Selling Playoff Tickets--A Proposal (3 Viewers)

[austxsaintfan]

I hear your angst about losing home field advantage, but we don't control who purchases the tickets that are posted: Saint fan or Opposing fan. What your real problem is with people making more than face value. As a season ticket member who posts some tickets for sale, I can't control who purchases my seats. Only the market can control who does. And i've taken a bath on pre-season games and even regular season games in my 10+ years as a season ticket member.

 

[Saint Greg]

These threads come up every time the Saints advance deep into the playoffs. Believe me: when I got season tickets for the first time back in 2004, reselling playoff tickets for a profit was the last thing on my mind.

Same here. I bought after Katrina to help keep the team in New Orleans. Had my pick of anywhere in the dome.

 

[Vermont Saint]

Threads like this, disturbing as they are, truly capture the tenor of the times in which we live . The appeal to fairness and the public good is nothing more than an attempt to create one's preferred outcome at the expense of others' freedoms. If the result of free will and unregulated commerce for all prove unpalatable to a few, an emotional appeal to strip or deny rights or freedoms soon follows. IMO, rather than call for the rights of others to be restricted, the OP, and those who share his or her views on this subject, should work to accept outcomes that don't please them. It would certainly be more efficient.

 

[Wiggoes]

Threads like this, disturbing as they are, truly capture the tenor of the times in which we live . The appeal to fairness and the public good is nothing more than an attempt to create one's preferred outcome at the expense of others' freedoms. If the result of free will and unregulated commerce for all prove unpalatable to a few, an emotional appeal to strip or deny rights or freedoms soon follows. IMO, rather than call for the rights of others to be restricted, the OP, and those who share his or her views on this subject, should work to accept outcomes that don't please them. It would certainly be more efficient.

This right here.

 

[saintturk1]

On the thread currently running about the number of playoff tickets available for sale in the secondary ticket market, I offered a proposal that is likely to generate opposition but that deserves its own thread.

There are many tickets available for sale on the secondary-ticket-market websites. The prices for a good percentage are extremely high and may never be sold. But were Dallas the opponent this week, we might have seen as many as 12-15,000 Cowboy fans at this Sunday's game, which will be only the second time in the 50 year-plus history of the franchise that the Saints are hosting a NFC championship game.

No season-ticket holder loses his right to buy season tickets in the future if he does not buy playoff tickets. And it is clear that a certain percentage of season-ticket holders see playoff tickets as a chance to play ticket broker and make an exorbitant profit. Hence, my proposal (and a tertiary one that will follow): At the time a season-ticket holder states that he wants playoff tickets, he electronically executes a statementthat his intention at that time is that he, family members, or friends will use the playoff tickets, and that he will not resell the ticket on the secondary-ticket market websites; and that in the event the statement is false, a possible consequence is the right to buy season tickets in the future.

Note that the statement goes to the intent at time of purchase. Unexpected events happen. If someone intends to use the tickets and, because of circumstances, has to sell them, no problem.

Note that the likelihood of enforcement is remote. But the existence of the statement might produce the desired chilling effect.

I will also add that I do not know whether secondary-ticket market websites would consider legal action.

And the tertiary proposal: Season-ticket holders who sell their tickets may lose the right to renew their tickets if those buying their tickets blatantly breach fan-conduct standards.

Fortunately, this is still America home of the free market and where dumb ideas are allowed to be freely expressed and rejected.

 

[SubmarineMike]

Also I have season tickets that I like but my son who is stationed at Bragg is coming in for the game with me. I want to make the NFC Championship game really special for him so I went to Ticketmaster right after Sunday game and bought seats closer to the field. I then sold mine to some friends but the point is that it is great to have that option to buy others if I want.

Why does everyone want to be a ticket Nazi? Every year I go to away games when I can. If fans didn’t resell their tickets I might not have that opportunity. It’s football. There are two teams playing. Fans from both sides want to go and support their team. I don’t want to see it any other way.

I get it - they are absolutely your tickets. And congrats for both being a season ticket holder, and for being able to go with your son.

As somebody not lucky/wealthy enough to have season tickets, though, I have still managed to go to 3 games this year (including last week). I am trying to go this week, but ticket prices are (currently) outrageous. I will be checking constantly closer to the game.

So, I’m not one who has been advocating for some sort of ticket controls, it I can definitely understand where the idea comes from.

 

[Ambush]

I get it - they are absolutely your tickets. And congrats for both being a season ticket holder, and for being able to go with your son.

As somebody not lucky/wealthy enough to have season tickets, though, I have still managed to go to 3 games this year (including last week). I am trying to go this week, but ticket prices are (currently) outrageous. I will be checking constantly closer to the game.

