Nice to see the Cowboys aren't greedy or anything. They are only asking for a one time fee of $50,000 in order to have rights to pay $340 per seat per game.
[SIZE=+2]'Boys sitting pretty on new prices
[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]$340 tickets, $50,000 options - fans say they'll still lap it up
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, November 21, 2007
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News
smarta@dallasnews.com [/SIZE] It's a good thing America's Team is 9-1 this season.
<!-- image1 starts here --><!-- image1 ends here -->Dallas Cowboys fans on Tuesday got their first taste of ticket prices at the new $1 billion stadium set to open in Arlington in 2009.
For the priciest club seats – and we're talking single seats here, not suites – a season ticket holder will pay $340 per seat per game, after forking over a one-time fee of up to $50,000 for the right to buy tickets for that seat for 30 years.
Prices for cheaper seats have not been announced.
Speculation about the new pricing plans has been running rampant among the Cowboys faithful, and some fans reacted negatively Tuesday evening.
Paul Gabriel of DeSoto, an insurance broker whose "Gabe's Trailer" tailgate parties draw hundreds of fans at Irving's Texas Stadium, said the steep pricing may push him to think twice about maintaining his six season tickets on the 45-yard line.
"The prices are getting to the point where I may be watching the Cowboys from my home movie theater," Mr. Gabriel said.
Or, he said, he might buy a suite to get more bang for his buck.
Greg McElroy, the Cowboys' senior vice president of sales and marketing, said he wasn't worried about pricing out longtime fans.
"There are so many options in the new stadium, we think we'll be able to accommodate most people," he said.
"There's a lot of excitement about the team with a new quarterback and a new coach. The demand for Cowboys tickets is at an all-time high."
Getting dibs
Team officials said Tuesday they plan to mail information packets to the 15,000 holders of the team's 60,000 season tickets starting today, outlining how to get first dibs on similar seats at the new stadium.
Season ticket holders who currently have the best seats at Texas Stadium – in the lower bowl – will get the first shot at similar ones in the Cowboys' new home.
The 15,000 club seats will be located on both sides of the field. Seats will be cushioned and roomier (21 inches wide compared with 19 inches for the regular seat) and come with access to premium parking, air-conditioned clubs and upscale dining options.
Texas Stadium has no such premium seats now, making price comparisons difficult, team officials say. But tickets for similarly located seats cost $129 this season.
Fans purchasing season tickets for the club seats must also buy a "seat option" priced between $16,000 and $50,000.
Team officials say they want to sell season tickets for every one of the stadium's 80,000 seats, each with a seat option. The Cowboys haven't announced costs beyond the club seats, but prices will go down from there.
Season ticket holders in the current upper bowl and end-zone areas will be able to put in their bid for seats in February.
Non-season ticket holders will get their chance to buy a season seat in June. Those fans can get on a waiting list in December.
Options market
Not knowing the total price structure makes it impossible to compare the average cost of a Cowboys ticket to those elsewhere.
But the $50,000 seat option apparently is the most expensive such option ever charged for the rights to a single seat.
The Cowboys will use the seat options to help pay for their $675 million share of the stadium.
Seat options, also known as personal seat licenses, became a popular way to fund new stadiums in the 1990s. But the idea evolved from the approach the Cowboys took in the late 1960s with the use of "seat option bonds" to build the $35 million Texas Stadium.
Under the bond system, fans paid $250 per seat for the right to buy season tickets in that spot. At the end of the 40 years, bondholders redeemed the bonds for $300.
Today, about one-third of the 32 NFL teams have some form of seat options.
The Houston Texans, an expansion franchise, sold about 41,000 seat licenses at an average cost of about $1,800. In 2002 the Chicago Bears offered 28,000 seat licenses at a cost of up to $10,000 to help rebuild Soldier Field.
The licenses are transferable and can rise in value. A pair of Bears seat licenses is on sale on eBay for $40,000. Cowboys officials are likewise touting their seat options as a good investment, and pointed to reports about Carolina Panthers fans whose options have increased fourfold in value.
But they can also backfire. The Oakland Raiders' seat licenses topped out at $16,000, but the team had to rescind the program in 2005 after losing seasons left them struggling to sell single-game seats next to season ticket holders who'd paid thousands.
Good times
But the Cowboys aren't losing. Indeed, in a season full of anticipation, they're enjoying their best start since 1995.
The team's few single-game tickets for this season sold the same day they were released in July. And for the first time in its history, the team has sold out entirely for next year, all of them season ticket sales, long before the season is to begin.
Dallas businessman Max Swango wasn't ruffled by the pricing described Tuesday.
"Our company has seats at the club level in Denver that are $500 each, so $340 doesn't surprise me," Mr. Swango said.
He pointed to tickets for the Dallas Mavericks that run $160 each.
