hello typepad: On Mets Attendance

A recent New York Times article about the Mets' attendance is being widely discussed in the Metsosphere: "After 22 home games, attendance at Citi Field is down 6,852 fans a game, the largest decline by number in Major League Baseball."

Shannon from The Mets Police: "You kids won’t believe how many 'Mets fans' there were in the second half of 1986. If you are looking for them now, they are the folks with the Jeter jerseys with the name on the back."

Shannon also took notes during Mets VP David Howard's recent WFAN appearance in which he discussed attendance and earlier in the season exchanged some letters with the Mets front office about their ticket selling process.

Regarding the dwindling crowds, loving curmudgeon "Kingman" from Loge 13 opines, "There are lots of factors - bad economy, smaller stadium, awful team, epic meltdowns." On club access: "Met fans, regardless of ticket location, should be able to enter any place in the stadium if the Mets want the stadium to really feel like home." Good points!

This is not an easy problem to solve, but here are a few ideas...

The Mets pioneered the variable pricing scheme for different games, but it's still too complicated. For those who aren't Citi regulars, there are five different prices a single seat may be assigned depending on the day of the week, opponent, and other factors. I use a spreadsheet to track who owes me how much for what tickets & when. I love spreadsheets, but that's not right! There should be three pricing levels for games: Opening day, Yankees, Braves, and Phillies tickets should be the most expensive, followed by other games in May, June, July, and September, with April (too cold) and August (too hot) games pull up the rear.

StubHub is simply a better ticket buying experience. Dave Howard says: "[StubHub] is competition. The information [the Mets get from transactions] is important market data." Fans who buy tickets on StubHub choose exactly what tickets they want with total visibility into every seat's availability and cost. Neither season ticket or single ticket buyers get that from the Mets. I've had full or partial season tickets for ten years and the quality of the seats a fan is allowed to purchase depends on how good of a blind poker player you are. The best bluffer gets the best seats, since ticket sellers deal with ticket buyers on a one-at-a-time basis ("No, really, this is the best seat you'll get!"). As Howard says above, the data StubHub shares with MLB is used to gauge the market. The problem is that since StubHub provides such a superior experience for the fan, the price paid for tickets on StubHub is high. I bet the Mets aren't taking that into consideration.

Because StubHub is the best way to buy baseball tickets, scalpers buy tickets by the hundreds and sell them in the secondary markets. Season ticket holder benefits include club access, discounts at the team store and access to special events. Attending games at Shea¹, whether in the Upper Deck, the Loge, or the Mezzanine Box, I sat near families and friends who attended forty games a year or more. At Citi Field, we're often surrounded by tourists and Shea expats who buy tickets one at a time on StubHub. Give season ticket holders access passes to the clubs they are entitled to by their seat status, as well as a number of "guest" passes for friends. Every season ticket holder should also get a small number of passes to the premium clubs and a free meal in the Acela club. Why not a dedicated Shake Shack line? StubHub scalpers should not be allowed to transfer club access.

Regarding Shannon's comment about the 1986 Mets fans, or the prevailing attitude that the Mets should "just win" and ticket sales will take care of themselves, that's true. But only one team a year wins the World series. The Mets should focus on the fan experience as well as the team on the field. If the primary fan relationship shifts to StubHub, or any third party, I believe that's a threat to the Mets' core business. Remember, StubHub is just as happy to sell Eric Clapton tickets as Mets tickets. StubHub loves baseball games only because there are so many of them.

¹ I am not a "save Shea" person. I loved Shea, but the new stadium is superior in every way, except that it wasn't where I saw Kevin McReynolds & Dave Magadan rake when I was a little kid.