Absolutely unbelievable. As other people have said, this really is spitting in the faces of many of the people who have supported the team the longest. My seats are in 127 row 9 and the jump to $1100 a seat is ridiculous. I see deals every week on Groupon or tickets being sold on Stubhub for next to nothing, but I tell myself it's worth having season tickets for the extra benefits and to feel good about supporting the team. But after this year, where our "gift" was a crappy hat, not including the Open Cup or the All Star Game in the package when teams like LA get a ticket to friggin MLS Cup, and then basically evicting the longest tenured STH's, I'm done.
For those who are interested in downgrading -- you CAN downgrade, pay in full, and get the Black membership card. I did today. You tell the rep what price level you want, and that's what you pay. You aren't guaranteed a specific location though.
Seriously. Garber's tweet is a joke. Disingenuous is putting it nicely if he's not completely ignorant. The great majority of season ticket holders sit in those sections seeing significant, even onerous increases in ticket prices. The most faithful season ticket holders are getting a big F-U from the front office, with the exception of supporter's groups. I have never been a partisan to the anti-corporate vitriol but I am beyond pissed now.
Don't forget that the playoff tickets are included. Oh yeah, it doesn't look like we are even making the playoffs.
Fool's folly. Could be like ordering a Mercedes then receiving a Yugo upon delivery of goods. What if the only seats available are in the last row? Do you trust these people to refund your money? We deserve better, especially if you've suffered as an STH through six or more seasons of this team's shit.
The decreases are almost all certainly in sections that didn't have many (or any) season ticket holders. So you drop the prices where people aren't sitting, butt-rape those who have season tickets now, and you have the math to say the average increase was 1%.
You are trying to sell more tickets. You raise ticket prices in the sections where most of your season ticket holders are (outside the supporters section) and assume that if they don't pay it they will move to another section. Fine, although I'd argue you may lose some of those season ticket holders because they will be fed up. My question is: How and to who does Red Bull sell those newly vacated high priced season tickets? What market information do they have to assume people will either renew or that they will be able to sell those vacated seats to new fans and/or businesses? What do they know that we don't???
I guess the question remains how many of us will refrain from the $100 card deal. Wish someone could organize us I'd be more likely to boycott next season if I knew more were doing it. I'm going to poll the regulars I'm friends with at the next game to see who is renewing. What I find so frustrating about this is they've put us in a position of putting up with the way they treat us and rebuying - letting them force us to move to a cheaper section when we've waited for years to get to those seats, or stop coming to the stadium. Someone invite Heck to this thread to see if he cares at all. I did a search on my credit card and I've got about $3000 worth of charges over the past year and half - and that doesn't include all the cash purchases I've made, which is considerable since their card machines don't work so often. (And doesn't include my buddies equal or greater charges who is going to bail if I do.) I guess that isn't that much to them or worth worrying about because they have lots of other fans lining up to pay them that. Edit: and I just realized we can't have access to the Corner Pub where we are. The last 2 years we've been one of the handful of folks that use it regularly and have become friends with lots of the people who run it - bartenders, security, etc. Here's a breakdown of the changes: http://www.thevipersnest.com/2011/09/worst-timing-ever-rbny-begins-2012.html
You should have sent them a message that you will not be mistreated (going beyond even the ST increase) and refused to renew. You could always get a ticket to RBA for any game you want at a discount. Instead you empowered them by renewing...great job.
I have been a supporter since 1996 and have personally interacted with numerous people within the FO's over the years...the answer to your question is simple. Nothing to less than nothing. I will say the older Metro execs made the same or similar mistakes, but had little to no ownership support to effect much progress, especially with AEG as our caretaker owner. These RB people are extremely arrogant and making the same mistakes despite resources that far exceeded what was given by AEG or even Kludge.
All large movements start with an individual decision. Make the decision, stand by it and encourage others to stand with you in solidarity and you'd be surprised how many people may join with you. Lets be realistic here, that is not the decision. Not getting ST's doesn't mean you an't go to the stadium. There is no 10K waiting list. You can always buy individual games wherever you want for whatever game you want next year. Refusing to buy ST's makes an enormous impact on the FO's plans and willingness to make concessions. It is the #1 thing they focus on every year. If they see a 60% non-renewal rate it would be devastating to their plans.
