That is exactly where I am. I could have waited until this year to get the seats I thought I had paid for by being a season ticket holder at Giants stadium under the promises made by Red Bull and Metrostar that we would have priority for seats in the new stadium. I am sure those pre-RBA season ticket numbers were used at some point to justify the investment in RBA. Assuming Chris Heck is correct that the season tickets were under priced, I would have hoped that Red Bull would have been more forthright in their communications, and offered a transition plan to those long time STHs who presumably had two years of bargain tickets at RBA. Instead, it was a big "up yours". Based on what I have seen so far, the price increases will not be sustainable and Chris Heck's study is not correct, but only time will tell.
From what I understand the prices for midfield seats were a little bit low compared to some of the other teams in MLS. I don't have a problem with them raising prices at all. HOWEVER, as you stated above it was the WAY they went about it that pissed me off. Either gradually increase the prices over time, or (and here's an incredible idea)... ...find ways to sell the 5,000-10,000 empty seats for each game before pissing off a huge part of your fanbase.
Yea, I was in the midfield section, row 5, and if I had known that this price increase was coming, I would have sat somewhere else instead for the last 2 years. It's a shame because you get to know the people around you and now you get blindsided with a price hike. I may go to a few games next year, but they will definitely not be getting as much money from me as if they had kept the prices the same, or raised them gradually.
Another Open House already? http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/2011/12/fan-fest-returns-red-bull-arena-saturday-dec-10 There's no way they'd do a December 10th outdoor event if sales were going well.
Good. I hope they fail at every single one of their sales goals. I also hope they draw the requisite conclusions from said failure. I'm not holding my breath on the latter though. They seem like a dense group of idiots over in Austria.
The guys running sales here in the States certainly are idiots, but Austria simply doesn't give a $hit.
I put most of this on Heck. I think they just don't care - but have given the edict that we can't keep bleeding money and he's supposed to turn it all around. I also hope he fails miserably. Total jerk.
There is no price increase in the supporters section. And that's the best place to be a part of the game.
Awesome. God bless our fans in that section. The game would suck without them. However, the club's 2nd most avid supporters sit in the lower bowl midfield sections, and have been hit with huge price hikes over the past 2 seasons without warning. That's unacceptable and Red Bull is alienating a large number of their longest supporters.
Price increases are part and parcel of modern day soccer. After turning 18, my season ticket increased from £125 to just over £300. I was hit by plans not to freeze season tickets, but also the increase in age. To cite possible reasons for price rises is fairly obvious, players wages increase and clubs often have huge payouts. Despite prices increasing, fans still attend matches in their numbers.
There are no age discounts with the Red Bulls. My three year old daughter loves to come to matches, but I don't want to pay $1100 to bring her along anymore (I can put that money to better use for her, such as her college fund). Keep in mind this is New York City, not Leicester City. There's a lot more to do here for entertainment than watch footy and shag sheep. Just because price increases are part and parcel of modern day soccer doesn't mean you have to be a tool and accept it, especially when the Red Bulls offer numerous highly discounted ticket offers during the season to fill empty seats and you can spend considerably less money buying tickets for individual matches. The only benefit of being a NYRB season ticket holder any more is having the same seat for every match. *Anyone else suspicious of all these newbies coming here and telling us that we shouldn't be upset about being ripped off by the Red Bulls? FuHeck you.
Seriously. I know I'm not the most avid poster on this board but I hated giving up my season tickets this year. I thought I'd be over it already but every time I hear someone say to just get over the price increase it makes me so damn aggravated. They should be bending over backwards to keep every STH possible and expanding, not treating their longest tenured fans like crap when they can't even fill the stadium up. I really hate the direction this NBA asshat seems to have them going in. Anybody else notice the NBA like "hype man" roaming the stadium the last few games of the season? If I wanted to see awkward fake interaction like that I'd go to a Nets game.
