[News] Eisenberg: Even Math-Challenged Brains Can See What's Happening With Ticket Prices

[BR News]

There's never a good time to ask fans to dig deeper into their pockets to pay more for tickets, but the Ravens offered logical rationale with a $120 million investment into M&T Bank Stadium.

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[CQ1]

"The bigger we were, the harder we fell; I regret the fact that we were greedy".....
Look at our coliseum, now.
-The Romans

[bluehen]

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and just watch on TV.

[ellicottraven]

My brain is math challenged but I still don't get increasing ticket prices now when the team is reeling with a record of 32-34 since winning the SB. Right move perhaps, but terrible timing.

[ellicottraven]

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and just watch on TV.

And run the risk of TV blackouts? Hope we never see that day in Baltimore, but if Steve insists on keeping the status quo going and the team continues to underperform under these coaches, then we may indeed see that day.

[Chuckx999]

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and WILL NOT just watch on TV.
With all the college games I think I could miss a lot of the boring NFL matchups on Sunday with no problem at all.

[The Beak]

Higher tickets should = better product ? The fans are getting shafted, unless we see major improvement , I hate to be negative nelly , but major improvement is incredulous when thinking of this coaching staff...

[saxman33]

Add up the Ravens expense. Capitalize on their books for lets say 10 years, maybe longer. Now take the increased ticket prices over the identical timeframe.
How much are they really out of pocket? Not much. A normal business expense. Cost of doing business. The issue is their abysmal failures over the last 4 seasons. Coaching, omg. QB, disinterested and lets face it Biscotti makes the most money off the franchise but Joe is right behind. Drafting. Cap management. Vision. Scheme. Lets go look at the talent from 1996 thru 2012. Now compare them to the decent but not special players today.
Truth.....if they do not provide a more inspirational brand of football that results in excellence, no amount of money to rehab a stadium will be enough. Thanks

[RaRaRavens]

Wow, this organization is really going all in. With all the questionable coaching moves and decisions, the mediocre performance that is slowly becoming a new norm for the Ravens, and now the increase in prices, I can really see our team tanking down real nice, if we won't have couple of 12-4 seasons and deep playoff runs in the next couple of seasons. Unfortunately, we are a looong way from being a playoff team. Can't see too much sunshine on the horizon any which way you look at it.

Edited February 4 by RaRaRavens

[The Greek]

barring major injuries i see us getting back to the playoffs but the fo needs to stop hoarding picks and move up to grab the guys that will put fans in the stands.

[ravens4life86]

In the Next 5-10 years or so.. Ravens will have the largest Video board any stadium on earth. In stead of a 200 ft video board which is nice, Stadium wide video board, instead of just at the endzones... Have 2 at 50 yard line opposing sides.

I dont like it coming off a bad season but I understand importance of stadium value,modernizing the stadium experience etc

But you ultimately gotta win, I pretty high tech stadium means nothing if you keep missing the playoffs

[Crusader]

There is this thing they don't teach in school any more called capitalist economics that has a principle called "diminishing returns". The NFL & Ravens will be learning that real soon. Just look at the Super Rich Bowl playing Sunday night.

[Adreme]

2 hours ago, RaRaRavens said:

Wow, this organization is really going all in. With all the questionable coaching moves and decisions, the mediocre performance that is slowly becoming a new norm for the Ravens, and now the increase in prices, I can really see our team tanking down real nice, if we won't have couple of 12-4 seasons and deep playoff runs in the next couple of seasons. Unfortunately, we are a looong way from being a playoff team. Can't see too much sunshine on the horizon any which way you look at it.

You know they were 1 play and about 1 yard off winning the division right?  How much closer to being a playoff team can you be than that.

[TheConquerorWorm]

  7 hours ago, bluehen said:

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and just watch on TV.

And run the risk of TV blackouts? Hope we never see that day in Baltimore, but if Steve insists on keeping the status quo going and the team continues to underperform under these coaches, then we may indeed see that day.

Teams make so much more money from TV deals than fans (3 times at least) so no way there will be black-outs. Just look at the Jaguars who basically have tarps covering their entire upper deck so the stadium is "sold out" even though there's only 65,000 fans in a 85,000 seat stadium.

[jravens1313]

  7 hours ago, RaRaRavens said:

Wow, this organization is really going all in. With all the questionable coaching moves and decisions, the mediocre performance that is slowly becoming a new norm for the Ravens, and now the increase in prices, I can really see our team tanking down real nice, if we won't have couple of 12-4 seasons and deep playoff runs in the next couple of seasons. Unfortunately, we are a looong way from being a playoff team. Can't see too much sunshine on the horizon any which way you look at it.

You know they were 1 play and about 1 yard off winning the division right?  How much closer to being a playoff team can you be than that.

We lost to Cincinnati in Week 17. AKA we still lost the division regardless of that game. We are not a playoff team.

[jravens1313]

At some point there has to be concern of pricing people out. IMO attending a game at M&T Bank in 2004 was just as good of a product as attending a game in 2016. Yes there are more TV boards, and fantasy updates today, but the atmosphere and the team make Ravens games worth paying for.

Prices should only be raised with inflation, or actual demand. Are more season ticket holders in line in 2017? Why is it so hard to sell my PSL at a discount to "market value"?

One major improvement that would improve gameday is reliable wifi, or legit infrastructure for cellular service throughout the stadium. Hopefully some of that $120M goes towards that.

[jravens1313]

In the Next 5-10 years or so.. Ravens will have the largest Video board any stadium on earth. In stead of a 200 ft video board which is nice, Stadium wide video board, instead of just at the endzones... Have 2 at 50 yard line opposing sides.

