OT: Are ticket priceses too high?

[Stylizer1]

With all the various revenue streams professional sports teams have now why are ticket prices still so high? The NFL and the NBA don't even need to sell a ticket before their rosters are paid for because of very lucurative TV deals. The NHL will soon allow betting meaning teams can see their value double over the next few years. It seems like if Professional sports want to portray a festive, exciting product they would want to have a full house. I understand each team is different and a team like the leafs are in a minority with tickets sold but for most teams it seems like a no brainer to reduce ticket prices to ensure you have a full house and hope you make up for it by selling more mechandise and concesssions. Especially when a team is clearly in a rebuild mode why not reduce season ticket prices in the chance you can have a better crowds and keep the atmosphere .

Why The Prices Of Sports Tickets Vary So Much

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[TheBradyBunch]

You could have gone to the past two home games on a $25 total budget. Vancouver ticket prices are absurd, Ottawa ticket prices are pretty reasonable.

 

[The Lewler]

I bought tickets 10 rows up behind the net for $17 USD for Arizona @ Detroit this week.

Seems like ticket prices are pretty low and available in a lot of markets.

 

[BonkTastic]

Are ticket prices too high?

Too high compared to where they were 20 years ago, considering their price has gone up exponentially faster than inflation would otherwise dictate? Sure, but that's all pro sports in all cities for the most part - not just hockey, and not just Ottawa.

Too high compared to other NHL cities? No. Not even remotely close, no. We're the cheapest seat in the country, and one of the cheaper ones across the league.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Senators tickets are dirt cheap via StubHub. You can go to most games other than a few select teams for 20 a ticket, sometimes less.

Prior to the change from Capital Tickets to Ticket Master, tickets were even cheaper on StubHub. I have gone to regular season games for as low as 6 CAD a ticket.

I don't think season tickets are too expensive, but I think the Senators and other smaller market sports teams have to do more for their season ticket holders to justify the cost. Especially considering season tickets are costlier at the moment than using the secondary market.

Having season tickets should basically feel like a huge status symbol that puts you in an elite fan club. No, I don't mean you should get free reign to criticize HF posters in GDTs for not giving Eugene enough money, but they need to think outside the box and offer incentives along with making holders for validated as fans.

 

[Ice-Tray]

There was no GDT today

 

[Do Make Say Think]

There was no GDT today

Yes there was

 

[Ice-Tray]

Yes there was

Where did it go?

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Not really. In Ottawa the prices are reasonable. In places like Toronto and Winnipeg tickets are a ripoff, simply because they can charge insane prices.

But I do think, overall, pro sports pricing is hitting its ceiling. Asking folks to leave their cozy homes and 4k tvs to go out to a stadium, go through a ton of security, and then travel home for a sporting (or musical) event and shell out hundreds of dollars for the privilege is asking a lot out of people these days. People work longer hours, have longer commute times, and invest more of their income in their homes than ever before. You really have to do a lot more from an entertainment standpoint these days to make it worth the cost for people to leave their homes than, say, the 1980s where you could smoke (relatively) freely and sneak in your own drinks and get in and out of the arena with little security.

 

[JD1]

I remember having a STH package in the civic centre years. I was a young govt employee, single and partying with my buds a lot. Going to the game was a good night of fun. a little more expensive than a regular night out but affordable.

if I look at that same rate of pay today and project the cost of a young guy today doing what I was doing in those days the difference is f***ing crazy.

we used to go to the villa deli, get primed for the game, go to the game, pound beers, and hit Patty''s post game. And at the end of the night it didn't feel liked I'd been financially exploited.

today, our tickets are cheap relative to our Canadian counterparts and our concessions are the same. we don't have the corporate ticket base of other markets and the ability of joe fan to afford to go to a game and party it up just isn't there like it was back in the day.

