Atlanta Falcons dropped prices by 50% - made more money

[OMG!WTF!]

I'd kill for waffle fries and a slice of pizza right now. I'd even go $3.50 on the fries.

[CroFlames]

This is related:

Quote:
Barcelona fans can get a season ticket for as little as £103.38, with Bayern not far behind at £109.65. That is cheaper than any of England’s 92 professional clubs, where prices start at £150 - at Charlton Athletic. City’s cheapest season-ticket is £299.
Quote:
The average Premier League season ticket now costs £508, compared to £138 in the Bundesliga.
Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...rn-Munich.html
(2014 numbers)


Conversely, the average price for a ticket to a single Maples Leafs game is $225 USD.

Source: https://www.vividseats.com/blog/nhl-ticket-prices


Europeans want their pro clubs to be accessible to everyone compared to North American leagues where they squeeze every penny out of a seat. I suppose we've let clubs get away with it by paying.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Flames have introduced the "Happy Hour" concept with reduced prices on food and drink (i.e. between 5:30 and 6:30 for a 7:00 game) and it appears the uptake has been pretty good. Unfortunately, I'm not sure they would have the capacity to meet any increase in demand during the actual game (and especially intermissions)...

The happy hour before the game is great.

$5 beer (12oz I think)/wine/highballs, cheese burger, pizza. Plus you beat the security line.

[GordonBlue]

another thing the falcons did with pricing was have rounded off prices that already includes tax. they said "no change would help serve to speed the ease of transactions."

very smart way to keep the lines moving.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

This is related:

Quote:
Barcelona fans can get a season ticket for as little as £103.38, with Bayern not far behind at £109.65. That is cheaper than any of England’s 92 professional clubs, where prices start at £150 - at Charlton Athletic. City’s cheapest season-ticket is £299.
Quote:
The average Premier League season ticket now costs £508, compared to £138 in the Bundesliga.
Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...rn-Munich.html
(2014 numbers)


Conversely, the average price for a ticket to a single Maples Leafs game is $225 USD.

Source: https://www.vividseats.com/blog/nhl-ticket-prices


Europeans want their pro clubs to be accessible to everyone compared to North American leagues where they squeeze every penny out of a seat. I suppose we've let clubs get away with it by paying.

Dont forget that most Leagues are no longer Gate-Driven in regards to Revenue, they make most of their money from TV and the EPL is a shining example. Thats all just gravy.

[CroFlames]

Hasn't the Rogers deal made the NHL the same?

[GordonBlue]

someone should send the article to Calgary city council.
then the next time ken king cries poor about revenue streams, Nenshi can suggest flames first lower their prices.

[nfotiu]

I like this story as well. It seems like the idea of sports teams charging to the absolute threshold of what people will pay is not always the best long term strategy for building fan bases.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Hasn't the Rogers deal made the NHL the same?

I think by most counts the NHL is largely a gate driven league still. Could be wrong though.

[stampsx2]

Walked over to the concession at an Angels game last year to buy a hot dog and beer. The price was $9 u.s. for each. Didn’t get anything. Went to a Carls jr after the game instead.

[Flash Walken]

This has been a bad week for CalgaryNEXT

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

CalgaryNEXT is bad

Fixed

[Ozy_Flame]

Spent $10.25 on a tall boy Mill Street Organic at the game yesterday. My other option was Goose Island or Budweiser for basically the same price.

My buddy got a double Whiskey Sour for $17. That's insane.

For $10.25, you can basically get dinner at the Dome.

It's sad that they marked up drinks to basically be the same as a full plate of food.

[bizaro86]

Article is a bit misleading, as I doubt they earned more. It says fans spent 16% more, but if costs went up by more than revenues went up, then they earned less.

Given they presumably sold more than 2x as much food/drink (if prices were 50% lower) and paid to staff all those extra beer taps/concessions, I bet expenses were up materially.

Maybe they made it up on merchandise (and especially fan loyalty), but there isn't enough info in the article to say for sure.

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

another thing the falcons did with pricing was have rounded off prices that already includes tax. they said "no change would help serve to speed the ease of transactions."

very smart way to keep the lines moving.

But how do they raise beer prices by $0.25 every season then?

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I think by most counts the NHL is largely a gate driven league still. Could be wrong though.

It is and it isn't. Rogers deal just goes into the national pool. Lucrative RSN deals counting on subscriber fees from big markets with small viewership and other revenue funds a lot of franchises.

A couple examples:
https://www.forbes.com/teams/florida-panthers/
100m in revenue from 15m in gate receipts.

https://www.forbes.com/teams/los-angeles-kings/
175m on 54m

Canadian team are more like 50/50.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

This is related:

Quote:
Barcelona fans can get a season ticket for as little as £103.38, with Bayern not far behind at £109.65. That is cheaper than any of England’s 92 professional clubs, where prices start at £150 - at Charlton Athletic. City’s cheapest season-ticket is £299.
Quote:
The average Premier League season ticket now costs £508, compared to £138 in the Bundesliga.
Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...rn-Munich.html
(2014 numbers)


Conversely, the average price for a ticket to a single Maples Leafs game is $225 USD.

Source: https://www.vividseats.com/blog/nhl-ticket-prices


Europeans want their pro clubs to be accessible to everyone compared to North American leagues where they squeeze every penny out of a seat. I suppose we've let clubs get away with it by paying.

Originally Posted by Locke

Dont forget that most Leagues are no longer Gate-Driven in regards to Revenue, they make most of their money from TV and the EPL is a shining example. Thats all just gravy.

I feel too that there's so many football clubs in Europe that play at a high level. So there's a lot of competition in drawing interest towards your own club. Best way to make fans is to have them at the game.

[#-3]

The happy hour at the dome has pretty much proven this works here, I talked to the Flame Broiler supervisor during happy hour and she said their burger sales have tripled this year because of that.

The Merch is harder, I think the Jerseys are league controlled, and a big cut goes back to the league on each sale.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Joborule

I feel too that there's so many football clubs in Europe that play at a high level. So there's a lot of competition in drawing interest towards your own club. Best way to make fans is to have them at the game.

Yeah, there will be a reckoning in North American sports in the next few years. They've been benefiting from lucrative TV deals that don't care that some markets viewership is too low to measure, public financed stadiums, and corporate money and forgot to care about the actual fans of the sport.

The TV money will be the first to go. The public is turning a bit on financing stadiums. If the fans stop caring, eventually the corporate money will dry up too.