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Saturday, March 05, 2005 |
Rocket-Fueled Tickets
Jon asks why Dodger tickets are such hot sellers. Here's my ideas --
- The dead hockey season has shifted some of those fans to baseball. This has had two effects. First, some hockey fans are also baseball fans, and they're looking forward to sports events. So money not spent on hockey is being redirected to baseball.
- Also in the absence of hockey, media attention is being redirected to baseball. Look at any of the big magazines, whether Sports Illustrated or ESPN the Magazine, they've got baseball stories. Suddenly, instead of being a story buried in the bottom half of the magazine, spring training is the big story. As they say, you can't buy this kind of publicity, and it's helping to keep people interested in baseball.
- Similarly, the Lakers are in a period of decline. No longer the clear league favorites they once were (and with a Clippers team that has rarely been above mediocre), the LA area is ready for a team that looks ready to break out.
- The Dodgers' division win gives fans hope. It never hurts to win a championship of any kind, and Paul DePodesta's radical -- but mostly successful -- moves are winning over fans. Now, winning division titles, while nice, are hardly a guarantee of future attendance: look at the Twins, whose attendance declined 34,521 from 2003 to 2004 despite winning division titles since 2002, and the Braves, who've seen a declining gate since 1997. But, for a Dodgers team that hadn't even won a postseason game since 1988, the postseason appearance fuels hope that the team is headed in the right direction.
- The Dodgers' tumultuous offseason has kept the team in focus. Love it or hate it, everyone following the Dodgers has opinions about the offseason's radical overhaul. Beltre? Gone. J.D. Drew? An injury magnet? Letting Jose Lima walk? It's all about the team, and the fans are all over it.
- Arte Moreno's big ad campaign in Los Angeles is having a secondary effect: it's selling tickets for the Dodgers. For years, "restaurant rows" have reported better sales than standalone restaurants, despite the apparent increased competition. The reason for this is obvious: it's easier to get people to go to one place and make a decision there than it is to get them to make a decision and then go to the restaurant. Similarly, by boosting his team -- and in turn getting the Dodgers to go out and market their club harder -- Arte has expanded the overall market for baseball in southern California. It's a case where one plus one equals three.
Comments:
Rob,
I think you are wrong in your assumption. More opening day tickets were held back this year as part of packages they are hoping to sell later.
I would love to see the number of season tickets sold this year. I for one did not renew my season tickets after seeing the joke of an offseason, and the new stadium experience of crappy lame music and over commercialization.
My guess is season ticket sales are down significantly and single game ticket sales are down considerably.
How fast a game that sells out every year sells out is irrelevent to overall ticket sales.
I think you are wrong in your assumption. More opening day tickets were held back this year as part of packages they are hoping to sell later.
I would love to see the number of season tickets sold this year. I for one did not renew my season tickets after seeing the joke of an offseason, and the new stadium experience of crappy lame music and over commercialization.
My guess is season ticket sales are down significantly and single game ticket sales are down considerably.
How fast a game that sells out every year sells out is irrelevent to overall ticket sales.
# posted by 
: 3/05/2005 01:59:00 PM
: 3/05/2005 01:59:00 PM
forgot one other thing, you can no longer call in ticket orders. You either have to use TicketBastard online or over the phone, get charged an extra $4 per ticket convienence fee plus shipping and handling, or you have to show up in person.
# posted by : 3/05/2005 02:02:00 PM
: 3/05/2005 02:02:00 PM
I wasn't surprised when I read that Frank had moved the Dodgers to Ticketmaster. I also wouldn't be surprised if he was making an additional kickback on the $4. TM is very much a ripoff; they used to provide a value-add back in the pre-Internet days, but now they're just a parasite.
I very much suspect you're in the minority as to re-upping your season tickets.
I very much suspect you're in the minority as to re-upping your season tickets.
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