Fan Review Of Blazers Flex Pricing: "It Sends an Unsettling Message"
by Ben Golliver on Sep 29, 2009 12:00 PM PDT
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PrintAs I wrote last week, the Press Release from the Blazers announcing their new "Flexible Pricing" program was littered with enough biz-talk mumbo-jumbo to send Blazers Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Mensah into the Corporate Euphemisms Hall Of Fame on the first ballot.
The bottom line with Flex Pricing: the Blazers are flexibly scalping their own tickets in the name of maximizing profit. I'm not saying that's a good thing and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm just calling it what it is rather than hiding behind phrases like, "we anticipate prices closer in alignment with market demand."
Ultimately, Flex Pricing's verdict will come from market forces: as long as demand stays high, prices will stay high. Thanks to the team's current success and its status as the only truly professional sports team in town, demand and prices will almost surely stay high.
But what does that mean for the average fan?
For that I turn to Blazersedge reader Ryan aka Hossticles, pictured above. Ryan achieved local fame this week by being the very first fan to line up for single game tickets outside the Rose Garden box office, more than 15 hours before tickets went on sale.
Regarding Flex Pricing, Ryan concludes...
Flex pricing charges more money for 'elite' teams. Portland plays well at home. They play well at home because they seat hundreds of everyday people - all in this economy together, some in between jobs with no resolution in sight - who are looking for something to cheer for. If these diehards are priced out, it sends an unsettling message to the base. I know there are bottom lines to meet, but I wish my $9 three times over for as many games meant as much to the team as $22 for the only one I could afford.
Please click through to read the full story of his (mis)adventures.
If any of you have personal stories about your encounters with Flex Pricing, please do not hesitate to hit my email.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)
Ticket Campout 2: Electric Boogaloo by Ryan aka Hossticles
For the second year in a row, my old high school friend Kaitlin and I were first in line for single game Blazer tickets. It was a blast, to be sure, and I'm excited to have been able to purchase the tickets I did (one for me and one for the gf, for Opening Night), especially considering my dire financial situation (thanks, college degree!). However there were some major differences between this year and last, and they weren't all positive. Without getting too detailed, here is a breakdown of what happened in these two big campouts.
Last year training camp "proper" was winding down when single game tickets were released. Tickets went on sale on a Tuesday, so Kaitlin and I camped out starting at NOON Monday. This turned out to be way overkill; the next person in line showed up at 7 AM (I actually was recognized by the Biology faculty at my school with the "I've got my priorities" award based on my skipping two days of lectures and labs). But being there early, on a workday no less, had its advantages. Mr. Larry Miller and Mr. Kevin Pritchard came out and shook our hands and thanked us for being there; we were interviewed by KPTV, KGW, KATU, 95.5, and Casey at blazers.com (and had a writeup by BE's Sarbonis); the front office sent out goodie bags with stickers, hats, shirts, and an umbrella. The team even provided us dinner and made special allowance for us to sleep inside the box office overnight. We even got our faces slapped on a Jones Soda bottle, sold exclusively at the Rose Garden. To top it off, we were awakened by coffee, doughnuts, and complimentary tickets to the preseason opener against the Kings (oh yeah -- AND I got in UniWatch the next day for noticing an upside down number 2 on Donte Greene's jersey). All in all it was one of the greatest days as a Blazer fan in my entire life, and that memory fed my hunger to be back this year.
If only things had gone so smoothly this time around!
This year I planned to have more people aboard - joining Kaitlin and I would be our own Bonnieln, Sarbonis, Nateinaloha, and Roodieephirnandizz! All of those other people have jobs, school, lives, or some combination of the above, though, so most stopped by to wish us well before heading off for regular sleeping hours. That was fine by me - more goodies, right? We waited until later this year, arriving on the grounds around 8 PM. We were still first in line, and plenty early enough to ridicule the Jason Mraz concert-goers. We had a third in line join us around 10 PM, which validated our early-bird sentiment. But then things started to turn.. weird. Security came by and asked us to vacate around midnight. I understand the no-squatting rule, but it was still a bummer - especially after the red carpet last year! So we left and crashed at Bonnieln's place in town. We got back to the Rose Garden at 6 AM and reclaimed our spot at the front of the line, moving inside for warmth. The mood was decidedly different, though, something we only started to realize after team employees started arriving.
Again, they were incredible last year, going WAY above and beyond. This year was so sad - many employees came in and, on their way to their cubes in the ticket office, ask what we were camped out for! Then security asked us to wait outside. Suddenly it felt as though we were a burden, no longer the source of cool free publicity.
The hardest hit came once the box office finally opened, as the flex pricing caught everyone by surprise. The model was well understood, but the amount was staggering - my opening night tickets, in the very last row, were 150% MORE than base price ($22 instead of $9). That is a big jump. I talked with some other folks in line; Laker game seats were going for $35 in the Tan section. Nearly 4x base price!
All of the things that seemed negative today can be easily explained in their own separate way. No big-wig attention? It was a Sunday evening, and we'd done it before. No sleeping over? Security is doing their job. Having to wait outside? The players rolled through that foyer on their way to Rebound for physicals; it must have been a safety concern. Flex pricing? Meeting market demand, curbing scalped tickets, encouraging package purchases.
But viewed as a sum of many parts, it felt as though the team didn't want us there. The cheapest season ticket packages run a few hundred dollars per seat; here we were buying tickets to one, two, or three games and dropping nearly as much! The team employees didn't care, and outside of Martell, Joel, and Steve, the players seemed irked that there were people outside. Put it all together and it started to smell funny. Just a real stinker of a morning.
I could try and make a big, dramatic statement here, but instead I'll close with this. Flex pricing charges more money for 'elite' teams. Portland plays well at home. They play well at home because they seat hundreds of everyday people - all in this economy together, some in between jobs with no resolution in sight - who are looking for something to cheer for. If these diehards are priced out, it sends an unsettling message to the base. I know there are bottom lines to meet, but I wish my $9 three times over for as many games meant as much to the team as $22 for the only one I could afford.
Many thanks to Ryan for his thorough report.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)
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Who would you rather pay?
Some a-hole scalper, or the team you are going to the game to support?
Argument Over. It’s a business… Get over it, people.
re: scalping
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that many of the scalpers you see in front of the RG every game are season ticket holders selling extra sets of tickets that they buy just to scalp.
That or tickets they can't use
I’ve bought several singles off such season ticket holders when they had say 3 seats but could only use 2.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
I think your limb would break
The scalpers out front of the garden are paid to do what they are doing. Large companies buy large chucks of ttickets the moment they go on sale each year. These companies make their profit by selling them on the street prior to the game for higher prices. And most of the guys doing the actual selling don’t live in Portland or Vancouver, they are flown in from out of town, and may have been doing the same thing the night before, but in LA or PHX.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
This is very true; I bought tickets to the Chicago game last season from a scalper who bought unused seats from the ticket holder
I was lucky… got 2 for $60, for what are normally $55 each seats. Gave my girl a great game to introduce her to the wonders that are Blazer Blowouts.
Blazers win!
of course, the guy who owned the seats was right behind us... gave me his card and told me to e-mail for future tix.
I’ll be happy to pass along requests to him for anyone looking for mid-200 level behind the 2nd half Blazer hoop, +5% (like $2 each, to cover gas to go pick them up and deliver). He also has seats 100 level, across from the Blazer bench 10 rows back.
Blazers win!
I often find that things are almost never so binary
nuance can be found in almost any position, including this one. There are good things and bad things from flex pricing, there are good and bad things from scalping. However, framing it as a Hobson’s Choice is a false dichotomy and doesn’t add much to the discussion (albeit the same discussion claimed to be over).
