$63* Mets opening day tickets? Not for me
The New York Mets put Opening Day tickets on sale this morning, and a lot of Mets fans experienced a bit of sticker shock.
As Shannon reports at Mets Police, it would cost a minimum of $63 (before fees) to go to the game on April 1st. And I’d feel like an April Fool to pay that much to watch a baseball game with a view like the one here. Decent seats – in the Promenade Infield or Promenade Box categories – cost $84 (again, before fees.)
Want to be at field level? It’s going to cost $130 to sit in the outfield, or $165 to sit in the cheapest baseline category (once again, before fees.)
Quoting Shannon:
Two tickets, opening day in the uppers (bot not behind home plate) $142.50
Seriously folks, think long and hard if you want to support this one. Wow.
Ownership’s instinct is clearly telling them to maximize their profits on one of three games that could be a sellout in 2013.
If they can sell all of the seats at these prices, they were right. (How often has Mets ownership been right about anything recently?)
Ten hours later, they still had tickets available in the cheapest category – no instant sellout here.
I think I’m going to skip opening day next year. If the Mets were going to put together a big, splashy off-season like they did before the 2005 season, I’d be more likely to set common sense aside – but it’s just not worth spending that much money to go to a game that I can watch on TV with a better view.
And guys, I hope that you plan to announce new contracts for David Wright and R.A. Dickey soon…
Ticket prices, Tim Byrdak’s shoulder & more
A pretty sight at Monday night’s Newark Bears game
I barely realized that Tim Byrdak had landed on the disabled list last week while the Mets were playing in California, but it seems all too likely that he has thrown his last pitch of the 2012 season. He has been diagnosed with an anterior capsule tear in his left shoulder, which is the same injury that forced Johan Santana and Chris Young to have season-ending surgery in recent years.
Given Byrdak’s age, I have to wonder if he’d going to try to continue pitching or if he’ll just retire. In either event, I wish him the best.
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The Mets sent out a renewal notice to their season ticketholders and it sure looks like prices are going to go up in 2013. I’d sure like to know what the Wilpon family is thinking – the Mets have not exactly been working on a sellout streak at Citi Field.
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We should get to see the 2013 All-Star Game logo this afternoon. Hopefully whoever designed the logo for Citi Field’s inaugural season was not involved in any way.
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Oh, and I got to see the Newark Bears win a game for the first time in ages last night. (For the curious, Kansas City T-Bones’ first base coach Frank White does not travel.)
Sticker shock (or the joys of ‘dynamic pricing’ and ticket fees)
Yesterday, I attempted to take advantage of one of the Mets’ single game pre-sale opportunities to buy tickets for Opening Day and Banner Day. It took about ten minutes to get out of the “virtual waiting room” in the morning. (I checked back later in the day with no wait.)
For Opening Day, I was offered a choice of Promenade Reserved, Promenade Outfield, and tickets that cost more than I was even willing to consider. So I picked Promenade Reserved and was offered Section 528 for $50 per seat plus a $7 fee per ticket. I wasn’t thrilled, but Banner Day had to be cheaper, right?
For the May 27th game, there was a larger selection of seating categories. I picked Promenade Box, but could have chosen Promenade Reserved, Promenade Infield, Pepsi Porch or Left Field Landing for the same price – $40 per seat plus a $6 fee per ticket.
To go to two baseball games and sit in the upper deck, it would cost $103 per seat plus a $6 per order fee!
Let’s put that in perspective. Last year, I spent $123 for a Promenade Infield seat for Opening Day and five other games through a flex plan promotion. (The Mets did not charge any per ticket or per order fees.)
I ended up not placing the order.
Yesterday evening, I decided to take a better look at the six game marquee flex packs being offered this year – maybe they’re a better value. I was able to put one together with Opening Day, Banner Day, three early-season weekend games and a game from Jose Reyes’ first series back at Citi Field for $128 per Promenade Reserve seat (I was offered Section 519.) Not too bad, right?
2012 New York Mets ticket plans and other odds & ends
Yesterday, the New York Mets announced 15- and 20-game ticket packages for people who aren’t looking for full or half-season ticket plans.
