Big Bucks for New Stadium Personal Seat Licenses
By Alfred Branch, Jr.
Fans will have to shell out some serious cash for the right to purchase premium seats for the Dallas Cowboys when the team starts playing in its new stadium 2009.
According to the team, personal seat licenses (PSLs) for Club seats in the new $1 billion, state-of-the-art stadium will start at $16,000 and reach $150,000. For each seat. Just for the right to then buy tickets that will start at $340 a piece, or $3,400 for eight home games and two preseason matches. The PSLs give fans the right to purchase a ticket for that seat for 30 years. The breakdown, depending on where the seat is located, is $16,000, $35,000, $50,000, $100,000 and $150,000, based on a chart published by the Dallas News.
The team expects to sell about 15,000 PSLs for Club seats, all of which are located in the lower levels between the endzones PSLs for the remaining 65,000 seats in the stadium will go on sale in 2008, but prices for those PSLs have not been announced.
The fees for these licenses are considered the most expensive in the history of the NFL, according to published reports, and will help pay for the new stadium. Cowboys tickets consistently rank among top-selling sports events in TicketNews’ listings.
“They’re not going to get that much,” said Texas ticket broker Doug Goodman, who was shocked by the prices. “It’s still two years away, so those prices will probably drop.”
Another Texas broker, who wished to remain anonymous because he plans to purchase seat licenses to the new stadium, said brokers will have a tough time making money on the Club seats when they carry a face value of $340 a piece. The equivalent of Club seats in the Cowboys current home cost between $100 and $150 each, which he then can regularly resell for more than $300.
“The way they’re pricing it, the best seats in the house have been eliminated from everybody except the very wealthy,” he said about the exorbitant PSLs. “They’re basically financing the stadium before they even sell a ticket. It’s a great business plan.”
(The image accompanying this story is from Kohm.org)
Add new comment
Email
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to this feed
Comments
Up to $150,000? BEFORE you even buy tickets? Holy cow! Even the "bargain" $16,000 seat licenses are a bit much for me. I'd rather buy a big-screen HDTV, a comfy recliner to sit in, and put the rest of the money in the bank.
That new stadium is going to be amazing and the Cowboys put on a pretty good show. I bet they won't have any problems selling those PSLs
I am a broker in the Dallas area, and I do not plan to renew any of my hundreds of seats if the prices stay this high. To be completely honest, I have either lost money or broke even during the years between the late 90's and early 2000. It was only during the Super Bowl years, and last year building up to this year that I've actually been able to make a profit. I don't care if Texas is a football state, people cannot nor should not, have to pay those prices. I understand paying those prices during a good year like the one the Cowboys are currently having, but assuming that I was paying 2009 prices this year, I would still be losing hundreds per game even at the outrageous prices that tickets are selling for this year. Basically what they are doing is selling way above market value and capitalizing on the hype of the new stadium, and good year that the Cowboys are having. Whomever decides to buy season tickets is in for a rude awakening when they try to resell. I feel bad for all the people who bought into the "if you buy season tickets for the 2007-2008 season you'll have the 'rights' to purchase seats in the new stadium" little did they know that the ticket price was going to be asinine. My advise, buy a big screen, a new couch, throw a party every Sunday and let the stadium go empty, Jerry will eventually get off his high horse. OH and by the way, when the Cardinals opened their new stadium, they raised the prices since there was tons of hype.. until they went 0-7 to start the season and all the unsold season tickets didn't sell. The next year prices were more reasonable.
You are not correct regarding the season tickets and attendance at the new Cardinals stadium
The Cardinals have sold all their season tickets for both seasons and have a waiting
list for season tickets.
All the Cardinals home games have been sold out since the new stadium opened.
Fortunately, we are not being gouged by the Cardinals to pay for PSL's.
Your Quote : "OH and by the way, when the Cardinals opened their new stadium, they raised the prices since there was tons of hype.. until they went 0-7 to start the season and all the unsold season tickets didn't sell. The next year prices were more reasonable."