Come on you gotta listen unto me,
lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be. ~Johnny Cash
by HurraKane212 on Sep 29, 2009 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Ben: Thanks for opening this can of . . . of . . . discussion.
It will be interesting to see how the Portland Trail Blazers view their “profit” – whether it is more advantageous to them to make money, or to fill the arena with people who are clapping their hands rather than rattling their jewelry. – Elgin
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
You worked for Donald Sterling all those years
and you wonder whether it’s more advantageous to the Blazers to make money?
It’s sad for us less-than-wealthy, diehard fans to get priced-out of games, but Paul Allen is entitled to every penny the market will bear. He pays his taxes, he gives to charities, the team generates a lot of benefits for the city and fans, and most of us can still follow the team online and watch games on TV.
by MiledAnimal on Sep 29, 2009 12:32 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I thought there was a difference between the Clippers and the Blazers.
My bad. – Elgin
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
I'm torn on this issue
Yea it would be nice if everybody could afford to go. However I can’t blame the Blazers at all for maximizing their profits, especially when they have to pay B-Roy, LA, and GO a boat load for the next several years.
As a season ticket holder, I’m glad I paid $9 for what the Blazers think is a $35 ticket, if I can’t go to all the games, then I can sell my tickets and recoup some of my upfront cost.
Next year, just get season tickets and avoid the issue all together.
If you think the ticket prices are too high, then don’t purchase them. Show the Blazer organization that they misread the market.
what's the total tariff on season seats?
9 × 42? = $378?
I can’t go that Docproc. The Real Elgin probably could – but not me. – Not Elgin
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
Great news for the Blazers' front office
The Portland fan base has introduced a new feature called “Flexible Attendance”!
by DonkeyShins on Sep 29, 2009 12:17 PM PDT reply actions 6 recs
green!
"I just sort of know that around the water cooler they talk of reality tv stars, and I strictly drink coffee." -- EvilKaramazov
by BlazersOrBust on Sep 30, 2009 9:19 AM PDT up reply actions
Great write up hosstickles
Can’t say that I’m happy prices only went up, and that the games against the Clippers et. al. aren’t going down.
Plus the common sentiment that the people in the lower bowl aren’t nearly as crazy about the game (a lot of the time tickets are business perks or networking opportunities) will probably spread to the upper areas as the prices go up, and the Blazers price out the average fan.
I mean as an average fan, there’s no upside. The same seats will just cost more, and even the baseline price went up this year.
The team must have concluded that our home vs. away record last year was a fluke, and that enough people were buying $7 Coors Light, that they could afford 150% price increases.
I mean they have no real responsibility to us fans, just kind of sucks.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
I mean they have no real responsibility to us fans, just kind of sucks.
If they made more money selling beer at $5 than $7, they would be doing so. Their research likely has shown that’s the maximum profit margin for beer at the Garden. Their responsibility is to do what’s necessary to get the best players on the court, not to make sure beer is affordable for everyone. If I have a choice between $7 beer and, say, Rudy Fernandez, it’s no contest.
There’s no right to cheap beer that the org needs to be responsible for. In fact, in terms of how the fans act after the game, the high beer price is probably a positive.
Shoot, I got roped into posting into this thread. My bad. Keep up the good work, MiledAnimal.
sorry dude
they almost got me too
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Sep 29, 2009 1:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Actually they do that to keep fans from getting drunk at games.
And ruining the experience for other people, and keeping them from buying tickets for fear of a drunk a** hat ruining their experience.
To be totally honest, beer prices have nothing to do with maximizing value, instead pricing them so that you can only afford a couple of them (or none at all) at Blazer games.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
This is not true...
The price of the beer is decided by the cost of the beer and the commision rate that the arena operators receive. The Blazers don’t sell the beer, nor does the Rose Garden. A contractor named Ovations does. And they pay a comission out of their revenue (not profit) which causes prices to be higher than they would at a restaurant so they can continue doing business.
I am the Food and Beverage Operations manager for a company called Centerplate. We provide food, beverage, and retail service at NFL, MLB, AAA, and many other event venues across the nation. My account is PGE Park.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
I guess you'd know better than me
That’s just what I read about after the dime beer incident.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
In that case you are correct, 100%.
Selling beers for a dime is considered irresponsible. And you are also correct, indirectly, that the high cost of beer does make it easier for us to keep control of the crowds. We also set limits on how many beverages can be purchased at a time.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Directly or indirectly, the money is eventually finding its way to P. Allen
Two points scored by GO’ = "thunderdunk"
Exactly.
Ovations, from what I understand, makes less profit on that account than any other in the NBA. Blame the Rose Garden, the Blazers, or the Vulcans, it’s well known that Paul Allen is always the winner. It is why our company does not kill ourselves over the bid…we don’t really want to try to beat Ovations, they profit like $400k on $12M in revenue. At least that’s what I’ve been told.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
I agree
I take the beer too
"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a woman healthy, wealthy, and wise. That's why you all are wiser than me. It's cloudydays."
its as if people think
you’re only an average fan if you dont make money. I’m sure there will be plenty of seats to plenty of games for $9. You can’t even go see a movie for that. Frankly, I can’t believe how cheap it is, overall, to get a Blazer ticket. Try being a Red Sox fan! You’re spending $80 there for bleacher seats to see the Orioles in June on a Tuesday. Its because THAT many people are willing to pay just to get in there. And that stadium has 17,000 more seats!
It sucks when you’re so used to going cheap, but if demand is up, well then…..
"Rudy’s flashy passes had the place whispering to each other like we were in junior high" ~BlazermaniacAndy
by courtsideerrandboy on Sep 29, 2009 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Huh?
How is varying the price of tickets depending opponents, “scalping” their own tickets? That just does not strike me as “calling it like it is.” That’s describing something with a pejorative term (scalping).
Adding the bit about maximizing profit is a non-sequitur because it implies that the goal of the previous pricing strategy was altruistic.
by PoliSam on Sep 29, 2009 12:23 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
I think they are trying to squeeze the margins on Scalpers
If the $9 ticket goes for $25 on the street right before the game, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a $22 ticket will go for $38 on the street right before a game. Scalpers will just make less per game.
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
Oh, I agree
It won’t be long until you have to buy Preseason game tickets (like the NFL) or contribute to the organization (like NCAA schools) in order to be eligible for season tickets, or even single game tickets. If there is money to made…they will find it.
I’m not against it, just a product of the capitalistic profit driven society that we live in
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
They already do!
If you buy season tickets, you are forced to buy the preseason games as well, and they cost just the same.
I sell some of my tickets
and I’m a season ticket holder, so reality is i"ll be able to get a lot more for my tickets as high prices won’t be unreasonable and I still may be underselling the blazers for selling an amount i’d choke on (we’ll see). I think most scalpers are season tickets holders anyway, so unaffected.
As a sometimes scalper so that I can own my season tickets, this is fantastic news. As a fan that is concerned about the enthusiasm of the people attending games, I’m worried.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
Season Tix Holders
make an investment in the team, therefore they profit(get more for their tickets) when their investment is good and they are lucky to profit when it is bad. When those premium games come around selling our more valuable games for more money only makes sense. It’s not like I think the value of going to a Grizzly game and a Lakers game are the same! Why are people appaled at this pricing platform? It makes sense to me that Blazers tickets should be based off supply and demand just like any other market segment. Take concerts, you don’t expect to pay the same for an Elton John as a Hannah Montana or whaterver. You get my point. The best way to beat the system is to man up, get on the flex plan if you have to and get some tix. Otherwise stay home and watch them in HD ;)
by The Natural ala Mode on Sep 29, 2009 4:18 PM PDT up reply actions
MLB has been doing it for years
And I have no problem with it. You pay more to see the Yankees for example, and less to see the Royals and I think just like it makes sense with MLB, it makes sense here.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
so have airlines
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
not to get off the subject at hand here
but that’s the thing that sucks most about MLB.
