2019 4CC info/tickets & planning thread (Feb. 5-10, Anaheim, California)

I live in Ontario and will most likely attend one or two events; I will wait until single session tickets are available later this year. Very exciting to have another event like this nearby; I attended Skate America in Ontario and also 2003 World Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim. I work in Downtown LA and commute using Metrolink. There are various Metrolink trains that stop at Anaheim; very close to the arena. I've used the flyway bus to and from LAX from Union Station and it is fine. For a point of reference, I've paid $65 on Lyft to get from my home in Ontario to LAX, so while not ideal, it's certainly not budget breaking. Of course it depends on time of day and if there are any surge pricings, etc.. Nice to see people planning their visits here!
 
Carolla5501 said:
I think they are depending on the fans from Japan selling this out. And they might get a good draw from there.
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Based on the pre-sales, I don't think that's very likely. :shuffle: I expect some Japanese fans will come, especially if Hanyu is expected to be there, but selling the place out.... I don't see that happening, especially considering the low attendance for Skate America when it was in Ontario, only 25 miles away. (Although with Anaheim, some people might throw in a side trip to Disney, but Japanese fans have a Disney park in Tokyo, so I'm not sure how much of a draw that might be for them.)

For the skater's sake (and USFSA's), I hope the attendance isn't a bust.
 
I hate to say this, but if attendance is a bust maybe USFSA will wake up and face reality. Asking incredibly high prices for a marginal sport is not drawing in US fans.

I actually think they are a little worried about this and that's why the upper decks aren't even on sale. They may realize they can't sell out and are not even planning to open the upper decks. (Because in their world it makes more sense to charge way too much money and have empty stands.... just bizarre.)

They had to offer a LOT of discounts to Nationals last year in a market where the official line was "we probably won't even have to sell individual tickets, look at our success with gymnastics" (Yes, I heard this line directly from the ticket sellers at Nationals in 2016). And I don't think attendance for most events was at all good. (I think the only event I had to sit in my assigned seat was Ladies Long. Everything else was pretty open!) Now they are back in the same geographic area asking for another large chuck of $$???? They better hope they get fans from Asia, because I don't think the US fans are going to be enough.
 
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Carolla5501 said:
I actually think they are a little worried about this and that's why the upper decks aren't even on sale. They may realize they can't sell out and are not even planning to open the upper decks. (Because in their world it makes more sense to charge way too much money and have empty stands.... just bizarre.)
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The upper decks for US Nationals aren't on sale yet either.
 
misskarne said:
The upper decks for US Nationals aren't on sale yet either.
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So..... would it not make more sense to just go to smaller markets then to pay to rent big arenas where you aren't going to use the space. Rather strange to insist on going to huge big city arenas and then have to waste that space.
 
I don't understand USFSA strategy in terms of 1) ticket prices for events, 2) selection of locations for events, 3) types of discounts and promotions offered.

My instinct is that USFSA relies on core skating fans who are basically going to go to events regardless. I think they feel pretty certain that they will be able to get a certain amount of revenue from these fans, and anything else is just bonus? ... And because they feel these fans will pay regardless (unless prices get truly unreasonable), they keep prices as high as they can get away with. To maximize that core-fan revenue. This is a pricing construct that my husband was reading about recently in a business book, in connection with cable TV package rates, but I'm sure it could apply to skating as well.

Two years ago, the Boston Worlds organizers provided a template for how to drive high ticket sales for a domestic U.S. figure skating event. Their core strategy was social media and customer service, and lots of it, to build interest and demand and to remove doubts (let's call them mental obstacles) in regard to buying tickets. The LOC put money into their social media strategy (hiring someone to run it) and it worked, big-time. I have yet to see any other domestic skating event since then really follow this model (beyond token social media efforts). It could be they can't afford it. But it would be nice if something could be learned & applied from Boston's success, IMO.
 
