OT: the pirates lost a paying customer tonight

[KennyHeisman8]

Tryed to go to the game tonight and pick up tickets at the gate. We usually do the family plan where you get a ticket for 22 dollars with 12. dollars of loaded value.

Well tonight they said they were “sold out” of those. I talked to a supervisor, and he gave me a bs spiel about dynamic pricing.

Cheapest ticket at the window are 37 dollars without loaded value. I’m not poor, but I can’t justify spending that much plus food at a single baseball game.

When I looked at the regular options online, multiple sections are closed, and there are 1000’s of tickets available. Attendance tonight will be 15k probably half cubs fans.

I’ve been a borderline shill for the organization. That price for a ticket though is unjustifiable especially given there will be 20k empty seats.

Since PNC park opened I had gone to about 20 games a year. No more, I’m done with these a*****

 

[KennyHeisman8]

Tryed to go to the game tonight and pick up tickets at the gate. We usually do the family plan where you get a ticket for 22 dollars with 12. dollars of loaded value.

Well tonight they said they were “sold out” of those. I talked to a supervisor, and he gave me a bs spiel about dynamic pricing.

Cheapest ticket at the window are 37 dollars without loaded value. I’m not poor, but I can’t justify spending that much plus food at a single baseball game.

When I looked at the regular options online, multiple sections are closed, and there are 1000’s of tickets available. Attendance tonight will be 15k probably half cubs fans.

I’ve been a borderline shill for the organization. That price for a ticket though is unjustifiable especially given there will be 20k empty seats.

Since PNC park opened I had gone to about 20 games a year. No more, I’m done with these a*****

To emphasize the point. For tonight I can get tickets at Cincinnati for under 30. The brewers under 20. The twins who are playing at home against the Red Sox fkr around 25. And the kicker, tomorrow the Yankees are home and you can get two tickets for under 60 dollars total

 

[Burgh15]

I was going to go tonight for the first time in years to watch Davis but the cheapest ticket available was something like $31. Nope, not for a Monday night game. Even Stubhub was over $30, but they did have SRO for $19.

 

[KennyHeisman8]

I was going to go tonight for the first time in years to watch Davis but the cheapest ticket available was something like $31. Nope, not for a Monday night game. Even Stubhub was over $30, but they did have SRO for $19.

There will be 15k there. You can look at the other teams I mentioned above and they are all cheaper, and significantly so

 

[WillyDavis33]

Like Pirate's ownership....let it go!

 

[CJsE]

Tryed to go to the game tonight and pick up tickets at the gate. We usually do the family plan where you get a ticket for 22 dollars with 12. dollars of loaded value.

Well tonight they said they were “sold out” of those. I talked to a supervisor, and he gave me a bs spiel about dynamic pricing.

Cheapest ticket at the window are 37 dollars without loaded value. I’m not poor, but I can’t justify spending that much plus food at a single baseball game.

When I looked at the regular options online, multiple sections are closed, and there are 1000’s of tickets available. Attendance tonight will be 15k probably half cubs fans.

I’ve been a borderline shill for the organization. That price for a ticket though is unjustifiable especially given there will be 20k empty seats.

Since PNC park opened I had gone to about 20 games a year. No more, I’m done with these a*****

You should be more ashamed that you've been giving this ownership money 20x per year. But hey, you get what you deserve

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Tryed to go to the game tonight and pick up tickets at the gate. We usually do the family plan where you get a ticket for 22 dollars with 12. dollars of loaded value.

Well tonight they said they were “sold out” of those. I talked to a supervisor, and he gave me a bs spiel about dynamic pricing.

Cheapest ticket at the window are 37 dollars without loaded value. I’m not poor, but I can’t justify spending that much plus food at a single baseball game.

When I looked at the regular options online, multiple sections are closed, and there are 1000’s of tickets available. Attendance tonight will be 15k probably half cubs fans.

I’ve been a borderline shill for the organization. That price for a ticket though is unjustifiable especially given there will be 20k empty seats.

Since PNC park opened I had gone to about 20 games a year. No more, I’m done with these a*****

They lost one in 2002 here. I have paid for Pirate tickets to maybe 5-10 games since then but almost always cheap Stubhubbies.

