Reason for ticket increases??

mrdave, have you ever called the Rockets about availability in previous years? The lower bowl has remained sold out since the title years. You couldn't even upgrade into them as a renewing ticket holder. What you saw were no shows.

this is the first year you can buy lower bow center. It appears people are shuffling and trying to leap frog each other. For instance, Baker and Botts seats that I sat in are like row Q, center. I'm sure they'd love row D. However, they couldn't get those in the past because your dad and others won't give them up. So what's happening is the Rockets are saying, "Hey, lets use Supply and Demand to allow leap frogging by these big corporations. We can get 50% more per ticket, I bet."

Well, that's very short sighted. You let Baker and Botts leap frog some 15 rows, and now you'll find it much harder to ever sell them a suite. Why would they buy a suite for, what?, $150,000 if they had 8 tickets in Row D, perfectly center for $80-90,000. Leave them in Row Q and not allow them to buy their way closer, and one day (if not this year) they'll move up to a suite.

The Rockets could look at that as 50% upgrade in tickets sales...well, those seats will sell regardless. What won't sell so easily is the suites. Each new $150k sell is brand revenue hitting the books. Any revenue increase in the lower bowl, happens as soon as you set that price, but by having those who can afford suites down there, the smaller businesses who want those seats are having to move to cheaper seats or not buy seats at all.

The key to all significant revenue increases begins with selling the 96 suites. Lower bowl center will sell regardless...it always has.

This economics theory is further true when you are talking about new big dollars who don't have any seats at all. Don't just let them buy lower prime when your suite sales are so dismal. It might look like maximizing prices, but you're stealing from your suite sales in the process.

 

one last thing. If memory serves, the Texans limited initial purchases to blocks of 4 seats per customer. That strategy used Supply and Demand to take away the supply of large block 50yrd line field seats from the big corporations, thus forcing them into suites.

if the Rockets would disallow leap-frogging and cap seat ownership in the lower bowl to 4 seats or whatever the customer currently owns, then expansion into the suites should follow, if not now, later when the economy allows it.

 

I think this is referring to the concourse area of these seats. There are concourses that require special tickets, that are much more plush. I assumed they were for the floor seats (the ones where you step down to court level), not the ones that are $110 right now--your dad's.

I can't visualize the whole seating arrangement, even though we were shown the model. Maybe they took away the rows of floor seats behind the courtside ones. If they turned all the floor seats (except the courside ones) into $170 seats that you are referring to, then it makes more sense to me now. But sense they invoiced your dad for those, then I assume the 3-6 rows of floor seats still exist, and these $170 are the same distance from the court and being offered access to the better concourse.

 

I could see if the Rockets were good but NO playoff apperances in 4 years!! Bull how you gonna increase ticket price! Poor Rockets cause if attendence was really bad at Compaq imagine a BIGGER and more expensive ticket!

 

the luxury boxes were supposed to help subsidize cheaper seats throughout the arena. That's what Jeff has been told and preached from day one.

This is clearly not happening, because they can't sell that boxes. So, the average fans seems to be paying for them in sum, with increases everywhere.

Yeah, they have more "affordable seats," that happens when you have 3,000 more seats in the arena. duh. but where are they.

I wish I could tell you a promise made at the Fan Council meeting that was not met, but I can't, because we signed a non-disclosure. Suffice it to say, there were early signs that the boxes weren't selling as expected and it appears to have had a huge ripple effect on their pricing structure throughout the stadium.

 

No, I didn't. I actually said during the arena campaign that you can EXPECT good seats downstairs to increase in price. In fact, I said it numerous times to numerous groups just like I told everyone that there would be 2500 spaces in the new garage and that no one should expect parking to be like it was at Compaq, yet now everyone is surprised that the garage is only 2500 spaces.

I told everyone that the primary goal was to maintain the cost and increase the overall number of seats under $50 which they did. That was one of the big arguments I heard from those opposed is that the Rockets were going to price out the average family by raising the cost of the inexpensive seats. They even made a deal with one group to provide a section of affordable seats in the new building. No one was talking about the concern that seat holders paying $100+ per seat per game would be upset over increases. That never came up ONCE.