So, I’m not one who has been advocating for some sort of ticket controls, it I can definitely understand where the idea comes from.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

 

[Ambush]

Threads like this, disturbing as they are, truly capture the tenor of the times in which we live . The appeal to fairness and the public good is nothing more than an attempt to create one's preferred outcome at the expense of others' freedoms. If the result of free will and unregulated commerce for all prove unpalatable to a few, an emotional appeal to strip or deny rights or freedoms soon follows. IMO, rather than call for the rights of others to be restricted, the OP, and those who share his or her views on this subject, should work to accept outcomes that don't please them. It would certainly be more efficient.

I don’t think you would be accepted on the PDB. This type of thinking is facist.

 

[SHOE21]

There’s a season ticket holder raffle if we’re in the super bowl. I remember being in it in 2009.

Very cool, thanks for clarifying Saint Greg, I do not remember being notified of it in 2009.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

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.

 

[Ztro44]

On the thread currently running about the number of playoff tickets available for sale in the secondary ticket market, I offered a proposal that is likely to generate opposition but that deserves its own thread.

There are many tickets available for sale on the secondary-ticket-market websites. The prices for a good percentage are extremely high and may never be sold. But were Dallas the opponent this week, we might have seen as many as 12-15,000 Cowboy fans at this Sunday's game, which will be only the second time in the 50 year-plus history of the franchise that the Saints are hosting a NFC championship game.

No season-ticket holder loses his right to buy season tickets in the future if he does not buy playoff tickets. And it is clear that a certain percentage of season-ticket holders see playoff tickets as a chance to play ticket broker and make an exorbitant profit. Hence, my proposal (and a tertiary one that will follow): At the time a season-ticket holder states that he wants playoff tickets, he electronically executes a statementthat his intention at that time is that he, family members, or friends will use the playoff tickets, and that he will not resell the ticket on the secondary-ticket market websites; and that in the event the statement is false, a possible consequence is the right to buy season tickets in the future.

Note that the statement goes to the intent at time of purchase. Unexpected events happen. If someone intends to use the tickets and, because of circumstances, has to sell them, no problem.

Note that the likelihood of enforcement is remote. But the existence of the statement might produce the desired chilling effect.

I will also add that I do not know whether secondary-ticket market websites would consider legal action.

And the tertiary proposal: Season-ticket holders who sell their tickets may lose the right to renew their tickets if those buying their tickets blatantly breach fan-conduct standards.

How does one enforce or determine who is actually a ticket holders friend?

 

[J.T.]

In 2009 there was Super Bowl "raffle" or drawing for tickets among season ticket holders. It was a "weighted" raffle with accounts that had more tickets and accounts with more seniority having a greater chance of being chosen to have the option to buy two tickets. My account has seniority back to 1967. Initially for the last Super Bowl we did not "win" the lottery, but a few more tickets became available and we did wind up getting two tickets through the Saints.

On the original topic, in a perfect world, every season ticket holder is able to go to every game, and in the alternative, every seat is filled with a hometown fan, but life happens and sometimes people have to sell their tickets.

I'm going to the game. A few months ago, I intentionally scheduled an international trip between the Championship Game weekend and the Super Bowl, for this reason.

My wife is very much on the fence about going to the Super Bowl in Atlanta, should we win the game and the Ticket Lottery. (We have a much better chance of winning the game.....). But, if both occur, I think I can convince her to go. She really dislikes the city of Atlanta.

 

[LanceM]

This is silly. When the saints aren’t playing well or the opponent isn’t good. It’s hard to get face value for tickets. It happened this year for the browns game. God for bid someone makes a profit for sticking through the lean years.

What about the preseason? Season ticket holders make no where near face for those.

 

[Saint Greg]

Very cool, thanks for clarifying Saint Greg, I do not remember being notified of it in 2009.

I want to say we were allotted something like 2,000 seats and the price points were 800/1200. I’m sure those prices have increased since then.

 

[Saint Greg]

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.

There have absolutely been opportunities to add or relocate to the loge in recent years. Especially during our string of 7-9 seasons. There were more tickets than usual available. That was a just a glimpse of what might happen when we hit bad years again.

This is from the 2016 select a seat thread:

Just logged in at 11AM Central Time, all I can say is, if you want seats this year, this is BY FAR your best opportunity since 2006. I actually switched my seats and "upgraded" to lower cost seats that have great views.

I can't log back in because I bought my seats, but there were seats available in I would say 3/4th of the sections (Most sections in the Terrace, many sections of the Lodge and just about every Plaza Section) of the stadium except the lowest level of the Terrace, the Lower Box, those were all taken.

EDIT:
I was able to log back in, tickets available in every section of the Plaza, every section of the Terrace except 614 and 629, a couple of single seats in Upper Box sideline, and about half of the Loge Endzone sections.

https://saintsreport.com/threads/yo...t-appointment-time.354475/page-2#post-6395649