By Paul Sullivan
The Cubs have increased tickets prices on most of the primes seats for platinum games for the 2010 season, while maintaining that they are freezing the prices on half of their total inventory.
"We're all aware the economy has not improved much from last year, so we've left ticket prices essentially flat for 50 percent of the house," team president Crane Kenney said Friday.
Kenney said a 1 percent rise in the city amusement tax, from 11 to 12 percent, accounted for the slight increases in tickets they have held the line on.
The most expensive seat will be a club infield box seat for one of the 26 games designated as "platinum," which were raised by $12, or from $100 to $112.
The Cubs have increased tickets prices on most of the primes seats for platinum games for the 2010 season, while maintaining that they are freezing the prices on half of their total inventory.
"We're all aware the economy has not improved much from last year, so we've left ticket prices essentially flat for 50 percent of the house," team president Crane Kenney said Friday.
Kenney said a 1 percent rise in the city amusement tax, from 11 to 12 percent, accounted for the slight increases in tickets they have held the line on.
The most expensive seat will be a club infield box seat for one of the 26 games designated as "platinum," which were raised by $12, or from $100 to $112.
All bleacher seats will remain about the same price as in 2009. A bleacher
seat for platinum games will be around $60.50, a 50-cent increase
from 2009. The Cubs released the ticket prices without the 12 percent
amusement tax added, so the exact numbers were not immediately
available.
Kenney said the breakdown was done that way "so our fans and ticket buyers can see where there resources are going."
The cheapest seats are $9 for upper-deck reserved outfield for "bronze" games, although only six of the 81 home games carry that designation. Nineteen games are designated as "silver," and 30 are "gold." The Cubs did not reveal which games were designated as bronze, silver, gold or platinum.
The Cubs say the average ticket increase is $2 on most gold games and $5 on most platinum games. Almost all the bronze game tickets remained flat, and most of the silver will stay the same.
Kenney said that up to 25 percent of the platinum tickets sold are then re-sold to a secondary market like Stub Hub or scalpers for twice the face value, or more, which led to the decisions to increase the prices for those types of seats.
"We understand our season-ticket holders, in particular, use the secondary market as a way of underwriting their ticket purchases," he said. "It's a fact of life. We're over that. That's fine. So we did the $5 (average) increase on those premium games as a way of trying to push the burden of our ticket-price increase on those games, leaving the ticket prices flat for most of our games, for most of our seats."
The Cubs are also creating about 700 more season tickets, most of which belonged to the team's former owners, Tribune Co. Current season-ticket holders will get a chance to relocate, based on seniority.
Kenney said the current season-ticket waiting list is at around 120,000. He said there would be new season tickets sold in the bleachers, although no exact amount was given. Currently there are about 75 season tickets held by bleacherites, and none have been available for years.
Kenney said the breakdown was done that way "so our fans and ticket buyers can see where there resources are going."
The cheapest seats are $9 for upper-deck reserved outfield for "bronze" games, although only six of the 81 home games carry that designation. Nineteen games are designated as "silver," and 30 are "gold." The Cubs did not reveal which games were designated as bronze, silver, gold or platinum.
The Cubs say the average ticket increase is $2 on most gold games and $5 on most platinum games. Almost all the bronze game tickets remained flat, and most of the silver will stay the same.
Kenney said that up to 25 percent of the platinum tickets sold are then re-sold to a secondary market like Stub Hub or scalpers for twice the face value, or more, which led to the decisions to increase the prices for those types of seats.
"We understand our season-ticket holders, in particular, use the secondary market as a way of underwriting their ticket purchases," he said. "It's a fact of life. We're over that. That's fine. So we did the $5 (average) increase on those premium games as a way of trying to push the burden of our ticket-price increase on those games, leaving the ticket prices flat for most of our games, for most of our seats."
The Cubs are also creating about 700 more season tickets, most of which belonged to the team's former owners, Tribune Co. Current season-ticket holders will get a chance to relocate, based on seniority.
Kenney said the current season-ticket waiting list is at around 120,000. He said there would be new season tickets sold in the bleachers, although no exact amount was given. Currently there are about 75 season tickets held by bleacherites, and none have been available for years.
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Doing some browsing and noticed your website looks a bit screwed up in my K-meleon internet browser. But fortunately hardly anyone uses it any longer but you might want to look into it.
NO MORE NO MORE
Typical Sox fan cant even fucking spell lose.....moron.
meanwhile, the season ticket waiting list is over 100,000 people long. One of my friends is at ~109,000. with that much demand there is no reason to not raise prices every year.
I'm not happy about it, but it is what it is.
Please everyone stay home.
This is a slap in the face to the fans.
60 bucks for a bleacher seat.
You snobs.
This was a game now it is just a money machine
J.S.
Sox Fan on December 4, 2009 7:06 PM
Don't you have to have a team first? Oh and BTW the Sox could loose every game of the season and still be better then the Cubs
------------------------
Loose?
At least you people are somewhat amusing.
The Cubsession continues...
Same old story, they know that 42,000 WILL go thru the
gates and they will pay $50.00 $60.00 for parking. Who owns the parking lots (Tribune) and that little store down the block that always have game tickets to sell
What more can be said.
Don't you have to have a team first? Oh and BTW the Sox could loose every game of the season and still be better then the Cubs.
Just another reason to stay home next year people. I can't imagine paying 60 bucks to sit in the beachers. Outrageous. I hope baseball goes bankrupt.
What is a "Platinum Game"? At Wrigley? Now THAT is funny!
Tax the rich!
What about toilet seats? Has the price for them been increased?..Another reason for the Cubs to go 100 more years without winning anything.
Well, that explains why hubby hasn't gotten an invoice yet for his season tickets. I bought the two seats 20 years ago as a wedding present - he'll never sell them as the year he does the Cubs will win the Series and he won't be there to see it.
$60.50 for a freaking bleacher seat?
Platinum games? The Cubs have platinum games? That is the funniest thing I've ever heard. How can a franchise as bad as the Cubs have anything to do with platinum, or gold, or silver. Dirt, maybe.
Can you imagine what the ticket increases will be in a stadium not crumbling around you that houses a 2009 playoff team?