@Carolla5501 @clairecloutier ITA. I just don't get the model. There are plenty of young skating fans and skaters in their 20s and 30s that want to go see a skating competition like this, but can't afford it. The tickets alone are crazy, but then you add in the hotel, food, travel expenses, etc. And then the fans with families - do they leave their family at home or buck up the cash to get tickets for everyone?

Cheaper tickets also draw crowds and can make up for some revenue. In San Jose at least (and Anaheim to some extent) these events are being held close to lots of hotels with guests unrelated to skating. With some advertising for cheap tickets, maybe travelers would be curious enough to pop in and see one or two events if they could get cheap tickets, but that's hardly the case here. Maybe they could do "day of" deals. That is - if they still have open seats, they can try to fill those seats by offering great ticket deals to people who buy at the box office. Fans will still buy in advance to guarantee tickets, but for casual competition-goers it would be a much better deal.
 
I'm fairly certain that Ticket Monster's exorbitant fees were based on per-ticket fee gauging. Unless the arena has a contract to charge those fees for in-person sales, that in itself would be savings for the local crowd that wants to buy a ticket. Admittance to Disneyland is $117-$157/person/day, and those are 2018 prices.

Has anyone ever used CityPASS? I'm still not sure from the websites whether you can go to the same park more than once with it. I've never been to Disneyland and am not sure I have more than one day's worth in me.

This past February, except for the third weeks of February, which was considered "on" season for winter break, LEGOLAND was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I'd expect the same for this year.

I may have a car from mid-day the day I land through mid-day the next day, and I did see that there is a small outlet mall not too far away. Is it worth driving to the coast?
 
I remember driving from the Long Beach Half to Anaheim for a Coffee break. It took an hour? Long Beach is my favourite beach in California, but during the week, the commute would be a lot longer.
 
Carolla5501 said:
So..... would it not make more sense to just go to smaller markets then to pay to rent big arenas where you aren't going to use the space. Rather strange to insist on going to huge big city arenas and then have to waste that space.
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Skate America in Ontario was definitely a smaller market and smaller arena, but was still pretty empty. While fair pricing id important, USFSA also did very little in the way of marketing and promotion. At the time I lived 15 minutes away from the arena, but knew of the event only because of being on the boards. Hell, I was still skating at the time, in Ontario, and a lot of instructors at the rink didn't even know about it!
 
AnnM said:
Skate America in Ontario was definitely a smaller market and smaller arena, but was still pretty empty. While fair pricing id important, USFSA also did very little in the way of marketing and promotion. At the time I lived 15 minutes away from the arena, but knew of the event only because of being on the boards. Hell, I was still skating at the time, in Ontario, and a lot of instructors at the rink didn't even know about it!
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Good point. I worked at the time in Foothill Ranch which is not far from Ontario and no one at my office had a clue this event was going on until they found out I was staying the weekend to watch skating!
 
Carolla5501 said:
So..... would it not make more sense to just go to smaller markets then to pay to rent big arenas where you aren't going to use the space. Rather strange to insist on going to huge big city arenas and then have to waste that space.
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I seriously doubt they will even offer any upper deck sales at all, as the lower deck is highly unlikely to sell out.

To get ISU approval for a location, it has to be served by a major airport, have plenty of hotel space, etc. That limits the amount of markets the USFSA can host an event at. And the ticket costs are probably all very tied in to the venue rental, and housing costs for athletes/officials. Sadly SoCal is a much more pricey market than Colorado Springs, but who knows if the prices would have been much (if any cheaper) market to have 4CC at? It is what it is. Sigh.
 
peibeck said:
I seriously doubt they will even offer any upper deck sales at all, as the lower deck is highly unlikely to sell out.

To get ISU approval for a location, it has to be served by a major airport, have plenty of hotel space, etc. That limits the amount of markets the USFSA can host an event at. And the ticket costs are probably all very tied in to the venue rental, and housing costs for athletes/officials. Sadly SoCal is a much more pricey market than Colorado Springs, but who knows if the prices would have been much (if any cheaper) market to have 4CC at? It is what it is. Sigh.
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They approved Colorado Springs. It's about 80 miles from a major airport.