 

[KennyHeisman8]

You should be more ashamed that you've been giving this ownership money 20x per year. But hey, you get what you deserve

I mean I could say the same about Pitt in a lot of cases, but it’s tough to give up a team you love

 

[CJsE]

I mean I could say the same about Pitt in a lot of cases, but it’s tough to give up a team you love

Say what you want about Pitt, but they spend among the top of the ACC in football and basketball. They provide competitive salaries and support with their peers. If Pitt could get the same type of deal as the Pirates or Steelers and only pay for 10% of their stadium, we'd have one on campus tomorrow. The Pirates don't pay a dime on the first $60 million they earn at the gate and concession (5% after that), they get $60 million in revenue sharing, they don't pay a dime on their naming rights or 60% of their local media deals. Remind me what their payroll is?

Meanwhile if you don't think the Pirates are going to start shopping cities at the end of their lease in 2030, you're delusional.

It may have taken you 20 years, but you finally learned that the $22 hooker doesn't actually love you.

 

[Upg bobcat]

Do they charge more for tickets on other holidays, too? I know that Nutting always jacked up the price at Seven Springs on holidays.

 

[TheChair]

Tryed to go to the game tonight and pick up tickets at the gate. We usually do the family plan where you get a ticket for 22 dollars with 12. dollars of loaded value.

Well tonight they said they were “sold out” of those. I talked to a supervisor, and he gave me a bs spiel about dynamic pricing.

Cheapest ticket at the window are 37 dollars without loaded value. I’m not poor, but I can’t justify spending that much plus food at a single baseball game.

When I looked at the regular options online, multiple sections are closed, and there are 1000’s of tickets available. Attendance tonight will be 15k probably half cubs fans.

I’ve been a borderline shill for the organization. That price for a ticket though is unjustifiable especially given there will be 20k empty seats.

Since PNC park opened I had gone to about 20 games a year. No more, I’m done with these a*****

If you are complaining about a $15 difference on a ticket, were you ever really a fan? Especially considering that are admittedly not poor.

It was a hot ticket for a night and you were late. It happens. Pay the extra cash and see Davis play if that is what you wanted. If not, go home and come back tomorrow when the tickets likely will not be sold out.

But complaining over $15 is just overly fickle even for Pittsburgh sports.

 

[KennyHeisman8]

If you are complaining about a $15 difference on a ticket, were you ever really a fan? Especially considering that are admittedly not poor.

It was a hot ticket for a night and you were late. It happens. Pay the extra cash and see Davis play if that is what you wanted. If not, go home and come back tomorrow when the tickets likely will not be sold out.

But complaining over $15 is just overly fickle even for Pittsburgh sports.

37 dollars for a baseball game in June on a Monday is insane. I could go see the Yankees tomorrow for less. Every other game this week has cheaper tickets other than dodgers angels

 

[PITTstorm]

I believe some sections were closed for this series for the Cutch 2 tickets/$22 promotion honoring his 2,000th hit.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Do they charge more for tickets on other holidays, too? I know that Nutting always jacked up the price at Seven Springs on holidays.

The Pirates, like just about everyone at this point, use dynamic pricing. When the demand for a game rises, like for instance tonight, the price of the tickets goes up. When the demand for tickets is low, the prices are low.

Tonight was probably the largest Monday night crowd in a long, long time. 23,083. Their thought, which most other teams and the big concert promoter share, is that it's better to get an extra $10 from the extra 10,000 people that bought tickets tonight than leave that $10 on the proverbial table but get an extra 100 fans there.

And of course it probably wasn't even 100 tickets that they missed out on selling.

 

[KennyHeisman8]

I believe some sections were closed for this series for the Cutch 2 tickets/$22 promotion honoring his 2,000th hit.

Not in what I was referencing. The sections they usually sell these tickets are between like 307 and 325 and those were open with 1000’s of tickets available.

They drew 23k, that’s still 15k open seats they could have sold and probably turned some last minute folks away.

They did me a favor anyways though

 

[pghsonj1325]

Tryed to go to the game tonight and pick up tickets at the gate. We usually do the family plan where you get a ticket for 22 dollars with 12. dollars of loaded value.

Well tonight they said they were “sold out” of those. I talked to a supervisor, and he gave me a bs spiel about dynamic pricing.

Cheapest ticket at the window are 37 dollars without loaded value. I’m not poor, but I can’t justify spending that much plus food at a single baseball game.

