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Eye-Opening Attendance Figures at MSG


Sod16

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I just saw a ticket blog site that evaluates average asking ticket prices on the secondary market. Before the season started, they had Saturday's game against the Caps as the highest demand game of the season, and it didn't end up selling out! That really says something. What also says something is all of the posters who say that they don't go to games anymore because of the prices. It's one thing when fans complain about prices. It's another when they stop going. I'm sure a lot of season ticket holders are finding it very hard to get rid of tickets, and when that happens, you lose season holders fast, even if the product on the ice is pretty good.
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Think the economy is in part to blame.

 

But other things that aren't apparent are coming into play. Choice is watching for your couch on a big ass HDTV with your own food and the ability to tun it off if it sucks. Or going into Manhattan and pay through the nose and then having to get home. It's really very expensive. Driving into NYC used to be not that big a deal and not very expensive if you knew how to time alternate side. That is no longer the case. All of the major sports leagues are experiencing a lot of the same kind of thing; why would you leave your house for what is not necessarily a better experience,and certainly a more expensive one? NFL games feature seas of empty seats which would have been unheard of not long ago. And further going forward tax reform is about to make entertainment expenses less deductible.

 

A relative ran 2 or 3 group outings each season which while not cheap were reasonable; $60, decent 300 level seats, concession voucher. Simply not so reasonable any more. If you are in NYR ticket office incumbent on you to fill seats. Looks pennywise and pound foolish to not have some plan to sell tickets for less than they are now going for for some not so select games.

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2 summers ago I received an email from a Wall Street buddy of mine who also had season tickets. The email was a detail of msg stock sent out by msg that described their future forecasts for growing their business and the reason to buy their stock. It stated that msg was moving away from season ticket holders and pushing for a more diverse ticket buyer. While doing so could see some losses during down years due to the fickle nature of casual fans. The upside is that the customers who do not take in multiple games are more likely to spend more while at the arena that and dynamic pricing would make investing in msg stock a worthwhile investment.
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That email, then two weeks later dynamic pricing was the end of me buying tickets again. Had seasons for 17 years and now I have zero interest in ever going back. The pricing is out of hand but even worse is the complete disregard for customer loyalty or appreciation. Good luck to them with their profits, it is a business. However at some point it is not good business to piss on your customer base.
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I went to my first game in over 5 years tonight. I got a pretty solid deal on StubHub for tix in 226. I was surprised at how empty the place was in the first. It filled in a little bit it wasn’t like I remembered. Still had a great time and was thrilled to see a much needed win. The TV route has a lot of advantages but it’s nice to get a feel of it live from time to time. It would be nice for it to be cheaper but it’s NYC. What can you really expect? A tall boy bud light is $13.50
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I think the real issue is the cost to go to a game. Tickets alone are expensive, and then you still have to factor in food, drinks and anything you might buy. I went last week to the Florida game as a family of 4. My 4 year old is a picky eater, so we brought a sandwich for him, and for diner we ordered a kids meal chicken fingers, my wife got chicken fingers and free, I got the chicken sliders, plus 1 drink, they have if you buy the cup its free refills all night. All of that cost a little over $45 after the $5 discount for using my Chase card. The prices are just ridiculous there. This is the issue at all New York sports though, not just the Rangers.
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The electricity of the Garden is also gone, not sure if it's because of the new construction, lack of fans or different type of fans now attending. Maybe it's everything combined

 

Different folks attending is what I think killed the spirit of MSG. That HUGE contingent of Blue Seat diehards is what made MSG a raucous place and a difficult vibe for visiting teams. Sure, some are still there but not in droves! It's the new reality I guess. I still try to stir the crowd with "Let's Go Rangers" when it's too quiet and I get 50-50 play from wherever I sit. The fact that I'm trying makes me happy and no matter the outcome, I'm comfortable on the ride home that I did my part as a fan.

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Don't look now, but the Rangers attendance figures are the weakest they have been in many years... The reasons: (1) rebuild; (2) poor treatment of season holders when times were still good circa 2016-17 (they used to treat them well good times and bad); and (3) ridiculous micro premium pricing of seats that aren't all that great.

 

The actual reasons are:

1) Individual tix & 'new business' plans priced way way way too high

2) Existing season tickets priced way too high (=more selling to justify expense)

3) New car smell has wore off on the new Garden

 

Also with the team in official rebuild mode the team has lost some premium pricing power. I don't think people realize that every single Rangers seat is priced higher than the exact seat for the Knicks, because Dolan has a weird altruistic fetish with not raising prices if the team doesn't make the playoffs which hasn't happened for the Knicks since 2013-14

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The empty seats is only about pricing, nothing else

bingo

 

At the very least state and city taxes should be included in the cap. There is no excuse for tampa having an advantage all the while we subsidize them.

been saying this for years, teams in no-tax cities have a massive advantage in re-signing players and attracting free agents. NHL needs to implement a policy to allow teams to offer any player an optional cap-exempt bonus equal to the local city + state income tax

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Fans aren’t all that inviting, either

 

A guy tries to start a chant and half the section is telling him to shut up or giving him dirty looks.

We usually have a few people make rude comments about us being out of towners. It’s so stiff and uninviting.

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