Mets official says ticket sales are ‘right on pace’
It was exactly one week before the Mets were scheduled to be on the field below, ready for their 2018 opener against the Cardinals. But on Thursday, the field was covered in snow as Lou DePaoli pondered a simple question: How’s business?
“Business is going well,” the team’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer said, cheerfully.
DePaoli was speaking at the annual event to unveil new seating, sponsorship, promotional and food offerings at Citi Field, a day on which everything tends to be sunny and optimistic, no matter the weather.
But this year, the business of the Mets must contend with the reality of last season’s flop on the field, a 70-92 finish for what many expected to be a championship contender.
DePaoli always has said his department must operate independent of wins and losses, as they are out of his control. But wins obviously are better.
Still, he said ticket sales are roughly flat compared with this time last year, when the Mets were coming off two playoff appearances in a row and expectations for 2017 were high.
They ended up totaling 2.46 million in paid attendance, down from 2.79 million the season before and 2.57 million in 2015. All things considered, it could have been worse. This year could be better, assuming a competitive team.
“We’re right on pace for where we need to be at this point,” said DePaoli, who declined to give precise figures. “But a lot of the selling is going to continue for the next six months . . . We’ve seen wide variations during the season. In 2015, we saw a massive spike during the year. So anything’s possible.”
DePaoli said the Mets led Major League Baseball in group ticket sales last season and are on pace to “shatter” that mark for 2018. He said sponsorship revenue is up also. Beyond that, the goal is to make the stadium experience positive enough to smooth out on-field ups and downs.
“We think we’re the best in the league; I think that’s what helps keep people coming back, year after year,” DePaoli said.
One thing that does not concern DePaoli is the preseason focus on the Yankees.
“At the end of the day we’re both going to be good clubs, and we really don’t compete for the fans,” he said.
“We want the Yankees to do well, just like we want us to do well, because when both of us are doing well, it’s so much better for baseball in the city.”
Among the additions announced Thursday were a rebuilt Citi Pavilion above the bullpens in right center that can hold up to 92 group ticket holders and will come with snack foods and beverages, including beer for the first six innings.
Also: First Data Club, a high-end, food-and-beverage-inclusive space for those in 400 prime seats behind home plate.
Promotional giveaways include a Yoenis Cespedes garden gnome and the return of the Noah Syndergaard as Thor bobblehead.
One of the highlights of the new food slate is “Sweet Chick,” a popular restaurant with branches in Brooklyn and Manhattan that will serve its chicken and waffles and fried chicken sandwiches.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
