All-Star Got A Phone Call From Disney Regarding Worlds

[gabbybattag]

Yup which is why drastic changes will have to be made in order for things to work until they can get a new venue. They are in a sticky situation and have to handle things carefully or it just won't work.

Of course I love my idea that I posted about, but I don't see that happening. I really think they need to total up how many tickets should be sold by having the total number of seats in the Milkhouse and about half of the number of season in Jostens. Then take the number of bids that are going to be given out that year and figure out an estimate of how many athletes that would be. Now I am not a numbers person so I can't even pretend to know those numbers, but lets say they figured out a good number by using the numbers from this past year.
So they have the number of athletes now they could say every athlete will have the opportunity to receive 2 tickets for parents which would be purchased through the gym. Now those would be purchased when the gym sends in their paperwork after accepting a bid. I know that some gyms don't get their bids until last minute but those tickets will be reserved until the last bid competition. Now the number of tickets per athlete will then be subtracted from the total number of tickets that can be sold and those will go to the general public. Those tickets can be put online and sold at a first come first serve basis, once they are gone then they are gone. After the last bid competition if there are family tickets still avalible then the USASF can send out a notification to all gyms to let families know if they need an extra ticket and didn't get on when the general public ones went on sale. Those familes can then enter a lottery for the left over family tickets.

Now of course I know that there are problems with this, but I think the general idea could be tweeked in order to work. I just find it very important that parents have a seat to watch their child perform so selling families tickets to insure that is important. THEN when the schedule is released it would be:

Large Senior/Large Coed
IO6/IOC6
Small Senior/Small Coed
IO5/IOC5
Medium Senior/ Medium Coed

One from each will be in Jostens and the other in the Milkhouse at the same time. The International divisions will help give people time to move from one venue to the other if they wish to.

The problem is, as someone said earlier in this thread, there were about 8500 athletes competing in cheer this year. If each athlete had 2 tickets for family members, that would be 17,000 tickets. The Milkhouse seats 5,000. I'm not sure about Josten's, but it's definitely not enough to make up for the other 12,000 parents. I know not every athlete's parents are going to attend, but even if on average one parent/family member per athlete attended, then half of Josten's (going along with your plan) would have to seat 3500 to make up for the parents who won't fit in the milkhouse (which I don't think it does, considering it is smaller than the Milkhouse).

Basically what I'm trying to say is, there isn't even enough seats for parents only, let alone spectators and parents.

 

[ztaprincess]

Yeah that is why I said that that idea probably wouldn't work but it is something to use as a start and then work from there. I think having tickets at a first come first serve basis is the best option, but I also think parents should have priorty tickets to see their children compete. Selling tickets before worlds so that people know it is sold out so they won't book a trip is smar. It would work like it does for other sporting events or concerts. It shouldn't be you wait until you are already at Disney to buy a ticket and hope to get in.
Again I think a new venue is needed, but since that probably isn't going to happen for 2013, something has to happen to make sure things run smoothly. Instead of just saying we need a new venue, ideas for a solution need passed around.

 

[5-6-7-8]

As for parent tickets...I don't think a parent should assume getting a ticket shouldn't necessarily mean getting an all access pass.

Just as an example, say there are 20 teams competing in 2 divisions at the same time. For numbers, assume one division is small the other is large. So 20 teams * 20 athletes = 400 athletes. Being nice assume each athlete has the ability to purchase 3 tickets. There is 1,200 tix. For the large division, 20*36=720 athletes. Times 3= 2160 tickets. That totals 3,360 tickets for a division.

I have worked in some crowd management capacities in the past and I don't think it is unreasonable to expect to empty around 3000 people in 15-20 minutes.

So there are ways to do this assuming someone wants to.

As for ticketing, that can be outsourced to ticketmaster or some other 3rd party service. Looks like they have basketball tournaments in the Milkhouse so they must have staff knowledgeable in actual ticket taking and turnover of crowds.

 

[CheerBank]

Scalpers selling tickets to Worlds on StubHub...I can just see it now

Many of the suggestions in this thread are great, and I am hopeful that USASF and Disney together are going to figure out a way to still keep Worlds the amazing experience that it is without a repeat of what occurred 2 weeks ago.

 

[5-6-7-8]

Scalpers selling tickets to Worlds on StubHub...I can just see it now

Many of the suggestions in this thread are great, and I am hopeful that USASF and Disney together are going to figure out a way to still keep Worlds the amazing experience that it is without a repeat of what occurred 2 weeks ago.

You know cheer has made it when tickets show up on Stub Hub!

 

[sltAL]

Scalpers selling tickets to Worlds on StubHub...I can just see it now

Many of the suggestions in this thread are great, and I am hopeful that USASF and Disney together are going to figure out a way to still keep Worlds the amazing experience that it is without a repeat of what occurred 2 weeks ago.