The Royals will never contend for a pennant. Neither will the Pirates. A few other teams are in that same boat, or have one leg in (the Mariners, the Rockies spring to mind as teams that will always try to get by with less).
Yankees Red Sox Yankees Red Sox. That is going to kill off MLB. – Elgin
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
I am all for low ticket prices...
to allow a variety of fans experience the Blazers. I’m just not into using emotionally charged language to advocate for it (and then in the next sentence state that I am simply objectively describing reality).
Careful what you wish for.
The ticket prices WERE low…when we were the Jail Blazers. All kinds of people got to experience the type of team it takes to keep prices low.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
??
There is probably a sound economic rationale for keeping some small portion of tickets at a very low price—regardless of current demand, as a way to build fan loyalty for the inevitable down years. A $100,000 gross reduction in ticket prices today could be a good investment for the future.
Absolutley.
I was being facetious.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Remember Golden State's 2007 Playoff Run?
And the visible difference in the arena’s attitude after they got out of the first round? As soon as tickets were in the hands of the stuffed-shirt elite rather than the die-hards that helped lift them out of their series with Dallas, the building got way more quiet and restrained.
I’m not worried about selling out the Rose Garden as much as losing that Rose Garden identity. I grew up in Phoenix when it was practically a one sport town and tickets to Barkley-era Suns games were as much about status as anything. They still sold out the building on a regular basis but it came nowhere near having the energy or personality of Portland’s 08-09 home crowd. I want people on their feet, yellin’, scrappin’ and mixin’ it up and I think making the “Big Games” more about $$$ than having a diehard crowd could really lessen the effectiveness of the Blazer’s “Sixth Man.”
This is exactly the sentiment
that I was attempting to capture. Thanks for summarizing it well, J-Lu.
GG MFer!
-joel przybilla
Portland is somewhat lucky
in that there aren’t a ton of huge businesses that buy up the tickets there. Unlike the bay area which has tons of businesses that are buying up huge chunks of tix.
I hope I can get a bunch of championships, like 15. " - Greg Oden
It would be nice if the higher ticket prices for prestige games
were offset by lower ticket prices for games against doormat opponents, but the team is looking to earn
more money, not hold the line on prices.
It's not about...
…just buy season tickets, a lot of people can’t afford the cost. It’s not about simply showing The Blazer franchise by not buying tickets at all. Fortunately or Unfortunately, The Blazers know they will sell the tickets regardless. They wouldn’t make this change if they thought it was going to kill attendance or cost them revenue. Now being a good product and one of the few entertainment options in Portland, they know the tickets will sell.
What I don’t like about variable or flex pricing is who I think it hurts. Of course it doesn’t hurt the season ticket holder. Or the more affluent ticket buyer who really doesn’t care about price.
I think it makes it more difficult for the poorer Blazer fans who would like to see a bigger game.
Remember the bad years? Not so long ago? On TV The Blazers were offering ridiculous ticket packages during games. I had to laugh at some of them. Tickets to multiple games, T-Shirts, Bobbleheads, and sometimes dinner at a local restaurant. But they did it to try and keep attendance up.
Now that The Blazers have “Risen” seems they are starting to try and filter out who rises with them. For you poorer fans, enjoy The Clippers, for you more affluent fans, rise with us at The Laker game….poor form Blazers…..
I have nothing against The Blazer making a profit. Making money. But it seems fairer to me just to make all the tickets the same prices. Spread the cost increase across the board equally to everyone attending. Don’t make it more expensive to attend “better” games, and less expensive to attend “less attractive” games. Seems to me during the bad times, it was a lot of the poorer fans that stood by The Blazers. They were the one’s that bought the ticket packages with the nosebleed seats to cheer on players like Telfair and Ha Seung Jin.
We rose with you, now stick by us. Don’t price us out of the big games.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
Maybe the other thing that bothers me
is a lot about what bothered me during the worse years.
Now we’re once again selling tickets based upon the other team. I mean they still have these commercials but during the bad years, it was always like, “Come watch Kobe (play the blazers)!” or “Come watch Steve Nash and the Suns (in portland)!”.
Just a minor problem, but one that has always annoyed me.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
by TheOdenator on Sep 29, 2009 12:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Your comment reminds me of the annual flack that playoff teams receive
from fans and media when, at the end of each regular season, many such teams rest their stars and play their scrubs, which obviously lessens the value of the games to the fans. The response from those teams is always that fans are still getting to see NBA players and a quality entertainment experience. Seems hypocritical for teams to then charge more for games against marquee opponents.
by MiledAnimal on Sep 29, 2009 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions
An unpopular opinion:
I know how hard this economy is, believe me, but if you are between jobs you should be spending your money on shoe-polish, ties, and fancy resume paper – not tickets to professional sporting events.
Also, the more revenue a team makes, the more they will have to spend on labor (JOBS!!). Businesses need to make money for the economy to improve. In many cases, the same people who are complaining about ticket prices are the same people who are against using public funds to subsidize arena costs.
Having professional teams in cities are a luxury, not a right. They will cost money, it will come from the general population whether it’s out of our wallets or through taxes. The positive effects of this are increased revenue flow through the whole city. Busier restaurants, hotels, and retail stores in turn make more work for everyone. And more work is just that, more work. Which equals more jobs. Y’know, so you CAN afford flex-pricing tickets.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
How does putting more money into your tickets
have anything to do with this:
“The positive effects of this are increased revenue flow through the whole city. Busier restaurants, hotels, and retail stores…”
Also I understand people who don’t have a whole lot of money should spend some money on improving themselves, but you know what? A lot of people just work in jobs that don’t pay for a whole lot, pretty much their entire lives. And those people just won’t ever get to see the high profile games.
Before, there was a way around this, if you got there early and bought your tickets from the Blazers you could go and take your kids to a good game for $9, which with 3 kids and the wife you’re out $45, if you’re well off you have the option of paying more, getting better seats, or waiting for the night before and paying the $110. Now you’re stuck.
I agree that the Blazers have a right to do this, but pretending that this in some way benefits the fans is ridiculous. There is nothing in this plan that helps, makes it easier, or is in some way a service to the Blazer fans, not now not ever.
If we were somehow in danger of our team being shipped overseas, or if we didn’t have literally the richest owner in sports then i could see that yea we need to show that we are a supportive fan base. But tax payer dollars funded the Rose Garden (already!) and now we are being pushed again. I can’t see how people are going to be happy subsidizing improvements, when they can’t see a good game themselves (ticket pricing, Comcast, etc. etc. etc.)
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
by TheOdenator on Sep 29, 2009 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions
The team needs to maximize it's revenue capabilities to provide the best product.
Just like all businesses. The more they make, the more jobs they can offer. Also, the better the product, the more revenue the entire city will attract. I understand if you don’t agree. But I stand by my statements. The more succesful the team is the more it will help our entire city. Indirectly, yes, but it remains true in my opinion.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
To clarify my statement
putting more money into your tickets, decrease the amount you have to spend on restaurants, hotels, and retail stores.
As has been linked to before the NBA has a salary cap that limits the best product on the court (along with administration) not the cost of tickets. The increase in tickets are the product of success not the creator of it. The LA Clippers are not better because they can charge higher rates, and by charging higher prices the Blazers aren’t going to get any better either.
