I am not sure what is most challenging--praise of "unregulated commerce," use of the term "public good" as a pejorative, or suggestion that my comments reflect the (presumably political) tenor of our times given the current resident of the White House and events in Washington. And to be clear, I consider social capital to be extraordinarily important to the health of any city or region, and I think it obvious that every policy or regulation, public or private, in the history of man limits in some way personal freedom and seeks a preferred outcome.
What I am generally suggesting is not novel, but admittedly uncommon. And because of economic forces, the Saints will not consider what I have proposed. There is a demand for season tickets in most sections of the stadium, but not in many plaza sideline and loge sideline sections because of pricing.
However, teams in several sports have adopted different policies to restrict season-ticket holders from frequently selling season ticket on the secondary market for higher prices. The Miami Dolphins, Chicago Cubs, and the Golden Knights hockey team in Las Vegas have all done so--the last after the embarrassingly high number of opposing team fans attending Stanley Cup games. And the Seattle Seahawks restrict the sale of season tickets to new buyers to residents of four states in the Northwest and two Canadian provinces.
But the team that has taken the most aggressive approach is the Denver Broncos. It recently revoked the right of some 400 season-ticket holders to renew tickets after determining that for all games they had sold their tickets on secondary-market websites, including Ticket Exchange. And its current policy--which stresses that the right to buy season tickets is a privilege--prohibits "profiteering" from the sale of season tickets, offering for resale season tickets for a price greater than face value, and advertising tickets for sale on unauthorized websites. Of course, Denver has a 75,000 waiting list, and the Denver economy and long-time success of the team ensure that there is a demand for even the more expensive tickets in the stadium.
And the rationale for such a policy is that (1) it is unfair to sell tickets to those who act as brokers seeking to make a profit when there are local fans waiting to buy season tickets, (2) the presence of a large number of opposing-team fans in playoff and other major games can lessen the competitive advantage that the Broncos have when playing in Denver, and (3) it is in the long-term and short-term interests of the organization and the community to have those in the local area attending games rather than Pittsburgh and New England fans.
When I check the secondary-market websites for the NFL championship game, I see substantial numbers of available tickets in blocks of eight or 12 or 16. Many of these blocks are located in the plaza sideline sections on the visitors' side or in the upper half of the terrace throughout the Superdome. These are blocks of tickets controlled by season-ticket holders who act as brokers. They buy the tickets to make a profit. As noted above, the Saints may have problems selling all of the plaza-sideline seats because of price. But without question, they could sell to new season-ticket holders seats elsewhere, especially in the upper-terrace seats, in 48 hours.
Confession: I do not have expensive season tickets. I have had season tickets over the decades in many different sections, and for value and vantage point, I have two tickets in the upper-box end zone on the railing. I try each year to buy more tickets for family, but they are not available. I would consider some loge sections, but those seats have not been available. However, my attending the games requires a 300-mile round trip.
I understand that those with season tickets on occasion cannot attend and understand the reasons they would take full advantage of Ticket Exchange to sell their tickets for as much as they can. I understand that some with season tickets may have problems attending games in a particular year because of some unforeseen event, a personal misfortune such as a major illness or a job loss.
But specifically renewing season tickets is not a right. It is a privilege. And had Chicago defeated the Eagles and Dallas played the Saints last Sunday, we might have been embarrassed by the number of Cowboy fans cheering when the Saints had the ball, and those threads currently running on this forum about how intimidating to opposing teams and loud the Superdome is would not be running. And there is a chance--even if slight--that we would not be playing for the NFC championship because the Superdome was not as feared a venue as we think.
So to those who disagree, I respect your opinion. It appears that my view is a minority one (except for the Monday after a Pittsburgh game). But yes, I have a distaste for the buying of multiple season tickets largely to turn a profit and would like to see team policies addressing that concern. And finally, I remain bemused over those who register "dislikes," a feature I neither understand nor have ever used in the 20 years I have been a member of this website.