Season Ticket Prices Increasing

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Good rant Eleven. Tickets are now a luxury, they used to be a treat.

 

They are raising the price 12% in their biggest margin sections. I would like to know how many of their patrons will see a 12% increase in wages this year?

[Eleven]

Good rant Eleven. Tickets are now a luxury, they used to be a treat.

 

They are raising the price 12% in their biggest margin sections. I would like to know how many of their patrons will see a 12% increase in wages this year?

 

Let's assume for the moment that I do see a 12% income increase next year.

 

Why, if I did, would that justify a 12% increase in what I pay for any kind of entertainment, including hockey?

[TrueBlueGED]

Good rant Eleven. Tickets are now a luxury, they used to be a treat.

 

They are raising the price 12% in their biggest margin sections. I would like to know how many of their patrons will see a 12% increase in wages this year?

 

Considering that median household income, once adjusted for inflation, has been stagnant since the 70s....I'm going to go with those who get boxes and 200-level seats, and maybe some 100-level seats.

 

Let's assume for the moment that I do see a 12% income increase next year.

 

Why, if I did, would that justify a 12% increase in what I pay for any kind of entertainment, including hockey?

 

I guess it really depends on the person. Some people will pay it, while I'm sure others will say to hell with it and do some work on the house, or put it towards a new car, or a vacation, or whatever.

[OverPowerYou]

 

 

I think, maybe, if you go back to the first page of the thread (and even that depends on your settings, I'm on 40 or 50 per page), you'll see the theory that the Sabs had to do it to keep in the NHL revenue-sharing range.

 

 

It was just an attempt at a punny joke on my part. I was semi-joking.

[Taro T]

I won't go to major league sporting events because I don't get enough value out of the prices. But really, I can't get upset about it. It is mostly demand driven. People still snap the tix up. I know if I have a product in high demand I am going to charge the highest price that sells me out of my product. Your product is priced too high only when you have unsold product.

And the advent of StubHub and Craig's List and the like drive demand for season tix as well. A lot of people get seasons expecting to only go to a few games and make money. I think a lot of people find out that they don't make as much back as they expected, but that potential to make a few bucks off the game tends to raise demand that much more.

 

It used to be only 'scalpers' would buy the tix expecting to make money off them. Nowadays, everybody's a scalper and they don't even have to leave the living room.

[Bmwolf21]

I think, maybe, if you go back to the first page of the thread (and even that depends on your settings, I'm on 40 or 50 per page), you'll see the theory that the Sabs had to do it to keep in the NHL revenue-sharing range.

 

Even if that's the case, and it well may be, sports tix are ridiculous. I pay $51 or so per seat, which is nutty enough (I share the seats). Then the tix come in the mail, and they have face values of $70 - $210. Also nuts. And there's no way I ever can sell off seats for those numbers on nights I can't go, of course, because everyone in the world is onto the fact that face-value tix prices in the 100s are completely inflated. When I can't go, I usually sell at a small loss.

 

All of that said, it's still completely crazy that tickets are so expensive. It really is. Think about (1) how badly we need our entertainers (not that badly!), and then think (2) about how much they are paid, and THEN, think (3) about what you pay to see them. And I mean entertainers regardless of genre. It really is something else.

 

I'm not screwing around, here. It's not that long ago that buying a great book and a sixer was a night of fun for $15. It's not long ago that a date was a beer and a day at the National Zoo. I remember being a broke 20-something so, so well. And I don't think it's right that tix cost what they do, especially with the disparity between season tix price and face price.

 

I'm kind of fortunate in some ways, I can afford the increase, and I'll pay it. But it's still BS. If I were lucky enough to have kids, I'd be paying for music and gymnastics and soccer, instead, but I'm not that fortunate in other ways, and I have none. My many friends who do have families? Priced out of games--even for the odd guys' night out, they're not able to get a set of four or six. A lot of good fans are getting priced out of a lot of games. And I don't think for a minute that the Sabres are leading the charge; they are following it. But still, it's BS.

 

Wow, I've exploded all over the place on this one, no? Anyway. Go Sabs. I'll be there next year. But I'll be pissed about entertainment ticket prices, including hockey, nevertheless.

 

My uncle, who grew up in Niagara Falls and now lives in Sacramento, was in town around Thanksgiving with his son and grandson. He bought tickets on the secondary market and paid a ton of money for all three of them to go to the game against the Caps. There is no way I could pay what he did. I want to take my son to a Sabres game this year, but I'll have to save up and/or watch StubHub, Craigslist, etc., and try to edit SCOOP ###### up a deal at the last minute.

