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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

It doesn't cost that much to go Il Mulino!

The Sports Industry would like to believe they are immune to the economic downturn, but even they have to confront the brutal facts: ticket sales and advertising dollars are slowing down. It is back to earth for every sport across the board.

In Baseball, headlines are in the form of Citi being challenged on its $400M sponsorship of the new NY Mets Stadium despite the company essentially being (all but in name) nationalized by the US Govt.

NASCAR is facing contraction in ticket sales (Daytona prices had to be dropped to sell out) and racing teams (many are merging to cut costs).

In football, this past weekend Ultimatenyg got the email from the NY Giants:

Dear New York Giants Wait-list Member,

As you may know, the Giants will be moving into a new state-of-the-art stadium scheduled to open for the 2010 season. The new stadium will provide Giants players, coaches and, most importantly, Giants fans with the first class facility, services and amenities they deserve.

Our records indicate that you have been a Giants wait-list member for a number of years. Please call us at (deleted) to update your contact information and to discuss your opportunity to become a Giants season ticket holder in the new stadium.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,
(deleted)


I never thought it would be this fast. I have been on the wait-list since 1998. I've got the big screen hdtv giving me plenty of football enjoyment. You think they are going to get me out there for the December night games and the flex-screwed schedule games and then ask me for a license fee on top of that? VOTE WITH YOUR FEET. Send a message with ONE SINGLE VOTE. The fact that I got the notification from the Giants surprises me, but then again it really should not. IT IS BROWNING AWFUL OUT THERE, FOLKS. This economic downturn is not a drill. This is the real deal. Many people are clueless to how real and severe this is, and for fans to shell out the money for this entertainment "right" when they can still go to individual games on a pay-as-you-go basis is nothing but a luxury.

Considering that fans in attendance at Giants games are in the NY Metro area and that Wall Street has imploded, why BID? The landscape has changed. Time for the Giants, who wore the risk the entire time (no crying, season's tickets holders who cannot afford this!), to feel it and make the players back off on salaries and give the fans something a little (how about a lot) less costly. VOTE WITH YOUR FEET. If you want to support the Giants owners and buy a license, go ahead. I would suspect that there will be enough people who will end up going for it. Let's look at what is still available: go to the NY Giants New Stadium site. Click on "Seat Allocation," tab to "Pricing and Seat Views." Before you look at the PSL prices, look at the ticket price column. There are essentially two groups of seats, those for $85-160/ticket, and those for $400,$500, and $700/ticket. Would it shock you that all the premium tickets are still available?!! Those "clubs" have corporate written all over them. For an extra four hundred to five hundred dollars per game they feed you! It doesn't cost that much to go to Il Mulino!! And let's not forget that the tailgating is one of the most important parts of going to the game. But wait, we cannot eat, we have to wait until we get inside to eat the Club food. Huh? That these seats are still available is not only not surprising, it is completely logical. Oh, and one more small minor item, those seats also come with the $7500, $12500 and $20000 personal seat license price tag. So if you are going to be rich enough to spend $20G's on a seat license, you go to Field 1 and pay $160 per game instead of the Coach's Club, were they basically charge you another $540 to get all you can eat.

There was one other location that was still available besides the 3 Club locations.. Field 3. While they only carry the $120/ticket price per game, they are imo the worst seats in the stadium. I do not like the end zone and the end zone on the first level also has no perspective once they get past the 30-40 yard line. Logical once again that these seats are still around. No thanks.

I am sure there are plenty of people still behind me who are chomping at the bit to buy. But the resale market is going to change now because by the time they are done there will not be the pent up demand BEHIND THE CURRENT BUYERS. So the secondary market in coming years (when, fyi, this economic downturn is worse than it is now... we are just getting started) is going to be where the real opportunities will be. Two years from now when that emotional purchase of a seat license needs cash, you will see the secondary market seek the TRUE level of what these licenses are worth. A chunk of people who were contacted and made commitments months ago are already regretting their purchases.

