Uncle Ted, you magnificent bastard!
by capsfansteve on Feb 17, 2010 8:22 PM EST
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PrintYes, boys and girls, I mean that as a COMPLIMENT. I just got my STH invoice for 10/11 and at first blush, I was a bit taken aback by the jump in price. I sit in section 409 and currently pay $22 per game per seat. Next year will be $29. My initial reaction was something along the lines of, damn this is going to hurt a bit. A (nearly) 32% increase per game is no small amount. But then I started to think about what it all means.
The major reason why my tickets currently cost a pittance relative to the quality of the entertainment I receive on a nightly basis is because there were so few season ticket holders. Mr. Leonsis Uncle Ted had to so incentivize the purchase of season tickets to get butts in the seats that the tickets were offered for next to nothing when compared to face value. I'm not going to pretend like I am a long time holder, preaching from on high. This is my first season as a STH. If anyone deigns to comment on my little post here(and its my first of any length here on the Rink, so please be gentle..and buy me a drink first ;), I'm not going to be completely stunned if I get the obligatory bandwagon insults. However, I remember going to games against the Flyers and the Penguins back in the day and there were more DBs in Orange and Black or Black and Gold than there were in White or Blue Black and Bronze. Sorry I'm only in my mid 20s I don't really remember the first incarnation of the Red, White and Blue days that well. I digress. The point is, Uncle Ted has transformed this team and more importantly this town. Not exactly a revolutionary statement on my part, but I believe that it bears repeating given the piece of mail that many of us received today.
I need look no further than the mirror to find a perfect illustration of that point. I'm sure to invite further derision by admitting this, but in my youth, I was merely a casual fan(gasp!). A big part of this was that I didn't get HTS until I was 12(1996) and my parents didn't know much about or care for hockey, so I wasn't indoctrinated in the art of puck as I was football and baseball. It was rare that I got to see a game on TV, much less go to the Capital Centre or the artist formerly known as the MCI center(though I did make occasional appearances). If someone had told me 7 years ago that I would one day be a raving Capitals lunatic, I'd have stared at them with a puzzled look. Truth be told, I had my doubts about GMGM's rebuilding effort. A large part of that had to do with the dishing of my favorite player from boyhood, one Peter Bondra. Hindsight being what it is, fantastic move, because who doesn't Laich Brooksie...but at the time, I was a sad panda. Then came the lockout, another year off. The Bondra disappointment spilled over into 05/06 and it took me awhile before I stopped flipping right through a Caps game. Then it happened. I just so happened to be watching on a certain night when a certain goal was scored against a stunned team from the desert. From that point, I've been hooked. Mr. Leonsis' forthwright ways and personable style, combined with one hell of an exciting product have only fueled the fire, but on that day, I first realized just what we had in #8, and I was in love.
It took much of DC a little longer than myself to come to that realization, and in no small part do we have Uncle Ted to thank for this. He and GMGM have worked tirelessly on fan relations as well as the on-ice product to change a lasting impression that this town had when it came to the Caps. There were empty seats in a STANLEY CUP FINAL in 1998 and now there's a season ticket wait list. The team and the town have come a long way, no matter what Mike Wise thinks. So while it will hurt my wallet and maybe cause me to consume a fewer number of brews when I venture down to the Verizon Center next season, I fully embrace the price hike on my season tickets. This isn't some cash mad owner trying to put the screws to us for every penny he can(cough cough, Daniel Snyder, cough cough). It is a valuation adjustment which appreciates the fact that due to low demand, the cost to season ticket holders was much lower than it could have been. Good for Ted, good for the Caps and good for the Team. This beer is for you, Mr. Lenosis. You have my sincerest gratitude for making me more fully appreciate a wonderful sport(and yeah, Ovie didn't hurt, but he'd be off skating somewhere else if not for you), and I enthusiastically click the ONLINE RENEWAL button from my email, price hike or not.