When I looked at the regular options online, multiple sections are closed, and there are 1000’s of tickets available. Attendance tonight will be 15k probably half cubs fans.

I’ve been a borderline shill for the organization. That price for a ticket though is unjustifiable especially given there will be 20k empty seats.

Since PNC park opened I had gone to about 20 games a year. No more, I’m done with these a*****

You’re mad they increased prices for the debut of their #1 prospect and they sold out of seats you like because there’s ton of value?

There was 23k there on a Monday night

You don’t think those tickets went really fast?

Newsflash, lots of teams in lots of sports do dynamic pricing.

I understand hating the Pirates but this is not a justifiable reason lol

 

[KennyHeisman8]

You’re mad they increased prices for the debut of their #1 prospect and they sold out of seats you like because there’s ton of value?

There was 23k there on a Monday night

You don’t think those tickets went really fast?

Newsflash, lots of teams in lots of sports do dynamic pricing.

I understand hating the Pirates but this is not a justifiable reason lol

Yeah, it is justifiable. Like I said, I can get Yankees tickets for cheaper. The brewers are always running tickets for less than half that price. The Reds tickets tonight were much cheaper, they are right near first place, and Joey Votto made his debut tonight not to mention they have all their top prospects up. The Red Sox were playing the twins tonight in Minnesota, those tickets are cheaper. The Phillies had cheaper tickets against the Braves and Ronald Acuna. The first and second place Rays and Orioles were like 16 dollars with fees.

It's a complete joke. I have defended this organization but no more. Even tomorrw the cheapest ticket you can get is 27 dollars. That is outrageous when there will again be 15K-20k empty seats.

 

[pittjas]

I can’t believe in 2023 anybody tries to buy tickets at the gate.

 

[pghsonj1325]

Yeah, it is justifiable. Like I said, I can get Yankees tickets for cheaper. The brewers are always running tickets for less than half that price. The Reds tickets tonight were much cheaper, they are right near first place, and Joey Votto made his debut tonight not to mention they have all their top prospects up. The Red Sox were playing the twins tonight in Minnesota, those tickets are cheaper. The Phillies had cheaper tickets against the Braves and Ronald Acuna. The first and second place Rays and Orioles were like 16 dollars with fees.

It's a complete joke. I have defended this organization but no more. Even tomorrw the cheapest ticket you can get is 27 dollars. That is outrageous when there will again be 15K-20k empty seats.

Should Pitt start selling tickets at the gate for $1 when the games get 35k?

No. Because then people would wait til the last second to buy tickets.

Get with the times dude

 

[Parkview57]

Going to a game to watch a minor leaguer get his first hit?

Get with the times dude

A sad state of affairs, IMHO

 

[jtownknowitall]

You’re mad they increased prices for the debut of their #1 prospect and they sold out of seats you like because there’s ton of value?

There was 23k there on a Monday night

You don’t think those tickets went really fast?

Newsflash, lots of teams in lots of sports do dynamic pricing.

I understand hating the Pirates but this is not a justifiable reason lol

It most certainly is. lol

 

[jtownknowitall]

I can’t believe in 2023 anybody tries to buy tickets at the gate.

Why not?

 

[KennyHeisman8]

Should Pitt start selling tickets at the gate for $1 when the games get 35k?

No. Because then people would wait til the last second to buy tickets.

Get with the times dude

No, but I think selling tickets for nearly 40 dollars when there are 15k open seats is really dumb

 

[OH Pete]

Do they charge more for tickets on other holidays, too? I know that Nutting always jacked up the price at Seven Springs on holidays.

I'm not justifying it, but that type of thing isn't just Nutting. Every business does it. I had a non-Taylor Swift reason to be in Pittsburgh on Friday night and looked for a hotel. Prices for downtown were $1000+. The burbs were $500 to $700. Even Washington PA was $300+. I couldn't figure it out. I never saw prices like that. Then it dawned on me that she was playing that night and it all made sense. Put a major dent in my plans because, unlike Huggins, I didn't want to drive through Pittsburgh thinking I was in Columbus. So I just made plans to behave myself and drive home.

Ever try to get a northside hotel on game day? At least double to triple the normal rates. Especially for a Steelers game.

Mother's Day brunch at a restaurant close to my home is about $20 more for virtually the same brunch you can get on any other Sunday of the year there.

