Then there’s the other, mind-numbing problem: The Mets’ ticket schedule is even messier than the team’s rotation, if that’s possible. Near-genius mental capacity is required to place an order.
There are a mind-boggling 205 categories of tickets listed on the Mets’ Web site for Citi Field - an increase from 190 available last year. Remember the days when you went to the ballpark and asked the guy in the green booth for two general admission tickets? Those booths are gone and no such tickets exist anymore, because every seat must have a pretentious moniker and a sponsor.
There are Delta Club Platinum seats for $460 apiece - down from as much as $695 - and then there are $56 seats in the Pepsi Porch Gold area and Modell’s Clubhouse.
But it’s even more complex than that. The price of a seat at Citi Field, once again, depends on the opponent. Opening Day and the games against the Yankees are designated “platinum” games. Games against the Nationals are either “bronze” games or “value” games. The lowest-priced of the lowliest seats are the $11 promenade reserved seats on value days against the Nats.
There are five such game-valued tiers, which means it is possible to order a gold game from the Caesar’s Club Silver zone ($144), or a silver game from the Ebbetts Club Gold region ($240).
“The seating categories are a function of the ballpark, they’re not that complex,” insisted Dave Howard, vice president for business operations. “The varying pricing is simply a peak versus off-peak structure, and it’s demand based. You look at the way the schedule is laid out, it’s by designated dates, time of day, day of week. It’s not that much different than many other entertainment and recreation industries.”
Repoz
Posted: December 04, 2009 at 10:52 AM |
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Always good to include quotes that counter your argument!
He should come to Pittsburgh. Walkup ticket windows outside the left field and home plate gates, and the cheapest grandstand seats are like $10 on game day.
You could throw in a couple of bus tickets and still come out ahead, based on what the Mets are charging. The stadium's a lot nicer, too.
I haven't been to PNC yet, and hope to go next year but I've been to all the other eastern parks and I think Citifield is my favorite.
I recognize that PNC is probably better, but lets not bang away at the Mets for Citifield, it's one thing they have done largely right.
A great place to catch a game... besides being in flushing and all.
Comics' equivalent of BB-Ref is your friend; this DC-centric site is an even better time-waster, since it allows you to see what comics were in the spinner racks in a given month. (A platform for Marvels has recently been added as well.)
We later got Arm-Fall-Off boy, who obviously was a pitcher.
His secret identity was, I suppose, Dave Dravecky.
I bet Jeff Franc--- Ah, never mind..
So now he's selling tickets for a WTF team in a falling apart stadium, in a recession, and he has to memorize 205 categories of tickets? Shoulda stayed at Whole Foods.
PNC's about as good as it gets. CitiField's nice too, though in terms of aesthetics it's a bit claustrophobic for my tastes (getting rid of the huge video board in CF would make it damn near perfect, IMO; kinda funny that I could feel that way given how cavernous it seems to play). Mets bashing is easy, though, and in general some of that is inevitably going to extend to the ballpark.
+1 to everything Vlad said. My weekend in Pittsburgh last year was the best experience I've had on MLB-related travel.
i count 41 levels, at 5 tiers of pricing on this page.
As a freakonomist, I can't even fathom the irrational mentality of someone who doesn't leap at the chance to pay either $11, $15, $19, $20, $21, $23, $24, $25, $28, $30, $32, $35, $36, $40, $42, $45, $48, $49, $50, $54, $56, $60, $63, $70, $72, $75, $80, $84, $87, $90, $96, $98, $99, $100, $102, $105, $111, $112, $116, $120, $129, $132, $136, $140, $144, $145, $148, $165, $168, $170, $172, $174, $176, $185, $192, $196, $198, $203, $204, $215, $220, $222, $231, $238, $240, $250, $258, $259, $264, $288, $300, $301, $308, $336, $350, $400, $450, or $460 for a Mets game. Just measure a few variables, accurately assess your mental priorities, and whip up a little Perl script to tell you which ticket will satisfy your needs! That is, in this irrational world where people insist on set prices instead of just haggling.
Did it really counter his argument? The quote points out that the Mets official is full of it.
Is anyone in the Mets front office familiar with the concept of rounding? "$98, $99, $100, $102" How could any partially sane person not say, just make those all $100?
Two reasons.
1) This allows them to say "We have X seats under $100!", instead of "We have X-Y seats under $100!"
2) It's consumer friendly. Somehow. Ask Dave Howard, he'll tell you.
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