Flames organization pushes too far for playoff revenue; Fan support is there

[chopper89]

In green, section 208, row 21....season's tickets were $53/seat, all-in with taxes, etc.

The same seat for the playoffs is $137/seat, all-in with taxes.

So, while the games have been great- I'm not happy that they have no qualms hitting up the people who have been supporting them for years with a 158% increase.

But we pay it...so, who's the dummy?

[JBR]

There's no place like the Saddledome for playoff action, but for comparison sakes... 2 tickets to game 2 in Anaheim, lowers row 10 on the faceoff dot were $79 USD (STH face value).

Call it supply and demand, I suppose, but it cost me only slightly more to cash in Aeroplan miles, fly to LA, get a car, 2 tickets, 3 nights hotel in Santa Monica, 2 Clippers game 7 tickets... than to purchase 2 comparable seats for game 3 in Calgary.

This would never happen under a NDP juggerna.... wait, WHAT?

[bettman]

Just don't pay it. It's the reality in pro sports, everywhere. NBA. MLB. NFL. . Don't go and don't whine about it.

[Hakan and the Loobs]

Originally Posted by chopper89

In green, section 208, row 21....season's tickets were $53/seat, all-in with taxes, etc.

The same seat for the playoffs is $137/seat, all-in with taxes.

So, while the games have been great- I'm not happy that they have no qualms hitting up the people who have been supporting them for years with a 158% increase.

But we pay it...so, who's the dummy?

I'm a STH in the green section as well and my costs for round 2 were $69/seat. If you chose the pay as they play option then they charged you for games 3 and 4 at the same time so that is where the confusion may lie? For round 1 it was $59/seat and my regular season costs are $39/seat so the increase for playoffs isn't ridiculous for the green section.

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by heep223

Weird. There were 6 seats right beside us that were empty all game. Mid 2nd bowl.

Weird. Attendance was 19,289.

[Brewmaster]

It's a good thing the Flames have played some exciting hockey and are 4-0 at home this playoffs. The team seems to have priced the tickets right at the brink of what the market will bear. After the two ugly losses in Anaheim, they didn't quite sell out the dome last night and the high price of tickets was the main reason why. Round 2 playoff tickets are 2.5 - 3 times regular season face value. Combine that with a local recession in the energy industry and it's not surprising folks aren't lining up to pay that kind of money.

[RM14]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

Weird. Attendance was 19,289.

Weird.. the seats to the left and right of my pair were empty the entire game

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by chopper89

In green, section 208, row 21....season's tickets were $53/seat, all-in with taxes, etc.

The same seat for the playoffs is $137/seat, all-in with taxes.

So, while the games have been great- I'm not happy that they have no qualms hitting up the people who have been supporting them for years with a 158% increase.

But we pay it...so, who's the dummy?

Supply and demand. In the playoffs, supply stays the same but demand increases.

I'd rather see the Flames getting the money than scalpers anyway. Especially that one with the fedora with the feather in it. Is that guy still around?

[Lil Pedro]

It's the second round of the playoffs, what did you expect?

If you aren't prepared to pay for it, go buy Hitmen tickets next year or watch the game on TV.

[Vinny01]

I paid $500 per seat for 217 tickets to game 6 last series. It did include beers, food, and a souvenir puck but still those seats are $60 in the regular season and $500 is steep even taking into consideration the booze and food. The sales rep for the Flames told me the prices only go up as the playoffs go deeper.

I have my company seats for Friday and the face value in the season is $160 and the face for game 4 is $406 which is insane

[Russic]

I know it's cold to say, but the Flames aren't your dad. They're a business that aims to make money, and they're in a position to do so.

My season ticket is in the bleeders, and it's $45/game.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by flameswin

It's a few hundred for sure. I couldn't bring myself to sit there and count all the little blue dots, but I did count the larger end of the lower bowl and there's about 120 available just in that end alone.

Just a real rough estimate (maybe someone is game to get a closer number) there looks to be about 200 in the lower bowl and 250 in the second tier.

Many of these seats are the ones unclaimed by the Flames, Ducks, NHLPA and NHL officials that were just released. It was negotiated into the most recent CBA to get better access to tickets and have a later deadline on whether to claim them. They used to get released around 10am on gameday, whereas now it's about 5 hours before puck drop. You'll see the same thing in every arena.

Each player is allowed two free tickets per game. They are also allowed to purchase up to 14 (I think this is the number, but I might be off) tickets through the NHL. Any unclaimed get released as stated above. Most of these tickets are in the lower bowl.

