By Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 7, 2007; A01
Tickets for the top seats at the Washington Nationals' new stadium will cost as much as $400 per game, among the highest prices in Major League Baseball, the team announced yesterday.
Fans will pay at least $150 per game to sit in the 1,800 most desirable locations in the stadium, the team said. The most expensive seat this season at RFK Stadium is $140, according to the team's Web site. The new stadium is being built with $611 million in public funds along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington and is scheduled to open next spring.
Nationals President Stan Kasten defended the pricing of the top seats, saying they "were acceptable numbers that can easily be filled" and represent a small percentage of the stadium's 41,222-seat capacity.
"It's the money that comes from those upscale customers, from the upscale businesses, that really helps us, that really enables us to keep the low-end ticket prices that we want so desperately as well," Kasten said. "So all of those people who asked about the high-end pricing, [those ticket buyers are] getting great service, but they're also providing great service for Joe Fan."
Tickets farthest away from the action, in the outfield and upper deck, will cost between $5 and $20, the team said. But the premium-seat prices are as expensive as seats to watch baseball's elite franchises. And that does not include prices for the new stadium's 66 luxury suites between first and third base, considered the best vantage point. Pricing for those starts at $150,000 a season.
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said the tickets should be more affordable than those of other teams because the city is paying for the stadium.
"That should be returned to the citizens of the city, especially children," Gray said. He added that making tickets more affordable would be a "good business investment" because it would help hook young people on the game.
The opening of a new stadium typically gives professional sports teams an increase in ticket demand and a corresponding opportunity to increase prices to match that demand. The Washington Wizards increased prices when they moved from their arena in Prince George's County to the privately built Verizon Center in downtown Washington in 1997. The Washington Redskins likewise have raised prices since moving into FedEx Field, also in 1997.
The Nationals' premium-seating policy follows a trend in the NBA and NFL to sell front-row courtside and front-row field-level seats, and often amenities such as stadium VIP club and restaurant access, for as much as $1,000 per game. The Washington Redskins installed more than 1,100 "dream seats" ringing the field several years ago and charge $420 for them, and the Wizards sell elite, courtside seats between the team and the scorer's table for $850 per game, according to the team.
In Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees charge up to $400 for top seats this season. The Boston Red Sox charge $312 for an infield dugout box. The Los Angeles Dodgers charge $450 for some premium, game-day seats close to the field.
Most major league baseball teams have not set ticket prices for next season, making a true comparison to Nationals prices impossible.
"The sports industry is fast learning that you cannot price your best and most visible seats too high," said Marc S. Ganis, a Chicago-based sports marketing consultant. "There is always a market for those great seats, especially those that are in the television camera angles. With a new stadium in the nation's capital, where visibility and proximity to power is most important, these seats should sell very easily."
The first 500 seats that arc behind home plate at the new stadium are called Presidential Seats and will cost $400 each for the front row and $300 for the rest. All 500 tickets include food and (nonalcoholic) drinks at a restaurant behind the seats. One section back are the 1,300 Diamond Seats, at $150 each. The rest of the 24,000 seats in the lower bowl start at $29 for a partial season ticket plan and run to $60 for seats behind the dugouts.
The highest ticket price for a Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards, by comparison, is $65, according to the team's Web site.
"It's disappointing to see the home dugout box seats [at the new Nationals stadium] stretch two sections past the dugout, with a top price of $60," said Jeff Greenberg of Ascticket.com, a Bethesda-based ticket broker. "Whereas a comparable seat at Camden Yards is $30."
"Keep in mind, we all want to do as well as we can," Kasten said. "We want to make the most money we can. We want to have as many customers there. We want to make the stadium as good as it can be, which costs money. And we want to have the best team we can have, which costs money. And we want to do all of this while also keeping our game affordable."
Billionaire developer Theodore N. Lerner and his family purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball last year for $450 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a baseball team.
The Nationals' 2007 payroll is about $38 million, among the lowest in baseball. But the team has said it will spend heavily to sign the players it picks in the MLB draft this week. The team also has said it is investing heavily in its minor league system.
D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who voted against the city financing the stadium, said he understood the financial pressures on owners of baseball teams, whose players earn an average of $3.25 million per year.
"The Nationals baseball organization has to make tough business decisions when setting ticket prices, and I am grateful for their past generosity in making tickets available to those who may otherwise be unable afford them, particularly children's groups," Fenty said. "I look forward to working with the Sports and Entertainment Commission and the Nationals to continue that tradition when the team moves to the new stadium."
Staff writers Barry Svrluga and David Nakamura and staff researcher Richard Drezen contributed to this report.
Post a Comment
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.