--Capsfansteve
p.s. to anyone who actually read all this crap, thanks!
If this FanPost is written by someone other than one of the blog's editors, the opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect those of this blog or SB Nation.
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I appreciate everything Ted and GMGM have done for the team. They are geniuses when you look at this team compared to the one 5 years ago. However, I do not appreciate the increase in STH prices and no increase in gate price. To me it doesn’t feel like we’re the one with the benefits. I also commented on the Fanpost of Iafrate’s Baldspot about the 10-11 renewal if you want to read that but. I dunno, I just don’t feel “valued” if my prices go up and the general public’s do not.
Я Харт не так ли?
This has probably been raised before, but aren’t they selling a lot more season tickets now than they used to? If so, they’d be decreasing revenue (assuming a sellout either way) by keeping season ticket prices the same.
It sucks for you STHs, for sure. Unfortunately, it’s basic economics – the only confusing thing is that gate price has stayed the same while STH and scalper prices have increased noticeably.
I understand what you’re saying. But what it feels to me, if you think about it, opposing fans don’t have to pay more than they did this year for next year, since gate price doesn’t increase. It just doesn’t feel like I’m the “valued” STH like they say at the end of every e-mail I get.
Very well put
As someone who’s a bit of a Johnny-come-lately himself, I have to agree with this. I’m going to be out a little more per month, and I’m not going to pretend that it won’t add up. But considering how good this team has gotten, I can’t and won’t begrudge Ted for bringing prices in line with the rest of the league. He lost money on this team for too long, and if this normalizes ticket prices relative to the rest of the NHL, it’s the right move.
When you run a business, you have to put black ink on the bottom line, pure and simple. I don’t begrudge any businessman a fair profit.
As for closing the gap with gate prices, that does make kinda-sorta sense. If the building is almost completely planned out, it doesn’t make much sense to be selling that many tickets at that deep of a discount. I’m not thrilled with that, but I can see why it’s being done.
All that said, I hope ticket prices slow down a little next spring.
I don’t mean to make myself a martyr here, but my 138 percent increase looks at your 32 percent increase and laughs.
Since you’re so happy to pay Ted, how about helping me foot the bill for next season :)
by Iafrate's Baldspot on Feb 17, 2010 9:16 PM EST reply actions
I think your math is wrong. 138 percent would be more than doubling the ticket price.
Sect. 419 here, we’re up to $40/game. Since that is still half the price of gate, and I split my tickets with three other guys, it’s not that big a deal. To say nothing of the fact that both the Power Pay and the Pay as we Play plans are interest free.
I guess after seeing some really terrible teams when I started with my seats, and annual reports of Ted losing millions and millions a year, I don’t consider this price jump unreasonable. Y’all should have season tickets in Fenway Park. Hoo boy.
I wish my math was wrong...
…but $29 is more than double $12. Oh well, I guess I should just suck it up and realize how good I had it.
by Iafrate's Baldspot on Feb 18, 2010 12:24 AM EST up reply actions
A solid point, but I’d argue that you were receiving an even higher benefit of the undervaluing of Caps tickets. The only difference between our seats is that you sit on the end where we shoot once.
by capsfansteve on Feb 18, 2010 6:20 AM EST up reply actions
Not for nothing, but this probably could have been served as a rebuttal to IB’s Shot, but that’s my $.02.
"Where are we going Morty?"
"Back to the boatyard. Somebody's about to get a fucking slap."
ohhhhhh i get it now…..you don’t think this deserves to be a fanpost. silly me for not catching your snark. good thing there are people here to police up people’s hard work.
How am I policing? I’m just suggesting that 8 different FanPosts about STH prices probably should involve the writer going through and looking to see if the ground’s been covered recently (much in the same way bimonthly Semin vs. Kovalchuk posts used to spring up).
"Where are we going Morty?"
