Trail mix and chips. Not too bad, actually. Event beat the heck out of the Jackets STH thingy. That was too crowded and not much to do unless you were there for autographs. Last year they had skating and other stuff. While they did have a few games, 50 people can't all play air hockey or table hockey at one time. I left afte rone loop of the lower bowl and a peek upstairs. Anything player related did not start until an hour after the gates opened. To be fair, though, I wasn't in a very good mood before I went (nothing to do with Jackets or Crew). Only bright spot was oysters at 89 grill at happy hour.
There was at least one time when various Crew fans took donations to help one of the players (Busch? Clark?) pay for some game-related fine. I can't condone such behavior, but I can't imagine that a $250 fine would be much.
Yeah, if McCullers was to be believed, it sounded like either option was a bad one. And yes, I still believe that the TW deal is the worst... naturally, if I had TW, I'm sure my opinion would change. But for a residence that had satellite with Direct Kick last year, they could probably see the Crew game listed which might be worse than not having it at all. I would have asked about the parking...but it sounds like the "TicketMaster $15 rumor" was a hoax since people were buying the $180 season passes a few months ago? With THAT said...why didn't @Skeleton Crew post the new logo?
so parking hasn't been raised? I asked my ticket rep about this about a month ago and he said it's looking like it will be 15 this year...but who knows.
The 15$ is 100% accurate. There are passes available to lock in the 10$ price point ($180). Per Andy the parking is on PAR with what nationwide charges for CBJ games and more importantly he stressed there has only been 1 other price increase over the course of the lease. The counter point was made that a block away from the 15$ mark is 5-10$ parking where as Crew stadium does not offer that within 3/4 of a mile.
The BlueJackets also handily point out the other options on their website. http://bluejackets.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=75841&cmpid=cbj-dropdown-tickets
I guess my point was.... If the CBJ are so bothered about collecting the $15 they wouldn't point out the cheaper options. Whereas the Crew go "Well it's $15 at the CBJ so.... it's $15 here"
I guess my point was, CBJ are a top-class organization in a major professional sports league, and everything about the Columbus Crew and MLS reeks of minor league quality and attitude.
Considering it was free beer last night...they can call it chocolate starfish ale and i wouldve been satisfied
So, with most of the lots immediately around Nationwide Arena being $10/game, I've learned costing 50% more is "on par" with something. I'll try to tell that to my wife next time I want to buy a new car: "Well, honey, this BMW is more-or-less 'on par' with my Honda Accord so we're all good, right?"
I do believe parking started at $5. Circa 2000 or 2001, it went up to $7 with the money allegedly going towards parking lot improvements, IIRC. It then went to $10 a few years later. I have vague memories of 1999 costs of general parking being $5, preferred parking (now the "B Lot" and basically our "Mega Tailgate" lot) being $7. I'm sure VIP was more. Parking on-campus for OSU football is $15. Operators of various nearby private lots obviously are free to charge whatever they wish. A lot of people use a park-and-ride which is $5 at the fairgrounds plus COTA fare which tops out at $2 one-way. Men's basketball is $10. Many other Schottenstein Center events are either $5 or free, depending on event or location parked. Many events at the Newport Music Hall or the Wexner Center are $5 or whatever the hourly rate is, depending where one parks. (One garage is typically $5 cash and the neighboring garage is hourly rate cash or card.) The issue is, as already said, the fairgrounds has a virtual monopoly on parking. They could theoretically charge $25 and people would pay. I wonder what kind of outrage there'll be when people discover it's gone up...if you haven't bought a discount pass.
Yours truly was the one who called out this exact BS. Even if comparable market rate is $15 (which it seems may not even be the case), there are other options for fans if they don't want to pay that much. If the Blue Jackets or Cavs or Reds (the likes of which he used in his comparison) want to charge $50 for parking, I couldn't care less - I'll park down the street. I'm young (and too impatient for post-game traffic), so I don't mind a walk from 4th and 17th. A family with kids, though? Sorry, it's a $15 ransom. The whole thing is a big middle finger to fans, and it pisses me off. I pulled him off to the side afterward to try to clarify what I meant, but he sort of rudely brushed it aside and didn't care. I REALLY like what he's done elsewhere, but this whole thing rubbed me the wrong way (and that's as a person who doesn't pay for parking anyway!)
When I park for Blue Jackets games I walk from essentially free parking either north along Neil or past the fire station. You may have to drop a quarter in the meter to get you to 6 pm (warning--Nationwide Blvd runs until 8 pm), but that's no big deal. I usually walk for Clippers games too. And I'm not exactly young anymore. The option for the Crew is worse, exacerbated by the RR tracks (I won't trespass there). The prepay plan is only good if you can make all the games. I wish there was a coupon book option where you could get 10 passes, good for any game, in advance.
When I do the CBJ thing now, I try to build some time into my schedule to hang out at the 16-Bit Bar/Arcade beforehand. I just park in that lot right behind it for $3 and make the 20-minute walk pre- and postgame. Not much fun when it's 5° outside, but still.
yes old school arcade and pinball machines. it's on 4th St, between Rich and Main, right next to Dirty Franks.