We're not talking about a minor league team in a minor league ballpark. It's the most popular team in football playing in the most advanced stadium in the world. Comparing the Cowboys to the Cardinals is ridiculous. When the Cardinals have won five Super Bowls, let me know. I guarantee the Cowboys will have no problems selling these seat licences.
As for you poor ticket brokers out there, all I have to say is BOO-HOO!
I have had season tickets for years and have seats in the lower deck around the 5 yard line. The Cowboys have priced me out. Maybe I could afford an upper deck seat. But what's the point? Who cares about a really big screen at the game? I'd rather watch it at home on my 61" DLP. Then the game takes only 3 hours out of my day instead of 6. I don't have to drive farther to the game (than I do for Texas Stadium) and pay high prices for food and drink. And if they end up making the games all pay per view one day, then football will become what baseball is to me now - something I don't watch anymore. Only corporations can afford these prices because they think they can bribe their customers with tickets and the experience. What we need to do is have the politiicans take the tax break away from the corporate buyers so that at least are paying the same as the individual ticket buyers.
the new stadium will be so awesome that people will pay prices through the roof to sit there. I know I will. I mean, c'mon theres gonna be a sixty yard wide TV. wouldn't you say thats worth the 100,000dollar Personal Seat License? just think about it
I hope you were being sarcastic. TVs are better watched at home. And i hope your kids college education is paid for already.
I have been a season ticket holder for 15 years. I have 11 friends who are also season ticket holders. None of us are buy tickets in the new stadium. None of us. Not one. We all love the Cowboys, but the prices and the traffic are keeping us away. I do feel sorry for the people who buy now on the hype b/c they are going to be pissed in a few years when the guy next to them buys his tickets for $200/seat and they have to keep paying the $340/seat or lose there PSL.
I'm a Philadelphia fan but after reading some of the comments, just had to weigh-in. The arrogance of Jerry Jones in pricing his tickets is matched only by the hubris of the Cowboys organization and "some" Cowboys fans who THINK they're the most popular team.On the contrary, outside of the die-hard Cowboys fans, and I have friends everywhere that support their own teams, the Cowboys are the most DISLIKED team in America. For example, they labeled THEMSELVES "America's Team" a title which rightfully belongs, if to any team, to the Washington Redskins. Speaking of the Redskins, let Jones and Cowboy fans know the Redskins have the largest stadium in the NFL (92,000) with a waiting list of 78,000 (I have friends on that list). If you do the math folks, that's 170,000. If you combine the two figures the Skins fans would fill the Cowboys new stadium and still have the largest waiting list in the NFL. What is the current waiting list for the Cowboys? I understand it's less than 10,000. If this number is accurate, then the ONLY way Jones is going to recoup is to price the tickets the way he is and appeal to his rich corporate friends and the average Cowboys fan be damned. This shouldn't surprise fans there though because Jones is an ego-maniac and LOVES public attention (look at how many commercials he's in. There's no Cowboys commercials that don't feature him. That should say volumnes about his need for attention). All of this because it's a "new" stadium and the Cowboys have a winning season (thanks to BILL PARCELS by the way, not the current carpetbaggers who are taking all the credit). Yes, the Cowboys are having a good year, "this" year, but only because of the Parcels team inherited, a great offensive line and NO INJURIES. If they just had a few of the injuries the rest of the NFC East teams have, they "may" be at .500 at best. As for the guy who's touting SuperBowls, there are plenty among the Eagles, the Redskins and the Giants. He should pick on "our" teams and not on the poor Cardinals. I'm betting on the fans in Dallas to revolt unless Jerry quickly and sneakily gets all his rich cronies to bail him out (which will probably be the case). The proof that corporate greed is killing the average American, as it has since the Bush Administration has been in power, in evidenced by Jones' actions. He just doesn't give a damn about the "average" family who supports and wants to attend Cowboys games. Shame on him and I hope they boycott and stay home -- although that's probably what Jones is hoping for so only he and his wealthy friends can go to the games on Sundays.