"Back to the boatyard. Somebody's about to get a fucking slap."
by Bald Pollack on Feb 18, 2010 7:33 AM EST up reply actions
my $0.02: this would’ve been one of the longest single comments in history (and about 4 times longer than IB’s fanshot itself). if someone wants to make that kind of time investment and get some caps love off his chest while he’s at it, then go big, fanshot it, and see what kind of feedback you get. also, it’s kind of nice to have the positive and the negative right next to each other on the main page for everyone to compare.
by Natty Bumppo on Feb 18, 2010 12:58 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I was expecting snark…but snark from Bald Pollack, thats like snark from Caesar. Brings a tear to me eye. :P
by capsfansteve on Feb 18, 2010 6:12 AM EST up reply actions
not too far, i’ll come say hi against tampa. god i cant wait, i’m getting stir crazy. the olympics helps feed the beast, but its still hungry. I miss the caps :/
by capsfansteve on Feb 19, 2010 12:44 AM EST up reply actions
Here’s something that is being overlooked…
Before this season, the Caps included the D.C. Admissions/Amusement Tax in the price of the ticket. This year, that tax is a separate line item so those tickets that cost $22 last year and are being “bumped” to $29 are actually going to $31.90. So if you were one of those $12 folks, you just got smacked with a nearly $20 increase.
Now, if the Caps win the Stanley Cup, people may not mind so much, but another first round flame out and Ted is in serious trouble here.
Ted Leonsis Used to Recommend: http://capsnut.blogspot.com/
Everybody Wang Chung......
Please load brain before shooting off mouth.™
I fault the NHL/whatever sports league we are talking about.
Ted is running the business the way it has to be run. The players apparently need to make so much money that the owners need to crush us just to get theirs, with ever increasing ticket prices, ridiculous concessions, parking fees, etc.
It might sound un-American, but couldn’t the NHL still make a nice profit and healthy salaries if the ticket prices were half of what they currently are? At some point, ‘growing the game’ turned into wringing every last penny out of the fans.
Russian Machine very rarely breaks. Oh and f**k Brooks Orpik.
hell if they charged 25 bucks a seat for 16,000 people.. thats 400k per game. figure that those people also spend about another 20 or so on food/drink/merch. you’re almost to a million a game.. plus your sponsors and advertisements. Sure thats not close enough to run the team effectively YET but a few dollars here or there can make a huge impact.
"the other day on sportscenter they said something along the lines of "the capitals score so much tiger woods is jealous" haha had me laughing hard while i was eating my cereal"
You’re forgetting paying the rest of the team staff, arena personnel, security, transportation, per diem, equipment, training facilities, and lord knows what else.
yeah i know… just showing how ta flat rate ticket price can really add up quickly. Imagine if the lower bowl was twice the cost. Just simple math numbers being run.
"the other day on sportscenter they said something along the lines of "the capitals score so much tiger woods is jealous" haha had me laughing hard while i was eating my cereal"
Yet, the Caps are still losing money and it’s not like the NHL is completely healthy.
The big TV contract is key. Before that, such ticket prices will be the major source of revenue and probably will continue to increase, marginally, every so often.
Ovechkin = Green Backs
by red army line on Feb 19, 2010 10:56 AM EST up reply actions
I’m not sure where you guys are going with this, but I’m pretty sure the NHL was alive an well when nobody in the league was even making a million a year.
Russian Machine very rarely breaks. Oh and f**k Brooks Orpik.
But where are you going with it? Comparably, NHL players make less than any other professional sports league. Also comparably, the tickets in DC…even after the hike, are amongst the lowest in the NHL and the DC area.
Granted there are almost double the games for the Nationals…but given the team’s winning ways it’s still impressive how cheap they are.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you probably think there should be a cap on salaries in the private sector also?
Where I’m going with it is that in the NHL, MLB, NBA, NFL….they are all overrun with greed. At a certain point, $1 million had to be $2 million, had to be $4 million, had to be $8 million. It’s just like any other business, there is more to pricing than supply and demand. You could jack up electricity 400% and people would still be demanding it. What does the private sector matter if there is already a cap on salaries in the NHL?
