Quote:
Originally Posted by isaidso
Yes and no. From a maximizing game day ticket revenue pov you're right but making the team accessible is also important. If fans get priced out of ever attending games due to scarcity of seats/high prices some will eventually move on to other sports and other leagues.
When that happens the tv audience declines, merchandise sales decline, and competition from other entertainment options intensifies. If it's allowed to continue for a generation the sporting culture of a city can change.
This has happened to the Leafs (and hockey) in Toronto. With just 1 team for 9 million people in the Greater Golden Horseshoe people who may have become fans never gave the Leafs or the NHL a try. Some who were already fans got fed up of being shut out and moved on to something else. They're not coming back.... EVER.
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Leafs fandom is still sky high here in Toronto even with many fans not able to set foot in the building to watch a game. The Leaf machine is something else as I have never seen a market, to put up with such a crappy team with cost hurdles in the place like the Leafs. The Leafs still have hundreds of thousands of willing fans who would go to the games if they could. Even the season prior to last year with the rebuild, not like the Leafs lost money from the gate, it is just many season ticket holder just didn't waste their time to go to games. That was the first season many new fans were able to set foot into the building to watch a regular season Leafs game. Many of these new fans were in shock at the prices inside the building compared to the Gardens where they likely saw a game the last time.
Leafs get bailed out because they have a history of tight supply with tickets going back to the Garden. Many Season Seats are held in families or arrangements between parties and folks just accept that.
The Raptors are just as tight to get into for games, 5-6 year waiting list for Season Seats and yet fans still go.
The move in sports is to cater to the premium buyer versus going off the volume. You can make money off premium ticket holders while offering freebies and cheapies to kids, and families to still keep them in the mix to keep the fanbase alive and going. This all works it better versus going for volume and having to affordable options for the working Joe Six Pack.
Where folks start getting angry is with food and beverages. There is a price peak you can charge for a hot dog and some teams have tried to push it with push back. The irony is that many premium options have the biggest discounts as teams can't justify charging the real price. For example, the ACC rib sandwich has been a staple since the old Hot Stove days and the real price of those sandwiches is around $36.00. The Leafs only charge around $24 for it because nobody would pay $36 for a sandwich, especially premium seat holders that just put down $300 for a seat to the game. The use it as a loss leader though as those folks will load up on high-priced wines and drinks and other premium options.
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