red-line seats would make up for this loss of money. No matter what decision is made, a certain group of people are going to be mad. I think moving the students to the south end is the best possible solution. But I realize it won't happen...at least not next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawkota Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 REA is greatly taking that away from the Sioux, all in the name of cash. Let's not forget this game is about the students...not Grand Forks. The players are our classmates. It's the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA Fighting Sioux. They need to give the students control of the entire area behind the south goal. Oh wait, that's not as profitable. I'm not going to argue that REA doesn't have a profit motive because they do. In fact, it's state mandated. The only positive is that the profits get run back into the university. I also agree that the students are getting stuck here. But I take issue with the often used characterization by current students that they are the university and should be afforded special treatment. I'm sorry, but the students are but one part of the university. Yes, without students, UND wouldn't exist, but the same can be said for faculty, staff, alumni and generous friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmail Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 No matter what decision is made, a certain group of people are going to be mad. I think moving the students to the south end is the best possible solution. But I realize it won't happen...at least not next season. You're absolutely right. It won't happen. There are decades of season ticket holders on the south end. If you mess with their seats, you're committing donation suicide. Some don't realize the fact that many of the people sitting behind the south-end goal are in the Directors/ Emerald/ Diamond giving clubs. When the seats were first picked in Bollingers' office, you weren't required to pick only in your "giving club area." You could choose from your area and anything area below, based on seniority. Therefore, people who sat behind the net for the last 20 years are still sitting there. And they're not moving... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7>4 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 The new Ralph continues to screw the students and by doing so you have lost that hostile home ice andvantage you once enjoyed. The atmosphere in the old Ralph was college hockey, I feel like I'm at a professional arena in the new Ralph. Hope they can do something to change that, was much more fun to attend games before. Putting the students in the upper bowl makes no sense at all. But money talks not just in GF but everywhere. I totally agree. The students need to be near the ice. Fact is, they are the loadest and most vocal. I remember watching the student section during the late 80's (isn't that were The Farce came from?) and how loud they were. It created a great atmosphere. If the Sioux want to recreate that atmosphere from Ralphie I they need to add more student seats near the ice, not take them away. But as ND Gopher so correctly pointed out, money talks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggler Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 The most annoying thing is that there never semeed to be much discussion about this. All of the sudden it was done. Quite stupid. Maybe there were problems this yar, but I don't really remember hearing about them. Why do the change now? Whatever though, it almost seems like a waste to argue. Should have seen it coming a mile away. The whole thing is disheartening because alot of students tried to work within in the system and do what others asked of them. Look what they get out of it, crappy seats. This certainly isn't going to help any. Instead it will just make students feel more abandoned, left out and not cared about then they already are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 This same exact problem ocurred in the new Mariucci when it opened. Student were given section 14 (the right section, I'm not complaining about that). But now the students have Section 14, part of 13, and then section 2 & 3. Why split the students in half like that? In your case separate levels? That doesn't make sense. I understand there's a profit to be made and $$ talks. But how much does a student pay in tuition and how much of the "college" experience should be afforded to the students. As a non-student (so I'm not biased) I feel you guys should have the south end of the arena, should be able to stand (and at the end it won't interfere with sightlines of others), and should be able to be rowdy. That is indeed (as already mentioned) what creates the home-ice hostile crowd. And the students may not pay the most money for their seats, but I'd argue they cheer the loudest and should be afforded the opportunity to be right in the opposing goaltender's face while they're there. But, if you guys can pack your "Coache's Corner" seats (or whatever), I commend you. Our Corpies pay big money not to come and others of us are on a waiting list for tickets and can't go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11~ZachAttack~11 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Ok I understand abou people not being able to see. But if they move the students section - give us two sections. Fine if you move us but some of us get their and hour and a half to two hours before the game just to get a seat in the lower bowl. Without the student section at the bottom bowl we won't get that "7th man on the ice" advantage. I'm sure that helps the players get phsyced up (sp?). Besides....what the point of having home ice if ya can't yell at the people in the penalty box!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmail Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 JWG - you bring up some outstanding points...if I may stretch them out a little... I understand there's a profit to be made and $$ talksOne of the big problems I see with the "New Ralph" is it's desire to be a competitive entertainment venue. That's where the money-hunger is coming from. At the "Old Ralph", it was just a hockey arena. And it worked great. And the students...afforded the opportunity to be right in the opposing goaltender's face while they're there. One of the main problems was in the transition between the arenas. The students were in the perfect spot in the old building, but this was changed around in the transition. Why? As rumor has it, they wanted to give the students the "best seats", and put them at center ice. Well, I call bull$%!#. They were put there for the simple fact that $1000 donation seating was much easier to market than $5000 seating. Even in our hockey-crazy town, people have limits on what they'll spend for entertainment. Anyway, they did their homework in the marketing department, and did it well. others of us are on a waiting list for tickets and can't go We have a waiting list too, for the $1000 and lower seats. It backs up what I just mentioned. These aren't the people that go to the games to be seen... they go to watch hockey. Like a previous post said, those seats have the hardcore hockey fans, and they're full every weekend. It was a shame on the Friday night DU game to see all of the empty seats at center ice for the first 10 minutes of the game. These are the corpies. And waiting list or not, if you come to the office with 10000 bones, they'll find some corpie seats for you. I'll shut up now... I just noticed I'm talking my way out of my seats! Please know that these are only my opinions, and are not to be taken as fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 One of the big problems I see with the "New Ralph" is it's desire to be a competitive entertainment venue. The ND Legislature, as a condition to allow the publicly owned land to be built on and to allow such a building to be built there, passed a law that required REA to show an operating profit before it could be turned over to UND or a UND foundation. Don't blame REA. Blame your state legislator for passing the law. REA just has to live within it, thus, it has to make sure it shows a profit. And remember, as previously stated, profits from REA end up going back into UND Athletics. (Remember the $500,000.00 to fund the womens hockey team this season?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farce poobah Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Let's just turn the whole place into a cold Mariucci. Sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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