I dont like it coming off a bad season but I understand importance of stadium value,modernizing the stadium experience etc

But you ultimately gotta win, I pretty high tech stadium means nothing if you keep missing the playoffs

Source on this?

[throwback2000]

The home experience on Sundays is becoming more and more attractive. Keep up the good work guys!

[rmcjacket23]

The home experience on Sundays is becoming more and more attractive. Keep up the good work guys!

They make more money off of you when you stay home anyway, so its a win-win for everybody.

[rmcjacket23]

Higher tickets should = better product ? The fans are getting shafted, unless we see major improvement , I hate to be negative nelly , but major improvement is incredulous when thinking of this coaching staff...

No, higher prices doesn't mean better product.

I can name a litany of products and services you use on an everyday basis that has daily, weekly, monthly, or annual price fluctuations (both increase and decrease) and the product doesn't change a smidge.

Start with gasoline...

Same thing applies in the service market also, as well as the entertainment industry.

[rmcjacket23]

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and WILL NOT just watch on TV.
With all the college games I think I could miss a lot of the boring NFL matchups on Sunday with no problem at all.

Well, in reality, many people find the college game unfulfilling.

I mean in any give game in any given week, there's maybe a handful of players actually good enough to play professionally playing in a college football game, and there's very little resistance in terms of defense.

Per usual, people that can no longer afford to go to games will switch to TV, where the NFL makes most of their money (same with the College football), and the people that can actually afford to go to the games will. Its why newly built NFL stadiums are focusing on smaller stadium capacity with more suites.

[rmcjacket23]

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and just watch on TV.

Which the NFL prefers, because they make more money off of you when you stay at home and watch on TV.

[rmcjacket23]

  18 hours ago, bluehen said:

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and just watch on TV.

And run the risk of TV blackouts? Hope we never see that day in Baltimore, but if Steve insists on keeping the status quo going and the team continues to underperform under these coaches, then we may indeed see that day.

NFL suspended the blackout rule the last two years. Its expected that they won't be using it in 2017 or possibly for a long time.

Its an antiquated rule that doesn't benefit anybody anything.

[throwback2000]

  19 hours ago, ellicottraven said:

  20 hours ago, bluehen said:

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and just watch on TV.

And run the risk of TV blackouts? Hope we never see that day in Baltimore, but if Steve insists on keeping the status quo going and the team continues to underperform under these coaches, then we may indeed see that day.

NFL suspended the blackout rule the last two years. Its expected that they won't be using it in 2017 or possibly for a long time.

Its an antiquated rule that doesn't benefit anybody anything.

Not so.Just ask the fans in Jacksonville about that. They are a hop-skip-jump away from being teamless. By the way, another reason Tagliabue was passed over for HOF!

[whobilly]

If the Ravens could go 12-4/13-3 every year like the Pats do M&T Bank Stadium would be a much better place to watch a game. Funny how that works.

[jravens1313]

2 hours ago, rmcjacket23 said:

They make more money off of you when you stay home anyway, so its a win-win for everybody.

That is some twisted logic... EG: At home the advertisers can run live TV commercials with an attempt to target the type of viewer who watches football. That ad Revenue is shared league wide. VS: A season ticket holder pays ~$80-200 per ticket. At the game they drink and eat ~$20-60 worth in concessions. Many also pay another $40-100 for parking. Please explain to me how someone who watches from home spends more money on the Baltimore Ravens than someone who attends a game at the stadium? 

[whobilly]

  21 hours ago, bluehen said:

Unless the team starts playing better, people will loose interest and just watch on TV.

Which the NFL prefers, because they make more money off of you when you stay at home and watch on TV.

Revenue from tickets alone is approx. 10 million dollars for each home game. Add in concessions, merchandise, etc. According to you if 200,000 Ravens Fans are home watching on TV they generate 10 million dollars in revenue?

[ellicottraven]

13 minutes ago, whobilly said:

Revenue from tickets alone is approx. 10 million dollars for each home game. Add in concessions, merchandise, etc. According to you if 200,000 Ravens Fans are home watching on TV they generate 10 million dollars in revenue?

Actually TV deals run in the billions each year shared equally by all 32 teams. You do the math with 32 teams and tell me how much each team makes for 8 home games... I'll cut and paste an excerpt from Forbes for which I'll also provide a link.

"Financial terms have not been released, but the three networks are expected to pay roughly $3 billion a year on average annually compared to the current $1.93 billion they collectively pay. ESPN re-upped its deal with the NFL earlier this year at an annual rate of $1.9 billion. Factor in other media deals with the NFL Network, DirectTV ($1 billion annually), Westwood One radio and others, and NFL teams will divvy up nearly $7 billion in media money starting in 2014. That is more than $200 million per team every year before one ticket, beer or jersey is sold"

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/12/14/the-nfl-signs-tv-deals-worth-26-billion/#774ab87c2a67

 

 

[rmcjacket23]

2 hours ago, throwback2000 said:

Not so.Just ask the fans in Jacksonville about that. They are a hop-skip-jump away from being teamless. By the way, another reason Tagliabue was passed over for HOF!

Umm no. Jacksonville isn't close to moving. Do you have any sort of source or evidence that this is actually happening?

And in regards to what I said about the NFL blackouts, its fact. Its not up for debate.

[ByTheBay]

17 hours ago, Adreme said:

You know they were 1 play and about 1 yard off winning the division right?  How much closer to being a playoff team can you be than that.

So so sick of hearing this. No they were 1 win closer to reaching the playoffs. No one can logically say they would have beaten the Bengles. No one can honestly think that CIN would not have come to play if it meant ruining our season. And no one can honestly say, after how hot/cold Joe Flacco and the ravens have been over the past 10 years that they could not have collapsed in cincy. I would have hoped we would have won but so many fans have said this and it couldn't be more wrong.