Mets cut ticket prices for 2011
Shortly after reshaping their front office, the Mets announced broad changes to their ticket plans Wednesday, cutting prices by an average of more than 14 percent from last season. The drastic reduction comes in the wake of a disappointing second year at Citi Field, where the team's attendance was down nearly 19 percent from 2009.
The Mets drew 3,154,270 a year ago, the inaugural season at Citi Field, but that plummeted to 2,559,738 in 2010. Only the Indians, with a 21-percent plunge, had a greater drop in attendance from 2009 to 2010.
"The pricing was a factor," said Dave Howard, the Mets' executive vice president of business operations. "As we were listening to our fans, and observing the marketplace, we felt we had to be aggressive.
"Affordability has always been an important component to all of our programs and plans because we feel we are the people's team and we're always mindful of that. We're a family-oriented, fan-friendly organization and affordability is still key."
The new ticket structuring reflects a reduction in prices for 62 percent of the ballpark, with more than half the seats slashed by double digits. Howard said that the 2011 season-ticket invoices, which are to be mailed out this week, have an additional 10-percent reduction, as do all of the partial ticket plans.
Howard also pointed out that several seat categories have increases that average 5 percent, mostly in the promenade level of the stadium. The Mets stated that they are increasing the number of tickets that cost $15 or less by 45 percent and that 61 percent of their tickets cost $50 or less.
The tier-pricing plans were revised, trimming the categories for specific-interest games from five to four. The names have been changed from Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze to Marquee, Premium, Classic and Value.
Howard said the switch was a result of confusion with the ticket classifications and certain seating areas of Citi Field. As for the breakdown, there are only four Marquee games on the schedule: Opening Day and the three against the Yankees at Citi Field.
When asked if the Mets initially had misread the market, Howard denied that was the case, citing the team's woeful performance on the field and the "worst economic recession since the Great Depression." The Mets have not made the playoffs since 2006, and are coming off two sub-.500 seasons in their new ballpark. "We are mindful of that," Howard said. "That's why you see Sandy [Alderson] as our general manager. There's already a new energy, a feeling of hopefulness."
As for the impact of the reductions, as well as the new hires, Howard said the team will not have an accurate read on that until the season-ticket invoices come back later this month. Alderson added former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi as a special assistant on Tuesday and the Mets are still in the process of hiring a new manager, which Howard believes can have a positive effect on sales.
"I think that's another important decision and I think our fans are very interested in who the on-field leader will be," Howard said. "Sandy's comments at [Friday's] press conference were very helpful in that regard. He understands that the manager is a proxy for the fans. Most fans want a manager who lives and dies with them."