"I'd rather be a Cowboys season ticket holder than pay 41 times a year for the Mavericks," he said.
"The Cowboys have been in my family since the Cotton Bowl. Some of my best memories are going to Cowboys' games with my parents. I want to be able to share that with my kids."
Mr. Gabriel, the tailgater who often uses his tickets to entertain clients, said rumors about the new pricing scheme have been running rampant among fans, with estimates of up to $150,000 for a seat option.
"It's what everyone has been talking about," he said.
Mr. Gabriel paid $16,000 for each of his current seats about 12 years ago and wasn't looking forward to a new buy-in requirement. He said he may consider buying a suite instead of seats.
"It's not that I can't afford it," he said. "It's the principle. There will be a lot of people who come out to have fun with us at our tailgate party who won't be able to afford to go anymore."
Trophy Club resident Mark Watson, whose season tickets are at the goal line, said he was shocked by the fact that the new asking price is more than twice what current seats sell for.
"There's going to be a lot of people who won't be able to afford that," Mr. Watson said. "It's just going to be executives out there. What will happen to the regular fans?"
Mr. Watson inherited his seat options from his uncle, who was a season ticket holder when the Cowboys played in the Cotton Bowl.
"This is a football team that hasn't won a playoff game in 11 years," Mr. Watson pointed out.
Suite success
For the last year, the Cowboys have focused on selling suites in the new stadium – starting at $100,000 for 20 years – to existing customers. The Cowboys have sold well over half the 200 available suites and have begun courting new customers for the rest.
For ticket sales, Mr. McElroy said, the Cowboys' approach was developed over 18 months of visiting new stadiums and arenas around the country.
The chief challenge was figuring out how to translate existing seats into new ones, and how to handle all possible outcomes, such as fans who want additional seats or a different section.
"Our main goal is to get the club seats sold, and then take the building section by section," said Mr. McElroy, who recently held similar marketing roles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars.
In the first phase of sales, fans who currently sit in what will become club seats in the new stadium will have until Jan. 18 to make an appointment with the Cowboys' sales team.
At a preview center housed in a former Bank of America branch nearby, fans will review pricing and amenities and see where their new seats would be.
Fans would have to make a decision within 10 business days to purchase their new seats or request changes. Those who want additional or different seats will have to pay a $500 refundable deposit and wait for the team to get through the first series of sales.
"We have no idea what the renewal rate will be," Mr. McElroy said. "We've never had a product like this."
Staff writer Albert Breer contributed to this report.
[SIZE=+2]'Boys sitting pretty on new prices
[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]$340 tickets, $50,000 options - fans say they'll still lap it up
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, November 21, 2007
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News
smarta@dallasnews.com [/SIZE] It's a good thing America's Team is 9-1 this season.
<!-- image1 starts here --><!-- image1 ends here -->Dallas Cowboys fans on Tuesday got their first taste of ticket prices at the new $1 billion stadium set to open in Arlington in 2009.
For the priciest club seats – and we're talking single seats here, not suites – a season ticket holder will pay $340 per seat per game, after forking over a one-time fee of up to $50,000 for the right to buy tickets for that seat for 30 years.
Prices for cheaper seats have not been announced.
Speculation about the new pricing plans has been running rampant among the Cowboys faithful, and some fans reacted negatively Tuesday evening.
Paul Gabriel of DeSoto, an insurance broker whose "Gabe's Trailer" tailgate parties draw hundreds of fans at Irving's Texas Stadium, said the steep pricing may push him to think twice about maintaining his six season tickets on the 45-yard line.
"The prices are getting to the point where I may be watching the Cowboys from my home movie theater," Mr. Gabriel said.
Or, he said, he might buy a suite to get more bang for his buck.
Greg McElroy, the Cowboys' senior vice president of sales and marketing, said he wasn't worried about pricing out longtime fans.
"There are so many options in the new stadium, we think we'll be able to accommodate most people," he said.
"There's a lot of excitement about the team with a new quarterback and a new coach. The demand for Cowboys tickets is at an all-time high."
Getting dibs
Team officials said Tuesday they plan to mail information packets to the 15,000 holders of the team's 60,000 season tickets starting today, outlining how to get first dibs on similar seats at the new stadium.
Season ticket holders who currently have the best seats at Texas Stadium – in the lower bowl – will get the first shot at similar ones in the Cowboys' new home.
The 15,000 club seats will be located on both sides of the field. Seats will be cushioned and roomier (21 inches wide compared with 19 inches for the regular seat) and come with access to premium parking, air-conditioned clubs and upscale dining options.
Texas Stadium has no such premium seats now, making price comparisons difficult, team officials say. But tickets for similarly located seats cost $129 this season.
Fans purchasing season tickets for the club seats must also buy a "seat option" priced between $16,000 and $50,000.
