Early in this NFL season a lot of fans have been going to stadiums dressed as empty seats. I have Los Angeles Rams season tickets that I pay $120-$140 depending on the game (flex pricing) and I can’t resell them for even half price for the games I can’t go to. In San Francisco, er Santa Clara, the situation is much worse. If you don’t mind end zone seats you can watch a pro football game (and a classic NFL rivalry) for just $20.
30 years ago when Joe Montana and Jim Everett were battling it out that price would be unimaginable. Obviously everyone who was excited to pay for their multi-thousand dollar SBL’s (stadium building licenses, same as a PSL or personal seat license) 5 years ago when the 9ers were fresh off of their Super Bowl appearance, is regretting that investment. It’s bad enough to have to pay premium prices when your team sucks but it’s another altogether when you have to resell them for the games you can’t make it to for less than the price of 2 beers.
To illustrate how far the mighty have fallen, check out this excerpt in the San Jose Mercury News from July 25th, 2014 from an article unveiling the food and drink costs at the new stadium: “Overall, the cost for two face-value nosebleed seats, a couple of beers and a pair of hot dogs at Levi’s will cost $243, up from $88.50 at Candlestick”. Last I saw (and this may have changed) hot dogs were $6.25 and if you add that to the $62 above that is a grand total of $84.50, cheaper than the prices at Candlestick.
You have to wonder if this is a trend in the NFL and that fans are rebelling against getting soaked at the turnstile. In Los Angeles where they can barely fill the Coliseum half way (photo below), they’re about to ask fans for thousands of dollars for personal seat licenses. It’s hard to see how fans are going to pony up when you can buy a midfield seat tonight at Levi Stadium in club section 116 for just $89. As season ticket holders like me throw their hands up in the air when they ask for the money one wonders how long it takes NFL owners to sit up and take notice that maybe they’ve already asked the market for more than it can bear.
If you hurry you can probably make it on time for tonight’s 5:25pm kickoff!
