Price breaks on Mets tickets could be coming

The silver lining to another sub-.500 season? The Mets feel your pain, and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon hinted during yesterday's news conference that price breaks could be coming, especially for season-ticket holders.

When asked about declining attendance, and if it is a concern for ownership, Wilpon nodded.

"We have thought about it," he said, "and I think we'll have some good announcements for the fans in the near future."

The Mets' attendance was 2,559,738 for the 2010 season, a 17.2-percent drop from the inaugural year at Citi Field.

That had to be a sobering blow for the Wilpons, who were hoping for a sustained bump in attendance because of the new ballpark. What they learned is that the appeal of the building wears off quickly if the Mets don't win.

"I think right now, we're a little bit beaten down," Wilpon said. "The losing grates on everybody and certainly is disappointing to all the staff and the fan base. I think we've got to change that culture in terms of turning it into a winning culture and getting ourselves where everybody wants us to be. We have a lot of fans out there. We just have to bring them back. That's how I see it."