Reserved seating @ HS stadiums?

woody6

Junior
Jun 24, 2016
673
280
0
So I go to game arriving early enough to catch 2nd half of the sophs. In the home stands I am greeted by the top several rows of seats between both 35 yard lines occupied by cushioned seats w/backs in the school colors and logos strapped to the bleachers with numbers stuck to the latter. Obviously some sort of new reserved seating program. However, these 100s of seats are virtually empty during the soph game perhaps due to the nature of that fandom? Come time for the varsity game, some of them fill in, still leaving scores and scores of vacant seats. So freshman players, soph players and random students/public start filtering into these spaces. By the end of the game, the seats being used are all askew off their strappings and the whole thing looks like a sh*t storm blew in. Any other experiences like this to report as a new "wave of the future" that I have missed?
 

godfthr53

All-Conference
Sep 8, 2008
4,964
2,778
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Naz has stadium seats between the 45s. They were installed with the new stadium a while back. I don't know the season cost but it does get you a reserved parking spot less than 50 steps to the gate.

 
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ClownBaby

Heisman
Oct 26, 2006
22,188
76,476
113
Just a way to bring in extra money, most schools will charge you set amount for the seat then you buy the ticket on top of it. The one thing WWS has done for 20 years and made a ton of money on is the selling parking passes to the back lot next to the stadium, they sell it out every year.
 

USD24

All-American
May 29, 2001
5,493
5,319
113
Naz has stadium seats between the 35s. They were installed with the new stadium a while back. I don't know the season cost but it does get you a reserved parking spot less than 50 steps to the gate.
Out of curiosity, are all of those seats sold as season tickets or can you buy them for individual game seats?
 

MS4EVER

All-Conference
Dec 4, 2004
5,573
3,602
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Naz has stadium seats between the 45s. They were installed with the new stadium a while back. I don't know the season cost but it does get you a reserved parking spot less than 50 steps to the gate.

That is swwweeeettttt!
 
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Oddy

Junior
Aug 28, 2008
1,350
396
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Saving seats with blankets etc. is a pet peeve of mine. I think maintenance should come around in the 4th qtr. of the soph. game and pick them up and throw them in the garbage.
 

ClownBaby

Heisman
Oct 26, 2006
22,188
76,476
113
Saving seats with blankets etc. is a pet peeve of mine. I think maintenance should come around in the 4th qtr. of the soph. game and pick them up and throw them in the garbage.

At WWS they do this, it's why they went to the reserved seating in the first place. To many complaints and squabbles over people putting down blankets.
 

Quags22

Senior
Aug 15, 2006
2,283
920
113
Saving seats with blankets etc. is a pet peeve of mine. I think maintenance should come around in the 4th qtr. of the soph. game and pick them up and throw them in the garbage.

There should be no sophomore, freshman or JV games on Friday. Just play the Varsity games and start at 7:00 PM.
 

USD24

All-American
May 29, 2001
5,493
5,319
113
There should be no sophomore, freshman or JV games on Friday. Just play the Varsity games and start at 7:00 PM.
Why? As a fan, I enjoy watching the sophs play before the varsity game. I also enjoyed it as a player and I have never talked to a current soph player or parent who had any issues playing on Friday night.

What is the downside?
 

Quags22

Senior
Aug 15, 2006
2,283
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At least 50 percent of the time, the prelim game starts late or finishes late. That pushes the varsity game back. That in turn, messes with the varsity team's warm up schedule.

It also messes with newspaper deadlines. I know, I know nobody reads newspapers. Yet they do. Alot. Especially for high school football.

And unless you are a sophomore, freshman or JV parent, who really cares? Sorry Newt, love to hear about the Warren sophomores, but otherwise, I'll pass big time on prelim games. They draw as many fans as a varsity soccer match.

Start at 7:00. Get everyone out of there by 10:00 or so.
 
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USD24

All-American
May 29, 2001
5,493
5,319
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At least 50 percent of the time, the prelim game starts late or finishes late. That pushes the varsity game back. That in turn, messes with the varsity team's warm up schedule.

It also messes with newspaper deadlines. I know, I know nobody reads newspapers. Yet they do. Alot. Especially for high school football.

