443 replies to this topic

[In my lifetime]

Another Globe article on the softened market and how it's impacted season ticket holders.

The article basically affirms my previous posting on the subject. Season ticket holders for the previous 8 years had a free ride. They had guaranteed tickets and many easy ways to sell the tickets they did not want at a premium. Now that season tickets holders are eating those tickets or selling them at a loss. Unless the RS make a run at the World Series, there will be a huge drop off of season ticket holders. On the good news front - I can't imagine the RS raising ticket prices at all next year.

[YTF]

_{Quite honestly if the guy is "having difficulty" giving away $175 pavillion seats he's not trying very hard.}

[Hendu's Gait]

nm, not v&n thread

not pg either.

apologies.

Edited by Hendu's Gait, 25 May 2012 - 08:31 PM.

[tonyandpals]

We've seen quite a few different promos from the Sox to keep this streak alive. Sox Pax, double and triple play pax, SRO pax, front and backloading 10 game plans, google offers, etc. What's next? What kind of offers would you come up with to keep people coming in the door?

Edited by tonyandpals, 25 May 2012 - 06:56 PM.

[Harry Hooper]

How about bringing back the tried-and-true family day tickets policy?

[fenwaypaul]

We've seen quite a few different promos from the Sox to keep this streak alive. Sox Pax, double and triple play pax, SRO pax, front and backloading 10 game plans, google offers, etc. What's next? What kind of offers would you come up with to keep people coming in the door?

Ten cent beer night.

[HriniakPosterChild]

They always say winning is the best promotion.

[wutang112878]

They always say winning is the best promotion.

This should be priority #1, I think all the previous demand during this 'streak' was generated because fans generally thought the team really had a chance to win it all. I dont know if a lot of casual fans feel that way right now.

Priority #2 should be making the team more likeable again. It seems a lot of fans arent exactly thrilled with this group of guys. The NBA found it helpful to market their stars, the RedSox could do the same. Pedey is very marketable, they could help Gonzos perception amongst fans, try to help Beckett be less hated, etc basically get fans interested in the players and characters that make up this team in a similar way that the fans got interested in the 'Cowboy Up' group. This is something that Larry and Werner should be smart enough to recognize and able to actually accomplish.

[The Allented Mr Ripley]

Yes, yes, by all means. I can see it now... Ben buzzing his secretary for various team members to be let in, him telling each one, "Hey, Buckaroo, be more likeable!" This is a sound strategy.

[wutang112878]

I am not suggesting they players change and suddenly become more likeable, I am suggesting that the marketing department work some magic. Look at the fall and then rise of Kobe, what he did was pretty bad, but he is marketable again. He hasnt had as significant of a rise, but Tiger isnt nearly as hated as he used to be. Its possible to rehab players images, and market players such that fans become more interested in watching the players because they begin to see them as individuals.

[Reverend]

I am not suggesting they players change and suddenly become more likeable, I am suggesting that the marketing department work some magic. Look at the fall and then rise of Kobe, what he did was pretty bad, but he is marketable again. He hasnt had as significant of a rise, but Tiger isnt nearly as hated as he used to be. Its possible to rehab players images, and market players such that fans become more interested in watching the players because they begin to see them as individuals.

Both of those guys have Nike running their image restoration strategies. Nike is worth like half as much as the whole frickin' league, and, to use one of your examples, Tiger Woods's brand was worth more than the entire pay roll of almost half the teams in the league.

[CaptainLaddie]

It's weird how when a lot of your team are unlikable douchenuggets and your manager is a blowhard and your front office and ownership are primarily dicks that you don't sell out games.

Huh.

[wutang112878]

Both of those guys have Nike running their image restoration strategies. Nike is worth like half as much as the whole frickin' league, and, to use one of your examples, Tiger Woods's brand was worth more than the entire pay roll of almost half the teams in the league.

