Siena basketball games a luxury for some fans - Times Union
https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Siena-basketball-games-a-luxury-for-some-fans-833077.php
Siena basketball games a luxury for some fans
$2,000 buys dinner and table behind the basket
Published 12:33 am EST, Friday, November 26, 2010
ALBANY -- Parking is for suckers, so when I arrived at Times Union Center this past Tuesday for the Siena men's basketball game, I left my ride at the curb and tossed my keys to the valet.
"Thank you, sir," the valet shot back, before taking my Corolla to an exclusive lot for important people like myself.
No one ever called me "sir" during my five years covering the Saints, but over the next few hours they'd do it again and again, usually after asking something like, "Can I get you anything else?"
Hey, what more could a guy want? I watched Siena play Butler while enjoying every amenity short of ... well ... a butler.
I used valet parking, ate a big meal and sat at a plush table almost as close to the court as Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro.
Now truth be told, if I had a few thousand dollars to burn, I probably wouldn't use it for Siena basketball tickets. But after spending one night getting the royal treatment in Siena's "premium seating," I can understand why some would.
On this particular night, VIP was spelled P-E-T-E.
The program works like this: For $2,000, you get a table for two behind the basket for every Siena home game this season. You also enjoy valet parking, a pregame buffet dinner, a halftime snack, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages and waiter service throughout the game.
Snicker if you want, but today's deep-pocketed sports fans will pay big bucks for such high-end experiences, the economy be damned.
If someone will shell out $9,000 for a 2010 Super Bowl ticket, $6,500 for a courtside seat to the NBA All-Star game or $4,000 to sit on "Millionaire's Row" at the Kentucky Derby, why not two grand for college hoops?
Sports might be more recession-proof than you'd think. Of sports fans surveyed this past year for the American Express Spending and Saving Tracker, 76 percent said they didn't slash spending on their favorite teams.
So even as the phrase "in this economy" remains entrenched in our vernacular, Siena has expanded its 10-year-old premium seating program.
The school is using the courtside tables for the first time, though the move is hardly unprecedented in the world of college basketball; Syracuse uses a similar premium program that requires a $10,000 donation over five years.
"It's growing at the collegiate level," Siena athletic director John D'Argenio said. "Major institutions have been doing it a while. Now you're seeing the mid-majors like Siena doing it."
At Siena, they're doing well with it. Of the 24 tables available, all but one are sold. When you factor in the courtside seats -- which begin at a more modest $850 but don't include a table -- the premium seating program nets Siena more than $80,000 a year.
The premium seats might seem best suited to corporate clients looking to schmooze customers, but I can see a draw for Joe Fan who just wants to be treated like a rock star.
With my keys entrusted to the valet team, that's exactly how I felt waltzing into the Time Warner Cable Sports Lounge -- a roped-off bar and eating area exclusively for premium seat holders.
There, I dove into a meal of roast chicken, potatoes and veggies. I ate at a table near the ropes, thus allowing me to scoff at the proletariat settling for hot dogs.
As tip time approached, I found my seat, where a hostess soon introduced herself and asked if I needed anything.
That was nice, but seemingly unnecessary. With the bar about 20 yards away and a full pregame meal on the house, I'm not sure why you'd bother with an order of chicken wings ($8) or a chili dog ($7).
Most folks seemed to use the waitresses for drinks, which were pricier than the food. A Blue Moon draft cost $7, a Miller Lite $6.
I have one complaint about the set-up -- the view. I hate watching games from the baseline. I lose all depth perception and struggle to see the action at the other end of the court.
But if it bothered someone else, I couldn't find that person.
"I like it better," said premium ticket holder Irwin Smith, who used to sit courtside. "If I'm at a football game, I want to sit in the end zone."
Otherwise, the benefits are obvious: "More room, better seats," said Chris Rogers, who sits at a table for two with his wife, Michele.
Indeed, there's no jostling to get out of an aisle for a trip to the men's room, and there's about as much legroom as the emergency exit row on a commercial airline flight.
Of course, when you're curled up in the lap of luxury, it's easy to forget there's actually a basketball game being played.
As far as I could tell, Siena-Butler was pretty entertaining. But I can't believe Siena lost. For $2,000, I want every home game to be a win, guaranteed.
Pete Iorizzo can be reached at 454-5425 or by e-mail at piorizzo@timesunion.com.
