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The Giants announced on Thursday that they’ll be selling Personal Seat Licenses at their new stadium.
I don’t like it. Not one bit.
For more as to why I don’t like it, consider my latest SportingNews.com offering.
I heard on Friday morning an interview on Sirius NFL radio of some big-shot with the Giants, who was being questioned by their impartial (eye roll) radio play-by-play man, Bob Papa, and one of their former playing greats, Carl Banks.
Among the bogus reasons offered up as to why PSLs are a good thing were that it will likely prompt season-ticket holders who have 10 or 12 tickets to give some of them up, allowing other suckers fans to pay for the PSL, and for the tickets.
They also suggested that the PSL is like buying stock. Pay $5,000 now for it, and re-sell it to some other sucker fan for $20,000 in 10 years.
We try to support the NFL whenever and wherever we can. On this one, we just can’t.
It’s bad enough that some teams are cooking up phony fees to impose on fans. It’s even worse that they insult the fans’ intelligence while doing so.
Just call it what it is, and don’t try to make us feel like you’re doing us some kind of a favor. Because you’re not. And you know it. And we know it.
And yet the Giants will still sell the place out every week.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
The best seat for the game is the one in front of the wide-screen.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
June 27th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Of course, if NOBODY paid it they would have to sell the place out in week to week tickets, so on the weeks where you play power houses like the Lions or Texans or Rams they may have a tiny bit of difficulty getting games televised
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 27th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Carolina Panthers have benn doing this since 96. Just another way to make more money off the fans. and we pay it
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Rating: Not yet rated
June 28th, 2008 at 12:13 am
So effing what. Get used to it. It has been going on in countless cities for years and years.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 12:14 am
“Naw, he don’t sit right Lois, he don’t sit right at all.” -Stewie from Family Guy.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I must agree! After years of being able to get tickets just prior to a game, or being laughed at for having SEASON tickets, Buccaneer fans are rewarded with PSL. They try to make you feel better by “giving it back” over 10 years but it doesn’t even match the yearly increase of the tickets. I wish they would at least reward loyalty by locking in your ticket price for the year you purchase your PSL. Maybe people wouldn’t feel so raped that way.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 12:24 am
They may very well may sell the tickets but it won’t be any of my money that will be selling out the place,that goes for my team also if they try this bulls**t also.
The NFL keeps going they are going to price their self right out of contention that and have only Ivy leagers sitting in what seats they do fill.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Remember the days this used to be a Rumor Mill and not Florios Feelings…
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 12:54 am
I think that the black out rule should now be done away with. I don’t believe for one minute that the league is losing anything significant whatsoever when a stadium doesn’t sell out. You’re buying a used car for the regular season to get a decent seat. Soon, we’ll be paying for each player’s ‘Sclade so we can go see if it’s really him behind the helmet or an imposter (yea - that was a weird metaphor, but you see what ah’m sayin’…)
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 1:11 am
I heard the interview on Sirius. I was bummed as well. The interviewee was very nonchalont talking about that kind of money. Gulp! It would sure be nice to have money, my finances just get worse and worse. It’s my own fault as I am my own worst enemy. I can’t seem settle on a career yet. But this a football blog…GO BEARS!!!
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June 28th, 2008 at 1:15 am
NFL(r)(c)(tm) games will begin to look like a Lakers Finals game…
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 1:33 am
I agree with you 100%. It’s the exact same crap here in Cleveland. They know we’ll sell it out wether the Browns are 3-13 or a playoff contender and they stick it right to us…even though we taxpayers paid for the damn place to begin with. In a way, PSL’s reek of extortion.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 1:35 am
To think that one day someone came up with this ridiculous idea, then actually proposed it to somebody who then decided to run with it is amazing. …spending that kind of money on a seat you’ll sit in 8-10 times a year (well 10-12 if you count the preseason games you have to buy) is nuts if you’re not loaded, but of course that’s the idea.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 2:03 am
I agree that the pricing is crazy but certain teams (like the Steelers for example) do have a 10 year waiting list to get season tickets.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 2:06 am
You mention in the article that there will be a “real problem will arise if and when blue-collar fans who form the heart and soul of so many NFL franchises must yield to the polo and caviar crowd.” You mention that there is the possibility of the regular fan to be pushed out of the stadium.
This is already happening. Take a good look at Foxborough. Gillette stadium, or whoever is the big name corporate sponsor nowadays for the stadium of the Patriots. Games are quiet, and it has very little to do with the new stadium. The fact is, most people can not afford to go to games anymore. Ticket prices are unreal. Parking prices are unreal. The people that the team most want there simply can not afford to go. More and more of the crowd are there through business connections, or are people that are either well connected, or are just plain wealthy.
Now people with money can cheer just as loud as anyone else, but the whole atmosphere at the stadium has changed. It is getting more and more reserved. The die hard, blue collar football fanatic is quickly disappearing. The 12th man is getting quieter, and homefield advantage is going away as well.
More and more people are saving their money and buying their own “personal seat license.” However instead of a seat in a stadium, it is a recliner in front of a large Hi Definition television. They get a great view, and save a lot of money. Bring your friends over for some beer, BBQ, and a football game. You get all 16 games (well, roughly all, IF you can get NFLN), home OR away, and the view is always good (even if the announcer isn’t).
Think about it, for the price of a PSL, you can buy a 52″ Hi Definition screen (or larger) and a quality “comfy chair.” Hey, you even get other games to throw in along with it! All that, and you don’t have to rent the seat you bought every time you actually want to use it!