The only way I can see your argument making a modicum of sense is they are trying to attract higher paying Blazer fans. Raising prices does not invite the affluent it merely clips those who have less money from being able to afford the games, and also keeps them from buying merchandise, concession stand stuff, and beer. The affluent can attend regardless of the price increase, because obviously its not about the price but the performance. But the section fillers are the ones who are priced out.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
To clarify my statement....
The more “money into your tickets”, the more revenue for the team. The more revenue, the better the product they can provide. The better product, the more revenue for the city. The more revenue for the city, the more money into your pocket (more jobs).
Not saying it will fix our economy, but it will help.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Yea I just don't see how any of them fit into each other
The more revenue- Don Sterling
The better product?- The Clippers
The better product- The Blazers
The more revenue- For the Blazers.
Revenue for the City- Spent subsidizing the team
The more money in your pocket- Also spent on the team
People centralizing their spending is a bad thing for the economy. People spreading their money around and supporting a multitude of businesses is better for the economy.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
Profit vs. Revenue (look it up)
Donald Sterling DOES NOT drive more revenue than good teams. He makes MORE PROFIT because he spends so much less on everything from player contracts to rent. For example, he is FOURTH on the Staples Center priority list and pays less than half in rent as the Lakers do because he don’t give a rat’s behind. Don’t get it twisted.
The Blazers, as an orginization, and their fans do spread their money around. Especially if they are coming from a distance. Fans coming from a distance are more likely to be attracted by a good, stable, team. Good stable teams make as much money as they are ABLE to.
Asking for the Blazers to make less money so you can afford to go to a game is pure and simple Socialism, comrade.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
I simply thought you didn't understand the difference.
No, trying to spend less is Capitalism.
Rational actor – look it up. Also while you’re at it look up subsidized arenas.
Fans who have set budgets (which should be everyone regardless of the amount of money they have) will spend to that amount. The more money they spend on the game, the less they will spend on hotel, the less likely they will be to travel to a game (travel + game > then value = no game + no travel).
I’m trying very hard to keep this civil.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
A few questions:
Didn’t think I understood the difference of what?
What do you mean by “Rational-actor”?
Why should it be hard for you to keep this civil if you believe what you are saying?
Also, as far as looking up subsidized arenas, please understand that I work for a subsidized stadium.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
So my tax dollars are keeping you at your job?
I don’t want to see the product, why is my money helping you keep your job? That is Socialism. Pure and simple, if the stadium had worth, then people who bought tickets would have kept you in a job.
Revenue and profits.
Because I believe that you are purposefully ignoring the ridiculousness of your statement.
A rational actor is needed for Capitalism. Both people need to be trying to maximize their wallets. Consumers included. And by stating that only Businesses should be maximizing their profits, is not capitalism.
So (as a Consumer) I will both not be buying tickets this year, and also using all outlets (a site I know Blazers brass use) to reduce the price of the tickets so I can afford them again, and let the Business know the exact reason why I won’t be using their services this year.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
I get it.
“I simply thought you didn’t understand the difference” is refering to my point about the difference between revenue and profit. Are you saying you purposefully used information that you knew wasn’t true to support your own arguement?
Also, how could I be purposefully ignoring the ridiculousness of my arguement if I actually believe it?
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
No.
I was using the term revenue inter-changeably with profit. Just charging more doesn’t make it a better product is what I said and meant. Spending more also doesn’t mean that its a better product: the Knicks.
And I like how capitalism only matters when you’re on the plus side of it.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
Donald Sterling charges LESS.
His ticket prices are less. He makes less revenue. Your argument there makes no sense.
Who is talking about spending more? We’re talking about charging more. For flex tickets, remember?
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
okay
So apparently spending more money has nothing to do with the better product?
But charging more and getting more revenue does?
Donald Sterling does not charge less than average NBA games, he only charges less than the Lakers.
here:
http://teammarketing.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/News/tmr%20fci%20edition.pdf
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
I do agree that you have to spend more to make more.
Didn’t mean to insinuate that I didn’t recognize that. Just didn’t realize it was part of our previous discussion.
Good call on the ticket pricing. I thought I had read an article in ESPN Magazine that stated differently.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
We're really not talking about our intital discussion at all anymore, are we?
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
He charges less
but he also spends less, so in comparison to the margin between cost and sale the difference is greater than if he spent as much as Portland yet charged less…
I think that’s what he’s getting at.
His costs are less so he while he sells for less he still makes as much as if he had higher costs and higher prices.
Blazers win!
If enough fans do that, there may be fewer butts in seats.
If enough seats lack butts, the team will be losing money as a result of raising prices. They may then lower prices to put butts back into seats and maximize profits.
I love that phrase, “Putting butts into seats.” It’s such a love-your-customer thing to say. Who first said it?
Pretty much every corporate schmug I've worked for.
I like to look at it as “attracting butts into seats” – y’know with superior product.
You are 100% correct that if flex pricing is not the right thing to do that it will attract less people, causing them to lose money.
Does anyone in here want to claim that because of flex pricing there will be less sell outs this season?
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Miled said butts.
"Aneurysm".
When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie
Oh, those. You should pick those
up and dispose of them properly.
"Aneurysm".
When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie
Good call on the "rational actor".
If anything, I’ve learned something today. ;)
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Not about entitlement...
…of course nobody is entitled to go to a basketball game. Also, if you are unemployed? Making entertainment purchases are going to be a personal choice. I’d hope nobody was sitting in a Rose Garden seat at the cost of a heating bill.
But that’s all a different story. Adopting flex pricing is a CHOICE of The Blazers organization. It’s not how the tickets were sold before or ever sold in the past. The Blazers can make a profit, I think as much without flex pricing as with flex pricing. The difference is who it helps and who it hinders. Non-Flex pricing makes season ticket holders and those attending numeorous games regularly who you would think can afford it, pay more. It allows those poorer fans maybe trying to swing one game or a few games a season, able to attempt to make it a Laker game or a San Antonio game, without extra financial penalty.
To me it’s almost like any entertainment purchase. Most movie theaters charge you the same price to see an Academy Award winning Film as they do if you decide to watch the latest stupid comedy movie. They don’t apply a subjective value to how much you might enjoy the product, they just charge you for the entertainment possibility.
On another level flex pricing just seems flawed. Who knows how a game is going to play out? Who is to say a San Antonio game is going to be more entertaining than a game against The Clippers? It might be, but it might not be.
I think flex pricing hurts the less affluent, I think it is based on a flawed premise. I think it’s only advantage is allowing the franchise to charge more for games inwhich it knows demand will be at a higher premium. While you can argue that is a fundamental of free enterprise, I will counter that is not how it is done with most other entertainment options. It’s the same price for every new DVD I decide to rent, reguardless of some preconcieved attachment of how entertaining someone else might think it might be.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
So let me see if I follow this correctly...
Also, the more revenue a team makes, the more they will have to spend on labor (JOBS!!).
Does this mean that the only real job that has been added, Bob Akamian (sp), is being funded by the “flex pricing”?
Man, we’d be better off suffering with Luftman…
Blazers win!
Ha-ha.
It isn’t quite that simple. I’m talking about not cutting back on hours for ushers, event staff, and the like as well.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Labor cost is usually budgeted by % of revenue.
If I bring in $100,000, and my labor budget is 17%, that means I can spend $17,000 on labor. If I bring in $150,000, now I can spend $25,500 on labor and still make budget. More hours for existing employees as well as more positions available. Of course, the team could just send all the extra to the bottom line.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
I get so annoyed with the entitlement feeling of the average person
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
I have the reverse annoyance :)
That some people don’t feel others are entitled to enough things.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
That also really annoys me
My good friend got deported the other day. He’s been living here since he was 9, and now he’s alone and stranded in Tijuana.
