Maybe a rep on the advisory board can get an answer from STFu on why the decision was made to move the game. And did Freeman have to give her blessing for it to be moved?

I’m guessing the answer will be 100% STFu bull*!•^.

The tone deafness of this athletic department is staggering.

(02-12-2020 08:32 PM)HuskieJ Wrote:  Anybody ask the question about Soccer turf vs Football turf. Bad enough to move this game,
But I do not want injuries on top of that.

Seat Geek has a grass field.

This game makes ZERO sense. Look at the NIU game at Comiskey or whatever you call it. Look at the White Sox attendance in that same park? The Chicago Fire left Seatgeek because they couldn't draw. These stadiums do not draw, especially for NIU.

This is shady as s@$, there has to be more to it. No one is that stupid.

Agree, prairiedawg. This just pops up all of a sudden with no discussion or even a hint anywhere outside the a.dept. Some questions:
--- Did STF approach the SeatGeek management, or did they approach him? Where did this idea originate? Related: STF had to run this by someone ... who?
--- Who are the principals with SG stadium and management?
--- Did BYU have any role in this (never mind their official gee whiz statement)?
--- Is there a plan to connect/transport DeKalb fans to this, promote this with those 160,000 Chicago alumni, or provide some means/promotion for students on-campus and "suitcase school" weekenders to attend?
--- What is the $$ cost/benefit on this ... cheaper than operating HS?
--- Does NIU get anything out of providing SG with a one-time "tenant"? And is there a longer-term usage/repeat clause anywhere attached?
--- This would be three/four weeks out of HS ... is any renovation or other work planned during that time?
--- What are the TV arrangements?
--- Aside from "engagement," how does this affect NIU branding, as STF mentioned?

Note: I am NOT in any way implying anything legally wrong. It's just that this is such a big change to a major game that just wanting an "engagement" with those Chicago alumni is not enough explanation.

(02-12-2020 07:53 PM)prairiedawg Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 12:45 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  Maybe Athletics can make this a real event by offering pre-game bus tours of Summit, Argo, McCook, Hodgins, Burbank, and Justice.

No Stickney? Bummer. I'm out.

We can certainly add Stickney to the itinerary, but we’ll have to charge a little additional fee. You want the deluxe premium experience, ya gotta pay!

We need the Star to file a FOIA to get the juicy details.

I can't even believe STF moved this game.

Seven guys texted me tonight. They are unanimous in their displeasure.

And it's a real FU to season ticket holders for not including this game.

Thanks jjj for posting tweets. The comments to an article in a paper that covers BYU are hardly what STF touted as "National Branding”

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/2/12...in-chicago

This is embarrassing all around

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

First and foremost, let's stop the insane posts about moving the university to some suburban town --- THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

To HuskieTap22, HuskieJoe and anyone else trying to defend this move, please answer the following:
-- Unless SeatGeek is not taking a single penny, how is this a good financial move relative to the cost of playing at Huskie Stadium?
-- If SeatGeek gets any portion -- 40%, 25%, 10%, etc. -- of parking, concessions, etc., how is that better than getting 100% back at home?
-- Considering NIU has played at better / more attractive / notable venues (Soldier Field, Guaranteed Rate), where is the proof that moving those games helped draw Chicagoland alums / fans to Huskie Stadium? IF there isn't any, then don't expect this game to help bring those folks to DeKalb.
-- As others have labeled this an FU to loyal season ticket holders (regardless if you think they're few in number), how does this move in any way improve season ticket sales for the future?
-- How do you approach local businesses and ask them for financial support when you deprive them of a prime opportunity to make the kind of revenue that leads them to continue supporting Huskie athletics?
-- Where is the value in now paying transport costs for equipment, team, staff, cheerleaders, band, etc. when there are no such costs playing in DeKalb?
-- Seriously hard to understand how the pros could possibly outweigh the cons. Have to agree with others that STF doesn't care what The Dog Pound folks think and that's a shame. Last time I looked, there were well over 5,000 views of this thread, that's nearly 3,000 more eyeballs than have seen any one men's basketball home game. Add that to STF's resume.

(02-12-2020 11:13 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  First and foremost, let's stop the insane posts about moving the university to some suburban town --- THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

To HuskieTap22, HuskieJoe and anyone else trying to defend this move, please answer the following:
-- Unless SeatGeek is not taking a single penny, how is this a good financial move relative to the cost of playing at Huskie Stadium?
-- If SeatGeek gets any portion -- 40%, 25%, 10%, etc. -- of parking, concessions, etc., how is that better than getting 100% back at home?
-- Considering NIU has played at better / more attractive / notable venues (Soldier Field, Guaranteed Rate), where is the proof that moving those games helped draw Chicagoland alums / fans to Huskie Stadium? IF there isn't any, then don't expect this game to help bring those folks to DeKalb.
-- As others have labeled this an FU to loyal season ticket holders (regardless if you think they're few in number), how does this move in any way improve season ticket sales for the future?
-- How do you approach local businesses and ask them for financial support when you deprive them of a prime opportunity to make the kind of revenue that leads them to continue supporting Huskie athletics?
-- Where is the value in now paying transport costs for equipment, team, staff, cheerleaders, band, etc. when there are no such costs playing in DeKalb?
-- Seriously hard to understand how the pros could possibly outweigh the cons. Have to agree with others that STF doesn't care what The Dog Pound folks think and that's a shame. Last time I looked, there were well over 5,000 views of this thread, that's nearly 3,000 more eyeballs than have seen any one men's basketball home game. Add that to STF's resume.