 

EDIT: really? another overzealous filter.

I won't go to major league sporting events because I don't get enough value out of the prices. But really, I can't get upset about it. It is mostly demand driven. People still snap the tix up. I know if I have a product in high demand I am going to charge the highest price that sells me out of my product. Your product is priced too high only when you have unsold product.

 

There are a handful of AHL fans here in Cleveland who are irritated that Cleveland isn't on the short list for an NHL franchise if there is relocation or expansion. A lot of us have tried to explain that there is no way they would get season tickets for a NHL team at anywhere near what they are paying for a season-ticket package for the Monsters.

[Drunkard]

I can't believe it took until X Benedict's post #42 for someone to bring up the smoking ban. Were there really that many people complaining about an outdoor smoking section at the arena? What a bunch of goddamn pussies. Were your tender pink lungs and delicate nostrils irritating by smoke for a whole 30 seconds while walking down a public sidewalk? I think the whole Chet and Muffy mantra is starting to rub off on the rest of the fans as well. No wonder the arena sounds like a library except right after goals, fights, and big hits.

[Fire Lindy Ruff NOW]

I can't believe it took until X Benedict's post #42 for someone to bring up the smoking ban. Were there really that many people complaining about an outdoor smoking section at the arena? What a bunch of goddamn pussies. Were your tender pink lungs and delicate nostrils irritating by smoke for a whole 30 seconds while walking down a public sidewalk? I think the whole Chet and Muffy mantra is starting to rub off on the rest of the fans as well. No wonder the arena sounds like a library except right after goals, fights, and big hits.

GREAT POST BROTHER! i mean that really. im tired of the PG crap at sabres games.

[Eleven]

I can't believe it took until X Benedict's post #42 for someone to bring up the smoking ban. Were there really that many people complaining about an outdoor smoking section at the arena? What a bunch of goddamn pussies. Were your tender pink lungs and delicate nostrils irritating by smoke for a whole 30 seconds while walking down a public sidewalk? I think the whole Chet and Muffy mantra is starting to rub off on the rest of the fans as well. No wonder the arena sounds like a library except right after goals, fights, and big hits.

 

It's not even a public sidewalk during the game. It's a little corral off to the side of the Arena. There's no way that anyone enters that area unless they are (a) smoking or (b) voluntarily accompanying a smoker.

 

This is stupid, too. It protects no one except for a couple of security guards (who usually are smoking themselves). And, of course, more people will smoke in bathrooms and stairwells as a result. Stupid.

[inkman]

I don't talk with people who use the word 'bro'.

What if they are referring to a manssiere?

[Eleven]

What if they are referring to a manssiere?

 

d4rk, he does have a point. What, exactly, do you have against upper-body intimate menswear?

[darksabre]

I can't believe it took until X Benedict's post #42 for someone to bring up the smoking ban. Were there really that many people complaining about an outdoor smoking section at the arena? What a bunch of goddamn pussies. Were your tender pink lungs and delicate nostrils irritating by smoke for a whole 30 seconds while walking down a public sidewalk? I think the whole Chet and Muffy mantra is starting to rub off on the rest of the fans as well. No wonder the arena sounds like a library except right after goals, fights, and big hits.

 

Excellent usage of Chet and Muffy stereotype. And I completely agree. Pegula has decided to take "healthy changes everything" from suggestion to demand.

 

 

 

d4rk, he does have a point. What, exactly, do you have against upper-body intimate menswear?

 

You guys know full well that I am not in the target demographic for male anti-gravitational aids.

[Weave]

And the advent of StubHub and Craig's List and the like drive demand for season tix as well. A lot of people get seasons expecting to only go to a few games and make money. I think a lot of people find out that they don't make as much back as they expected, but that potential to make a few bucks off the game tends to raise demand that much more.

 

It used to be only 'scalpers' would buy the tix expecting to make money off them. Nowadays, everybody's a scalper and they don't even have to leave the living room.

 

Good point. Services like Stub Hub have created extra demand for tix, allowing prices to go higher than they would have otherwise.

[Drunkard]

It's not even a public sidewalk during the game. It's a little corral off to the side of the Arena. There's no way that anyone enters that area unless they are (a) smoking or (b) voluntarily accompanying a smoker.

 

This is stupid, too. It protects no one except for a couple of security guards (who usually are smoking themselves). And, of course, more people will smoke in bathrooms and stairwells as a result. Stupid.