There’s certainly a sweet spot
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
That's horrible.
"Aneurysm".
When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie
Why would anyone expect a business to not be evil?
That’s their whole purpose.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
It's evil to make money?
Kind of destroys the whole Locke-labor value theory, huh?
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
Basically, yeah. Or to make more than some amount.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
To further expand...
If you’re selling something, it’s evil to sell it for the highest amount that someone is willing to pay. That’s taking advantage of other people’s needs for your benefit. The good alternative is to sell it for a price based on what it cost you to produce it, including the cost of your labor. Supply based pricing vs demand based pricing. Also you should have a responsibility to try to keep the supply cost low to benefit your customers. Think first about benefiting other people instead of yourself, and you’ll be doing good.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
So ticket prices should have been astronomical
the past couple years then when the Blazers were losing money?
still have to take demand into account for upper limits, just not lower limits
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
also may need to account for years of losing money
by increasing prices while demand is high.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
Sounds like you got caught up in a little fetishism of commodities.
Needs V Wants. What’s a ticket?
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
I don't think it's an important distinction
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
Is it important to regulate the cost of water? Yes
It’s vital. Gas? sort of. Versace clothes? not really. Entitlement becomes unjustified in the case of desire; whereas, every person is entitled to self-preservation even if it brings conflict. Bringing conflict because of wants is less tolerable.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
by hobobob on Sep 29, 2009 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Okay there's some distiction.
I believe there are a lot of things people should be entitled to absolutely free of charge, just for being born. Basketball tickets are not one of those. But there are other things people should be entitled to buy, if available, for a reasonable price. Basketball tickets are one of those.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
I think what you're actually saying is that monopolies are evil
Prices are never based on just supply or just demand unless one entity controls all of the supply or demand.
And yeah the Blazers are a monopoly of sorts here, so that does stink.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
That, and I don't think markets give good results.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
As is Comcast a Monopoly
Season tickets in the cheap seats is almost as the same cost as paying for Comcast (or versizon) for a season. But you pay more going to a game than watching at home due to food and drink price differences.
Wow... I really thought you were kidding... until I read more comments..
A fine example of the anti-capitalism socialist propoganda being taught in our public schools… I sure hope you’re in the minority in that view Pualo, or our country is in a lot worse shape than people think…
Blazers: RUN away with the title!
KP: Please don't trade the next decade's Scottie Pippen (Batum), Spanish Larry Bird (Rudy), Bill Russell (GO) or Captain BRoy - at least until they 3-peat..
I don't think that's the type of discussion we want to have right now
lets all try and stay on the Basketball side of the topic as much as possible, difficult I know given the economic and thus political dynamics at work.
Come on you gotta listen unto me,
lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be. ~Johnny Cash
by HurraKane212 on Sep 29, 2009 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Let me just assure you
that I didn’t acquire these opinions in public schools. Your children are safe.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
It's nothing new...
The Mariners did this with Yankees and Red Sox games in Seattle this year. But the markup was pretty minimal ($5 premium per seat no matter what seat)… Quite honestly, I thought it was perfectly reasonable and was ok with paying it. It’s a way for franchises that are struggling to take advantage of increased demand. That being said, a $9 ticket going for $22 from the box office is ridiculous (150% is an unsettling increase). They’ll get away with it and the games will sell out, but the Rose Garden won’t be the same.
Also, whoever scheduled Tickets Go On Sale day on the same day in the same location as Media Day was a dummy. The focus and staff was apparently stretched too thin to give the most enthusiastic fans the attention they deserve. I would hope fans are just as important as the plays and the staff knows where their revenue comes from. Take care of the people who love your team and product so much they’ll camp out to get their hands on it, tell their friends about it and probably buy more stuff once you finally let them inside the rose garden. It doesn’t have to be an amazing experience like hossticles first year, but at least make it better than herding cattle.
Buying online at high noon yesterday,
the top section was still $9 per ticket. I scored tickets vs.l*kers and cavs and after the nickel and diming got 3 tickets to each game for a total of $83. If the people waiting in line all night got hit with flex pricing while those of us that scored tix from the comfort of our computer chairs still got in for $9, then something is wrong.
Skadoosh
exactly
I know they’re required by the league to sell some of the tickets for that $9 price. It’s terrible to me that they would sell those online instead of to the diehards that camped out for tickets.
Econ 101
I hate to be academic on the issue, but I think people are taking this too personal. I really think that the Blazers are simply finding an equilibrium between price and market demand. It is simple economics. If you raise the prices of all games then you create a problem of over pricing games with less demand such as the Memphis Grizzlies. It just makes more sense to match the pricing to the economy of scale for each game. If there is demand for the Laker game the prices will be driven up, whether that is through the Blazers organization, scalpers, or on Craigslist. If you want to go to that game you are willing to pay more. I don’t think we need to read into this as a personal attack from the Blazers. Its simply the economics of a limited supply of seats and a demand for half of Portland to want to go to the games.
Our society believes in "Policital Correctness" in other words we tear down the best of our society and make them live according to the lowest common denominator. It won't be long until Harrison Bergeron is declaring himself emperor!
by ablazrfool on Sep 29, 2009 12:47 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
Rec'd
People who want to go to the game and are willing to pay a marked up price will still pay the money and go to the game. If tickets don’t sell out, then the Blazers will have to rethink their strategy. It is in their best interest that they find the equilibirium price.
by david1978pdx on Sep 29, 2009 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions
To think flex-pricing is evil is to think capitalism is evil.
Hmmm…the Blazers should make less money than they are capable of for the sake of the everyman. This concept seems somewhat familiar…
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
by GonzoFan on Sep 29, 2009 12:47 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Yes it does comrad
Our society believes in "Policital Correctness" in other words we tear down the best of our society and make them live according to the lowest common denominator. It won't be long until Harrison Bergeron is declaring himself emperor!
Rec for anticapitalism
even if you didn’t mean it
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
fine but
the public helped pay for the rose garden and rose quarter as well as for a max stop that pretty much is entirely dedicated to getting people to and from these events. It is fairly obvious that the biggest draw to the rose garden is blazer games. The city was sold on the idea that a sporting team is a ‘public good’, and then the public is priced out of the good they helped pay for. it is shameful, and exactly what went wrong in the supersonics debacle.
i would agree with you if the blazers were in portland entirely because of the private market, but this is simply not true.
by gotyourselfastew on Sep 29, 2009 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm sorry, I don't believe the public is being priced out of these games.
If there are still tickets under $50, then the “everyman” is still in.
Also, I fully agree that the Rose Quarter development has been handled poorly, and is a complete disaster. But this has much more to do with the city government’s handling of the situation, not the Blazers organization.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Sorry, no
Tickets over $50 each leave me out of it. Enjoy your season. – A poor person who spent all his money on shoe polish and fancy resume paper.
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
Sorry to hear that.
Good luck with the job search.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Things are evil when I don't like them and are good when I do.
Whatever they has no bearing on whether it’s evil or not. It’s all about my mood.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
by hobobob on Sep 29, 2009 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
they meaning they're
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
rose Garden Atmosphere
First off, it sucks that fans were made to feel unwelcome. We just finished unalienating a large fan base, can we please not do that again?
Secondly, the point about atmosphere is valid. I love the excitement of the game. I love random fans screaming. I remember back to teh jail blazer era when the team was good and how STAGNATE the atmosphere was. it was quiet. I could scream from the top section and the guys on the court would have been able to hear me. I do NOT want to return to that boring audience. This pricing does chase away some of the more vocal fans, and that sucks.