The reason I used the as examples is because their images took a horrible hit, and they did horrible seemingly unforgivable things. I agree they had a lot of smart people helping them restore their images, but there was also a great deal of work to be done. Compare and contrast to the RedSox. With Beckett the big problem is the chicken and beer thing and that he is abrasive, with A-Gon he just isnt wired the way that Boston fans like their star athletes to be. Personally I think if they really tried to do it, the RedSox have the marketing talent to help make this team more likeable to most of the fan base.

[BoSoxLady]

The reason I used the as examples is because their images took a horrible hit, and they did horrible seemingly unforgivable things. I agree they had a lot of smart people helping them restore their images, but there was also a great deal of work to be done. Compare and contrast to the RedSox. With Beckett the big problem is the chicken and beer thing and that he is abrasive, with A-Gon he just isnt wired the way that Boston fans like their star athletes to be. Personally I think if they really tried to do it, the RedSox have the marketing talent to help make this team more likeable to most of the fan base.

Winning solves everything.

Edited by BoSoxLady, 26 May 2012 - 08:08 AM.

[Rudy Pemberton]

I don't really buy the argument about the team or players being unlikeable, its all about W's and L's. The team and manager seem like much better guys over the past few weeks, right?

The Red Sox brand is in a bit of a valley right now, it was at an unsustainable level from 2003-2009 or so, I'd say, and the rivalry with the Yankees got a little tired. Both teams had huge personalities and epic battles, and I think that's unlikely to be repeated for a while. It got kind of played out. It's the same way for the Yankees, interest level has waned for them too.

I'm not sure there's much the teams can do to get interest levels back up, these things come and go, it's all cyclical, and certainly economic factors play a big role too. I do think the Sox situation is still among the best in the league, though.

[Toe Nash]

It's weird how when a lot of your team are unlikable douchenuggets and your manager is a blowhard and your front office and ownership are primarily dicks that you don't sell out games.

Huh.

It's weird how when you miss the playoffs for two consecutive years with teams that were expected to do better then you don't sell out games.

You win and the media stops overexamining every golf outing and missing player from the dugout, and guys start smiling on the field more, and the narrative starts to turn to other things like how competitive (not jerky) Beckett is and how Gonzalez is a quiet leader and Bobby V the mad genius behind them all.

Dave Roberts gets thrown out and Curt Schilling's just an overpaid mercenary who couldn't come up big for us, Millar looks like a clown, etc. etc.

[Hendu's Gait]

We've seen quite a few different promos from the Sox to keep this streak alive. Sox Pax, double and triple play pax, SRO pax, front and backloading 10 game plans, google offers, etc. What's next? What kind of offers would you come up with to keep people coming in the door?

For today, it was free King Hawaiian rolls. Not kidding. I just hope this doesn't mean Benny Agbayani is the solution to our injured OF corps.

Edited by Hendu's Gait, 27 May 2012 - 05:38 PM.

[EvilEmpire]

For today, it was free King Hawaiian rolls. Not kidding. I just hope this doesn't mean Benny Agbayani is the solution to our injured OH corps.

This made me laugh. Agbayani was part of the opening ceremony for my son's baseball league here in HI. Nice guy; he spoke a little bit and gave away some memorabilia. His brother works as a coordinator for our Army youth sports program.

He's no Nick Punto, but looks fit enough to play.

[DannyHeep]

Yes, yes, by all means. I can see it now... Ben buzzing his secretary for various team members to be let in, him telling each one, "Hey, Buckaroo, be more likeable!" This is a sound strategy.

That is when intangibles really come into play.

[Lose Remerswaal]

Vast tracts of empty seats in the bleachers last night, mostly sections 38, 39, and 40, from rows 20 up to the last few rows (where the prices are lower). I'd say 30% or so of those seats were empty in the 3rd and 4th innings.

Box says 37,181 out of 37,465 were there last night

[Hendu's Gait]

Part of yesterday's no shows was the Celtics I would surmise.

Is the sellout streak still going on, "officially?"

[Lose Remerswaal]

I haven't heard the streak mentioned.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

I haven't heard the streak mentioned.