There are four different 20-game packages; two feature weekend games, two are made of weekday games. Of the weekend plans, one has Opening Day, and the other has two Yankees games. These replace the old 15-game Saturday+, Sunday+ and Weekend+ packages.
The new 15 game plans allow you to select one of four Marquee Level games (Opening Day and the three Yankees games) and pick 14 other games of your choice. You may or may not keep the same seats for all of the games.
I like the idea that the new plans offer more fan choice, but Shannon at Mets Police did the math to show the new plans could work out to cost more money than the old ones.
Jason Pridie's 2011 Topps Update baseball card
I’m not really interested in making the trip from New Jersey to Queens 15 or 20 times next year, and my budget really can’t afford them anyway. (The cheapest weekend 20-game plan is $468 per seat; I have no inclination to do the math on the possible 15-game options.)
If the Mets bring back the 5 or 6 game packs that they offered this year, I’ll go for it again. If not, I’ll make a point of going to an April weekend game to see what changed at the ballpark & museum, and go to a few others somewhere along the way.
Speaking of Citi Field, the Mets shared a picture of the work on the outfield wall modifications yesterday.
One 2011 New York Mets player who won’t be back next year is Jason Pridie. The reserve outfielder signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics organization, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Best of luck!
Mets Introduce Dynamic Ticket Pricing For 2012 (updated)
The New York Mets announced that they will be lowering prices for most full season ticket holders today, but of more import for most us is the news that they will introduce dynamic pricing for 2012 single game tickets.
Quoting the press release (emphasis added):
The Mets will introduce dynamic pricing for 2012 single game tickets. The face value of single game tickets will initially be offered in March 2012 at prices at or below 2011 prices. As time progresses, those prices may be adjusted on a real-time basis, either upwards or downwards, based on market demand. The ability for the Mets to adjust prices throughout the season will provide all fans with a variety of pricing options.
However, the Mets will not price single game tickets in Season Ticket Holder areas below the Season Ticket Holder discounted prices.
The dynamic pricing system will be powered by Qcue, Inc., which provides dynamic pricing for live entertainment and sports teams including the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. In addition, Qcue works with clubs in the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League.
Kids go free to Citi Field this weekend
Francisco Rodriguez will return to Citi Field this weekend for the first time since being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Parents can get up to three free tickets for children 12 and under with the purchase of a regularly-priced seat for this weekend’s games against the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s a fan-friendly move aimed at helping to fill a stadium that’s likely to be half-empty or worse, considering the team’s August slide.
Of course, if the team had been more realistic in their ticket pricing from the start, it might not be necessary to hand out freebies now. Since it’s a summer weekend, Promenade Reserved seats – the ones that always seem to be empty – are $32 and prices climb from there.To watch the game from the field level (outfield reserved seating excluded), fans are being asked to spend at least $80 per seat.
On Sunday, Lincoln is sponsoring a David Wright drawstring bag giveaway. Kids 12 and under will be able to run the bases after the game. This will be a great opportunity for families to enjoy a fun & affordable day at the ballpark and get a souvenir. Too bad the Mets don’t offer this sort of value more often.
I’m still tempted to go myself to see Francisco Rodriguez‘s return to Citi Field, but I will probably save some money and go to a Newark Bears game instead.
Apparently lowering ticket prices means it’s ok to raise ticket fees
According to a report at Ticket News by Alfred Branch Jr., the Mets raised their convenience and processing fees this year even as they lowered some ticket prices.
Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times breaks down the fees charged by all 30 teams, and the Mets charge the second-highest price – $10.50. Only the Red Sox charge more at $11.25; the Brewers have the lowest fee – $2.50.
The Mets are the only team that charges to mail your tickets to you, though amazingly enough all 30 teams charge to print your own tickets at home. I’m still scratching my head at that one.
If you don’t want to pay the Mets’ ticket fees, my advice is to wait and get your tickets at the gameday sales window at Citi Field. The fees don’t currently apply to tickets purchased at the ballpark. Of course, who knows whether that will still be true next year?
