2013 Ticket Prices - Will they be Raised

[Mark The Homer]

The Dallas and Ravens game went at a premium, but you could find face value tickets for almost every other game (including the playoff game). My problem is that because of the preseason, I am $1,000 deep before opening day (4 tickets + parking pass). I am seriously considering giving mine up and just buying off stub hub. I will probably save money that way.

A few things.

I personally did not find face value tickets for any of the games I went to last year - except for a couple where a season ticket holder and ES member was kind enough to sell me at face (both division games). So - I think you might find that you don't save money and you might even pay more by buying on the aftermarket. OTOH, if season tickets go up, the scene changes a bit. Another thing that makes a huge difference is where the seats are located.

Re the pre-season ticket loss, I think you might be looking at this from the wrong angle. IMO, you should not think of the preseason games as a loss. Instead, think of the regular season tix as costing more or being worth more. So a $109 ticket actually cost you around $130. It's worth $130 to you and if you have to sell it, you should try to get $130 for it. And when you do, you should consider that you didn't make money, you broke even. In general.

Also, I don't like Stubhub being referred to like it was Kleenex. There are other places to buy tickets. It really bugs me that they make 25% on every sale. I much prefer eBay, although you have to go to a little more trouble to find what you want. The prices are cheaper and there are no fees to the buyer.

Mark,

My father had seats back in Griffith Stadium in the 50's and when DC Stadium (RFK) was built he and his college buddies went to a "pick a seat" day and got their seats all together. Those were the seats I sat in at RFK until the final Cowboys game before the move to FedEx.

My father once told me that a benefit of buying season tickets way back when was that you were only charged for 5 games and got the 6th game free (that's when they only played 12 games) Wonder if any of the other old timers could verify this. I still remember when a can of Schaefer at RFK was $2.50

I remember as a kid my father NEVER purchased the preseason games and that the preseason at RFK was the only time many non season tix holders could ever see the team live.

Good info. It makes sense to me to give a game for free. They needed a draw back then.

Yes - I remember in the 70s getting into games in the pre-season. I was just a kid, of course. It was a magical experience, because there was just no way that I knew of - of getting in during the season.

On another note....I think the team will remain tight lipped about any timetables for RG3's return until after price increases are absorbed and invoices are paid...just a hunch.

Aren't the invoices due like - March 15th? I don't think anybody is going to have a timetable on RGIII by mid March, except for the one that we already know.

...

I sat in Clubs for the playoff game and will never do it again. The ENTIRE section other than me and the 3 guys I was with sat on their ass the whole game. It was disgraceful.

Yeah - I don't like the club, partly for that reason. It's relatively dead. And everybody I know who has been up there says the same thing. The sightlines are good, but the distance is just a little bit too far for my liking. And there is hardly any energy.

But what really got me was the Bills game in '07 after ST passed. Gibbs called that dumb second time out and we lost. And Sean's body is not even cold yet, and as I walked through the club concourse after the game, everybody in the club was just laughing and celebrating and having a grand old time. It made me sick. Who are these people? I still get nauseous thinking about it. I just don't want to go up there ever again.

I could see it happening because of the high demand for LL sideline (very little turnover, and almost nobody on this board has reported an upgrade to LL sideline) relative to LL end zone (the past two seasons, it seems like they were offering LL end zone upgrades to just about everyone in the upper deck). Plus, the obvious point that LL sideline are better seats than LL end zone.

It just seems like Danny could squeeze a lot more juice from those seats.

I agree that he could. It's just odd that he would purposely change it to flat rate, and then purposely change it back, but I agree he could do it and it would work for him.

[hail2skins]

Yeah - I don't like the club, partly for that reason. It's relatively dead. And everybody I know who has been up there says the same thing. The sightlines are good, but the distance is just a little bit too far for my liking. And there is hardly any energy.

But what really got me was the Bills game in '07 after ST passed. Gibbs called that dumb second time out and we lost. And Sean's body is not even cold yet, and as I walked through the club concourse after the game, everybody in the club was just laughing and celebrating and having a grand old time. It made me sick. Who are these people? I still get nauseous thinking about it. I just don't want to go up there ever again.

We had a 10-year contract with the Skins for the club level and after spending a year away from it, got a good deal from someone on eBay and have been back there for the past three seasons. The current seats are in row 10 and are great from the standpoint of them being in the first row of the upper club tier, so if the folks in row 9 decide to stand, you aren't bothered. I know there's the whole age-old debate on here about standing versus sitting, and I feel like my section made plenty of noise the past two games without standing hardly at all. OTOH, I did sit in the lower bowl for the Pats game last season...."sit" being relative, because we stood all game. Sorry, if you're paying over $100 to attend, you should have the option to sit. And as we agree, prices on those seats are likely going to increase. No thanks, and especially to Snyder, who installed the dream seats and thus created a problem that hadn't existed before.

I do hear you about the folks who have club tickets who just seem to attend because its trendy and just hang out in the concourse instead of actually going into the seating bowl. I went inside at halftime of the Seattle game to get food and the first thing I see is some dude flying down onto the floor, looking wasted. SMH.

[RFKFedEx]

My father had seats back in Griffith Stadium in the 50's and when DC Stadium (RFK) was built he and his college buddies went to a "pick a seat" day and got their seats all together. Those were the seats I sat in at RFK until the final Cowboys game before the move to FedEx.

My father once told me that a benefit of buying season tickets way back when was that you were only charged for 5 games and got the 6th game free (that's when they only played 12 games) Wonder if any of the other old timers could verify this.