 

I've been to a couple of games at HSBC while vacationing up in Buffalo but it's been a few years. I just think it's absurd when smokers were already forced to go outside to begin with. I guess smokers will have to run across the street and smoke next to the hot dog vendors or in the parking lot now.

[fan2456]

Good point. Services like Stub Hub have created extra demand for tix, allowing prices to go higher than they would have otherwise.

 

Iv's sold some of my tiks on stubhub(not a lot) , and always for less than the Sabres' single game price to get them to move. On week night games against less attractive teams I've lost money, unless I factor in my parking spot cost. I work Tuesday evenings so I am force to move those. Still the stubhub system is linked directly to "my sabres tickets", and I am sure the Sabres can monitor ticket movement.

[Weave]

Iv's sold some of my tiks on stubhub(not a lot) , and always for less than the Sabres' single game price to get them to move. On week night games against less attractive teams I've lost money, unless I factor in my parking spot cost. I work Tuesday evenings so I am force to move those. Still the stubhub system is linked directly to "my sabres tickets", and I am sure the Sabres can monitor ticket movement.

 

I guess where I was going with that thought was, services like stub hub have increased the size of the market for tix, thereby increasing demand.

[spndnchz]

I guess where I was going with that thought was, services like stub hub have increased the size of the market for tix, thereby increasing demand.

 

They may have increased the availability of the tickets but I don't think that affects demand at all. It's the same supply of tickets if not more supply because STH's are selling regular season games (is this why the FNC is quieter?). That would only decrease prices for the tickets given demand stays the same. Demand for tickets hasn't gone up that much. When the team plays well, demand goes up, supply is always the same and prices increase in the secondary markets. Selling a few games back in 06-07 got my season ticket price down to about $14 a game. That wasn't the case the last few years.

[Taro T]

They may have increased the availability of the tickets but I don't think that affects demand at all. It's the same supply of tickets if not more supply because STH's are selling regular season games (is this why the FNC is quieter?). That would only decrease prices for the tickets given demand stays the same. Demand for tickets hasn't gone up that much. When the team plays well, demand goes up, supply is always the same and prices increase in the secondary markets. Selling a few games back in 06-07 got my season ticket price down to about $14 a game. That wasn't the case the last few years.

It's more demand for seasons as people previously bought seasons only after they decided they wanted to go to all the games or had put together a group that wanted to split seasons. People didn't buy seasons with the expectation that they'd readily and easily sell games they couldn't get to.

 

Now, whether people can make money off them or not, people figure they'll sell what they don't want to / can't use if they get seasons and will enjoy the perks of having seasons with reduced headaches.

 

And I would expect that overall demand is up slightly due to eased availability. People that are coming in for the holidays or whatever know they can find tix online and will go to games that they wouldn't even have thought about trying to go to back when you had to go to the box office or ticketmaster to get ducats. Every game but 1 was sold out this season. Back in the mid-90's, if they'd've had this poor a season they might have sold out 1/2 the games.

 

This team got a waiting list for STH's in the summer of '06. No matter how dreary the record has been since, that waiting list hasn't gone away. There wasn't a waiting list in '99 after the run to the Finals. What's the difference between then and now or better yet, then and '08? Variable pricing and Stub Hub are the 2 that immediately spring to mind.

 

The Bills have had a much bigger STH base (relative to their historical STH base for comparable quality level teams) in the Stub Hub era as well.

[weehawk]

From Carolina country...

 

They raised our season tix this year too, but then expanded the amount of uber-cheap seats. On the side where the Canes shoot twice, tix in the upper bowl behind the net went from $13 to $17.

 

On the opposite side of the arena they made almost a third of the upper bowl $9.99 a ticket. While I prefer to be on the end where the home team shoots twice, I dont care that much to pay an extra $7 a ticket for the privledge. We're going with the $9.99 seats. I get a pair of full season tickets with parking for $1100 and get to pay for it interest-free over 8 months. Sure the Canes suck right now (but so do the Sabres, so I'm really unhappy). I just want to watch live NHL and I get to do it for what has to be one of the lowest prices in the league.

 

Fans in BUF are getting mildly raped. However, the team has no problem filling the FNC. With such a rabid fan base, the Sabres wont miss a beat if folks decide to stay home and watch on TV. Someone else will take your tix. When I had Sabres season tix in '05, I think they were about $15 a ticket. Now you cant get into the building for less than $25.

