Have prices increased this year and are some games higher than others?

From: Cathy

Comments: Hi..I have season tickets so I’m not affected by this..but this issue does seem to be boiling with fans coming to games and being caught unaware of ticket prices. Have prices increased this year and are some games higher than others? Were prices raised because of new fees from Rabobank? Why are prices raised on promotional nights and not others? (I think that’s where the unhappiness lies). This question seems to be asked over and over on Facebook but never answered..why not just address it once and for all?

Reply: Cathy, you have many questions. We’ll try to answer them.

Yes, there is a “new” facility fee being enacted by the arena. It’s new to us, but not to the arena. It has been applied for years to every other event they host, and also most arenas in the country have a similar fee. It’s just a standard operating fee that Condors fans have avoided. Also, this season we have instituted variable pricing and you’re right, season ticket packages are not affected by the variable pricing. In fact, we have hardly raised our season ticket pricing at all in the last decade.

But individual game pricing has changed over the years, like anything. This season, we labeled 4 games as “Marquee” or “Premium” games. These games are Oct. 14, Oct. 27, Nov. 24, & Feb. 1. Tickets for these games are $2-$5 higher depending on your seat location. Note that two of those games have already occurred.

This is something the sports and entertainment industry has been doing for many years. Of course many industries have done it seemingly forever (hotels, airlines, utilities, advertising, rental cars, e-bay, stock market, movie theaters, etc.), some even taking it further than this where the prices can change by the minute. There are a number of major league teams, including the San Francisco Giants, that utilize this form of pricing.

However, while some tickets have gone up, some have gone down, too. Our ticket prices in the Glass, Rinkside and Executive Levels have actually been LOWERED for weekday games on the schedule.

Of course there are two ways to get around any price increases. One is to become a Condors Ticket Plan holder. Since 2007-08, the only increase in season ticket plan pricing was by one dollar, for our 6-game plans. And this season, you can save more than 20%, get into the arena early to help make sure you receive the giveaway and avoid lines, and get a bevy of other benefits. The other is by having a group outing – and you only need 10 or more people to receive the group discounted rates!

-The Mailbag Guy