After a great deal of consultation and deliberation, we can now announce the details for the 2008 Cauldron. The section is going to be the area that is currently the left field berm--we are installing bleachers in that whole area. The full season ticket price in The Cauldron will be $299, $35 less than standard bleacher pricing. The half season and walkup pricing will be the same as standard bleacher pricing, $190 (for 10 games) and $20 respectively. Full season ticket holders get a parking pass in the close paved lot, unused ticket exchange privileges, and more. If you have been waiting on this to renew, and wish to do so, please do so via AccountManager, or drop me a line. The installation of these bleachers is a (remarkably) expensive undertaking, and this is, more than any other decision made with regard to the seating at CAB, a decision of policy rather than the bottom line. The organization wants The Cauldron to provide home field advantage, and being a few yards from the goal and near the corner flag can help in that regard, more than any other spot. The safety concerns played some role in choosing to not leave that as berm; the comfort concerns did as well. Plus, you can make a lot more noise on metal. There are approximately 700 spots in that section. The success of this experiment will determine the size of The Cauldron in the new stadium. We made huge strides last year, but we need to build on it. We need to fill these seats. To order season tickets for next year, please email (spierron@kcwizards.com) me, PM me, or call me (785-218-3636). If you want to come out and see where The Cauldron will be for yourself (and, perhaps, place an order), come by CommunityAmerica Ballpark next Monday through Saturday, 9am-4pm. Thanks, Sam
Sam, As one of the people that was at the meeting at CAB, I want to thank you and whoever else was responsible in working to get this done. After meeting with you and Dave out at CAB I know this was going to be a hard thing to do. But I know that I greatly appreciate it and I'm sure others do too.
I think this is going to work well for the Cauldron; it will give us the opportunity to have a direct influence on the game. I look forward to seeing the section continue the growth that began with the 2007 season.
I think this is great news. Yeah, it's more expensive than just the hill of grass, but I love that it will be filled in and bleachers put there. I am excited that this will allow us to impact the game. Thanks Wizards.
Whoopie ..... 900 dollars for 3 season tickets to sit on a metal bleacher just what I wanted! Wow what happens when we get our new stadium? I think I payed less last year for a real seat in a real stadium.
Thank you, Sam. I think this is a great solution, that will help the take the Cauldron in the right direction in 2008 and forward. Everyone appreciates the hard work that went into this decision.
Start stocking up on blue and white streamers now, guys. I expect to see showers of the stuff on opposing corners on that end from you guys! This is going to be very cool. Thanks FO for putting out the extra expense to help build the Cauldron...it will only enhance what is sure to be a crazy, intimate atmosphere!
will it still be general admission? is that a stupid question? 300 dollars...what i will sacrifice for the wiz. this list is apparently growing to eating now.
I'm not sure what your beef would be man. We have a decent seat, we're guaranteed room to grow and they didn't put us in a death trap of sloped grass. I think this is a GREAT decision. Good work by all involved. If it comes down to the money, I think the price is reasonable. We got off on the cheap for years and it's time we start paying for the product. The money goes to the club and I have no problem with that. If you compare it to Chiefs or Royals prices, we still are the cheapest ticket in town. And hockey or basketball are certainly going to be more expensive.
I agree!!! I think teams are going to come to hate having to come to our little baseball park for two years. And I expect other teams to not be able to get kicks off. To the team: Please make sure there is an understanding with security, so we don't get drug out of the stadium for throwing streamers.
Just curious about this part and its implications to tailgating. I assume there is some plan for a centralized tailgating location? The Cauldron tailgate generally consists of season ticket holders, partial season ticket holders and day-of-gamers/walk-up newbies. Glad to hear about the bleachers. Still working on figuring out which Quick Trip I'm gonna knock over to get the cash for tix - it plays out in my head like something from Raising Arizona...I steal diapers and enough money for 2 Cauldron season tickets.