Team officials say they want to sell season tickets for every one of the stadium's 80,000 seats, each with a seat option. The Cowboys haven't announced costs beyond the club seats, but prices will go down from there.
Season ticket holders in the current upper bowl and end-zone areas will be able to put in their bid for seats in February.
Non-season ticket holders will get their chance to buy a season seat in June. Those fans can get on a waiting list in December.
Options market
Not knowing the total price structure makes it impossible to compare the average cost of a Cowboys ticket to those elsewhere.
But the $50,000 seat option apparently is the most expensive such option ever charged for the rights to a single seat.
The Cowboys will use the seat options to help pay for their $675 million share of the stadium.
Seat options, also known as personal seat licenses, became a popular way to fund new stadiums in the 1990s. But the idea evolved from the approach the Cowboys took in the late 1960s with the use of "seat option bonds" to build the $35 million Texas Stadium.
Under the bond system, fans paid $250 per seat for the right to buy season tickets in that spot. At the end of the 40 years, bondholders redeemed the bonds for $300.
Today, about one-third of the 32 NFL teams have some form of seat options.
The Houston Texans, an expansion franchise, sold about 41,000 seat licenses at an average cost of about $1,800. In 2002 the Chicago Bears offered 28,000 seat licenses at a cost of up to $10,000 to help rebuild Soldier Field.
The licenses are transferable and can rise in value. A pair of Bears seat licenses is on sale on eBay for $40,000. Cowboys officials are likewise touting their seat options as a good investment, and pointed to reports about Carolina Panthers fans whose options have increased fourfold in value.
But they can also backfire. The Oakland Raiders' seat licenses topped out at $16,000, but the team had to rescind the program in 2005 after losing seasons left them struggling to sell single-game seats next to season ticket holders who'd paid thousands.
Good times
But the Cowboys aren't losing. Indeed, in a season full of anticipation, they're enjoying their best start since 1995.
The team's few single-game tickets for this season sold the same day they were released in July. And for the first time in its history, the team has sold out entirely for next year, all of them season ticket sales, long before the season is to begin.
Dallas businessman Max Swango wasn't ruffled by the pricing described Tuesday.
"Our company has seats at the club level in Denver that are $500 each, so $340 doesn't surprise me," Mr. Swango said.
He pointed to tickets for the Dallas Mavericks that run $160 each.
"I'd rather be a Cowboys season ticket holder than pay 41 times a year for the Mavericks," he said.
"The Cowboys have been in my family since the Cotton Bowl. Some of my best memories are going to Cowboys' games with my parents. I want to be able to share that with my kids."
Mr. Gabriel, the tailgater who often uses his tickets to entertain clients, said rumors about the new pricing scheme have been running rampant among fans, with estimates of up to $150,000 for a seat option.
"It's what everyone has been talking about," he said.
Mr. Gabriel paid $16,000 for each of his current seats about 12 years ago and wasn't looking forward to a new buy-in requirement. He said he may consider buying a suite instead of seats.
"It's not that I can't afford it," he said. "It's the principle. There will be a lot of people who come out to have fun with us at our tailgate party who won't be able to afford to go anymore."
Trophy Club resident Mark Watson, whose season tickets are at the goal line, said he was shocked by the fact that the new asking price is more than twice what current seats sell for.
"There's going to be a lot of people who won't be able to afford that," Mr. Watson said. "It's just going to be executives out there. What will happen to the regular fans?"
Mr. Watson inherited his seat options from his uncle, who was a season ticket holder when the Cowboys played in the Cotton Bowl.
"This is a football team that hasn't won a playoff game in 11 years," Mr. Watson pointed out.
Suite success
For the last year, the Cowboys have focused on selling suites in the new stadium – starting at $100,000 for 20 years – to existing customers. The Cowboys have sold well over half the 200 available suites and have begun courting new customers for the rest.
For ticket sales, Mr. McElroy said, the Cowboys' approach was developed over 18 months of visiting new stadiums and arenas around the country.
The chief challenge was figuring out how to translate existing seats into new ones, and how to handle all possible outcomes, such as fans who want additional seats or a different section.
"Our main goal is to get the club seats sold, and then take the building section by section," said Mr. McElroy, who recently held similar marketing roles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars.
In the first phase of sales, fans who currently sit in what will become club seats in the new stadium will have until Jan. 18 to make an appointment with the Cowboys' sales team.
At a preview center housed in a former Bank of America branch nearby, fans will review pricing and amenities and see where their new seats would be.
Fans would have to make a decision within 10 business days to purchase their new seats or request changes. Those who want additional or different seats will have to pay a $500 refundable deposit and wait for the team to get through the first series of sales.
"We have no idea what the renewal rate will be," Mr. McElroy said. "We've never had a product like this."
Staff writer Albert Breer contributed to this report.
