Best Bang for Your Buck

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by El Naranja, Jan 27, 2008.

  1. El Naranja

    El Naranja Member+

    Sep 5, 2006
    Alief
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ /5488159.html

    So the Houston Chronicle ran a story today that rates the various professional teams in Houston based on ticket prices, atmosphere, concessions, parking, etc. They also included a list of average ticket prices for those leagues and the teams in them.

    Here is the 2007 price list for MLS

    So how do you rate your stadium? How great is the atmosphere? How easy is it to park and how much does it put you back? Concessions? Fan involvement? Security? How about in comparison to other teams in your city.

    The Chronicle rates the Dynamo as the 2nd Best Bang for Your Buck, behind the Astros of MLB.

    If you want the story (written by the soccer beat-writer, Bernardo Fallas), it is here

    Two things I'm shocked about:

    KC has the cheapest tix in MLS! :eek:
    Colorado has such cheap prices, even though they have a brand new stadium! Dang!! :eek:
     
  2. jade1mls

    jade1mls Member

    Jul 9, 2006
    Seattle

    Colorado is having trouble filling their new stadium, hiking up the price would not help them do that. They really need to sign a DP. Even a non playing big name would help them at this point, lol.

    And is anyone suprised New England is the one club which did not give any information.....on ticket prices......for LAST year. I mean come on! That's the most basic information and they guard it like a state secret, sheesh.
     
  3. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    New England wasn't the only one...

    Columbus didn't either.
     
  4. Milaniac

    Milaniac Member

    May 12, 2007
    I went to the last regular season home game of the NE Revs.

    Parking was free so that was nice. So we arn't going to get the atmosphere that we see in europe but there is a section for the fan groups behind the goals and they have streamers, drums, and chants. The stadium is nice but is to large for a MLS soccer game, state of the art none the less. Didn;t get anything to eat but I know there is a McDonalds in the stadium.
     
  5. Aaron d

    Aaron d Member+

    May 15, 2005
    Wooster
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And keeping average ticket prices a secret has to be one of the stupidest facts to keep covered. All ticket prices are listed on the website, what's the big deal? I can't speak for NE, but Cbus has historically been awful at releasing information. They release less than the MLS HQ and we all know how bad they are.
     
  6. Beazley17

    Beazley17 Member

    Dec 30, 2006
    South Florida
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Damn i wish i lived near a club, i would get season tickets. But the prices for some of these teams are really cheap, they all look like a bang gor your buck to me.
     
  7. nobius

    nobius BigSoccer Supporter

    Jan 3, 2006
    Houston, Texas
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The numbers are a weighted average that also takes in to account the number of seats at a given ticket price. I had been wanting a way to compare this kind of info for the teams and was glad to see an article like this.
     
  8. houstondynamofan

    houstondynamofan Red Card

    May 7, 2006
    houston,tx
    MLS must lose their shirt on KC. Lowest prices and by far the worst attendance in the league. I'm surprised the other owners havent forced the team to be moved to another market.
     
  9. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    :rolleyes:

    80% capacity average is not "having trouble filling their new stadium", especially when that number is over a 20% increase from the previous year. Try again jade.
     
  10. Nidal Baba Superstar

    Sep 20, 2006
    Far away
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Man, would you leave off the KC-bashing for a while? The last thing this league needs is another gaping hole in our history, another legion of cheated fans, and another legacy cut short. Moving a team doesn't just screw that team's fans - it undermines the bond that every team shares with its fanbase by undermining any possibility of history, tradition, and community. It makes every team less meaningful and every fanbase less secure.

    And why your obsession with KC? As has probably been pointed out to you several dozen times by now, they have a solid stadium plan, maybe the league's classiest ownership group, a long history with multiple trophies, and are pretty much on the up right now.

    You seem to have become a single-issue poster, obsessed with urging a KC move. Did the Wizards take your leg, Ahab?
     
  11. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    Btw, I moved to N&A because I think it's hard data a lot of people wanted to see.
     
  12. Dr. Foosball™

    Dr. Foosball™ New Member

    Dec 23, 2006
    Hot Springs, AR
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, I think most people skip over her posts at this point anyway.
    She also said that Columbus needs a DP to increase ticket sales. :rolleyes:

    I would like to see how these ticket prices are with 'cost of living' added in. With the 'cost of living' in LA, $32 is probably not that bad.
     
  13. metros11

    metros11 Member

    Sep 11, 1999
    Highlands of NJ
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just an FYI on that article, the New York numbers are incorrect. The average is much higher.
     
  14. GutBomb

    GutBomb Red Card

    Aug 28, 2003
    Outside Boston
    What is the average then, and what's wrong with the average in the article?
     
  15. scheck

    scheck Member+

    Mar 13, 2007
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Something that everyone missed.


    Wow! Awesome!! How many other clubs can say they've increased their season ticket base by 140%?
     
