Packers To Raise Ticket Prices For 2011 Season

Mailing To Ticket Holders Also Discusses Refund Policy If Any 2011 Games Are Missed
The Green Bay Packers today announced plans for a price increase on stadium bowl tickets for the 2011 season. The increase has a range from $2 to $4, depending on the section in the stadium bowl.

Invoices being sent to season-ticket holders next week include a letter from Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy that discusses the increase.

This increase keeps us at the League average in terms of ticket price among NFL teams, allows us to remain competitive financially with other clubs and continues to recognize the value of Lambeau Fields game?day experience, Murphy said in the letter, with the latter point referring to Lambeau Fields high ranking by many media outlets.

Season tickets between the 20-yard lines (sections 115-124 and 322-330) will increase $4 to $87, other sideline seats (sections 109-114, 125-130, 314-320 and 332-338) will increase $3 to $76 and end-zone seats (sections 100-108, 131-138, 303-312 and 340-354) will increase $2 to $69. Payment is due in the Packers ticket office March 31.

Comparatively speaking around the NFC North for the 2010 season, the best sideline seat for the Vikings was $143, the Bears $125, and the Lions $110.

Murphy also discussed in the letter the teams ticket refund plan for any 2011 preseason or regular-season games that are missed due to a work stoppage. The NFL initially announced the league-wide policy in November 2010.

We expect the NFL will reach a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players, and so we are planning for the 2011 season, Murphy said. However, if there is a disruption in our home schedule, we want you to know the Packers will refund season ticket holders the ticket price for any games not played. We also are prepared to pay interest on the price of a ticket if a game is missed or rescheduled. We will provide more details if the parties are still negotiating in July when you receive your season tickets.

Additionally, Lambeau Field suite tickets in 2011 also will increase $4 to $87. Lease rates for suites and club seat ticket prices are set per client contracts, with invoices to be mailed in the next week or so. Details pertaining to suite and club seat holders regarding contingencies for missed games will be included as well in the mailing

If I were a negotiator for the players, I would use this as presumptive evidence of "why we need to see more financial info from the owners." The owners like to use the publicly disclosed figures of the Packers as evidence of how the owners profits have fallen, etc etc. Yet if you do the math, and hypothesize the revenue impact if GB were to increase its ticket prices in line with the rest of the division...i.e., by another $23-56 bucks each for the 70K seats at Lambeau, that would mean a pretty hefty increase to their bottom line:

Charge Detroit's prices: $23/seat x 70,000 seats/game x 10 home games/year = extra $16.1 million.
Charge Minnesota's prices: $56/seat x 70,000 seats/game x 10 home games/year = extra $39.2 million.

And if you try to imagine what it would be if they charged, say, Washington's prices or Dallas's prices....I'm betting the numbers would be even bigger.

---

Are you implying the teams are failing to fulfill their fiduciary obligation to maximize revenue?

---

1. Mainly I was just trying to point out my skepticism when I hear the billionaires talking about things being tight and using the Packers' reported numbers as evidence therefor. I.e., if the Packers can make their "small" profits at substantially below market ticket prices, what are the teams charging whatever the market will bear taking in?
2. But, to answer your specific question, I think it is financially irresponsible of the Packers to charge as much below the market as they are doing. I'm not saying they should charge as much as Minnesota/Dallas/etc. But when they are 25, 50, 75 per seat lower, they're leaving a lot of money on the table.

The Packers like to brag about the fact there are 50-80K on the waiting list for season tickets. That's not a biz model to brag about. That's one that is leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table. Tens of millions of dollarswhich could be used, among other things, to hirie talent to make an even better product to provide to the great majority of Packer fans. Instead of giving that value to 70,000 season ticket holders (who get either a below market price or the ability to reap the gains on the resale market), they could spend it providing even better produt to the millions of us who follow them on TV and the internet, the millions who buy lots more jerseys, tees, license plate holders, and other licensed stuff than the 70000 can.

I wouldn't label it a fiduciary failure (because I don't believe there's a fiduciary duty involved), but it does strike me as bad business practice.

If you have a lot more customers than you can satisfy at the current price, basic business economics says you should raise your price. And when demand is as inelastic as the demand for Packer tickets is, you should raise it more.

---

As I have said before, Wade I am glad you are not on the Board.

---

Sigh. I'm so unloved.

I need to rehabilitate myself. Hmm. Perhaps I should run for elected office. 🙂

---

In this era of football, ticket revenue has very little impact on the bottom line.

If you multiply $3 X 70,000 X 10 games, that's #2,10,000 extra per year. 40% of that goes to the opposing team (though the Packers get 40% of the take when visiting other teams). The money probably doesn't even cover increased costs from regular salary raises from regular staff and other cost of living increases.

I don't like it when my ticket prices go up, but the 80,000 people on The List are praying for me to give up my tickets.

It's the TV money the players are after.

On another note, it's strange football fans do not realize this fact: The NFL runs its business no different than the oil companies, AT&T, and cable TV companies.

---

Hey I don't hate you. I am glad you don't set GB policy that's all.

---

It's an interesting question Wade raises. How high would prices have to rise to bring the waiting list rolls down to a more reasonable number: say, under 10,000?

---

What you are missing on is the "prestige factor" that comes with having so many fans on the waiting list. GB likes to say that they are so beloved that there are 80,000 fans waiting for season tickets for a team based out of the smallest city with a professional franchise in a state with a modest overall population. (While Wisconsin is the 20th largest state in terms of population, there are only 3 states and DC with a smaller population that have an NFL team. Minnesota, Colorado and Louisiana are all pretty close in terms of popluation but none of them have that kind of a waiting list.)

---