When they give the announcement on the radio you can often hear the press box announcement of the game attendance and the number of straight sellouts. I'll have to check for that tonight to see if you can hear it in the background as Uncle Joe gives the attendance.

[behindthepen]

last night was the lowest Night game attendance of the season: http://www.baseball-...le-scores.shtml

only OD (37,032) and 100BD (36,770) were officially lower.

Last season, the lowest Night game was 37,015.

[Lose Remerswaal]

I should have mentioned that the backs of sections 2, 3, and 4 were pretty wide open during the 2nd inning. First couple innings went by pretty quickly, so that could partially have been late arrivals.

[JimBoSox9]

Yesterday, there were over 3000 tickets available on StubHub for Friday's Strasburg/Dubront matchup, most for less than 2x of face value. That seems crazy.

[biollante]

Plenty of empty seats on Wed. night v. O's.
Most of the seat holders around me (10 man plan in the bleachers) weren't there.
So it looks like people who don't usually get to go are getting a chance this year ~ which isn't a bad thing.

[tonyandpals]

Based on some of the StubHub listings, it would not surprise me if the Sox are listing their own tickets on the cheap. How else are you going to get 20 in a row in the bleachers, or 40 SROs in one transaction?

Edited by tonyandpals, 07 June 2012 - 09:29 AM.

[Hendu's Gait]

Yesterday, there were over 3000 tickets available on StubHub for Friday's Strasburg/Dubront matchup, most for less than 2x of face value. That seems crazy.

some are 1/2x now

A few RFB's for under $30 for Strasbourg. I know that's not prime area for viewing pitches/pitchers, but still amazing.

Edited by Hendu's Gait, 07 June 2012 - 09:52 AM.

[Hendu's Gait]

Based on some of the StubHub listings, it would not surprise me if the Sox are listing their own tickets on the cheap. How else are you going to get 20 in a row in the bleachers, or 40 SROs in one transaction?

ACE

maybe out of town reseller group buy

maybe out of town reseller tons of sro pax

Edited by Hendu's Gait, 07 June 2012 - 09:45 AM.

[sittingstill]

Based on some of the StubHub listings, it would not surprise me if the Sox are listing their own tickets on the cheap. How else are you going to get 20 in a row in the bleachers, or 40 SROs in one transaction?

ACE

maybe out of town reseller group buy

maybe out of town reseller tons of sro pax

Ticket brokers have had these on ebay for years--drove me crazy because when I used to buy single tix on ebay the search for 1 ticket also pulled up tons of brokers selling 1-10 or 1-20 tix.

[tonyandpals]

Late arriving crowd last night, myself included. But, the place filled up pretty well. There were 2k tickets or so at noon time on stubhub. I checked at 5pm and there was a full front row available on the Monster. When I got there to poach them, they were taken, but I found some other seats up there anyway. I was surprised at how full it was with the Celtics game in town.

[Dan Murfman]

Listening on radio today. They keep mentioning that they broke the Portland Trailblazers record for most consecutive sellouts in American sports.

[Marbleheader]

That phony record makes me feel really good about our last place team. Remind me to send a congratulatory telegraph to John Henry across the pond, if he's not too busy watching soccer practice to remember he owns this team.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

I was at today's game. Big swaths of empty seats in the bleachers and grandstands. Hopefully this the end of it.

[TheShynessClinic]

I was at today's game. Big swaths of empty seats in the bleachers and grandstands. Hopefully this the end of it.

Not likely, according to ESPNs rapid reaction:

SELLOUT STREAK: The Red Sox now officially own the longest regular-season sellout streak in major professional sports history. The 37,467 in attendance Sunday at Fenway Park extended the streak to 745 consecutive games, surpassing the previous record of 744, which was held by the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA from 1977 to 1995. Boston's streak began on May 15, 2003.

[drtooth]

I agree with SJH. Large areas of the bleachers and some section of Pavillion has empty seats. Absolute BS to keep pushing this streak.

