Rays announce some details of price hikes

Among the changes; @stadium parking increased to $15 (still free if you bring 4 people), a new, middle-tier pricing structure between standard and Premium games, called 'Marquee', the Summer Concert series returns for next year. Most standard tickets are increasing a whole $1 a game while a bigger season-ticket discount is going to be provided.

about 3 years ago kericr 28 comments 0 recs |

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The parking price raise was expected.

The Rays are a competitive team now. They don’t need to “bribe” the fans into showing up at the games because the on-field product is one of good quality.

The raises did come at a bad timing in relation to the economy, but now is when the team is built for long-term success. And, it shouldn’t be too hard to find four people to carpool with.

I know that's a pisser, baby.

by Blicks on Nov 17, 2008 3:56 PM EST reply actions

I'm fine with this

Actually expected more. If you compare the price and on-field product to the rest of the league, we are very lucky.

by steve-o1285 on Nov 17, 2008 4:01 PM EST reply actions

Not enough info yet

I called the team earlier and they have yet to release prices on season tickets. So I’m not really sure how this effects me.

by GomesSweetGomes on Nov 17, 2008 4:07 PM EST reply actions

Expected.

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 17, 2008 4:18 PM EST reply actions

The

increased surcharge on walk up tickets is ridiculous

by Erik Hahmann on Nov 17, 2008 4:29 PM EST reply actions

It's not particularly difficult to plan your way around.

What is, and has always been, ridiculous is the Ticketmaster surcharge, which IIRC is $5 anyway. So in a way, you still don’t get penalized for walking up late. Of course, I’d have preferred they did away with those charges rather than raising the walk-up fee.

If you want to get around the charges, buy your tickets at fanfest, where there are no surcharges. Another way is to buy them at the box office while you attend games…i.e. before you leave the game, hit up the box office for tickets to your next game.

by GomesSweetGomes on Nov 17, 2008 4:49 PM EST up reply actions

I concur on it's lunacy

I’m a dad….my son’s Little League game is rained out. Let’s go to the Rays game…..but it will cost me an extra $6-10 to do so.

I get home early from a business trip…..and I’m being penalized for wanting to go to the game last second.

If you think about an upper deck seat, we’re adding a 30% upcharge on a ticket if you buy it 5 hrs before gameday? C’mon

by Jason Collette on Nov 17, 2008 4:53 PM EST up reply actions

50%

At the same time, its easier for me to get worked up about the ticketmaster surcharge. The ability for the team to sell tix (often well in advance) without having to use a human, and on someone else’s paper likely saves the team money, and there is no good reason they can’t work with Ticketmaster to stop punishing customers for using this option.

by GomesSweetGomes on Nov 17, 2008 4:59 PM EST up reply actions

I agree that it's a harsh markup

But in truth it’s probably not going to effect sales much. Anybody who’s going to buy tickets on short notice is probably going to shell out the cash anyway, even if they’re going to gripe about it.

It just means that we’ll have to be smarter about buying our tickets; we were mostly pretty slick avoiding getting gogued on playoff passes anyway, I’m not too worried.

by kericr on Nov 17, 2008 5:30 PM EST up reply actions

Ticket are still cheap

And I just drag homeless people into my car until I get into the lot. Problem solved.

I could be wrong though

by staplemaniac on Nov 17, 2008 5:05 PM EST reply actions

What you do with your free time before the game is none of our business

by steve-o1285 on Nov 17, 2008 5:27 PM EST up reply actions

I tried this once. It took me weeks to get the 'hobo' smell out of my car.

Detailing was much more than the $15 it would cost to park by myself.

by kericr on Nov 17, 2008 5:27 PM EST up reply actions

There's nothing wrong with hobo smell.

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 17, 2008 5:31 PM EST up reply actions

Only if you're a hobo.

by kericr on Nov 17, 2008 8:31 PM EST up reply actions

Get some exercise and park at Baywalk.

Walk a few blocks, but you only pay 5 bucks and get a secured lot.

by ReasonableDoubt on Nov 17, 2008 6:38 PM EST up reply actions

A direct comparison between last year and this year

Upper Deck/Party Deck – $9 to $10 ($1) and $14 to $16 ($2)
Outfield – $16 to $17 ($1) and $21 to $24 ($3)
Loge Box/Baseline Box – $22 (unchanged) and $38 (unchanged)
Press Level – $26 to $27 ($1) and $45 to $47 ($2)
Lower Box – $40 to $44 ($4) and $55 to $60 ($5)
Lower Infield Box – $52 to $55 ($3) and $70 to $75 ($5)
Fieldside Box – $85 (unchanged) and $115 to $120 ($5)
Whitney Bank Club – $110 to $115 ($5) and $150 (unchanged)
Home Plate Club – $210 (unchanged) and $270 (unchanged)

Overall, these are comparatively low single game increases compared to the Bolts and the Bucs after they had their first successful seasons (I remember price increases for the Bolts in the +$10-$25 range nearly across the board for everything but their premium seats).

by kericr on Nov 17, 2008 8:54 PM EST reply actions

And those ticket prices are still relatively cheap compared to most other MLB parks.

I know that's a pisser, baby.

by Blicks on Nov 17, 2008 9:24 PM EST up reply actions

do these include walk-ups?

by walkoffwalk on Nov 17, 2008 10:54 PM EST up reply actions

No

This went up $2 per ticket

by GomesSweetGomes on Nov 17, 2008 10:59 PM EST up reply actions

drink question

it keeps saying that you are allowed to bring drinks in….i went to a game with an unopened, seal-not-cracked, plastic bottle of soda and was not allowed to bring it in. i know this probably isn’t the best place to ask but does anyone know the parameters of this?

by Dugout Dre on Nov 18, 2008 12:21 AM EST reply actions