Red Sox Still Selling Well, Just Not As Well

The Boston Red Sox have already sold 2.2 million tickets for the 2009 season, but that put them a couple of percentage points behind the past few years.  Given that the Red Sox were a game away from the World Series and have a notoriously devoted fan base, the only reasonable explanation for this drop is the economy.  That said, the almost nonexistent drop offers some evidence that at least part of baseball is, thus far, recession-proof.

Colorado Refuses to Limit Scalping

The Colorado Senate Business Affairs Committee unanimously rejected a measure that would have put a cap on ticket scalping.   The proposed legislation would have prohibited anyone from selling tickets for more than 25% over face value.

Since anti-scalping legislation is largely unenforced (not to mention unenforceable), this isn’t a huge deal in terms of the ticket market.  But the fact that not a single Colorado State Senator on the committee felt a political need to vote for the bill is indicative of what I think is a growing acceptance of ticket scalping.

Pirates Are Trying Hard to Sell Tickets

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who play in arguably the nicest stadium in baseball in a city that has transitioned well from relying entirely on dying industries to an economically stable urban area, have not fielded a compettive team in nearly two decades.  So it’s not surprising that they have had some trouble selling tickets.  That said, things are not going as badly as you might think.

The team is aggressively courting season ticket holders in hopes of stemming the trend of fewer fans coming through the turnstiles each season.  They have added 20 employees  in their season ticket department and 4 to the group sales department.  Full season plans are available for as little as $399, and season ticket holders will have access to a private lounge that offers free snacks, a pool table and an exclusive player autograph booth.

For individual games, the team is making a couple of changes this year.  The Pirates are moving most major promotional nights to weekends, and they have brought back Buc Night, during which outfield grandstand tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and pop all cost just $1 each.

For now,  things are going okay.  The Pirates season-ticket plans are down about 3 percent this year, but that’s better than a lot of teams and, given the economy, can be considered a moral victory.

Rays Announce 2009 Bobbleheads

The Tampa Bay Rays have released their promotional schedule for 2009 and it includes four bobbleheads.  The bobbleheads, which will go to the first 10,000 kids, are Dioner Navarro (June 14), James Shields (June 28), Carl Crawford (July 12) and Scott Kazmir (Aug. 2).  All four dates are Sundays.

A’s Announce 2009 Bobbleheads

The Oakland A’s, whose tickets go on sale this Saturday, have announced they will have 2 bobblehead days this season: Justin Duchscherer on May 9 and Jason Giambi on August 21.

Brewers Selling Tickets at Record Pace

Despite the loss of CC Sabathia, the Brewers’ fan base remains energized and is buying tickets at a record pace.  On Monday, January 19, the Brewers announced that they had already sold 1 million tickets for the 2009 season, entirely through multi-game ticket packages.  The Brewers had never previously reached the 1 million ticket mark before group tickets went on sale.

Padres Struggling to Sell Tickets

The San Diego Padres, who have been cutting payroll this offseason and are in the process of being sold, are having a tough time selling season tickets this  year.  The team, which sold about 15,000 season tickets in 2008, is looking at far less than 10,000 season tickets sold in 2009.  Not surprisingly, bad economy, bad team, and nothing indicating things are going to get better any time soon is a lousy combination when it comes to trying to sell tickets.

Allure of New Stadium is Helping the Twins Sell Tickets

The Minnesota Twins report that they expect to sell about 11,000 season tickets this year, up 10% from last year.  How are they able to do that in this economy and entering a season in which few pick them to make the playoffs?  Current season ticket holders will have first crack at season tickets in their new stadium, Target Field, which is to open in 2010.

Pirates Announce 2009 Bobbleheads

The Pittsburgh Pirates are going to have three bobblehead giveaways in 2009:  Ryan Doumit on Saturday, April 18, a 2008 Nate McLouth All-Star bobblehead on Saturday, May 16, and a “Fans Vote” bobblehead on Friday, September 25, where the player selected by fan vote earlier in the season will be honored.

Bobbleheads.com Owner Made a Smart Investment

When Warren Royal decided to get into the bobblehead buisness, he looked for an edge in online marketing.  He wento Sedo, a company that helps buy and sell dormant but registered web addresses.

Royal was able to buy  “bobblehead.com” and “bobbleheads.com” for $29,112 and $36,000, respectively.  He made his investment back quickly as heavereaged almost $6,000 per month in sales after just five months operating as Bobbleheads.com.  He claims he has already has turned down an offer of more than $300,000 for the bobbleheads.com domain.