MSU hockey, for a long time one of the great entertainment bargains in our community, is a little less so, as season-ticket holders will pay premiums.
As Michigan State’s hockey program took off over the past couple seasons under Adam Nightingale and Co., games at Munn Ice Arena became perhaps the best entertainment value of any sporting event in our community.
With winning came ticket scarcity — including 31 straight sellouts — but you could still get in the building for a lot less than you could Breslin Center for a men’s basketball game or Spartan Stadium for a marquee football game. And if you were a season-ticket holder, the value was tremendous.
You can easily argue that it still is, considering the thrill of all the winning — including back to back Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles — and stellar sightlines in Munn’s cozy confines. But it’s now less of a bargain than it was a year ago — with $100, $200 and $300 seat premiums being added to the chairback season ticket seats.
That news was delivered in an email to season-ticket holders last week, announcing a $2 increase per game (up to $22 and $24), along with the larger expense of seat premiums. It’s a move by MSU Athletics that has been met with a range of reactions from hockey season-ticket holders, from frustration to understanding. Sometimes both.
For those who held their seats throughout the 2010s, some irritation is warranted. That was a tough decade to sit through. It would be nice if there was a way to phase in the extra cost for them or in some other way acknowledge their loyalty when they were essentially paying for pain for so many years.
On the other hand, this is simply MSU meeting the rising cost of college sports — including ice hockey. At MSU, annual expenses for hockey rose nearly 40% to $6.7 million from 2022 to 2024, according to U.S. Department of Education figures. A lot of the winning can be found in those expenses, including things like coaching staff salaries.
Most of Big Ten hockey already has seat premiums attached to at least some season tickets. MSU football and basketball have been requiring seat premiums with their more desirable season tickets for a long time.
“I mean, it's still not a bad value (at Munn),” said TJ Segerlind, a season-ticket holder since 1991, who will pay a $100 seat premium for each of his two season tickets. “Based on if you're trying to go to a Red Wings game or any of these other games, right now, the product’s better (with MSU hockey). I didn't know if (the seat premiums) would happen this year, but you just knew they had to somehow figure out how to finance all this. I mean, all the sports.”
The addition of revenue sharing in college athletics — up to $20.5 million this year for MSU athletes — has put the squeeze on athletic departments like MSU’s. That hits every sport, even if most of that revenue share is going to football and men’s basketball players.
Hockey is considered a revenue sport, but one that hopes to break even.
“Michigan State hockey season ticket members are incredibly important to the success of the program,” new MSU athletic director J Batt said via email. “Their enthusiasm has made Munn Ice Arena one of the best venues in all of college hockey, and their loyalty and support help provide the resources necessary for the hockey program to continue to compete for championships at the highest level.
“The decision to implement seat premiums for chairback seats was made after considering several factors, including the importance of identifying new opportunities to drive continued investment in the program. While this is a decision that matches the market demand for the best seats in the arena, we recognize that some fans might wish to change their location. The Spartan Ticket Office will work with any season ticket member who would like to move to a location outside of sections which require a seat premium.”
That seems like a fair compromise for a fan who might not have the added cost in their budget. That was not initially explained in message to season-ticket holders.
“I’m pretty mad, though I do understand it,” said Chris Mienaltowski, who’s entering his third season with two season tickets. “They knew this was coming. A little advanced warning would’ve been good. I’ll renew still, but my expectations are more than a first-round (NCAA) tournament exit.”
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Joe Buck, who’s had season tickets for seven years, isn’t as bothered by the price — including a $100 seat premium on each of his four tickets — as he is the sense that “hockey fans take a back seat when it comes to amenities and the fan experience.”
“Whether it's something as simple as bathrooms or something as obvious to me as parking,” Buck said, “that's been something that's been kind of a thorn in people's side since I was going with my parents mid- to-late 80s.”
He’d like to see Munn Field turned into a parking lot to serve hockey fans, older fans especially.
“I’d just like to know if you're going to be doing this every year with prices, what are you doing for fans?” Buck continued. “I love that program. I love the coach. I love the team, but it's just they don't seem to think that $100 to $300 per seat is that big a deal, that it just comes with being a good team. Well, you know, we also sat there for many, many games when they couldn't put a win together and the place was half full, and we were still always there. That’s how dedicated we are.”
Life is only going to get more expensive for college sports fans as the price goes up for teams and athletic departments. MSU hockey games at Munn Ice Arena, a gem — and a relative bargain — in this community for most of the last 50 years, won’t be immune from it. The trick will be striking a balance between generating enough revenue and pricing out the common fan.
“I don't know anybody that's giving up (their tickets) yet,” Segerlind said. “I think everybody's pretty much like I am. It's like, we want to see how this whole year goes with all the new stuff, but I don't know anyone yet that's not going to go. But the people I know are die-hard hockey fans.”
Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU hockey the latest sport to pass on escalating costs to fans
Category: General Sports