Hopefully fans find a way to go instead of the stick in the muds who go because it’s cool.
I get the money making, but as I said up above, can we please have an organization that respects the fans, and not just the ones paying the money? Profit is important, but it’s not everything and at some point you’re just being greedy.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
the atmosphere
is the biggest issue to me. i had season tickets last year up in 305 and was constantly amazed how apathetic the fans in the lower seats appeared to be. they would come back really late from half time and hardly ever stand, unless there was the stupid free gifts falling from the ceilings. (which incidentally, never reached the upper ring) atmosphere is a huge deals, guys in white shirts and suits don’t generally care to get sweaty or be seen to be overly emotional. whereas guys who have spent the last of their paycheck for a well deserved break from the grind of reality, routinely and joyfully lose their minds at the slightest turn in the action.
i hope the blazers brass pay close attention to the difference in atmosphere this year against the best teams, they may be surprised that the rose garden ain’t what it used to be.
'do it, do it, do it tell you're satisfied!' - brian wheeler
by blazersunited on Sep 29, 2009 1:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Are you Canzano's #1 fan?
blah blah blah blah lame comment - lame commenter
by Bandwagon Butcher on Sep 29, 2009 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah
I can’t go to all of the games, but I’m one of the lower seat ticket holders and I generally attempt to get people around me cheering in some way. I’m quick off my feet and try to engage those around me some what.
I’ve been to games where it’s almost impossible though and the energy of the fans and team just seem flat.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
I make a decent living, can afford this
and almost certainly yell louder than you. Rich people can be just as loud and annoying.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
the proof's in the pudding..
you may be an exception to the rule, but the lower sections are a tomb compared to the upper bowl. (except at the ends of the court from some reason) there is no two ways about that, saw it night in and night out over 40 times last year.
'do it, do it, do it tell you're satisfied!' - brian wheeler
by blazersunited on Sep 29, 2009 1:09 PM PDT up reply actions
I sat down low quite a few times and couldn't hear the upper bowls
Maybe things sound louder when they’re closer. So, not to be contradictory, but I experience exactly the opposite.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
no worries
i appreciate your point of view..
'do it, do it, do it 'til you're satisfied!' - brian wheeler
by blazersunited on Sep 29, 2009 1:17 PM PDT up reply actions
it would be interesting to set up
sound level meters in each of the sections to see the amount of noise being created in each section per fan per dollar.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
per $ it'd have to be the top as there'd be many more fans per $
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
?
You make the assumption I’m not down there up front?
It would be wrong.
I get your point, but there are a lot of people who go because something is cool and they couldn’t tell you Roy from Batum. it happened a lot during the Jail Blazer era prior to the collapse.
it’s not that rich people can’t be fans or they’re better fans, it’s that there are the people who go because somethings cool. They don’t care, but they want to latch onto that coolness while they eat they’re dinner and tell people around them to sush and sit down because they can’t see the game. Higher pricing favors more of those people going. I’d prefer they stay away.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
As I recall
won’t the $5 upper level base tickets remain unchanged? Are there really that many people who can afford a $9 ticket unable to scrounge up an extra $13? It’s not like the Blazers are making every seat $50. If someone wants to go to a game, they should still be able to afford it, and if they can’t, they probably should be spending their money on something other than Blazer tickets.
If I lived in Portland, and my options last year were to spend $27 and see LA, Memphis, and Milwaukee, and now with that same money I can only afford to go see LA, I’m not going to shell out the extra $10 to see Memphis and Milwaukee, I’m spending my money on the LA ticket and cheer my butt off because that’s the only game I can see.
Sure, my cheering at the other two games might get replaced by a somewhat less enthusiastic fan, but do we really need a deafening atmosphere to beat the Grizzlies and Bucks?
It may not be the extra 13, but the extra 26
and yes, for some people that can be a budget/deal breaker. I spent a time in my life living literally by the pennies.
I think i’d be happier if they made the more affordable seats fixed, and then flexed the rest. To me, that would be reasonable.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
(extra 26 for someone else to go too)
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
Uhh..
I don’t make much money and I agree 1000% with flex pricing.
This is just simple supply and demand, people. If you’re running a business and people want 30,000 of your product but you only have 20,630, what should you do? Leave prices the same so demand continues rising but supply doesn’t? Of course not. It’s not like Paul Allen can simply add 10,000 more seats to the Rose Garden or whatever. The only way you control supply when demand goes up is to make that supply cost more. Gas prices anyone?
This isn’t about “robbing the everyday fan” What do you think would happen if ticket prices remained the same as last year but demand has gone up? Tickets would sell out faster and scalpers, stubhub, e-bay, etc. would all simply make more money. Raising prices makes good business sense and good practical sense. But you can’t explain this to the “average fan” who is disgruntled. Why? Because these people are poor to begin with and are looking for freebies. News flash! When a better product comes along, it costs more. Amazing right!? That’s capitalism.
Regarding Hedo Türkoğlu:
Look at the bright side, Blazers fans -- you dodged a bullet. He peaked statistically two years ago. He's allegedly 30 but could be closer to 32 or 33 for all we know. (Do you trust Turkish birth certificates? And isn't it weird that he played four years of pro ball in Turkey in the 1990s?)
- Bill Simmons of ESPN.com
by halo_on on Sep 29, 2009 1:14 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Yes but how does that help the fans?
I’m kind of surprised that so many people are here saying that this is a good thing.
If you’re rich you’ll have to pay more, if you’re poor you’ll have to pay more. I guess this only is helpful to people who are rich, and don’t want to sit next to poor people, even though you could have done that already down in the lower bowl. Even if you’re well off (but not rich) what you considered a good price last year will be at least 40 rows closer than it will be this year.
Yes the Blazers can do this, but its not beneficial to the fans. At all.
I mean do people think they’re defending the principles of Capitalism here? Because in the fans case, they want to pay as little as they can for what they want, that’s capitalism as well. Unless you happen to be the Blazers org. then you should be trying to pay as little as possible for Capitalism to work, because that is what a rational character would do with their money.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
Yeah, I'd like to get tickets for free
and have Paul Allen subsidize the entire operating costs of the Blazers, but that’s unrealistic. As a business, I expect the Blazers to roughly break even (it’s not like PA is making a huge profit either way), and since I’m expecting them to shell out the necessary payroll to field a winning team, I can recognize that costs money, which has to be raised somewhere. If the team is willing to commit to paying money to field a winner, I don’t think it’s the end of the world to ask the people getting the most utility (to use the economic term) from watching a winner to pay a little more.
We’re not talking about raising prices to astronomical levels here. Scrounging an extra 10 bucks for a ticket to watch a contender is hardly the root of corporate greed, especially considering how long the Blazers have operated at a loss.
As a Buyer.
You should be trying to pay as little as possible. That’s Capitalism.
They should be trying to charge as much as possible, true, but its not that you can afford something more so you should pay more, its that you should be trying to pay as little as possible regardless. I haven’t said anything about corporate greed, but its bizarre that you would prefer that we all pay higher prices.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
It's all about marketing
use the right words and people will think jumping off a bridge is a great idea.
Politics is the perfect example where excellent programs are shot down because someone found the right word to combat it or focused on the one flaw or theoretical flaw and ripped it apart when the rest of the program was sound.
I do want the blazers to make money, but I also want the company to be more than just a money making machine. It’s part of our community and as such I want it to be a company that gives back, not just to the people who pay money, but to those who love what they do and can’t pay back as much. I like some ethics with my capitalism please.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
Like I said, I want games to be free
but that’s not realistic. If paying whatever “flex” price is what it takes for the team to break even (the Blazers have lost money for as long as I can remember) that’s reasonable to me. I’ve never been one to weep for Paul Allen’s wallet, but just because I’m not decrying the organization for the horrible sin of trying to break even doesn’t mean I’m out there throwing money at them.
