Season tickets at the St. Paul Saints’ future regional ballpark in downtown St. Paul are up for sale to current season ticket-holders — and they’re structured pretty differently than the season tickets at creaky Midway Stadium. In some cases, such as by home plate, prices are a lot higher.
Some Saints fans are crying foul. But team management says Midway never offered the kind of high-end seating arrangements that the new $63 million, 7,000-seat ballpark will have, so any comparison between the two is apples to oranges. For everyday fans, general prices in Lowertown will be the same or lower than Midway.
The plot thickens… Batter up!
In this corner, here’s excerpts from a Feb. 19 email from longtime Saints fan (and ballpark critic) Peter Boehm, who is pretty peeved:
“We have been season ticket holders since the Saints’ first season — 1993. We have 4 seats in the front row right behind home plate. For years we have been promised that when or if the Saints got a new ballpark, season ticket holders would get comparable seats at comparable prices…
…This year at Midway my 4 season tickets cost me $1,580. In 2015 in Lowertown 4 tickets in the front row will cost $4,900, or MORE THAN 3 TIMES AS MUCH! So much for affordable family fun. So much for taking care of the people who have supported them for 22 years.”
Hervey Evans, a magazine publisher who splits his time between Como Park and Virginia, took a more measured approach in an interview on Monday.
By home plate, “the prices at the new ballpark are substantially higher,” Evans said. “The real difficulty in the situation, however, has to do with a fairly confined group of folks — there are about 200 seats that are in the area below the walkway, and that area has been reassigned in the new ballpark to be premium seating, and that’s taken it out of the financial reach of (many) of us.”
“I’m paying three times per seat what I was paying,” Evans said. “And I’ve agreed to do that. … My logic is, those seats are more marketable, so if I’m not at a game, I’m going to be able to resell them. Unfortunately, it pulls me away from some of my friends. But it makes for a better gift.”
In a Feb. 17 interview, Saints vice president Tom Whaley said the team is staying true to promises to keep much of its seating in the same price range as the seating at Midway. In some cases, it will be cheaper.
“This year at Midway our tickets are going to be in the range of $6 to $22 bucks,” Whaley said. “At the new place, they’ll be in the range of $5 to $28.”
In fact, “40 percent of the seats in the new place will be priced at or lower than what Midway is currently priced at,” he said.
Nevertheless, the new seating options have created new tiers of pricing for season ticket holders. Existing season ticket holders get first crack at the tickets, and they’re finding options they didn’t have before — and new pricing, too.
For example, a full season at club level — a glass-encased indoor space — will cost $3,500 at the new ballpark. No, it ain’t cheap. But the club service includes complementary food and beverage service, so eat your heart out.
How do catered club level seats compare to what’s at Midway now? Short answer, according to the Saints: They don’t.
“We’ve never had it in 22 years,” Whaley said. “It’s a departure in that it’s new. … That’s a new animal for us. We only have 260 of those seats. There’s not a ton of club seats.”
Seating in the capitol boxes close to home plate will cost fans $1,225 per season — but that includes wider, cushioned seats and section waitstaff. Reserved seats by home plate are $765 for the season.
Those are the tiers that have longtime buyers concerned.
Evans, who has an MBA and background in business consulting, is hoping for an “accommodation for some of these core fans. … The reality of it is it’s a new ballpark. It’s got new services. It’s got new features. … The business part of it is a little tricky. It makes sense for them to try to carry as many of their old fans to the new ballpark. … I think it’s an issue that can be circumscribed. It’s not a class action issue. It’s not an issue that relates to everybody. It’s just that core area that got whacked. It’s right behind home plate, and that’s the issue.”
Whaley said that at Midway, season tickets for the main grandstand are $550 in 2014. The best comparison in the new ballpark, an infield or outfield reserved seat, will be $680 and $595, respectively. That’s pretty comparable.
(Infield is $360 for the half season and outfield is $315 for the half). There’s also bleacher seating and a berm-level if you want to watch from the grassy knoll, but there’s no season tickets for that level.
Hey, if the Saints wore purple and kicked a football, prices could be even higher. The Minnesota Vikings are charging $9,500 for their best seats at their new stadium — and that’s just for a personal seat license, which entitles its holder to then pay another $400 per game on top.
Just check out player reaction:
So what’s so great about being a season ticket holder, anyway?
At the new Saints ballpark, season ticket holders (and half-season ticket holders) get about 10 niceties that typical fans do not. There are opportunities for seat relocations and upgrades, as well as the chance to participate in games such as “Pick-a-Saint.” That one pits season ticket holders against each other by allowing them to pick players, and if he gets a hit, the fan collects points. Prizes are awarded at the end of the season.
Season ticket holders can also participate in an exchange program and sell tickets back for resale. They receive complimentary preseason tickets and they’re invited to the “meet the team” picnic. Full-season ticket holders are guaranteed the same seat from season to season. “You have a specific seat that is yours for all the games,” Whaley said.
At the new ballpark, existing season ticket holders get the first at-bat when it comes to buying, he said. “We’re talking to current season ticket holders. … They’re on sale right now for 2014,” Whaley said. “Before we sell new season tickets for 2015, we’re going to make sure that our current season ticket holders have first crack at them.”