Summary: Sit back and let the secondary marketplace determine the value of a seat license. The economy is going nowhere for a while, so consider it a short hedge vs Gilbrown and the Giants to be on the sidelines in cash while this water seeks its level. The secondary market will offer you precise locations for what you want instead of these dregs of SuperPriced Club seats and 5K end-zone seats. And if the PSLs and ticket prices are not attractive, do the Ultimatenyg Seat Plan- 1 big screen hdtv for $1K and $0 for each game, $0 for parking, temperature controlled, no parking lot traffic after the game. With the money you save, you can go to Il Mulino, and I guarantee the food will be better.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"do the Ultimatenyg Seat Plan- 1 big screen hdtv for $1K and $0 for each game, $0 for parking, temperature controlled, no parking lot traffic after the game. With the money you save, you can go to Il Mulino, and I guarantee the food will be better."

LOL
Well said Andy

Mitch said...

Plan- 1 big screen hdtv for $1K and $0 for each game, $0 for parking, temperature controlled, no parking lot traffic after the game.

Andy, I too received the same email...and I scoffed as well.....

btw...in the plan outlined above, you left out my favorite "perk"

Private Bathroom!....PRICELESS!

Unknown said...

I've had Giants season tickets in my family since the early 60s and have been going almost that long. I froze my arse off in nosebleeds in Yankee Stadium. I took buses to the Yale Bowl (and back...with very scary, very drunk people). And I watched decades of truly lousy football. And looked the other way when punks who would be in prison if it weren't for the NFL made millions. It was all good for me.

When the PSL program was first announced, I agonized over the decision to pay the $10,000 per seat PSL for FOUR seats for months. Finally, it just struck me: what the heck am I doing. It is freaking football. There are other things I want to do with my life. The parking this year, the insane traffic, the exorbitant prices for stadium concessions, the crap food & beer made my decision easier (anyone sit in 2.5 hours of traffic after the Philly playoff debacle?)

The deadline passed and I thought I was done. Then I got a registered letter from the Giants asking me if I was realllllllllly sure I wanted to give them up. I ignored it. THEN the Giants CALLED me. Can you imagine? In 40 years they never called once. I was used to them sending out form letters with deadlines and threats about losing my seats. I figured they were desperate. Which, I'm sad to say, made me smile. They brought this on themselves.

There have been times over the last 15 years when even buying the season tickets was difficult for me. But I figured out a way to do it because it was something our family did. I have to say, I feel betrayed by what the Giants did. I still like the team and the game, but I feel no compunction to pay for their new stadium. If I want to go to a game now, I can take some of that $40,000 I didn't spend...scalp some AMAZING seats, take a limo to the game and have my tailgate catered once a year...FOR TWENTY YEARS.

Just say no baby.....

Motown Blue said...

Serves Tisch and company right and in a way can't wait to see the first game with all those empty $20K PSL seats that my family had to give up. Browning shame as this puts the nail in the coffin on homefield advantage with all those mimosa sipping, latte sipping spectators versus the hard core group that tailgates every Sunday.

I can picture one of the season ticketholders the Tischs get: a corporate executive from California, ex-Rams fan, loves USC, yapping on his/her i-phone while Bradshaw breaks one for 85 yards and a TD. While the old time fans who started watching the team in the Polo grounds, Yankee Stadium and even the Yale Bowl enjoys the game on HDTV with his/her freshly grilled burger straight from the habache.

I am on the same page as Andy as this is going to be a brutal economy. More depression like than any recession we have undergone in our lifetime. I wouldn't be suprised if in 2 years the Mara's are looking to sell their piece as a result of this over-extension in the stadium expansion.

Yes, I browning bitter at ownership!

xtian said...

i don't have nyg season tickets, nor am i on the list since i have lived far away from ny/nj for most of my adult life after growing up on long island. i have seen the giants play in tampa bay, denver, la, and minnesota.

when i heard about the psls i thought it was a huge mistake because many lower, middle, heck even lower-upper, class season ticket holders would now give up their seats that were held for generations.

the heart of any team is the average fan who is lower or middle class. they are the ones screaming and cheering at the game. they are the ones who paint their heads and bare their chest in the snow.

motown blue is correct that home game advantage will be gone cuz the fanaticism will be gone. all they'll have is rich people who won't brave the elements going to the games [or not cuz they have business to do--reminding me of lala fans leaving a laker close playoff game in the 3rd quarter cuz they have some party to attend]

and to think i had tampa bay season tickets at the old sombrero 20 rows up on the goal line for $133/season back in the early 80's. how times have changed and not for the better!