And unless you are a sophomore, freshman or JV parent, who really cares? Sorry Newt, love to hear about the Warren sophomores, but otherwise, I'll pass big time on prelim games. They draw as many fans as a varsity soccer match.

Start at 7:00. Get everyone out of there by 10:00 or so.

I care and I am not any of those things listed. All of the people I sit with care as well. If you are a newspaper guy and have a deadline, I get it, but otherwise I disagree. I enjoy watching both games on a Friday night. I reserve Friday night for high school football. If I don't see the sophs on Friday, I am not going to make the effort to find the game on a Thurs night or Sat morning. Ive got too much other stuff going on at those times.
 
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cornerrat

All-Conference
Aug 1, 2009
2,368
1,727
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All.... For the privates fundraising is key. SHG does the same. 500 bucks gets you two nice cushy seats and a parking pass. All regular season games and playoff games at home are included. No waiting in line. I have seats on the 50.

I do have friends that don't have reserved seats. Now we all stroll in (getting as much possible time at my tailgate) a minute before the game starts. If no one is sitting in the section (which happens all of the time) those guys sit right next to me. A win-win for everyone. Ratsy
 
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ignazio

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2007
3,837
2,878
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Since almost every place has field turf, they have games scheduled for every night. Drop the soph game and you'll get a soccer or field hockey game squeezed in there.

I always thought a creative XC coach could schedule a dual, tri or quad meet for a halftime of a football game. One lap around the track, out the gate, over hill-and-dale, then back in for the finish. 20 minutes. It would break the attendance record.

Either that or a cheerleader tug-o-war. Maybe even a Drawf toss at midfield.
 
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Normdog

Sophomore
Oct 28, 2015
221
132
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Since almost every place has field turf, they have games scheduled for every night. Drop the soph game and you'll get a soccer or field hockey game squeezed in there.

I always thought a creative XC coach could schedule a dual, tri or quad meet for a halftime of a football game. One lap around the track, out the gate, over hill-and-dale, then back in for the finish. 20 minutes. It would break the attendance record.

Either that or a cheerleader tug-o-war. Maybe even a Drawf toss at midfield.

I think they prefer to be called Little People now
 
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mc140

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
8,780
2,830
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Why not sell specific tickets to the soph game, and clear the stadium after like an MLB double-header?

Why would any high school want to go through that hassle? Especially considering at a lot of schools students attend for free.
 

HRCJR

Senior
Jun 30, 2014
477
410
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At many schools. especially private schools. parents are involved in the running of the game logistics (ticket sales, food, etc.). At my son's school the Varsity parents manned the ticket booths, sold school gear, etc during the JV game and then the parents switched responsibilities for the Varsity game. Also you want to build a football program rather than having separate teams. Getting the parents and players from all levels is important to building a successful program.

Also if a team can't handle a little adjustment to their warm up schedule they really are not ready to play. The Head Coach has not done his job. What would happen to a team that gets out of sorts with a 20 minute delay if their QB goes down on the first play?

I like the cross country idea. At a school like Lyons Township with lots of land that is very doable.
 
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godfthr53

All-Conference
Sep 8, 2008
4,964
2,778
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Out of curiosity, are all of those seats sold as season tickets or can you buy them for individual game seats?
I'm not entirely sure. I've seen them sell individual for playoff games they knew would be packed. But not sure what happens during the season. And to be honest I never really noticed how full they are. maybe 75%. The biggest upside is for the parking as we all know its at a premium at The Academy.
 

godfthr53

All-Conference
Sep 8, 2008
4,964
2,778
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Out of curiosity, are all of those seats sold as season tickets or can you buy them for individual game seats?
If you can stomach being on the visitors side in a couple weeks I'll take care of you.
 

Quags22

Senior
Aug 15, 2006
2,283
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I care and I am not any of those things listed. All of the people I sit with care as well. If you are a newspaper guy and have a deadline, I get it, but otherwise I disagree. I enjoy watching both games on a Friday night. I reserve Friday night for high school football. If I don't see the sophs on Friday, I am not going to make the effort to find the game on a Thurs night or Sat morning. Ive got too much other stuff going on at those times.


