Polling the Masses

In my e-mail today and presumably because of my Nittany Lion Club membership, I received a link to a survey concerning Penn State hockey. I've reproduced the questions below, and also shared how I answered each, just for discussion's sake.

How did you first learn the news that Penn State would begin to compete at the NCAA Division I level in Men's and Women's Ice Hockey?  

Choices given were GoPSUSports.com, television, radio, traditional newspaper, online newspaper, social media, did not previously know, and other. I answered "social media" because Twitter was my initial source both for the rumors that built up over the late summer, and for details surrounding the actual announcement. To give a complete answer, Twitter just linked me to articles on websites, but it was the gateway.

Have you attended a collegiate or professional ice hockey game within the last five (5) years (yes/no/other)?

Yes, I've been known to attend a hockey game once in a great while.

Would you be interested in learning more about Penn State Ice Hockey season tickets or other options in the new Pegula Ice Arena (yes/no/other)?

Yes, of course.

Please indicate which of these possible Penn State Hockey ticket options at Pegula Ice Arena you would be interested in purchasing or receiving more information about?  (Choose all that apply)

Options were season tickets, club seat tickets, loge box tickets, luxury suite tickets, none of the above and other. I have no idea what the difference is between loge box tickets and luxury suite tickets. I assume if you can afford them, you know the difference. I chose season tickets and club seat tickets.

When considering the purchase of tickets for any sporting event, what are the factors that most influence your decision?  (choose up to 5)

The selections for this one were seat location, ticket price, opponent, parking location, parking price, game start time, day of week, anticipated team success, quality of food service, customer service level of venue staff and other.

If you don't go to an event because the hot dogs are a little rubbery, I sincerely feel sorry for you. My considerations when attending a sporting event essentially boil down to a) Do I like the team and/or want to see the game for some other reason? b) Is there a scheduling conflict that would prevent me from going? and c) Am I broke? With that in mind, I chose only start time, day of week and ticket price.

Of the items you indicated were important to you, would you please rank in order of importance? (1= most important)

This question was populated with my selections from the last question, obviously. Since I'm fortunately not broke most of the time, I put that last, with day of the week first and start time second. I'm not really sure what they plan on doing with this information, since college hockey is generally on a pretty consistent Friday night-Saturday night schedule, with few exceptions.

As it relates to the allocation of new season tickets for Penn State Hockey, would you favor a plan that offers first priority to current Ice Hockey (Penn State Icers) season ticket holders?

Yes. One thousand times yes. I hope and expect that those who have paid their dues and supported Penn State hockey before it became chic to do so on September 17, 2010 are taken care of. This would obviously be a big part of that.

As it impacts the seating location in the new Pegula Ice Arena, would you favor a plan that season ticket locations be allocated based upon NLC membership points?

This was an interesting question that had four answer choices, plus "other." One - my selection in accordance with the explanation to my last answer - was that NLC members should get priority after Icers season ticket holders. The other choices were giving NLC members first priority, first-come/first-served after Icers season ticket holders and first-come/first-served only. I want to see the Icers season ticket holders go first, but as someone with a decent number of NLC points, I definitely think that should give me a spot in the line.

Please tell us the approximate distance from your home to State College/University Park.

Choices were within 25 miles, 26-50 miles, 51-100 miles, 101-150 miles, 151-200 miles and 201-500 miles. If you're more than 500? Tough luck. Fortunately for me and according to MapQuest, Medina, OH is 237.5 miles from University Park.