Oooooh, he's a newbie. Jesus, chill out keyboard warrior. First of all, the only reason i'm posting is because we had to choose an American forum for my media coursework. Someone needs to calm you down, i guess ticket prices is a real sensitive issue for you. Sure there's more to do in New York, of course there's going to be more to do in New York, talk about stating the obvious. But, shagging sheep? Come on.. Leicester isn't even rural. You wouldn't know that though. I feel really sorry for you actually. You're deprived of quality football. You don't know what it's like to experience football. And before you start crying again, the second tier of English football is the fourth most-watched league in the world. Sit down, calm down and take it easy. You're not going to be a tool and accept it? Well, why don't you start a one-man protest on your own then? "How would you characterise the conduct of those posting (e.g. hostile, rude, opinionated, considered, open-minded, intellectual, emotional)" Aw mate, you're not intellectual, but you've got emotional problems, you're quite hostile and pretty rude too. OOOOOOOH HE'S A NEWBIE. Sorry i haven't sat in my armchair since 2004 crying over how shit my football team is. Football in America will never take off, you know that. You're just kidding yourself. Now look who's turning into a keyboard warrior? Yeah that's right, me. "FuHeck you" Pathetic, just say the words. Say the words. Oh wait? My names ChupaCabra. WTF IS THAT? Sounds like a cross between a lollipop and dairy milk bar. And you've had that name since 2004? Poor lad.
Dude - no offense but you might not like being called a newbie but you sure are acting and reacting like one. You just waded into an emotionally charged discussion without really reading what's gone on before or understanding what we're upset about - and then you further made it worse by trying to patronize us about your superior soccer sense and getting in a Slanging match with someone when you still don't get what it's about. These are classic newbie moves. Kindly take it elsewhere if you can't be bothered to read the discussion and understand the huge differences between our soccer culture and history and yours - or if you just want to impress us with your soccer knowledge and insulting skills. Most of us knew a price increase is coming. The timing, the way it was handled was all insulting. Maybe where you are you have to just take it - but we all know we can do fine on the secondary market without directly giving red bull a cent. They want to treat us like sheep and we'll see where it gets them.
Having been to matches at Ashburton Grove and Craven Cottage with Chupacabra, you don't know who you're talking to, ie. a "newbie" act. He's likely had a much more diverse experience of football than you, so spare us Septics your Limey condescension. For YEARS season ticket holders endured Giants Stadium to have priority seating once the new stadium opened. It did, and just two years later some new guy comes in and says they weren't priced properly, completely disregarding the history and context of the fans/consumers paying for those seats. We're well aware of the all-too-often unfair hike in tickets, pricing fans out of stadia worldwide. But there's a very specific context we're discussing here. The suspicion is that you aren't really from Leicester. "FuHeck you" is a clever pun on the name of the guy who screwed over much of the fanbase with his swift and bizarre shift in marketing and sales tactics. If you don't get that then maybe you really are from Leicester and just decided to troll into a NY forum. If you took the time to read this thread carefully, out of genuine interest and concern, you might get just a sliver of understanding and appreciate people's perspectives and sympathize with their frustration. If your assignment was to log in to an American-based sports discussion forum, insult regular posters and bring attention to yourself with your ignorance, your instructor should be pleased. That's how I'd characterize your conduct.
Well said. I like his comment that soccer will never take off. The U.S. Media market is so large and by far the largest in the world that it would not take that much where with some momentum, the media TV contracts will take off quite easily (they renew in 3 years) and that of course would lead to larger salaries for players and spur a large increase in the quality of play and then in turn higher interest here. Just see how a replay of a Premier League Match this past weekend drew over 1.5 Million viewers opposite an NFL match. That simply shows that there are lots of people who like soccer and watch it on TV but are just waiting for the quality of the soccer in MLS to increase further and it has and will continue to improve. Plus having all these beautiful soccer stadiums being constructed (Red Bull Arena, Livestrong Park in KC, the new stadium in Houston next year, Montreal, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Real Salt Lake, LA and probably soon San Jose). To think that soccer will never take off is ignorant of the facts.
I you are indeed interacting here as part of some course you are taking I suggest you read not only the entirety of this thread, but also a host of other treads in the New York Red Bull forum. This will give you a better sense of how MLS and Red Bull in particular are run, and why some of the fans are in an uproar. Soccer in the U.S. is not like soccer in England. Not to say any aspect is better or worse, but it is very very different.
