News of the ongoing high-stakes divorce battle between team owners Frank and Jamie McCourt in recent weeks has led to speculation about the possibility of price hikes for Los Angeles Dodgers tickets in 2011. Actually, it seems that nothing much at all will happen with prices for next season, as the team went 80-82 this past season for their first losing campaign since 2005.
Earlier this week, the club announced season and regular ticket prices for next year, and for the most part, there will be little change in prices compared to the 2010 season. Approximately 60 percent of all season tickets sold will have no price change at all, with the remaining experiencing a slight increase or decrease in price, according to the team.
Most season ticket increases will occur on the top deck, the first four rows of the left field pavilion, and the front row of each deck at Dodger Stadium. The team is increasing top deck prices to $6 per game from last year’s $4 because last year’s ticket holders there didn’t show, leaving lots of empty seats and day-of-game fans having to buy more expensive tickets to attend the game. The front of left field pavilion and the first rows of each deck are considered more desirable than others, and the club is increasing the premiums paid on these sections.
Field level season tickets are decreasing about $5 per ticket, and there are also bargains to be had on the Loge level (lowest price at $12.50) and Reserve level (lowest at $8). These changes result in an average decrease in the price of a Dodgers season ticket in 2011, down to $27.70 from this season’s $28.90.
Single ticket purchasers will see about 35 percent of their tickets increase in price, with the rest holding steady at current rates or decreasing, resulting in a slight increase in the average ticket price to $44.68 from $44.28 in 2010.
Pete Kennedy, president and owner of California-based Pete’s Seats, finds the club’s changes for next season familiar. “It appears that the Dodgers have completed ‘How to be a Ticket Broker 101’ and are applying the lessons learned to their 2011 pricing by hiking the premiums and lowering the pigs.”
For season ticket holders paying more next year, there will be bonuses, such as spring training tickets or Stadium Club passes. Parking prices will remain the same, with season ticket holders also eligible for a new $10 general admission parking pass.
Kennedy sees the price changes as indicative of a double standard existing between the primary market and brokers. “The secondary market remains a decade or more ahead of the primary market and it’s curious how it’s a sin for us to do as ticket brokers, yet it’s perfectly OK if the primary market distributers do it themselves,” he told TicketNews.
“Regardless, I predict profit for our company to remain constant with a small increase in volume [next season].”
