Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by 919191
How is this discount a bad thing?
For fans??? It's great...
From a business perspective it's sad that the FO has come to the conclusion that this is the only way they'll draw 4 big crowds... 3 half priced nights and bobbleheads.
And I paid full price (season ticket price) for my tickets. Turns out I could have waited 5 months and gotten some for half price -- would have saved me and the guy I share the seats with over 100 bucks! In other words, it's not the greatest way to make your season ticket base feel good about spending that money up front.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
Maybe, but they will still sell alot of other concessions and souvineers. And as a fan, I care mostly about the fans, I guess.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by dabvu2498
Front office desperation in abundance now.
Perhaps. But I'd rather have them desperate with close to a full house against the Cards than desperate with only 25K there.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabvu2498
And I paid full price (season ticket price) for my tickets. Turns out I could have waited 5 months and gotten some for half price -- would have saved me and the guy I share the seats with over 100 bucks! In other words, it's not the greatest way to make your season ticket base feel good about spending that money up front.
I have never understood this. To me, it is selfish to think this way.
I am upset because the next person got a better deal than I did.
You don't get upset though when you pay different prices from the person next to you on priceline or at the airport or anywhere else, do you?
The seats to those games are something that cannot be kept longer than the game itself, just like seats on an airline, and if there is not someone in the seat, it is lost revenue to the reds. I would argue they should be doing more of this type of thing to get fans in the park later in the season. It makes perfect business sense.
Now, there is a science between full price for games at start vs maybe a discount for season ticket holders vs a discount on day of game or whatever it might be. If you do too much discounting like this as the season goes on, you can cannabalize full price sales. But when the game is gone, you cannot go back in time and put a butt in that seat. So why not do something about it?
And for those fans that did pay full price, look at it this way. If they sell an extra 10,000 tickets at half price, that might be an extra 50-100K that could be used towards payroll next year to make YOUR product better via a DFA or slightly higher salary. You do enough of that type of thing, it adds up to real money.
And, every person that is there that wouldn't have otherwise been is another person who might just get excited about the Reds playoff run and come to more games down the stretch.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
This is a fantastic move by the ownership, but it's sad that it was a needed move.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabvu2498
For fans??? It's great...
From a business perspective it's sad that the FO has come to the conclusion that this is the only way they'll draw 4 big crowds... 3 half priced nights and bobbleheads.
And I paid full price (season ticket price) for my tickets. Turns out I could have waited 5 months and gotten some for half price -- would have saved me and the guy I share the seats with over 100 bucks! In other words, it's not the greatest way to make your season ticket base feel good about spending that money up front.
Oddly enough this is the same strategy used by nearly every other sports franchise in professional sports for the past 20 years.
As for not making the season ticket holders pay the money up front....PUUUULLLLEEEEZ....teams have been doing this for years. Did the Reds in past years? Probably not but they also have not had a decent team on the field since 1999.
People have not come back to the park because the previous ownership gave them 5 years to find other stuff to do with their time. I compare this year to the year prior to the Indians breakout team in the 90's...decent team, had some gas but people still didn't come around, why? There was nothing there for them when they went to the ballpark...when they had strong promotions, reasonable prices and were involved in the community the team started to bring people through the gate.
Baseball may be America's sport but it is not the number one sport anymore...people are juiced on constant action and there is a lot of down time at the park during a game...the Reds can't change overnight and neither can the people who used to come to the park...this is another great step to showcase the product.
Finally, by showcasing the product I bet they sell any season tickets they would lose by people hacked off by the half price ticket promotions.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by buckeyenut
I have never understood this. To me, it is selfish to think this way.
I am upset because the next person got a better deal than I did.
You don't get upset though when you pay different prices from the person next to you on priceline or at the airport or anywhere else, do you?
Sure it's selfish... that's my/our check that I put in the mail in March!
Now that having been said, I would pay it again today, tomorrow and next year to have my/our seats (good seats) reserved for every game, especially Opening Day, Bobblehead games, fireworks night, Indians series, and when I looked at the schedule in the spring, I expected, for this series vs. the Cards in August.