[Weave]

They may have increased the availability of the tickets but I don't think that affects demand at all. It's the same supply of tickets if not more supply because STH's are selling regular season games (is this why the FNC is quieter?). That would only decrease prices for the tickets given demand stays the same. Demand for tickets hasn't gone up that much. When the team plays well, demand goes up, supply is always the same and prices increase in the secondary markets. Selling a few games back in 06-07 got my season ticket price down to about $14 a game. That wasn't the case the last few years.

It's more demand for seasons as people previously bought seasons only after they decided they wanted to go to all the games or had put together a group that wanted to split seasons. People didn't buy seasons with the expectation that they'd readily and easily sell games they couldn't get to.

 

Now, whether people can make money off them or not, people figure they'll sell what they don't want to / can't use if they get seasons and will enjoy the perks of having seasons with reduced headaches.

 

And I would expect that overall demand is up slightly due to eased availability. People that are coming in for the holidays or whatever know they can find tix online and will go to games that they wouldn't even have thought about trying to go to back when you had to go to the box office or ticketmaster to get ducats. Every game but 1 was sold out this season. Back in the mid-90's, if they'd've had this poor a season they might have sold out 1/2 the games.

 

This team got a waiting list for STH's in the summer of '06. No matter how dreary the record has been since, that waiting list hasn't gone away. There wasn't a waiting list in '99 after the run to the Finals. What's the difference between then and now or better yet, then and '08? Variable pricing and Stub Hub are the 2 that immediately spring to mind.

 

The Bills have had a much bigger STH base (relative to their historical STH base for comparable quality level teams) in the Stub Hub era as well.

 

Taro pretty much summed it up. Easier access to tix = increased market. And an easier market for season tix holders to sell their "surplus" means more season tix being sold. Stubhub and other services like it have definitely increases the market for event tickets.

[fan2456]

It's more demand for seasons as people previously bought seasons only after they decided they wanted to go to all the games or had put together a group that wanted to split seasons. People didn't buy seasons with the expectation that they'd readily and easily sell games they couldn't get to.

 

Now, whether people can make money off them or not, people figure they'll sell what they don't want to / can't use if they get seasons and will enjoy the perks of having seasons with reduced headaches.

 

And I would expect that overall demand is up slightly due to eased availability. People that are coming in for the holidays or whatever know they can find tix online and will go to games that they wouldn't even have thought about trying to go to back when you had to go to the box office or ticketmaster to get ducats. Every game but 1 was sold out this season. sonBack in the mid-90's, if they'd've had this poor a sea they might have sold out 1/2 the games.

 

This team got a waiting list for STH's in the summer of '06. No matter how dreary the record has been since, that waiting list hasn't gone away. There wasn't a waiting list in '99 after the run to the Finals. What's the difference between then and now or better yet, then and '08? Variable pricing and Stub Hub are the 2 that immediately spring to mind.

 

The Bills have had a much bigger STH base (relative to their historical STH base for comparable quality level teams) in the Stub Hub era as well.

 

Pre-lockout also. It was tough to give aways tix at times in both those eras. All you say here is correct. Until there isn't a demand for the tickets, the Sabres have no inducement to hold the line. Tom G. lowered ticket prices for a reason when he took over. People were not going. Weave already stated supply and demand. I like the ease of moving tix with stubhub when I can't go or a freiend doesn't want them. There were a lot of off years since 1981 when it was tough to drum up interest. in tickets.

[Sabre Dance]

Pre-lockout also. It was tough to give aways tix at times in both those eras. All you say here is correct. Until there isn't a demand for the tickets, the Sabres have no inducement to hold the line. Tom G. lowered ticket prices for a reason when he took over. People were not going. Weave already stated supply and demand. I like the ease of moving tix with stubhub when I can't go or a freiend doesn't want them. There were a lot of off years since 1981 when it was tough to drum up interest. in tickets.

 

If the team doesn't play any better than it did this season, I think you'll see the attendance numbers drop next year. I'd love to go to games (and I even work downtown, so I could take the train), but seats are getting pricey. I long for the old days at the Aud - orange seats were $5. These days, lunch costs more than that..... :(

[nucci]

just standing up for myself cause this dude likes to piss people off for no reason. grow up dude.

Just ignore him.

[LTS]

It's going to cost me another 2 bucks to go to a game. ######. He just wants more money to hire a decent attorney for Benson.

 

What's he got to do with this?

 

 

In other news. The United States has largely become a society who is willing to pay excessively for any diversions that pull them away from their miserable lives. There is no justification for the expense that is sporting, movies, etc. in this country.

 

But.. if people want to pay it, so be it. It's their choice. I'm all for free market economics.

[spndnchz]

I hear they are adding more seats to 200 level at the FNC.