It happened at Majors. There were people standing around in the Convention Center doing it. Some of the prices were ridiculous.

edit- Scalpers, I meant. Not sure about StubHub.

 

[cheer8]

They should just set up Jumbotrons in the parking lot so we can all tailgate!!!:enjoyshow:

 

[AScheer]

They should just set up Jumbotrons in the parking lot so we can all tailgate!!!:enjoyshow:

How about those screens they put at the allstar sports pool. We can all layout and watch!

 

[L5cheermom]

Well, unless they come up wth a significant plan I guess I'll pack my sleeping bag and plan on camping out at the gates of WWoS.

 

[ztaprincess]

How about those screens they put at the allstar sports pool. We can all layout and watch!

When the contract is up they could just move the competition to Daytona then you can layout and watch routines.

 

[coachrah]

I'm starting to think some of these elaborate suggestions are being made from ppl who have never experienced Worlds. I'm not saying that in an elitest way, but someone who has first hand experience getting in and out of the venues, finding a seat, keeping a seat, etc. I seriously doubt the USASF has the organization or even willingness to try to put some type of advance reserved ticket solution in place based on every gym/team competing. Nor do I believe they have the physical staff on hand to handle some type of tiered structure sold on site, or based on session pricing that involves clearing out the venue.

All of these solutions fail to address the real problem. They all could potentially cut down on crowding, but that is not the problem. The problem is creating a venue that can hold ALL the folks who want to be there. As many have stated, there is no working solution other than a larger venue. Don't bring up the contractual issue. That is not an impossible sticking point.

Does the USASF have any fine print for the event??? Somebody should look into it and possibly organize some type of class action suit against them. I can't think of any other type of event offering a unique performance, that it would be ok to sell infinite tickets to a venue with finite seating. And then subsequently be told "tough luck, we can't accommodate you".

this has been done in other sports:

Super Bowl Ticket Class Action: Fans v. National Football League, et al.

 

[5-6-7-8]

Bottom line, they have to limit ticket sales if it is going to be in the same venue.

But just limiting tickets to the capacity only lets 5000 people buy a ticket. But offering the various ticket types allows MORE people to be able to see what they want.

 

[Mom Jeans]

They are basically "sold out" before any ticket sales. There are way more athletes than tickets, plus you gotta add in coaching staff

Very curious to see what ends up happening. I feel like what ever they do it will benefit them not the athletes and fans and people will not be happy about it.

 

[Cheer Observer]

This year they made a HUGE mistake with the way divisions were scheduled. The Jostens was wrapped up at 3pm while the Milkhouse wasn't so all of those people needed to fit in the Milkhouse or go find something else to do. Until a new venue can be used they have to be smart with how they schedule things. Have two popular divisions go at the same time in Jostens and the Milkhouse. If you have Large Senior going the same time as Large Coed that crowd is going to be split a good amount between the two venues. It may also help if they have the International divisions going first thing so that the crowds can trickle in instead of everyone showing up as it opened this year. I don't care if people get upset that they can't watch Large Coed and Large Senior at the same time, it will help withe crowd control.

All of this is just a bandaid though until a real solution can be met.

I had said something very similar in another thread about a week ago. The structure of the time slots, divisions and the venue's certainly contributed to the overcrowding issue. Why have a venue EMPTY at 3pm on the final day when there is a line of people waiting to get into another? That is just poor planning. But even if you split the divisions up you would still have issues with the crowds but it would be in 2 buildings instead of one.
The tiered pricing is a nice idea but I believe that the spirit and idea behind this was for people to watch any team or divison the choose to. Plus, as others have stated, who wants to pay airfare to watch teams on a video screen? You can do that at home.
The problem is that the event has gotten too large for the venue's that Disney has to offer. That is a great problem for Disney and USASF because it means more $ $ $ for them but it creates problems because there is not enough room for US, the paying customers.
I have been to Worlds the last 2 years I have seen and experienced the issues first hand. The crowds are so big and the desire to get a seat is so intense that it has created a climate of nastiness and ignorance that nobody should have to deal with. My daughter got up to go to the bathroom and a girl sat in her seat, when we told her that our daughter was sitting there and that she would need to please move she gave us attitude, told us we were not allowed to save seats and actually went and got an USASF Staff member who attempted to tell us that there was "no saving seats" and we had to let her sit there. I agree with no saving seats but you mean to tell me that you can't get up to go to the bathroom without the fear of losing your seat? That is plain RIDICULOUS and these things happen because of the overcrowding issue.
You can reduce the number of bids or teams but it's not going to stop people from coming to watch. It's obvious that the main issue is venue size and that will need to be addressed one way or another. If you buy a ticket you should be allowed in to watch ANY division at ANY time.
USASF wants to "grow" All Star Cheer which is great, but don't try and go backwards because it's popularity has helped you outgrow the Venue where you hold Worlds.
Find a way to let everyone who attends be able to see the teams they want to see.

 

[coachrah]