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Strike 2
61 Posts |
 Posted - 04/17/2009 : 00:42:55
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| Drop the Gate Fee. Parents are already paying to play in your tournament via the entry fee. They are also paying at the concession stand. The "We charge a gate fee to keep the riff raff out" does not fly. The riff raff could care less about a baseball tournament. What say you? |
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Critical Mass
277 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 07:46:18
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| You drop the gate fee at tournaments and tournament companies lose revenue, quality of events go down, entry fees for teams go up. Parents need to look at gate fees as the cost of doing business similar to hotels, eating on the road and gas needed to go to and fro the tourneys. They don't call it travel baseball for nothing. |
Edited by - Critical Mass on 04/17/2009 13:22:53 |
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ECB Mom
14 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 07:53:25
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| What we have found that if there isn't a gate fee, the fee to play in the tournament is much higher. As you may know, it is basically a fundraiser for the host team. It is a 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' type of deal...meaning you pay our gate fee and we pay your gate fee when we go to your park. The other duty of the host team is to garbage duty. Now if we can get the 'non' riff raff to pick up their own trash, I think you may have a chance!!!! |
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tae281
447 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 09:09:29
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I agree but I what I can't stand is when you have two games in one day at two different parks and still have to have the gate at both, ie: TC tourneys.
quote:
Originally posted by Strike 2
Drop the Gate Fee. Parents are already paying to play in your tournament via the entry fee. They are also paying at the concession stand. The "We charge a gate fee to keep the riff raff out" does not fly. The riff raff could care less about a baseball tournament. What say you?
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bball-fan
89 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 09:09:56
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| I agree. Especially having to pay for anyone under 12. They're not there to watch the game. |
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Rocky
290 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 09:38:23
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| I agree 100%. Entry fees are too high as it is. |
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op-o
41 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 09:50:21
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| Agreed, just another way to grab more $$$. Most good tourny's are going towards gate fee paid in advance however making the entry fees more expensive. The one exception is ECB Complex there's always a fee there. |
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ingasven
120 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 10:05:23
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I've always felt it was a tad bit ridiculous to pay to watch my children play a game that I'm already paying 1500-3000 a year to have them play.
I thought maybe the trend was becoming rolling the gate fee into the tournament entry fee as I started seeing $500 entry fees for only a three game guarantee, but then i get hit at the gate for another 5 bucks.
Honestly, what would happen if we all just said enough is enough? We'll pay your steep entry fee to play locally for only three games vs. the drive 50-70 miles north where tournaments are regularly advertised for $350 and a four game guarantee(I'm wondering if we aren't all missing the boat there.)but we aren't giving you another five dollars at the gate.
Should we all bring a tea bag this weekend?
Those facilities in Dalton, Ringgold, etc. are actually pretty nice and it seems as though at least 10 of the same teams are in every tournament. I bet those folks up there would be happy to adjust schedules to accomodate the distance we all have to travel.
It really isn't about five bucks...every other industry in this country has had to scale back, make cuts and accept smaller profit margins in order to stay solvent...
It makes me think scheduling weekend round robins with two or three other teams where we all split the umpiring fees may be a better alternative... bring your own coolers, food, grills and whatever else you can fit in the truck; just show up so the boys get to play and get better.
I'll donate all my kids' old trophies to hand out if that's the only reason we all pay these steep fees. |
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 10:23:49
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I don't like them because it charges Grandparents and older siblings. Baseball Papa must be getting soaked by this with 2 Grandson's playing extensive travel schedules.
quote:
Originally posted by Strike 2
Drop the Gate Fee. Parents are already paying to play in your tournament via the entry fee. They are also paying at the concession stand. The "We charge a gate fee to keep the riff raff out" does not fly. The riff raff could care less about a baseball tournament. What say you?
