When it was announced that the Dallas Cowboys were planning to build a new state of the art stadium, fans were excited about the possibilities. But, after the price tag for season tickets was revealed, opinions have changed.
According WFAA-TV of Dallas, the Cowboys have extended the deadline for season ticket holders to commit to buying club level seats for the new stadium by at least ten days.
Part of the financing for the $1 billion dollar stadium is personal seat licenses (PSL) where fans are required to purchase the rights to their seats for the next thirty years. A practice that the Cowboys used in the 1960’s to fund the building of their current home, Texas Stadium. The difference is that while they charged fans $250 then, prices for PSLs today range from $16,000 to $150,000. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told Bloomberg news services, the lowest priced PSL of $16,000 is already a league record.
The prices have many fans upset and shaking their heads at the prospects of paying such huge amounts of money just for the chance to buy tickets.
“It’s strictly a business,” Fifteen year season ticket holder Morris Hasson told the WFAA-TV. “Football should be something that the average guy can go to and they’ve priced them out.”
To go along with prices for seat licenses, ticket prices for each seat at club level will carry a face value of $340; more than double the current face value of similar seats at Texas Stadium.
Even with the obvious frustration of some fans over pricing, Cowboys team officials have announced, according to The Dallas Morning News, as of February 1 the team has sold nearly half of their most expensive seats in the new stadium.
“We’re quite pleased with the success of the program so far,” team spokesman Brett Daniels told the newspaper. The remainder of the seats at the new stadium will be opening to current season holders next week.
The success of the plan for the Dallas Cowboys will certainly affect other teams around the league. If the team is able to sell the majority of their season tickets and increase it’s revenue, expect other teams to follow in their expensive footsteps.
(The image accompanying this story is from Kohm.org)