I could see them offering a free game incentive when the teams were awful in the 1950s. Griffith held 40k, with a ton of obstructed seats, the league was still young w/ little TV exposure. The league played up to six preseason games then, though many were on the road in non NFL towns. No chance STHs had to buy home games. The opening game at DC Stadium in 1961 v NYG wasn't even close to a sellout. There was almost nobody sitting behind the endzones in the upper or lower decks. Pick a seat day in 1961 was probably a free for all STHS in the 500 level; lacking drama as to who got trasferred where. Our grandfathers sowed the seeds for us to reep in the 80s and 90s.

[RememberOsaka]

Aren't the invoices due like - March 15th? I don't think anybody is going to have a timetable on RGIII by mid March, except for the one that we already know.

I guess that I could have worded that a little better. Even if the Skins feel that the injury will cause RG3 to miss a significant amount or all of the regular season I'd imagine they would keep that under wraps. Just makes business sense.

[Howie411]

I think most of the pricing needs to be rethought including the parking. Why does Green and Gray and Orange cost the same? Gray needs to be $10 cheaper, Orange $5 more expensive. As for ticket prices, there is like 5 different price levels in the upper level, but the lower level are all the same prices. Why are the tickets on the 50 yard line in the low 200 section the same price as the low 100 section? Yet in the upper level the prices in the Upper 400 section are cheaper then the Lower 400 section.

[Mark The Homer]

I think most of the pricing needs to be rethought including the parking. Why does Green and Gray and Orange cost the same? Gray needs to be $10 cheaper, Orange $5 more expensive. As for ticket prices, there is like 5 different price levels in the upper level, but the lower level are all the same prices. Why are the tickets on the 50 yard line in the low 200 section the same price as the low 100 section? Yet in the upper level the prices in the Upper 400 section are cheaper then the Lower 400 section.

Re parking, I think the idea is, premium or loyal ticket holders have certain benefits. That's why Suite owners get purple or platinum, new accounts get Green B3, etc. If the team charged more, it wouldn't be a benefit.

Re seat locations, you're sort of comparing apples and oranges. Different fans have different opinions. Do you think 200 has more or less value than 100? Whatever your opinion, the next guy may think differently.

Upstairs - pretty much everybody wants to sit low.

[sens11]

One would think this is a good time to increase ticket prices given the success of the season. Not that it has anything to do with it, but the home schedule is quite nice next year. Either way people will pay.

[Skinsfan1311]

Yes, they will be raised. That is my humble opinion, and I'm happy to take bets.

You're on! 1 Romeo Y Julieta cigar.

[Mark The Homer]

You're on! 1 Romeo Y Julieta cigar.

Imported right?

Done.

(I hope Jumbo doesn't see this...)

(...if he does, I'll blame you...)

[Skinsfan1311]

Imported right?

Done.

(I hope Jumbo doesn't see this...)

(...if he does, I'll blame you...)

LOL! NO!!!!

It will be rolled in the Domincan Republic. Truthfully, I've smoked the Cubans, (legally in Grand Cayman, of course), and the Domenican's. They were both very good.

[RFKFedEx]

Another sign that times are changing. The Falcons have $46 tickets listed on Stuhub for their playoff game today. The $46 tix are lower level, 45 ydlin. The Falcons are trying to get a new stadium built in downtown Atl. yet they're having trouble selling out playoff games at their own box office, let alone Stubhub.


http://www.stubhub.com/atlanta-falco...-2013-4171941/

[JMUSkins]

Another sign that times are changing. The Falcons have $46 tickets listed on Stuhub for their playoff game today. The $46 tix are lower level, 45 ydlin. The Falcons are trying to get a new stadium built in downtown Atl. yet they're having trouble selling out playoff games at their own box office, let alone Stubhub.


http://www.stubhub.com/atlanta-falco...-2013-4171941/

Doesn't Atlanta have a very transient population? I feel as though all their sports teams have had this problem over the years. Maybe not the Braves so much, but still major problems getting long term traction from their fan base.

[dgreen]

Yes, Atlanta has always had problems with selling tickets for all sports.

A friend of mine used to have Falcons season tickets. His seats were row 1 in the upper level and were...wait for it...$10 per seat per game! That's $200 for two seats for an entire season. Insane.

[tke332]

A few things.

Also, I don't like Stubhub being referred to like it was Kleenex. There are other places to buy tickets. It really bugs me that they make 25% on every sale. I much prefer eBay, although you have to go to a little more trouble to find what you want. The prices are cheaper and there are no fees to the buyer.

Mark - I totally understand where you are coming from. I used to also dislike stub hub (because of the high fees), but I will only buy tickets from there because of the "fan protect". The reason for this was is that a buddy of mine bought fraudulent tickets off craigslist to the Dallas game this year, and was ejected from the stadium (He swears he will never come back). Anyways... I will pay the extra money to have the fan protect, because I don't ever want to do the perp walk out of the stadium after dropping that kind of cash.

Also, back in the day eBay was great, but I enjoy searching specific locations and sections, and then choosing from the stadium map. You are right, ebay is still a good option, but much more work to get the seats you want.

[RFKFedEx]

I used to also dislike stub hub (because of the high fees), but I will only buy tickets from there because of the "fan protect".

I feel the same way, especially for higher profile events like the Dallas game this year. SH sets the market rate these days IMO. Most people have neither the time, nor the know how to efficiently comb Ebay for the best deals. The key with Stubhub is waiting patiently. Most people don't have the patience to wait and purchase within 48 hrs of an event.