OnGoal has a good playbook, Cauldron leadership should read it, IMO What work? You mean getting worked?!? Let's be clear, showing up at a meeting and being dictated to, however cordially, usually can't be called work. I appreciate that there was abundant dialogue of which I was not a part. Still, a Cauldron seat at the lower end of a range might be described as good work. This clearly isn't that. First, nobody since the advent of personal injury lawyers has been made to stand on a grassy hillside as a professional attendance plan. An entire section standing on grass was never, I repeat, never going to happen. Any inference to that was planned to make it seem like The Cauldron was getting something...if there was an inference. The "gift" in exchange for being able to change on the higher end. That's bargaining 101. Fight for everything and eventually give everything you don't care about in exchange for eventually getting what you do care about. Pretty basic manipulation, if that is what happened. FYI, I have not touched the CAB thread, so I don't know what process happened or didn't. I have no issue with bleachers, nobody sits anyway. I prefer to be closer rather than not. That part is OK, I guess. That corner seems as close as a group can get. CAB is not a great home venue. It is what it is. We'll know more after the opener. That's one view. Getting off on the cheap previouly is inaccurate for too many reasons to list. Another view might be that for a family without as much discretionary money as a lone individual, $900 + ancillary expenses forces cuts into other recreational habits or the like. Then again, budgets are a good thing and we all make sacrifices. Still another view might be that for a temp bleacher on the corner of a field - where the views will occasionally be 90+ yards away - $15 a game isn't exactly a bargain. To be fair, reserved parking mitigates that some. The level of our beloved MLS isn't that of MLB or NFL, etc., CAB isn't The K, and KCK for many is nowhere near convienient. $15 would probably get that same "seat" for T-Bones v Redhawks games twice, maybe with a hot dog... On balance, MLS games are on TV in the splendor of your own mancave. For $300, a person can get the MLS PPV and add the proper channels to a basic cable plan already in place and still have enough to stock a bar for at least the opener, even if you have a strong liver. For $15 to stand in a corner in KCK, you really should have a need to be there. Not coincidently, that perfectly describes The Cauldron. I don't think the price is horrible or a flat gouge. I do think that price flirts with the maximum price OG can charge. That may bear itsself out over time, we'll see. Being on the corner as a group is probably better than, say, the home plate seats a softball throw away form the field. I don't think the package is "GREAT" or worth doing backflips either. It's easy to see OnGoal work. They sell $15 a game for what might be the crapiest bleacher available for an 8th place team, then the price for a Cauldron seat thrown into the corner of a new park in 2-3 years should be about $25 a game, right? Hmmm. The appropriate action plan by OnGoal would be to wait to act until fans decide to show up slightly less often as an elastic price reaction (that might be well after opening day at a new building). Then and only then announce a DP-type signing...but not before. If the Cauldron is screaming "GREAT WORK!!!", then why bother to sign a DP? Obviously I hope that isn't the case. I do like and appreciate the clear and early communication from Sam and the FO. I don't think that could be any better.
not to be an ass but what i can tell... so basically the only good seats are the bleacher behind the goal and near the corner, and less than half of the stadium seating. good to see the FO giving you the best. grass terrance anyone? ahahahaha
Re: OnGoal has a good playbook, Cauldron leadership should read it, IMO So you don't know what process happened or didn't, but you know what happened at the meetings? Did you bother to ask any of the parties involved?
I personally was a bit happy when i first found out about the cauldron possibly being in the berm, because it was pretty hard to move around in those seats at arrowhead when we scored or shuffling during songs or whatever. But i'm kind of skeptical about these bleachers. I have dreamed for years about the cauldron being directly behind the goal, because most supporters sections belong there, so they can impact the game directly. That's fantastic that we're finally going to be able to seen in uproar when a goal is scored. That's the way it should be, and a big thank you to whoever got us there. But i'm praying to god that these "bleachers" aren't truly "bleachers". Please tell me that they aren't going to be vertically sloped to the point that shins will be knocked from inherently bashing your leg against the bench in front of you. And please tell me that with these new bleachers, we're not going to be confined to just standing there singing. One of the greatest things abotu the cauldron is the madness that occurs after we score, and I don't want those great moments to be plagued with people tripping over the bleachers and breaking bones. We don't need that. So basically what i'm asking to sam, are these going to be high-school-football bleachers or more of like the bleachers at Dick's Sporting Good's Park in Denver?
I know a lot of work went into making this happen, but I've got to admit, I'm less than thrilled about the price point after discussing all the options. I agree it's reasonable overall, especially if this were a new stadium, but when the options are 150$ on grass, or maybe 200 with a combination of hill and bleachers at the top, I'd take that over the doubling of the 150 price for an all-bleacher section. I of course am still excited about the season, and the new environment to see the game. Also wondering about tailgating areas between STH and others, and where the Cauldron will congregate.
The FO is making the best of a bad situation. If you can come up with a better alternate venue in the Kansas City area, I'd like to see it.
Re: OnGoal has a good playbook, Cauldron leadership should read it, IMO W'Charter, you've been going to that Katie Horner school again haven't you. Way to try and end it on a high note though. I give it a 5.5
I'm not Sam, but what I was told is that these will be metal bleachers with backs. I can't remember what Dick's Park had (that was way too many months ago for me), but they wont be like traditional high school bleachers since they will have backs.....not just a long, flat, metal bench. Somtething like this I believe (but set in concrete): Keep in mind, I am just giving you my opinion, I have not seen anything specific from the FO at this point. Assuming that AG is still planning on bringing the RV for tailgates, and he is a season ticket holder, we will be having the Cauldron tailgete in the main paved "STH" parking lot. Even if they are not planning on bringing the RV this season, we will still have the tailgate in the STH parking lot. From my discussions, all that is required is that we are STH's...that doesn't mean all of us, just as long as we have some.....which we will. We will still need to decide on a location within the STH lot that will work for us and the FO...but there has been no discussion on that point thus far.
I would hope that since the Cauldron stands 100% of the time that they would not go so far as to put bleachers with backs in that particular section. Just put the bench seats like you see at a high school football stadium so you can stand up and not have to worry about falling over a seat back if you get too drunk or too excited or both . I can see somebody jumping up and down and having their foot slip between the seat and back....ouch. The bleachers with backs should be put in all other areas where bleachers will be set up, but not in the Cauldron area.
at least the seat backs would stop you to some degree. i would hope that if we're paying 300 bucks i would get some back support at half time .