I'm in group 1, so I'm licking my chops in anticipation of April 4, when I can chose my seats at Memorial. Our old seats were row 75 (very last row) in TT, and I was hoping to score these again. But when I logged on to the ATO site to test out the selection process, it appeared that ALL of the upper row of TT was taken ... as well as that of Q, QQ, T, and U, and almost all of UU, in short virtually all the east side (non-student) section.
What gives? How can the whole top row go in the week so soon? Or can this be some weird artifact of the seat selection process?

I may have to change my handle to Grumpybear.

chalcidbear;731721 said:

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I'm in group 1, so I'm licking my chops in anticipation of April 4, when I can chose my seats at Memorial. Our old seats were row 75 (very last row) in TT, and I was hoping to score these again. But when I logged on to the ATO site to test out the selection process, it appeared that ALL of the upper row of TT was taken ... as well as that of Q, QQ, T, and U, and almost all of UU, in short virtually all the east side (non-student) section.
What gives? How can the whole top row go in the week so soon? Or can this be some weird artifact of the seat selection process?

I may have to change my handle to Grumpybear.

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The top rows in every section have been blocked from day one.

FiatSlug...any info?

chalcidbear;731721 said:

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I may have to change my handle to GrumpyBear.

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High-ho, high-ho, 01-24-2012 registrant overthrows?

Source:
http://bearinsider.com/forums/member.php?u=4431

And the beat goes on:
http://bearinsider.com/forums/member.php?u=4444

But no, my friend, dunno about cruel booking circumstance, just promoting your thread (and my stats). Good luck!

#OffSeasonPostCountsPadded24X7

Sorry, I don't have any official information.

I have heard, unofficially, that construction of the last (top) two rows may have some problems. It's second or third-hand info, so I take it with a grain of salt.

I don't like it anymore than chalcidbear. While I didn't have my heart set on sitting in the top row in any section, I can certainly share his frustration and pique at the apparent situation.

I wish I could give better information; I'm reluctantly saying anything at all.

I was told, twice I think, that if you choose top row, and an additional row actually opened up above that one, that all folks in the top row would be called first before any seats on the additional row were sold.

The precast double rows stopped 2 or 3 or 4 rows from the top all the way around the rim, and they are now forming up for a concrete pour. Maybe someone measured something incorrectly ane we are seeing a "change order" in progress.

Just so long as they don't have to lower the roof to obscure the scoreboards like the fiasco at Haas.

:p

The construction update on the Calbears.com site says that the remaining treads and risers will be poured in place and will be completed in early April. Presumably this includes the top few rows in question.

SiniCal;731731 said:

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High-ho, high-ho, 01-24-2012 registrant overthrows?

Source:
http://bearinsider.com/forums/member.php?u=4431

And the beat goes on:
http://bearinsider.com/forums/member.php?u=4444

But no, my friend, dunno about cruel booking circumstance, just promoting your thread (and my stats). Good luck!

#OffSeasonPostCountsPadded24X7

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If all your stats were combined, they'be truly awesome, no boost needed. Kind of reminds me of how Joe Perry didn't get credit for 'non' NFL yards. I think Rick Barry got all his ABL stats, though.

I happened upon an answer by accident when viewing camera perspectives from one of the top sets of rows. There was a note that popped up which said that due to the geometry of the historic outer shell of memorial the top two rows were not available for selection, however if one were to chose the the highest available row now and either of the top two rows become available, then that person would have first opportunity to move up.

OK, now I'm curious. Why would you want top row?

March, couple of reasons: 1. I do stand up a lot, and at the back row I don't worry about blocking anyone's view. 2. The wall separating the top row from the concourse provides a built-in seatback. 3. I can escape to the concourse easily by jumping the wall, thereby minimizing reliance upon walking along aisles.

chalcidbear;731850 said:

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3. I can escape to the concourse easily by jumping the wall, thereby minimizing reliance upon walking along aisles.

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lmao

chalcidbear;731721 said:

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I'm in group 1, so I'm licking my chops in anticipation of April 4, when I can chose my seats at Memorial. Our old seats were row 75 (very last row) in TT, and I was hoping to score these again. But when I logged on to the ATO site to test out the selection process, it appeared that ALL of the upper row of TT was taken ... as well as that of Q, QQ, T, and U, and almost all of UU, in short virtually all the east side (non-student) section.
What gives? How can the whole top row go in the week so soon? Or can this be some weird artifact of the seat selection process?

I may have to change my handle to Grumpybear.

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chalcidbear;731850 said:

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3. I can escape to the concourse easily by jumping the wall, thereby minimizing reliance upon walking along aisles.

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Thanks.

Follow-up: Do you wear a cape?

Well, the term "easily" may be an exaggeration, but yeah, I can hop the wall and get to the refreshment stands quicker than trying to inch my way across a rowful of sitting fans.

march2397;731835 said:

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OK, now I'm curious. Why would you want top row?

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Port a Pottie View

I won't select top row seats out of consideration for others in my party. But I wouldn't turn my nose up at top row seats for these reasons:
1. Seats in the top row are often deeper than in other rows of Cal Memorial. Because rows are typically straight in other rows, legroom is predictably cramped. In the top row, the outer wall behind you is curved, resulting in some seats that are deeper than others. Some seats are 8-9" deeper than others, depending on where the curve is relative to the front of the bench.
2. Seats in the top row span the aisle. The seats spanning the aisle share a unique feature: they look down the aisle. These seats are the easiest seats to leave and also often do not require the seat holder to stand up to allow someone else in the row to pass.
3. If you stand on the bench in the top row, you have a fantastic view of the Bay; you only have to turn around. Great for the intermission between quarters, timeouts, or anytime when there's a lull in the game or at halftime when the band is not doing their thing.
4. There's room for stuff in back of your seat (see reason #1 for why).
5. The outer wall can offer some shelter if it's windy.

