Lower ticket prices in '13

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by LITTLE NELL

No one wants to spend time on the net searching for tickets and best prices, they want to hop in the car, go down to the park and have no surprises at the what the price of a ticket is.

Considering the savings online can be pretty substantial, I think there are plenty of people capable of making a spur of the moment decision to go see the Sox and then needing about 2 minutes of their time to find the best deal online. At the very least, are there people out there that still don't know how to use StubHub?

With as fickle a fanbase as this, banking on walk-up crowds is probably the worst idea ever.

[DumpJerry]

Originally Posted by amsteel

25% is a big drop. Perhaps a prelude to a BIG payroll cut?

Television money is increasing.

[cws05champ]

Originally Posted by DeadMoney

I think - for the sake of the casual fans - they still need to help market the hell out of the neighborhood and area surrounding the park (as being safe, clean, etc.), but this is a start.

Along with that, they need to almost give away some merchandise as well. If you give away/seel at just over cost some hats and shirts and flood the area (not just the South side) with Sox merch, in the long run it will start to create a generation of new Sox fans in the area.

[Lip Man 1]

Nell:

I think you make a valid point concerning older fans. My thinking is that they don't want to have to wonder 'if I go on a Monday for the Royals, the seat I want costs X amount...but if I go Thursday for the Yankees the same seat is going to cost X'

I think they want it clear... box seats X amount, lower grandstand X amount, bleachers X amount...regardless of the day, the time of the game or the opponent.

And to answer Double's question I don't know how to use Stubhub, I've never had the occasion to have to go on-line and search to find a better price for a sporting event (even those that I haven't been working...)

Lip

[LITTLE NELL]

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

Nell:

I think you make a valid point concerning older fans. My thinking is that they don't want to have to wonder 'if I go on a Monday for the Royals, the seat I want costs X amount...but if I go Thursday for the Yankees the same seat is going to cost X'

I think they want it clear... box seats X amount, lower grandstand X amount, bleachers X amount...regardless of the day, the time of the game or the opponent.

And to answer Double's question I don't know how to use Stubhub, I've never had the occasion to have to go on-line and search to find a better price for a sporting event (even those that I haven't been working...)

Lip

It might be a generational thing but I'm pretty computer savvy for my advanced years but what if you are a working stiff and might be driving a truck for a living and has no computer in his truck and decides to go to a Sox game after work, well now he knows he can drive down to the park and get a decent seat without stopping at HFC for a loan before the game.
PS Have actually used Stubhub twice for a Lightning and Rays game.

[DSpivack]

Originally Posted by LITTLE NELL

It might be a generational thing but I'm pretty computer savvy for my advanced years but what if you are a working stiff and might be driving a truck for a living and has no computer in his truck and decides to go to a Sox game after work, well now he knows he can drive down to the park and get a decent seat without stopping at HFC for a loan before the game.

Like you said, being computer savvy is one thing, having a couple hours before a game to research ticket prices and special codes and what not is another. Despite what some seeing as ease of use and wide availability this season for the White Sox, obviously that much did not work considering the team's poor attendance.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by LITTLE NELL

It might be a generational thing but I'm pretty computer savvy for my advanced years but what if you are a working stiff and might be driving a truck for a living and has no computer in his truck and decides to go to a Sox game after work, well now he knows he can drive down to the park and get a decent seat without stopping at HFC for a loan before the game.

Without even mentioning the fact that most Americans have the internet on their cell phone these days, you can't seriously expect me to believe the truckers who want to go to Sox games but only make spur of the moment decisions about sporting events is this huge, untapped market the Sox need to capture

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

And to answer Double's question I don't know how to use Stubhub, I've never had the occasion to have to go on-line and search to find a better price for a sporting event (even those that I haven't been working...)

Hey, cool, mail me a letter in 1999 when I would have given a ****

[kittle42]

Originally Posted by doublem23

Considering the savings online can be pretty substantial, I think there are plenty of people capable of making a spur of the moment decision to go see the Sox and then needing about 2 minutes of their time to find the best deal online. At the very least, are there people out there that still don't know how to use StubHub?

You'd be surprised how many frequent internet users I talk to who think StubHub is some kind of risky sham.