If you take supply and demand arguements
The average fan has a supply of dollars to spend on the Blazers per year. IF more dollars go into ticket prices fewer dollars go into team merchandise and concessions such as food and drinks. Except for the wealthier fans the supply of dollars to spend on the Blazers can not grow with Market demand, rather their consumption must be reduced. And so the Blazers make less profit on merchandise while making more profit on ticket sales. Net revenue may or may not increase (which is the indicator of the supply of dollars fans have to spend on the Blazers).
You're thinking of it backwards
The amount of money that fans have available dictates the demand, not the supply, and the current amount of money available, as a fanbase, exceeds the total value of tickets available. Theoretically, then, prices will rise until the total value of available tickets is equal to the available dollars to spend on tickets.
Since there are many more Blazer fans who want tickets than there are seats, this means the equilibrium price will price some people out of going to every game. This will happen simply because the total fanbase money is distributed amongst more than just 20630 people. If some of these people want to go to more games, they can choose to not get another 4 wheeler, or take the MAX more if they decide they get more enjoyment out of going to Blazer games than whatever else they spend their money on.
A couple other points. First, the franchise gets to keep 100% of ticket revenue, in terms of merchandising and concessions, the Blazers actually “run” very little of it, but instead simply lease space out to vendors who then operate the concessions. I can’t say I’m 100% sure of the exact transaction details (flat fee vs. a percentage of merchandise/concessions sold), but I can guarantee it’s not the 100% of revenue they get from ticket sales.
Second, no one I’ve ever met as a fan “budgets” out say, $50 a night total in concessions and ticket costs. I’d say it’s far more likely that once people are in the Rose Garden, their decision to buy a beer or hot dog is far more dependent upon whether they’re hungry or thirsty. Certainly people with kids are probably going to spend some money on concessions/merchandise regardless of what they spent on tickets, so even if you do lose some people on strict budgets, you’ll still retain a large percentage of the sales anyways.
What you say is true,when you have a large budget.
But if you’re budget is limited to maybe one or two games then you will spend less on merchandise or food. You can surely believe that those whose budgets are so small they can’t afford market price to go to a game are going to continue to spend on merchandise instead of choosing a more affordable entertainment option.
My assumptions aren’t backwards, rather it is the same economics but from the buyers perspective and it is the buyers supply of entertainment dollars that is limited by the economy. To fully understand problems, its best to look from all perspectives both buyer and seller.
The seller can charge as much as he wants and still find buyers. The buyer however will eventually choose to spend his dollars elsewhere when the perceived value is too low. This is the conundrum. Do you price out the lower wage earners so that BBall becomes only accessible the the middle to uppermiddle class. Do we want BBall to end up more like golf and have a hoity-toity feel to its fanbase.
We'll just have to wait and see, then.
If your argument is true, if the fans truely suffer from this, then it will show in the attendance figures and the popularity of the team, won’t it?
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
no
because there are always people who aren’t fans, who go because it’s cool. The blazers will be cool, and they will go.
but yeah, i think you’ll tell by the atmosphere, so we’ll see.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
Good point.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
as much as many of us Fans would like to think
The Blazers are not all about the fans, no NBA team is. They want to keep their fans happy of course, but that is not their main goal.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
Uh, no..
“..however there is little controversy that private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit in a market, paid employment, and prices and wages set according to market supply and demand, are elements of capitalism.”
—
Demand goes up, supply (or the cost of) goes up. You’re trying to make an arguement that your demand for lower ticket prices (based on lack of income) should prompt Paul Allen to supply you with his goodwill. Despite what is actually true about the marketplace and the demands of other fans. In reality, fans overall are going to pay higher prices no matter what. If ticket prices are low, people buy more of them and scalpers (at the Rose Garden, e-bay, Craig’s List, etc etc) make a killing later. You might not pay more yourself, but somebody else down the line would.
Why shouldn’t Paul Allen make that extra money instead? It’s his team and his arena. He and his front office are responsible for Kevin Pritchard’s hiring, Brandon Roy and everything else you love about the team right now. Would you rather have Whitsitt and the jailblazers back, so you can pay less for an inferior product? That’s like walking onto a car lot and asking for this year’s model at the previous model’s price. It doesn’t make good business sense.
Regarding Hedo Türkoğlu:
Look at the bright side, Blazers fans -- you dodged a bullet. He peaked statistically two years ago. He's allegedly 30 but could be closer to 32 or 33 for all we know. (Do you trust Turkish birth certificates? And isn't it weird that he played four years of pro ball in Turkey in the 1990s?)
- Bill Simmons of ESPN.com
Extreme Capitalism is harmful
I won’t go into that topic to much, but how about a better way that gives the blazers what they want, and gives fans a little of what they want?
Why not offer locked in pricing for $5 seats up to say… $25 seats. Those are people who are likely on a very restricted budget. Those who are paying more likely can afford some flex increases and it’s less likely to be a deterrent. It also opens up seats that are complete crap (see $5 seating) so fans can also get a decent view of the game on their budget.
I agree the blazers need to make money, but you can do it without completely screwing over your fan base too. So far the blazers have not been doing this well, in my opinion. (see comcast, and this flex rate) It may not hurt the blazers to do it (see the people who have to keep up with the joneses), but that doesn’t mean it won’t rub other fans the wrong way.
Couple that with the story of the purchasing of tickets that was shared… and I’m leaning towards “bad form blazers”.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
If the Blazers were the Bulls or Lakers
and raking in huge profits year after year, I’d agree with you, but they’re not. I can’t remember the last time that the franchise has turned a profit, and squeezing us for every last cent. I agree that the team marketing this as anything other than a de facto price increase is disingenuous, but that’s the worst of it in my eyes.
It’s still possible to go see a Blazer game for cheap, people will just have to go see Blake Griffin instead of LeBron. Maybe that’s not the greatest thing, but it’s not like you’re going to the games as a Blazer fan to watch the other team.
that's great for the Blazers
Not so great for me. I’ve been capitalized out of going to the games since 2005. – Elgin
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
Businesses should attempt to maximize profits. It makes them more efficient.
Most NBA teams are privately held, but corporations answer to shareholders, many of whom are ordinary working folks with 401(k)s or IRAs. Demanding that corporations lower prices to consumers means fewer profits for our retirement.
Good and Evil
Players demand $10M or more per year to entertain us or they bolt out the door to a team that can afford their “prices”, and fans almost universally defend the players right to make whatever the market will bear. Players are Good.
A team prices tickets for what the market will bear, while still losing money to pay those players, and fans claim the team owners are greedy. Team owners are Evil.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Sep 29, 2009 1:19 PM PDT reply actions
Roy gets a multi million dollar extention and now there is flex pricing...coincidence?
The price increases are just trying to pay for Roy. :-)
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
ah
“selfish” then
Come on you gotta listen unto me,
lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be. ~Johnny Cash
by HurraKane212 on Sep 29, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Doesnt every team do this?
I know the Warriors in the Bay area do. I know the OSU beavers football team does. I know a lot of baseball teams do. It makes sense, when you sell out every game you need to find some way to increase attractiveness of some games and make some extra money. I think it is better than all of the games being the same price but just more.
Really nothing to see here, move along.
I hope I can get a bunch of championships, like 15. " - Greg Oden
They should
but they actually charge a lot for the tix, i was really surprised how crappy their “club level” seats were, it was about 15 rows from the top, and they were not cheap either.
