I found the Giant write up to be the most interesting. As usual, the Jets are full of shit. I just copied the Football teams http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2009/05/02/2009-05-02_high_cost_of_being_a_fan.html GIANTS PRICE CHECK: After 10 months of trying, the Giants have still not sold out their PSLs. They have offered PSLs to every season-ticket holder, and to all 140,000 people on their waiting list. Obviously this is not what they expected. They never dreamed they'd go 10 months and through their entire waiting list and still not be sold out. But when you look at the prices, you can see why. The remaining PSLs are in three areas: Coach's Club, Mezzanine A and Mezzanine B. The Coach's Club runs you a $20,000 PSL, plus $700 per game ticket, Mezzanine A is $12,500 PSL plus a $500 game ticket and Mezzanine B is $7,500 PSL plus a $400 game ticket. They have no plans to lower the prices - which would be problematic, given how they've already sold some at those prices. The bottom line is the remaining PSLs are priced for corporations, not for people. Corporations aren't buying them, and people on the waiting list don't seem to want to pay those prices. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "We are in the final stage of selling those PSLs," said Pat Hanlon, Giants VP of communications, "and we are confident that we will be sold out when the stadium opens in 2010." - Ralph Vacchiano JETS PRICE CHECK: On Friday, the Jets begin offering non-club PSLs and upper bowl non-PSL seats to season-ticket holders in order of seniority. The team, which didn't raise ticket prices in 2009, has no plans to lower the current PSL prices, said Jets vice president of business operations Matt Higgins. Of the club seats, they auctioned 700 of the 2,000 available seats, with an average price of $28,000 per seat. They have 14,000 people on the waiting list, which they estimate translates to 35,000 tickets. FOR THE FANS: The Jets are offering a 15-year financing plan for PSLs. The interest rate is 8%, with 20% down, and there's no pre-payment penalty. Higgins said 90% of the fans are taking advantage of the financing plan. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "We anticipate (the PSLs) moving very quickly. ... I also think, to some extent, our timing is about right," Higgins said. "There seems to be optimism from the people we're talking to (that the worst of the economic crisis is over). We still feel very confident the stadium will be sold out." - Rich Cimini Read more: "Daily News looks at local teams & tells you who has best deals" - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2...st_of_being_a_fan.html?page=1#ixzz0EUBdBSCo&A
Money will always be a problem. My main concern is that the high cost of being an NY fan is that our teams don't win.
The biggest issue is that you don't know what you're investing in with a PSL. The Jets could raise tickets prices so high, you can't afford to keep them, and then, if you want to get rid of them, you won't be able to sell them for even their original value. It's a sucker's bet. Either way, they're going to see empty stadium seats in the years to come. Teams go through bad years, and if you've got corporations holding tickets, that translates to empty seats when the team's going nowhere. The Jets and Giants should take a long hard look at the Mets and Yankees games...brand new stadiums, in April, and there's thousands of empty seats. Real fans will come no matter how bad the team or the weather. Corporations can't give tickets away when the game's don't matter and the calendar turns to NOvember.
The smart thing would have been to build the stadium during a recession and sell the PSLs during the following boom times. Instead they did it the other way around, way to be a genius.
I joined the waiting list sometime last year. I guess they might call me to buy up a PSL but there's no way I could pay those prices (nor would I out of principle). I'll just wait 10 years and (hopefully) get non-PSL season tickets by my mid 30's.
yea...wussup with the jets not calling the wait list members at all (i'm in the 4000s wait list)? you wud think with the psls not selling they'd at least give it a shot.
90% of the fans are using the financing plan? What does that mean? I assume it means 905 of the fans that BOUGHT Psls are using the finance plan. The Jets have not said sold most of their PSL's -- although they probably are trying to give that impression. I assume that the upper level will sell out completely. I also assume that the lower level will not and theyll be left with the Yankee problem. Or people will take the plan -- and then get foreclosed on their PSL's.
wow foreclosed on their psl. thats a damn shame. but i guarantee you it will happen. the shame is that the jets and giants have way too many high priced seats. at least the yankees have alot of decent to low priced seats. the jets have raised all the seat prices and the 1st 2 levels on the sidelines are disgusting.
Basically, the Upper Deck will be filled, and then the seats behind each End Zone will be packed (so FGs and PATs will look great on TV). But the sides of the lower level and mezz should be pretty sparsely populated. I don't think normal folk will go for $10k PSLs. I think the $5ks will go, but I think $10k may be where it cuts off. I guess there's a chance the $10ks will go since the tickets are still "only" $140, but I can't imagine many people paying $10k and I REALLY doubt many folks will pay $15k. And basically no one is taking those $400/ticket plans. Take a look at the chart and associated costs. I think it's pretty clear how it will look. I also assume the Jets realize this at this point, and I'm curious about what they'll do to correct or if they'll just go with the empty seats and hope it fills out down the road. http://www.newjetsstadium.com/seating-chart.html
mezz sideline seats where sweet. i can justify $400 a game ticket.plus the whole reason im doing this is to keep the father son tradition going. if i had all girls this would be my last year.and just go to games here and there.
Well put. I am not a season ticket holder, have only been to about 10 games in the last 25 years. Each time I have gotten free tickets. I enjoyed going to the game, it is fun. But I can never justify paying 500 bucks for a ticket, being that the tickets I sat in were about 15 rows from the field I am guessing they would cost a pretty penny. The teams are just seeing how far they can push it to make the maximum profit. And I agree, you know damn well they will raise the prices, and the PSL holders, they will have to pay up. I will just sit home and watch the games on the big screen. No big loss.
If the economy rebounds the PSL's will sell just fine. If it doesn't rebound we'll probably be at 28 NFL teams in a few years (including the Giants and Jets) and the whole financial underpinning of the business will be different at that point. The big question is what is going to happen to the blackout rule over the next season or two? There are definitely going to be some unsold tickets at many games in that timespan and the NFL needs to keep televising locally or they lose the inherent advertising for the tickets that are going unsold.
Yes, and those Mezz Sideline seats all seam to be Club Suites. Those must be completely targeted to businesses since normal folk, especially now, can't pay $8-10k per year (for 2 seats @$400-500 each) or $16-20k per year (for 4 seats). No way those sell other than to businesses or the extremely rich. Even the lawyer or VP making $200-300k/year in salary is passing at those prices. So it will be empty between the 30 to 50 to 30 yard lines, except in the upper deck, then nearly empty in the sideline mezz. Then sparse in the rest of the lower sides, then full in the end zones and uppers. Maybe the Jets are looking to create a pattern or spell something with the empty seats!
So you believe spending $700 bucks to watch a three hour football game is worth it? Just when the economy rebounds?
Dollar-cost average that $400 ticket price into a Roth IRA College Education Vanguard 500 Index Fund over the next decade for your son. Start it off by seeding it now with the money you would have given the Jets in the form of a PSL and then you've really got a father-son tradition going. Woody's banking on guys like you and I wanting to carry on "tradition," that's where he's getting the balls to soak us so badly. I've had this discussion with my own son who now has his own child, and we both agree thie money will be better spent educating my grandkids than spending it on disco balls in the Club Lounge. It doesn't mean the end of watching games together either. Not buying the PSLs is the best of both worlds. Watch the game on TV sometimes and grab an occasional ticket on eBay for 10 cents on the dollar when the suckers who paid the PSL need to bail on a game.