I personally, am not upset about it. It will not affect my season tickets. But I could see where it would affect some. And if you affect your season ticket base to a great extent, you could lose more money than the extra ticket sales for 3 games in August might net you.
The flying analogy doesn't fly. If I'm flying for work/family reasons, I'll pay whatever it takes. It's not disposable income (the money I spend on the Reds is). If I'm flying for pleasure, I'm the one getting the good deal.
I guess I'm spoiled by the mens clothing store/tailor that I shop at quite often. If they have a sale on an item or service that you've purchased in the past month, they'll refund you the difference. That's how you generate customer loyalty!
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabvu2498
For fans??? It's great...
From a business perspective it's sad that the FO has come to the conclusion that this is the only way they'll draw 4 big crowds... 3 half priced nights and bobbleheads.
And I paid full price (season ticket price) for my tickets. Turns out I could have waited 5 months and gotten some for half price -- would have saved me and the guy I share the seats with over 100 bucks! In other words, it's not the greatest way to make your season ticket base feel good about spending that money up front.
When the Reds were the dregs of the league in attendance in the 30's MacPhail did the same thing, it creates fan interest, Bob Howsam created programs to ensure that events like that helped fill the stands.
Both of their projects led to surges in Reds fandom and on the field.
Marge just charged full price, cut out all the specials and counted her cash.
That led to this today... full circle.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by Redsland
If you tell them you paid full price for your tickets, they'll probably sell you the dogs for $4.50.
:p:
:laugh:
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by westofyou
Marge just charged full price, cut out all the specials and counted her cash.
If I remember correctly, Marge's full price wasn't very high... lowest per ticket average in the league, if memory serves me... as I believe it is today.
Also, I believe she had the $1 hot dog as well.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by CincyReds2003
If they want to sell the place out, offer 2 free beer coupons! :beerme:
Hey, it's been tried! :lol:
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http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseb...06_04_1974.stm
10-Cent Beer Night
Cleveland Municipal Stadium / June 4, 1974 By James G. Robinson
Mike Hargrove remembers his first game in Cleveland well.
The Indians graciously gave away their beer. Their fans gave away the game.
10-Cent Beer Night was the Indians' most desperate stunt in the club's most desperate era. Cleveland was mired in the AL East cellar for half a decade despite the best efforts of ace hurler Gaylord Perry, who won 24 games and the Cy Young Award in 1972.
Stagnant attendance at Municipal Stadium (their turnout in 1973 had been the second-lowest since World War II) prompted the announcement that at selected games stadium vendors would offer a 10-ounce cup of Strohs for just 10 cents.
Cleveland's first (and last) "10-Cent Beer Night" was the first game of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers, who had held "cheap beer nights" of their own at Arlington Stadium the previous season without incident. Even though the Rangers had suffered through two of the worst seasons in baseball history since moving from Washington to Arlington, star turns by right fielder Jeff Burroughs (AL MVP) and Ferguson Jenkins (25-12, 2.83) and the emergence of Hargrove (AL Rookie of the Year) would help the surprising Rangers finish the 1974 season second in the AL West with an 84-76 record.
An incident a week earlier in Arlington brought some testosterone-laden intrigue to the "Beer Night" matchup. It all began with a hard slide into Indians second baseman Jack Brohamer by the Rangers' Lenny Randle; four innings later Indians hurler Milt Wilcox retaliated with a fastball behind Randle's head. Instead of charging the mound, Randle bunted the next pitch up the first base line. As Wilcox charged the ball, he was greeted by a hard forearm shove from Randle, who then barreled into Cleveland's hulking first baseman John Ellis.
As the obligatory brawl ensued, more than a few Indians found themselves doused with beer gleefully hurled from the stands. Rangers shortstop Toby Harrah remarked that the normally docile Ranger fans were becoming "more and more like the ones in Venezuela," who frequently chased referees out of arenas.