RTntheneck;731790 said:

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There was a note that popped up which said that due to the geometry of the historic outer shell of memorial the top two rows were not available for selection, however if one were to chose the the highest available row now and either of the top two rows become available, then that person would have first opportunity to move up.

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Wonder what the problem is... and if it has something to do with the bracing and refurbishing of the old outer wall. Might be something that can't be done in time for opening THIS year due to the tight timeline, but will be fixed in the future. If it's a permanent problem, it could be 1k-1.5k lost seats.

Chalcid, I would call the ATO (or Bear Backers might be better for a response) because even if there is a problem with the outer wall of CMS, the last rows on the east side are essentially unchanged.

So I called the ATO, and was told what others had reported: there may be some problem with the top row (sight lines?), and that if one opts for the uppermost row possible, one should theoretically get a chance in the future to bump up further.

The thing is, I went to the Stadium on Saturday and poked around, and the uppermost row on the [U]east[/U] side (the side I'm interested in) seems to be just fine- there is no break or discrepancy between the uppermost row and any of the rows below it. Perhaps the problem is on the uppermost row of the west side (where the Press box could conceivably impact the seats below it)?

Oh well, I guess all I can do now is to cross my fingers and hope for the best (something my years as a Cal fan has me well-prepared for).

The sections not rebuilt (Sections N through V) should have the top two rows available, regardless of what's happening in the rebuilt sections.

Functionally, this means that the following sections should have the top row available:

[U]Reserved Season Tickets[/U]
Section Q (no donation required; immediately south of the New Alumni section)
Section T ($100 donation required; immediately north of the Student Section)
Section TT ($100 donation required)
Section U ($50 donation required)
Section UU (no donation required)

[U]New Alumni Section[/U]
Section QQ ($100 donation required, $99 season ticket price; must have graduated in last 5 years)

Other sections not noted above are unavailable for seat selection:
Visitors (Sections N through P; 5 sections)
Groups/Single Game ticket sales (Sections PP and V; 2 sections)

Fiat- that makes sense to me. However, the entire upper row (or in some cases, upper 2 rows) of Q, QQ, T. TT, U and (with a couple of exceptions) UU are grayed out. I don't get that at all, but am trying not to get another ulcer worrying about it.

chalcidbear;732482 said:

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Fiat- that makes sense to me. However, the entire upper row (or in some cases, upper 2 rows) of Q, QQ, T. TT, U and (with a couple of exceptions) UU are grayed out. I don't get that at all, but am trying not to get another ulcer worrying about it.

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I'd guess it's poor programming of the web application. I was at the stadium lookout not too long ago and the last rows on the east side looked pretty much untouched, except for the metal benches.

Before your selection time and see if they can be selected manually by someone in the ATO>

the top rows will be fudged because the outer walls don't seem to be precisely allingned with the field. This may be an optical illusion, but I think that would explain the lack of available seating in those top rows. We will have to wait and see.

I think this seat selection process exposes the ultimate and utter ineptitude of the Cal athletic department and ticket office.

Son-of-California;732633 said:

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I think this seat selection process exposes the ultimate and utter ineptitude of the Cal athletic department and ticket office.

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Everything is better now.

:gobears::p:gobears:

Bobodeluxe;732622 said:

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the top rows will be fudged because the outer walls don't seem to be precisely allingned with the field. This may be an optical illusion, but I think that would explain the lack of available seating in those top rows. We will have to wait and see.

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The original top row in the West Side sections wasn't uniform, either.

If the reason for filling in the top row is that it can't be uniform, then someone didn't do their homework.

Sure, it's a nightmare to make pre-cast pieces. Form up the treads and risers in situ and pour the damned concrete.

nm nm

hope all your research and patience payed off. Sec H or HH?

Barely. Took F instead of HH. Closer to theBand coming out of the tunnel. F seemd in more demand than HH.

Checking the seats tonight, looked like FF & F were filling up faster thah H & HH.

CalBy7;732686 said:

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Checking the seats tonight, looked like FF & F were filling up faster thah H & HH.

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F and FF are closer to cal tunnel and H and HH are closer to the visitors section. Have been in F for a long time. got my first choice seats in F just under the overhang up on row 46 earlier in the day. i am happy. F and FF really filled up this afternoon.

I can't really tell why F/EE are preferred over HH/I. The seats I wanted in I and EE were mirror image. Row 21, just below the wheelchair platforms so I can stand without blocking anyone. I took EE because all things being equal I want to be as far from the SC band as possible.

I know for me, I chose the HH/I side because I park just behind that entrance. I figured that those that chose the other side is because that is the way they are used to entering the stadium. Spent 30+ years in T. Should be a nice change.

I've been in QQ forever, and if not for the extra legroom and benchbacks I would have been in T since we couldn't renew in QQ. On the alumni side, with the wide open entrance I don't think getting into F/EE will be much different than getting into HH/I.

I talked to someone in the ATO today. They said that the F side has always been more popular, and they can't see why since everything in the stadium is basically symmetrical.

I think being near a tunnel will be more relevant for exit.