[MUsoxfan]

Excellent move. I think I'll look into a ticket package as well

[SOXSINCE'70]

Originally Posted by tebman

I remember reading a letter to the editor of one of the Chicago papers back in the mid-1960s complaining about the price of concessions at a White Sox game. The menu was more limited in those days, but as I recall it was 25 cents for pop and 40 cents for a hot dog. The author of the letter didn't like it, because the going price elsewhere for a cup or bottle of pop was 10 cents and a hot dog was less than 40 cents. The numbers seem comically small now, but in comparision the ballpark prices were way high.

Concessions will always be a big profit center at a ballgame, just like it is at a movie theater. I'm happy the Sox have encouraged tailgating before the game since that usually saves me big money on ballpark food and drinks.

Back on topic, the ticket-price changes are a great move! Now the Sox need to trumpet the fact that they've reduced prices 25-30% while the Other Team has reduced prices 2%, and that after a 101-loss season!

Thanks for your help.Greatly appreciated.!

[SOXSINCE'70]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jinx

I would imagine it won't effect food prices. The number of people who don't go to games because concession prices are too high is surely far less than the number who don't go due to the price of tickets or parking.

Thnaks! Appreciate the help!

[lpneck]

I think it needs to be made clear that "premier" pricing and "dynamic" pricing are not the same thing.

I'm not necessarily opposed to either one, but I think the White Sox have been doing it wrong.

I understand the mentality of "I want a bleacher seat to be $X whether it's against the Cubs, the Tigers, or the Astros," but this is a business and prices can and should be set by supply and demand.

I don't mind if the Sox want to set an upper deck reserve seat at $7 for most weeknights, and make it $12 for opening day, or the Cubs, or weekends in the summer, if the market will bear that price and people will buy those tickets at that price. Most professional sports franchises are doing something along those lines. It makes no sense to sell those tickets at $22 for regular games, and then make it $32 for a "premier" game, when no one is buying seats at those price points for either game.

As for "dynamic" pricing- that is the idea that as tickets become more scarce, the price increases due to the demand, so that the value isn't lost to the secondary ticket market.

That is *fine* if you have 30,000 season ticket holders and every game is close to selling out. It makes no sense when you have 3,000 empty lower deck reserved seats that haven't sold at $35, because there is no value in those seats at that price, and then INCREASE the price to $48 the week of the game and call it "dynamic," which is what they were doing.

Finally, I'm pretty computer savvy, and have no problem using stubhub or internet codes. There sometimes is pretty good value there for better seats. However, sometimes I just want to take a family of 5 to a game and sit in the upper deck. It will nice to be able to do that this year without paying a 50% markup in online service fees. I can go the park the day of the game and get 5 cheap seats for $35, instead of $100.

[DSpivack]

Originally Posted by lpneck

I think it needs to be made clear that "premier" pricing and "dynamic" pricing are not the same thing.

I'm not necessarily opposed to either one, but I think the White Sox have been doing it wrong.

I understand the mentality of "I want a bleacher seat to be $X whether it's against the Cubs, the Tigers, or the Astros," but this is a business and prices can and should be set by supply and demand.

I don't mind if the Sox want to set an upper deck reserve seat at $7 for most weeknights, and make it $12 for opening day, or the Cubs, or weekends in the summer, if the market will bear that price and people will buy those tickets at that price. Most professional sports franchises are doing something along those lines. It makes no sense to sell those tickets at $22 for regular games, and then make it $32 for a "premier" game, when no one is buying seats at those price points for either game.

As for "dynamic" pricing- that is the idea that as tickets become more scarce, the price increases due to the demand, so that the value isn't lost to the secondary ticket market.

That is *fine* if you have 30,000 season ticket holders and every game is close to selling out. It makes no sense when you have 3,000 empty lower deck reserved seats that haven't sold at $35, because there is no value in those seats at that price, and then INCREASE the price to $48 the week of the game and call it "dynamic," which is what they were doing.

Finally, I'm pretty computer savvy, and have no problem using stubhub or internet codes. There sometimes is pretty good value there for better seats. However, sometimes I just want to take a family of 5 to a game and sit in the upper deck. It will nice to be able to do that this year without paying a 50% markup in online service fees. I can go the park the day of the game and get 5 cheap seats for $35, instead of $100.

Great post.

[Lip Man 1]

Double:

As usual your "courtesy" knows no bounds.

I'm just saying I don't know how to use it, you asked the question if there was anyone who didn't know how.

I answered it.

Next time I'll know better than to answer your question.

Lip