by The Cowl Editor on November 1, 2018
PCI
By Scott Jarosz ’21
Sports Staff
There has been a lot of debate at Providence College over why students do not have the option to purchase a season ticket package for men’s ice hockey games. Currently, students who wish to attend games must purchase tickets for each game individually at price of $4. However, just a couple of years prior, students were able to reserve an individual seat at hockey games on the PC app at no charge.
While allowing students to attend hockey games for free may seem like it would attract more fans, what occurred was the opposite. Because students could reserve seats for free, they would often reserve their seat but not attend the game, as there were no consequences for not attending. The current frustration that students are having is not about having to pay for tickets, but rather not being able to buy season tickets. This raises the question: should students be able to purchase season tickets for men’s hockey?
The answer to this question is no—the current system that is being used for hockey tickets has worked well, and there is no real reason to change it. The main complaint that students have about the current system is that it is an inconvenience to have to enter credit card information and purchase a ticket for each game.
However, this is a minor downside to an otherwise great system for purchasing tickets. Beginning with pricing, $4 per game is a very low rate to pay to watch Division I hockey, especially when compared to the price the general public must pay. According to the PC Athletics website, the cost for an individual game ticket for non-students is $20. The website also notes that the price of season tickets for non-students is $250, which is far more than what a student would have to pay if they attend every game.
The current system also allows students to purchase tickets whenever they please. Students have the option to wait until the day of a game to decide if they want to purchase a ticket. This way, if students have a last-minute conflict, they will not have to waste money on a game they cannot attend.
Overall, the current system in place for purchasing hockey tickets works well. Students are able to decide on a game-by-game basis whether they wish to attend, and this leads to higher attendance and higher satisfaction.