Last week, the Star-Ledger newspaper quoted Red Bulls' president of business operations Chris Heck as he attempted to explain the price hike: "I could have waited to gradually do the changes, but my thought was, 'Okay, the people in the great seats for the really inexpensive prices got two years of a gift. They got a really good deal, and they should get a good deal because they were the faithful fans." I don't know of a team in any major league that sells tickets in the lower bowl at the same price as tickets in the upper bowl. Two years of enjoying these seats at this price does seem to be a bit of a gift. I can see how fans sitting there were upset,but only 2 sections, 108 and 111 (middle sections, front stays the same price, back increases only 10%) are the only areas hit hard, but how many season ticket fans are in these seats anyway? These seats will cost what? $65.00? Look around at the cost of that location in any other sport and you'll see it's a good deal. Giants and Jets fans who were season ticket holders for generations moved from prime spots to the upper deck when the new stadium was built, fortunately RB stadium has a lot of affordable seats and upper deck seats are still close to the field. I have 4 season tix in the supporter section, and I'm in my mid 50's, it's a hell of a lot of fun, if you never tried that location I suggest you give it a try, the price has unchanged. This is not to poo-poo the loyal tic holders here, but the team is paying some high salaries and has the right to charge what the market will pay to make a profit.
A "gift"? This is the most absurd statement I have ever heard from someone trying to cover their ass in the face of criticism. Besides the issue at hand is not the money. It's the way the corrective pricing was handled. This Ownership has zero sense of their fanbase. Not the fans' fault. They should have been priced accordingly when the stadium opened. Even so, if you're going to correct the problem, do it in a manner that won't piss off everyone in those sections. There are creative ways to go about that. We are not Giants, Jets, Nets, or Metz fans . The league survived for 15 years because of supporters like you, me, and everyone who sat through Giants Stadium only to be rewarded with this circus of a front office. Again, this isn't about the money. I have the money to pay for those seats and believe they are reasonably priced when you look at the rest of the league. The issue is how the front office continues to handle the team and its fans. I refuse to be treated like $hit when I've already given the club a lot of my money. "Hey, we know you're a loyal fan, but we're gonna mail in the Open Cup, hit you with big price hikes without warning, give you a 2 week renewal window cause we might not make the playoffs and want to pressure you into it, and on top of all that we still don't have any long term solution to concessions, parking, or transportation. And if we do, we're not communicating that to you." If they need more revenue maybe they should look into selling the 5,000-10,000 open seats at each game. Get butts in those seasts and you will likely sell food, booze, and merchandise. You'll get repeat customers, future season ticket holders, and future television viewers. Screwing your best fans with 2 season's worth of crazy price hikes with no warning is a quick fix to the problem at hand and shows a complete lack of intelligence from the front office. The solution right now is not to hit your existing fans up, but to get your f#cking marketing right and fill those seats. This is absolutely true. Maybe it will all work out for them. We'll see.
All true and we as fans have the right not to pay it. Comparisons to other sports with crappy cultures of gouging fans for managerial incompetence and greed -with enough fan support to drive off loyal fans and still sell tickets are a lousy comparison to me. Giants and Yankees lost a lot of long time season ticket holders by some of their new innovative ways of sticking it to them - people who had been going to games for multiple decades and couldn't afford $5-10k per ticket on top of everything else. Let's face it - MLS is nothing even remotely close to the NFL. Are these the kinds of practices we should tolerate and shrug our shoulders about? Do we want MLS to be like many top level leagues where tourists and corporate visitors sit on their hands? Rather than looking at it like we should just take it and reward them with season tickets regardless - you should encourage fans not to take this kind of corporate indifference because you've already seen a taste of Heck's attitude in his response to the us open cup protest. There's only more to come. We may still go to games - but asking me to just reward them by moving? We should put in the subject of the thread - it ain't just about the price. (Edit: which KP just explained.). Don't complain to us when next season the black card or any card ain't free.
Very well stated. During the off season I'm going to do my best to convey this to Austria through whatever channels I can find.
Heck really is just laying bare the attitude of the suits behind major sports teams - the unspoken belief that fans love the team and sport too much to stay away. I hope he fails spectacularly.
I've been trying to find out how to contact Austria as well. I'm torn here. I want the team to do well, but I also want there to be a great (and not artificial) connection between the fans and the Ownership. I don't think it's too much to ask. I spent the past two seasons bringing new fans to the game at our shinny new stadium. I'm so disgusted with Ownership that I don't see that happening in the near future. Why would I try to convince my friends to support a $hit franchise?