What I’m saying is that instead of bleeding the fans dry to make it a $2.5 billion pie, they should be happy with $2.4 billion. Or hell, $2 billion. Maximization of revenue and profit is not the only goal of a business. The players have to have so much now that the owners are left with no choice but to pass it on to us if they want to make a profit. And I’m all for owners making a profit, because the players are not risking anything, they’re employees collecting paychecks.
Russian Machine very rarely breaks. Oh and f**k Brooks Orpik.
So you think a ~$50 million salary cap is too high and someone like Ovechkin…who does things that no one else in the world can do should only make $1 million a year? What about other careers? Are you implying that the world’s best surgeon should only make $100k because that’s what other doctors make?
Now if you were going to talk about salaries in another sport…say the NBA or the MLB where players are making $20+ milllion a year and the average salaries are over $5 million and $3 million respectively your argument would hold more weight. But the average salary in the NHL is under $2 million in a sport where players can face career ending injury, via a legal hit, on an almost nightly basis.
because the players are not risking anything
Really? Really? How can you justify even saying that? I think that there are a lot of players that would like a word with you. You can start with Steve Moore then work your way down to all of the players that have had career ending and/or changing injuries.
The players are not risking anything financially.
For whatever risk they are taking, they’re being paid handsomely, and would still be so if they were paid half as much. What is your fascination with comparing sports leagues to doctors and CEOs?
You can’t even go there with Steve Moore, either. That issue is entirely between the players themselves.
Russian Machine very rarely breaks. Oh and f**k Brooks Orpik.
You were the one who said the players aren’t risking anything. And every time the lace up their skates they’re risking something financially.
The bottom line is pretty simple. When ticket prices get too high people will stop going to games. When people stop going to games ticket prices will drop.
If people don’t stop going to games then obviously not enough people share your opinion.
It’s not the same risk. The players risk is finding a real job. They aren’t going to end up in the red out of their own pocket.
You are right though, not enough people speak out with their wallets. I wouldn’t expect them to either, in a country built on instant gratification and debt. That’s not a a personal attack on anyone in particular, just a general observation and wholly another discussion.
And as I said originally, I don’t begrudge Ted as a single entity. He is operating the way he must in this system.
Russian Machine very rarely breaks. Oh and f**k Brooks Orpik.
I definitely hear what you’re saying, but in talking about the NHL specifically I don’t think the system is broken. I honestly believe that players are compensated fairly for what the entertainment they provide fans. The highest paid player in the NHL gets paid around $10 million dollars….compare that to the NBA, NFL and MLB….~23 million, ~17 million and ~33 million respectively.
Someone else mentioned that this is the first year Uncle Ted will be making money on the team. But one can’t blame the players for him losing money. He’s the one that authorized all of the salaries during the Jagr years. Players wouldn’t be making the kind of money they are if the owners didn’t authorize the GMs to spend as much as they have. I think that the salary cap has certainly helped in bringing some normalcy back to NHL contracts. Do you think that Semin would have signed his most recent contract when he did for that same amount if the salary cap and new CBA weren’t put into practice? Probably not.
This is the first year of ownership that Ted is going to turn a profit and his losses to date at the start of the year were around 100 million. Its not like he’s pulling a Charles Wang and threatening to move the team, he cut the discount to season ticket holders because the demand is such that the price doesnt need to be that low anymore to attract buyers.
by capsfansteve on Feb 19, 2010 2:05 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
It sucks when a great deal gets less great but stay in context people there is no reason to be anything but pleased still. I mean you could be a Leafs fan, and have to take out a second mortgage for ST.
Also lost in the shuffle is we are in the second highest Per Capita income SMSA in the country. The Caps are still holding in the bottom third despite the fact that dollars stretch much further in locations like Columbus or Detroit.
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