Mutual of Omaha's "Battles on Ice" TDAPO

cp jay 07 · Post by **cp jay 07** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:37 pm

HskrFanMike wrote:I wonder why they put the ads on the ice facing the bleachers? I doubt that people sitting the bleachers will be able to see them due to the low angle of those seats...

Im guessing for TV. Cameras will probably be set up in Center Field.

Post by **Brad** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:38 pm

HskrFanMike wrote:I wonder why they put the ads on the ice facing the bleachers? I doubt that people sitting the bleachers will be able to see them due to the low angle of those seats...

In person, it didn't seem as bad as it looks in the photos.

Post by **nebugeater** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:48 pm

HskrFanMike wrote:I wonder why they put the ads on the ice facing the bleachers? I doubt that people sitting the bleachers will be able to see them due to the low angle of those seats...

I have no idea so I will ask. Â IS it the same panels that were used when it was set up in the convention center for practice ice? Â If so that could be why.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 8:51 am

The outside facing panels have been getting a lot of time on the news, paper and social media though.

Greg

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:58 pm

UNO game pushed back two hours because of melting ice.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 4:17 pm

iamjacobm wrote:UNO game pushed back two hours because of melting ice.

Thanks I was wondering why the game wasn't on Cox channel 2 when it said it should be on at 4.

Post by **Coyote** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:31 pm

Pushed back to 6:35 now.

jag42 · Post by **jag42** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:09 am

I saw in the World-Herald that the attendane for the UNO game was about 13,500. Â Is that right...stadium looked pretty empty TV. Â Also, I saw a couple Omaha Lancers box scores that listed the attendance as 1...now THAT I know is not correct!

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:32 am

I ended up not going. Â It was a cool event but when the cheapest ticket is $30 and bringing kids, no thanks.

jag42 · Post by **jag42** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:36 am

Yeah, and those $30 seats were in the outfield...I think the least expensive tix that were actually in the stadium were $40, and that is not even including Ticketmaster charges...like someone else said, this was a USHL/NCAA doubleheader, not a freaking rock concert. Â I would have liked to have gone also.

bigredmed · Post by **bigredmed** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:56 am

jag42 wrote:Yeah, and those $30 seats were in the outfield...I think the least expensive tix that were actually in the stadium were $40, and that is not even including Ticketmaster charges...like someone else said, this was a USHL/NCAA doubleheader, not a freaking rock concert. I would have liked to have gone also.

We sat in the stadium, surrounded by heavy drinking North Dakota fans. Â We won't be doing this again. Â Sucky sightlines from our seats that were 15 rows above the middle of the home dugout. Â We mostly watched to game on the Jumbotron and tried to keep warm. Â This was a gimmick and is now off our bucket list.

MadMartin8 · Post by **MadMartin8** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:12 am

This could have been awesome, but it turned out to be more like the "Red Sky Music Festival".

They needed to move the rink closer to home plate (there was room), and actually perfect making the ice not freeze in 40 degree weather. The outrageous ticket prices (It was 80 bucks for the handicapped seating... (I am in a wheelchair)) killed it as well.

Hopefully next year's Battles on Slush will be better.

Post by **nebugeater** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:45 am

There are no plans to do it next year. They will evaluate and consider it again 3 or 4 years down the road. Part of why the. Did it this year is because the equip for the ice sheet was here Â being used in the convention center for the practice sheet for the ice compotition Â

They didn't move it closer to home plate so they didn't or wern't allowed to take out the pitches mound

This is per one of the organizers on the radio on Fri.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 3:46 pm

I wouldn't call it a failure, but it was a messy event. Â The thing that continues to impress me is how well downtown handles a crowd. Â Over 10K for the hockey, surely another decent crowd at the Home & Garden Expo and Creighton pulling their 2nd largest crowd ever all in a 12 hour window on the same block. Â I had no issue with traffic, there were a ton of people waking around and the circulator always had people getting on and coming off of it when I saw it. Â We have the facilities for these kind of events, our city can handle them we need to try as many different things as possible to get the most out of our investments. Â Sure Red Sky and BoI weren't what we all hoped, but I hope the organizers keep coming up with ways to get people downtown.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:59 pm

jag42 wrote:Yeah, and those $30 seats were in the outfield...I think the least expensive tix that were actually in the stadium were $40, and that is not even including Ticketmaster charges...like someone else said, this was a USHL/NCAA doubleheader, not a freaking rock concert. I would have liked to have gone also.

No, there were $30 seats in the 300 level of the upper deck...with perfect views down the ice.

Why were the tickets so expensive? Â Well, putting a sheet of ice in a baseball stadium isn't cheap. Â I think it's about $150k. Â Add in all of the other expenses of a sporting event, and I understand why it was so expensive.

That being said, I thought $30 was a decent price for two hockey games in a special event.

I would have loved to have seen more people at the game yesterday. Â Even more importantly, I would have loved to see UNO play a lot better.

I hope Omaha will consider doing it again in a few years, but based on how this turned out, I'm not going to hold my breath on it.

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:42 pm

I heard that the guy who booked this event was told to never do it again or he would be fired. People I know say it was a complete disaster.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:13 pm

There may have been some issues, but it was still a lot of fun. Â If they did it again, I would go again.

Its not like this is the first outdoor game to ever have problems. Â The NHL delayed their game a couple years ago due to soft ice. Â How many times has the cws been delayed do to "bad weather".