What I did say about luxury suites is that it was likely most of the corporate interests would move into suites or club seats leaving seats available for purchase downstairs for fans. That is still likely to be the case. I didn't say they would be cheap!

I never once said that lower bowl seats would be cheaper. In fact, I am on record as saying numerous times that prices down there would very likely go up and they have.

If you are pissed about not getting the seats that you want at the price they were, that's fine. Complain. Don't go. That is your right as a consumer.

 

You have every right to complain if you don't like it. I don't blame you. I hope you get them to reduce the prices downstairs. I'd love it if all the tickets were cheaper. Then, I could afford to go too.

 

Jeff,

I wasn't saying anything to upset you. I thought all along the pitch from the Rockets was that the arena will provide Les with scores of new revenues to help keep prices in check if not lower many of them.

I'm not upset like most others who have been posting here. I just bite the bullet and hope and pray ticket holders don't flee. The luxury boxes and naming rights aren't making Les the money we all hoped they would by now.

If I didn't explain correctly what you have been hoping, I apologize. All I meant was if the luxury boxes were sold out right now (that's like $15m of new revenue), and Les had his big naming rights in the bag back in March, we would likely be looking at lower prices, or at least not this absolutely ridiculous price increase for seating between the curves.

 

Cool. No problem. I just am sensitive about that I guess because I was EXTREMELY careful during the arena referendum to be as up front and honest as possible and not promise ANYTHING. I didn't want to get stuck looking like an ******* later.

I agree completely that the slow sales of luxury suites (not to mention club seats) have had an impact on ticket pricing. But, you mentioned naming rights and, frankly, that is the one I think many are overlooking. I'm not sure why naming rights haven't been finalized but, in most cases, that is done almost a year in advance. We are 120 days out and nothing. IMO, that is a concern.

I agree that the seating increase for tickets downstairs is insane. A good friend of mine almost didn't renew the tickets their family has had for 11 years because of the cost and they have plenty of money to spend. I don't blame people for complaining. If it were me, I would do the same thing.

Thanks for clarifying.

 

Come on HP, life is too short to worry about little stuff like non-disclosure forms. You can tell us what the promise was, or be creative and tell someone else who did not sign the form like me and then I will share it with the world!

 

if they don't play the CRAPPY music they've played for the last decade or so ...I will be happy from the cheapest seats i can find.

 

Jeff,

phew...glad my clarification made sense. you don't deserve criticism, even if they reneged on something you were told.

about the naming rights, I'm not as worried about them as luxury boxes. Les is probably pitching international companies, and that probably takes a lot of time...he probably put everything on hold once we got Yao, and then again when Yao was such a success.

The Luxury Boxes, however, is hurting him. I don't see this being handled very well. Doesn't make sense to me to jump to near NBA leader of the pack in lower bowl prime seats until he sold more Luxury Boxes--only then should he release Supply/Demand economics on the lower bowl, imo.

 

What is ridiculous is that the Rockets already had the 2nd highest average ticket price in the league before these increases. Have we now vaulted to the top. Yippee the Rockets are #1 in the NBA again.

What I and a lot of fans have realized is that the entertainment value of the Rockets, especially the past 4 years in no way justifies the price for tickets they are asking. The Rockets are killing off their fan base and their most loyal fans. It is a slap in the face if you have been a season ticket holder for years that they jack up prices to such a degree that you are forced to move to an inferior seat. Screw that I would rather just watch on TV if that is how they deal with their customers. The thing is that myself and my friends and family aren't poor. We are professionals: doctors, lawyers, etc. If we can't afford it then what the hell is going on. All of this has driven me to follow the college game even more. I can get great seats at the Erwin Center for $22 and watch the Horns actually play defense, hustle, and look like they care. There is no way I am going to pay 8 times as much for a team that is lazy and has a low hoops IQ.

 

Actually the Rockets were 5th in average ticket price as of 11/01/2002:

http://www.teammarketing.com/fci.cfm?page=fci_nba_02-03.cfm

 

where are you guys seeing the new areana ticket prices?

 

Originally posted by bobrek

This is still ridiculous considering Houston is one of the cheaper cities to live in, which means we don't make as much. All the cities that are much more expensive to live in should have higher prices.