Link: Want Jets tickets? No need to wait.
As E. Weeks cited in Thursday’s daily links, the Jets are in trouble. They have “thousands of (season) tickets” available for next season. Yes, that’s right, the Jets have a plethora of tickets available for the 2009, not 2010, season. And now they have contacted their massive waiting list to try to sell them off.
The Jets sent an e-mail to “waiting list” members Tuesday informing them of ticket availability at all levels for the upcoming season. It’s the final campaign at Giants Stadium before the team moves next door to a $1.6 billion replacement.
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Waiting-list members now can buy the available seats on a first-come, first-served basis, but Higgins said the most senior members on the list are being called directly to gauge their interest. The seats are not yet available to those not on the waiting list.
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The unprecedented availability comes in the midst of a weak economy, the Jets coming off a disappointing season and fan resentment about the cost of “personal seat licenses” for the new stadium. The PSL is a one-time charge of up to $20,000 or more for the right to purchase season tickets in the lower deck.
I didn’t cite any quotes, because they are just Jets PR nonsense, trying to spin the fact that they’ve angered and alienated a huge portion of their fan base in the past year with the PSL’s. This is not a good sign. The Jets are having trouble selling tickets before ticket prices sky-rocket and PSL’s kick in. Even if these tickets do get sold, as I expect they will, this is a clear sign that Woody and co. are going to have a major-league problem next season trying to fill their shiny new stadium. While part of it isn’t their fault, given the timing of the stadium and the economic collapse, that they charge so much for a historically inferior product is asinine and prices out the casual fan. The worst news comes from the people likely to buy into the new stadium: the same poeple who own season tickets at the new Yankee Stadium.
If you’re a Jets season ticket holder, or simply a fan who’s been to or goes to games, you understand the impact the rabid Jets fan base can have on the team and the atmosphere on game day. I’m terrified of what will happen in the new stadium as the die hards are quickly priced out of their seats in favor of corporate accounts and empty seats. Ugh, Jets fans. Ugh. Don’t let this go by the wayside. As Bassett stated with the Leon/Keels situation, tweet Woody or send a note to the Jets directly. Let them know you’re unhappy with things. We as a fan base have to take a stand against this or else we’ll be spending the next 30-40 years in a half-filled stadium when the Jets aren’t great and a stadium filled with suits and uninterested fairweather wannabes when they are.
It doesn’t just price out the casual fan it prices out the lifetime die-hard fans as well.
Blue collar guys, the deepest, most loyal, most deserving part of the fan base will have to mortgage their already worthless house just to get a ticket at the game.
This won’t stop until there is a boycott. The management of professional sport franchises treat the fans like a cash cow always turning their pockets inside out for their over priced product and all they do is keep jerking the price up.
I would love to see sports shut down for a year if that fixed the problem but it’ll never happen cause people apparently like to complain but they don’t like to actually do anything.
I was #14,657 on the waiting list and i just bought season tickets last week in section 131….I’ve been a jets fan all my life…..I’m 25 so thats not as long as some of you out there but its still a long time…….I may not buy a psl for 2010 but at least i get one years worth of going to the games at face value……
RK,
I agree with your points. Fans need to send a message to ownership, You want to rip us off — choke on your tickets!
The question is — what does management h
Sorry,
The question is – what does management have to do, to get the fans to rebel. I guess the PSL’s and the way long-time fans have been treated have pushed the wrong buttons.
As a season ticketholder, you have to put up with so much. Honestly, the parking situation alone is worthy of a boycott. (Having to spend an hour just to get out of the lot because they randomly seal off exits, while listening to the unhappy post-game report from a somber Jets locker room is enough to drive you insane.)
The JETS are in real trouble as there are thousands of tickets available for the 2009 season. They screwed the waiting list folks by charging a fee several years ago so their waiting list which was close to 50,000 or more years ago has dwindled to a mere 14,000. And they are e-mailing their waiting list for 2009? This means real trouble for 2010!!!
And I can honestly say that Woody deserves everything that is happening to him. Blackouts for home games in 2010!!!
I guess there are a lot like me who gave up their seats after last season. Here’s the message I sent the team.
I just heard there are a few thousand tickets available for the 2009 season. Well, surprise surprise. I am one of the many former season ticket holders that decided to give them up after last season because I would have had to pay a ridiculous PSL in order to keep the seats for 2010. I am as big a Jets fan as anyone. I am so passionate about this team and look forward to the season every year. I have spent hundreds of dollars on apparel and merchandise supporting this team. However, I am happy to hear about this because it proves how unfair PSLs are to real fans. Woody keeps stating that now we are the “home team”. Well its not going to feel like a home environment when half the people there are going to be corporate suits who don’t have a passionate interest in this team. You guys forgot that minor detail. Rex explained in his introductory press conference how important loud passionate fans are, especially when the defense is on the field. You are not helping this cause. Please send this meassage along to Woody thanking him for pricing out many fans and ruining the gameday experience for a lot of real fans.
