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how would YOU fix the sox attendance woes?


ewokpelts
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No matter what, baseball games, casinos, movies, etc. you invest two things, time and money. The investment of time and money has to be less than the benefit of doing something or you will stop doing it. "Bang for the buck" and "time well spent". Traffic become an issue when for a suburban fan they are investing upwards of seven hours attending a game. I'm basing this on two hour travel time each way and a three hour game. I disagree with the poster that suggested the team can't do anything about the traffic. They can, and have. They have entertainment before the games for early arriving fans. They have fireworks shows and such for people after the game. They have also worked with the city to improve traffic flow and public transportation. The after game stuff staggers when people are hitting the exits and helps with a smoother traffic flow. They have to continue making efforts in this area because it is a big factor for a lot of people. Survey after survey have pointed that out.

 

The Cubs benefit from their surroundings and people not minding chillin' after the game in the neighborhood, the Bears too although that is weather dependent. The neighborhoods around the Cell and the Stadium just doesn't have that same charm.

 

Side note, after attending games for 30 years my girlfriend insisted we take public trans to a game a couple summer's ago. I loved it. We just needed a better place to park the car than the nearly emptied parking garage in Skokie.

 

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QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 7, 2012 -> 08:21 PM)
Season ticket renewals right now over 90%. Last year they were 50%.

Just guessing, but that probably means that the people who were likely to drop their season tix did it last year, selecting for the diehards this year who will retain at a higher rate. I don't interpret it as THAT positive of a sign (not a bad one either, of course).

Edited by ScottyDo
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QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 10:41 AM)
Just guessing, but that probably means that the people who were likely to drop their season tix did it last year, selecting for the diehards this year who will retain at a higher rate. I don't interpret it as THAT positive of a sign (not a bad one either, of course).

 

The was my gut reaction as well.

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QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 10:41 AM)
Just guessing, but that probably means that the people who were likely to drop their season tix did it last year, selecting for the diehards this year who will retain at a higher rate. I don't interpret it as THAT positive of a sign (not a bad one either, of course).

If the renewal rate is that high so far, they will be able to talk a few of the non renewals up until now into renewing, and will bring some new accounts in. It is almost guaranteed right now they won't have their 7th straight season of attendance decline, and that is before they really complete their roster. You know one way one another, the new GM is going to put his stamp on this team which will mean a big name or 2. That will sell tickets.

Edited by Dick Allen
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QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 11:01 AM)
If the renewal rate is that high so far, they will be able to talk a few of the non renewals up until now into renewing, and will bring some new accounts in. It is almost guaranteed right now they won't have their 7th straight season of attendance decline, and that is before they really complete their roster. You know one way one another, the new GM is going to put his stamp on this team which will mean a big name or 2. That will sell tickets.

The sunday special and the corner sections with the flat pricing will easily push them back into 2 million. Remember theywere ONLY 35k below the 2011 number.

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QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 12:13 PM)
I got an email last night promoting the 7 game pack as low as $56.

 

They are tryin HARD.

 

And i think it's working.

 

I hope it's working, but I'm skeptical about the advance sales so far. Seems like the same "best seats" are available on the 14 game plan as were available last week.

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QUOTE (Marty34 @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 12:57 PM)
I hope it's working, but I'm skeptical about the advance sales so far. Seems like the same "best seats" are available on the 14 game plan as were available last week.

I think some 14 game plan holders upgraded to 27 game plans, as the cost increase is not that great.

I know there were several 7 and 14 game plans holders that decided to go up a size based off the lower prices and the playoff refunds they had in their accounts.

 

ALSO, it looks like they are holding more seats for the 27/81 game plans than they did in years past. You can actually see what seats are available on the ticketmanager site

Edited by ewokpelts
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QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 09:03 AM)
I would think that's largely due to the ticket policy for the postseason. Whatever the reason is, it's great news.

No. The Sox sent out playoff ticket invoices in 2011 and 2012, since they were in theoretical contention both times. Still had to pay for playoff tickets to keep your spot, both years.

 

Some of it may be what others said earlier, the less die-hard crowd may have been bigger the year before. But I doubt it was THAT much so. 90%+ vs 50%+ is a huge difference. And that doesn't include all the new plans people are buying. I'm starting to think the season ticket base may actually grow a fair amount for 2013. I think the lowering of ticket prices is working.

 

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QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 09:30 AM)
No. The Sox sent out playoff ticket invoices in 2011 and 2012, since they were in theoretical contention both times. Still had to pay for playoff tickets to keep your spot, both years.

 

Some of it may be what others said earlier, the less die-hard crowd may have been bigger the year before. But I doubt it was THAT much so. 90%+ vs 50%+ is a huge difference. And that doesn't include all the new plans people are buying. I'm starting to think the season ticket base may actually grow a fair amount for 2013. I think the lowering of ticket prices is working.

sox sent invoices out in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. all those years they failed to make the postseason. and sth renewals kept dropping in 2010, 2011 and 2012. the 2013 renewal rate is larger. I think the STH feel confident in management(on field and in the front office) that 2013 will be a "good" year.

 

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QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 09:30 AM)
No. The Sox sent out playoff ticket invoices in 2011 and 2012, since they were in theoretical contention both times. Still had to pay for playoff tickets to keep your spot, both years.

 

Some of it may be what others said earlier, the less die-hard crowd may have been bigger the year before. But I doubt it was THAT much so. 90%+ vs 50%+ is a huge difference. And that doesn't include all the new plans people are buying. I'm starting to think the season ticket base may actually grow a fair amount for 2013. I think the lowering of ticket prices is working.

 

The reason the STH renewal rate is higher this year is because the Sox were at least 10 games better in terms of playoff position than they were in 2011 when they sent out the renewal notices. I remain skeptical of sales of season ticket packages. There should be improvement when single game tickets go on sale.

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QUOTE (Marty34 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 11:45 PM)
The reason the STH renewal rate is higher this year is because the Sox were at least 10 games better in terms of playoff position than they were in 2011 when they sent out the renewal notices. I remain skeptical of sales of season ticket packages. There should be improvement when single game tickets go on sale.

 

 

At what point does the price of game tickets start to get out of reach of the average fan? Cost are aways going higher and thus so does ticket prices so clubs can recover their costs.

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