///////////[Update as of Friday at 2:45]

The deposit is officially in! My thanks to Justin (Wonderboy14) For chipping in to help get it secured. So here's what the new timeline looks like:

We will begin pulling seats on July 23rd for the game. At that point, we'll need a head count, as well as a decision on the actual game itself. The headcount does not have to be 100% firm, but we do need a good idea of about how many there will be. I will put up a post in another week or two, so that we can get the number sorted out.

In the mean time, I will leave this post up for another week or so. If you haven't voted for the date of the game yet, please do. Whatever the tally is at the end, that is the date that we will go with. Hopefully, with the draft being tonight, we can get some more votes in, and get this thing figured out..

****A special note to our "Lurkers" out there**** -- Please feel free to sign up! The ticket prices that we are getting is a fantastic deal all on it's own. If you go, there won't be any pressure to have to talk or mingle with the other members. Some people just want to watch the game, and we 100% understand. We are a friendly community, but we are also extremely passionate about hockey,so if you want to use this chance to get some good tickets, please do so!

////////////////////[End Friday Afternoon Update}

[PREVIOUS UPDATE:]

Here's what I found out after talking to the best group sales rep in history (you can also see her comment below): I think the best option is going to be the platinum section. Not only is the view fantastic, but there is plenty of room to walk around and mingle, making it easier for us to talk with each other. Although they should be around the same as last season, pricing is not finalized at this point. Dynamic pricing may not apply to the group rates, which means that Saturday could be the same price as Thursday. Also, the NYE game will definitely be at a premium, and might be regular ticket price -- but you'd still save money from not paying any service charges. As soon as we find out the actual pricing, I will let you know. Last year's pricing would mean $50 for the game on Dec. 27th, and $60-65 for the 29th or 31st. Just something to bear in mind as you make your choice below.

In order for us to guarantee the best seats, we need to put down a $200 deposit, which can be made by multiple people. If this should fall through, and we do not wind up having a group event, the deposit can still be used towards individual tickets. Since I know my wife and I will be going no matter what, I'm happy to put $100 of the deposit down. But I need 1 or 2 others to chip in. Let me know if you're willing to chip in for it this early. The deposit helps get us on the list, so we don't necessarily have to have the date sorted just yet. That being the case, I'm hoping to get the deposit in ASAP.

Also, people can call in and contribute their share for their tickets directly, so there is no need for anyone to transfer money via paypal. That's makes it far simpler, and far safer for everyone involved I think.

Also, for the Saturday game, D'ann mentioned that there is more entertainment on the platinum level. Some kind of piano bar or something similar to it. Lots of new features this year, thanks to Audi! I'm definitely intrigued by that, since I would imagine that means hanging out longer at the AAC than I normally do, and I think it would be fun. Of course, if Thursday works for everyone else, I can always get individual platinum tickets for that Saturday on my own, so that's no biggie.

Finally, I've closed the old poll and opened a new one to see what works best. Make sure to give your vote!

[END PREVIOUS UPDATE]

Brad, Brandon, & the others do a great job throwing together the watching parties during the season, so I thought we might be able to organize a "watching party" at a game at the AAC!

I believe this was tried for last year, but it wound up not being able to work out. I think if we start feeling out the details now, then we might be able to get enough commitments from everyone to make it happen. As we get things figured out, I can update this post, or create new ones as we go along.

Also, if you look at the bottom, I will have a poll in each post, so that we can figure out how we best want to approach this.

The good thing about discussing it now, is that there are a ton of options open to us. The bad thing is that it will take a bit of time to figure it all out.

The first thing we need to do is figure out a date. I've listed 3 dates below that work for me. Of course, since I'm not the majority, the dates are always open to change.

The 3 dates that I've picked out are Thur. December 27th (against the Jackets), Sat. December 29th (against the Wild), or Mon. December 31st (NYE against the Preds).

Personally, I think the 27th might be best. It will be less crowded at the arena and in the downtown area, and the dynamic ticket prices will be cheaper. Of course, since some people may still go to work the next day, it might not be the best option for everyone. Saturday or NYE are great too, but the tickets will cost a little bit more, and there will be some crowds to deal with.

After we figure out a date, we also need to figure out a price range for everyone. Here's a screen grab of the prices from last season for seats:

As I said before, Thursday night would be considered a "B" game, while I'm sure Saturday (And definitely NYE) will be considered "A" games. This gives us options ranging from $15 and up. I would like to do something in the lower level (or sweet, sweet platinum), so that we can be more visible as a group. Again though, that kind of budget may not work out for everyone.

Also not listed is the possibility of getting a suite for the night. I believe, though, the price is around $100-120 per person. I think that includes parking and food, but I could be wrong about that. I don't know much about the suites, honestly.

So what say you guys? Would you be interested? I have a pretty detailed poll below so that we can figure out what works for the majority of people. There are options where date is most important, or price is most important, or you're okay with any option. If you find that the poll answers don't specifically match you, pick the best one, but let me know what's up in the comments!