I can be angry at Nutting for a lot of things. But dynamic pricing isn't one of them.

 

[pittdan77]

I'm not justifying it, but that type of thing isn't just Nutting. Every business does it. I had a non-Taylor Swift reason to be in Pittsburgh on Friday night and looked for a hotel. Prices for downtown were $1000+. The burbs were $500 to $700. Even Washington PA was $300+. I couldn't figure it out. I never saw prices like that. Then it dawned on me that she was playing that night and it all made sense. Put a major dent in my plans because, unlike Huggins, I didn't want to drive through Pittsburgh thinking I was in Columbus. So I just made plans to behave myself and drive home.

Ever try to get a northside hotel on game day? At least double to triple the normal rates. Especially for a Steelers game.

Mother's Day brunch at a restaurant close to my home is about $20 more for virtually the same brunch you can get on any other Sunday of the year there.

I can be angry at Nutting for a lot of things. But dynamic pricing isn't one of them.

There is a little bit of a difference in those scenarios than what the OP is mad about. The hotels don't limit capacity for that kind of event. The restaurant doesn't close off a section on Mother's Day and then jack the price. Those are situations where there are extra costs associated with operations and a bit of a "take it or leave it" mentality to make a few extra bucks.

Closing down sections for what would be a busier than normal night is something of a cost control move. They're not even really elevating the price. Just selling at actual value. They're willing to allow a bit of a lower demand as a trade-off and betting they'll sell enough to hit whatever the target is for that night. You could say that on other Monday's they're really just selling closer to cost and calling it a good night based on every dollar over what they needed to cover overhead.

 

[OH Pete]

There is a little bit of a difference in those scenarios than what the OP is mad about. The hotels don't limit capacity for that kind of event. The restaurant doesn't close off a section on Mother's Day and then jack the price. Those are situations where there are extra costs associated with operations and a bit of a "take it or leave it" mentality to make a few extra bucks.

Closing down sections for what would be a busier than normal night is something of a cost control move. They're not even really elevating the price. Just selling at actual value. They're willing to allow a bit of a lower demand as a trade-off and betting they'll sell enough to hit whatever the target is for that night. You could say that on other Monday's they're really just selling closer to cost and calling it a good night based on every dollar over what they needed to cover overhead.

I was more referring to the post I responded to about Seven Springs having higher prices on holidays.

 

[pittdan77]

I was more referring to the post I responded to about Seven Springs having higher prices on holidays.

Right. It's just a bit different when you're confident you're going to be at capacity and raising prices than just limiting capacity. There are some people on this board that think you drive up value by limiting capacity as part of the on-campus stadium debates. I'm not disagreeing with you but instead, I'm pointing out that it rarely works that way for something like a regular season sporting event. This example is exactly the result you'd expect.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I thought it was kind of wild to see how much they hyped up Davis' debut. First pick and all that jazz, but he's barely a top 50 prospect. I guess there isn't anything better to talk about on a Monday coming off a six-game losing streak, though.

As far as tickets go... they were $23 on StubHub right before game time. I'm guessing that would be like $30 with the fees, but there were 100-level seats for that price.

 

[bobfree]

So many reasons why this is sooooooo 2023.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

I mean I could say the same about Pitt in a lot of cases, but it’s tough to give up a team you love

Bull shit. There's no comparison. Nutting is a syphon to this region.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

I would’ve still bought the tickets this time especially after making the ride from Morgantown lol

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

I would’ve still bought the tickets this time especially after making the ride from Morgantown lol

Yeah, imagine travelling (car, bus, foot, or whatever) and getting to the game and then not going in because of $30.

Nutting is pariah. A greedy SOB that only cares about one thing... his wallet. He'll squeeze every last nickel he can out of that franchise. Why would anyone expect anything less?

Don't get me wrong, it's his business and he can run it however he wants. However, I think it's been pretty clear he's a POS of owner and terrible for the Pirates and the city.

 

[forbesfield]

You should be more ashamed that you've been giving this ownership money 20x per year. But hey, you get what you deserve

Here here. I cannot emphasize this enough. Giving money to Nutting is just plain stupid.

I used to be a season ticket holder, but got fed up. Every so often I get called or emailed by the season ticket reps, asking me if I'd like to come back. My answer is, call me back after Nutting is dead. Until then, my money stays in my pocket.