People need to chill. Â I am glad they tried it and I had a good time.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 12:41 pm

The last two NHL Winter Classics that were actually played had weather delays. Â It's almost to be expected.

The only "disaster" part was the guy who drilled the refrigeration line before the 2nd period. Â There were some things that need to be addressed if UNO tries it again, but I thought it was a good event - except on the scoreboard.

That being said, there were enough people who were annoyed by the delays and enough people who refused to consider watching hockey outside that I don't think it will happen again. Â That's too bad, because I saw several pictures that were very cool. Â My family enjoyed it quite a bit. Â There are things that could be improved.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:20 pm

HskrFanMike wrote:That's too bad, because I saw several pictures that were very cool

Did you see theses? Â They were awesome!
http://www.facebook.com/mjoyphotography

Unfortunately I tried to shoot panoramic photos of the whole stadium and it didn't translate very well. Â The rink was just way too small in panos.
1.

2.

3.

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Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 2:56 pm

What was the final attendance for the two combined games ot total tickets sold? Â If it was published I missed it.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:03 pm

nebugeater wrote:What was the final attendance for the two combined games ot total tickets sold? If it was published I missed it.

OWH wrote:Mavericks before 13,650 (paid) at TD Ameritrade Park.

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:06 pm

Brad wrote:
nebugeater wrote:What was the final attendance for the two combined games ot total tickets sold? If it was published I missed it.

OWH wrote:Mavericks before 13,650 (paid) at TD Ameritrade Park.

Thanks

Anyone else think that their might have been a larger Gate $ if they had sold it as two tickets at a reduced price. Â There would have been those going to both but at a lower price I think there could have been a large number that would have paid for the novilty to go to one or the other. Â I think it could have been enough to create a larger gross.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:13 pm

They sold it like it was a baseball game and except for GA, the cheaper the seat, the better. Â If you were one of the people that spent $90 to sit down behind the dugout, you got screwed. Â We paid $60 for Club Seats and they were way better, plus we could hang out in club and warm up in between periods and delays.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:25 am

jag42 wrote:Yeah, and those $30 seats were in the outfield...I think the least expensive tix that were actually in the stadium were $40, and that is not even including Ticketmaster charges...like someone else said, this was a USHL/NCAA doubleheader, not a freaking rock concert. I would have liked to have gone also.

There were $30 seats in the 300 section up top that had great views.....That's where I sat.

Greg

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:27 am

MadMartin8 wrote:This could have been awesome, but it turned out to be more like the "Red Sky Music Festival".

They needed to move the rink closer to home plate (there was room), and actually perfect making the ice not freeze in 40 degree weather. The outrageous ticket prices (It was 80 bucks for the handicapped seating... (I am in a wheelchair)) killed it as well.

Hopefully next year's Battles on Slush will be better.

I heard they did not have the ice closer to home because of home plate. Â Don't know who made that call, NCAA or MECA. Â I don't see it happening again for a while but I hope these do this every five years. Â All things being considered, I enjoyed it.

Greg

Post by **Brad** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:41 am

Greg S wrote:I heard they did not have the ice closer to home because of home plate. Don't know who made that call, NCAA or MECA. I don't see it happening again for a while but I hope these do this every five years. All things being considered, I enjoyed it.

Greg

It was the pitchers mound.

cp jay 07 · Post by **cp jay 07** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:44 pm

Almost every outdoor game at a baseball stadium has the same set up.

The problem I had was UNO didn't play up the whole "Holy Sh!it we are in a baseball stadium" Could have done so many more little things to make it special. They didn't even remove the home plate tarp, take that thing off, paint the lines, and have the players walk from home plate past the pitchers mound to the ice. They could have really done up the infeld and made it looke like a baseball game was going to be played. I was at Wrigley for the Classic and they had lines painted and made it look real nice. They could have done a first "Pitch" with Omaha hockey legends and former UNO players. They needed to have more events between periods to keep the fans interested, between periods there was not much to keep a fan interested.

I personally think the Marketing for this game was TERRIBLE. They barely advertised outside of their own events and didn't hype up the "event" factor enough, look at Chicago's outdoor college games that just happened, they got youth leagues, adult leagues and everyone involved, and didn't even have a team from Chicago play in it.

Jim Cornelison was really really cool but once again they kinda dropped the ball by not playing up the fact you are supposed to cheer loudly during his anthem, I felt like a jackass cause I was the only one in my section screaming and clapping during the anthem.

If UNO wants to be a real D-1 Athletic program they better step up their marketing and in game presentation IMO.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 1:04 pm

UNO marketing leaves a lot to be desired. Â That being said, this event was run by the Omaha Sports Commission and I think they thought they were getting a sell out without even having to try. Â Obviously a big mistake. Â I don't blame UNO.

Lots of things could have been done differently. Â I know they used the spare ice maker that was in the Convention Center during the figure skating. Â They needed to have the hockey game at least a week later. Â You could have made it a community event then. Â Have a bunch of kids games on it, get the figure skating clubs involved and had a community day. Â Build some excite. Â

The prices were screwed up too. Â Best seats were in the 2nd tier. Â I would have priced everything a bit cheaper, to get more people in. Â

I would have had tents in the parking lot outside the stadium selling stuff, heated and food and drinks for sale as well. Â Make it more of an event atmosphere.

All that being said, I had a great time and hope they try again in 5 years.

Greg