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Titan1
210 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 10:50:08
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| I say I am fine with the gate fee. I have put on a couple of tournaments for fundraisers and if not for the gate fee we would have broke even on the tournament. Travel ball is not for everyone.There are alot of cost that go into hosting a tournament that the average person does not know about. With that said I agree with you that when gate fees start going up to $6 or $7 a person per day then that is a little to much. $5 is about right and I have never had one of my parents complain about it. |
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BREAMKING
323 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 10:57:08
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| They would just charge the teams more then. Trust me these tournament operators will get the money one way or the other from the parents. So I do not think it matters. |
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JJKrew
4 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 11:04:10
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| I know of a team that decided to drop the Triple Crown tournaments from their schedule because of this exact reason. They calculated all of the gate fees that were paid over a 3 day period for all of their family and friends and discovered the total amount paid was over $900. That is in addition to concession items and the actual tournament fee. That's way too much money to spend in this economy for 5 or 6 baseball games. |
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ingasven
120 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 13:44:37
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quote:
Originally posted by BREAMKING
They would just charge the teams more then. Trust me these tournament operators will get the money one way or the other from the parents. So I do not think it matters.
Bream,
I think it doesn't matter only if we all as a group allow it not to matter. I've wondered for years why we really need sanctioning bodies to host a friggin tournament. At the end of it all does anybody really care (other than those of us playing in them) if we had more U-Trip, USTBA, TC, SYSA, AABC, BPA or Uncle Joes Discount Baseball Barn points than the next guy?
What do really get other than somebody else worrying if it rains, will the umpires show up & can I get 7 bucks out of these folks instead of 5?
I know many teams have a hard time making 6 pm weekday NWBA games across town, but surely when we speak of just playing locally to get some weekend baseball in (not a State or National level tourney) we can all put our heads together and say...hey, you five come to our park this weekend and we'll all play four or 5 games against each other...then schedule a different group the next weekend somewhere else. I mean in a 16 team tournament, which sounds like, wow, lots of teams, how many of those teams are you actually going to play??
Just my 1.5 cents worth...inflation ate a half a cent! |
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 14:17:46
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| Baseball Papa has paid many a gate fee and as long as I have to pay to see the boys pay then I will keep paying. I do wish that more organizations would do more for the kids in giving back like USTBA does. They couldn't be making the profit the other organizations are making and give the quality tournament they are running. All I am saying is give back more to the kids by running a quality tournament with real sanctioned umpires and reward the kids for a job well done. |
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mrbama31
252 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 15:14:04
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quote:
Originally posted by ingasven
quote:
Originally posted by BREAMKING
They would just charge the teams more then. Trust me these tournament operators will get the money one way or the other from the parents. So I do not think it matters.
Bream,
I think it doesn't matter only if we all as a group allow it not to matter. I've wondered for years why we really need sanctioning bodies to host a friggin tournament. At the end of it all does anybody really care (other than those of us playing in them) if we had more U-Trip, USTBA, TC, SYSA, AABC, BPA or Uncle Joes Discount Baseball Barn points than the next guy?
What do really get other than somebody else worrying if it rains, will the umpires show up & can I get 7 bucks out of these folks instead of 5?
I know many teams have a hard time making 6 pm weekday NWBA games across town, but surely when we speak of just playing locally to get some weekend baseball in (not a State or National level tourney) we can all put our heads together and say...hey, you five come to our park this weekend and we'll all play four or 5 games against each other...then schedule a different group the next weekend somewhere else. I mean in a 16 team tournament, which sounds like, wow, lots of teams, how many of those teams are you actually going to play??
Just my 1.5 cents worth...inflation ate a half a cent!
ingasven,
Your idea is nice in theory...and is actually done from time to time as our team plays the occasional dh or a 3 team round robin. But there is alot of work and even money involved in hosting even a 3 team round robin. For example the field rental for the day would be $200.00 and the umpires (2) would be $70.00 a game. So you are looking at a total of $410.00 split 3 ways ...you are looking at roughly $140.00 per team for 2 games. Where as a tournament 4-5 games for $350.00 -$400.00. The difference is about $10 a game plus the dreaded gate fee. But all your team has to do is show up and play..no working on the fields, no taking phone calls for scheduling, no responsibilty in getting umpires or that they don't make any bad calls. In most cases its worth the money at the gate. Not to mention the idea and excitement these young men experience in the "tournament" atmosphere.
