Deberg_1990
05-19-2009, 01:03 PM
Interesting.....
http://royalsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node/325
But with the Royals off yesterday, it's as good a time as any to talk about a new ticket pricing model that's likely coming soon to Kauffman Stadium.
The jargon term for it is "dynamic pricing," and it's essentially how airlines, hotels and rental car companies operate.
The Royals are a a few years into a common practice around baseball that sets prices higher for certain games, in Kansas City's case the Cardinals, Yankees, games like that.
This new method -- the Giants are the first MLB team to try it -- would take into account advanced ticket sales data, weather, pitching matchups, star power of the opposing team, all sorts of different factors.
It will likely create a scenario where fans feel compelled to "price check" certain games weeks in advance -- the same way you might for a plane ticket -- and try to play the market, in a way, to buy low if the prices drop.
Put another way, it's going to change the way you shop for tickets.
It's hard to imagine fans will take to this right away. Change is always hard, and if the Royals are smart they'll ease into this with small price increases, or maybe use the dynamic pricing model for only certain sections.
There is money to be made, and in a game that relies so heavily on revenue generation, the Royals would be irresponsible to not look into this. They've always been very conscious of their market, going out of their way to maintain entry-level price points that are doable for anyone who can afford to go to a movie.
Can't imagine that will change. There will be times that this creates a cheaper ticket for you, for games that are selling slow. The trick will be to put in price hikes that are selective and small enough to not negatively impact attendance.
The people who come up with these models are a lot smarter than, say, your local blogging baseball writer, so I guess this is a benefit-of-the-doubt situation.
Anyway, as long as we're talking about the K(ougar)*, last Friday's rain storm cut what would've been the biggest and best crowd of the season almost in half.
* Couldn't resist. Self-discipline is not a strength.
Aramark, the company that handles concessions at the K, prepared nearly 70,000 hot dogs in anticipation for a standing-room only crowd. When sheets of rain convinced 18,000 or so to either stay at home or do something else, there were enough leftover weiners that the company put them out on the counters in the late innings as a sort of good-will-slash-buffet.
That led, of course, to hot dog fights in the concourses.
"That'll be the last time we do that," says George Lancie, Aramark general manager.
With George on the phone, I had to run by him the idea I briefly explored last year, one that would be a no-doubt, slam-dunk, couldn't-fail-even-if-you-tried success at the K:
Turn the right-field barbecue pit area into a Taste of Kansas City of sorts.
Now, before we go further, let's recognize that the barbecue they have out there now is fine. Aramark brought in some folks from Jack Stack to run the show, so they know what they're doing.
I've had the barbecue out there*, and it's fine. It's not terrific. It's not terrible. For ballpark barbecue, it's good.
* Although I'm still kicking myself for getting the fries instead of the cheesy corn. I'd like to think I know better than that.
But this is Kansas City. Good is not good enough for our barbecue, and at a ballpark, you get a lot of people in from out of town. This should be a showcase of sorts.
So why not invite all the big names to set up shop at the K? Get Gates', get Oklahoma Joe's*, Arthur Bryant's, Rosedale, Wyandotte, Jack Stack, whoever wants to come out and play, come out and play. As long as we all agree to not tell Famous Dave about our idea, I'm all for it.
* I'm comfortable enough in my own masculinity to admit that I love the Z-Man.
Maybe some of them wouldn't want the direct competition. Their loss. Get a few of the best joints in town on board, and all of a sudden you have a showcase of the city's best barbecue.
How would this not be a hit? You'd have a handful of the city's best restaurants cooking up their own form of deliciousness in close proximity, head-to-head competition hopefully bringing out the best.
I asked Lancie about this, probably putting him on the spot, but he was a good sport about it. He called the barbecue they have now "outstanding," and said these types of arrangements would have to be made with the Royals, not Aramark.
"There's always opportunity for branding in future years, sure," Lancie said. "I guess anything's possible. But it is driven around marketing ... It's not a position where it's my way or the highway. Aramark does embrace local brands."
As the philosopher Lloyd Christmas once said, so you're telling me there's a chance.