Well get used to it, because many of those sophomore teams are gone. And it is just a matter of time before they are all gone.

I know that the MSL East and CSL North both don't have sophomore football anymore. Now they play freshmen games before the Varsity. That's like one step above grammar school football and frankly most grammar school teams are better coached.
 

kpjasion

Senior
Oct 12, 2014
1,195
922
113
I care and I am not any of those things listed. All of the people I sit with care as well. If you are a newspaper guy and have a deadline, I get it, but otherwise I disagree. I enjoy watching both games on a Friday night. I reserve Friday night for high school football. If I don't see the sophs on Friday, I am not going to make the effort to find the game on a Thurs night or Sat morning. Ive got too much other stuff going on at those times.

I'm with you USD24. I love going for as much of the early game as I can. For me, It's just fun...I just enjoy watching HS football. Also, it gives you an great insight on the future of the program. I could predict this year's junior contributors on Varsity from last year's Soph/JV games. I even got a kick the other week at Wheeling when Jamiel Eggleston was starting at tailback for Wheeling. He was the starting tailback for Palatine's sophomore team two years ago and I'd wondered what happened to him.
 

pjjp

All-Conference
Aug 26, 2001
5,670
2,935
113
I'm with you USD24. I love going for as much of the early game as I can. For me, It's just fun...I just enjoy watching HS football. Also, it gives you an great insight on the future of the program. I could predict this year's junior contributors on Varsity from last year's Soph/JV games. I even got a kick the other week at Wheeling when Jamiel Eggleston was starting at tailback for Wheeling. He was the starting tailback for Palatine's sophomore team two years ago and I'd wondered what happened to him.
Could not agree more. If you like HS football, it's like an added bonus to catch the soph games. And, I like to see what's coming up as well. It's also interesting to watch the development of individual players as they progress through the program. It's also a good way to gauge the relative strength of your conference foes. I try to catch a few frosh games as well.
 

Bowie50

All-Conference
Aug 3, 2013
2,806
2,657
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Naz has stadium seats between the 45s. They were installed with the new stadium a while back. I don't know the season cost but it does get you a reserved parking spot less than 50 steps to the gate.

Those are awesome! Great development initiative!
 

Bowie50

All-Conference
Aug 3, 2013
2,806
2,657
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Why would any high school want to go through that hassle? Especially considering at a lot of schools students attend for free.
Private schools have to fundraise like all 501c3's. It's a brilliant idea.
 

TheDude11

Freshman
Oct 12, 2015
116
93
0
Keep the sophomore games on Friday. Plenty of people like watching them. And let the prep sports writers scramble to meet their deadline. It's not like they're turning out Royko-quality work anyway. Those game recaps could be written by most AP English students. Let the kids play!
 

JFelice

Senior
Sep 8, 2014
3,152
554
113
Keep the sophomore games on Friday. Plenty of people like watching them. And let the prep sports writers scramble to meet their deadline. It's not like they're turning out Royko-quality work anyway. Those game recaps could be written by most AP English students. Let the kids play!
Agreed! I like reading O'Brien's hissy fits on twitter.
 

Bowie50

All-Conference
Aug 3, 2013
2,806
2,657
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I'm not entirely sure. I've seen them sell individual for playoff games they knew would be packed. But not sure what happens during the season. And to be honest I never really noticed how full they are. maybe 75%. The biggest upside is for the parking as we all know its at a premium at The Academy.
Just leave the car at Meier's!
 

kpjasion

Senior
Oct 12, 2014
1,195
922
113
Keep the sophomore games on Friday. Plenty of people like watching them. And let the prep sports writers scramble to meet their deadline. It's not like they're turning out Royko-quality work anyway. Those game recaps could be written by most AP English students. Let the kids play!

Well, I disagree with that part. I get Quags57's point and after I get home on Friday night's I know I start checking Daily Herald Football Focus around 11pm and refresh every few minutes waiting for the Palatine game recap...and it's pretty much the reason I subscribe to the Daily Herald online. Just differing priorities....
 

mc140

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
8,780
2,830
113
If you start the soph game at 430 or as close as possible to that, you will likely have a varisty game that starts on time.