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Critical Mass
277 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 15:14:32
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quote:
Originally posted by BREAMKING
They would just charge the teams more then. Trust me these tournament operators will get the money one way or the other from the parents. So I do not think it matters.
Yup, "these tournament operators" would find a way to soak you. Then again, TCS, USSSA, USTBA etc are businesses and need to make a profit or they will not survive. Free enterprise, yes? Vote with your dollar and find another alternative as Inga mentioned. The park keeps the concession(or to the sub contractor less a %) and gate, the sponsor gets the team fees and vendor sales. Most other parks give all gate fees to team sponsors, Triple Crown at E.C. always goes to East Cobb only. Hence no "team" sponsored TC events. Personally, i think you should be able to bring a cooler into all parks as long as it isn't the size of a minivan, maybe that would be a fair balance in lieu of the entry fees? |
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bball-fan
89 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 15:34:24
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quote:
Originally posted by tae281
I agree but I what I can't stand is when you have two games in one day at two different parks and still have to have the gate at both, ie: TC tourneys.
quote:
Originally posted by Strike 2
Drop the Gate Fee. Parents are already paying to play in your tournament via the entry fee. They are also paying at the concession stand. The "We charge a gate fee to keep the riff raff out" does not fly. The riff raff could care less about a baseball tournament. What say you?
In cases like that, you should be able to get a hand stamp that is good at all the fields. Has anyone brought up that point to the tournament director? |
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tae281
447 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 16:34:24
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I have but the gate fee is profit for that park, in other words, they get to keep al the gate fees and the tournament folks are not involved.
quote:
Originally posted by bball-fan
quote:
Originally posted by tae281
I agree but I what I can't stand is when you have two games in one day at two different parks and still have to have the gate at both, ie: TC tourneys.
quote:
Originally posted by Strike 2
Drop the Gate Fee. Parents are already paying to play in your tournament via the entry fee. They are also paying at the concession stand. The "We charge a gate fee to keep the riff raff out" does not fly. The riff raff could care less about a baseball tournament. What say you?
In cases like that, you should be able to get a hand stamp that is good at all the fields. Has anyone brought up that point to the tournament director?
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C. MORTON
1051 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 18:54:33
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SYSA probably has the lowest entry fees in the state and a weekend pass is just $10. They put on a tournament for $188 this weekend..And every weekend they seem to put on a tournament it makes...Check them out they are well run tournaments for the AA/AAA teams not many majors up this way..Andd they really have large turn out in Tenn. every weekend if you want to take a road trip..Last month they put on a free tournament in Cookville Tn.
http://www.tennesseebpa.com/
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Edited by - C. MORTON on 04/17/2009 20:59:41 |
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OffSpeed
40 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 09:33:41
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A long time ago, Team "A" hosted a tournament and instituted a Gate Fee to collect more money to support their Tournament Fees. This cost Team "B" more money which added to thier budget. Team "B" was forced to raise more money to play and they in turn added a gate fee to thier tournament, and so on....
We have turned ourselves into "Human Cash Re-distribution Points". We are Taxing ourselves.
BTW... We are adding a parking fee to our tournament as well. We need the cash for Disney! |
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kbuck
33 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 11:00:48
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So what all of you are saying is that you would rather pay a larger entry fee than pay the $5 per day gate fee? You have to do one or the other. In a tournament where you are paying in the range of $350 entry fee, all of that entry fee is ate up by tournement cost. With out the gate fee there is 0 profit for the host. You have to consider field cost, umpire cost, sanctioning fees, cost for field workers (due to I drag and chalk every field between every game), cost of materials (chalk, paint, etc), trophies, trash, printing brackets, and so on. Tournaments are not as easy as people think to run. I am interested to hear what you think the majority thinks about a gate fee vs higher entry fees. It cost you as a parent either way. If the entry fees are higher then it cost more to play with the team.