  16. dustcowpoke

    dustcowpoke Member

    Jan 7, 2006
    Houston, TX
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    140% is great news for us (Houston).

    I don't agree with the guy who said these are cheap prices. Cheap compared to what? NFL? I can go to an Astros game for $10 and on some games even for $1. And that is the #1 baseball league in the world.

    FA Cup games go for about £8 so I think that $20 is a fair price for an MLS ticket.
     
  17. Hierarchyfive

    Hierarchyfive Member

    Sep 17, 2005
    Portland
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe in the earlier rounds but they are much much higher in the later rounds.
     
  18. Count

    Count New Member

    Oct 7, 2007
    Chapel Hill
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How much are USOC tickets?
     
  19. aosthed

    aosthed Member

    Jul 16, 2004
    40º30' N 111º52' W
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    Sweden
    I think it's funny that the article puts so much weight on the ticket pricing strategy for increased season ticket sales... rather than winning back to back championships and having among the top records in the league over those two seasons?

    Everybody loves a winner.

    Look, pricing strategy might help (depending on various factors) but winning definitely helps. DCU definitely benefited brom being a dominant team the first 3-4 years of its existence... As does LA with have it's first decade of mostly winning seasons.

    I don't think 1 good season creates all the demand but I know it helps. Throw in a couple championships and people come back...

    (It's definitely makes you want to come back much more so after a fun win than after a loss - as a RSL fan I know from personal experience how hard it is to keep coming back, loss after loss, year after year.)
     
  20. bwidell

    bwidell Member+

    Apr 19, 2005
    Manchester, NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My Quarterfinal ticket cost $7.00. Game was at Gillette against USL2 club Harrisburg City Islanders.

    My Semifinal ticket cost $17.00. Game was at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in New Britain, CT against USL1 club Carolina Railhawks.

    Wasn't able to travel to Dallas for the final, so I can't say how much those tickets were.
     
  21. Wizardscharter

    Wizardscharter New Member

    Jul 25, 2001
    Blue Springs, MO
    You shouldn't be. KC is a very reasonably priced place to live. Gas is generally cheaper than average. Housing is very low compared to nationally. Food is always more expensive when I visit family around the country (I have family all over). Truly you can even get quality food for two for signifigantly less than $100. Point being, most things are cheaper in KC, when compared to the nation.

    The only overpriced things in KC are entertainment tickets, roughly anything you can purchase from TicketBastard...and movies, of course.

    KC is not bad. It isn't San Diego weather obviously. Still there is plenty of local water to play upon and only right now for about 6 weeks and maybe late August (if you hate heat and humidity) are the only bad weather times.

    The shocking part regarding KC is that even with the limited seating at the minor league baseball park the next 2 seasons, KC is still lowest. This as OnGoal did decide to gouge the Cauldron and increasae prices across the board and especially for the "standing" seats of their best fans. These seats are of a signifigantly lesser quality both in asthetics and of sightlines that last years' Arrowhead section...not that any of you should really care.
     
  22. Minnman

    Minnman Member+

    Feb 11, 2000
    Columbus, OH, USA
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What's so hard to understand about that statement? The Crew DO need to bring in a DP in order to ratchet up fan interest, i.e., to show us that the club's committed to being competitive. The Crew signing a couple of promising new players in the off season wil be the difference between me buying and not buying season tickets. I'm not alone.
     
  23. El Naranja

    El Naranja Member+

    Sep 5, 2006
    Alief
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not that you aren't wrong, but I was shocked because you guys played in a huge stadium that I'm assuming you had to rent out and what have you. I just figured that that would increase the tickets to a lot higher.

    Kudos to you guys for having (on average) such cheap tickets.

    Any idea how much tickets will be?

    It'd be good to know if we in Houston, or someone else, wants to go to KC

    :p Besides, hard times make you a better person.....or something.
     
  24. wolfp10

    wolfp10 Member

    Sep 25, 2005
    Parking at Gillette Stadium is free.

    Concessions are quite expensive. Most food items are in the range of $8-$10. Beer costs at least $10 for a Sam Adams.

    Merchandise is also on the pricier side.

    The seating chart is available on their website. In it's current setup, it holds about 18,000 fans. For the couple of games at the end of the season where they drew 20,000 they opened up sections behind the goal in the south section of the stadium (opposite of The Fort).
     
  25. metros11

    metros11 Member

    Sep 11, 1999
    Highlands of NJ
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Okay, well let look at the seating chart:

    [​IMG]

    Last year season tickets for the Bronze sections were sold at $18 a ticket, the silver went for about $25 and the gold seats are $35. Those are season ticket prices, the day of game are a few bucks higher. Considering the ratio of the seats available and the season ticket prices, and you're looking at an average of about $25, not the $21 listed. And note that I didn't even include the 'Bull's Eye' seats, which go for over $70.
     

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