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Is becoming a DCI contributor worth it for finals tickets?


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A friend of mine and I are talking about going to finals in 2017 and I was wondering if becoming a DCI contributor is a good way to get better seats for a better price.

We went in 2009 and I wasn't a member and we had to sit on the 30-yard line up high. For 2017, I would like to get closer to the 50-yard line and down in the lower sections (because I think the sound will be better).

When I was checking out the "Friends of DCI" memberships, it mentions getting better seats as one of the benefits. My question is it worth becoming a "Friend of DCI" in that you can obtain better seats at Finals (all 3 days) and actually save some money?

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Depends. Run the numbers, and see if it makes sense for you. It jumps your price of attending championship week considerably. You will get better seats, yes. Sometimes you can get equally good seats for less money through a drum corps or by just showing up and seeing what's available at the last minute. Remember you not only have to figure the cost of your donation but also the tickets you will buy if you want to attend (you don't have to) unless you're a Gold level member or higher in which case some seats are included. If you're trying to get seats for 2016 finals, you may be too late to get any priority as the Friends seats have probably been assigned, but you can ask DCI before joining. If you want better seats for 2017, join in the early fall of 2016.

Also it depends on the stadium location you're trying for. The way Friends works is that they start distributing seats based on member requests for a particular level of the stadium with the top donor category first. Everyone in the top category gets to select before anyone in a lower category, and so on down the line of donation levels. Within each category, years of consecutive membership at any level determine who gets seated next. So if you start out as a new Silver member, you might be out around the 35s and may be shut out of your preferred stadium level if the seats there have already been claimed by others ahead of you. To be between the 45s where there are only a few seats to go around, you may either need to donate a lot in one year or have many years of consecutive Friends membership.

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Depends. Run the numbers, and see if it makes sense for you. It jumps your price of attending championship week considerably. You will get better seats, yes. Sometimes you can get equally good seats for less money through a drum corps or by just showing up and seeing what's available at the last minute. Remember you not only have to figure the cost of your donation but also the tickets you will buy if you want to attend (you don't have to) unless you're a Gold level member or higher in which case some seats are included. If you're trying to get seats for 2016 finals, you may be too late to get any priority as the Friends seats have probably been assigned, but you can ask DCI before joining. If you want better seats for 2017, join in the early fall of 2016.

Also it depends on the stadium location you're trying for. The way Friends works is that they start distributing seats based on member requests for a particular level of the stadium with the top donor category first. Everyone in the top category gets to select before anyone in a lower category, and so on down the line of donation levels. Within each category, years of consecutive membership at any level determine who gets seated next. So if you start out as a new Silver member, you might be out around the 35s and may be shut out of your preferred stadium level if the seats there have already been claimed by others ahead of you. To be between the 45s where there are only a few seats to go around, you may either need to donate a lot in one year or have many years of consecutive Friends membership.

That makes sense. Thanks for the advice. I looked at the seats for 2016 finals and all of the premium seats near the 50-yard line are sold out. Maybe it would just be better to buy the 3-day package as soon as the seats go on sale like I did in 2009. I don't want to buy a membership and end up having the same kind of seats as I would if I weren't a member.

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That makes sense. Thanks for the advice. I looked at the seats for 2016 finals and all of the premium seats near the 50-yard line are sold out. Maybe it would just be better to buy the 3-day package as soon as the seats go on sale like I did in 2009. I don't want to buy a membership and end up having the same kind of seats as I would if I weren't a member.

If you are a member, you will get better seats than if you are not a member and buy through DCI/Ticketmaster. The seats between the 35s are generally not available even ordering early through DCI/Ticketmaster. Usually those seats go to Friends of DCI members and corps.

But the total cost of those better seats as a member of Friends of DCI will be hundreds of dollars more. So this option works best for those for whom saving money is not a high priority.

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If you are a member, you will get better seats than if you are not a member and buy through DCI/Ticketmaster. The seats between the 35s are generally not available even ordering early through DCI/Ticketmaster. Usually those seats go to Friends of DCI members and corps.

But the total cost of those better seats as a member of Friends of DCI will be hundreds of dollars more. So this option works best for those for whom saving money is not a high priority.

Right. I know for the Silver membership ($500) you get 1 complimentary premium seating ticket package and option to purchase another package. I know when we went in 2009 a 3-day package was over $300 for our seats, so it may be worth paying for the membership just to get a free package and option to purchase another one to get better seats.

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the better FDCI seats are given to folks with long tenure in the program

if you're goal is "best seats" in a given year - hit stubhub

if your goal is "solid seats" AND help DCI - then explore the DCI option

suggest you just email DCI and ask them what sort of seats you should expect for a year 1 FDCI contribution

if I can help more let me know, George.

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the better FDCI seats are given to folks with long tenure in the program

if you're goal is "best seats" in a given year - hit stubhub

if your goal is "solid seats" AND help DCI - then explore the DCI option

suggest you just email DCI and ask them what sort of seats you should expect for a year 1 FDCI contribution

if I can help more let me know, George.

OK. i will e-mail them and ask. i'm not looking to be on the 50-yard line or anything like that but i wanted to get down in the lower section nearer to the center than we were in 2009. the sound sucked up in the upper section where we were and if i'm paying that kind of money for tickets, i'd at least like to have decent sound. i just wanted to see if that was possible by contributing to DCI. i think it would be worth the donation if that were possible.

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I give nothing to DCI. I buy from Super buy that they do every year. I always ask for section 140 which is in the middle and get it. I have the same section this year 15 rows up. I can see everything fine and the sound is in my face. Thanks again Megan from DCI.

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I give nothing to DCI. I buy from Super buy that they do every year. I always ask for section 140 which is in the middle and get it. I have the same section this year 15 rows up. I can see everything fine and the sound is in my face. Thanks again Megan from DCI.

Hmmm... that's good to know. I would be happy in that section.

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