[Max Power]

There were also more standing room people in the park this weekend than I've seen all year. They're selling all those tickets, some people just aren't showing up.

[biollante]

Lies, damn lies and sellout streaks.

[Average Reds]

There were also more standing room people in the park this weekend than I've seen all year. They're selling all those tickets, some people just aren't showing up.

It's not that people aren't showing up, it's that the (vast majority of) people who aren't showing up bought tickets expecting to resell them for a profit can no longer do so.

I'm guessing it may take another month or so for the actual ticket sales to adjust to lower demand and then the streak ends.

Edited by Average Reds, 11 June 2012 - 06:47 AM.

[TomRicardo]

I was at today's game. Big swaths of empty seats in the bleachers and grandstands. Hopefully this the end of it.

Man you are slow about this. It is a sellout streak. Not a full house streak. Every ticket scalper and their mom bought seats before the season figuring to gather a profit and it never materialized. Now stubhub is filled with people desperately trying to recoup losses. Next season will be the season the sell out streak fails.

[drtooth]

You can easily go online to redsox.com and buy tickets day of game with a pretty fair amount being available. Those wouldn't count if not sold to Ace, I would think.

[fenwaypaul]

You can easily go online to redsox.com and buy tickets day of game with a pretty fair amount being available. Those wouldn't count if not sold to Ace, I would think.

True, but as long as those unsold tickets are offset by standing room sales, the Sox are still "in the black" as far as the sellout steak goes. (Don't ask me; I don't make up the rules.)

[TheoShmeo]

The angst about this astounds me.

Newsflash: The Sox FO is not above bending the truth to create a sense of excitement and increase revenue.

Yes, this is insulting and disingenuous, but unless you believe the motivation is to get rich off the Sox, as opposed to create sufficient revenue to enable them to spend on the team, what's the big deal?

With the team below .500, the rest of the division filled with talented squads and the multitude of baseball issues facing this team, one would think that there would be substantially bigger concerns than the extent to which they exaggerate the gate.

[OttoC]

If the Red Sox are reporting attendance in a manner different from other teams, why hasn't MLB stepped in?

[tonyandpals]

Exactly. They're not bending any rules here. What they determine is a "sellout" is in line w/ how MLB defines it.

I went on Saturday and needed one extra ticket for my sister. We walked over from the Pru and I offered 5-6 scalpers $10 for any single they wanted to sell me. The cheapest they would go was $20, but they were some decent seats. I just needed to get her in the park, seat didn't matter. I knew the box office had SROs for $20 so I asked a scalper, why would I give you $20 when I can give the team $20 for an SRO? One of them responded "I work for ACE which is the team..." I just had to laugh at him on that one. It was nice to see those guys swarming a bit with his huge stack of tickets at 3:45. The place was pretty banged out on Saturday.

[wutang112878]

I stole this from another thread, but this pretty much sums this up:

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist

This is a fugazi.

[tonyandpals]

I think it's really the public perception of what a sellout is that's driving the fugazi. If it was every seat filled for every game, the all time leading sellout streak would be 0. But by the definition MLB uses, it's sold out. Whether there are 3k tickets on stubhub the day off the game is irrelevant. Whether there are blocks of empty seats in sections all over the park is irrelevant too. There's no telling if those seats are in ACEs hands, or sitting in a box office computer. The fact is the SRO Sold + Seats Sold + tickets distributed for free is surpassing the # they need to call it a sellout

[smastroyin]

Here is a side question since so many people have posted about tickets. Are you finiding stubhub prices to drop dramatically day of/day before?

I have a friend coming into town next Friday and she wants to go to the game so I'm curious as to whether I'm better off waiting. I will probably have to wait until Monday at least anyway.

[behindthepen]

my experience for weekday tickets has been lower prices day of game. Although that could really be impacted by the sketchy weather we've had during the week.

But weekend tickets have a different dynamic, including typically selling at a premium all the way through.