I really don't understand this. If you move to Rows 11 to 17 (I am sure they will be available if you renew early on and ask for the "downgrade" later), you will be paying $920 less $100 on the card, so $820. Still an increase over $720, but only 14%. Not too shocking. You can't tell me that Row 12 in 126 is not a good seat. I would actually prefer that seat. Losing access to Corner Pub is stupid, I agree. Don't understand what they are trying to achieve by taking away access from 80% of people that had it this year.
If they are not willing to grandfather those of you hit hardest, who have been loyal season ticket holders for years, they should damn well be breaking their backs to work with you now to reach some kind of compromise you all could live with. Alienating your core fans is really a pathetic business practice.
I'm pretty sure your FO views the fanbase as whiners. This was expressed to me twice when chatting with a couple different lower-level employees when I went to Red Bull Arena this summer. (once for the NY-Dallas game, Man U training, and All-Star game). One said, "They complain about everything, it's a joke" I was surprised that an employee would even bring this up in front of long-time RB season ticket holders, though they didn't seem to care. I tried to tell them every fanbase in MLS complains a lot, sometimes about things that seem trifling, but that I'd still never heard anyone in our organization say anything like that about the fans, though I'm sure at times they feel the same way. Small sample size, but to me it seemed that the only way employees wouldn't care who they said it to, is if it was a widely held view.
Plain and simple. With that increase I will NOT be renewing my current seats. I'll sit somewhere else, then move down to the seats I'm currently in now since I doubt they'll be sold. Crap move by the front office.
This is a fair point. Maybe more fair in my mind since I sit in the back end of 126. With the $100 on the card (which I would spend at the Arena over the course of the year anyway) It's not a $720-$920 jump, but a $720-$820 jump. I guess I don't really have a problem with the actual $100 (or 14% increase). The problem I have is: 1. We only have 2 weeks to make a decision? Absurd. This is the #1 thing that is pissing me off right now and will likely lead to me not renewing. Just a terrible, disrespectful decision. 2. Parking, transportation, and the PATH station. Still no word from the front office on real solutions to this. 3. Front office handling of the Open Cup situation. 4. The team sucks right now. 5. When will the price increases stop? Will they ever stop? A couple bucks each season is one thing, but the economy is terrible. Where does it all end? Also, shouldn't the front office be working on selling all the open seats in the upper bowl? It's no secret that their marketing department laid an egg this season. If they need more revenue why not market those seats better instead of pissing off long time fans? Are thinking that it's easier for them to sell midfield seats to corporations and move us to cheaper seats rather than keeping us happy and selling the cheaper seats to new fans?
I was very pissed off about this at first, but now that I've looked it over and assessed my options it's not bad. I was in Section 130, row 8, paying $400/seat. To stay in my seats would mean an extra $80/seat, or a 20 percent increase. I called up today and was told the cutoff on pricing is row 11, so by moving to row 11 I was actually able to move a section closer to midfield and keep the same price as this year, plus the $100/ticket on the black card for concessions. So for 2012 at least I feel like I"m getting a very good deal (I know there are others who can't just move a couple rows). Now there's no chance I'm spending $200 or whatever next year to get a black card, and when you factor in having to buy the stampede card it may not make sense to have season tickets at all in 2013, but for 2012 after I got over being pissed at the team for the timing of this (and the general suckiness we've displayed this year) it was an easy decision, in my case, to renew.
from Big Apple soccer...tix price increase The season ticket renewal letter I received thanks fans for continuing to come out game after game and notes that 71-percent of the ticket prices have not changed. But it fails to mention, on the other hand, you sir, are part of the 29-percent we are putting the screws to. Thanks for your 11-years of season ticket purchases (and to those around you who have been here even longer). You will now have to pay $1,100. per seat for a seat that cost you $720 this season.
Don't buy season tickets. Buy single match tickets off Stub Hub or Craigslist for below face value from suckers who already bought them (and help those fans avoid a further hit to their finances). Let the front office feel the pain.