There are lots of decent midsize arenas 80 miles from a major airport. And a lot of them are not in one of the highest cost areas of the US
 
Carolla5501 said:
They approved Colorado Springs. It's about 80 miles from a major airport.

There are lots of decent midsize arenas 80 miles from a major airport. And a lot of them are not in one of the highest cost areas of the US
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No matter where an event is held here in the US, people always are going to bitch about SOMETHING and blame the USFSA. If it were in Colorado Springs people would be complaining that the closest international airport being 80 miles away (although there is a regional airport which is pretty small but nice in town) and transportation from any of the airports, there aren't shuttles from the hotels that are a 10 minute walk (or less) to the arena, that it's too cold, the altitude is too high and the skating will be terrible, there aren't any healthy options in the crummy old arena....

I went to 2012 4CC in Colorado Springs, I still remember many of the things people were whinging about. ;)
 
@peibeck Yes, but I think this complaint is more real that small things like distance to the arena or transportation. Those can easily be fixed with a rental car or by getting an Uber/Cab/hotel shuttle. Those small things may decrease some fans' enjoyment, but they're not going to prevent fans from going altogether quite like such high prices will.
 
Willin said:
@peibeck Yes, but I think this complaint is more real that small things like distance to the arena or transportation. Those can easily be fixed with a rental car or by getting an Uber/Cab/hotel shuttle. Those small things may decrease some fans' enjoyment, but they're not going to prevent fans from going altogether quite like such high prices will.
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I went to 4CC's in Colorado Springs on a tour. Tickets, hotel and included field trip were about as much as the best seats in Anaheim (plus rediculous service fee). Still the arena was far from full.
 
I think that USFSA needs to work on the model. They want fans to pay the bills, but they aren't doing anything to build a fan base. Tickets that cost A lot of money in a market where people literally have more options for entertainment than they can possibly enjoy doesn't look like a winning combo IMHO.
 
SINGLE-SESSION TICKETS FOR ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019 GO ON SALE FRIDAY, OCT. 12 AT NOON: http://www.usfsa.org/story?id=91843&type=media
Single session tickets for the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2019 will be on sale Friday, Oct. 12, 2018 at noon (PST) on Ticketmaster.com. The Championships are set for Feb. 7-10, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Tickets start at just $15 and discounts for groups of 10 or more are also available.
Event Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 7: Ladies Short Program; Men’s Short Program
Friday, Feb. 8: Pairs Short Program; Rhythm Dance; Ladies Free Skate
Saturday, Feb. 9: Pairs Free Skate; Men’s Free Skate
Sunday, Feb. 10: Free Dance; Exhibition Gala
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Darn it! Someone get me a job and I'm there!
(But please can I get a job so I at least have the money to attend if not the schedule?)
 
Anyone in the area have an idea as to what it might cost to Lyft or Uber from the airport in Santa Ana to Anaheim?
 
peibeck said:
Anyone in the area have an idea as to what it might cost to Lyft or Uber from the airport in Santa Ana to Anaheim?
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Depends on where in Anaheim. John Wayne Airport to Disneyland is like $25-30. (my cousin recently met me in Anaheim to go to Disneyland)
 
I plan to go to this event. It's my first major championship since 2010 world juniors (I've had a lot going on in my life!). I live in San Diego, so I tentatively plan to just take the train up and back every day since the Amtrak and metro link both drop off right by the Honda Center.
 
If anyone needs a ride, pick up from the airports nearby, whatever, I can provide! I'll be driving down probably on Thursday? Depends on hotel availability etc.
 
alj5 said:
Depends on where in Anaheim. John Wayne Airport to Disneyland is like $25-30. (my cousin recently met me in Anaheim to go to Disneyland)
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Thank you so much! I'm staying between Disney and the Honda Center so I'll budget for 30-35 each way. I'll be at practices for anyone who wants to meet up with other FSU-ers.
 
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