I have four seats on the lower level about a section past where the club level will be in the new stadium. I haven’t gotten any price information on my seats, as they are focusing on the club PSL’s first. In any case, I have two different trains of thought on this (both of which are pure speculation until I see what the non-club PSL prices will be):
1. One side of me thinks Jerry Jones has sadly overestimated what the market will pay for these seats. The $ 16,000 price tag isn’t too bad for lower level/club seats for an NFL team, it’s more the unheard of $ 50k, $ 100k, and $ 150k PSL prices that have me laughing. That being said, $ 16k isn’t too bad for some NFL teams. I routinely see comparable PSL’s for the Eagles, Bears, Steelers, etc. go for that much if not more. However, the demand for Cowboys tickets does not equal any of those teams. All three of the teams I mentioned have sold out their season tickets for years, and the PSL’s sold out long ago. The 2007 & 08 seasons mark the first time in at least a decade that Cowboys season tickets have been sold out for one season, let alone two consecutive ones. As well, Dallas does not have the abundance of wealthy citizens willing to shell out this kind of money that Chicago has.
2. The second side of me loves the fact he has done this because it increases the value of my seats, assuming the are priced more reasonably than the Club PSL’s (which is almost a certainty…the only question is how reasonably). The more reasonably my seats are priced, the better of an investment it is for me. There will always be a demand for good lower level sideline seats with any football team. The fact that overpriced club seats a few sections down will be doing for at least three times what mine will be going for only increases the value of my seats. How much it increases the value depends, once again, on exactly how much my seats are priced at.
I’m thinking they will go for around $ 3000-4000 per seat for lower level corners and about $ 2500-3000 for lower level end zone seats, which is still more expensive than any comparable non-club PSL’s I’ve seen elsewhere in the NFL. But I think they will be worth the money for a long-term investment, especially considering the people a section over will be shelling out four or five times that just for the ‘privilege’ of being able to stuff their face with mediocre food in the club buffet and having waitresses serve you overpriced beer in your seat.
The two most important things I think people need to take into consideration are
a) That these outrageous prices we’re seeing are for Club seats, not the regular seats. Expect the latter to be more affordable, even though Club PSL’s rarely keep their value due to the inflated ticket prices. Check out the market for Bears and Eagles Club PSL’s.
b) That PSL’s are an investment and transferable, and more than a ‘fee’ like people are making them out to be. If you shell out $ 32,000 for a pair of lower level seats, you will always have the chance to recoup some or all of the money by selling the PSL’s at a later date. It’s not like the Cowboys are charging you $ 32,000 for the seat rights and giving you nothing back. You will have an asset that you can later sell.
All in all, I don’t think Jerry Jones is an idiot, and with the Cowboys being a hot ticket for the first time in years, I don’t think he will risk alienating that by pricing everyone out of the stadium. I do think there will be reasonably priced PSL’s for everyone, like at Texas Stadium. One last tidbit Jones and the Cowboys would be wise to keep in mind…even though my current seat options only cost $ 500 per seat for lower level 10 yard-line seats (more than reasonable by today’s standards), I bought one pair a year ago and bought my second pair about a month before the pre-season this year. If seats that good and cheap were available with all the hype going into Dallas this year, imagine how many will go unsold if the Cowboys overprice their seats in the new stadium?
insane these prices will turn the football fan away and have them watch it on there tv at home if they can though what will be next
i would guess paying to watch football on tv
the stadium should just go empty
most of us work for a living and just cant put out crazy prices like this
just to see a football game
nfl not for long
Cowboy fans should keep in mind the Carolina fans.
They are still trying to sell all of their PSLs due to the high initial cost.
You could buy them on the secondary market for cheaper.
Probably with the secondary market is the high ticket cost per game for the club seats.
Those who shell out $150,000 dollars will hard pressed to get half of the money back.
Also, the PSL expiries in 30 years. No other team has done that.
PSL for other teams are good for the life of the stadium and the team.