 

[JD1]

@stylizer - interesting post. you're someone that is highly critical of mgmt and you've acknowledged you don't attend or watch. and you put it all on ownership.

here's the thing....Alfie can come riding in on the wings of a new ownership group and everyone will be ecstatic, myself included, but him doing that isn't going to change the affordability of attending live hockey events.

and I'd expect that the current attendance situation will cause any prospective ownership group to have concerns about market viability

 

[topshelf15]

@stylizer - interesting post. you're someone that is highly critical of mgmt and you've acknowledged you don't attend or watch. and you put it all on ownership.

here's the thing....Alfie can come riding in on the wings of a new ownership group and everyone will be ecstatic, myself included, but him doing that isn't going to change the affordability of attending live hockey events.

and I'd expect that the current attendance situation will cause any prospective ownership group to have concerns about market viability

Then the people the have hired to scope the market out obviously didnt see the billboards.....This a good market that is fed up...You dont get TV deals ,have a 20k arena ,with a purposed brand new one going up because the market is soft come on now

 

[JD1]

Then the people the have hired to scope the market out obviously didnt see the billboards.....This a good market that is fed up...You dont get TV deals ,have a 20k arena ,with a purposed brand new one going up because the market is soft come on now

it might be a great market at a 60m cap. a good market at a 70M cap. a weakening market at an 80M cap. and trending into a non viable market at a 100M cap.

gambling may well save this market. they still call this a gate driven league. the viability of this market imo is dependent on this becoming less of a gate driven league

 

[topshelf15]

it might be a great market at a 60m cap. a good market at a 70M cap. a weakening market at an 80M cap. and trending into a non viable market at a 100M cap.

gambling may well save this market. they still call this a gate driven league. the viability of this market imo is dependent on this becoming less of a gate driven league

The cap was supposed to ensure cost certainty,but here it seems cost certainty depends on how much EM wants to pocket...

This market is underdeveloped,and has been nerfed..By weak ownership groups with no vision or courage to work the team forward....EM wants cost certainty ,then put the teams budget to the cap plus 10 mil...On the expense line ,then anything after that anything else can be profit...

Yep seems high ,and unattainable ....But that is what needs to be spent,to compete...EM has worn out the budget talk and doesnt get to go that well any longer....He needs to get off his ass and work harder ,to make those numbers happen

 

[JD1]

The cap was supposed to ensure cost certainty,but here it seems cost certainty depends on how much EM wants to pocket...

This market is underdeveloped,and has been nerfed..By weak ownership groups with no vision or courage to work the team forward....EM wants cost certainty ,then put the teams budget to the cap plus 10 mil...On the expense line ,then anything after that anything else can be profit...

Yep seems high ,and unattainable ....But that is what needs to be spent,to compete...EM has worn out the budget talk and doesnt get to go that well any longer....He needs to get off his ass and work harder ,to make those numbers happen

I think that is a very simple view of the situation...the cap has brought cost certainty....player payroll exists within a defined range and that defined range has gone from a ceiling of 39M to 80M in 14 years. In order to exist at that cap, all forms of revenue have had to double over that time horizon, because the cap is a function of HRR right? It's league wide HRR right? not individual team HRR? amongst other problems that exist including Melnyk, I think we are at or near a financial saturation point

 

[Stylizer1]

I am actually talking about sports in general and not focusing solely on the Sens. Stadiums are not being filled by fans but in most markets corporate support is a big driver in attendance. The amount people have to pay seems out of whack in the value an actual sporting event should cost. Seems like the more loyal of the fan base the more you can gouge them.

 

[topshelf15]

I think that is a very simple view of the situation...the cap has brought cost certainty....player payroll exists within a defined range and that defined range has gone from a ceiling of 39M to 80M in 14 years. In order to exist at that cap, all forms of revenue have had to double over that time horizon, because the cap is a function of HRR right? It's league wide HRR right? not individual team HRR? amongst other problems that exist including Melnyk, I think we are at or near a financial saturation point

I find simple works best,EM is no dummy but he is no billionaire here in Canada...Because of probable tax implications he is a Barbados Billionaire..