I read ya'.
http://royalsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node/325
But with the Royals off yesterday, it's as good a time as any to talk about a new ticket pricing model that's likely coming soon to Kauffman Stadium.
The jargon term for it is "dynamic pricing," and it's essentially how airlines, hotels and rental car companies operate.
The Royals are a a few years into a common practice around baseball that sets prices higher for certain games, in Kansas City's case the Cardinals, Yankees, games like that.
This new method -- the Giants are the first MLB team to try it -- would take into account advanced ticket sales data, weather, pitching matchups, star power of the opposing team, all sorts of different factors.
It will likely create a scenario where fans feel compelled to "price check" certain games weeks in advance -- the same way you might for a plane ticket -- and try to play the market, in a way, to buy low if the prices drop.
Put another way, it's going to change the way you shop for tickets.
It's hard to imagine fans will take to this right away. Change is always hard, and if the Royals are smart they'll ease into this with small price increases, or maybe use the dynamic pricing model for only certain sections.
There is money to be made, and in a game that relies so heavily on revenue generation, the Royals would be irresponsible to not look into this. They've always been very conscious of their market, going out of their way to maintain entry-level price points that are doable for anyone who can afford to go to a movie.
Can't imagine that will change. There will be times that this creates a cheaper ticket for you, for games that are selling slow. The trick will be to put in price hikes that are selective and small enough to not negatively impact attendance.
The people who come up with these models are a lot smarter than, say, your local blogging baseball writer, so I guess this is a benefit-of-the-doubt situation.
Anyway, as long as we're talking about the K(ougar)*, last Friday's rain storm cut what would've been the biggest and best crowd of the season almost in half.
* Couldn't resist. Self-discipline is not a strength.
Aramark, the company that handles concessions at the K, prepared nearly 70,000 hot dogs in anticipation for a standing-room only crowd. When sheets of rain convinced 18,000 or so to either stay at home or do something else, there were enough leftover weiners that the company put them out on the counters in the late innings as a sort of good-will-slash-buffet.
That led, of course, to hot dog fights in the concourses.
"That'll be the last time we do that," says George Lancie, Aramark general manager.
With George on the phone, I had to run by him the idea I briefly explored last year, one that would be a no-doubt, slam-dunk, couldn't-fail-even-if-you-tried success at the K:
Turn the right-field barbecue pit area into a Taste of Kansas City of sorts.
Now, before we go further, let's recognize that the barbecue they have out there now is fine. Aramark brought in some folks from Jack Stack to run the show, so they know what they're doing.
I've had the barbecue out there*, and it's fine. It's not terrific. It's not terrible. For ballpark barbecue, it's good.
* Although I'm still kicking myself for getting the fries instead of the cheesy corn. I'd like to think I know better than that.
But this is Kansas City. Good is not good enough for our barbecue, and at a ballpark, you get a lot of people in from out of town. This should be a showcase of sorts.
So why not invite all the big names to set up shop at the K? Get Gates', get Oklahoma Joe's*, Arthur Bryant's, Rosedale, Wyandotte, Jack Stack, whoever wants to come out and play, come out and play. As long as we all agree to not tell Famous Dave about our idea, I'm all for it.
* I'm comfortable enough in my own masculinity to admit that I love the Z-Man.
Maybe some of them wouldn't want the direct competition. Their loss. Get a few of the best joints in town on board, and all of a sudden you have a showcase of the city's best barbecue.
How would this not be a hit? You'd have a handful of the city's best restaurants cooking up their own form of deliciousness in close proximity, head-to-head competition hopefully bringing out the best.
I asked Lancie about this, probably putting him on the spot, but he was a good sport about it. He called the barbecue they have now "outstanding," and said these types of arrangements would have to be made with the Royals, not Aramark.
"There's always opportunity for branding in future years, sure," Lancie said. "I guess anything's possible. But it is driven around marketing ... It's not a position where it's my way or the highway. Aramark does embrace local brands."
As the philosopher Lloyd Christmas once said, so you're telling me there's a chance.
I read ya'.