sox series tickets and the a's

by vk on Oct 17, 2005 5:18 PM PDT

World Series ticket prices are:
Lower Deck Box--$185
Lower Deck Reserved/Bleachers/Upper Deck Box--$140
Upper Deck Reserved--$125

The White Sox said they would guarantee Series tickets if purchasers put 50 percent down on 2006 season tickets.
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Now hear this! The Sox are using World Series tickets to climb out of their hole as the #2 team in town and sell season tickets, and narrow the gap with the Cubs' revenue. Demand must be overwhelming for them to be able to get those prices. I would pay it if I were in town for a game, but to also have to buy season tickets? That's more cash than I have in the checking account.
It would be great to to see something similar -- what looks to be a long-term benefit -- if the A's get to the Series, but not sure it would work. I mean, we couldn't sell $35 tickets for the deciding game of the division series a few years ago.

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curious

what division series game are you talking about?

by pickinmachine on Oct 17, 2005 5:47 PM PDT reply actions

home sellouts and gen. attendance

I think commuter is talking about the twins series. I remember the A's taking a lot of flack for a lack of sellouts in that series. However, one or more (?) of those games were weekday day games. The others (against ny & bos) sold out, I'm pretty sure.

As for the idea he's floating, I think it would be great, but expect the response would be nowhere near what Chi's would be b/c of that city's long history of losing AND as is often alluded to when discussing A's attendance, the Bay Area has many draws and, frankly is not as sports crazy on a whole as Chi (where a larger % of the gen. pop. live and die with da' Bears and Cubs (and to a lesser extent ChiSox, Bulls and Blacksocks))

by StewFan on Oct 17, 2005 6:05 PM PDT reply actions

Two

of those games were weekday day games. I was there for both of them.

Sniff, Sniff. "Who Fongpay?"

by Fongpay on Oct 17, 2005 6:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Socks?

Blackhawks?

Olympian Amil Gartenamo, world record holder in both the javelin and the hundred yard dash--only person who ever died by throwing a spear into his own back.

by Furious George on Oct 18, 2005 10:00 AM PDT up reply actions

Yep.

I don't understand your confusion. When hockey is on and not in it's death throwes the Blackhawks draw well, but not as well as the Cubs or Bears. The ChiSox, for all the South Side Pride of today have ALWAYS been the second BB team in the city.

by StewFan on Oct 18, 2005 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions

OHHH...

Just caught my typo (and only half a day late!). ChiSox is one; Blackhawks, as you point out IS suppossed to be the last team on that list.

by StewFan on Oct 18, 2005 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Freudian slip?

by easyraider on Oct 18, 2005 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions

yes, the twins series

it was the last game and it was on a Sunday opposite a Niners game. drew 32,000. very embarrassing. Schott initially criticized the fan support and then had to apologize after it was pointed out to him that $35 was a lot of money to a lot of A's fans. Against the Red Sox the next year, they made View level tickets a lot cheaper.

by vk on Oct 17, 2005 6:26 PM PDT reply actions

A's ticket prices

The price for A's World Series tickets had already been set, and was very similar to the above:

Diamond Level $300
Field Box $225
MVP/Field Level $185
Plaza Level $140
"View" Level $125
Bleachers $65

(The bleacher pricing is a little strange: in the first two rounds, bleachers were to be slightly more than the upper deck, but for the WS they are significantly cheaper).

I believe that the ticket prices for the playoffs are set by the league, not the individual teams, and that the revenue is shared, with teams getting a fixed amount depending on how far they advance, so raising prices wouldn't necessarily benefit the A's. But I could be wrong about that. If anything, I think they've set postseason prices too high: in some cases in recent years, the A's were asking more than the Giants for equivalent seats for the same playoff rounds, despite the Giants having more expensive tickets and better attendance in the regular season.

The revolution starts now.

by andeux on Oct 17, 2005 6:58 PM PDT reply actions

at least there'd be $65 seats

for the A's. Can you imagine someone from the poorest parts of Chicago like the housing project across the street from Cellulitis Field paying $125?
I guess Mt. Davis has something to be said for it after all. in real life, they wouldn't sell out the view level for the World Series and then Joe Morgan etc. would all attack the A's fans again.

by vk on Oct 17, 2005 10:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Poor

I can't see a significant number of people from the poorest parts of anywhere being able to attend a playoff game. Even a 'cheap seat' necessitates expendable income. Baseball, partic. A's BB is about as affordable as a sports outing gets, but even still, the prices are prohibitive.

Playoff sellouts are not made or broken based on the poor, as that econ bracket has been all but erased from the Am. Consciousness. Two buck Wed. aside, of course. The playoffs would sell out; so long as it weren't a 'percect storm' of sorts in which our A's met up w/ another small market, semi-popular team (read: team w/o the media juggernaut/drivel-spewing, East-coast Biased, Yanks/Sox sycophants to over-hype the series), playing WEEKDAY DAY GAMES.

But let's not pretend that lack of ability of the poorest are what keeps there from being sellouts; the poor haven't been able to go to playoff games for quite some time now, the concrete monstrosity obstructing the view of the hills (and responsible for the loss of REAL bleachers) or not.

Please don't take that as calling you out, I just thought that should be said.

by StewFan on Oct 18, 2005 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions

'perFect storm,' of course, is what I meant

by StewFan on Oct 18, 2005 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions

I would have been in the bleachers

for the 2005 WS and View Level for ALDS and ALCS

by OaklandSi on Oct 18, 2005 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions

this series

I figured this was the series you were talking about. You should know that the A's ticket prices were the highest of any team in the ALDS playoffs that year.

You cant expect 50,000 people to take a day of work, (remember they were day games), pay at least 35 bucks for the cheapest ticket plus parking and anything you might want to eat or drink.

This was Schott gauging at its worst. A's ticket prices were higher than the giants.

I went to Game 5 on Sunday and I was flat broke at the time, poor college student. Ive never left a game so angry then I did that day.

This is the reason I will ALWAYS hate Schott and former A's ownership.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/20021004daily.shtml

by pickinmachine on Oct 17, 2005 7:24 PM PDT reply actions

The A's already do that:

They guarantee post season rights if you buy next years season tickets.

Pick up Payton's Option...P...P...P...Please?

by saint @ Athletics Nation on Oct 18, 2005 9:06 AM PDT reply actions

Sorry but

There is no excuse for not selling out playoff games. Don't give me day games, unpopular opponent, ticket prices, poor areas, etc.
If the Angels can sellout all of their playoff games with the same conditions...
Oh, nevermind. That's right, we have no season ticket holder base. That's part of the problem.

by easyraider on Oct 18, 2005 12:38 PM PDT reply actions