 

[forbesfield]

I can’t believe in 2023 anybody tries to buy tickets at the gate.

Why? The fees they add to online ticket buying is ridiculous. And it's not like you need to worry about availability.

 

[lilspainishflea]

Right. It's just a bit different when you're confident you're going to be at capacity and raising prices than just limiting capacity. There are some people on this board that think you drive up value by limiting capacity as part of the on-campus stadium debates. I'm not disagreeing with you but instead, I'm pointing out that it rarely works that way for something like a regular season sporting event. This example is exactly the result you'd expect.

Agreed. As a sports owner, wouldn't you also want as many people at the game as possible? If nothing else it gives the illusion of a good time. People want to be part of that. Just means that the next time someone on TV watches the game they might think to themselves "oh cool, I should stop by and be part of this fun event that others are doing."

Plus, it seems that there's really no downside. Your biggest costs - the lease and team payroll - are fixed. I could be wrong but I'm not sure there are any marginal costs at all to filling another 300 Level section which would be borne by the team. The concessions are fully run by a third party company like Sodexho who pays upfront for the rights to work them. I'm sure cleanup afterwards is similar.

 

[pittdan77]

Agreed. As a sports owner, wouldn't you also want as many people at the game as possible? If nothing else it gives the illusion of a good time. People want to be part of that. Just means that the next time someone on TV watches the game they might think to themselves "oh cool, I should stop by and be part of this fun event that others are doing."

Plus, it seems that there's really no downside. Your biggest costs - the lease and team payroll - are fixed. I could be wrong but I'm not sure there are any marginal costs at all to filling another 300 Level section which would be borne by the team. The concessions are fully run by a third party company like Sodexho who pays upfront for the rights to work them. I'm sure cleanup afterwards is similar.

You can be certain that things like concessions and security aren't just a flat, per game, rate or anything. Contract may even specify what the service levels are for particular days of the week. Whether it's a day game or night. Double header or not. So there is a sliding scale on cost that is managed and sized based on usage and opening the upper deck seating on a Monday night probably is cost prohibitive.

 

[doubleAA's]

You’re mad they increased prices for the debut of their #1 prospect and they sold out of seats you like because there’s ton of value?

There was 23k there on a Monday night

You don’t think those tickets went really fast?

Newsflash, lots of teams in lots of sports do dynamic pricing.

I understand hating the Pirates but this is not a justifiable reason lol

I'll start by saying the original poster is a bit out of line... BBBUUUUTTT... I dont see why "dynamic pricing" is allowed but if you sell water bottles for 6 dollars each during a natural disaster it isnt called "dynamic pricing" It is not quite the same thing, but same philosophy, you are inflating the cost of product that usually cost (and is written) to be one price for much more price because more people want to attend a night... or price gouging.

 

[Parkview57]

Nutting is pariah. A greedy SOB that only cares about one thing.

Agreed, one of my main problems in this instance is that Nutting is making his money off the league, tv, etc., not walk-up ticket sales so changing ticket prices is not comparable to other businesses that rely on sales to make money, no comparison at all. Just another slap at the average fan.

 

[pghsonj1325]

I'll start by saying the original poster is a bit out of line... BBBUUUUTTT... I dont see why "dynamic pricing" is allowed but if you sell water bottles for 6 dollars each during a natural disaster it isnt called "dynamic pricing" It is not quite the same thing, but same philosophy, you are inflating the cost of product that usually cost (and is written) to be one price for much more price because more people want to attend a night... or price gouging.

Because water is a basic necessity of life, and trust me Pirates baseball is not that

 

[doubleAA's]

Because water is a basic necessity of life, and trust me Pirates baseball is not that

Well dynamic pricing is borderline illegal at times, by the way, according to the law dynamic pricing of water is not against the law, only if you charge more based on race, religion, gender or nationality. For example, my wife works for American Airlines in finance. They have a dynamic price structure where they will increase the price of flights based on if you return to the site to look up the same flight for the same day (they figure you really want to go) so she gets angry at me if I look again from the same account (I assume the other airlines do this also).

It is price gouging, but usually it is only enforced for the opposite, like someone floods the market with very low cost product and you cant sell your product at a reasonable and standard price (dumping).