I can't see any immediate financial gain from not having the game at home. So IMO it must be an "investment" type scenario. It could make future home&homes more attractive for P5 teams. Hence bigger road payouts. P5 fans scoff at coming to Dekalb. But you can sell a road trip to Chicago to almost any out of state fan. It being in Chicago(not really) you can advertise it there. You can't successfully advertise Dekalb games in Chicago. Won't do a thing. But advertise it as nearby….maybe? Advertising is crazy. I have no idea why Doritos or Pepsi would spend $10 million on Super Bowl spots. Does anyone not know about Doritos or Pepsi??? But they do it. NIU will chase those Chicago alums until they die. And maybe thats whats happening. They've forecasted out that if they don't add to the local fan base they'll be dead in 5 years. If I recall NIU is in the bottom 5 of ALL FBS teams in athletic budget. You don't stay the course when thats your position. And the money from 1 game won't alter that.

I have several serious questions about this deal?

Is NIU paying to rent this stadium, when they could play in Huskie Stadium for free?
How much are they paying to rent SeatGeek Stadium?
This is an abandoned stadium with a questionable future run by a town with a shady history!
Why is NIU doing this?
SeatGeek signed a very questionable deal for naming rights after Toyota would not renew the naming rights. SeatGeek paid 2 million dollars a year for the naming rights when the Chicago Fire was playing there. Now they are paying less than a million a year. As part of the deal, SeatGeek runs the ticket servicing for the venue making a profit on every ticket sold at the stadium. Hence the ticket price not being included in the season ticket pricing.
The village of Bridgeview has a shady political history including having a RICO investigation about strong-arming a business owner to sell his interest in a business via mafia threats to build the stadium.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-x...story.html
Bridgeview Officals Sued and Investigated for RICO Violations

Why is NIU doing this deal???
Is this really to expand the Chicago fan base or is something else going on?
Does this involve the massive political pay to play corruption in Illinois?
I have a hard time figuring out the economic benefits of this deal for NIU?

(02-12-2020 10:29 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  And it's a real FU to season ticket holders for not including this game.

Wait a second. This is NOt a part of season ticket????????!!!!!!!

(02-13-2020 03:21 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 10:29 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  And it's a real FU to season ticket holders for not including this game.

Wait a second. This is NOt a part of season ticket????????!!!!!!!

No, it's not. There will be an additional line item on your ticket renewal invoice for tickets to this game ($25 each). Not sure if there will also be a parking charge for Seatgeek or you will just pay at the stadium.

(02-12-2020 10:01 PM)NIU75 Wrote:  We need the Star to file a FOIA to get the juicy details.

And, while they are at it--can they dig into exactly how much money we lost on the Toledo--Guaranteed Rate game. I have heard in excess of $200,000, but would like to get some real facts.

If there were some facts already posted years ago, can someone rehash??

Thanks!

(02-13-2020 08:23 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 03:21 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 10:29 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  And it's a real FU to season ticket holders for not including this game.

Wait a second. This is NOt a part of season ticket????????!!!!!!!

No, it's not. There will be an additional line item on your ticket renewal invoice for tickets to this game ($25 each). Not sure if there will also be a parking charge for Seatgeek or you will just pay at the stadium.

Here is the Q&A from the NIU website that has answers about tickets and parking.

https://niuhuskies.com/sports/2020/2/12/...neral.aspx

(02-13-2020 08:33 AM)Milwaukee Pilot Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 10:01 PM)NIU75 Wrote:  We need the Star to file a FOIA to get the juicy details.

And, while they are at it--can they dig into exactly how much money we lost on the Toledo--Guaranteed Rate game. I have heard in excess of $200,000, but would like to get some real facts.

If there were some facts already posted years ago, can someone rehash??

Thanks!

Yes, I would like to know what happened financially with the Toledo game.

(02-12-2020 12:45 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  LOL. This is like when my company sent out a poop sandwich email that read...

In an effort to make lives better for our associates and their families, the decision has been made to retire the HMO plan from our healthcare benefits. This change has been made to enable us to remain competitive with the competition and combat against rising healthcare cost. Also, all monthly premium increases are published in the attached documents as well as increases to co-pays and releases of caps to annual RX deductibles.

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

hahaha that is funny. Sad. But funny!

So, according to question 1 in the FAQ.... tickets to the public are already on sale to the game, but season ticket holders will get priority, yet I have not received my season ticket packet. Got it. Makes perfect sense.