On another note did anyone see the Warriors media day? it was a joke, players fought and talked about how they wanted off the team. it was awesome.
I hope I can get a bunch of championships, like 15. " - Greg Oden
Blazers can charge all the want. I buy cheap seats from scalpers that get tickets for free.
If I don’t like the price I got home and watch it on a 55" HDTV. Really, not that big of a deal. Watching it in HD every game this year I’ll only catch a few games when I get free tickets.
You are really starting to seem like a downer. So should everything just be free then?
I hope I can get a bunch of championships, like 15. " - Greg Oden
Things should be affordable.
Wait a second – I know. Tough shxt if they’re not. – Elgin.
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
Brilliant remark, Mr. Sensitivity. Why didn't Elgin think of that?
I guess he’s just not up to your standards of intellectual and financial achievement.
More good advice can scarcely be packed into one sentence.
Bully for you, and your disposable income. Tell me all about how you spend it – I’m sure it will make me feel better. – Elgin
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
Bars sound like the College students option
For the cost of a pitcher of beer you can watch the entire game, while enjoying you beer.
Mountain out of a molehill (Econ 101)
Couple things I haven’t seen posted here
1) Those higher ticket prices were only in effect for yesterday, they are back down today. (They may change again 3 weeks before the game, when more tickets are released.)
2) There were only about 500 tickets per game released yesterday, that were subject to this pricing. (This is from my season ticket rep just now).
3) Season and Half season ticket prices were not affected. (This is one more way they are trying to get their money up front – can’t blame ’em!)
I am a one-eighth season ticket holder (alf season ticket shared with 3 other guys), and I wanted to get a ticket to the Cleveland game, too… I called yesterday, and prices WERE crazy high – $120 for the Blue section. I talked to my season ticket rep and she told me that if I wanted to take a chance and wait, that prices would be going down again today. So, I waited, and just scored that same Blue section seat for $65.
People attributing this to an ‘evil organization that doesn’t care about its fans’ are, IMO, pretty unrealistic and naive. Are plane tickets to Hawaii cheaper or more expensive on spring break and around Christmas? Yes. (Well, airlines ARE evil, I agree with that, maybe not such a good example.)
Maybe they should just charge by the margin of victory: if its a close game, like if we win in OT, they charge everybody another $2 as they leave.. Makes no sense you say? Well, I know, that’s the way I feel when people are calling the Blazers “evil” for doing what any undergrad econ major knows is entirely consistent with running any corporation in a capitalist economy…. increase price when demand exceeds supply!…
Oh, and 500 tickets out of 17000 will NOT change the “attitude” of the arena, even if it is true (which I don’t believe) that the “rich” don’t root as loudly for their team as the “poor”.
Blazers: RUN away with the title!
KP: Please don't trade the next decade's Scottie Pippen (Batum), Spanish Larry Bird (Rudy), Bill Russell (GO) or Captain BRoy - at least until they 3-peat..
by Visionary2 on Sep 29, 2009 2:06 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
That's some good information
Thank you for sharing.
I’m still going to be concerned about it, but we’ll see how this year plays out.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
great points all around
and for what it’s worth, the loudest fan I’ve ever gone to a game with was a rich dude.
Kobe is my profile pic because of this beatdown I received.
Ah market pricing means Security pricing
If you want to secure tickets to “good games” you will pay through the nose. If you take the risk to buy your tickets tomorrow than tickets will be less. The price will keep coming down each day until all the tickets are sold.
Those with minimal budgets will get the scraps of tickets that remain (if any on game day) or pony up for a ticket package.
This ain't communist Russia.
Free market capitalism has its drawbacks, but come on, Blazers tickets have been underpriced in relation to the market for the last several years. Heaven forbid the Blazers organization has incentive to continue the team’s success by actually turning a profit for a change.
The team lost money this past year, and has done so for the last 3+ years, and yet WE complain about how much of our disposable and discretionary income is flying out the door. If we were Clippers our Bulls fans I would understand the complaints, but come on, lets allow for the Blazers to actually get back into the Black before we get up in arms about price gouging.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
is it just me...
or does Ryan look like Przybilla with glasses?
But I like to be here. Oh, I like it a lot! Said the Cat in the Hat. To the fish in the pot.
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Sep 29, 2009 2:50 PM PDT reply actions
yeah, shoot dude...
i didn’t read the comments (obviously!)… but still should’ve seen yours just 3 up!!!
ME + SAME EXACT THOUGHT AS YOU ONLY 20 MINUTES LATER = LAME
But I like to be here. Oh, I like it a lot! Said the Cat in the Hat. To the fish in the pot.
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Oct 1, 2009 10:18 AM PDT up reply actions
300 level
The place will still sell out for the high priced games, as long as brandon roy, aldridge and oden don’t suffer season ending injuries in training camp.
But if there is a catastrophe, I bet you’ll see those prices fall or maybe some B1G1 deals.
Its crazy though, that I bought $9.00 300 level Laker tickets which are exactly 1 row behind the $47.50 laker tickets. Same view, but I’m saving nearly 40 bucks per ticket. That doesn’t seem fair.
by BornWinner on Sep 29, 2009 3:06 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
the better you inform yourself, the better deals you get
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
pizza roma it is...
"No disrespect to Jeff Blake"
by Eat Politicians on Sep 29, 2009 3:22 PM PDT reply actions
I'm confused by the statements being made here about flex pricing anyway
Because I bought tickets online yesterday to BOTH Laker games.
For each game I paid:
$9 per seat x2
$3 “service charge” x2
$5 transaction charge or whatever it is
$1.50 print at home option.
Total: $30.50 per game for 2 seats. That was yesterday at noon when the tickets went on sale, was the flex pricing not applied to online tickets and only at the box office or ? It just seems weird, everyone was talking about flex pricing before the season, but I thought $30 for 2 tickets seemed more than reasonable to attend the Laker games. (Considering last year I paid $40 PER TICKET scalped to attend the Laker games, in the Tan section).
Maybe I lucked out or something, but I didn’t see any affect of flex pricing when I purchased my tickets yesterday.
On the other hand, I am trying to put a group together to go to a Grizzlies game, and when I talked to the group sales rep (Graham Clancy, was awesomely helpful for any Blazer management reading this) he said that since the Grizzlies are expected to suck (duuuuhhh) that the discount on the tickets would be about 40%. So we were going to sit in the purple section for $18 a person.
The only effect the flex pricing had for me was SAVING me money… so I for one am all for it! :P
"Lighten up, Francis" - Sergeant Hulka
by Sexual Tyrannosaurus on Sep 29, 2009 6:27 PM PDT reply actions
So what's wrong with letting the free market decide ticket pricing?
That’s the way our economy works. Prices go up until demand meets supply. With the limited supply of the Rose Garden, some people won’t get to go. It just makes sense to reach an equilibrium. If you don’t want to spend extra for tickets, then don’t. Either everyone will think like you and the price will go down, or the price will be fair and at an equilibrium and remain the same without you.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.—Dune
yo its like this
they must still hold back a certain # of 9’s but after that the starting price for an a tier game is 47 bucks for a ticket that used to be 19, b tiers are 36-38 in the following tiers. thats alot but i would ask how much do the clippers charge to see the lakers, or boston for that matter. the pricing is relative and it reallyis the cheap bastards that do most of the complaining. most of my friends and family even myself dont like putting money upfront. if you do you can still get pretty good prices but its the ppl that wait untill the last minute that get boned. i boned myself a few games last year. the last week i sold some tickets to recoup costs for this years tickets and come game time i ended up buying from scalpers. and it was still worth it!
How dare the Blazers try to make money
Don’t they know they are supposed to ‘keep it weird’?
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