So instead EM has to barrow from team worth to run the team...This by now should be as plain as day that it hasnt worked...If you have no money to spend to build up interest, then how are you supposed then how do grow potential new revenue??

 

[jbeck5]

Like others have said, compared to other markets, we're very cheap.

That being said, entertainment ticket prices seem to have climbed much higher than inflation over the decades. But that seems to be everything.

I remember seeing an article talking about prices of living. Apparently a fully loaded top of the line Dodge ram in the 70s was the equivalent of like $22,000 now...but top of the line Rams can be upwards of $60,000.

Or the fact my dad bought his current house at $210,000 in 1988 and now neighbours are selling in the 580-620,000 range...

Or how my dad got a waterfront cottage 35 mins from downtown Ottawa for like $6,000 in 1972 and it's now worth over $150,000...hmm that's like inflation times 10.

 

[topshelf15]

Like others have said, compared to other markets, we're very cheap.

That being said, entertainment ticket prices seem to have climbed much higher than inflation over the decades. But that seems to be everything.

I remember seeing an article talking about prices of living. Apparently a fully loaded top of the line Dodge ram in the 70s was the equivalent of like $22,000 now...but top of the line Rams can be upwards of $60,000.

Why on earth would u pay 60k for a Dodge???Lol plastic transmissions

 

[JD1]

I am actually talking about sports in general and not focusing solely on the Sens. Stadiums are not being filled by fans but in most markets corporate support is a big driver in attendance. The amount people have to pay seems out of whack in the value an actual sporting event should cost. Seems like the more loyal of the fan base the more you can gouge them.

right. I agree with you. and the problem here is that we apparently have the league's smallest potential corporate ticket base. Melnyk cannot change that. And the result of that is that we need, and likely have had, more joe fans going to every game...but eventually fatigue is going to set in and I think it's well underway in this market....certainly some of it is due to Melnyk being an ass, but financial fatigue is a reality regardless

 

[jbeck5]

Why on earth would u pay 60k for a Dodge???Lol plastic transmissions

I dunno, but go look at their most expensive fully loaded top towing models.

It's the same with any pickup really. Whether Ford or Dodge or Chevrolet or Toyota, there are models in the 60-80 thousand range.

 

[topshelf15]

right. I agree with you. and the problem here is that we apparently have the league's smallest potential corporate ticket base. Melnyk cannot change that. And the result of that is that we need, and likely have had, more joe fans going to every game...but eventually fatigue is going to set in and I think it's well underway in this market....certainly some of it is due to Melnyk being an ass, but financial fatigue is a reality regardless

Not hard to see the decline,we had an ad covered building just a short while ago...Then EM started to cap and slack off ,now its pretty barren...Corporations want nothing to do with him or his poorly run team ...Another strike as to why he needs to just go,this team is nothing more than a poisoned chalice to him now...As it will never move forward as it should with him anywhere near the team

 

[topshelf15]

I dunno, but go look at their most expensive fully loaded top towing models.

It's the same with any pickup really. Whether Ford or Dodge or Chevrolet or Toyota, there are models in the 60-80 thousand range.

Oh I know my F150 came in at 62k...I was just kidding

 

[jbeck5]

Oh I know my F150 came in at 62k...I was just kidding

Oh haha I see what you were doing there :p.

 

[Stylizer1]

It's like last season when the NBA got that huge TV deal teams were litteraly trying to give away money to players who where not worth it. Case in point, Bismack Biyombo. Had a good season coming off the bench for the Toronto Raptors 2 seasons ago and went to free agency. He signed a 4 year 72 million dollar deal and is still coming off the bench and last season was averaging 5.7 points, 5.7 rebounds. At what point is the price of a ticket reflecive the actual worth of the athlete. I know the argument is if people are willing to pay then the athlete's are worth what they get but at some point the price to attend is going to be too big of a discrepancy.