September 30, 2022 | NEWS By Emma McDermott
Ed Robson Arena will open its doors for the second season of Colorado College hockey on Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8 when the Tigers take on Alaska Anchorage. Student attendance at hockey games has increased since CC’s time at the Broadmoor World Arena, and tickets were a hot commodity during last year’s inaugural season at Robson
Students can expect the same Ticketmaster reservation system from last year and will still need to present their mobile ticket and Gold Card upon arrival for game days. Students can also expect to receive an email detailing the instructions of how to log into their CC-specific Ticketmaster accounts before the ticket reservation system goes live at 8 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 3.
According to Senior Associate Athletics Director Scott Lowenberg, there will be more student tickets available to all full-time CC students this season. Last year, there were 350 tickets set aside for each home game, but that number has increased to over 400 for this season. In addition, Lowenberg explained that CC gives a higher percentage of its student body tickets than most schools do. “We did increase it as much as we could this year,” said Lowenberg. “Every year we’ll look at things.”
Assistant Athletics Director, Senior Woman Administrator Jessica Bennett emphasized how quickly student tickets were picked up last year. “The deadline is Wednesday at 1 p.m. We never made it to even Wednesday,” Bennett said. “Most of the time tickets were all picked up on Monday or by Tuesday morning.”
Despite being snatched up quickly, there was not a single home game last season at which all the student tickets were scanned in, meaning there were always no-shows. “Our hope is that if people are redeeming tickets, they’re going to come,” said Bennett. “What we’re currently working on is just to improve our communication to remind people.”
Right now, there is no penalty for students who redeem tickets and never show up to the game. However, increasing student attendance is something Lowenberg and Bennett are focused on this year. They don’t want students redeeming tickets and then not coming to the games as that takes the chance away from others who want to attend.
Additionally, Bennett and Lowenberg are working with Ticketmaster to come up with a way for students to return tickets if they can’t attend games so that other students can pick them up. “It’s about making tickets accessible to more people,” said Bennett.
Although the number of tickets available to students is increasing, the number of chairbacks reserved for students isn’t. Instead, Bennett and Lowenberg are hoping to create a fun, energetic environment for students along the bar rail across the student section. “Hang out and talk, but also watch the game,” said Lowenberg. “A lot of newer stadiums have it.”
Meant to be a social area, the bar rail area above the student section was reserved for students last year, but students weren’t utilizing it as much as they had hoped. “We’re trying to make this a space that the students do, in fact, utilize and make it for them,” said Bennett. “We’re trying to make this exclusively for students.”
Lowenberg seconded Bennett’s sentiments. “They’re going to try to do a really good job of only letting students in there as opposed to a general public person,” he said. This standing room only area is becoming more popular in new sports arenas, even at other schools in CC hockey’s conference, and the hope is that students will gather in this space, which allows for more socialization and mobility than traditional seats.
Having students in attendance is a priority for Bennett and Lowenberg. Filling up the standing room only section can safely accommodate a larger attendance and create an energetic atmosphere. “We want students there,” said Bennett. “They really make the atmosphere.”
“It’s huge for the players, it’s huge for the team, it’s huge for the fans,” said Lowenberg. “That was one of the big reasons why we built an area on campus.”
Student tickets will be available through CC-specific Ticketmaster accounts starting Monday, Oct. 3 at 8 a.m. until Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m.