It certainly seemed like a good percentage of the Indians fans attending "10-Cent Beer Night" were looking for a measure of revenge. For a team that had averaged less than 8,000 fans a game the previous season, the announced attendance of over 25,000 was an impressive turnout. But many of the fans were already tipsy when they showed up and things turned ugly early. Especially ominous were the sounds of small explosions from the stands, heard from the press box as early as the first inning.
After the Rangers took an early lead, the alcohol-fueled frenzy that had pushed fans through the turnstiles began to push them onto the field. In the second inning, a large woman jumped into the Indians' on-deck circle and lifted her shirt; in the fourth, a naked man slid into second as Rangers outfielder Tom Grieve circled the bases with his second homer of the game; and in the fifth, a father-and-son team welcomed Hargrove to Cleveland by leaping into the infield and mooning the crowd. From the seventh inning onwards, a steady stream of interlopers greeted Burroughs in right field. Some even stopped to shake his hand.
The stadium simmered until the Tribe came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, down 5-3. With one out, an Ed Crosby single scored George Hendrick; two singles later, a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to center by John Lowenstein plated Crosby to tie the game. But slugger Leron Lee never had a chance to drive in the game-winner (Rusty Torres) from third. As the Cleveland fans pelted the field with golf balls, rocks and batteries, someone took the opportunity to swipe Burroughs' glove. Burroughs chased the fan back to the stands and in response, people began swarming into the outfield, surrounding the Rangers' star outfielder and ending any hope for an Indians rally.
Dodging more than a few flying chairs, Texas manager Billy Martin grabbed a bat and led his team on a rescue mission to right field. "The bat showed up later," Hargrove recalled, "and it was broken." Even the Indians were helping to fight off their own fans. Umpire Nestor Chylak, hit by both a chair and a rock, quickly forfeited the game to Texas, officially ending the Indians' comeback. "They were just uncontrollable beasts," said Chylak later. "I've never seen anything like it except in a zoo." Nine fans were arrested for their part in the melee.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram beat writer Mike Shropshire asked Rangers outfielder Cesar Tovar if the Cleveland fans were acting more like Venezuelan fans than the Arlington fans had. "These people are different, very different. Got no respect for the police," the Caracas native replied. "Of course, they'd shoot the people who tried that at home."
Ironically, the game was the first forfeit in the major leagues since the Rangers (then the Washington Senators) last game at RFK Stadium, when a horde of souvenir-hungry fans took the field and refused to leave.
How desperate was the Indians front office to fill the Municipal Stadium seats?
Incredibly, the team had no plans to call off the remaining 10-Cent Beer Nights until AL President Lee MacPhail intervened with the understatement of the year: "There was no question that beer played a great part in the affair."
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by dabvu2498
Front office desperation in abundance now.
Don't consider it desparation. Consider it an act of goodwill to try to win the fans back. After all we've been through with Allen/Lindner, the team is going to have to be creative to win back the fans that have declared they are "through" with the Reds over the years.
Given the alternative was probably the normal 20-25k fans in attendence, I doubt they lose a significant amount of revenue with this promotion. They may even gain revenue.
It's a nice act of goodwill to a fanbase that is used to being kicked in the privates. (like the additional surcharge for the Cleveland series, for example. I don't know if they still do that, but they did that when Allen was in charge.)
Cast is looking at trying to heal this franchise for the long term. It's nice to have a fan friendly owner that wants to win instead of Scrooge.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabvu2498
If I remember correctly, Marge's full price wasn't very high... lowest per ticket average in the league, if memory serves me... as I believe it is today.
Also, I believe she had the $1 hot dog as well.
Yep, meanwhile every other part of the organization payed for that hot dog and ticket price.
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
Lindner gave away over 1 million tickets FOR FREE during his last couple years, to momentous applause.
Castellini collects half price for a couple days, and he's "desperate."
:confused:
Re: 1/2 price tickets and $1 Hot Dogs
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Originally Posted by Redsland
Lindner gave away over 1 million tickets FOR FREE during his last couple years, to momentous applause.
Castellini collects half price for a couple days, and he's "desperate."
:confused:
It's been a hot summer. Produce sales are down and UDF ice cream is up. Duh. :p: