OT: Fans refunded ticket money after loss
An interesting story out of Seattle from the weekend. The Seattle Sounders FC, lost to the L.A. Beckham's 4-0 and management decided to give all the season ticket holders their money back for that game in the form of a credit for next years tickets:
http://www.soundersfc.com/News/Articles/2010/05-May/Sounders-to-issue-refund.aspx
That is an impressive precedent to set, especially since they have 30,000+ season ticket holders. Fuzzy math says at $30 a ticket, they are paying just under $1 million for a random early season loss.
In related news, William Clay Ford announced that he owes all the season ticket holders from 2000-2008 a beer, citing, "you know, that whole 'Millen' thing."
that would not be enough. There is not enough beer in the whole wide world...
I'm sure this just wasn't a kindness of the heart gesture. Add publicity, and the fact that more people will be likely to retain their season's tickets and that makes up for some of the difference.
It actually is kind of a big deal since they had a 96% retention rate for season tickets this year plus 6,000 new orders on top of that. I don't think an early season loss would have changed that number very much for next year.
You don't "lose" the full retail value of the ticket unless the stadium is sold out next year (so that you are replacing those paying retail with those waving a credit waiver in the air). You might lose the variable cost of having a customer show up, but that number has to be close to nothing - you pay the staff no matter how many people attend.
So, since the Sounders are nowhere NOWHERE near their real capacity, they lose....bupkus.
Here's some stats (since we like stats): 2009 average home attendance for the Sounders: 30,897.00 (I like the idea of a fractional fan attending!), with a high of 33,108. Capacity of Qwest stadium: 67,000, although for soccer the stadium is currently reconfigured for a max of 35,700 (they block off seats they know they won't sell). Chance of an actual sell-out: same as the chances of me personally taking over for Denard as starting QB.
http://www.mls-daily.com/2009/04/seattle-sounders-fc-2009-home.html
You may want to look into that stat a little bit more. The capacity for Sounders game changed (increased) multiple times last year from 24,500 at the beginning of the season to 35,700 at the end of the season mark you stated. Every game was sold out last year which would explain the low average.
Average attendance for 2010 through 5 home games: 36,144 (capacity 35,700)
http://www.mls-daily.com/2010/03/2010-mls-attendance.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Sounders_FC#Stadium
They can manipulate the capacity any way they want up to like 67,000 people.
It doesn't even matter if it's a sellout. If only ten people got season tickets this year and were the only people in the stands, giving those ten people a voucher means that, if they're back next year, they pay less to get their tickets, even if they're still the only ten people who ever attend a game.
If people are paying less for tickets they were buying anyways, you make less money, no matter how much additional space is around them.
For next year's season ticketholders their vouchers mean NOTHING; they are not vouchers discounting a future season ticket they are vouchers allowing the holder into a single game.
So the effect on income would be zilch...people would not be paying less for tickets that they would be buying anyways....which was my point.
This is just good marketing and a small discount for season-ticket holders who decide to renew.
I thought it was more impressive in the EPL when Wigan's players chose to refund their fans who traveled to watch them lose to Tottenham 9-1 in November. Unfortunately, Wigan also got drubbed 8-0 to Chelsea this weekend and have not announced a repeat. I guess the refund wasn't a huge deterrent for not getting drubbed again.
Pretty amazing the following that the Sounders have up there in Seattle. Talk about an excellent move by MLS to go there. 30,000..... that's more than most MLB teams average.
http://avoidingthedrop.com/2010/04/14/mls-attendance-the-nba-would-kill…
Nice blog post. While the MLS is subpar quality (compared to the world's top soccer leagues) it seems the attendance is doing quite remarkable. Next step has to be getting a better TV deal with ESPN. Gotta get that exposure.
... I liken them to UM Hockey games without goals. It really is a great experience and much like the European games I've been to with the chanting, the bands, the fanaticism
All things considered, MLS couldn't have picked a better place for a team. It's a fairly 'liberal' and outdoorsy city, which seems to accompany an emphasis on soccer.
I've always hated how pro athletes who "guarantee" a victory never put anything up in case it doesn't happen.
4-0? That has to hurt.
... after the NLCS in 2003, longest train ride home, EVER.
I'm shocked at the refund at the fact that a soccer team has that many season ticket holders.
For a second I thought this had to do with the fact that students who ordered an extra ticket to the Big Chill (in addition to the one that comes with the season tickets) were getting their extra ticket refunded, which by the way is very nice of the Athletics Department.
Either that or a lot of us screwed up (tho it's never really for the money...they care about us, right?...right?)