As for the cheaper events, some directors don't pay as much for their fields as other directors. That could be the difference you see in the cost of some events vs others.
As for the USTBA format, I really like the way it is set up. It gives more teams a chance to play in a championship game. At the same time everyone can't use this format due to field space. A good many directors have access to only one or two facilities and taking 16 teams in one age group and splitting them in bracket play may not be an option for them.
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Peanutsr
171 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 11:45:57
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| This past weekend ( Backyard Brawl ) Triple Crown had the gate fee waved at the second park if you played at two parks in the same day. |
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BaseballJunky12
49 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 13:42:54
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| I don't mind it. They are going to get the same amount of money either way. You can't get rid of gate fees and keep the fees the same. So just pay the gate fees with a smile on your face and be grateful that you have a son or grandson playing travel baseball. |
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op-o
41 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 14:05:07
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| I prefer to have the gate fee paid in advance. while it affects team budgets, its really a hassle when you have to deal with siblings, grandparents and the like. I don't mind paying the fee but when its costing $30 or $40 every weekend it adds up quickly. I don't begrudge anyone making a profit but lets be realistic here. |
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tater77bug
133 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 14:07:07
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Good stuff Baseball Junky....it's really a deal to pay 15 to 18 bucks to get to stay at the park all day and see your kids and other kids play baseball....have you taken a kid or family to the movies lately????And tourneys are run to make a profit weather for a team or an organization....so if no gate fees....you get higher tourney fees....I will have to say PAPA is right on with his take of USTBA....those guys are doing a great job...and BAMA is correct in that double headers are fine but they ain't free and are lots of work for your coaches.... quote:
Originally posted by BaseballJunky12
I don't mind it. They are going to get the same amount of money either way. You can't get rid of gate fees and keep the fees the same. So just pay the gate fees with a smile on your face and be grateful that you have a son or grandson playing travel baseball.
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ATURNER
84 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 14:38:31
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WOW!! Someone else finally sees the light!! It's NOT a part of playing tournaments. Being ripped off weekend after weekend is just WRONG!! My sons have played in this area for 8 years and there are parks we won't go back to because the entry fee is $500 plus your charged a huge gate fee on top of that for each family member.
I have hosted at least 20+ tourneys in the past 6 years in Forsyth County. A mere toddler compared to some of the host names on eteamz making a living off hosting 15+ tourneys a year. There are so many people being ripped off......
There are 3 things everyone should know regarding hosting tournaments; 1. Is it a sanctioned event? If yes, there's an additional expense for the host. 2. Does the host have to rent the fields? 3. Does the host get concession $$? If yes, this offsets the expenses.
Now - Here's how you can tell if you are being ripped off:
If there is no field rental for the host (you'd have to ask), it is not sanctioned and the host gets concessions and you are STILL paying a gate fee. Then you, my friend, need to do some searching for a less expensive tourney for your team. Most sanctioned tourneys make at least $8k. Why do you think the number of tourneys has more than tripled in the area in the last 4 years? You could play in 6 different tourneys on any giving weekend. It used to be 2-3.
If people keep paying the price the vultures will continue to rip them off. Besides, how many (name the assocaition) points do you really need??
We started out charging a gate fees the first few years, but with the economy went away from that about 3 years ago. We do get concessions and pay a field rental fee. We are not trying to rip teams off, just give them a fun weekend and make some $$ for our teams expenses.
BTW - There are some hosts out there like me who are giving teams a fair price so please don't attack me for enlightning people with the truth.  |
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GATE FEE
