Eleazar
02-20-2008, 12:00 PM
http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/columnists/hearne_christopher_jr/story/491826.html
Oh, baby, what a play!
The Chiefs sent out nine-page, three-year contracts to some season ticket holders, complete with five pages of fine-print legalese and prices eventually doubling that of this season.
It doesn’t surprise Ticket Solutions’ owner Russ Lindmark.
“Unless they’re economic prognosticators, it seems to be outpacing inflation a little bit,” Lindmark says. “Either they’ve been undervaluing those tickets for a long time, or they want to put them in the hands of corporate Kansas City, because realistically individuals are going to have a hard time paying those prices.”
Under the terms of the contract, premium club-level “sideline select” season tickets priced at $1,100 each this year jump to $1,490 in 2009 (up 35 percent), then to $2,550 in 2010 and $2,700 in 2011.
The portion of the new ticket terms that brokers and fans alike may find particularly galling: a “non-transferability” clause.
“Except as expressly permitted by these terms and conditions, under no circumstances shall (ticket holder) sell, barter, exchange, transfer for consideration, or raffle off club seats to games or stadium events or use club seat tickets for any promotional or commercial purpose without prior written approval of (the Chiefs); provided, however, that (the ticket holder) is free to sell club seat tickets via TeamExchange and TicketExchange on www.kcchiefs.com or www.ticketmaster.com.”
Translation: It would appear that the Chiefs want to play Monopoly with choice seats.
“They don’t mind the resale, as long as they get to share in the profits,” Lindmark says. “That’s fine, but open it up to the free market. They have a rule on their TicketExchange that you can only sell tickets at or above face value. You can’t sell them for less than that. But the market value may very well be below face value.”
Lindmark’s hunch as to why the Chiefs might want to force season ticket holders to eat tickets for games they can’t attend but may be unsalable at face value?
“Because it would undermine their ticket sales at the box office,” Lindmark contends. “They want to protect the tickets they have remaining to sell. What they don’t want is their TicketExchange full of tickets for sale at half of what they’re asking at the box office. They want to have their cake and eat it, too.”
Kansas City Chiefs senior vice president Bill Newman has another take:
“He wants his cake and he wants to eat it, too,” Newman counters. “He’s the one who wants to dine out at our expense.”
The ticket contract applies only to 9 percent of the stadium, leaving the other 91 to do as they please (within reason) with their tickets, Newman says.
The Chiefs want to protect the sanctity and the value of club-level seats, in part because of the amenities that are being added, premium prices are paid, and there is a waiting list for those tickets.
Oh, baby, what a play!
The Chiefs sent out nine-page, three-year contracts to some season ticket holders, complete with five pages of fine-print legalese and prices eventually doubling that of this season.
It doesn’t surprise Ticket Solutions’ owner Russ Lindmark.
“Unless they’re economic prognosticators, it seems to be outpacing inflation a little bit,” Lindmark says. “Either they’ve been undervaluing those tickets for a long time, or they want to put them in the hands of corporate Kansas City, because realistically individuals are going to have a hard time paying those prices.”
Under the terms of the contract, premium club-level “sideline select” season tickets priced at $1,100 each this year jump to $1,490 in 2009 (up 35 percent), then to $2,550 in 2010 and $2,700 in 2011.
The portion of the new ticket terms that brokers and fans alike may find particularly galling: a “non-transferability” clause.
“Except as expressly permitted by these terms and conditions, under no circumstances shall (ticket holder) sell, barter, exchange, transfer for consideration, or raffle off club seats to games or stadium events or use club seat tickets for any promotional or commercial purpose without prior written approval of (the Chiefs); provided, however, that (the ticket holder) is free to sell club seat tickets via TeamExchange and TicketExchange on www.kcchiefs.com or www.ticketmaster.com.”
Translation: It would appear that the Chiefs want to play Monopoly with choice seats.
“They don’t mind the resale, as long as they get to share in the profits,” Lindmark says. “That’s fine, but open it up to the free market. They have a rule on their TicketExchange that you can only sell tickets at or above face value. You can’t sell them for less than that. But the market value may very well be below face value.”
Lindmark’s hunch as to why the Chiefs might want to force season ticket holders to eat tickets for games they can’t attend but may be unsalable at face value?
“Because it would undermine their ticket sales at the box office,” Lindmark contends. “They want to protect the tickets they have remaining to sell. What they don’t want is their TicketExchange full of tickets for sale at half of what they’re asking at the box office. They want to have their cake and eat it, too.”
Kansas City Chiefs senior vice president Bill Newman has another take:
“He wants his cake and he wants to eat it, too,” Newman counters. “He’s the one who wants to dine out at our expense.”
The ticket contract applies only to 9 percent of the stadium, leaving the other 91 to do as they please (within reason) with their tickets, Newman says.
The Chiefs want to protect the sanctity and the value of club-level seats, in part because of the amenities that are being added, premium prices are paid, and there is a waiting list for those tickets.