Brian said...

Here's the thing, going to an NFL game isn't that much fun compared to watching it at home on a big HDTV. You've got insanely long TV timeouts that have ruined the pace and flow of the game, traffic, parking, expense, ect. Its just not worth it. I'd rather watch it at home from my couch, where thanks to DirecTV I can flip between every game.

Andy F. said...

I may not have been completely clear on the post... they offered me 4 sites for tickets: Coach's Club, Mezz A, Mezz B and Field 3. Schtick dreck 1,2,3 and 4!

Crazed Giant fan said...

The real question behind the issue is why do I go to football games instead of watching them from home?
There is an excitement which you can feel when you are at the game that is not present at home.
There is the fun of tailgating.
But for me there is the belief that somehow, by being in the stands, I can play a small part in the outcome of the game. I know that when key moments arise, the crowd rises to their feet and the energy of the cheering rallies the emotions of the players. How many times have I seen the "Defense" charge fire up the team. And how many times have I seen an opponent make a false start because of the crowd. And how many times have I seen an NFL official make a bad call and hear it from the crowd! Only to get a "makeup" call a play or two later. The savy NY Giants home fans also give it to our own players when they are not performing as they should. The players and the officials are just people and when the crowd calls them out on their mistakes, they know it. And the veteran fan makes a difference!! This is the main reason why I go to the games.

Last year I had the good fortune of going to the SuperBowl. It was a great experience, but the crowd was very different. Though there were pockets of Giants and Patriot fans, most of the people were there for the spectacle of the event. The cheering was relatively muted no matter which team made a good play. In short, it was not the same feeling and I won't ever do it again. I fear that the new Giants stadium will be the same. And I think my days of going to home games may be coming to an end.

Mitch said...

Just heard that Brad Van Pelt passed away from a heart attack. Truly one of my favorite Giants from 1973-1983. He was a terrific player on some awful teams. He will be missed.

Russ Wellen said...

Sorry to hear about Van Pelt, Mitch. Yes, many happy hours watching him. Would that the Giants drafted an LB like him this year.

Unknown said...

re: PSLs - I KNOW that Duke Mara is spinning in his grave! I got the same email after being on the list since 1986. My heart is broken - I will always be True Blue, but these prices are obscene. The empty stadium will clearly have an impact. Remember that proposed Jets stadium in Manhattan a few years back? How can you have football w/o tailgating?! These rich people have brown for brains.

Adrienne said...

I received the same email today (I remember I put myself on the waitlist in 2001 when my son was born) and I thought a while . . .
.
My job is going ok and my wife works too so we are semi-secure. Finally after 10 years (new house with lots of repairs, a child, and couple of bouts of unemployment), we have a few bucks in the bank.
.
We also have a hefty property tax bill, declining retirement savings and two old cars, so this post came at a perfect time.
.
It's interesting because for over 20 years, I have been able to go to almost any Giants game I've wanted to, including playoff games, by scrounging, scalping, begging, etc. Usually not much more than face value and often less. Seriously, 1~3 games WHEN I WANT TO without the obligation to pay for 10 games or find a buyer for the games I couldn't get to.
.
To me, this indicated that the demand for tickets was a lot thinner than the perception-of-scarcity indicated. My anecdote was that "Uncle Louie in Florida who had 8 tickets since 195x" was both lucky to have a scarce resource but also had to scramble to find buyers each season/week. Somehow, there were always enough people who had to get rid of an extra ticket.
.
So now, Uncle Louie isn't coming up with $xx,xxx to keep those tickets, is he?
.
The best part of this post was the insight that the depth of ticket demand at these very high prices might not be there after all. Those who purchased PSL's with the intention of scalping their tickets for profit are going to have the Giants organization for competition each week it appears.

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