[nik-]

Just wait until the new building when it has 1000 less seats.

[tvp2003]

Didn't see it mentioned but the Flames were offering a "Playoff Experience" with Brian Burke at $800 a ticket:

- Suite ticket
- Meet and greet
- Buffet dinner
- Souvenir photo

Wonder if there were any takers...

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by chopper89

In green, section 208, row 21....season's tickets were $53/seat, all-in with taxes, etc.

The same seat for the playoffs is $137/seat, all-in with taxes.

So, while the games have been great- I'm not happy that they have no qualms hitting up the people who have been supporting them for years with a 158% increase.

But we pay it...so, who's the dummy?

I don't think this is correct or it's not a fair comparison. I have greens as well. My STH cost was about $42.05 per seat ($1,723.93 per seat / 41 regular season games). I don't include pre-season games in the total games, but I do for total cost. If they were included it would be $38.31 per seat, per game. The face value of these seats were between $59-82 during the regular season.

In round one of the playoffs my cost was $59.26 per seat, per game. In round two it was $69.13. That's a 41% increase ($17.21) from the regular season to round 1 and a further 17% increase ($9.87) from round 1 to round 2. Round 2 tickets are priced 64% above ($27.08) the regular season.

It's not fair to compare the face value of the playoffs in round two to the STH price in the regular season. I'm also not sure where you are pulling your numbers from. I don't think it's unreasonable for the Flames to increase prices each round. The demand goes up and the supply actually goes down. If they make it to the SCF, the amount of tickets released to the public is dramatically smaller than the amount released in round 1. The Flames continue to take care of their season ticket holders, as they should, because these are the people that support them all year. If they don't raise the prices for the tickets that get released to the general public, they are leaving money on the table. The prices will still be paid, but they will be paid to people on the secondary market.

[polak]

No one is "blaming" the Flames. I think the general consensus is just don't blame the fans.

Saying BS like "It's sad that we can't sell out a 2nd round game" is what the issue is. We can (and we apparently did) but were also not going to pay a ridiculous sum for tickets.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

Weird. Attendance was 19,289.

Haha, even in the regular season if they can get to about 18900 they'll usually announce 19289. There was no way they were going to announce a playoff non-sellout.

I know during the opening intro you could see that one giant chunk of empty seats that were on ticketmaster. The Flames had employee/cheerleader dudes go in there with big pom poms and they were dancing around and pumping up the crowd in there.

There was definitely a noticeable amount of seats that were empty all game.

[iggyoi]

The flames clearly view this as a supply demand issue and have priced the tickets at the margins. Sure this eliminates scalping profits and as a business in the short term it makes sense. But they have forgotten one key issue.

They play in a league with 82 game seasons and the casual fan has a hard time keeping their attention. The playoffs are a short, intense and exciting window for a fan to get absorbed in hockey. I was at last nights game and the atmosphere was electric and something i will never forget. This is a fantastic opportunity to cultivate a broader fan base to experience the excitement of hockey. The pricing practice has made this experience only accessible to loyal fans or wealthy people.

When buffalo is in town in the dead winter on a tuesday night that fan will be much more likely to go to see that game than had they never experienced the excitement of a playoff game. You wonder if making playoff tickets more broadly accessinle would in the long run actually make the team more money. While technically the flames report sellouts the reality is they are not and a broader fane base would allow extra pricing power.

I can see why they did what they did, but i wonder if it actually results in the team making more money.

[iggyoi]

The flames clearly view this as a supply demand issue and have priced the tickets at the margins. Sure this eliminates scalping profits and as a business in the short term it makes sense. But they have forgotten one key issue.

They play in a league with 82 game seasons and the casual fan has a hard time keeping their attention. The playoffs are a short, intense and exciting window for a fan to get absorbed in hockey. I was at last nights game and the atmosphere was electric and something i will never forget. This is a fantastic opportunity to cultivate a broader fan base to experience the excitement of hockey. The pricing practice has made this experience only accessible to loyal fans or wealthy people.

When buffalo is in town in the dead winter on a tuesday night that fan will be much more likely to go to see that game than had they never experienced the excitement of a playoff game. You wonder if making playoff tickets more broadly accessinle would in the long run actually make the team more money. While technically the flames report sellouts the reality is they are not and a broader fane base would allow extra pricing power.

I can see why they did what they did, but i wonder if it actually results in the team making more money.

[united]

Yeah, there was a row of eight for sale on Ticketmaster 2.5 hours before the game and my friends bought four of them. The other four sat empty the entire game, presumably unpurchased...unless the Flames "bought" them.