The Raptors are owned by the parent company that owns the Leafs (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Ltd.) If you're not familiar with the Leafs, fans will give their first born to go to a game, even when the team is shit (which is most of the time). Every game sells out. I don't know if they still do it but a while ago they used to get people who were on the waiting list to get Leafs season's tickets to jump the queue by also buying Raptors seasons tickets. The average regular season Leafs ticket is $370 which is what the Raptors are charging for playoff tickets. I think a lot of it is down to the fact that there are about 5.5-million people in the greater Toronto area (GTA) and only one set of pro teams, three of which (hockey, bball, and soccer) are owned by the same company. Another factor is that MLSE has been spending like crazy lately. They pumped a bunch of money into Toronto FC to buy players and set up a $120-million stadium expansion. They're spending another $40-million on a new practice facility for the Raptors. They haven't announced how much it will cost but they are turning the Raps former practice facility (third floor of the Air Canada Centre) into a nightclub. All of this is nothing compared to a rumoured $2- to $3-billion bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills and build a new stadium in Toronto for NFL football.
Great insight into the situation, rep'd! I was also thinking about the cost of all the changes to the rose quarter when not getting upset about playoff ticket prices.
All I see from that chart is that the #1 overall seed, with an arena with a significantly smaller capacity, is charging its fanbase 53.7% LESS than what the Blazers are charging. In fact, the #1 seed in the East is doing exactly the same. Let's hope we get a return on our investment.
If it's expensive, it's expensive. It doesn't matter. I would never pay that much for a basketball game. TV, beverage of choice. Done.
I have a few problems with the price of the tickets and it mainly stems from two things. 1) is when its compared to what I paid in 2011 for a 200 level seat compared to what I would have to pay now just three years later. It is over double what I paid then. 2) I'v been looking forward to going to see a Blazer playoff game all year but the posted prices have taken it out of my price range. Added onto this it would seem like this will be the norm for the future and if it is the norm then unless my circumstances significantly change in the next few years then I wont' be seeing a Blazer playoff game for at least a couple of years unless I win free tickets somehow.
I know they could give a rats ass about me or anyone else in a similar situation attending as long as they make whatever their goal is for ticket sales. Doesn't mean ill be happy about it or root for the team any less. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
Just curious, of those that are not going to any of the playoff games due to price, how many games did you attend this year?
I don't go to games if I have to pay for tickets. Way to expensive. When I go, its because they're free. Between the crazy prices for food/beverage and the 50-100 for decent tickets no thanks. I also don't support Comcast so that is another reason I try to not give the Blazer org my money. Ya, Maybe I am a bad fan, but whatever-- I blame the entire league and their "lets give players hundreds of millions of dollars" mentality. We mostly foot the bill for the outrageous salaries. Again, no thanks.
Playoff tickets are a very finite resource. There's only 2 guaranteed games, and that means only 40,000 tickets to sell. That's pretty fucking finite.
Another reason why teams boost playoff ticket prices is because the NBA takes a large chunk of the playoff ticket revenue. I'm pretty sure they take a larger chunk for each round.
Yeah I totally agree. Its stupid when a team prices tickets so low they sell out in 10 minutes and then are resold on stubhub for 3x face. I'd rather see fans be able to buy the tickets themselves for market prices from the team. If some fans think tickets are too expensive then don't buy them, we can't all afford every luxury item we'd like to own in life. The Blazers were 5th in league attendance this year at 19,747 per game so their prices appear quite reasonable.
I wish prices were cheaper, sure. And I get people being bummed about getting priced out of games. As many have said, it's better the team make that money than scalpers buying them all up at cheap rates, and driving a high secondary market price for them. There's a very limited number of playoff games. I wish I wasn't priced out of houses in Laurelhurst. Such is life.
Exactly. 100% sell thru is actually an indicator that either inventory or price was not high enough. Perfect pricing means a pair of tickets remains unclaimed until right before tipoff. Personally, I wish the Rose Garden could seat 24K without worrying about regular season sellouts. That would be just right to keep prices reasonable and still get that 99.9% sell thru in the playoffs.
Ya, and shame on Lamborghini for not offering consumers a $20,000 fully loaded Gallardo! What idiots!
I'm kind of pissed about being priced out of the luxury car market. Why do they only think of the uber rich, instead of the normal car guys out there?
If I were Grand Poobah of the Blazers, I would advocate a different pricing strategy. I would charge an additional 5% for every ticket and then hold an audition and give away 1,000 tickets for every game to the loudest, most obnoxious, most passionate Blazer fans I could find. I would place them prominently around the arena to lead cheers, to get the crowd into it and to surround the visitors bench.
