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Marlins Hold the Line on Season-Ticket Prices
By Jeff Ostrowski, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
The Florida Marlins open their season today to defend two titles: The Fish are World Series champs, of course, but they also hold the lesser-known mantle of Best Value in Pro Sports.
In spite of last year's surprise championship, the Marlins' average season-ticket price remains at $12.78, according to Team Marketing Report of Chicago. That's unchanged from last year and second-cheapest among the 121 clubs in Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA and the NHL. Only the Montreal Expos, the Marlins' opponent today, are a cheaper ticket.
"We want to make baseball affordable," team spokesman Sean Flynn said. "We weren't looking to go back and hammer people after the world championship."
The team's season-ticket prices are unchanged, although the team raised some single-game prices. Infield box seats went from $25 to $28, a 12 percent increase, for instance, while terrace box seats rose from $15 to $18, a 20 percent hike.
The Marlins held season-ticket prices even as the average season ticket rose 3.9 percent over last season, Team Marketing Report said in its annual survey of baseball ticket prices. The Chicago Cubs, vanquished by the Marlins in last season's playoffs, raised tickets 17.5 percent, to an average of $28.45.
Why can the Cubs raise prices while the Marlins can't? Blame supply and demand. The Cubs routinely sell out Wrigley Field, while the Marlins typically fill the cavernous Pro Player stadium only for opening day and for playoff and World Series games.
"Their attendance figures weren't that great last year even though they had a young, exciting team," said Becky Vallett, executive editor of Team Marketing Report . "The Marlins are probably hoping that it will be a good way to motivate the community to come to the games."
The strategy seems to be working. The Marlins have sold more than 8,000 season tickets this year, up from about 3,000 last year, and more than 50,000 fans are expected today.
Kathleen Davis of Sport Management Research Institute in Weston said the Marlins should use the goodwill they built last year to raise ticket prices this year. The Marlins could sell the increase to fans as a way to pay for a new stadium, Davis said.
"The Marlins could easily get away with a 5 to 10 percent increase," Davis said. "The fans know it's a great product, and the product is still pretty much intact."
The Marlins say they can't stay in South Florida without a $325 million ballpark. The team has pledged up to $137 million and Miami-Dade County has chipped in $73 million. Meanwhile, the Marlins are lobbying dubious state legislators for a $60 million tax break to help pay for the new park.
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