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 2:09 am
I’m no PSL fan… but it isn’t only the Giants. The Jets (same stadium) are considering PSL’s up to 50,000, the Cowboys are rumored to have some up to 150,000 and the advent of the PSL was many years back with another dozen franchises choosing them from then to now… rail against the policy, but not against just the Giants - they and more are guilty in it.
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June 28th, 2008 at 2:11 am
To me, this seems like a bigger version of a time share scheme.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 2:15 am
I agree with an earlier statement that the next target could be the parking lot tailgate parties…parking lots will soon be all the average fan can afford. At what point will the fans realize that the TEAMS need US more than we NEED them?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 3:10 am
This one has really got me fired up!…Where is the public out cry of “Hey, I’m being ripped off!” The Mara’s and the Tisch’s should really be hammered on this decision. I’ve been a season ticket holder for 24 years. I don’t mind the ticket increases because that’s life…I don’t mind paying extra for parking…I might even pay for $8 bad beer now and then….but come on this is a joke.
1. We didn’t ask for a stadium that needed to be shared with the Jets adding expense.
2. The Eagles new stadium(The Linc) did not have a PSL for the upper bowl seats and I already like that design better.(See #1)
3. New stadiums aren’t designed to force season ticket holders out but to reward them for years of support, as well as more ad revenue, more luxury boxes and more revenue.
4. With the ugliest building ever constructed(The Xandu) next door they should be paying me for the eye sore.
5. This BS about the PSL is affording me the right to be a season ticket holder is garbage. My father has been going to watch the Giants every week for 40 years! He ’s earned the right! How long has Tisch been around?
6. Where’s the plan for me to make my money back through additional seating opportunities(ie: Springsteen or Man U Soccer).
7. Giants stadium already has an atmosphere that can be docile, due to the fact the average age of a Giants season ticket holder is 50+. If you turn Giant stadium into a world of corporate casual fans because they can afford a $20k seat license…you might as well take the heart out of fans and let the Jints play to an empty stadium because that’s the emotional level you’ll have on Sunday.(See The Knicks)
8. If the Giant fans are paying $1 to $20k…what about the Jets fans? This better be an equal split.
9. Why not name the stadium to raise the money instead of hurting the little guy.
10. It’s hard to believe the Mara’s have turned their back’s on these great fans.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 5:38 am
None of us like it. Not one bit.
Just another way the NFL has devised to dig it’s hands deeper into fans (suckers) pockets. Hope they don’t decide to do the fans any more “favors”. And please, Florio, don’t give them any more ideas like the ones in your SportingNews.com article. I wouldn’t put it past them to eventually try to implement some of those.
Giants fans won’t be hit nearly as hard as fans who wish to attend Cowboys’ games at the new JerryWorld, though. Those personal seat licenses reportedly will sell for $16,000 on the low end to $150,000 on the high end. If you want to talk about blatant greed, you need look no further than J.J. for the most gross example.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing JerryWorld at least half-empty each week. This has got to stop somewhere. You are most likely right, however, in that people will probably go ahead and pay through the nose. Kind of sad, really. Hope they can manage a smile while they are being raped.
Seems to me I heard somewhere that tickets to the first Super Bowl could be purchased for ten bucks each. Guess things have changed a bit since then. Raw greed is just plain ugly.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 6:13 am
As much as I agree with you that is sucks (and it is the sole reason why I’m not a Titans season ticket holder, as Nashville has one of those ten teams), the one positive you can say about it is that the burden is reduced on the average taxpayer for new stadiums. It’s a way to obtain financing from people who are actually going to use the facility. And since you can resell it, basically you’re giving the team an interest free loan. I’d be interested to see a study of how much the value of PSLs actually increased over time though… my guess is not much.
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June 28th, 2008 at 6:23 am
I’m going to open a Home Depot. I plan on making a lot of money from operating my business in that building.
But I need the customers to pay for the building. Personal Shopping Licenses will go from $5,000 (you get extra shopping hours, someone in an orange apron at your beck and call whenever you need one, and no check out lines) to $500 (you’re on your own). If you don’t buy one of the licenses you can come into the parking lot and look at the outside of the building but, if you’re not going to help me pay for it, you can’t come inside.
Any takers?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 6:23 am
If you don’t want to pay it, you can sit in the nose bleed seats with the other ’scumbags’. Like I do - LOL. I remember the first year at Heinz Field there were a bunch of articles written about the lack of crowd noise. It is definitely not the same vibe as Three Rivers.
Hey, for almost $300 now for the Sunday Ticket, watching the games at home is no damn bargain anymore either.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 6:54 am
It’s hard to complain about PSLs from a business and fairness point of view. The people who are getting the benefit of watching the games are paying for it. The cost of the stadium isn’t forced on people who have no interest in football.
That said, the PSLs cause the fan demographic to go from the beer and brats crowd to the wine spritzer and brie crowd. Nothing wrong with that in principle, except the wine spritzer crowd doesn’t bring the passion to the games that the beer and brats guys do.
For example, some of the most creative camera work (outside of the Patriots sideline) in the NFL is done in the fourth quarter of Panthers home games. All the suits who could afford PSLs have long gone and it’s a real work of art to give the illusion there’s still fans in the stadium in the fourth quarter.
The trouble is that I can’t really see a better alternative to PSLs. One thing they should do though. The owners claim that PSLs will gain value in the future. Now if the owners really believe that, then they’ll put it in writing and guarantee they’ll buy back the PSL at certain fixed (higher) prices if the fan wants to sell it. If the owners aren’t willing to make that buyback guarantee, it tells you all you need to know about what they really think about the future value of the magic beans they’re trying to sell you.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 28th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Hit the nail on the head with this one,
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