Siena basketball games a luxury for some fans - Times Union
https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Siena-basketball-games-a-luxury-for-some-fans-833077.php
Siena basketball games a luxury for some fans
$2,000 buys dinner and table behind the basket
Published 12:33 am EST, Friday, November 26, 2010
ALBANY -- Parking is for suckers, so when I arrived at Times Union Center this past Tuesday for the Siena men's basketball game, I left my ride at the curb and tossed my keys to the valet.
"Thank you, sir," the valet shot back, before taking my Corolla to an exclusive lot for important people like myself.
No one ever called me "sir" during my five years covering the Saints, but over the next few hours they'd do it again and again, usually after asking something like, "Can I get you anything else?"
Hey, what more could a guy want? I watched Siena play Butler while enjoying every amenity short of ... well ... a butler.
I used valet parking, ate a big meal and sat at a plush table almost as close to the court as Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro.
Now truth be told, if I had a few thousand dollars to burn, I probably wouldn't use it for Siena basketball tickets. But after spending one night getting the royal treatment in Siena's "premium seating," I can understand why some would.
On this particular night, VIP was spelled P-E-T-E.
The program works like this: For $2,000, you get a table for two behind the basket for every Siena home game this season. You also enjoy valet parking, a pregame buffet dinner, a halftime snack, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages and waiter service throughout the game.
Snicker if you want, but today's deep-pocketed sports fans will pay big bucks for such high-end experiences, the economy be damned.
If someone will shell out $9,000 for a 2010 Super Bowl ticket, $6,500 for a courtside seat to the NBA All-Star game or $4,000 to sit on "Millionaire's Row" at the Kentucky Derby, why not two grand for college hoops?
Sports might be more recession-proof than you'd think. Of sports fans surveyed this past year for the American Express Spending and Saving Tracker, 76 percent said they didn't slash spending on their favorite teams.
So even as the phrase "in this economy" remains entrenched in our vernacular, Siena has expanded its 10-year-old premium seating program.
The school is using the courtside tables for the first time, though the move is hardly unprecedented in the world of college basketball; Syracuse uses a similar premium program that requires a $10
,000 donation over five years.
"It's growing at the collegiate level," Siena athletic director John D'Argenio said. "Major institutions have been doing it a while. Now you're seeing the mid-majors like Siena doing it."
At Siena, they're doing well with it. Of the 24 tables available, all but one are sold. When you factor in the courtside seats -- which begin at a more modest $850 but don't include a table -- the premium seating program nets Siena more than $80,000 a year.
The premium seats might seem best suited to corporate clients looking to schmooze customers, but I can see a draw for Joe Fan who just wants to be treated like a rock star.
With my keys entrusted to the valet team, that's exactly how I felt waltzing into the Time Warner Cable Sports Lounge -- a roped-off bar and eating area exclusively for premium seat holders.
There, I dove into a meal of roast chicken, potatoes and veggies. I ate at a table near the ropes, thus allowing me to scoff at the proletariat settling for hot dogs.
As tip time approached, I found my seat, where a hostess soon introduced herself and asked if I needed anything.
That was nice, but seemingly unnecessary. With the bar about 20 yards away and a full pregame meal on the house, I'm not sure why you'd bother with an order of chicken wings ($8) or a chili dog ($7).
Most folks seemed to use the waitresses for drinks, which were pricier than the food. A Blue Moon draft cost $7, a Miller Lite $6.
I have one complaint about the set-up -- the view. I hate watching games from the baseline. I lose all depth perception and struggle to see the action at the other end of the court.
But if it bothered someone else, I couldn't find that person.
"I like it better," said premium ticket holder Irwin Smith, who used to sit courtside. "If I'm at a football game, I want to sit in the end zone."
Otherwise, the benefits are obvious: "More room, better seats," said Chris Rogers, who sits at a table for two with his wife, Michele.
Indeed, there's no jostling to get out of an aisle for a trip to the men's room, and there's about as much legroom as the emergency exit row on a commercial airline flight.
Of course, when you're curled up in the lap of luxury, it's easy to forget there's actually a basketball game being played.
As far as I could tell, Siena-Butler was pretty entertaining. But I can't believe Siena lost. For $2,000, I want every home game to be a win, guaranteed.
Pete Iorizzo can be reached at 454-5425 or by e-mail at piorizzo@timesunion.com.