I might have done it if I wasn’t a college kid with $3,500 dollars to my name and if i didn’t have a brain.
My dad’s plasma will suffice to watch the games, short of them being blacked out
I’d imagine the blackout rule would be challenged in court, as the price is so prohibitive, one can’t reasonably expect the average fan to pay that kind of money.
My buddy and I were talking about this the other day. I would not be able to bring my son to his first Jets game in the stadium with the conditions of a PSL license.
im coughin up the dough and dont worry i will do my best to keep the stadium rockin but yea this sucks
I would guess this makes it a certainty that most of us will be listening to the radio in 2010. And as many have already posited our home field advantage will likely be nil.
It’s very sad that we may finally have a franchise QB who’ll be playing for thousands of empty seats.
Minnesota’s is a bunch of SUCKERS!!! thats all i have to say!!!
this could end up being a big deal, but who knows. the need for a new stadium was questionable, whether to compete with other franchises on a revenue basis with new stadiums (was, ne, dal, etc) or more just to increase the value of the franchise and woody’s investment. probably both. but now he has to pay off all that debt he borrowed to help build the place.
for folks who can and do pay the psl wont be in much of a position to let their tickets lapse because of that investment. if there are a couple of 4-12s or 5-11s, they are stuck with them — or sell the psl’s at a significant discount. so if the stadium gets sold out, it probably stays that way for a few years. at least it creates even more pressure to field a winning team.
i’ve been going to games since the 70s, from walk ups at shea to tickets in 207 with my in-laws. we can tweet and email, but we’re voting with our wallet. no way. at some point you over price your product. but they only need to sell some 60 or 65,000 psl seats. the non psl seats will get bought. and the few other few million jet fans who supported the team throughout can buzz off – but keep buying the team merchandise.
mole – it is obvious that Woody doesn’t want “the average fan” in the stadium…he wants the ones with champagne wishes and caviar dreams!
I think he sees this franchise as being like the Yankees and Knicks, except that he forgot that there is another team in the same damn building!
NYDREAMER – don’t worry about taking your son to his first game. Something tells me that tickets will be available on a game by game basis as people who did buy PSLs and can’t make it to the game will be desparate to recoup any of their money back, since they will be competing against all the other empty seats being pushed by the JETS and other ticket distributors.
One last thought before I go to bed…I think it is ironic how closely linked these two adjacent stories are: The lack of line depth, and the lack of season ticket sales.
Despite all the obvious reasons for the shortage of season ticket sales are, now add another one…the odds of the JETS O-Line making it thru the season unscathed with a rookie QB could be a repeat of 2007 all over again. Now, how much do you wanna pay ?!
why are waitlisters getting better seats than more senior ticket holders? why is a new guy getting in the 100 section and i’m stuck in the bleeders?
I had seats in the upper level on the 40 yard line. In the new stadium I was offered seats in the end zone because of seniority seating. If you go onto the virtual seating web site of the new stadium, you will see that the upper deck is farther away from the field. and higher up. There is no over hang it’s a big bowl. So to pay all that money to sit farther away from the field and have no roof or cover, you can have it. I will be very happy to watch on my big screen TV.
Here is the link to the virtual seating plan of the new stadium
http://www.seats3d.com/nfl/new_york_jets/
Pick a seat in the upper deck of the end zone and scan over to the upper deck sideline seats and look how far away from the field you will be. There will be a lot of complaints when this new stadium opens.
I am a fan who gave up tickets after 44 years. I am happy they are struggling to sell them. And as for “face value,” we had a hard time getting face value back when we had to sell tickets because they have become so overpriced.
So Donald Trump can sip martinis in his luxury box and look out over empty seats. Go you know where, Woody.
Looking at the chart there is no seat less than $95.
There is also one section that is alcohol-free (not free alcohol; alcohol not allowed). What is the purpose of making one section alcohol-free? It is completely surrounded by alcohol permissible sections. So 100 stoned sober fans can be surrounded by inebriated slobs. Great idea. That one is a winner! It’s not like the fans in the alcohol-free section are going to skip the tailgate anyway.
I just paid face value $100 per ticket for the upcoming Bristol Nascar race in August. I can’t imagine paying $800 for a season of NFL home games. I’ll just pay effing directv $270 to watch at home. One advantage of the Nascar race price is that you can take 1 cooler per person full of beer into the race. Imagine the NFL doing that!!!!
That $800 doesn’t include preseason games; parking; travel and any other add-ons you can think of.